Chessex 26617 Role Play, Game Mat 26"x23.5", One Size

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Over fifteen years back, I got tired of using printed out white mat sheets for our hex-based GURPS tactical combat resolution. I must say the size is nice, but since I've gotten a pazio mat I don't use it much anymore, it is a pain to transport (Mail tube and old cubscout blanket holder works though) and I have to worry about markers.

I've recently switched over to a vinyl Chessex battlemat (from a dry erase board with one-inch squares cut into it) because I needed more room. I learned this the hard way, and I still have not-so-faint red marks on my biggest map from a game session over ten years ago. As it stands, they are still very good, but the concern over markings is why I stick with counters and terrain markers. Lay down your gridded paper on the contact paper so they make a battlemat of what ever size you desire.It could be that the new mats don't share this particular quality, in which case I suppose I just need to reinvest. The only drawback is that my maps are pretty big, I'd guess about 3'x4', and the sheet of glass would have to be pretty big to cover it, making it inconvenient in weight, storage, and possible breakage.

In my experience, they'll accumulate some marker residue no matter what, but dry erase + damp wipe is your best path to a long life. One of the most important things as a Dungeon Master that you can have at your Dungeons and Dragons game is a battlemat. If you are consistently having issues erasing stuff on your battle map, you may get some improvement by re-applying a new layer of clear laminate but I've never tried this.

I once left marker maps—fairly dense and intricate—on my chessex mat for weeks at a time so I didn't have to redraw the arena the party competed in week after week after week. square grid hand-drawn on poster board underneath a sheet of plexiglass that can be drawn on with grease pencil and wet/dry erase markers to the preprinted maps sold by game companies. Instead you need to use water-based -overhead-projection pens to draw layouts on the surface of the Battlemat.

The books are more constrained but varied enough (and there a packs of static-cling stickers which give even more customisation) and this means you can quickly get them to the table during a session. If you’re going to get something you can draw and erase on, you might want to bite the bullet and get 2-3. I was thinking of either drawing them with permanent marker, or, if the material is plastic, etching the battlemats with a hot knife, perhaps only with a small cross at the corners of the squares like you see in the official printed mats of DnD. I can always be certain that the older one-sided Chessex hex mats I have will always lay flat when unrolled. In IMT threads, members of our community can promote their own work, including commercial projects and crowdfunding.The only reason that the Battlemat is not totally flat is that it is bigger than the actual dinner table. If it's curling, he puts some books on the corners and usually by the time we play it's pretty flat. It’s definitely a solid option and I think it fits most of your preferences, except you have to draw twrrain yourself.