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<blockquote data-quote="ruleslawyer" data-source="post: 3697545" data-attributes="member: 1757">I disagree. &quot;Mental/physical&quot; is not really an appropriate distinction in a game that features characters that have Int/Wis/Cha scores, social skill ranks, and knowledge that is separate from that of their players. Moreover, the analogy between mapping and strategy is a false one, as I pointed out with puzzle solving. Mapping is not a series of decisions; it's an activity. Players should not be required to perform activities in which their characters have demonstrable competence. To analogize appropriately to something like combat strategy, the only relevant decisions the player should face, if his character has a high enough Int score and/or ranks in Knowledge (dungeoneering) and Survival, is whether to purchase mapmaking equipment (a light source, quill, and parchment), and whether to map or not to map. The rest is procedure, just like swinging a sword or casting a spell.If the players enjoy mapping, great. They're jotting down a graphic chronicle of their adventures that gives the same sense of accomplishment as, say, the party bard composing a great song or epic poem to catalogue the PCs' exploits. But just as I wouldn't force the party bard's player to come up with a new stanza every time he makes a Perform check, I wouldn't force the player of a skilled explorer to sit there drawing a detailed map and cutting into everyone else's active play time and my own narrating as DM.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="ruleslawyer, post: 3697545, member: 1757"] I disagree. "Mental/physical" is not really an appropriate distinction in a game that features characters that have Int/Wis/Cha scores, social skill ranks, and knowledge that is separate from that of their players. Moreover, the analogy between mapping and strategy is a false one, as I pointed out with puzzle solving. Mapping is not a series of decisions; it's an [i]activity[/i]. Players should not be required to perform [i]activities[/i] in which their characters have demonstrable competence. To analogize appropriately to something like combat strategy, the only relevant decisions the player should face, if his character has a high enough Int score and/or ranks in Knowledge (dungeoneering) and Survival, is whether to purchase mapmaking equipment (a light source, quill, and parchment), and whether to map or not to map. The rest is [i]procedure[/i], just like swinging a sword or casting a spell. If the players enjoy mapping, great. They're jotting down a graphic chronicle of their adventures that gives the same sense of accomplishment as, say, the party bard composing a great song or epic poem to catalogue the PCs' exploits. But just as I wouldn't force the party bard's player to come up with a new stanza every time he makes a Perform check, I wouldn't force the player of a skilled explorer to sit there drawing a detailed map and cutting into everyone else's active play time and my own narrating as DM. [/QUOTE]

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