Hi guys,

We've been playing the game for a few weeks now, and a couple of guys in the party have expressed their confusion when it comes to their range in relation to other parties during a battle.

I explained to them and showed them how range works, but they really want some sort of visual aid. I don't want to resort to using miniatures, or maps, because I like the cinematic theater of the mind, and the other people in the party enjoy that better too. We want to avoid it becoming too tactical.

So, other than minis and maps, is there some sort of visual tool to help the other players keep track of where they are in range? I was look at these hex grid visualizations, but I don't see how that would work with multiple players.

Don't use grids. Get a white board, sketch out a few buildings/ships/whatever, throw a few coins on there to represent players and enemies, and go to town. The distances don't have to be absolute, just relative. "As you can see, you are over there, which is short range from the bad guy, and your friends are a little ways behind you and around the corner, which means that's medium range and provides cover."

Maps without grids work well to get a feeling for an encounter. even just an image can be enough to inspire the encounter.

Placing tokens on the table, then shifting them around to indicate relative distances works too.

Just use images and descriptions to build the encounter and it is more than enough. Knowing the exact layout is not that important since you can use destiny points and such to modify it anyway. It's just a gaming philosophy that takes some time to adopt.

They seem to be stuck in the mindset of feeling like they need the spacial awareness to know where everything is. One friend was a big fan of 4th edition for its use of minis and maps. They've also had some bad experiences with a GM in the past that would sort of tell them where they are on the map after combat had started to facilitate how he wanted combat to go.

I have used simple maps for them before, but never really on the table, just as reference. I guess this is just a matter of game mechanics, and they have to learn.

Try changing the Scene entirely with the flip of a Destiny Point.

examples would be something like:

"You break down the door into the hideout, (Flip a DP) only to find an empty room and a trapdoor open to a secret escape tunnel."

or

"In hot pursuit of your target, you round a corner moment behind them. (Flip DP) Your confronted with a wall of people, some kind of protest is taking place and your quarry has disappeared into the throng of bodies"

or

"Trekking through this jungle has been exhausting, but this river crossing is the worst, its deep, its wide and its murky who knows whats under the surface. Half the party has entered the water when (Flip a DP) a deep roaring sound is heard coming from up stream, in the distance can be seen a rapidly advancing wave or wall of water. Its at most 2 or 3 minutes away, your going to have to act quickly if your any hope of all crossing before it arrives"

Do this enough times and they will hopefully realise they can do it too, and that a map only limits their creativity

In a complex combat encounter in something like a hangar bay, where you could have a great deal of stuff lying about and catwalks and such, I can see having a basic floorplan to show PCs as to the layout and to give them visual reference as to the look.

Sometimes tokens and such do become necessary when you are dealing with multiple adversaries as it is hard to keep track of where everyone is relevant to one another so a basic layout helps.

I don't use grids, and I don't use hexes, or measurements, or any of that. I just say that the longest range is for instance Long, one end of the bay to the other. Anything else dealing with half that becomes Medium and a quarter or so becomes Short, and I just leave it at that. Engaged is more thematic than measured than even the other ranges so it also needs no measuring.

It is helpful in the complex scenarios and layouts though for players to be able to see, the freighter is over here, there are some shipping containers here, the troops entered from over there, the sniper is up there, we came in from over here, etc.

While you can resolve many fights with only a simple spatial representation, some battles really need a map of some kind. Like the aforementioned hanger with lots of stuff scattered around it. Grids and hexes are unnecessary given the abstract nature of ranges.

This can be accomplished as simply as using a whiteboard and some dry erase markers, along with some tokens for the characters.

Maps only limit creativity if you limit yourself by them, in reality they can be liberating by providing a frame of reference. Even if its just some dry erase marker.

I use this aid - https://www.dropbox.com/s/fioi7mvw4uo8i9j/Range%20Tracker.pdf?dl=0 with glass pebbles (like some used as counters in the Magic card game) to designated characters and rivals.

Try changing the Scene entirely with the flip of a Destiny Point.

Second!

My players had been asking for elaborate full colour maps in the beginning. Then I told them: "The more detailed you make me paint out the scene, the less you can add with your DPs." We still sketch out most settings to prevent misapprehension, but only very vaguely, filling in details on the go, when necessary.

Sometimes, when they ask me whether something particular is there, or not, I'll stare at the Destiny Pool, going: "Well, is there?"

I find using minis on a blank tabletop to indicate rough relative positions and imaginating the scenery to be a good mix of minis and TotM.

Try changing the Scene entirely with the flip of a Destiny Point.

Second!

My players had been asking for elaborate full colour maps in the beginning. Then I told them: "The more detailed you make me paint out the scene, the less you can add with your DPs." We still sketch out most settings to prevent misapprehension, but only very vaguely, filling in details on the go, when necessary.

Sometimes, when they ask me whether something particular is there, or not, I'll stare at the Destiny Pool, going: "Well, is there?"

Sometimes having detailed maps give players Ideas they would never think of. IE "Is this rack of missiles here?"

Yeah, we abused the heck out of some of the more detailed maps we've been given. Imperials really should stop putting missile racks next to those bottomless chasms their ship designers are so fond of. And any vehicle we see is fair game for theft.

I don't consider it abuse. I consider it making for good fun stories. Few can be creative in a vacuum. detailed maps give lots of fuel for creative thinking.

Using a map is no different than taking notes during game play. It helps track details.

I don't consider it abuse. I consider it making for good fun stories. Few can be creative in a vacuum. detailed maps give lots of fuel for creative thinking.

Oh I didn't mean it in the negative way. I mean it in the totally awesome way.

Some of my players like minis, particularly for space combat. (Hey, if you've invested in X-Wing, get more use out of them) It's a small visual that can help, but I agree with not setting a grid. A basic layout can give general positioning without making it too rigid.

I like the range tracker that RusakRakesh posted. I'll be using that.