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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Lanefan" data-source="post: 8133780" data-attributes="member: 29398">Official-ism, I suppose.In any case, I ceased having to worry about any of this about 2007 when that campaign ended; the one since has been a completely-homebrew setting (with which, as an aside, I've found myself unexpectedly pleased as time has gone on) and thus there ain't no canon arguments as there ain't no official canon from any external source.Now - as per below - I just have to make damn sure I'm consistent with my internal canon. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />OK, so there is a map.  That's something. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />Were it me I'd just assume that level of detail is needed, if not right away then at some point durng the campaign; and to avoid wasting game time filling it all in I'd get it done up front.If it's in the very moment it's not so bad - it's still egg on the GM's face, but that's about it.  I'm talking about a situation where the PC dies, the game goes on, and sometime during the week - or next session when someone looks more carefully at the map - a player comes to me and points out the mistake.If your players weren't mapping it you could probably get away with some minor errors.  But we map, and thus if I'm just guessing at room sizes and hallway lengths it's inevitable I'm going to unfairly mess them up. (and in the fiction it's not like the PCs can't pace off the distances or even measure using lengths of string, assuming they have the time)Hmmm...I'd say distance and spatiality are important no matter what.  Sure there's non-grid ways of determining who happens to be where when something goes boom; but you also need distances when it comes to things like speed and move rates, visibility (as in who can see what in fog or dim light), spell or missile ranges, and so forth.If I only ever told them 800' where my map (or my mind) says 600 then it's on me to adjust things as best I can to suit what I said to them.  The players still only hear one consistent thing.The conflict comes when I tell them 600' one time and 800' the next, and that difference somehow affects play.The conflict also comes when I tell them a building is 70x70' on the outside then once they're inside I end up giving them 90x70' worth of room descriptions that don't fit into the 70x70 square they've drawn on the map, because I'm making it all up on the fly and due to three intervening combats over several hours I've already forgotten it's supposed to only be 70x70.  I've done this in the past, much to my shame.* - and this is exactly the sort of notes I'm awful at taking during play. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /></blockquote>

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