Battlemap Display

The **Battlemap Display** is a manner of displaying the battlemap utilized in *WovenRealm*'s combat encounters in the digital medium of Roll20. It is traditional practice in tabletop roleplaying games to utilize a battlemap and miniatures to make note of the position of characters, non-player characters, monsters, enemies, and allies, especially for complex battles. Another function of these maps is to express the terrain and topology of the battlefield. The advent of computers and the proliferation of the internet led to the development of digital toolsets to allow people to play roleplaying games online with the added function of battlemaps that utilize image files instead of physical items.

With the *13th Age* ruleset being made to not require a battlemap to play, some liberties were taken with the mechanics to provide a more tactical experience. *WovenRealm* utilizes maps and tokens created by creators such as ValorMaps, CzePeku, Tom Cartos, and Epic Isometric to bring the game to life.

## Rule of Common Sense

A special *rule 0* utilized by the co-GMs is the *Rule of Common Sense*. When approached with situations where the rules do not easily account for the situation or if the rules would create an unrealistic (even for a magic world) outcome (example; Peasant Railgun). The rule simply is "if common sense would dictate X, you can/should pursue X."

In the case of the battlemaps, this approach is often taken into consideration for determining factors such as if a character could pass through to another area and determining "line of sight."

## Distances & Zones

Distances are a major part of most roleplaying games and can limit the way characters use their abilities. Positioning is often one of the most vital factors in turn-based games to determine which side will be victorious.

### Base Rules

" *13th Age eschews grid- and numerical-distance-based mechanics in favor of simplified range mechanics. Two characters are either:*

* *“**Engaged**” – In direct melee combat*
* *“**Nearby**” – Within one move away*
* *“**Far-away**” – More than one move away"*

-13th Age SRD

### Zones

In order to express the size of the area of some battlemaps, Mr. Puddins created the *zone* system. Lines are painted onto the battle map to separate the map into regions known as *zones*. As long as a character is not engaged, they may freely move about their zone; this an expression of the how many good fights see much movement in a small area. In order to move to another zone, a character must use a move action. A move action must also be used to engage or disengage with an enemy. Between the rule of common sense and the zones, this mechanical addition brings positioning back into play as a consideration when determining one's turn.

### Extended Range

With the use of zones and the rule of common sense, there are certain spells or abilities that can target "nearby" enemies. Depending on the character and target's positioning and if the zones are adjacent to one another, certain spells/powers with the *nearby* range may make their target a creature in an adjacent *far-away* zone.

## Stunts & Environmental Actions

Stunts and environmental actions are special skill check based actions developed and incorporated by the coGMs to add more dimension to combat, express unique hazards in an environment, and/or allow characters the ability to make highly cinematic turns without having to consult the rules or referee. Stunts and special actions are either noted on the battlemap with a yellow sign labeled *stunt* or with special signage or symbols indicating the type of action the character will attempt. These actions often call for a special skill check and incorporate some element of higher risk/reward than if a player took a standard turn ranging from simply wasting a turn with no outcome or causing harm to themselves. On the other hand, succeeding on a stunt move can come with great benefits such as moving across multiple zones with a single move action or gaining a special bonus to their next attack.

Some zones may only be traversed by succeeding a skill check, with a stunt sign being placed between the two adjacent zones to mark this. When developing stunts and environmental actions for an encounter, the coGMs will often take into consideration the terrain depicted in the artwork of the battlemap they are using.

## Info Interface

The Info Interface is not actually a part of the battlemap and is instead a visual interface for the GM, players, and audience to track live various changes in the battle. The Info Interface features the Character Row, the Escalation Die Counter, and, since the latter part of S3, the Global Effects Tracker. The layout of the info interface with the battlemap itself was inspired by isometric computer roleplaying games such as *Baldur's Gate* or *Pillars of Eternity.* The info interface also features aesthetic designs created by both AJ and Puddins and includes a text to credit the map creator.

Additional trackers such as timers may also be added to the interface on an 'as needed' basis for certain encounters.

The Info Interface has continued to change and develop during the course of *WovenRealm* with features being added for ease of use and visualization.

### Character Row

The character row serves both an aesthetic and tracking purpose. Aesthetically, it mirrors the aforementioned isometric computer games by featuring portraits of the character art by Lucy in the top row. Each portrait is flanked by the main weapon each character uses depicted as a sprite. Space is left to the righthand sight of each portrait to provide a space to track conditions and effects each character may acquire during an encounter. These are tracked utilizing special icons developed to represent the different conditions and effects. Before the addition of the Global Effects Tracker, global effects were sometimes displayed in or near the Escalation Die Counter.

*See main article: Conditions and Status Effects* for more information on each condition and the accompanying symbols used to track them.

Additional character portraits may be added to the Character Row during moments when all the Emerald Caravan are present during an encounter. On maps that permit the space,

### Escalation Die Counter

The Escalation Die is a major mechanic integral to encounters in *13th Age* that features a die ticker that generally counts up at the top of the round and represents the growing intensity as combat continues. This counter is added by characters as a bonus for player characters' to hit rolls. Many abilities interact with the escalation die to determine if/when they trigger. It is normally tracked at the table with a d6, but to compensate for the lack of a table in the digital space, the Escalation Die Counter is featured in the top left to track the escalation die. and is marked with a stylized d6 with the letters *ESC* placed onto 3 of its faces.

### Global Effects Tracker

With the limited space to track conditions next to the character portraits in the Character Row, in S3E22, the Global Effects Tracker was added to the battlemap display. It is featured to the right of the escalation die counter and is noted with a globe icon. This space is utilized to track conditions and status effects, such as the cleric's i*nvocation*s or the bardic *songs,* that are currently affecting all the character's in the party.

### Tracking Status Effects on Monsters

For tracking status effects on monsters and enemies, the symbol is usually placed adjacent to the token to mark the condition.

## Other Map Legend

It is not uncommon for certain symbols, icons, and glyphs to develop for a single combat encounter to become incorporated into the battlemap display in later encounters. Stop signs have often been used to mark places on the map where adjacent zones cannot be crossed with a simple movement. Arrows are often used to show where a zone leads into another where terrain features are heavily featured on a map. Other times, tokens and images that clearly represent the interactive item/terrain will be used. The most common example of this may be the use of tree tokens.