Using grids for movement

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Rookie555
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Using grids for movement

Post by Rookie555 »

Hello everyone, I'm new to tabletop roleplaying games and after reading the core rules of Basic Fantasy. I was wondering how should I use grids for combat and dungeon exploring? The rules explaining movement and stuff.
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Metroknight
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Re: Using grids for movement

Post by Metroknight »

Mostly decide on your grid scale. Many old modules used 10 feet/yard per square, more modern ones use 5 feet/yard per square. This will give reference in distance that range from movement to range combat and anything else that uses distance calculations.

Example:
You map out a dungeon with a grid scale of 5' and you have a elven fighter who has his shortbow ready moving through it with a speed of 20 feet. With the grid scale you know know the character moves 4 squares per round, can see in the dark up to 12 squares (line of sight) away, and has a weapon that has a short range of 10 squares, medium range 20 squares, and long range of 30 squares (short 50,medium 100, long 150 in feet).

With that said, I don't worry about using grids unless I'm using minis. Just do it theater of the mind and be descriptive unless you decide you need the grids for combat.

Does this help?
Rookie555
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Re: Using grids for movement

Post by Rookie555 »

Yep, thank you!
Snarkythekobold
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Re: Using grids for movement

Post by Snarkythekobold »

I've had to live in learn. The one thing that I can say is do not get too legalistic with general movement. Just tell the players what they can see around them and ask them how far they want to go and HOW that they want to move (briskly, sneaking, run, etc.).

Like others on this site have mentioned, the best way to use grids is during combat. There are a lot of spells that have a limited range and so magic users have to choose if it's worth it to get closer to a monster(s) in order to use a spell or hang back. Using long range weapons and close combat all require some sort of distance measurement and grids are great for this.

Have the players keep a map for themselves on graph paper (because it sucks to get lost in a dungeon or dangerous forest), have them line up their markers/ mini's in the order that they are marching (in case of attacks from the front/ behind), and then put your bad guy markers/ minis on the grid table when it's time to fight. I wish that there was some instruction like in the Core Rules. Hopefully, a new edition some day will add in some practical suggestions concerning grid play.
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Metroknight
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Re: Using grids for movement

Post by Metroknight »

Snarkythekobold wrote: Sat Oct 06, 2018 9:41 am I wish that there was some instruction like in the Core Rules. Hopefully, a new edition some day will add in some practical suggestions concerning grid play.
If I remember a brief discussion on these forums, years ago, Chris mentioned that grid play was not really thought about when creating the system. He created BFRPG to be more Theater of the Mind and left the use of grids up to the individual GMs which is why everything is expressed in feet/yards (or use metric if you want to but keep it consistent if you are going to change it).
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chiisu81
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Re: Using grids for movement

Post by chiisu81 »

Be sure to check out Joe's Combat with Floor Plans
https://www.basicfantasy.org/showcase.cgi?sid=44
Snarkythekobold
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Re: Using grids for movement

Post by Snarkythekobold »

Metroknight wrote: Sat Oct 06, 2018 9:55 am
Snarkythekobold wrote: Sat Oct 06, 2018 9:41 am I wish that there was some instruction like in the Core Rules. Hopefully, a new edition some day will add in some practical suggestions concerning grid play.
If I remember a brief discussion on these forums, years ago, Chris mentioned that grid play was not really thought about when creating the system. He created BFRPG to be more Theater of the Mind and left the use of grids up to the individual GMs which is why everything is expressed in feet/yards (or use metric if you want to but keep it consistent if you are going to change it).
I don't think that grid play is that much different than using the "theater of the mind." Even if you use that approach, the DM still has to deal with distances for various things. I mean, the core rules are filled with references to distances and distances make a huge impact on game play.

Anyways, some of us who start from scratch playing tabletop RPG's are overwhelmed by all of it and we need some sort of instruction for basic things.. For example, my teenage son mentioned that he would like payment for a chore he had done by getting him the cheap D&D Box set off of Amazon. I looked into it and was not totally sold. So, I did a little research and found BFRPG with all of its high reviews. I bought the Core Rules and some modules and had a little adventure with my two boys to get into the swing of things. It was a bit tedious at first but we had fun. It was a small island adventure so I drew out the entire map on an erasable map and used some plastic mini's from some old Heroquest, Dragon Strike, and other board games.

That approach worked well with a small island adventure but it turned kind of crappy when we went on a large dungeon crawl and it felt like we were playing a board game that slugged along with each round.

I started asking questions here about what you all do and Chris mentioned that the PC's should keep their own map, keep a marching order with the minis, and only use the mat/minis for battle. That is the best way to play ever! A GM could also print out a sheet with 1' squares and use simple markers as well.

My point is: there really could be a page or two extra that painted out different ways to play and talked about the practicalities of being a GM. BFRPG is awesome for GM's but for us who have never played an RPG before . . . man, it's overwhelming at times. And that's O.K. . . . if your intended audience is just OSR players who have had a lifetime of playing RPG's. But if you want to expand your audience, then there probably needs to be some more practical instructions for DM's about practical things. Maybe a transcript of a game being played out would be helpful.
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chiisu81
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Re: Using grids for movement

Post by chiisu81 »

That's likely a reason he wrote The Role-Playing Game Primer. Even as a somewhat "OSR veteran" I bought a copy (PDF from Lulu) and it helped refreshed my memory and put my mind in the right frame of reference.

It takes time and experience. Remember as GM you can include or ignore as much as you want and/or need. I personally don't use grids/maps at all.
Rookie555
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Re: Using grids for movement

Post by Rookie555 »

Also another question. I'm currently working on running a campaign and would putting a dragon in a dungeon be weird, because they can fly stated in the book.
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Metroknight
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Re: Using grids for movement

Post by Metroknight »

Smaug in the Lord of the Ring series was in a dungeon. He turned the Dwarven underground city into his lair and all the halls and rooms abandoned is the dungeon.
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