Hey guys, I am new to playing DnD, despite reading about it for quite some time. I am planning on getting a group of my friends together to try playing it. I know I really like the idea of having visuals, such as map tiles, and actual terrain (Dwarven Forge, Wizkids terrain, etc.). Obviously this can get expensive quickly trying to build the maps and encounters for each part of a campaign. Can anyone give me an idea how they utilize these features in their games, or post a photo of your map/terrain set up?
I've only played via VTT, but I have some things set aside for physical gaming. For just getting into this, go versatile and go cheap, so you can figure out what works and what you actually need before you spend any real time or money.
For versatile, you should get something to draw on. Any large dry-erase surface is good. Ideal is one of those specially made battle mats with a grid on it. For a cheap, disposable alternative, look for wrapping paper that has a grid on the back of it.
Cheap things to use as scatter terrain are also a good idea. Sticks and rocks from the yard become boulders and logs for your players to take cover behind. Cardboard tubes can be various pillars or trees. Also see if there's anything interesting in the toys, craft, or floral section at the dollar store (heck, some of D&D's weirder monsters were actually inspired by bad dollar store toys). Probably too late to look now, but some dollar stores also have a line of "Christmas village" miniatures that would be a decent source of buildings and trees just to get some basic town and forest layouts going.
If you're considering going further with terrain pieces, definitely take a shot at crafting your own before going out and buying a bunch. Black Magic Craft has a bunch of nice tutorials on Youtube that you could check out.
If you're absolutely set on buying stuff, I recommend a dry erase combat map to start with. They come in a bunch of different terrain designs and it makes it really simple to adjust things on the fly and they won't set you back much.
For 3D terrain, model train stuff and cheap diorama fodder from any hobby store or even dollar store would work. I tend to prefer to draw representatives of cover or buildings rather than put actual terrain items on the map because it's less to knock over and have to plan, but I mostly play online and I don't have the time or patience to bother with it. On the rare occasions I did introduce terrain items, I usually just grabbed whatever I had on hand and dressed it up a little with fabric or paint.
I will echo the advice of starting small and DIY, though. It looks amazing to see elaborate maps, sure, but you want to make sure both you and your players are into it before you drop any cash.
Having invested in (unpainted) Dwarven Forge terrain tiles myself, I would say not to bother. They are so setting specific that you really need to be prepared to spend a small fortune and dedicate a closet entirely to tiles if you want to be flexible. It's simply not worth it unless you are a professional, or absolutely loaded.
I started with 1 inch grid easel paper. That lets you draw up a bunch of 2D maps in advance, so that you can plop down a combat map appropriate for where your players are likely to be. A dry erase board/mat is great for your casual encounters, but you won't want to spend the time drawing detail at the table. A TV on the floor or table to run a VTT on is the ideal for 2D visuals, but you'll need to have environments pre-loaded. (Works great in 95% of circumstances.)
For 3D elements, the things that matters most are significant changes in elevation and things that can provide cover, so I'd get some 3D printed tree trunks, some 3D printed boulders, and then buy some stiff craft foam to cut into 2x2x2 and 2x2x4 gridded blocks. This will let you combine elements to get the feeling for most spaces really well. (You can toss in some platforms, bridges, and walls easily enough.)
As an alternative to terrain tiles, I made a handy set of "tunnel" tiles, by stacking two layers of cardboard. The bottom layer was a grid, and the top layer was cut to define the walls with a dirt texture glued to the top. I made sets of narrow tunnels, wide tunnels, junctions, chambers, and transitions, so I could rapidly connect them and remove them as the party progressed. Took a bit of time, but required minimal skill, and worked out really well.
If you happen to have a coffee table with a glass top, you can print landscapes (Grass, dirt, ocean, beach, lava, etc...) to go under the glass, and then play on the glass top itself.
However!
All of the bells and whistles are fun, but the meat and potatoes of D&D is the storytelling. If you can describe a scene well, you and your players will become immersed in the setting. Physical tokens will actually limit your imagination because the players will fixate on those as boundaries, rather than imagining the space as a full and rich world. Even if you can afford the best of the best, you should start with nothing and then build up based on what actually impacts your enjoyment. Don't let fancy accessories become a crutch for good play.
I only ever use simple paper and tokens with D&D, and only in combat. I do also play Star Wars: Legions and use a lot of terrain with that. Usually we have base terrains planned and made (forest, desert, etc) then we'll grab any interesting looking object and place it around the terrain for cover. Flashlights, my daughter's toys and, best of all, Lego.
Personally, I use Chessex battlemats with miniatures and terrain pieces to add texture, and only use those for combat, dungeons, or some puzzles—things where specific positioning makes a difference. Really, whatever ends up working for you or your players is what is best - there is no real “right” way to do it.
I will say, I highly recommend using wet erase markers over the dry erase ones others suggested. When you are moving pieces around, it is pretty easy to smudge dry erase and accidentally destroy part of your map.
Get an old TV/ monitor from someone, or get one for cheap at a thrift store. and get it so you can lay it flat, screen up on a table.
Hook it up to a laptop and pull up maps you find free online. You can pull up the map with a free VTT or just cover up the screen with some card stock.
You can physicals minis or tokens right on the screen.
Way back in the before times (before Critical Role and before lockdowns) I used solely theatre of the mind. It was and still is my favourite way of playing the game and I honestly believe is superior. However, players post-pandemic now have an entirely different set of expectations. Visualisations are a big part of that and I have been won round to having battlemaps as an absolute minimum.
So, I use Owlbear both in person and online.
In Person I bring my laptop and either players use their own devices or we use a TV/Monitor or even different laptop with wireless mouse to display the player Owlbear.app VTT. I design all my own maps on Inkarnate...it's a hobby of mine so I enjoy spending a few hours a fortnight designing them. My most recent in person game is a private thing we don't do photos of the group or the game because we all switch our phones off during a game (yes really).
Online Absolutely the same. Everyone has Owlbear.app open in their browser and can see and move their tokens individually. There's video in my signature about how I set this all up and what it looks like it's a bit out of date now, but gives you the gist if you can bare it. If trying owlbear, I recommend opening the same room in two different browsers. Open a room as a GM in one browser, and then enter that same room with the link in a second browser (or using a privacy mode). This will allow you to see how the player view and the GM view differ.
I use Inkarnate to create my maps. I love that it's only £25 a year for the paid version. I love that the community is awesome with feedback and help. I love that I can browse and use other people's maps. I love the videos that the devs make to give you tips on how to use Inkarnate. As an overall experience and community I just feel it to be the strongest of all the mapping systems I've used. Owlbear for the VTT is exactly the same. Great devs, great set up, good community around it.
Overall cost is $25 for Inkarnate, $39.96 for Owlbear (although both have freebie options). So in total that works out at just $64.96 for the entire year. Split between me and my players it's a trivial amount (less than $10 each).
Hey guys, I am new to playing DnD, despite reading about it for quite some time. I am planning on getting a group of my friends together to try playing it. I know I really like the idea of having visuals, such as map tiles, and actual terrain (Dwarven Forge, Wizkids terrain, etc.). Obviously this can get expensive quickly trying to build the maps and encounters for each part of a campaign. Can anyone give me an idea how they utilize these features in their games, or post a photo of your map/terrain set up?
Thanks in advance!
I've only played via VTT, but I have some things set aside for physical gaming. For just getting into this, go versatile and go cheap, so you can figure out what works and what you actually need before you spend any real time or money.
For versatile, you should get something to draw on. Any large dry-erase surface is good. Ideal is one of those specially made battle mats with a grid on it. For a cheap, disposable alternative, look for wrapping paper that has a grid on the back of it.
Cheap things to use as scatter terrain are also a good idea. Sticks and rocks from the yard become boulders and logs for your players to take cover behind. Cardboard tubes can be various pillars or trees. Also see if there's anything interesting in the toys, craft, or floral section at the dollar store (heck, some of D&D's weirder monsters were actually inspired by bad dollar store toys). Probably too late to look now, but some dollar stores also have a line of "Christmas village" miniatures that would be a decent source of buildings and trees just to get some basic town and forest layouts going.
If you're considering going further with terrain pieces, definitely take a shot at crafting your own before going out and buying a bunch. Black Magic Craft has a bunch of nice tutorials on Youtube that you could check out.
If you're absolutely set on buying stuff, I recommend a dry erase combat map to start with. They come in a bunch of different terrain designs and it makes it really simple to adjust things on the fly and they won't set you back much.
For 3D terrain, model train stuff and cheap diorama fodder from any hobby store or even dollar store would work. I tend to prefer to draw representatives of cover or buildings rather than put actual terrain items on the map because it's less to knock over and have to plan, but I mostly play online and I don't have the time or patience to bother with it. On the rare occasions I did introduce terrain items, I usually just grabbed whatever I had on hand and dressed it up a little with fabric or paint.
I will echo the advice of starting small and DIY, though. It looks amazing to see elaborate maps, sure, but you want to make sure both you and your players are into it before you drop any cash.
Like theologyofbagels said dry erase combat map if the players go somewhere unexpected and get in a fight you could just draw a map quickly
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Having invested in (unpainted) Dwarven Forge terrain tiles myself, I would say not to bother. They are so setting specific that you really need to be prepared to spend a small fortune and dedicate a closet entirely to tiles if you want to be flexible. It's simply not worth it unless you are a professional, or absolutely loaded.
I started with 1 inch grid easel paper. That lets you draw up a bunch of 2D maps in advance, so that you can plop down a combat map appropriate for where your players are likely to be. A dry erase board/mat is great for your casual encounters, but you won't want to spend the time drawing detail at the table. A TV on the floor or table to run a VTT on is the ideal for 2D visuals, but you'll need to have environments pre-loaded. (Works great in 95% of circumstances.)
For 3D elements, the things that matters most are significant changes in elevation and things that can provide cover, so I'd get some 3D printed tree trunks, some 3D printed boulders, and then buy some stiff craft foam to cut into 2x2x2 and 2x2x4 gridded blocks. This will let you combine elements to get the feeling for most spaces really well. (You can toss in some platforms, bridges, and walls easily enough.)
As an alternative to terrain tiles, I made a handy set of "tunnel" tiles, by stacking two layers of cardboard. The bottom layer was a grid, and the top layer was cut to define the walls with a dirt texture glued to the top. I made sets of narrow tunnels, wide tunnels, junctions, chambers, and transitions, so I could rapidly connect them and remove them as the party progressed. Took a bit of time, but required minimal skill, and worked out really well.
If you happen to have a coffee table with a glass top, you can print landscapes (Grass, dirt, ocean, beach, lava, etc...) to go under the glass, and then play on the glass top itself.
However!
All of the bells and whistles are fun, but the meat and potatoes of D&D is the storytelling. If you can describe a scene well, you and your players will become immersed in the setting. Physical tokens will actually limit your imagination because the players will fixate on those as boundaries, rather than imagining the space as a full and rich world. Even if you can afford the best of the best, you should start with nothing and then build up based on what actually impacts your enjoyment. Don't let fancy accessories become a crutch for good play.
I only ever use simple paper and tokens with D&D, and only in combat. I do also play Star Wars: Legions and use a lot of terrain with that. Usually we have base terrains planned and made (forest, desert, etc) then we'll grab any interesting looking object and place it around the terrain for cover. Flashlights, my daughter's toys and, best of all, Lego.
Personally, I use Chessex battlemats with miniatures and terrain pieces to add texture, and only use those for combat, dungeons, or some puzzles—things where specific positioning makes a difference. Really, whatever ends up working for you or your players is what is best - there is no real “right” way to do it.
I will say, I highly recommend using wet erase markers over the dry erase ones others suggested. When you are moving pieces around, it is pretty easy to smudge dry erase and accidentally destroy part of your map.
The best/cheapest way of doing this:
Get an old TV/ monitor from someone, or get one for cheap at a thrift store. and get it so you can lay it flat, screen up on a table.
Hook it up to a laptop and pull up maps you find free online. You can pull up the map with a free VTT or just cover up the screen with some card stock.
You can physicals minis or tokens right on the screen.
Way back in the before times (before Critical Role and before lockdowns) I used solely theatre of the mind. It was and still is my favourite way of playing the game and I honestly believe is superior. However, players post-pandemic now have an entirely different set of expectations. Visualisations are a big part of that and I have been won round to having battlemaps as an absolute minimum.
So, I use Owlbear both in person and online.
In Person
I bring my laptop and either players use their own devices or we use a TV/Monitor or even different laptop with wireless mouse to display the player Owlbear.app VTT. I design all my own maps on Inkarnate...it's a hobby of mine so I enjoy spending a few hours a fortnight designing them. My most recent in person game is a private thing we don't do photos of the group or the game because we all switch our phones off during a game (yes really).
Online
Absolutely the same. Everyone has Owlbear.app open in their browser and can see and move their tokens individually. There's video in my signature about how I set this all up and what it looks like it's a bit out of date now, but gives you the gist if you can bare it. If trying owlbear, I recommend opening the same room in two different browsers. Open a room as a GM in one browser, and then enter that same room with the link in a second browser (or using a privacy mode). This will allow you to see how the player view and the GM view differ.
I use Inkarnate to create my maps. I love that it's only £25 a year for the paid version. I love that the community is awesome with feedback and help. I love that I can browse and use other people's maps. I love the videos that the devs make to give you tips on how to use Inkarnate. As an overall experience and community I just feel it to be the strongest of all the mapping systems I've used. Owlbear for the VTT is exactly the same. Great devs, great set up, good community around it.
Overall cost is $25 for Inkarnate, $39.96 for Owlbear (although both have freebie options). So in total that works out at just $64.96 for the entire year. Split between me and my players it's a trivial amount (less than $10 each).
DM session planning template - My version of maps for 'Lost Mine of Phandelver' - Send your party to The Circus - Other DM Resources - Maps, Tokens, Quests - 'Better' Player Character Injury Tables?
Actor, Writer, Director & Teacher by day - GM/DM in my off hours.