So I've just started to dabble in trying my hand at DMing and mostly just done the one Keep on the Shadowfell module in 4e due to the ease and quickness of the system. And so far I've actually enjoyed honing my photoshop skills to build maps that the groups can play on and that I update in really time since we're doing Play-By-Post.

However, like many players out there, I much prefer 3.5 and Pathfinder and once I'm comfortable with my DM skills I'll likely build a campaign in one of those systems. But of course, they dont rely on the grid system like 4e does, none the less I'd consider slamming together maps. Do the more serious of the players feel like playing on a map ruins the experience? I've seen quite a bit of dislike of them in passing comments, but never actually discussed it.

To be clear, I'm not actually talking about constraining things and making the focus the grid, but I like the visual aid of the map, and enjoy testing my cartography skills.

So let's hear what you guys have to say,

I find grids and maps to be very, very helpful. Thanks to college, I've been playing over Skype lately, which makes them difficult, if not impossible, to use. This has made party tactics much less sophisticated (though I'm one of the only two players who really thinks about them) and from what I can tell makes encounters harder to run.

Hey thanks for the reply.

Have you looked into http://roll20.net/ at all. You can video / voice / chat just like you can in skype. But also allows for a large chuck of you screen to be the map.

Of course if you go on some sort of tangent that the DM isnt prepared for before hand things can get a little iffy, but for a planned adventure its very handy to some. Using items and tokens from sites like Dundjinni you can get some really realistic maps. You can also load in music to add to the ambiance and draw on or make notes on the map, use fog of war etc.

Huh. Interesting.

I haven't tried it myself cause I prefer the ability for people to post whenever in PbP. But if I met the rigjt geoup, I could see myself using it.

Maybe once im better in photoshop ill make a campaign on there.

I also find having a grid for the players' minis and the monsters / NPCs helpful. My group has found there are way too many finicky things in 3.5 / PF relating to distance to not use them. Things like the diameter of a fireball and who's in it, whether something is in charge range or not, whether a rogue is within 30' in order to make a ranged sneak attack, etc.

I used to have vinyl mats. Now I use rolls of "gaming paper" instead. (If you're not familiar with the company, they basically make rolls of wrapping paper that are 1" square hexes. They have other stuff too. And full disclosure: I've done some freelance writing work for them.) I also keep a "master" map with me, that has my notes, locations of hidden stuff, etc.

Speaking quickly on the 'master map' Roll20 also has a DM layer where you can make notes, have traps already on the map, etc. Then once something is needed, you can simply right click it and merge it down to the player layer.

I make a hidden DM layer in my photoshop maps as well.