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

[Thomas Shey]

This is one of the things I really liked about the WotC Star Wars RPG that came out quite a while ago... in that I believe each square was identified as a meter long, rather than 5 feet. I would presume that is also how it's done in European printings too? By identifying the distances in that way... it does make for more "realistic" sizes for corridors and rooms. Most corridors in a building are like 3 to 3.5 feet wide, meaning that a map that uses a single square for a corridor would be more on the money. And then a room shown to be 3x4 squares on the map, ends up being only about 10x12 feet... which is a much more normal size for a room than chambers ending up being 15x20 feet when using 5' squares. So 1 meter squares lets you get more squares into a room for movement purposes, without making the sizes of these places unreasonably large.

It also makes things a lot easier for counting distance when 1 square = 1 meter, rather than having to recalculate in the moment when 1 square = 5 feet.

A lot of games I played in my heyday used 1 meter hexes. Heck, even the current incarnation of the Hero System does that as I recall.

 

[Mannahnin]

GURPS used 1 yard / 1 meter hexes right from the start, as I think its precursors The Fantasy Trip, Melee and Wizard did. It always felt great for scale, though of course always looks a bit awkward on a map of square-walled structures, compared to a square grid.

 

[Lakesidefantasy]

when you need multiple choices in a dungeon:

View attachment 425611

Gormenghast Castle?

Interesting thought: How would one represent Gormenghast Castle in a game without doing this?

 

[Lakesidefantasy]

GURPS used 1 yard / 1 meter hexes right from the start, as I think its precursors The Fantasy Trip, Melee and Wizard did. It always felt great for scale, though of course always looks a bit awkward on a map of square-walled structures, compared to a square grid.

You can fix the awkward look by using an off-set square grid rather than hexagons. It has the same properties as a hexagon grid but still maintains 90° angles.

 

[Mannahnin]

Gormenghast Castle?

Interesting thought: How would one represent Gormenghast Castle in a game without doing this?

I imagine I'd abstract it. Like I did with Thunderspire Labyrinth in 4E, or Vornheim in 5E. Only map particular rooms or areas where and when needed. Otherwise use abstracted navigation eating up defined units of time, with random encounter rolls and checks to see if you get lost.

 

[Lakesidefantasy]

I imagine I'd abstract it. Like I did with Thunderspire Labyrinth in 4E, or Vornheim in 5E. Only map particular rooms or areas where and when needed. Otherwise use abstracted navigation eating up defined units of time, with random encounter rolls and checks to see if you get lost.

Perhaps that is the best way to handle getting lost - random encounters. The more lost you get the more encounters you get. Random encounters are traditionally a way to hit Players in their Character resources. That would certainly put a point on it.

I think in Gormenghast Castle the idea is that outsiders, our Characters, would always be in a state of being lost. Maybe failing a Skill Check results in a random room. Perhaps we always have the ability to return to a room we just left but going forward requires a Check.