D&D 5E Does anyone still do mapping?

[TerraDave]

They still map. They don't have to, but there characters don't have to live either.

50 rounds is only 5 minutes. YOu could spend 20 rounds in combat and 30 searching stuff/moving and only 5 minutes would pass in game time.

Characters are people and they spend their doing what people do: talking to each other. If they are exploring around I default to that taking as much time in game as in real life. Combat is the big exception going one way, rituals and rests the other.

 

[Monayuris]

Mapping is alive and well as far as I'm concerned.

As a DM, mapping is something the players in my games should do. I don't give any shortcuts. If the players want to go somewhere (in a dungeon or overland) they have to tell me how and by what route they take. If they are 4 levels deep and want to get out, they have to provide me with the directions they take to get out. If they don't make a map, how are they going to remember how to get anywhere?

When I first stated DM'ing, my player's were not used to mapping at all. In my opinion, the DM (outside of a charm or dominate spell by the rules) cannot control a player's character. If they want to go somewhere they have to go there... I can't take control of their characters.

As a player, I map all the time. If I'm exploring a dungeon, I don't feel like I have a good feel for the dungeon unless I'm mapping. It makes the place feel more real and I get more immersed in the game.

Also as a side note, mapping to me represents a recording of the game. It is a physical record of the adventures had by the group. You should all see my players' Stonehell map. They've explored 4 levels so far, each level is 3-4 pages of grid paper taped together with notes scrawled on them, eraser marks, smudges and all manner of details. These maps are a living artifact.

Of course, this is just my point of view as I run and play in mostly old school games or old school style games. I get bored with most of the more modern, story based adventures.

 

[LordEntrails]

I missed the special use description under cartographer's tools that allows proficient characters to multitask while traveling!

Is it just me, or does it seem particularly awkward to manage quill, ink, and parchment (not to mention compass, caliper, and ruler) while at the same time watching for danger?

Maybe they are like astronauts and use a pencil?

 

[Grainger]

I don't do many dungeon-based adventures any more (back in the day, it was common), but when I do, I expect the players to map it. It just seems more immersive than me (as DM) plonking down a pre-drawn map, or drawing it for them on a battle mat. I don't expect their map to be particularly accurate, and I tend to be a little loose with dimensions, but they do need a map if they want to easily identify hidden areas and other clues, and if they need to flee the dungeon quickly, they will certainly need to rely on it.

I can see the argument that this makes it a player skill, rather than a character one, and I accept that. It also slows down the game (although it doesn't take that long), but that provides "thinking space" for the players, so it isn't a huge problem. On balance, I like it as an immersion builder during dungeon crawls.

As to PCs needing to concentrate on mapping, and not being aware of traps or monsters while they do it... that's true, but then again, they're in a party. One PC can map, while others at the front look for traps, others watch the rear, etc. It's really not an issue.

 

[iserith]

I can see the argument that this makes it a player skill, rather than a character one, and I accept that. It also slows down the game (although it doesn't take that long), but that provides "thinking space" for the players, so it isn't a huge problem. On balance, I like it as an immersion builder during dungeon crawls.

I don't have any concerns about it being a player skill or a character one. After all, player skill matters in a game. That it slows down the game is a major concern of mine, however. Anything that affects pacing is something I take very seriously. I don't find the payoff on mapping is sufficient to the hit the speed of the game takes. Even relatively minor interactions on the map build up to a significant amount of time in a given session.

As to PCs needing to concentrate on mapping, and not looking out for monsters... that's true, but then again, they're in a party. One PC can map, while others look ahead for traps, watch the rear, etc. It's not an issue.

That's true, though surprise is determined individually. If you're mapping and your buddy is keeping watch, you're surprised automatically if a sneaking monster comes calling and your buddy may or may not be.

 

[Grainger]

That it slows down the game is a major concern of mine, however. Anything that affects pacing is something I take very seriously. I don't find the payoff on mapping is sufficient to the hit the speed of the game takes. Even relatively minor interactions on the map build up to a significant amount of time in a given session.

That's fair enough - everyone's mileage varies.

 

[Henry]

My groups typically game about 3 hours once per two weeks, so we tend to see more indirect forms of mapping as time taken away from combats and roleplaying, and we tend to vastly simplify it. The DM maps and estimates the time taken, and we just go with it.

 

[the Jester]

I'm a megadungeon-loving sandbox DM. You better believe that my players, at least the smart ones, map when they go into a maze of dangerous corridors and passages. You want to get back out? Tell me which way you go.

I suspect that groups that don't map get a lot of "gimmes" that I don't give. Either maps on the table for them, even if revealed a bit at a time, or cardinal directions when they have no way of telling which way is which. The Keen Mind feat is a very good choice in my game, because you only get "right, left, forward, back" otherwise, and if you ask me which passage you came out of, I'll tell you, "I don't remember. Do you?"

So mapping is definitely still a thing for certain playstyles. But I think those playstyles are in the minority these days.

 

[S'mon]

Running a campaign megadungeon like Stonehell with multiple and variable PC groups, mapping is vital if the PCs are to make progress and not constantly retrace already explored areas. Maps allow the PCs to decide on promising avenues of investigation.