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<blockquote data-quote="Deadguy" data-source="post: 34797" data-attributes="member: 2480">Don't Do Too Much Work!Once upon a time I used to map out towns and cities in quite some detail, often marking in swathes of streets. Not anymore. Even for places that are frequently visited, I have found that I don't need to put in all that detail.Instead I have maps that show districts, with explanations of what those districts are, and some notes about the styles of buildings involved. I add to that the specific locations of important and landmark buildings (the latter is really useful - so NPCs can say something like &quot;The Courts of Law? They're just down from the Hippodrome, on the same street that leads towards the High Hall of the City Council - that big red-roofed tower over there!&quot;).When PCs are wandering about, I ask them what they are looking for, and what they want. Then I can improvise some stuff about specifics. if it doesn't look absolutely identical the next time they come along, well maybe they are confsued, mixing places up in their memories! In fairness, if a place seems like it will become important, then I mark it onto the map.A good thing to do too is to make a basic map for the use of the PCs too - if you can photocopy (or generate a copy on a computer), then they can have something to jot down places of interest to them. I fond that this, more than reams of description they soon forget, gets them involved with the town.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Deadguy, post: 34797, member: 2480"] [b]Don't Do Too Much Work![/b] Once upon a time I used to map out towns and cities in quite some detail, often marking in swathes of streets. Not anymore. Even for places that are frequently visited, I have found that I don't need to put in all that detail. Instead I have maps that show districts, with explanations of what those districts are, and some notes about the styles of buildings involved. I add to that the specific locations of important and landmark buildings (the latter is really useful - so NPCs can say something like "The Courts of Law? They're just down from the Hippodrome, on the same street that leads towards the High Hall of the City Council - that big red-roofed tower over there!"). When PCs are wandering about, I ask them what they are looking for, and what they want. Then I can improvise some stuff about specifics. if it doesn't look absolutely identical the next time they come along, well maybe they are confsued, mixing places up in their memories! In fairness, if a place seems like it will become important, then I mark it onto the map. A good thing to do too is to make a basic map for the use of the PCs too - if you can photocopy (or generate a copy on a computer), then they can have something to jot down places of interest to them. I fond that this, more than reams of description they soon forget, gets them involved with the town. [/QUOTE]

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