Maps and automation

[computertrucker]

I'm curious to see what other GM's like to do when using for fantasy grounds. The last campaign I ran online was a deathwatch game 40 K. I will admit we did not use fantasy grounds to run it as I've had tons of issues connecting. I'm hoping that got resolved, but I digress.

Anyway, during that deathwatch campaign I pulled up maps and Drew little Xs & Os on it to show people where things were or maybe a token here or there, but our combat was mainly narrative in nature. We used the dice on the virtual tabletop, and photo sharing, and the game ran fairly smoothly.

The last game I ran on fantasy grounds we used the maps, tokens and the automation for fourth edition dungeons and dragons. That's usually when the game would slow down, now it's been several years since that campaign ended and I'm sure that the software has improved.

But it would be interesting to see if more GM's prefer just the narrative aspect or do you prefer all of the automation and maps for placement? And do you find if you do use those tools does it slow down the game ?

[Zacchaeus]

I love the automation and use it extensively. I have no idea if that slows the game down since I don't play any other way. Given that there is so much automation however I can't see how it could be slower than pen and paper. By narrative I assume that you don't throw dice and just decide something died etc; if that's the case then I would imagine that throwing dice etc would marginally slow that down. Unless of course you do everything Theatre of the Mind.

[computertrucker]

No dice are rolled. Descriptive emphasis on combat without miniatures or tokens

[Zacchaeus]

Well, I would imagine that would make things go quite quickly so I'd have to say that if you use maps, tokens and the Combat Tracker to do your combat then it would be slower. Of course I am bound to say that 5e for example would go a tad faster than 4e. Combat in the latter could take a very long time. But if you were just using the maps and tokens as a display only affair so that players could get an idea of positioning, terrain etc but you still did the narrative thing then I don't see that being any slower than doing it without that visual aid.

[damned]

Familiarity with the how FG works will speed up combat greatly. When still learning how to do things it will take longer.

[Hecklerus Prime]

No dice are rolled.

Whaaa...? How does that even work? To me the dice stop us from regressing to Little Kid Mode (I have laser vision -> I have laser vision blocking shields -> I have shield disruptors -> and so on). The dice keep us honest because we can't argue the results very well.

At any rate, I've done a mix of play with and without maps and tokens. Without, the game goes a bit faster and things tend to favor the players. With, things go a bit slower and can lead to long, chess-like pauses while a player contemplates the best move strategically. But the benefit is that this strategy exists. Theater of the Mind usually means it's difficult to determine flanking, how many characters can surround a creature, actual range for spells/ranged attacks, when leaving a threat zone provokes, and so on. Plus, a map helps keep everyone appraised of terrain obstacles and potential sources of cover. You don't picture the barren, rocky field like I do, so the Theater must suffer a lack of detail to let us all play nicely together. Actual maps and tokens removes DM bias on what the battlefield actually looks like.

Ultimately, I let my players decide. If they want battle strategy, maps and tokens are a must. If they want story and satisfaction that they defeated a bad guy, maybe the Theater is good enough. Often, my campaigns use a mix of both, but favor hard maps.

[computertrucker]

I meant no.... Dice are rolled lol

[Galach]

Well, I just can’t play any combat scene without miniatures and maps since 3.5 era. To tell the truth, even before that, me and my RPG mates always used to draw simple maps and use dices, erasers and pencils to symbolize things on the combat.

We just could not stand for some things like “I will cast my fireball spell in a way I can target the max number of enemies possible without hitting any ally”. Sorry, but as it is in real life, combat must be tactical. It can be chaotic, but you need to take in account everything that is in your way and how to react to it. Sure, it will slow the game a bit, but I think it is for the best.

The theater of the mind we leave to the exploration scenes, dialogues with NPCs, and so on. In combat, I try to push my players to describe their actions, and like to use the advice given in Sly Flourish blog, to let the players describe their critical successes and failures in detail, so they are drawn to the combat.

Anyway, in FG I use it all too. Since I DM my game just 2 times a month, in Sundays, I spend my whole Saturday before the game session preparing it. In this time, I arrange all maps and tokes that I will possibly use, review any possible encounter and game props players can possibly find, and so on, using any automation resource I know how to use.

[kylania]

I meant no.... Dice are rolled lol

https://cybertext.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/comma.jpg?w=450
:D

[computertrucker]

When posting off a CB radio using voice to text while going down the road grammar doesn't always make it. My phone is a smart phone but it's not always that smart.