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Message: <blockquote data-quote="steenan" data-source="post: 5525662" data-attributes="member: 23240">I rarely use maps. I also don't spend much time detailing a lot of places and NPCs - I have a few bullet points with what is important, and improvise the rest. It's quite easy to imagine what should be in a town, for example. So, if players ask about something I feel that should be there, they will find it. If they don't ask, I have my bullet points with things I'd like them to notice, so that is what I'll describe. And the rest is filled with color: there's a lot of difference in how a town looks and feels during a festival and during a siege, obviously.There is also a matter of how familiar are the characters with given location. If a PC spent all his life in given neighborhood, he'll know it inside out - and I'll let the player tell me what's there on the fly. If the party just came to a new place, they'll need time or help of locals to find anything that's not obvious (and in game, it probably requires some rolls). In the first case, using a map would restrict player's creativity; in the second, it would give much more information than the PCs have.</blockquote>