Protagonist
Explorer
this.
What grid are you gaming on?
- Thread starter Longtooth Studios
- Start date
Lanefan
Victoria Rules
What would I like to see?
A double-layered table with the layers about 10-12" apart, where the lower layer is an ordinary table (for drinks, character sheets, dice, etc.) and the top layer, overlaying all but about the outer 6" of the lower layer, is a chalkboard with a 2" grid permanent-inked onto it. The chalkboard layer would be hard-attached somehow, but also be removeable to allow full access to the lower table layer for cleaning etc.
We've used chalkboards for 25+ years - they really are the answer, and a bit of chalk dust is so much more preferable than the horrible smell of those dry-erase pens.
2" grid (for 10' squares) is preferable to 1"; less squares to count means less chance of screwing it up. Were I to go with 5' squares I'd probably want them to be a bit bigger than 1" just so things would fit.
Lanefan
A double-layered table with the layers about 10-12" apart, where the lower layer is an ordinary table (for drinks, character sheets, dice, etc.) and the top layer, overlaying all but about the outer 6" of the lower layer, is a chalkboard with a 2" grid permanent-inked onto it. The chalkboard layer would be hard-attached somehow, but also be removeable to allow full access to the lower table layer for cleaning etc.
We've used chalkboards for 25+ years - they really are the answer, and a bit of chalk dust is so much more preferable than the horrible smell of those dry-erase pens.
2" grid (for 10' squares) is preferable to 1"; less squares to count means less chance of screwing it up. Were I to go with 5' squares I'd probably want them to be a bit bigger than 1" just so things would fit.
Lanefan
Philotomy Jurament
First Post
Most often, no mat at all, and figures used for marching order or for big/complex combats, but often no figures, either.
If I'm using figures, I use a 1" = 3.33 ft. ground scale, allowing three figures abreast in a 10' wide passage (weapons allowing, anyway). Measurement is by eye or by ruler. If I'm really serious, I might break out a battle-mat. I have a couple of the 1" square grid maps you write on with overhead projector pens (one of them has a hex-grid on the reverse).
If I had to pick a battlemat, I think I'd go for an offset square grid on a big mat.
If I'm using figures, I use a 1" = 3.33 ft. ground scale, allowing three figures abreast in a 10' wide passage (weapons allowing, anyway). Measurement is by eye or by ruler. If I'm really serious, I might break out a battle-mat. I have a couple of the 1" square grid maps you write on with overhead projector pens (one of them has a hex-grid on the reverse).
If I had to pick a battlemat, I think I'd go for an offset square grid on a big mat.
Olaf the Stout
Legend
Paizo Flip-Mat is what we game on at the moment. I have WotC Dungeon Tiles that I've used for some wilderness and cavern encounters. However I have had trouble constructing dungeons out of them. I really don't use them as much as I should or would like to.
I'd like to give Hirst Arts and Tact-Tiles a go as well but for now the Flip-Mats do the trick nicely.
1 inch squares suit my game well. There are hexes on the back of the Flip-Mats but we've never used them.
Olaf the Stout
I'd like to give Hirst Arts and Tact-Tiles a go as well but for now the Flip-Mats do the trick nicely.
1 inch squares suit my game well. There are hexes on the back of the Flip-Mats but we've never used them.
Olaf the Stout
Frost
First Post
4 ft x 7 ft piece of shower board (tile board) scored off with an exacto knife into a 1" grid. It works like a great big dry erase board.
Pictures here: The Dungeoneering Dad: Gaming Setup 101: A cheap, kick-arse battle map.
Pictures here: The Dungeoneering Dad: Gaming Setup 101: A cheap, kick-arse battle map.
JVisgaitis
Explorer
Been using the flip mat from Paizo and I love it.
Cerebral Paladin
First Post
These days, I just use a one-inch square grid. It's fine for most purposes that I need, and it's not worth spending money to get a better grid.
In a previous campaign, the GM used a grid with heavy lines on a one-inch square grid, and light lines on a half-inch square grid (so each one-inch box is subdivided into 4 half-inch squares). That was kinda useful, because it allowed bigger battles to be done on the smaller scale, and it allowed people to offset by half an inch if that made sense. If I were buying a new grid and that were comparably priced to a standard one-inch square grid, I would prefer it. (The extension in the other direction, with light grid lines on the 1" scale and heavy on 2" would also be useful, since it would speed up counting out rooms and the like.)
I also like conceptually the pattern of a square grid on one side and a hex grid on the reverse, although in practice I virtually never use the hex grid. But the efficiency of having it available appeals to me even though I don't end up using it.
In a previous campaign, the GM used a grid with heavy lines on a one-inch square grid, and light lines on a half-inch square grid (so each one-inch box is subdivided into 4 half-inch squares). That was kinda useful, because it allowed bigger battles to be done on the smaller scale, and it allowed people to offset by half an inch if that made sense. If I were buying a new grid and that were comparably priced to a standard one-inch square grid, I would prefer it. (The extension in the other direction, with light grid lines on the 1" scale and heavy on 2" would also be useful, since it would speed up counting out rooms and the like.)
I also like conceptually the pattern of a square grid on one side and a hex grid on the reverse, although in practice I virtually never use the hex grid. But the efficiency of having it available appeals to me even though I don't end up using it.
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