PCs mapping dungeons.

[dead]

I've never had PCs map a dungeon via my descriptions. It's never worked.

If I wanna show them what the area looks like, I'll draw a top-down view of the room and hold it up to the players. I'll continue adding to this "players' map" as the PCs go along. As a result, it's not likely the PCs will ever make a mapping error -- because their GM's drawing the map!

So, how do other people handle mapping in their games? I find the: "You enter a room 20 feet long by 30 feet wide" too dry for my game. Not to mention the fact that sometimes a map will be too difficult to describe in this way.

Anyway, I'd love to hear what other people do.

Thanks.

 

[wedgeski]

I've never had PCs map a dungeon via my descriptions. It's never worked.

We have an A3 gridded dry-whiteboard on which I draw encounter areas where there is going to be a combat - but only after combat has started. In tandem with a few minis, this works very well.

As for mapping the dungeon at large, if my players want to do it, they can do it, and I'll help them and maybe even reward them for putting in the effort. If they don't want to do it, I just assume that their characters (who have journeyed in many a dungeon in their time) are experienced enough to leave markers which allow them to find their way back out. At higher levels, this becomes pretty much irrelevant as more interesting magic comes into play. (Edit: I also ensure that dungeon mapping can be quite lucrative for money-strapped low-level PC's; goes back to rewarding players for their effort.)

I do all this to avoid the dreaded 'maze mapping' challenges of old, bad modules. A maze whose only challenge is the possibility of getting lost is just about the exact opposite of a roleplaying game, if you ask me.

The 'You enter a 20 by 30 foot room' issue is one of detail; I'm not afraid to start a description with that, but you must follow up with embellishments which allow the players to visualise it. Otherwise, all they're visualising is a featureless 20x30 foot cuboid. I have found on many occasions that vivid descriptions seem to encourage the mappers in the party to get out their notepads and pencils...

 

[Ogrebear]

One thing I did in games is to avoid square rooms, or rooms with no features/furniture in. Partly cos medievil rooms where rarely regularly shaped and partly cos it made every room differant simple cos of what was in it if not the shape, that alone encourged them t map- 'oh this is the room with that rotted Unicorn tapestry in, we need to turn left here'

Things like wall paintings, hangings, broken furniture, etc all help make the dungeon come alive too. As wedgeski said last thign you want is a featureless bare room (unless for polt reasons).

Personally as the years have gone on I avoid dunegons unless I have a real need for one - Dwarf/Gobo cites, Cult temples etc. Most dunegons found in the preset worlds and old modules made no logical sence in terms of why they where there imho. However if you must use them - spice them up!

 

[dbm]

Another practical point to giving descriptions for PCs - don't give meaurements in feet, do it in paces. When the party are walking down a corridor, I will say 'You walk for 20 paces then come to a T-junction'. Make a pace roughly three feet, but fudge it slightly.

Dan

 

[Longbow]

I nearly always map for my players to avoid confusion and I believe its faster if I do it because I have the original layout in front of me. The players add descriptions for important rooms.

In one game I played there was nobody mapping (neither the DM nor the players). It was a mess as we stumbled on.