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Message: <blockquote data-quote="pemerton" data-source="post: 8168014" data-attributes="member: 42582">The use of maps (together with movement rates?) to resolve actions as described here is one particular technique. Ron Edwards has some nice discussions of it (eg in The Right to Dream essay I linked to upthread).I think it puts a lot of pressure on the GM to be accurate and "fair" in relation both to the details of the map and the details of time spent. Classic dungeon handle this through (i) their fine-grained mapping down to the last 5' or 10', (ii) their relative sparseness of detail, and (iii) established conventions about how much time passes taking certain core actions (like searching a room or forcing open a door).If the setting is a city, or a forest, each of (i) to (iii) comes under pressure: it becomes hard or impossible to have such fine-grained mapping, and there is more detail than can be recorded in notes, and the suite of actions becomes too broad to be easily handled via dungeoneering-like conventions about the time required.I therefore tend to handle this sort of action (can we get from A to B in time) via opposed checks (or perhaps checks against a difficulty if it's not a race) and then use the map (if there is one) to help contribute to the colour of the consequence narration.(A footnote: Classic Traveller starmaps together with its rule for interstellar travel do satisfy the (i) through (iii) constraints. It's one of the clever conceits of the system.)</blockquote>

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