Is mapping a lost art with adventurers?

[jcfiala]

I was running 'Expedition to the Barrier Peaks' last year, and one of the players tried to do an old-school map as we were going along. It required so much work outside of the game that half the table left the game in revolt. So, after that, we dropped it.

And things were more fun. I don't play d&D to be a cartographer, and neither do my players.

 

[tzor]

As having played for a very long time now, I would like to reverse the question. I believe in reversing the question I can come up with the answer. Why did I (like it or not) map to horrid detail dungeons?

The answer was that a long time ago, (when all dungeons had paper thin walls ... since we wanted to cram as much dungeon as we could on the graph paper) secret rooms were everywhere! That 5' error in measurement could be a secret room with the secret treasure. It may have been before pokemon, but we still had to "explore" them all!

Now you don't see that happening as much. Gaps in the map are more likely just areas of solid rock. If I was exploring a house where I suspected secret passages I woud probably go back to the measure every wall twice method of dungeon exploration.

Otherwise Right Hand Rule and Sick Maps will work fine.

 

[mcrow]

What I did instead of making them map is made a maping skill.

I assumed if the party had a character with the skill that they would be maping as they go. When a situation came up where it would be important to have a map (needing to find their way out of a large dungeon or remembering where exactly the saw something.) I would have the mapper make skill check. If they failed by less than five they have a general idea of what they work looking for or how to get out , but if they fail it by 10 or more then they take a wrong turn or something like that. I would allow them to make a checks every now and then to double check that they are on the right track.


Like I sid though, I only used it when it would be real important to have a map or notes about the dungoen. I didn't want to bog the games down. The players liked rolling for maping a lot better than drawing one out.

 

[Shadowslayer]

bah. Try penciling and papering your way through castle Ravenloft going only by DM description. That'll put you off mapping forever.

Done it. Don't miss it.

Now when I DM a dungeon, I draw it out on 1 inch easel paper beforehand and cut it into sections. "You enter the room"...plunk..."theres the room"

 

[Thornir Alekeg]

I still tend to map dungeons when playing. My maps are rough - I try not to bog things down by asking precise detail, I just draw based upon the DMs description and show it to the DM asking, "does this look about right?" If I'm way off I'll get some clarification, but otherwise I don't worry about it.

The reason I do this it is have a record for us players of where we have been. Yes, we draw stuff on a battlemap, but many times not everything will fit, so something will have to be erased. Also, since we usually don't game every week, things get forgotten. The map is a great visual cue to refresh memories. Lastly, I often will write an adventure log between sessions. Having a map is a great tool to help me remember events that happened and the sequence they happened in if my game notes are sketchy.

 

[Odhanan]

When we're playing D&D and I'm a player, I copy all the maps/battlemaps on my notebook as we progress.

 

[Kid Charlemagne]

Actually, I'm doing more mapping as a PC recently than in a while. I've taken to buying some of those fancy journal books from Barnes & Nobles - one for each PC I'm playing in various campaigns - and writing my campaign notes down in them. Since I've got plenty of extra space in these journals, I've been sketching pictures and drawing maps in them. It's more done in a style as if the PC were the one mapping, not looking for detailed accuracy but for general utility.

 

[Harmon]

Our GM(s) use the battle map, place figures, Players move their figures along, as this happens I try to map the dungeon, write notes- "1 Orc and Pie," so that I recall the room. Also I take notes, which are seldom good, but it helps me to remember.

The last dungeon our GM seemed to have no interest in keeping the battle map going, that was okay with me I was busy with the baby, playing two characters, notes, BBQing, and such.

I did map all of the Night Fang Spire, that was cool.

 

[Flexor the Mighty!]

I always ask when they want to map, "Which player has the parchment and chaulk and is actively mapping?" None of them want to try to get caught off guard with a piece of chaulk instead of thier weapon but they all want perfect maps.

 

[Ed_Laprade]

I mapped, very rarely, back in the day. Hated it! I was the first in our group to buy a battlemat. Map drawing was/is still done, but it's a whole lot better when you can actually see what's there. (Which was one of our biggest complaints back when. The characters could see what they were mapping. They didn't have to rely on spoken descriptions like the players. But since it was the players who were actually the ones drawing the maps...)