Maps From Adventures

[Bomberooski]

Question for you experienced GM's out there:

I just got Dragon Delves and it will be my first RPG sessions that I will run in person from an adventure book. How do YOU go about transferring the maps from the book to the table?

Obviously this has been easy on a VTT with maps being provided (for the most part) when you buy an adventure online.

 

[aco175]

Are you asking specifically for a VTT or an in-person around the table map?

I never play online so no idea for that, but for around the table I have enlarged maps on the computer with PCPaint or something simple and printed out on the 11x17 page. This works for small maps and rooms mostly. For a larger map I use Dungeon Tiles mostly and wing things close enough. Lastly, I tried using gridded wrapping paper that has 1inch grid on the inside. This worked great for the Against the Giants maps in a long scroll form where I could unroll some of the map and roll up the parts not needed. The downside was that it was unwieldy for the table size and I needed to add another table to the room.

 

[Reynard]

I have a set of Tac-Tiles -- a dry erase board with a 1" grid that is in separate 12" squares that fit together like puzzle pieces. I love them. I just quick draw whatever the scene is when initiative is rolled. I try to avoid drawing out entire maps and prefer "theater of the mind" until combat starts.

Sometimes I do wish I could do big terrain set pieces, but I have neither the artistic ability nor the patience.

 

[GMMichael]

I just got Dragon Delves and it will be my first RPG sessions that I will run in person from an adventure book. How do YOU go about transferring the maps from the book to the table?

Words. But not too many, or the PCs won't need to explore.

I use dice for quick reference on character positions.

 

[kronovan]

If you're dealing with maps in a book, my most important advice is to get the equivalent PDF. For a PDF, there's a free utilty for Windows (don't know if it's available for Mac or Linux) called PDF Creator, which despite it's name also allows you to print out pages of a PDF as a JPG or PNG graphics file. I've used it to convert a PDF map to graphic and then enlarged it with Paintbrush Pro - used a few other apps for enlarging too. If I'm not happy with the quality of the map, I might bite the bullet and import it as a background in Campaign Cartographer and then just trace and build over it.

Otherwise, when I was running adventures IRL around a table, I use a sizable assortment of Paizo's 5"x8" tiles. I found if the genre aligns (i.e. Fantasy subgenres), I can quickly build an equivalent map with them. I actually like the format of those tiles so much, that I've started to create my own tiles with Campaign Cartographer for other genres.

I had experience creating maps by hand back in the day, so I'm comfortable with hand drawing out a map on a grid real-time as an exploration unfolds. Definitely some advantatges with that, as IMO it's the best way to ensure fog of war is in effect for encounters. If it's an old school, square-edged dungeon like the old blue no-copy maps, I provide grid paper and encourage one of the players to take on the duty as mapper. The session takes longer to run when doing that, but IME it really enhances the OSR vibe.

 

[LordEntrails]

A wet erase mat. Such as this one: https://www.amazon.com/Chessex-Role-Playing-Play-Mat/dp/B0015IQO2O

 

[payn]

I have a chessex battlemat and use wet erase markers to draw the map out as the players discover areas.

Edit: Great minds think alike.

 

[Voadam]

In the AD&D days I would sketch them out on scrap paper and lay them down as the party moved around.

In the pathfinder 1e era I would sometimes print out the maps from the PDFs (battle mat ones and over view ones), sometimes sketch out on a battle mat, and sometimes use predone battle mats.

 

[Reynard]

If you're dealing with maps in a book, my most important advice is to get the equivalent PDF. For a PDF, there's a free utilty for Windows (don't know if it's available for Mac or Linux) called PDF Creator, which despite it's name also allows you to print out pages of a PDF as a JPG or PNG graphics file. I've used it to convert a PDF map to graphic and then enlarged it with Paintbrush Pro - used a few other apps for enlarging too. If I'm not happy with the quality of the map, I might bite the bullet and import it as a background in Campaign Cartographer and then just trace and build over it.

Otherwise, when I was running adventures IRL around a table, I use a sizable assortment of Paizo's 5"x8" tiles. I found if the genre aligns (i.e. Fantasy subgenres), I can quickly build an equivalent map with them. I actually like the format of those tiles so much, that I've started to create my own tiles with Campaign Cartographer for other genres.

I had experience creating maps by hand back in the day, so I'm comfortable with hand drawing out a map on a grid real-time as an exploration unfolds. Definitely some advantatges with that, as IMO it's the best way to ensure fog of war is in effect for encounters. If it's an old school, square-edged dungeon like the old blue no-copy maps, I provide grid paper and encourage one of the players to take on the duty as mapper. The session takes longer to run when doing that, but IME it really enhances the OSR vibe.

A PDF for a WotC product?

BWAHAHAHAHA

 

[Aellic Mornbringer]

A wet erase mat. Such as this one: https://www.amazon.com/Chessex-Role-Playing-Play-Mat/dp/B0015IQO2O

I have a chessex battlemat and use wet erase markers to draw the map out as the players discover areas.

Edit: Great minds think alike.

Fantastic product and durable! I'm still using the one I bought 30 years ago.

In addition to the Chessex mat/wet erase markers, I have the Dungeon Tiles sets that I use to approximate the maps in a particular adventure as others here have mentioned.

I have a fair number of "accessory" pieces from products like WarLock Tiles or HeroQuest (doors, tables, treasure chests, etc.) that I sprinkle around to add a little 3 dimensional flavor to the map. Then I squint really hard and pretend I'm looking at a full 3-D map made out of Dwarven Forge...