MerakSpielman
First Post
I was looking through Phineas Crow's map thread, with the cool cavern maps and whatnot, when I was reminded how annoying it can be to run an adventure in such a place.
As a player, mapping it out is virtually impossible. If the DM can't describe the nooks and crannies, and has to resort to "an irregular room somewhere around 30'x40'" then what's the point? Why not just have it on the DM's map as a 30'x40' room, describe it as cave-like, and move on?
As a DM, I have to draw the room on the battle-mat. There's no way a rough cavern room will look anything like it does on my map after I transcribe it. And again, if it can't be duplicated accurately, why bother drawing it so cavey-like on my map in the first place?
The passageways twist and turn unpredictably, which wouldn't matter, except that there's a cavern in another part of the complex that fits precisely on the other side of it and without those specific, unmapable curves it wouldn't fit.
I just haven't found any practical way of dealing with cave systems without slowing down the pace of the game (compared to the pace of the game in "manufactured" dungeons/buildings).
As a player, mapping it out is virtually impossible. If the DM can't describe the nooks and crannies, and has to resort to "an irregular room somewhere around 30'x40'" then what's the point? Why not just have it on the DM's map as a 30'x40' room, describe it as cave-like, and move on?
As a DM, I have to draw the room on the battle-mat. There's no way a rough cavern room will look anything like it does on my map after I transcribe it. And again, if it can't be duplicated accurately, why bother drawing it so cavey-like on my map in the first place?
The passageways twist and turn unpredictably, which wouldn't matter, except that there's a cavern in another part of the complex that fits precisely on the other side of it and without those specific, unmapable curves it wouldn't fit.
I just haven't found any practical way of dealing with cave systems without slowing down the pace of the game (compared to the pace of the game in "manufactured" dungeons/buildings).