Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="mearls" data-source="post: 2620548" data-attributes="member: 697">I wouldn't worry about the maps. As long as they are clear and it's obvious what symbol means what, they're fine. I am a terrible artist, but I can produce map sketches that will end up in various and sundry DDM and D&D products. The key is that if you know you suck at maps, take the time to draw things clearly, or use shorthand symbols to mark different terrain types.For instance, if I have to put a pool of water on a map, I use a simple symbol for water, like a wavy line. I then draw a box on the graph paper grid that marks where the pool should go, then I draw wavy lines in the box. I might use slanted lines to mark an area that's supposed to be filled with rubble. I also make notes about different areas. I might mark one area of difficult terrain with a letter, and then put an explanatory bit of text in the map's description (like this = "the difficult terrain marked with an A is rubbled from a collapsed wall.") Drawing a border around the difficult terrain also makes it even clearer.I don't even try to draw things out, since I know I can't do that.The map is likely there to make sure that you can take the time to express yourself clearly and give us useful diagrams. Maps are an important part of a turnover, and it's really annoying if the map we're given doesn't match the text. It's one of the nuts and bolts things of D&D design.With all that said, I encourage anyone with an interest in RPG design to try out the test. We're always looking for new talent!</blockquote>

Verification