[tbeard1999]

That's funny because I've been thinking about the same thing. There IS a megaton of attractive battlemaps out there for sale and download.

Diagonals are easy - 1.5 mp cost. If only one diagonal move is made, it costs 2 mp.

But one thing that bugs me is that in a hex based system, a maximum of 6 opponents can engage you. I personally think even that's too many, based on personal experience in martial arts (admittedly not necessarily representative).

In a square based system, 8 opponents can engage you. Does that matter? I'm not sure, candidly. If it is a problem, what's the solution? One idea that comes immediately to mind is to say that only 3 opponents can attack from side or rear squares. And how are facings handled? Some possibilities:


Fr Fr Fr
Sd XX Sd
Re Re Re

Fr Fr Fr
Fr XX Fr
Sd Re Sd

Fr Fr Fr
Sd XX Sd
Sd Re Sd


Or, a fussier solution proposed by a GURPS player:


Fr Fr Fr
Fl XX Fl
Sd Re Sd


A figure in the "Fl" (flank) can be attacked but at -2 DX. A shield will protect from attacks from the right or left flank (depending on the figure's handedness).

Another issue is the scale of typical square grid tiles: 1 square = 5' x 5', which makes standard dungeon corridors 2 squares wide. I personally think that this is too constrained; 3 spaces would be better (and was what AD&D envisioned, per the 1st edition DMG).

I've always considered a Melee hex to be about 1 pace wide (3 paces per 10') , so a 10' dungeon corridor would be 3 paces wide. That gives far more scope for maneuvering. So if I went with a square grid, I'd probably use that scale if possible. Fortunately, the downloadable tiles often come with gridless versions, so you can re-grid them.

Oh, a "megahex" could be interpreted as a 3 x 3 block. Or like this:


. X .
X X X
. X .

The affected squares are marked with X.