Looking for suggestions regarding using monitor as table for FG IRL

I have a group IRL that are resistant to FG because they want to roll the dice themselves with their antiquated hands. Ha!

They also like the experience of being in a room together rather than each person at their computer at home (or even sitting in a room with laptops together).

I will be running LMoP for them on Monday, and it would be cool to use FG to keep track on the Party Sheet, Combat Tracker etc. When they build their PCs, I can just build them in FG.

But to avoid theater of the mind, I'd like to connect my laptop to a flat screen monitor and lay it on the table AS THE MAP(S). It would need to be (basically) flat, sturdy, and not break the bank.

Any suggestions?

What about a projector? You can build a table fairly cheap (or use some white vinyl on a dinning table). And a projector is more portable.

https://imgur.com/gallery/FJN4B

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Originally Posted by Nylanfs

What about a projector? You can build a table fairly cheap (or use some white vinyl on a dinning table). And a projector is more portable.

https://imgur.com/gallery/FJN4B

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I actually saw this post. That's pretty cool, but I'm definitely looking for the lazy way out here. NO BUILDING ANYTHING! Ha.

A lot will depend on the free space you have on your table, the size of the maps you want to display and your budget.

I've recently bought this: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ZVCZYTO

It gives 37 x 21 inches viewable screen, which equates to 52 dpi, so I can basically use my 50 pixels grid maps as is. Anything above this size tends to reduce the DPI to the point that you're losing detail. I also had to change the picture mode to movie to get a nice smooth, decent looking map view - the standard or enhanced messed around with the image too much and it didn't look good, but movie mode was great. Movie mode does, in general, reduce the brightness of the display (to get the nice colours) so you may have issues viewing fully if you play in a brightly lit area. In a normally lit area it was fine for me.

EDIT: Forget to mention portability. This unit is 20 pounds in weight and easy to carry. Anything larger might not be so easy...

Any TV with built in speakers makes it easy to play background/mood music too. :)

If you have budget and table space you may go for a larger TV but I'd recommend you then go to 4K otherwise the pixilation will be too much for sitting close around a table. But, with a 4K TV as essentially a second monitor you may get lag due to the extra processing required, unless you have a decent graphics card in your computer.

You'll also then want to buy some acrylic/plexiglass to sit on/in the TV to prevent scratches on the TV screen itself.

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Originally Posted by Trenloe

I've recently bought this: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ZVCZYTO

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Hoping to stay under $200, but a great option. ThanX Trenloe!

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Originally Posted by Nylanfs

And a projector is more portable.

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The projector itself might be more portable than a TV, but the mountings/mirrors etc. are not - and require setup. If you've ever seen anyone run with a project at conventions, it takes them something like 30 minutes or more to setup - and they come with a cart load of stuff they need for mounting.

Projectors are good if you have a static location you can get it all setup and leave it.

With a reasonably sized TV you can setup and go in a couple of minutes.

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Originally Posted by rob2e

Hoping to stay under $200, but a great option. ThanX Trenloe!

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OK, you'll probably have to go a bit smaller then (or look out for sales/reconditioned items - Woot have them occasionally). Make sure you get 1080p (full HD), not 720p (HD).

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Originally Posted by Trenloe

OK, you'll probably have to go a bit smaller then (or look out for sales/reconditioned items - Woot have them occasionally). Make sure you get 1080p (full HD), not 720p (HD).

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I'm thinking 26" or so, but now I'm wondering if I actually want them to use miniatures, I would need to ensure the squares on the screen are literally one inch squares. Then I would have to scroll, sync, scroll, sync, etc. if need be, to keep the PCs correct on the map. Wow, ha ha, maybe I'll just stick to drawing it out and try and convince people how cool FG is, by constantly revealing my laptop screen to them.

MAKE THESE PEOPLE do it! lmao

26" will be 33"x16" - basically 3 x 2 letter size pages (landscape orientation). You would have to scroll/resync and move minis quite a lot and wouldn't have much space for a combat tracker, etc.. Or, don't use minis and have the map smaller scale and reveal the map using the mask as you go. The occasional scroll/resync would be fine in this case.

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Originally Posted by Trenloe

26" will be 33"x16" - basically 3 x 2 letter size pages (landscape orientation). You would have to scroll/resync and move minis quite a lot and wouldn't have much space for a combat tracker, etc.. Or, don't use minis and have the map smaller scale and reveal the map using the mask as you go. The occasional scroll/resync would be fine in this case.

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I would use a second instance of FG and fill the entire screen with just the player map. I could still shade, and they would have a 33x16 square map to move there minis on. That sounds pretty doable. If I connect a 2nd monitor, I can open a 2nd FG on just that monitor right? The players wouldn't see the combat tracker or party sheet, just the map. My DM laptop would have all that other stuff. They would just roll dice and move their minis.