Hey y'all, I got back into D&D after more than a decade during Covid and only really played online. Now we're meeting in person and I'm going to try my hand at DM-ing. I am just curious as to suggestions on maps and players. Particularly encounters. Online its pretty easy to load a map and put players in it for combat but in person there is the standards dry erase board/mat or buying expensive toys (Monster dungeon terrain, etsy, 3d print, etc.) or theater of the mind. Has anyone found a way to incorporate the maps that come in the adventure modules (or made online) and play in person?
-We'll be playing at our LFGS so no putting a monitor flat or anything like that.
For in person play, here are some recommendations:
(1) Continue using Laptops/tokens. (Either everyone, or just the DM) (2) Print out adventure/online maps and tape them together as needed. (Foam board as backing) (3) Pre-draw maps on 1 inch grid easel paper (4) Make modular terrain pieces out of cardboard, (Based on this item). (I'm currently using this for my kobold lair, which has been very convenient.) (5) Make a few generic terrain maps, and versatile accessories that can be mixed and matched. (Forest, underground, dungeon, ocean, etc...)
Screens/projectors make maps convenient, and without them, there will need to be some level of compromise.
Edit: Layering can be helpful. Putting a sheet of acrylic over a printed/drawn/purchased map will let you get the best of both dry erase battle mats and swappable terrain.
In person, I like just using a few dry erase mats.
If I know the "dungeon" that the characters will be in, I can predraw part of it and cover it with paper to do slow reveals. Or, I can just draw as they explore.
Miniatures can get expensive, so I often just use small pieces of paper. If your group likes theater of the mind, just draw a broad map, and let them put dice down where they are approximately.
You don't have to spend a lot on these things, so don't feel obligated to.
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"An' things ha' come to a pretty pass, ye ken, if people are going to leave stuff like that aroound where innocent people could accidentally smash the door doon and lever the bars aside and take the big chain off'f the cupboard and pick the lock and drink it!"
I agree about dry erase maps- and I even use them when playing online- through video chat. I personally really like hero forge miniatures, but there are really great cheap ones on Amazon. However, dice are often bad guys- custom minis are players only!
When mapping, I draw as I go, and try not to be too precise. Squiggly lines are annoying- just make your best guess and tell the party mapper to chill! (JK, when I’m a player, I’m the party mapper- and with my first dming I realized I was driving my dm crazy!)
I use and recommend 11x17 laminated maps for in person. Print off the map in color, then laminate. Good for overworld maps, towns, dungeons, and encounters on particular terrain types.
When running dungeons you can Lego as many of them together as needed, and throw a blanket over them for fog of war.
The first is the classic wet-erase grid which you draw the map for your players. We've used it for a while and the only issue we have is that we have 2 color blind guys in the group and they struggle with that whole red-green thing, so we have a limited palette.
The second option is one I'm toying with now. I bought some of the 3M 1" grid easel pads so that I can draw out my maps ahead of time. I just cover up areas that they haven't reached yet and it's working "OK". We have guys who are remote and I've found that the faint blue lines don't come through video as well as they do in person. But, aside from that, it means that, once the maps are done, they're available for me to re-use if I want to run the scenario again with a different group.
there is this amazing thing i found at Barnes and noble, and its a book of pre-drawn battlemaps that have dry erase capability's. don't remember what it's called or if they sell it anymore, but you could just search book of battlemats online or amazon and it would probably pull up. my players LOVE it and it really helps with rp-ing
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Pie Jesu Domine! *smack* Dona Eis Requiem! *smack*
+1 for dry erase mats. A couple blank grids are all you need if you don't want to spend a lot. You can also often get a bunch of minis for cheap if you look on craigslist or the like for people getting rid of their collections.
I am planning to use a combination, where we hook up a laptop with a scart cable to a big TV on one of the Roll20 player accounts, so they can all see their positions on the screen for some encounters, and use miniatures and battle map books for other encounters. Having been running dungeons on Roll20 with dynamic lighting, I struggle to imagine doing exploration without now.
I have always found the physical map options to be either pace-breaking, or too much work to pre-prepare before a session, so I've switched to using digital maps for my group. I either lay an iPad down in the middle of the table, or plug my laptop into a TV with a HDMI cable. The software I use is Owlbear Rodeo, and I find it to be light, clean, simple, and free.
I have a 32 inch monitor, I lay it on its back in the middle of the table and use my laptop to stream the maps to it, so players are looking down. I then put clear plastic over the monitor so miniatures don't damage it.
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Hey y'all, I got back into D&D after more than a decade during Covid and only really played online. Now we're meeting in person and I'm going to try my hand at DM-ing. I am just curious as to suggestions on maps and players. Particularly encounters. Online its pretty easy to load a map and put players in it for combat but in person there is the standards dry erase board/mat or buying expensive toys (Monster dungeon terrain, etsy, 3d print, etc.) or theater of the mind. Has anyone found a way to incorporate the maps that come in the adventure modules (or made online) and play in person?
-We'll be playing at our LFGS so no putting a monitor flat or anything like that.
For in person play, here are some recommendations:
(1) Continue using Laptops/tokens. (Either everyone, or just the DM)
(2) Print out adventure/online maps and tape them together as needed. (Foam board as backing)
(3) Pre-draw maps on 1 inch grid easel paper
(4) Make modular terrain pieces out of cardboard, (Based on this item). (I'm currently using this for my kobold lair, which has been very convenient.)
(5) Make a few generic terrain maps, and versatile accessories that can be mixed and matched. (Forest, underground, dungeon, ocean, etc...)
Screens/projectors make maps convenient, and without them, there will need to be some level of compromise.
Edit: Layering can be helpful. Putting a sheet of acrylic over a printed/drawn/purchased map will let you get the best of both dry erase battle mats and swappable terrain.
Yeah I will continue to use the laptop for bookkeeping and all that and I hadn't thought of the foam backing. No can do on the projector. But thanks.
In person, I like just using a few dry erase mats.
If I know the "dungeon" that the characters will be in, I can predraw part of it and cover it with paper to do slow reveals. Or, I can just draw as they explore.
Miniatures can get expensive, so I often just use small pieces of paper. If your group likes theater of the mind, just draw a broad map, and let them put dice down where they are approximately.
You don't have to spend a lot on these things, so don't feel obligated to.
"An' things ha' come to a pretty pass, ye ken, if people are going to leave stuff like that aroound where innocent people could accidentally smash the door doon and lever the bars aside and take the big chain off'f the cupboard and pick the lock and drink it!"
I agree about dry erase maps- and I even use them when playing online- through video chat. I personally really like hero forge miniatures, but there are really great cheap ones on Amazon. However, dice are often bad guys- custom minis are players only!
When mapping, I draw as I go, and try not to be too precise. Squiggly lines are annoying- just make your best guess and tell the party mapper to chill! (JK, when I’m a player, I’m the party mapper- and with my first dming I realized I was driving my dm crazy!)
Only spilt the party if you see something shiny.
Ariendela Sneakerson, Half-elf Rogue (8); Harmony Wolfsbane, Tiefling Bard (10); Agnomally, Gnomish Sorcerer (3); Breeze, Tabaxi Monk (8); Grace, Dragonborn Barbarian (7); DM, Homebrew- The Sequestered Lands/Underwater Explorers; Candlekeep
I use and recommend 11x17 laminated maps for in person. Print off the map in color, then laminate. Good for overworld maps, towns, dungeons, and encounters on particular terrain types.
When running dungeons you can Lego as many of them together as needed, and throw a blanket over them for fog of war.
We use two approaches.
The first is the classic wet-erase grid which you draw the map for your players. We've used it for a while and the only issue we have is that we have 2 color blind guys in the group and they struggle with that whole red-green thing, so we have a limited palette.
The second option is one I'm toying with now. I bought some of the 3M 1" grid easel pads so that I can draw out my maps ahead of time. I just cover up areas that they haven't reached yet and it's working "OK". We have guys who are remote and I've found that the faint blue lines don't come through video as well as they do in person. But, aside from that, it means that, once the maps are done, they're available for me to re-use if I want to run the scenario again with a different group.
I project the digital maps (and Fantasy Grounds' player screen) onto a screen/TV so it's all still digital.
there is this amazing thing i found at Barnes and noble, and its a book of pre-drawn battlemaps that have dry erase capability's. don't remember what it's called or if they sell it anymore, but you could just search book of battlemats online or amazon and it would probably pull up. my players LOVE it and it really helps with rp-ing
+1 for dry erase mats. A couple blank grids are all you need if you don't want to spend a lot. You can also often get a bunch of minis for cheap if you look on craigslist or the like for people getting rid of their collections.
My homebrew subclasses (full list here)
(Artificer) Swordmage | Glasswright | (Barbarian) Path of the Savage Embrace
(Bard) College of Dance | (Fighter) Warlord | Cannoneer
(Monk) Way of the Elements | (Ranger) Blade Dancer
(Rogue) DaggerMaster | Inquisitor | (Sorcerer) Riftwalker | Spellfist
(Warlock) The Swarm
I am planning to use a combination, where we hook up a laptop with a scart cable to a big TV on one of the Roll20 player accounts, so they can all see their positions on the screen for some encounters, and use miniatures and battle map books for other encounters. Having been running dungeons on Roll20 with dynamic lighting, I struggle to imagine doing exploration without now.
Thanks y'all. In the end I went with the tried and true wet-erase board and some specific laminated locations.
I have always found the physical map options to be either pace-breaking, or too much work to pre-prepare before a session, so I've switched to using digital maps for my group. I either lay an iPad down in the middle of the table, or plug my laptop into a TV with a HDMI cable. The software I use is Owlbear Rodeo, and I find it to be light, clean, simple, and free.
I have a 32 inch monitor, I lay it on its back in the middle of the table and use my laptop to stream the maps to it, so players are looking down. I then put clear plastic over the monitor so miniatures don't damage it.