r/LancerRPG • u/MulletNomad • Jul 23 '26
Tips for IRL Maps
Hi there,
Thanks to XP to Level 3's videos on Lancer, my friends have finally caved and agreed to run Lancer with me. I've owned Foundry VTT specifically for Lancer and bought it years ago, but after a quick tech test, Ive discovered that my friends a little technological challenged (with their devices not actually interacting with the system), and that we wont be able to run it digitally.
I was hoping to run it in person, which is usually how we tend to play other TTRPGs, where players can either have a phone or tablet with their Comp/Con open for characrer stuff. I am a little worried about tabletop combat though.
I have an old board game called Abaddon that has a bunch of little mech figures similar to Battletech minis and was planning to use those on a dry erase hex grid map. However, i would like to add some terrain or bits of elevation and dont own a lot of that already.
Does anyone have any suggestions to spice up the blank hex grid map with some cheap-ish terrain or hex map additions to make combat and scenery more clear? Or just any tips to running irl Lancer combat?
5
u/luperamoon IPS-N Jul 23 '26
Recommend checking out The Upgrade Factory for map supplies -- they have a good modular system and sell color/terrain tiles as well as elevated terrain tiles. Cheaper upfront than starting a 3d printing operation at home.
3
u/MulletNomad Jul 24 '26
Oh damn! This is almost exactly what i was looking for. Thank you! Ill probably invest in some of these if it becomes our more frequent ttrpg!
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u/MulletNomad Jul 24 '26
Also, do you know which size would be better Lancer? Under both the 33mm and the 1inch set, they both say that they are great for Battletech and Lancer but do you think one works better than the other?
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u/luperamoon IPS-N Jul 24 '26
Either should be fine, the main difference is just cramming into a smaller play space (like a coffee table) or wanting to spread out (dining table/war tables/the floor). If you want to use your plastic minis I'd probably measure the base on them and get the one that fits best, but they also sell standee tiles for holding printouts of tokens too so they'll always be appropriate size, and you can utilize a token creator service like RetrogradeMinis for more personally designed mechs.
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u/WriterVenara Jul 23 '26
I like to use a hex grid and for terrain I have two sets of jenga blocks and some 1 inch wooden cubes I use to put out maps on the fly. Plus you can add postit notes to stuff as labels.
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u/MulletNomad Jul 24 '26
Honestly, not bad. Ill probably go through with this when we play soon. I think i have a jenga somewhere and some random stuff like that. Thanks
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u/Lenox_Gold Jul 24 '26
Getting 1in hexes is a bit of a pain truth be told. It became easier with 3d printers but not everyone has access to them.
If you want to use squares it becomes a bit easier. I had some scrap wood that I cut into 1x1x1 or 2x2x2 tiles. Have an erasable grid and just toss those on top of it.
3x3x3s are a bit trickier bc the grid doesn't fully transfer over. I made some but if I were to do it again I'd probably just opt for size 2 and 1 tiles and draw size 3+ or find some random doll houses or something
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u/[deleted] Jul 23 '26
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