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View Full Version : Labeled Battle Grid - Come and Get It



Another_Poet
2009-06-05, 11:18 AM
Hi guys. I know PbP DMs use a lot of different methods to get their mapping done. There are some great programmes out there (I recommend MapTool - free and excellent) but if you're looking to draw something simple, feel free to use the labeled battle grid below. I made it myself and am releasing it for free for anyone to use however they please.

The letters across the top are A-Z then phi, pi, sigma and omega for 30 squares total. Down the side you have 1-32.

It's a .png and if you open it in Paint you can fill the squares with any colour you choose to make a green field, etc. Or you can cut and paste it over an existing image or a scan of something you draw by hand. The squares are plain white so if you set your selector tool in Paint to treat plain white as see-through, you can lay the grid over anything you like.

The point is it's so low-tech almost anyone can put it to use.

Enjoy!

http://img189.imageshack.us/img189/6823/letteredgrid.png

http://img189.imageshack.us/img189/6823/letteredgrid.png

Mattarias, King.
2009-06-05, 02:18 PM
:smallsmile: Excellent resource. I'm sure many people will find it of use.

crimson77
2009-06-05, 03:13 PM
I made it myself and am releasing it for free for anyone to use however they please.

I have been using something similar for 3 years now. I create mine in excel so I can create rooms/buildings. I use the snip-it tool and then import it to inkscape. In inkscape, I can add in furniture, monsters, and PCs. I can export that image and upload it to imageshack. Here are a few examples:

[Here is a map that I am about to post on my game. It is using one of the wizard's free maps]http://img216.imageshack.us/img216/7007/wizardstower001.png

[Here is an older one where the PCs were exploring a underground fort]
http://img206.imageshack.us/img206/3672/fort001belowxz1.png

Mando Knight
2009-06-05, 05:14 PM
I use the GIMP, as each character can be represented as an individual layer, making moving the characters around easy.

For example, here's one where the PCs are fighting a Black Dragon hidden in a cloud of darkness:
http://i440.photobucket.com/albums/qq128/Mando_Knight/MorbidMapE1-7.png
And here's a bit from the final encounter of Fool's Grove:
http://i440.photobucket.com/albums/qq128/Mando_Knight/Croppedbattlemap-19.png

J.Gellert
2009-06-05, 05:50 PM
Very useful!

But if you don't mind some nitpicking, your 'theta' is actually a 'fi' (Phi? Phe?), it reads like the 'F'.

Also, the 'epsilon' is a 'sigma' (reads 'S') but that's a common mistake - happens when people want to make something seem greek, and the greek epsilon (a normal 'E') just doesn't seem alien enough. So they end up writing GRSSK (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_(TV_series)). :smallbiggrin:

Shadowbane
2009-06-05, 06:42 PM
Thank you.