The Battle Map The Player’s Option combat system is played on a gridded battle map with 1-inch squares. The battle map becomes a diagram of the battlefield that can be used with figures, stand-up counters, or markers. The exact location of each character or creature is important, since facing and terrain are critical to the tactics of a fight.

A number of games and accessories, such as the Dungeons & Dragons® Adventure Packs, include gridded maps. Feel free to borrow mapboards and modify them for use in your own campaign.

You can also use dry-erase boards, magnetic dungeon tiles, or washable gridded mats to portray your battlefield. You can make your own maps to customize the battlefield for each combat. In fact, it’s a good idea for the DM to prepare for an encounter by making a map of the battlefield beforehand. As long as the map is marked in 1-inch squares, it will do.

Some DMs and players may prefer battle maps marked with hexes instead of squares. Hexes, however, introduce certain inconveniences to the rules that do not surface with a square grid. (For example, can figures occupy partial hexes near walls?) Nevertheless, with a few modifications it is certainly possible to adapt the Player’s Option combat system to a hex grid.

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