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Wings of Peace
2011-02-21, 06:52 PM
This is a 3.x topic as that's what I play but really it can go for just about any system. I was playing in a friend's D&D group when our characters reached town. My friend then proceeded to lay out a number of tiles to denote various buildings, structures of note, etc.

I didn't think much of it at the time but on reflection it's interesting to me. Whenever my players reach the city I describe the town, the sorts of shops, things of interest etc, but I don't actually lay down any tiles till they're somewhere that the details matter (like high combat chance areas).

So now I'm curious, how do the rest of you handle your cities?

ex cathedra
2011-02-21, 07:03 PM
Generally, in the past my groups have abstractly described the area until tiles become relevant, much like your group. Laying down tiles beforehand always struck me as uncomfortable, especially when dealing with the relative size of an actual city.

tuesdayscoming
2011-02-21, 07:13 PM
If the party is going to be spending a while in the particular town/city, the DM will usually draw up a rough map of the relevant areas, hand it off to one of the players (who happens to be an art student who really enjoys cartography), who then makes an almost professional looking version of it.

We're lucky :smallbiggrin:

Xyk
2011-02-21, 07:18 PM
I usually just tell them some points of interest and draw it out only when combat shows up. It's almost all improvised as far as description goes. But I have an ace up my sleeve for my next turn at DMing.

The Greatest Town Generator (http://www.mathemagician.net/town.html) that I've ever seen. It gives little quirks and names for every person in a town. Physical descriptions for buildings and whatnot would still be improvised. But I'm also thinking of just taking a city map from cityscape. Those are nice.

tuesdayscoming
2011-02-21, 07:24 PM
I usually just tell them some points of interest and draw it out only when combat shows up. It's almost all improvised as far as description goes. But I have an ace up my sleeve for my next turn at DMing.

The Greatest Town Generator (http://www.mathemagician.net/town.html) that I've ever seen. It gives little quirks and names for every person in a town. Physical descriptions for buildings and whatnot would still be improvised. But I'm also thinking of just taking a city map from cityscape. Those are nice.

That sounds awsome! Gonna have to check it out

AslanCross
2011-02-21, 10:44 PM
I rarely use tiles or graphics to depict the map unless there's an encounter. Usually the players do get a non-combat map to show where locations are, I don't actually have a battlegrid.

dsmiles
2011-02-21, 10:46 PM
Towns? I just wing it.

Major metropolises (metropoli?)? Those usually get a quick sketch of a map, so I don't lose track of where the major structures are.

EccentricCircle
2011-02-22, 06:45 AM
I almost always try to get a detailed map of where the different districts and places of note are in any town my players visit.
whether I actually use tiles while they are moving around really depends, I will usually have a board for any specific building they visit, if they stay at an inn, or go to a local magic item shop, or a market place.

whether I put down boards for the intervening streets depends on whether they are just walking across town, or whether they are actively sneaking around and trying not to be seen,. in which case the exact details become a lot more important.

once places are established I don't always break out the boards again unless something is definitely happening there. if they know what the place looks like and are only going their in passing its not worth it. but it depends.

that said a lot of my games are urban based. I've run whole campaigns within the confines of a single city with people only going outside the walls a handful of times. when the action takes place in the city streets you need a much better idea of the layout than if its just somewhere that the players are heading back to from time to time to spend some gold. (which I'm not a fan of, cities are where all the people are, and they are generally worse than many of the monsters. a displacer beast just wants to eat you. it doesn't have plans for world domination or a continent spanning conspiracy... probably)

Captain Kidd
2011-02-22, 07:59 AM
I use the guidelines in the DMG and DMG2 to get a feel for what the town will be like. Like others have mentioned, I also tend to make a sketch of it so I can keep track of what's where, but I then only describe the place. If there's combat to be had, then I'll sketch out the relevant section.

grimbold
2011-02-22, 08:01 AM
i give a paragraph general description and then allow the PCs to interact as they wish

DwarfFighter
2011-02-22, 08:20 AM
Ideally I'll have a couple of maps to relate to:

Firstly, a map that shows the immediate surroundings of the town. A town does not exist in a vacuum. Well, it could since it's fantasy we're talking about, but still.

Second, an overall map of the town indicating the major features like shops and attractions. I've even been known to add locations like "haunted mansion" and "mysterious warehouse" just to catch the players interest.

Third, maps detailing important locations where the PCs are likely to engage in some sort of strategic challenge (e.g. combat).

I usually hand the players a copy of the first and second map types. It helps them to learn that from the map that there's a theater, market place, wizards tower, magic shop etc. in the town. And it saves me a lot of talking.


-T10

Corrik
2011-02-22, 08:33 AM
For towns I give a description and a rough outline of the important part with scribbles for the rest. For cities, at least the important ones, I'll create a detailed map on my computer.

Ormur
2011-02-22, 09:06 AM
If it's just a town their passing through I give a general description of what they see and then just answer their questions but if it's a city or a place where I expect them to stay for some time I draw a street-map with all the important locations marked in and think about how it works and what could be relevant for the party long enough for me to describe different parts of it.

DragonSinged
2011-02-22, 12:41 PM
I usually just tell them some points of interest and draw it out only when combat shows up. It's almost all improvised as far as description goes. But I have an ace up my sleeve for my next turn at DMing.

The Greatest Town Generator (http://www.mathemagician.net/town.html) that I've ever seen. It gives little quirks and names for every person in a town. Physical descriptions for buildings and whatnot would still be improvised. But I'm also thinking of just taking a city map from cityscape. Those are nice.

Dude. That generator is incredibly awesome. You get +1 internet from me for that one, it will certainly see use in my game.


...
Is it sad that I am actually fairly excited by this?

EccentricCircle
2011-02-22, 12:51 PM
@ DragonSinged: not at all, its a pretty cool generator as i'd think most people on this site would agree!

with maps i've occasionally had the player characters be given a map in the game. and sometimes labled them in a different language or alphabet so that they can get a gist of the layout immediatly but will learn more from the document as they translate it as the game progresses. it can make a fun challenge and introduce a level of interest into what would otherwise be easy to ignore. of course it only works in games where the players want something to challenge them as well as to challenge their players. translation puzzels are one of those things that you have to be careful with.