Maps, maps, maps....

[Warchild]

A bar. a lot of stuff happens in bars in my games. I don't know why
A 4-way intersection or something like an 8-lane highway type of deal.
If i was to use a map, they would be ones i need.

[Tenzhi]

If there had to be a map, a blank grid-mat with a sheet of various cardstock/paper placeables (walls/buildings/cars/lampposts/etc.) would be the best way to go..

[Strand0]

Been quiet a few days on this topic. So lets change it a little. Make it small.

Small Maps not Battle maps:
Would a collection of ten detailed locations maps be of any use? They could even be based on real/famous places?

[Hero4Hire]

I'll probably will hardly use battle maps at all in MnM. (My old Marvel ones werent quite to scale)
However maps of locales to referance is alright with me.

[Warchild]

I wish I could sit in on one of your games. My group's style is so geared to minatures that I could not do more than 2 players without a battlemap.

I hear ya!! Thats is exactly what has happened to my bigger group. It getting all about the minatures, placement, and strategies. Ugh. Strangely my 3 person group hardly ever uses maps and we don't use minatures. All 3 of us are players in the big group. I'm not sure how much is the size of the bigger group (6 people) and how much may be that the 3 of us don't really care. We have a great time and have no trouble describing the scenes to each other (we all take turns GMing).

[Strand0]

Zepplin
UFO
Castle
Railway train - Engine, passenge car, Box car, caboose
Air termainal
Freighter
Oil tanker

[John Bock]

Lookie at the old post I found. besides the hero clicks stuff, does GR now plan to do anything as far as maps go?

[drbino]

Okay, if there are map lovers out there (and I am one) then perhaps we can band together and take over the wor- that is, use our photoshopping skills and create a butt load of maps on request to a 1 inch grid scale for people to download?

If I can get 2-3 more people to help me I would be glad to kick this off. This is what I envisioned: The GM should have a battlemat or any other surface with a 1 inch grid serving as the backdrop. He throws down some flat building maps that he previously downloaded and printed out, then maybe for the sake of durability had glued onto a sheet of posterboard then cut out. He has 5 or 6 of these maps prepared so he throws them down in an arrangement that offers a main street down the middle (maybe a 8 inch gap) with little alleyways in between (maybe 2 inch gaps). VIOLA, instant city block. If he really wanted to get slick he could laminate them and draw on them as needed with overhead markers or something like that. Now naturally the building size would be limited to a 8.5x11 sheet of printer paper, but by printing out several and glueing them to posterboard then cutting away the excess, the buildings can be as big as you want.

Of course, I'm not about to jump into a project like this by myself, especially if I'm the only one willing to use this kind of system. If there seems to be a demand for it however, and if a few others would agree to help, then I'll throw together a few prototype maps and host them for download with the hopes that others would join in and soon we could have dozens of mini-maps to print out.

[John Bock]

Dude that would be awesome...

[The Atomic Brain]

Okay, if there are map lovers out there (and I am one) then perhaps we can band together and take over the wor- that is, use our photoshopping skills and create a butt load of maps on request to a 1 inch grid scale for people to download?

If I can get 2-3 more people to help me I would be glad to kick this off. This is what I envisioned: The GM should have a battlemat or any other surface with a 1 inch grid serving as the backdrop. He throws down some flat building maps that he previously downloaded and printed out, then maybe for the sake of durability had glued onto a sheet of posterboard then cut out. He has 5 or 6 of these maps prepared so he throws them down in an arrangement that offers a main street down the middle (maybe a 8 inch gap) with little alleyways in between (maybe 2 inch gaps). VIOLA, instant city block. If he really wanted to get slick he could laminate them and draw on them as needed with overhead markers or something like that. Now naturally the building size would be limited to a 8.5x11 sheet of printer paper, but by printing out several and glueing them to posterboard then cutting away the excess, the buildings can be as big as you want.

Of course, I'm not about to jump into a project like this by myself, especially if I'm the only one willing to use this kind of system. If there seems to be a demand for it however, and if a few others would agree to help, then I'll throw together a few prototype maps and host them for download with the hopes that others would join in and soon we could have dozens of mini-maps to print out.

This is a fantasic idea drbino! Let me know what I can do to help.

[MasonsDad]

Heck of an idea...I like it!!

[rstehwien]

Here are a few links to cardboard settings:
http://freepapertoys.com/pt-buildings.html#4

Microtatics (http://www.microtactix.com/) has some nice stuff.

This might warrent a look:
http://www.worldworksgames.com/dungeon.html

There are also some more permanent type models that can be used for gaming. I'll do some searching.

[drbino]

I guess I could start by laying out a quick 1 inch grid and posting it as a .psd file. One could then take that file, open it as a layer, and paint a map section (street, housetop, building rooftop, trees, etc) under it. This way everything stays to scale. I'll make a map or two and post them in a couple of days. If they're popular I'll make some more.

[corwyn]

Has anyone tried these, for fantasy

http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php? ... s_id=1737&

Or these for anything modern

http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=336&

Right now I think they're too cheap not to get.

[Greyseer]

There is a book coming out for Hero, that might be of some help here. It's called Champions battlegrounds... here is the description..

Champions Battlegrounds showcases not only an exciting multi-part adventure that pits your heroes against some of the most fiendish villains of the Champions Universe, but also provides the Game Master with a set of detailed maps and descriptions of commonly-used locations suitable for a wide range of games.


I'll be getting it in soon, I'll make a post when I get it and let everyone know if it's worth it.

[firstfletch]

I use maps, minis, and props of all kinds in my M&M game and the majority of the time this works just fine, though occasionally action does goes beyond the map. The maps and props make it easier for my players to "see" what things are around them (cars, streetlights, mail boxes, bystanders, etc.) and where alleys and doors are (possible escape routes for the bad guys!).

It is not too expensive since I use the cut-outs from Microtactix. They have city blocks, buildings, vehicles and other props. You can buy them as PDFs and print as much as you need. With the city blocks you can print whatever you need and put them together any way you like. They are in full color and look very cool (though you can print them in grayscale (cheaper).

http://www.microtactix.com/