Show off your individual techniques for roll20

I hate making maps for every little thing, so I came up with this simple technique that I can easily remix how I want. It works.

Seems quite a good idea, I could have a try for a few moments in the game, but how much "maps" (even when they are not maps) do you need for a session.

Depends on how combat heavy you are.

Not very (but that depends more on the reactions of the players than myself). What I did mean is that a display like this one seems quite time consuming and seems to have to be prepared beforehand.
I don't think that it would be possible more than a few scenes in each session (and only for scenes that are unavoidable by the characters). As I sketch all the characters in my games, half the work is already done, but still, it leaves a lot of work to do.

Pleinair Allaprima said,

I hate making maps for every little thing, so I came up with this simple technique that I can easily remix how I want. It works.

I really like the approach, and it's similar to what I've been doing thanks to the Roll20 canvas' Background layer. I'm against using tactical maps all the time.

Regardless the game system rules, many situations in role playing games are better focused as "visual scenes" than as tactical maps, and I find that being able to offer one or the other approach for different situations enhances game sessions.

For instance --yes, I know I showed this earlier:

Patrick C. said,

I don't think that it would be possible more than a few scenes in each session (and only for scenes that are unavoidable by the characters). As I sketch all the characters in my games, half the work is already done, but still, it leaves a lot of work to do.

Yes, it's true, however it works for me. I have been readying about 2 or maybe 3 visual scenes for each face to face game session (each two weeks) before using Internet resources --as image search-- and Virtual Tabletops.

On the other hand, if you are speaking of quickly sketched maps with the drawing tools, then that is the difference: they can be arranged more quickly and on the fly, with less work. But I think there is not a true difference for people wanting detailed, polished, nice looking maps: they also need to be arranged & painted beforehand, just like visual scenes.

I also like the visual scene or visual novel approach from time to time and for a change.

Patrick C. said,

I don't think that it would be possible more than a few scenes in each session (and only for scenes that are unavoidable by the characters). As I sketch all the characters in my games, half the work is already done, but still, it leaves a lot of work to do.

Yes, it's true, however it works for me. I have been readying about 2 or maybe 3 visual scenes for each face to face game session (each two weeks) before using Internet resources --as image search-- and Virtual Tabletops.

On the other hand, if you are speaking of quickly sketched maps with the drawing tools, then that is the difference: they can be arranged more quickly and on the fly, with less work. But I think there is not a true difference for people wanting detailed, polished, nice looking maps: they also need to be arranged & painted beforehand, just like visual scenes.

Yes, you are right in that a polished map would take as much time than a polished scene illustration. But I think that you can probably get away with a sketched map whilst a substandard illustration for a scene is going to be more an hindrance than a help for mood setting.
Now, if we are speaking about two or three scenes for a session, it is reasonably possible to prepare that much.
I am going to have a try at it. The beginning scene is probably a good candidate for a first. Because I am sure that it shall be played and because it is important for stage setting.

Cool. That is what I meant.

On the other hand, to my mind and IMHE some sketched visual scenes can work as well. For instance, pencil and charcoal sketches (black & white). As a practical consideration, not all visual scenes need to be really polished.

Also, it goes without saying that the choice of scenes prior to the actual game session is a bit subjective. As you're saying, the beginning one is good, of course, and it helps to immerse people quickly, strengthening the focus from the start.



I also ready some picture beforehand what I know is relevant to the game setting and story that most likely is going to be pertinent regardless players actions.

Sometimes, a collage portraying different themes of the campaign, even past actions of the characters, is a nice thing to have there during narration.



(FWIW these quick samples are old pencil pictures slightly modified in color for Roll20 with Photoshop). Still, if what the players do in the game session cancel my opportunity of using the image, I don't force it on them; I just keep it for other ocassion :)

Um, now that I think about this, for me it's the same for maps, I believe.

Yes, indeed, it is the same for maps. But you know that, for me, maps are just another graphic representation ;-)
When I was speaking about sketching a map, I was referring to a really rough sketch, taking just a few minutes, or even one sketched directly with the drawing tools (I have been sketching maps and tokens on the spot without problem).

A sketch for a drawing, on the other hand, can be a quite elaborate feature, sketching being also a style, not only a simple drawing. Yours are quite well done, and I don't think they could be made in a few minutes. Meaning quite a lot of work beforehand.

For me, anyway, even when I am just directly sketching in inks, without penciling http://cghub.com/images/view/335893/ ,for exemple, it takes much too long to work on the spot. Not to speak about some tweakings in Photoshop.

But, I suppose that preparing beforehand parts that are going to appear later in the adventure (objects, characters, locations...) could be quite useful because it would be possible to combine them when needed, using the map and layers structure that is normally used for mapping (the exemple given by Pleinair Allaprima at the beginning of this thread is probably a good exemple of this kind of use).
I am really missing the possibility to add a portrait to a token in Roll20. That would be so useful, even for non mapping displays where a token would be any part you place on the screen.

But still it means that you have to prepare beforehand what is going to appear in the next session. I think that it should be a good way to make a better presentation for a game, but I don't think that you can be sure to cover everything that is going to appear in your session. Particularly if you want to keep your players free about their actions.
Now, it would work particularly well for asynchronous games, giving the GM more time to react to players actions... I'll have to think more about it, because it is one use I have in mind for Roll20.

Patrick C. said,

When I was speaking about sketching a map, I was referring to a really rough sketch, taking just a few minutes (. . .)

Now I get better what you meant. Rough sketches aren't artistic or attractive sketches, most times.

It's true that those pencil drawings weren't done in minutes, but what I meant is that it's possible to use much less detailed black & white, schematic drawing/paintings for good effect.

For me making some images for the campaign and the game is just another aspect of the GM's preparations.

Oh yes, I really agree that b&w sketches can be quite artistic or evocative. And preparing images for the game is also something that I do within my usual GM's preparations.

But as my games have never been based around them, it has always been a bonus for the game, not something that had to be done to keep the game going. So, except for the illustrations of the characters, I was only doing the illustrations that took my fancy.

If you have access to Dynamic Lighting, you can give each player token a light value of -2.5 to light up just their square or hex (assuming you use 5' per square). This allows the players to see where their tokens are without being able to see much of anything else.

Jonathan the Black said,

If you have access to Dynamic Lighting, you can give each player token a light value of -2.5 to light up just their square or hex (assuming you use 5' per square). This allows the players to see where their tokens are without being able to see much of anything else.

I just tested this tip yours. Wow . . . it didn't worked at all for me. I don't know why. Maybe it was the hex grid?

I guess this shows how Dynamic Lighting is still an alpha feature: by assigning that -2.5 light value to a token, suddenly I was unable to access to any token's contextual menu and there have been a few additional glitches too.

It has taken me a few minutes to figure, by means of trial and error, how to recover the functionality of that specific Roll20 page.

Hrm, weird. I only tested that in Chrome 23 w/squares, not hexes.

I just tested a range of negative numbers, both whole and with decimal points. It didn't cause me any problems or errors. Win 8, Chrome 23, Live.

I was in the dev server.

(Chrome 23 last, Win 7 64)

Just tried it in dev server and no problems there either. Both vertical and horizontal hexes. I dunno...

OK my fault; I just tested it again: I was using 1 meter hexes, so the -2.5 value for light had no sense, being this negative value greater than the actual size of my 1 meter grid cells --it works well for 5' grid cells, as you said.

So I just set -0.5 for light in a grid of 1 meter cells and it isn't causing any problem. All is good!

In this way I'm getting this result. Maybe it is somewhat different for 5' grid cells and a -2.5 lighting value:

Hrm, I was using 5' per square and if I entered up to -4.99 for light, it would make a really small dot. At -5, it would light up the entire area.

It was our first real evening playing with Roll20. Pathfinder, 5 players and a DM. The dice rolling and turn control were HUGE hits as was the ability to keep HP on the tokens, movement, etc. Our DM is not computer savvy and I'm a mentor here, so I did all the heavy lifting for him, getting things set up, tokens pushed onto the table, etc. But everyone really loved it.

seems like an appropriate place to post how I just started using the card deck for player sheet captures...

I also use top down view and a classic gamer feel.