D&D General D&D Dungeon Map Design: Good and Bad

[Dyson Logos]

If I am going to use a map for TotM, I sometimes go with "each square is about 2 paces."

Bingo.

I draw my maps primarily to be a DM tool to describe a space to the players. A lot of people don't understand why I make such detailed maps when ALL my D&D play is done theatre of the mind. I draw them to assist DMs running games like the ones I play and run, and I find that a nice detailed map makes it easier to describe a scene.

 

[Lakesidefantasy]

We should talk a bit about secret doors in dungeon maps.

Secret doors are better if they're not really secret. Indeed, they're practically useless otherwise. If they're never revealed then at best all they can do is add to the general confusion of a typical dungeoncrawl. The dungeon above would be best if Players go into it knowing there are lots of secret doors to look for.

Not really secret doors come in different forms. The most basic form is the Random Secret Door, which is an actually secret door that Players just randomly decide to look for and find without any clues or reason to do so. Another is the Open Secret Door which is revealed because it is unconcealed. Yet other not really secret doors are Mapped Secret Doors which are indicated in a note or on a map that the Characters have. There is also the Implied Secret Door found in dead end corridors and between rooms.

Secret doors are meant to be revealed.

 

[jolt]

Old adventures often assumed you were always consciously looking for traps and secret doors. I seem to recall the baseline was it took 10 minutes to move 10' as it assumed you were checking the floor and walls for secret doors and traps as you went. You could go quicker, but it was a risk. Most treasure wasn't mission critical either and the adventure didn't care if you missed things.

Many maps at the time made a difference between a door that was secret as opposed to just concealed. A bunch of the classic dungeons were originally designed for convention/tournament play which needed a more linear design.

 

[Lakesidefantasy]

Yeah, but I remember that part of older adventures as not being fun. It was not fun searching every wall for secret doors and every door for secret traps. Heck, now that I think of it, traps might be more fun if they are not really secret. I think traps and secret doors might benefit from being known unknowns rather than unknown unknowns.

 

[Hussar]

Well, in older D&D, much like newer D&D, you detected traps pretty much automatically. An elf in the party meant you had an automatic chance regardless of your speed. IIRC, the best chances were about 50/50, so, if you brought two elves with you, then you pretty much get all the secret doors.

Now, it's based on passive Perception, which means that if you have a decent Perception score, you find virtually all secret doors automatically.