Anybody else try this instead of regular mapping for a dungeon?

[blackshirt5]

For my biggest, most complex dungeon(Castle Novgorod, my version of Dracula's Castle from Castlevania), I'm trying out a new way of mapping(at least for me) where I'm just writing it all out in a notebook; the way the hallways look, the size, placement of the monsters(the dungeon is as vertical as it is horizontal, so it'd be a royal pain in the arse to map out normally).

Anybody else ever do anyhting similar to this? Any feedback?

 

[Chauzu]

I do both when making maps.

 

[haiiro]

In my experience, at some point someone will want you to draw or map out a portion of the dungeon/castle/etc. -- and this is where it really helps to have at least the more complicated areas mapped out beforehand. Otherwise you may find yourself having to draw something on the fly while referring to your descriptions, which can be a real momentum-killer.

I don't think having a master map of Novgorod would be necessary, but I would definitely draw parts of it before you use it in your game.

 

[blackshirt5]

Agreed. Most likely, I'll end up mapping out some of the bigger, more important areas(like where they fight the boss monsters) and just leaving everything else up to the imagination and the descriptions.

Also, as an added bonus, nobody can peek over my shoulder and catch a real glimpse of the map!

 

[el-remmen]

What if they don't fight the boss monsters where you think they are gonna fight the boss monsters? Like in the rear access stairwell between sub-levels six and seven while trying to tote a three-hundred pound statue of Prince Draculath out of the dungeon?

 

[DSC-Niffer]

Just fyi, we created our Dragon Mats for that very purpose. You can predraw the dungeon and lay them out as the group gets to each area.

We always were slowed down by having to draw out the area and we tried to think of ways we could change that. We originally started to do the Dragon Mats for personal use, and then decided that it would be good for conventions, etc too. Then we just started publishing them.

If your interested, they are made on 8x11 sheets of plastic with a clear laminate on them (so wet erase pens work great on them!)

 

[blackshirt5]

What if they don't fight the boss monsters where you think they are gonna fight the boss monsters? Like in the rear access stairwell between sub-levels six and seven while trying to tote a three-hundred pound statue of Prince Draculath out of the dungeon?

Because in the castle, the monsters have been bound to guard specific areas. That's why they've got all the undead, minor death spirits, werecreatures, demons, etc. to guard outside of those areas.

I think I'll eventually post the story of them going through the dungeon as my very first story hour. I've gotta run it first though!

 

[Stone Angel]

Just curious as to how you normally run your games. Do you have a "battle board" and mini's or do you just use graph paper, or just describe everything and leave it to the players imagination.

My group is very tactics heavy and we enjoy the combat aspect of DnD so we have a large piece of plexi-glass that is to 1" squares on the back, so I just draw the map out with a dry erase marker.

Anyway one time I took the time to draw several pictures the way the rooms looked from the players viewpoint it was cool but it took forever.

 

[blackshirt5]

Normally, I don't run it with a big board, but I do draw a mpa for my reference. This time though, I'm trying something different, cause Novgorod would be a nightmare to draw out.

 

[Umbran]

... I'm just writing it all out in a notebook; the way the hallways look, the size, placement of the monsters(the dungeon is as vertical as it is horizontal, so it'd be a royal pain in the arse to map out normally).

Well, here's the thing...

A usual dungeon is basically a 2-dimensional thing. Good for mapping out on paper.

A notebook, however, is linear, basically a one-dimensional description. You can cross reference a great deal, but that only means you have to flip pages a lot.

So, it sounds like this notebook representation is going in the wrong direction. You need more dimensions in your map, not less. Unless this dungeon is very simply connected - has lots of vertical changes, but only one path to follow to get from start to finish - the notebook wont' serve you so well, I expect.