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AotP General Discussion General discussions of packaging, terrain, components, etc. If it doesn't fit in any other official category, put it here. |
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#1
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AotP maps: how do the rules change?
I was poking around the site earlier today looking for some four player ffa maps to use for AotP using actual terrain as opposed to the cardboard mats.There were a few things I noticed in common across the existing maps I looked at:
Has anyone played enough AotP games with custom maps to have a sense of how one wants to go about building an AotP map? I played around a bit at trying a couple of my own this evening, but I'm not sure if I'm on the right track here. Prototype 1: dungeon This is my first attempt at an AotP map. I intended the red start zone spaces to be additional spaces for a sort of . . . advanced or chaos mode. Ultimately I realized that starting the Red Planeswalkers that close to the oppenent can lead to some very early kills which are, undesirable. Prototype 2: swamp I like this map much better, but it doesn't feel quite right (that and there are way too many sets involved). Does anyone have any experience in building these sorts of maps? Does anyone have any tips, tricks, or general rules they've found useful that they would be willing to share? *As a quick note, I personally haven't played much AotP yet. I got a few games in shortly after release, but the base set fell very flat. I feel like there are enough units and spells out now to make the game . . . playable. And I'd like to give it a fair shake now that there's some substance to it. I don't need no instructions to know how to rock.
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#2
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Re: AotP maps: how do the rules change?
Hi XNFM,
I have a bit of experience building maps for Arena out of heroscape tiles. Here are a selection of maps I made for Arena (My maps are pretty much what you say you want to avoid ) I want to bring to your attention the 'Pyroclastic Vents', 'Overgrown Tomb', 'Ice Age', and 'Ashen Glacier' maps in particular. They have proven over the course of a year to be decent designs for the game if one can manage to get the terrain. The rest are just okay changes of pace. The first two are smaller (16x16 hex), but still a bit bigger than the usual heroscape maps I've seen run at tourneys. The last two I reserve for 750+ point games (16x24 hex). I honestly view 16x12 hex to be the minimum size it should be played on. The general rules are about the same as normal heroscape maps (see below). I wouldnt worry too much about hindering or helping ranged units since they do not play as much of a major role as they do in heroscape. The big difference is that you kind of do need a fairly large area. This is because of summoning radius. It buggers up the usual tried and true map building mindset folks have used for so long. A summoning diameter of 11 hexes is a lot, and every Planeswalker has that. You can get a squad summoned on an enemy planeswalkers start space in less than three turns with that radius on the typical small heroscape boards. Huge boards arent necessary, but bigger than normal heroscape boards arent bad either in higher point Arena games. 500 point games you can almost get away with the smaller heroscape boards to play on. In case you might not have read this before, this post by Mad Wookie should be considered compulsory reading on the topic. And specifically, his post on "Set the Goal". It's that post alone which most who poo-poo Arena's lack of terrain should read to understand that you don't NEED a board full of terrain. Less terrain can have a positive impact on the map. Hasbro certainly took that to heart. A succinct quote: Quote:
Personally, I find line of sight blocking terrain, and undulating terrain (going up and down hexes a lot in a short span of area) to be really important. This allows more tactics, and counting out spaces isnt just a matter of glancing at the board and running across a flat for more than a single turn. You explore while you play. Flyers are not common in Arena, so while they do gain advantage on such maps, its not fleets of them as you can find in heroscape. It may seem hypocritical of me to extoll the virtues of "less is more" after seeing my maps, but that's merely my design preference. I recognize the virtue and keep that as a stabilizer in the back of my mind when I jump into virtualscape. I like your swamp map. But I think that has to do with more line of sight blocking terrain. So thats predictable from me. I hope that helps. If any of that is knowledge you already have thought of, I apologize for the redundancy. Last edited by Colorcrayons; August 20th, 2016 at 01:59 AM. |
#3
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Re: AotP maps: how do the rules change?
Excellent. I should have some time to go over all this a little more in depth tonight.
thanks Colorcrayons. =] I don't need no instructions to know how to rock.
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#4
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Re: AotP maps: how do the rules change?
From LeftOn4ya's Maps & Philosophy of Heroscape Cartography
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C3V/SoV cards @ 3/page PDF / LeftOn4ya's Customs (including Jurassic World) / Competitive Unit Alters / New? Start Here! Unit Debates REVIVED - #76 Tandros Kreel vs Torin "Today is a good day to die... but the day is not yet over"
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#5
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Re: AotP maps: how do the rules change?
Mmmmm..... I've just taken the plunge into AotP.
And of course, being me, first thing I've done is sought out others' thoughts on making maps for it. Very helpful musings here. Thanks gents! |
#6
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Re: AotP maps: how do the rules change?
Chiming in to remind water spaces on paper boards of AotP indeed are lower elevation.
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