Maps - Divisions and Distances
- Thread starter Mark CMG
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el-remmen
Moderator Emeritus
5' squares for all indoor maps or maps of areas where battles are likely to happen (even if out of doors). This is one of things that bugs me about Dungeon - they sometimes still have maps with 10' box scales.
For world maps or large topographical maps, the scale varies. . .
For world maps or large topographical maps, the scale varies. . .
Shadowslayer
Explorer
Yeah, hexes outside and squares for encounters. And even then, hexes only if you're timing out travel..otherwise it doesn't matter.
I use 5' squares for indoor environments, whether its on a battlemat or graph paper. If I do an outdoor map for my new game that is more detailed than relative locations, I will probably draw it on plain paper and craft a hex transparency sheet to lay over it when necessary to calculate travel time.
Woas
First Post
I like my over-land type maps to just be plain like real maps but with a basic scale to keep things easy: something like 1 inch = 30 miles - or roughly a days travel. Or something like that.
For indoor floor plans for dungeons and other 'encounter' areas I use grids. Mostly one square = 5'. but sometimes if its a big place and I want to fit it all on one sheet of paper I'll do one square = 10'.
I have a question for the hex users. What do the hexes actually do for you? Just an alternate way of setting a scale for the map? Just tradition? I wonder because maps of our world are not hexed... if anything grid if you count the lat-long type boxes that maps sometimes have. So unless theres a whole community of hex-grided road maps of the USA out there I'm not aware of, it seems like the hex map is a function of D&D/RPG maps only. And I'm wondering why.
For indoor floor plans for dungeons and other 'encounter' areas I use grids. Mostly one square = 5'. but sometimes if its a big place and I want to fit it all on one sheet of paper I'll do one square = 10'.
I have a question for the hex users. What do the hexes actually do for you? Just an alternate way of setting a scale for the map? Just tradition? I wonder because maps of our world are not hexed... if anything grid if you count the lat-long type boxes that maps sometimes have. So unless theres a whole community of hex-grided road maps of the USA out there I'm not aware of, it seems like the hex map is a function of D&D/RPG maps only. And I'm wondering why.
Emirikol
Adventurer
Let's be realistic..realism isn't necessary
The only place where it seems scale is really necessary is on a battle situation. Squares are nice, but the only reason they're standard is because DUNGEON mapping works better that way. I use whatever is on the table at the time either indoor or outdoor.
I don't think there's a player alive who gets a kick out of having to trudge through a meaningless set of calculations for travel scales.
jh
The only place where it seems scale is really necessary is on a battle situation. Squares are nice, but the only reason they're standard is because DUNGEON mapping works better that way. I use whatever is on the table at the time either indoor or outdoor.
I don't think there's a player alive who gets a kick out of having to trudge through a meaningless set of calculations for travel scales.
jh
For dungeons & interiors, I usually prefer a rectangular grid at something in the neighborhood of a yard to six feet per square. I guess about 5 to 6 squares per inch. I've never been a big fan of the old-school, ten-foot-wide dungeon corridors.
For the battlemat, I prefer hexes. Indoor or out. Again, usually about a yard to six feet per hex. (For regular RPG personal combat.) Half- to one-inch hexes. Maybe with a line down the middle representing an empty distance between the sides when at long range.
For town & region maps, I don't think I've yet formed a firm preference.
I like just filling in the spaces whether than free-handing.
For the battlemat, I prefer hexes. Indoor or out. Again, usually about a yard to six feet per hex. (For regular RPG personal combat.) Half- to one-inch hexes. Maybe with a line down the middle representing an empty distance between the sides when at long range.
For town & region maps, I don't think I've yet formed a firm preference.
Woas said:
I like just filling in the spaces whether than free-handing.
5' (not 10') squares for indoors - BTW I think thinking in 5' scale seems to create much more plausible dungeons etc than 10' scale does, you get far fewer 180' chambers.
After a long time hexless I'm coming to re-experience the joys of hexes for overland mapping, thanks to the free Arr-Kelan mapping software I use. Scales I like for hexes:
For my game world Ea
100 miles/hex - continental scale
50 miles/hex - chunk of continent with major nations
10 miles/hex - the largest 'local' scale, suits high-level adventuring; can feel cramped though
5 miles/hex - a nice organic scale for lower level adventuring, feels far more spacious than 10 m/hex
1.5 to 2 miles/hex - for local area mapping of what's around your castle
100 yards/hex - tactical battlefield scale
Edit: For my Wilderlands campaign I'm using the published setting at 15 miles/hex rather than the official 5 miles/hex - the world was designed originally at 15/hex and it shows.
15/hex is similar to the 10/hex I use for my homebrew world, with similar benefits. It worls much better than Greyhawk's 30 miles/hex, which I don't like at all. I also think Mystara's 24 miles/hex is too big for a local-scale map and too small for a general campaign overview map.
After a long time hexless I'm coming to re-experience the joys of hexes for overland mapping, thanks to the free Arr-Kelan mapping software I use. Scales I like for hexes:
For my game world Ea
100 miles/hex - continental scale
50 miles/hex - chunk of continent with major nations
10 miles/hex - the largest 'local' scale, suits high-level adventuring; can feel cramped though
5 miles/hex - a nice organic scale for lower level adventuring, feels far more spacious than 10 m/hex
1.5 to 2 miles/hex - for local area mapping of what's around your castle
100 yards/hex - tactical battlefield scale
Edit: For my Wilderlands campaign I'm using the published setting at 15 miles/hex rather than the official 5 miles/hex - the world was designed originally at 15/hex and it shows.
15/hex is similar to the 10/hex I use for my homebrew world, with similar benefits. It worls much better than Greyhawk's 30 miles/hex, which I don't like at all. I also think Mystara's 24 miles/hex is too big for a local-scale map and too small for a general campaign overview map.
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