Poster Maps in Adventures?

tankschmidt · Dec 6, 2007

I guess I haven't been paying much attention to the 4th edition buzz, but reading the news page here, I noticed this:

"Keep on the Shadowfell is an exciting Dungeons & Dragons adventure designed for characters of levels 1-3. It includes three double-sided poster maps suitable for use with D&D miniatures...

"H2 Thunderspire Labyrinth is a D&D adventure designed for heroic-tier characters of levels 4-6. It can be played as a stand-alone adventure or as the second part of a three-part series.
This product includes an adventure booklet for the Dungeon Master, a campaign guide with player handouts, and a full-color poster map, all contained in a handy folder...

"H3 Pyramid of Shadows ... This product includes an adventure booklet for the Dungeon Master, a campaign guide with player handouts, and a full-color poster map, all contained in a handy folder."

Does anyone think this is strange? Did 3e adventures often come with poster maps for figurines as well? I know the 1991 black box D&D game came with a poster map for Zanzer Tem's dungeon, but my impression was that that product was lampooned for being too dumbed down and patronizing to adult readers.

It's not surprising for an intro adventure like H1, but why are they still making poster maps for H2 and H3? And what's the fun in a poster map anyway? You can see the whole dungeon when you are in the first room.

What's the deal, guys?

TerraDave · Dec 6, 2007

What I would like (and this seems doable from what we have heard) is being able to print, in a really easy way that will be to scale, various areas to use as battle maps. You would have these on normal 8*11 paper and put them down as needed.

For these included poster maps, if they are a combination of various encounter areas (not a dungeon map), they might intrigue the players without giving too much away, but we have to see.

Nebulous · Dec 6, 2007

I'm very excited about the poster maps myself. If you're already dedicated to using minis, the maps bring a level of detail that mere words can't convey. As for ruining "what's around the next corner" i've never had that happen. I think that it elevates player excitement in many ways because the floorplan is only the beginning of what nastiness lies in wait.

I wouldn't use them all the time though, just periodically for set piece encounters.

TerraDave said:
What I would like (and this seems doable from what we have heard) is being able to print, in a really easy way that will be to scale, various areas to use as battle maps. You would have these on normal 8*11 paper and put them down as needed.

I would like to see printable map areas included on the DDI. That right there might get me to subscribe. The trick would be printing them out on paper good enough to hold the color and resolution.

Hussar · Dec 6, 2007

As far as using the poster maps for exploration, simply covering the map with black construction paper and removing as needed works as well.

Imaro · Dec 6, 2007

tankschmidt said:
It's not surprising for an intro adventure like H1, but why are they still making poster maps for H2 and H3? And what's the fun in a poster map anyway? You can see the whole dungeon when you are in the first room.

What's the deal, guys?

Yeah my biggest problem with the poster map is that it reveals too much. I feel not seeing the layout simulates, to a point, in my players the sense of unknown danger better than the whole layout in front of them. I'd much rather see maybe a set of dungeon tiles (could be made cheaply like poster maps) for the different encounter areas. Probably would cost too much to do it like that though.

Wormwood · Dec 6, 2007

tankschmidt said:
I know the 1991 black box D&D game came with a poster map for Zanzer Tem's dungeon, but my impression was that that product was lampooned for being too dumbed down and patronizing to adult readers.

Gosh, those complaints sound awfully familiar.

While I'm not a huge fan of 'the grid' when it comes to gaming---I am a sucker for beautiful poster maps. I bought the entire run that Wizards just did (fane, hellspire, etc), and while I was somewhat disappointed with the adventures themselves, my players* loved the maps.

The spaces and diversity of terrain seemed to encourage a more mobile, tactical playstyle---without alot of 'I stand there and swing'. Lots of mobility and sneaking, etc.

*(the players were 11, 14 and 33 years old, all newbies to 3.5)

edit: I prefer to focus my D&D game on fewer, larger encounters, so poster maps are ideal for me.

Arnwyn · Dec 6, 2007

2e products had tons of poster maps, many due to the rather large sizes of the locations found in said adventures. Some examples:

- Ruins of Undermountain
- Ruins of Undermountain II
- Dragon Mountain
- Night Below
- Rod of 7 Parts
- FA1 Halls of the High King
- FA2 Nightmare Keep
- H4 Throne of Bloodstone
as well as a few Ravenloft and the Dragonlance 're-make' modules.

I'm a big fan of poster maps (not poster battle-maps), so I'm glad to see them showing up again.

Wormwood · Dec 6, 2007

Arnwyn said:
I'm a big fan of poster maps (not poster battle-maps), so I'm glad to see them showing up again.

I'm fairly certain these will be battle maps.

tankschmidt · Dec 6, 2007

Arnwyn said:
2e products had tons of poster maps, many due to the rather large sizes of the locations found in said adventures. Some examples:

- Ruins of Undermountain
- Ruins of Undermountain II
- Dragon Mountain
- Night Below
- Rod of 7 Parts
- FA1 Halls of the High King
- FA2 Nightmare Keep
- H4 Throne of Bloodstone
as well as a few Ravenloft and the Dragonlance 're-make' modules.

I'm a big fan of poster maps (not poster battle-maps), so I'm glad to see them showing up again.

Ah, I guess I didn't read the news too carefully; I assumed that all three adventures included poster battle maps. H1 is described specifically as a poster battle map, but H2 and H3 may not be. I wonder if they are -- to use your terminology -- poster maps or poster battle maps.

Arnwyn · Dec 6, 2007

Wormwood said:
I'm fairly certain these will be battle maps.

Come to think of it, so am I. It would make much more sense considering the direction they are going. Whoops!

Poster Maps in Adventures?

tankschmidt

Explorer

TerraDave

5ever, or until 2024

Nebulous

Legend

Hussar

Legend

Imaro

Legend

Wormwood

Adventurer

Arnwyn

First Post

Wormwood

Adventurer

tankschmidt

Explorer

Arnwyn

First Post

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