Ye Old Grid

[microbee]

Hi all,

I'm a total noob to RPG's and wargaming but am keen to start ASAP.

On reading the dummies guide to D&D it struck me as a little strange that a grid should be used for combat: movement is limited to horizontal and vertical, and vertical costs twice as much to move, which is unatural for critters and time consuming to count.

Wouldn't it be better to ditch the grid and use a ruler (i.e. 1cm = 1 square) so that things can naturally wander out radially?

Does anyone play like this? Am I a total noob? Please help.

 

[frankthedm]

horizontal and vertical cost normal

diagonal counts 1, then 2, 1, then 2.

Putting things on a grid actualy can help kill range arguments semi common in minis games. But i do feel players should wean themselves off grids and eventually start measuring.

 

[Kisanji Arael]

Last question first. You are a total noob. You've established that for yourself. The question, then, is whether that will hinder your play-experience, and the answer, as always, is no. Learn the basic rules, don't give up on gaming, and don't be an idiot in your first gaming group.

To your question:

Remember that not all forum-users assembled use visual aids at all. The whole concept of miniatures, grids, and "squares" is one mathematical way to break down the system. It's most common because it's the one that Wizards themselves endorse. But I think that a lot of gamers that predate the miniature era have a problem with setting everything up around tokens. A lot of DMs have scribbled out maps on grid paper and draw up rough pencil maps for their players on non-gridded paper. Depends on the players. There are flaws in the established system as well as ambiguities. A perfect system (for land) might well be Warhammer, or something similar, if one's DM had the time to make to scale

I think that the idea of radials sounds great, and if you were to expand upon it, I think that a lot of the forum goers here might be helpful to you. Give math for those that might need to be reminded what it is and haven't been in a classroom since that horrible incident in 1546.

Welcome to the gaming. Have fun. Oh, and we're strictly Bring your own spellbook, so no mugging Nyaricus out of his.

Sheesh, I can't believe we have to say that now. That only happened like... twice? Three times?

 

[microbee]

Oops

" horizontal and vertical cost normal

diagonal counts 1, then 2, 1, then 2."

Sorry, I meant diagonal (so its 1.5 right?)

Kisanji, thanks for the advise. I like the idea of minis and definetly want to use them, I just don't undersdand why you can't use a ruler with 1cm equally 1 square? It's the same diff isn't it? Only it seems to me it would be easier, and not to mention more natural looking, to use a ruler.

 

[FEADIN]

Because it's fun to have beautiful figurines and the square is not 1cm but 2.5cm (an inch).

 

[frankthedm]

Here is the Why of a grid & the 1, 2, 1, 2 counting.

http://img506.imageshack.us/img506/5538/agrid2gj.th.jpg

Until one moves more than 12 squares / 60 feet, the 1 square, 2 square costs work out. Since most speeds do not go over 60 {& they rarely get that high] it is not much of an issue.

It is 1 inch to the 5 foot sqare becasue that is the scale the grand majority of fantasy minis are made at or close to. Even with the recent scale bloats, a man or woman still fit nicly into an inch square. See my mini thread to gain more info on minis & especially monster minis.

If you already have the miniatures in 10 to 15mm scale, where a human fits well on a 1CM base, the go for it, it should be much easier on table top space for super large combats.

 

[dcollins]

Wouldn't it be better to ditch the grid and use a ruler (i.e. 1cm = 1 square) so that things can naturally wander out radially?

D&D usually occurs in dungeons that have been designed on graph paper (using lots of right-angle rooms and corridors). The grid battlemap is the easiest thing to draw/transfer these dungeon areas on.

 

[sydbar]

If you want to play with mini's, but no grid, then you should make templates for all basic spell effects equal to the scale of movement. cones, radius circles, lines, and so on. It will help take out some of the guess work.

 

[Warehouse23]

The ruler/tape-measure is a staple of war-gaming--the hobby which (aside from story-telling) is one of RPGing's most important ancestors. The idea in many war games is that it's much more fun to build a model of the rolling green fields of Waterloo (sans graticule) than to scar up the pitch like a football grid iron.

If the grid feels un-natural, you might consider playing with a hex grid, or without visual aids other than sketch maps.

 

[Nail]

D&D usually occurs in dungeons that have been designed on graph paper (using lots of right-angle rooms and corridors). The grid battlemap is the easiest thing to draw/transfer these dungeon areas on.

Right.

The other advantage: Since everyone uses a square grid - don't forget Computer Role-Playing Games! - there are lots and lots and lots (did I metion "lots"?) of material out there that you can scavenge. Many visuals and things that you can print out and jus' slap down on the gaming table, with nice 1 inch by 1 inch divisions. Very cool.

Try here first , and then perhaps the WotC site, and then maybe here, and then.......