Handling maps in your game

[Aaron2]

I guess I'm really just fishing for ideas ... how do maps fit into your campaign, do they play a major role in your sessions, would you encourage players to map out areas even if none of your players seem to be apt at doing so, and if none are, then how can you make up for this weakness (rather it be theirs or my own inability to describe the information in an easily mapable form)?

For dungeons, I bought a large pad of 1" gridded paper at an office supply store. The paper is for presentations and each sheet is about three feet by four feet. I draw the map out on the paper and cut the individual rooms apart. That way I kinda have a puzzle that I reconstruct as the players move about. The main advantage of doing it this way is that I can take the time (non-game time) to carefully draw the floorplan, often coloring the various areas and drawing in interesting bits like floor pattern, rocks and furniture. I can also label things. I found that when I used a battlemat that tmy rooms were dull and uninteresting. Plus, I often design the dungeon as I draw it out in full scale so I don't even need to keep a map for myself. The game map is my map.

Here's something similar. It may look expensive but one pad lasted for a 2 year/once a week campaign.

http://www.officedepot.com/ddSKU.do?level=SK&id=160333&location_info=_SK_160333


For larger scale overland maps, I draw them out on this printer paper that has a parchment pattern.


Aaron

 

[Arnwyn]

For indoor or "close-up" maps, we use a battlemat and delete the sections after the characters pass through.

Any large scale maps (everything from towns to wilderness) are up to the players to come up with on their own, based on the DM's descriptions and the players' questions.

 

[Ourph]

Do you give them the map you created, or maybe a cruder version (perhaps aquired from an NPC)? Do you put it on the table and try to cover up the areas they haven't yet explored? Do you get one of the players to "map" the areas as the party progresses (which has went pretty poorly for my players, sadly).

In general, I encourage the players to draw their own map. Once you get used to describing the dungeon in "map terms" and the players get used to drawing what you're saying it goes fairly quickly. I will also help them draw particularly confusing rooms if they would be difficult to describe verbally.

That said, the players will make mistakes, which is really part of the fun. Sometimes drawing a good map becomes just as much a goal as finding the treasure or defeating the monsters. When the player's map leads them astray, that's just another opportunity for adventure.

would you encourage players to map out areas even if none of your players seem to be apt at doing so, and if none are, then how can you make up for this weakness (rather it be theirs or my own inability to describe the information in an easily mapable form)?

Players who make the attempt will get better with practice. I don't tell the players they HAVE to draw maps, and I certainly don't require they draw EXACT maps; however, players who don't draw maps or aren't careful with their depiction of the dungeon sometimes run into trouble because of it and that's just the way it goes IMC.

 

[mindy from fluid]

Dundjinni - a mapping program to consider

Depending on your budget, you might consider the mapping program that we produce, Dundjinni.

It allows you to create maps larger than 8x11 inches, since it can tile the output (so you can then cut off hte borders and tape the pieces together to create a large battle map). It also lets you hide traps, secret doors, etc on the battle map but print them on the 1/4 inch grid reference map that you, as GM, use.

You can check out a free demo at www.dundjinni.com. And while you're there, check out some of the user maps and artwork posted in our forums.

 

[gravyboat]

http://www.dundjinni.com/forums/forum_posts.asp?TID=628&PN=1&TPN=2

Check out the above thread leading to the Dundjinni boards.

I've been working on a DHTML app for displaying maps on a monitor or TV screen.

Screenshot attached...

 

[Li Shenron]

Our DM normally draws the map in real time on paper or whiteboard when exploring a dungeon, in larger scale when we need it for combat, although we do not always need it.
About half of the times when it's up to me to DM, I use a different method: I prepare some maps beforehand, each "room" on a different paper, so that the players are shown only the room they are currently in (this was important in a few adventures when getting lost in the dungeon was part of the fun ).

We never used the old idea of a player (and his character) drawing the map during exploration, because we always thought it was generally unlikely.