Token Method
The token method is meant to make areas of effect tactile and fun. To use this method, grab some
dice or other tokens, which you’re going to use to represent your areas of effect.
Rather than faithfully representing the shapes of the different areas of effect, this method gives
you a way to create square-edged versions of them on a grid easily, as described in the following
subsections.
Using Tokens. Every 5-foot square of an area of effect becomes a die or other token that you
place on the grid. Each token goes inside a square, not at an intersection of lines. If an area’s
token is in a square, that square is included in the area of effect. It’s that simple.
Diagrams 2.3 through 2.6 show this method in action, using dice as the tokens.
Circles. This method depicts everything using squares, and a circular area of effect becomes
square in it, whether the area is a sphere, cylinder, or radius. For instance, the 10-foot radius of
flame strike, which has a diameter of 20 feet, is expressed as a square that is 20 feet on a side, as
shown in diagram 2.3. Diagram 2.4 shows that area with total cover inside it.
Cones. A cone is represented by rows of tokens on the grid, extending from the cone’s point of
origin. In the rows, the squares are adjoining side by side or corner to corner, as shown in
diagram 2.5. To determine the number of rows a cone contains, divide its length by 5. For
example, a 30-foot cone contains six rows.
Here’s how to create the rows. Starting with a square adjacent to the cone’s point of origin, place
one token. The square can be orthogonally or diagonally adjacent to the point of origin. In every
row beyond that one, place as many tokens as you placed in the previous row, plus one more
token. Place this row’s tokens so that their squares each share a side with a square in the previous
row. If the cone is orthogonally adjacent to the point of origin, you’ll have one more token to
place in the row; place it on one end or the other of the row you just created (you don’t have to
pick the side chosen in diagram 2.5). Keep placing tokens in this way until you’ve created all of
the cone’s rows.
Lines. A line can extend from its source orthogonally or diagonally, as shown in diagram 2.6.