D&D 5E Does anyone still do mapping?

[mrpopstar]

The exploration pillar is my favorite! To me, it isn't Dungeons & Dragons if there isn't some element of survival horror.

 

[mrpopstar]

Yeah that is 600 rounds and its a cantrip.

Why are you tracking dungeon exploration in rounds and not minutes?

 

[Zardnaar]

Why are you tracking dungeon exploration in rounds and not minutes?

I dont really tack dungeon time that accurately, and it only takes a round to use most of your skills. Does 5E have a difference between combat time and exploration time? Unless the adventure has a time limit I don't bother to much. A spell duration of 1 minute ore or less means this encounter, an hour more or less is until the next short rest.

 

[iserith]

How do my fellow Dungeon Masters measure the passage of time when resolving tasks and tracking movement in dungeon environments if you don't map?

Do you mean if the DM doesn't map or the players don't map?

I missed the special use description under cartographer's tools that allows proficient characters to multitask while traveling!

Is it just me, or does it seem particularly awkward to manage quill, ink, and parchment (not to mention compass, caliper, and ruler) while at the same time watching for danger?

I guess a proficient character is just that good.

In tonight's game, the bugbear fighter with cartographer's tools drew a map of an off-road path from the village of Jerkwater to the Sunless Citadel while Tracking to help mitigate the chance of a random encounter. They wanted to avoid trouble on the way to the dungeon so they were at full resources when they got there. The earth genasi fighter Worked Together with the bugbear fighter and, along with the other tasks the rest of the PCs performed, I resolved all with passive checks. As it turned out, they didn't get lost on the way to the dungeon and, thanks to the bugbear's tracking (and the genasi's help), the party managed to avoid any random encounters. Now the party has a map that can grant the character Navigating back to Jerkwater advantage on his or her passive Wilderness (Survival) check to avoid getting lost.

The funny bit was that I rolled weather for that day and it was raining. The bugbear's unskilled hireling Wes Handy was made to hold his cloak over the bugbear to keep him dry enough to draw the map. He told Wes that the rain and cold would help him "build character." They just love abusing their hirelings.

 

[mrpopstar]

I dont really tack dungeon time that accurately, and it only takes a round to use most of your skills. Does 5E have a difference between combat time and exploration time? Unless the adventure has a time limit I don't bother to much. A spell duration of 1 minute ore or less means this encounter, an hour more or less is until the next short rest.

Exploration time unfolds in broader terms. If it takes the adventurer's about a minute to creep down a long hallway, another minute to check for traps on the door at the end of the hall, and a good ten minutes to search the chamber beyond for anything interesting or valuable, then torches and spell durations expire much faster than implied by hand-waving them away. Short rests also take time! And what about random encounters? Aren't those always time-sensitive?

 

[mrpopstar]

Do you mean if the DM doesn't map or the players don't map?

The DM.

I guess a proficient character is just that good.

Could at least supply the kit with a piece of charcoal for some mobile sketching!

The funny bit was that I rolled weather for that day and it was raining. The bugbear's unskilled hireling Wes Handy was made to hold his cloak over the bugbear to keep him dry enough to draw the map. He told Wes that the rain and cold would help him "build character." They just love abusing their hirelings.

LOL

 

[Zardnaar]

Exploration time unfolds in broader terms. If it takes the adventurer's about a minute to creep down a long hallway, another minute to check for traps on the door at the end of the hall, and a good ten minutes to search the chamber beyond for anything interesting or valuable, then torches and spell durations expire much faster than implied by hand-waving them away. Short rests also take time! And what about random encounters? Aren't those always time-sensitive?

That is why I was asking about exploration time. walking pace down a 90'dungeon is 3 round and searching the door and checking for traps is another 2 rounds, disabling the trap if its there is another round.

Doesn't take long to clear a Dungeon RAW unless I missed a rule about exploration time taking longer.

 

[mrpopstar]

That is why I was asking about exploration time. walking pace down a 90'dungeon is 3 round and searching the door and checking for traps is another 2 rounds, disabling the trap if its there is another round.

Doesn't take long to clear a Dungeon RAW unless I missed a rule about exploration time taking longer.

If it takes about a minute to creep down a long hallway, another minute to check for traps on the door at the end of the hall, and a good ten minutes to search the chamber beyond for anything interesting or valuable, that would be 120 rounds.

 

[Zardnaar]

If it takes about a minute to creep down a long hallway, another minute to check for traps on the door at the end of the hall, and a good ten minutes to search the chamber beyond for anything interesting or valuable, that would be 120 rounds.

RAW it doesn't AFAIK. It did in AD&D, 5E IDK. It takes 1 round to use a skill check and unless you have a dex based party or a party not in heavy armor creeping usually doesn't work.

I mean you can believe what yo like but RAW a small dungeon seems to be a 5-10 minute job of game time (unless you take a short rest).

 

[iserith]

That is why I was asking about exploration time. walking pace down a 90'dungeon is 3 round and searching the door and checking for traps is another 2 rounds, disabling the trap if its there is another round.

Doesn't take long to clear a Dungeon RAW unless I missed a rule about exploration time taking longer.

A slow pace in the dungeon (which is what you want to be at if you want to stealth around or try to find traps) has characters moving 200 feet in 1 minute. There is no rule for how long it takes to check for traps or disable them traps so far as I know, except that a thief can disarm a trap as a bonus action. (Correct me if I'm wrong.)

Edit: Checking for traps, at least on a door, takes 1 minute per the rules.