So I have this idea... 40k table for RPG's?

[Crazysaneman]

So as of late I have been building a new army for Warhammer 40k, Necrons to be precise; when I had a idea. Movement in DnD and Pathfinder is broken up into 5' squares. On a battle mat, each 5' square is measured by 1" squares. Using a measuring tape/yardstick/clothtape to do movement on a 40K wartable seems like it would work naturally. I can't think of a single way that this couldn't work. A full 4'x6' table with already pre-built (modular) terrain? Why yes! I think I will.

4' = 48" = 240' of playable space wide
6' = 72" = 360' of playable space long

Flanking? Still works.
Line of sight? Even easier than before with 3d terrain.
Charging distance? Simple.
Spell range calculation? 2" = 10' of range.
Archers become useful at longer ranges? AWESOME! (to about 3ish range increments.)

The more I think about this, the more I like it! Most gamestores I've been to have 40k facilities of some sort, and I'm lucky enough to have one close by that has a HUGE 40k group and terrain set.

What do you other, fine playgrounders think? Help me find a flaw in this so I don't waste any more time XD

*EDIT* also, something about using my Ork Choppa Boyz in a DnD Game set on a 40K table makes my spine tingle :smallcool:

[MonochromeTiger]

So as of late I have been building a new army for Warhammer 40k, Necrons to be precise; when I had a idea. Movement in DnD and Pathfinder is broken up into 5' squares. On a battle mat, each 5' square is measured by 1" squares. Using a measuring tape/yardstick/clothtape to do movement on a 40K wartable seems like it would work naturally. I can't think of a single way that this couldn't work. A full 4'x6' table with already pre-built (modular) terrain? Why yes! I think I will.

4' = 48" = 240' of playable space wide
6' = 72" = 360' of playable space long

Flanking? Still works.
Line of sight? Even easier than before with 3d terrain.
Charging distance? Simple.
Spell range calculation? 2" = 10' of range.
Archers become useful at longer ranges? AWESOME! (to about 3ish range increments.)

The more I think about this, the more I like it! Most gamestores I've been to have 40k facilities of some sort, and I'm lucky enough to have one close by that has a HUGE 40k group and terrain set.

What do you other, fine playgrounders think? Help me find a flaw in this so I don't waste any more time XD

*EDIT* also, something about using my Ork Choppa Boyz in a DnD Game set on a 40K table makes my spine tingle :smallcool:

I think it's good, then again I've had a longstanding dream of playing out an army battle between two factions in my settings using the 40k tabletop game as a means of determining the results. you have my full support and blind loyalty for what good they'll do, provided you use necrons.

[Crazysaneman]

I'm actually using the necrons in a pathfinder game. One of the planets in the Golarion solar system (Eox) had it's atmosphere destroyed in a great magical war. The planet is now inhabited solely by undead. I'm refluffing it a bit and making them magitech based and having them invade. I can't wait to see my players faces when I give the prepared speech and drop a monolith on the table.

My chaos space marine friend is going to crap his pants XD

[Grod_The_Giant]

You'd have to severely strain your campaign's story, suspension of disbelief, or both to keep having adventures on the same big field. Either that or spend hours making new giant terrain map thingies.

(It'd be really cool in a one-shot, mind)

[Crazysaneman]

You'd have to severely strain your campaign's story, suspension of disbelief, or both to keep having adventures on the same big field. Either that or spend hours making new giant terrain map thingies.

(It'd be really cool in a one-shot, mind)

Not at all, trees, rocks, water, bridges etc work fine. Thought I had mentioned it before, guess not (sorry) For buildings and the like we do have Fantasy terrain pieces as well, wizards tower, tavern, etc.

[Crake]

You'd have to severely strain your campaign's story, suspension of disbelief, or both to keep having adventures on the same big field. Either that or spend hours making new giant terrain map thingies.

(It'd be really cool in a one-shot, mind)

Many terrain sets are very modular, so you can move terrain around quite a bit.

In all honesty, 40k-esque movement would be really great, but the biggest problem would arise with non-linear movement. You might have to use a string or something to represent a character's movement path, and even then calculating threatened areas and attacks of opportunity would be a PITA

[MonochromeTiger]

Many terrain sets are very modular, so you can move terrain around quite a bit.

In all honesty, 40k-esque movement would be really great, but the biggest problem would arise with non-linear movement. You might have to use a string or something to represent a character's movement path, and even then calculating threatened areas and attacks of opportunity would be a PITA

well those and area of effect spells like flame strike, then again threatened areas could potentially be handled with a simple "are they within this distance and this 180 degree arc from your left to your right in front of you?"

[Crazysaneman]

In all honesty, 40k-esque movement would be really great, but the biggest problem would arise with non-linear movement. You might have to use a string or something to represent a character's movement path, and even then calculating threatened areas and attacks of opportunity would be a PITA

Rarely in a game does a monster get more than 15' of reach. That's 3". Simple enough to me. There are lots of ways to do this without needing to rely on measuring every single detail. If you come within 3" (roughly one of my fingers length, for example) of a model it takes an attack XD If it goes to the rules lawyering, I have a ruler that measures out to a foot. thats more than enough for close encounters.

Movement path? Once a toon moves, thats it. There is no collision in any d20 system I've played. Rough terrain halves your movement, so does climbing. I really don't see the issue here, perhaps you could clarify?:smallconfused:

[Crazysaneman]

well those and area of effect spells like flame strike, then again threatened areas could potentially be handled with a simple "are they within this distance and this 180 degree arc from your left to your right in front of you?"

Or you could print a template off the internet. There are 1" squares measured out templates in the back of the books, there is no reason why this would be a problem.

[MonochromeTiger]

Rarely in a game does a monster get more than 15' of reach. That's 3". Simple enough to me. There are lots of ways to do this without needing to rely on measuring every single detail. If you come within 3" (roughly one of my fingers length, for example) of a model it takes an attack XD If it goes to the rules lawyering, I have a ruler that measures out to a foot. thats more than enough for close encounters.

Movement path? Once a toon moves, thats it. There is no collision in any d20 system I've played. Rough terrain halves your movement, so does climbing. I really don't see the issue here, perhaps you could clarify?:smallconfused:

I think, and I may be wrong here so don't quote me, he means the fact that without a grid movement system the path a character walks can be a bit more twisty than it otherwise would be. think in terms of a grid where you have to walk from one clearly designated space to the next, sure you can use a different space than a straight path to get there but you are still clearly within those spaces. without the grid your path can be much more erratic and hard to clarify such as staying RIGHT outside of a threatened area until you finally dip in directly behind it.

PS. I don't think the system is flawed at all and I fully believe you can pull it off.

[Crazysaneman]

Ah, I see now. That makes sense, but still using a measuring tape or ruler moving in inch increments seems like it wouldn't be so difficult.

Obviously, this idea only really works for outdoors encounters, like overland treks or fighting your way up to a castle. Indoors like in a dungeon not so much (without making walls for it.) Thats where a battlemat is still useful, I just hate using one because it's difficult for some players to keep track of everything going on without seeing it. At least for some of my newer players.

[Vhaidara]

One of my friends has a dry-eraser game map. Honestly, it's just a giant grid. Technically, you could make a DnD combat map in Microsoft Excel (or any other spreadsheet.