My first time being a DM and I'm going to be running a Strahd campaign in the new year. We normally play theatre of the mind over Discord but I'd like to use some sort of map system for the party. I bought the campaign on DDB which gives me map images but I was wondering if it was worth buying it on something like Roll20 for the interactive maps etc? Does anyone have any recommendations or advice for me?
I use maps on Roll20 all the time, but the functionality depends on if you have a free or paid account. Playing with a free account is perfectly possible and works but does require effort from the story teller in revealing or hiding areas during play which can disrupt the narrative. If you have a paid account then the dynamic lighting settings are phenomenal. You can either buy their maps with dynamic maps ready set up, or you can create your own. It is a bit of a learning curve to do it yourself, but once you do then it is easy, just takes a bit of time and preparation between games. Buying ready made saves all that time. I kind of do a bit of both depending on the game I am running and how much time I have due to real life commitments.I would definitely recommend learning to do it yourself though, it is frustrating at times but you learn a lot and will save yourself a lot of money in the long term.
How are you planning on using the maps? I've generally played ToTM, and when I have maps, they're usually used as a reference - as DM I share a section of the map that people see, and the players use it for reference (asking questions about what they see, or using it to describe their movements, like "I go over to the hex next to the bench") but without actual minis or tokens. That's an option too.
If you are going to run a game online, and use Roll20, buy the Curse of Strahd package on Roll20. All the maps and tokens you need are already loaded. Plus, it includes the top-down map of Castle Ravenloft.
You've all made really good points! I was looking at roll20 as I thought it would be painstaking to do all the dynamic lighting myself but then I read @ftl's comment and now I'm re-thinking what I actually need from a map. As a player, the biggest PITA when we went from playing in person to over Discord was mainly combat and knowing where I was in relation to the target and where the party members were in relation to me and the target e.g. do I have line of sight for Lightning Bolt or is there anyone in a 15ft cube for Thunderwave. So maybe just having something where somebody can say "I'm on that square next to the chair" is enough. All that said, the nerd in me really wants to use dynamic lighting etc lol
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My first time being a DM and I'm going to be running a Strahd campaign in the new year. We normally play theatre of the mind over Discord but I'd like to use some sort of map system for the party. I bought the campaign on DDB which gives me map images but I was wondering if it was worth buying it on something like Roll20 for the interactive maps etc? Does anyone have any recommendations or advice for me?
I use maps on Roll20 all the time, but the functionality depends on if you have a free or paid account. Playing with a free account is perfectly possible and works but does require effort from the story teller in revealing or hiding areas during play which can disrupt the narrative. If you have a paid account then the dynamic lighting settings are phenomenal. You can either buy their maps with dynamic maps ready set up, or you can create your own. It is a bit of a learning curve to do it yourself, but once you do then it is easy, just takes a bit of time and preparation between games. Buying ready made saves all that time. I kind of do a bit of both depending on the game I am running and how much time I have due to real life commitments.I would definitely recommend learning to do it yourself though, it is frustrating at times but you learn a lot and will save yourself a lot of money in the long term.
How are you planning on using the maps? I've generally played ToTM, and when I have maps, they're usually used as a reference - as DM I share a section of the map that people see, and the players use it for reference (asking questions about what they see, or using it to describe their movements, like "I go over to the hex next to the bench") but without actual minis or tokens. That's an option too.
If you are going to run a game online, and use Roll20, buy the Curse of Strahd package on Roll20. All the maps and tokens you need are already loaded. Plus, it includes the top-down map of Castle Ravenloft.
You've all made really good points! I was looking at roll20 as I thought it would be painstaking to do all the dynamic lighting myself but then I read @ftl's comment and now I'm re-thinking what I actually need from a map. As a player, the biggest PITA when we went from playing in person to over Discord was mainly combat and knowing where I was in relation to the target and where the party members were in relation to me and the target e.g. do I have line of sight for Lightning Bolt or is there anyone in a 15ft cube for Thunderwave. So maybe just having something where somebody can say "I'm on that square next to the chair" is enough. All that said, the nerd in me really wants to use dynamic lighting etc lol