Reddit reviews EXPO Vis-A-Vis Wet-Erase Overhead Transparency Markers, Fine Point, Assorted Colors, 5-Count

1. Book coverage: Waterdeep is a lot like a broad template at times - like reading the Wikipedia recap of a TV episode. Many aspects are fully fleshed out. Others say "The players are tasked with finding three bandits who stole a necklace" and then you just have to figure that out yourself. Get ready to improv!
   
   
2. I would only consider doing voices if you think you have 30+ unique voices in you already. Otherwise, they'll all sound mostly the same, and your players may get confused. Learn a few of the most important characters (the main villains, vital NPCs, etc) and make a voice for them. For everyone else, generic fantasy British works most of the time!
   
   
3. Buy one of these (https://www.amazon.com/Chessex-Role-Playing-Play-Mat/dp/B0015IQO2O) and a set of wet erase markers (https://www.amazon.com/Wet-Erase-Overhead-Transparency-Markers-Assorted/dp/B00006IFGX/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=wet+erase+markers&qid=1564073953&s=gateway&sr=8-5) and never worry about battle maps again - unless you REALLY want to make unique and custom maps for every single thing the players see. I find that the flexibility of being able to quickly draw out a big rectangle with some trees and barrels on one of these maps for those encounters you couldn't have planned on outweighs the benefit of having a detailed battle map you custom-make for everything (unless you just have the time and money to do so!). The official Dungeon Tiles are also great, and you can lay them on top of the map I linked earlier. (https://www.amazon.com/DUNGEON-TILES-REINCARNATED-CITY/dp/0786966297/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=d%26d+tiles&qid=1564074069&s=gateway&sr=8-4)
   
   Also, check out the official Waterdeep: Dragon Heist subreddit for an entire host of questions, answers and resources just for that book. https://www.reddit.com/r/WaterdeepDragonHeist/

I played 1e and 2e for many years, and every group I was in always used theater of the mind. When I returned to D&D a year ago, the group I was playing with used a battle mat and minis and it was a revelation for me: I really like being able to see where all the creatures are, and having a good set of wet-erase markers means we can draw anything we need to on the mat. When I started DMing again, I bought a battle mat and a set of markers and it makes things very easy, especially for younger players (one of my groups is 4 11-year-olds). Being able to make a custom mini (using something like HeroForge) means that everyone can get a mini that really expresses their character concept, which helps people get invested in the game. Also, Lego minifigures are almost exactly the right size, which is awesome, and you can print your minis on paper as well (better for monsters, IMO).

Having said all that, Sly Flourish has a really good guide to Theater of the Mind combat and there's a lot to recommend it.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1601255578/ref=ox_sc_act_image_2?smid=A2A7YOKSJ8S515&psc=1

This one? It looks good! With these markers is suppose? https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00006IFGX/ref=ox_sc_act_image_1?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1&th=1

What scale do you mean? Are we talking combat maps or world maps?

I take it you mean combat/battle maps, in which case you can go a long way just by having a few different colors of markers. Black, brown, blue, green, and one of red/orange/yellow, and that's all you really need, something like this. Just draw borders of regions (here's the edge of the road, here's a campfire, here's a merchant's cart). Keep in mind that most of what's going on will never approach what your players are imagining, you just need it to be a basic representation of the battlefield.