D&D General Mapping: How Do You Do It?

[Charlaquin]

Is this a puzzle for the players or for the characters?

For the players, obviously. Characters, in this context, are game mechanical constructs that can’t make decisions or solve puzzles.

 

[Charlaquin]

Totally. The goal is fun. If the players do enjoy mapping, then that's what the table should do. And honestly I personally see where it could be fun as long as the DM is not, broadly, a jerk.

I really do need to stress however, that I have played with ~1k players over the past 9 years. And I feel confident in saying that 99% of them would hate it, even with an otherwise good DM.

I would guess there’s selection bias at work here, because there are certainly RPG communities in which player mapping is very popular. But, yes, my experience has also been that most of the people playing D&D 5e don’t want to do player mapping, and that’s fine.

What I REALLY want to stress is that I don't think a DM should unilaterally force mapping on players. A lot of players would leave the table rather than do it.

Of course. I think it goes without saying that if the players don’t want to do something the DM shouldn’t force them to. RPGs are a leisure activity, nobody should be forcing anybody else to do something they don’t want to as part of that activity. It’s one thing to encourage players to try something they may not think sounds fun on the surface, it’s another thing to say they must do it or there will be no game. I suppose if the DM isn’t interested in running a game unless the players are going to be mapping, they shouldn’t be forced to do so either, but A) that’s a pretty strange preference to have IMO and B) if the players’ preferences and the DMs’ preferences are that opposed, maybe it’s best they not play together anyway.

 

[Reynard]

Is this a puzzle for the players or for the characters?

Nothing is ever a puzzle for the characters in an RPG. It is impossible.

 

[UngainlyTitan]

For the players, obviously. Characters, in this context, are game mechanical constructs that can’t make decisions or solve puzzles.

Not personally a fan, mostly be I am crap at puzzles

 

[Lakesidefantasy]

Nothing is ever a puzzle for the characters in an RPG. It is impossible.

You could roll a die. That would be sooooo much fun.

 

[Basic Expert]

As a player, if I feel the need to map a dungeon, I use little boxes for rooms/areas with a descriptive label (such as "Statue" or "Orcs", or "Dark Chasm") so I can remember what's there. Hallways/connectors are lines. Pretty much a simple node map.

It's pretty rare where more detailed mapping will be a benefit. It's never led to finding a secret or gaining any other advantage, so why bother?

Usually, mapping is not to prevent getting lost as that's not usually a danger in how our group plays (i.e. we can usually just say to the DM: "We go back to the throne room" without having to navigate back step by step). The purpose of the map is more to organize notes, help visualize the space, and keep track of areas we haven't yet explored.

As a GM, I map a space in whatever style I think is beneficial to the players (from no map at all, to node maps, to simple diagrams, to more detailed plans and battlemaps). Generally, the larger the scale, the simpler the map. I seldom map villages, towns, cities and other communities (unless I expect them to be ongoing locations) as this is usually a poor return on prep time investment.

Playing on VTT, I've lately been using scenic backdrops instead of maps: evocative art that gives a feeling for the place more than simple mapping.

 

[aco175]

Over the summer I went to play golf at a course I never played before about an hour away. I went online to Google maps and used the street view to 'drive' the route before the next morning when I actually went. I was able to see the intersections and houses and places like fast food and churches and such. This helped me the next day.

The point is that the PCs would actually be the ones going through the dungeon and navigating the halls and rooms with the dead skeleton and the one with the dripping water and such. Generally, they would be able to recall their exit and have no problems. I can see if there is a floor trap that drops them in another level or a teleporter that brings them someplace. Maybe they needed to flee off into the dark or the place is so vast in some way.

For me, mapping lost its charm like tracking rations and arrows. Last time we mapped it was a lot of time going back and forth with the DM describing it and the player showing the DM and them going back a couple times before the DM needed to draw what he was saying.

 

[Reynard]

Maybe I just have terible sense of direction, but I don't think most people are actually good at remember routes in complex, largely similar environments. my examples of schools and hospitals are based on actual lived experiences. military bases and office buildings, too. At least for me, when there are lots of hallway turns and everything looks pretty much the same, losing my way is pretty easy.

"We go back to the throne room" feels like a cheat to me. I mean, first of all, if you aren't exploring and mapping the dungeon, looking for secret doors and finding hidden routes, what is the point? If it is so linear or defined that there is no chance of getting lost, why have a dungeon at all?