Quick Poll for Players
I’ve been reconsidering the use of fancy virtual tabletop maps with dynamic lighting and all those other dynamic Roll20 features. There’s a definite trade-off using them:
Pros of VTT Map Use
– Players are much more aware of exactly where their characters are and there is less negotiation about exact distances/positioning
– Players will not make basic mapping mistakes because they misunderstood the DM’s spatial descriptions
– “Opening” a door and being face-to-face suddenly with tokens representing enemies is a good way of evoking in players some of the same feelings their characters would have in that situation.
Cons
– Technical issues caused by slow connections or the little bugs in the dynamic lighting system are not uncommon
– Using VTT maps creates a lot of token busywork when there are PCs, hirelings, etc. to move around during exploration (partly defeating the first benefit listed above when we just hand-wave token positioning because fiddling with them is a headache)
– The crutch of having a map right there on-screen (even if it is missing indications of finer details) probably has an adverse effect on room descriptions (both in terms of how I deliver them and the players’ attention)
Some of you were in the campaign before we made the switch and have experience with both approaches (pure theater of the mind vs. VTT map); others have joined afterwards. I’m interested in the perspectives and opinions of both groups about a possible reversion.
Either way works for me, but I’ve grown accustomed to the new way. I think play moves faster when we aren’t trying to map it.
Agreed, I definitely like both approaches. But I do think we’ve become extremely accustomed to using the VTT maps for the most part.
I could go either way and I understand your frustration with VTTs (I often struggle with them too). To levitate the map keeping I would recommend leaving the map for when we’re in combat, unfortunately roll20 isn’t great for live mapping but I’ve done it (Wacom tablet helps). Also you could just leave the hirelings and hangers on off the map until they are needed(including pets) … Just move the pcs
I like those ideas, Alex. Perhaps we can have a single token representing the party as a whole for exploration (to avoid the problem with micromanagement) with an indication elsewhere of the marching order. Let me think about this a bit more.
I’d just come on to say I had an idea about having just a ‘party token’ and mix the two ideas, but it seems you’d already beat me to it!
Yes — maybe a party token for the main map and then a small area off to the side for arranging marching formations. When combat occurs, just cut-and-paste the marching order icons onto the main map.