Possible Mapping Option (2/6/15):
So, Roll20 is not particularly easy to use as a real-time mapping solution as we discovered this week. However, I was wondering if a Google Sheets document could work. I have added a link to a mapping folder on Google Drive in the “About this Community” post at the top of our page. If you open the spreadsheet there, you will see borders and diagonals that can be copy-pasted to create maps. I believe that changes will show up to all users with the document open, so it’s effectively real-time map sharing. Let me know what you guys think.
Checked this out for a while. With some work, we can create/add icons/pics for common dungeon dressing and used different sheets for different levels. Adding columns/rows are somewhat painless and saving copies should be simple.
Unlike Roll 20:
Can’t adjust scale in the browser window.
No PC/NPC/Monster icons
No pings
Another window to manage
Can’t move or rotate with a free hand but could always insert rows/columns to make space
Played around with the advanced keyboard shortcuts on Roll 20. They speed up the process quit a bit. Unfortunately Control Z only works if your the DM. I feel I could use either method fast enough to keep the game going.
I’ll let the group decide which approach to use — there’s also the option (which we used previously in the bathhouse/tomb) of having someone map by hand on paper and then upload the results as an image. The drawback there is that only the mapper has a good sense in real-time of the layout; that is very unlike a flesh-and-blood game in which anyone can ask to see the mapper’s work at any time. Of course, everyone so motivated could just make their own maps to upload later for comparison (helpful for catching errors).