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View Full Version : [3.5] First Real DM Session Coming Around the Corner... How should I make my maps?



Brennan
2010-02-10, 01:45 AM
I'm somewhat worried that I might not be making my personal maps efficient enough. (Personal maps being the things you read from to remember what is in a room, dimensions of a room, etc)

Should I be doing it over some mapmaking software on my computer, or should I be doing it old-school with graph paper and pencil?

SilverClawShift
2010-02-10, 01:49 AM
Personally, I think some semi-scribbled pen and paper maps work best. They look 'real'. Like you walked through the area with a sketchbook and a pencil.

Even if that's patently ridiculous, the handcrafted look trumps the digital look for gritty realism. It doesn't have to look like a cartographer made it, it has to look like a scared explorer scribbled it down.

Temotei
2010-02-10, 02:53 AM
I was in a hurry to make one for a group, so I used Inkscape. Works fairly well. :smallcool: Color-coded each adventurer and enemy, as well as trees, water, plain terrain, rough terrain, treasure, etc.

Shademan
2010-02-10, 03:44 AM
get yerself a good ol big sheet o' A3 paper and make them maps, the nyou get yerself sum o' that graph paper fer combat mappings.

Altair_the_Vexed
2010-02-10, 08:55 AM
I always just draw a box for dimensions of the room, mark on the exits and note all the details in the text for the room, which I keep separately.
I do this with paper and a pencil.

Zom B
2010-02-10, 09:18 AM
I'm a graph paper guy, but I don't like normal graph paper. What I do usually is go into Excel, set column width to 2, and make the borders around the cells a light gray and print pages 1-1.

Or heck, you can then use that same spreadsheet and make the borders black and bolder to outline rooms, and even color-fill cells and put numerical or alphabetical markers in the cells.

valadil
2010-02-10, 09:47 AM
I improvise all my dungeons. It seemed silly to me to make a map arbitrarily and then copy it over exactly. I still make the maps arbitrarily, I just do it in front of the players.

For hazards, obstacles, features, etc I write out a list of what's in the room or dungeon. A dungeon list will look something like:

Chasm. Rope bridge is cut. Ladder down to next fight. Guard dogs at bottom. Grease trap on ladder. Bottom level is filled with ice (previous adventurers used everpouring water trick, water hit persistent cone of cold trap) Room has false doors which are locked and trapped but lead nowhere.


I throw these sorts of obstacles into the map as I see fit and cross them off my list as I use them. Drawing maps on the fly actually speeds up the game because I don't have to erase that room that was 9 squares wide but should have been 8.

Cyrion
2010-02-10, 10:58 AM
I'm another graph paper mapper. I'll do all my maps on graph paper and include all of the relevant terrain and obstacles. On another sheet I'll have contents descriptions. Every so often I'll have to wing a building the Rogue randomly breaks into, but anything I plan as a genuine challenge for the party is carefully mapped and planned.

AslanCross
2010-02-10, 05:33 PM
I use graph paper as well. I find it a lot easier to work with than a computer screen. I've tried both and I prefer to have more control over the details in a dungeon.

I do prefer to have the map key on my computer, though.

The main map the players move around on is typically drawn on a laminated A3 paper grid. I draw the grid in pencil and then laminate it. I then use whiteboard markers to draw the map. Easy enough to work with, though it doesn't look amazing.

sheltem
2010-02-10, 05:47 PM
I'm another graph paper mapper. I'll do all my maps on graph paper and include all of the relevant terrain and obstacles. On another sheet I'll have contents descriptions. Every so often I'll have to wing a building the Rogue randomly breaks into, but anything I plan as a genuine challenge for the party is carefully mapped and planned.

This.
Then, while the group explores, that map is (partially) copied onto an A1 sheet of graph paper with 1" margins to function as the tactical battlemap. Also, each encounter has it's own (paper) stat-page in a transparent foil, which also holds the enemy tokens (made from whatever picture fit best to how I imagined them).
Yeah, I don't do off-the-wall stuff very well yet, but I haven't been at it that long (still longer than my players, so it still works).

One of the books (don't remember which) Dungeonscape has a chapter - called The Encounter Template, starting on page 96 - detailing encounter-design which I found quite well done, might be worth a look to you, even if you are looking for more general tips on maps and not just encounters.
On second thought... maybe the whole book might be something for you. :smallwink:

Superglucose
2010-02-10, 05:58 PM
Ugh mapping dungeons is my least favorite part of GMing.

The overworld, the plot, those are great. If only I could find a decent mapping software that would print out the map so I could only draw the current room on the encounter map...

AslanCross
2010-02-10, 06:08 PM
It's my favorite part as long as the maps are completely flat. There are some maps that are extremely complicated. (See: Expedition to Castle Ravenloft)

drengnikrafe
2010-02-10, 06:15 PM
I always handdraw (with 2 exceptions, and those both looked awful). I can't draw to save my life, but they come out okay enough anyway. I recently got a white board with little dots, so now I can craft maps on the fly, and have them sized correctly. It's great.