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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Chaldfont" data-source="post: 387347" data-attributes="member: 1472">Re: What are your feelings on combat matts?Obviously everyone must play to their style. In this, gaming is like golf--everyone is going to give you tips, you just need to know which ones to throw away and which ones to keep.  Still I have to object to the idea that using combat mats restrict imagination.I never used combat mats or miniatures in that past (being both cheap and too lazy to paint minis) but I bought a mat when 3e came out. I liked the tactical rules 3e offered, especially rules for interesting things like tripping, bull rushing and grappling. In 2nd edition, you had to shell out for a splat book to get these rules and they never quite fit the system.  Now that we use the mat, and some really quirky, cheap figures, I find that combats have gotten much more interesting.The best reason why is that the mat helps the players visualize the environment. The visual queues of the drawings and figures on the mat help the players think up new, fun things to do during combat.  I find players using imaginative tactics more frequently now that we play with a mat.A secondary reason to use a mat is a social one. Anytime you put something in the middle of the table, the players will lean in to see what it is. This brings them closer together physically.  Players stand up to move figures and when they stand, they are naturally more attentive. Many times they will act out their cobat actions. This makes the game far more engaging and exciting.  With nothing focusing players attention, they tend to sit back and relax, character sheet in hand, isolating themselves in their own thoughts as they plan their next move.I think it comes down to style--you can still have an exciting, engaging game session with everyone sitting around a living room, occasionally tossing dice on the coffee table. But my group prefers to be close around a kitchen table, frequently standing, shouting and pantomiming Jackie Chan-like action sequences.Oh, and we like to leave the figures of the defeated foes laying prone on the mat so we can see the devastation our mighty heroes have wrought!</blockquote>

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