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Captain Alien
2009-07-11, 11:02 AM
Hi everyone.

In my campaign, there are four things to do in the dungeons: Killing, looting, roleplaying and exploring. My party loves doing the first three activities, but when it is time to explore, and especifically, when it is time to draw a map, they start to get bored.

How can avoid this? How can the DM make exploring more dynamic, quick and enjoyable?

Anxe
2009-07-11, 11:09 AM
I just skip over it and assume they mapped the dungeon out and know their way back out and in.

Clementx
2009-07-11, 11:13 AM
I just skip over it and assume they mapped the dungeon out and know their way back out and in.
+1 This. I draw a small-scale reference in my notes for myself, and sketch out the relevant area for the players on the battle mat for combat/specific details are requested. Otherwise, I give a general description which applies unless I say different.

Nero24200
2009-07-11, 11:22 AM
If they'r enot big fans of exploration but big fans of combat and RP it might be worth simply playing an action-orientated campaign. Quests like going to a Arena battle rather than exploring an underground ruin might appeal more to your players.

Reaper_Monkey
2009-07-11, 11:25 AM
Remove the need for them to map by giving them small sections of map (for each logical "area"), or just draw it for them/get software to do it depending on the set-up your running.

Either that or just ignore the need to do it, by making them take Knowledge Dungeoneering or Survival checks to find their way about, or just assume they can always find their way regardless.

Bottom line here is that if its not fun (ie boring) then you either make it less boring for them but leave it in there, or simply remove it.

I guess the only other approach is give them incentive to do it, by awarding better rewards for accurate mapping. This can either be in the form of having obvious secret rooms that become apparent from accurate mapping, or by having shorter routes which contain less dangerous foes which would become apparent even from very rough mapping. But if they aren't enjoying it now, making them feel even more obliged to jump through hoops to get an easier ride might just make them frustrated as well as bored.

Talon Sky
2009-07-11, 11:58 AM
A map is usually only needed in combat, and even then a lot of DM's find ways around that. When exploring, character positions don't matter all that much....just describe the room they're in, and have them describe what their characters do.

Captain Alien
2009-07-11, 12:04 PM
Well, I suppose they would like exploration if I made it funnier, so giving up exploration parts must be my last resource.

I guess the "skip over it" idea is the best. But what must I do if the mapper asks me to repeat what I said? It makes thing slower.

Maybe the player should find a way to map quicker, but I cannot do anything to solve this. Should I tell him to do sketches and brief notes about every room instead of mapping each detail?

bosssmiley
2009-07-11, 12:08 PM
Wow! Behold the generation gap. Time was that D&D was as much a game of exploration and survival as it was one of heroic adventure. Going in to the hostile territory of a dungeon without having the sense to plan your escape routes was just asking for a TPK.

Probably the best way to get players to care about exploring and mapping is to make in-game success and survival dependent on them:
Include lots of hidden content (secret doors and corridors, concealed caches of loot, puzzle traps, treasure maps)
Use one-way doors, trick corridors, morphing walls, convenient and/or triggered cave-ins, teleporter pads, dimensional doors and the such time-honoured tropes of the classic 'funhouse' dungeon to encourage exploration and mapping as survival mechanism
Make character survival dependent on player ability to find their way home (http://jrients.blogspot.com/2008/11/dungeons-dawn-patrol.html)
I'm not suggesting you turn each and every dungeoncrawl into a Fantasy F'ing Vietnam where everything you don't check can kill you (http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?t=407357). But having the players actually pay attention to the environment their characters are in may enhance play...

HamsterOfTheGod
2009-07-11, 01:21 PM
Hi everyone.

In my campaign, there are four things to do in the dungeons: Killing, looting, roleplaying and exploring. My party loves doing the first three activities, but when it is time to explore, and especifically, when it is time to draw a map, they start to get bored.

How can avoid this? How can the DM make exploring more dynamic, quick and enjoyable?

Draw a map for them. Hide is under something. Reveal parts as they explore. There are several ways to do this with software, battle maps or hobby supplies.

Or just redraw the map for them as they go along. It does not have to be detailed and with graph paper it's a very quick thing to do.