maps

I know I need to get on the ball here. More and more people like to use maps as a visual guide, and miniatures to represent their characters on a battlefield. I have to admit, mechanically speaking, it can be far easier to use a map and figures to run a battle. This alleviates questions like, “How many are left?”, “How far are the creatures from me?”, “Can I move in a way to hit more than one creature?”, etc. I think you get the picture here.

I have often played “theater of the mind” in battles and I get these questions frequently. In my small home group it can work. They trust me not to be fickle about who and where, and I trust them not to argue with me every time I make a decision. When I run games at cons, or for a friend of a friend, this is not so easy. So I try to have a map, miniatures, and maybe even some terrain.

Going from nothing to something has been a bit difficult (though I imagine going the other direction has its own problems). I find myself looking for new maps, both physical and digital, and finding ways to create more terrain. I have hunted through hobby stores, scoured the internet, and jumped on kickstarters to build my inventory. This can be time consuming and financially draining, but it doesn’t have to be.

Some things are as easy as picking it up from your own yard, while others have to be built or bought. I have discovered that out-of-the-box thinking is crucial for this. I work around the costly terrain made specifically for TTRPGs by using train model structures, or even things designed for doll houses.

Taking it with me has given me a new set of challenges as well. Traveling to the cons now requires me to carry more things than just my iPad. I have a folding dolly and a crate at the moment, but have already outgrown that. I need a wagon.

My advice to you: start small! Pick a specific encounter that you want to build a map for and work to achieve that first. After you complete that goal, then do another. Before you know it, you have a whole inventory of terrain that you can pull from for any scenario.