"Switching scales, need some advice." Topic

Google hasn't been much help here, so I thought I'd ask…

Am switching from 28mm RPGing to using 15mm figures ( Dungeons and Dragons). DnD normally uses 1 inch grids for combat and movement.

What should I change for 15mm gaming, if any?

Thanks for any thoughts.

I wouldn't change anything, unless you want to, and need smaller grids for more maneuvering room.

Either don't change or go to half inch

Grids are just for measuring relative distance and determining facing. Keep it as is.

Greek Geek

Er, let me add, 1 inch = 6 feet = 1 grid box….any changes there?

I'd use 40mm equals 10 feet. You should be able to get 1 giant, 2 or 3 humans, and 3 demi-humans abreast in a 10' passage, depending on your basing.

Having played dungeon games with 15mm, my recommendation is reduce the square size to 3/4". Half is too small for players' hands when things get crowded, but why go smaller in figure scale if you aren't going for a smaller table?

I'm thinking of doing the same, but ditching the grid entirely. 1" = 5 feet would work well with the 5e system, and that's how they did it way back when, right? The new DMG has optional rules on hexgrids, which might be another option to consider.

If you do not have the ability to change your grid lines…you can just update your conversions

if 15mm is 6ft
then 25mm is 10ft---or your 1 inch grids are now worth 10ft of game range

If you're dropping in figure scale for cost, storage, and transportability, then keep ground scale the same. Think about it this way, everything in D&D is abstract anyway – even that ground scale of 1-inch equals 5 or 6 or 10 feet is just a way of keeping track of who moves how far and how far which weapon shoots. If your playing pieces suddenly become a little smaller, then it doesn't affect the game at all.

Just to follow up, using 15mm figures to playing rulesets designed for 25mm+ sized figures is a long and time honored tradition. Every time I have tried to reduce the ground scale to match the drop in figure size, it makes for a game that feels too slow and cramped. For example, when we play Necromunda in 15mm scale (with the ranges and move rates unchanged), it makes for a game that plays exactly the same, but "looks and feels" a lot faster and more wide-open.

@coryfromMissoula

I like that but I went with 40mm = 10' so a figure based on a penny fits inside 20mm. Pennies being about 19mm gives it just a tiny bit of extra space for corridors or utilizing figures based for ancients. If I was actually building terrain such as dungeon corridors I'd probably go with 1-2mm extra.

I use 5/8" (15.875mm) washers for humans and pennies (19.05mm) for larger stuff like ogres. I went with mm because I think some people, especially the Europeans, use 15 and 20mm bases commonly.

I figure 2 men fighting in a corridor 10' wide is probably as many as possible unless they are in some sort of close formation and that would require training and or practice with their fellows. From a rules perspective I think using the 2 rows deep rule from Saga would accommodate those who want more figures fighting on a frontage.

I'm not planning on using a grid just a ruler.

3/4" and 20mm are nearly equal. We are bascially saying the same thing.

@WarrenAbox

Agree. For example WWII skirmish works fine with using smaller figures and keeping all other measures same. I think Saga would work good like that as well. Song of Blades and Heros calls for a 2'x2' table for 15mm instead of 3'x3' for 28mm but I don't see why really.

I wouldn't change anything, for the reasons listed by Warren and Snafu. We play 15mm on 1 inch grids. It looks good and plays fine.

Sold!