Abstract mapping?

[HidesHisEyes]

Does anyone make big use of abstract maps for running games? I mean flow chart or mind map style as opposed to representative maps showing every 5 foot square.

This blog talks about doing this for wilderness travel and ruined cities: http://hillcantons.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/crawling-without-hexes-pointcrawl.html?m=1

And this one is about abstract maps for dungeons:
http://theangrygm.com/abstract-dungeoneering/

The crucial thing is that this kind of map distinguishes between what is important and what isn’t, rather than emphasising geographical completeness and accuracy. There is a concept of “connective tissue” or essentially empty space between landmarks and encounters, which is handled in an abstract way. I’ve already started running Wilderness travel in this way. I’m considering extending it to dungeons too, mainly because I feel conveying the information about the immediate surroundings to the players, whether verbally or by drawing a map, slows the game down massively.

In fact I’m considering starting to use “point maps” for pretty much everything - with the exception maybe of buildings, mansions, small castles or strongholds, which don’t seem to lend themselves to this style. Does anyone use abstract mapping? Is there anything I should watch out for?

[Kaptin Keen]

That's all I ever do - I don't have the patience for actually drawing maps =)

[Yora]

I much prefer it because it acknowledges that it's an abstraction. 5-foot square grid maps look like they are construction blueprints, but they almost never make any sense. You never have proper living quarters, sanitation, and ventilation that would be required to make a castle actually inhabitable. Nobody wants to draw or explore the dozens of identical servant quarters.

The only important functions of a map is to show that to move from interesting location A to interesting location C, the party must pass through interesting location B, and in case of fights indicate who is close enough to who to make an attack. This can be done with very fuzzy maps.

[PersonMan]

I think that abstract maps (especially if you, say, have an abstract map connecting various 'normal' maps in which fights may take place, and so on) are great for when you have something large and complex, that isn't intensely interesting in its every detail. Like Yora said, going through every room is boring...but leaving them out causes problems.

While I like having 'exact' maps for some things, I think that connecting them with something more abstract can work wonders, especially if you're looking to give the impression of some massive ancient complex, or some grand fortress.

It can work with smaller places, too, I think, but maybe as a sort of compromise. Perhaps have a mansion be divided into areas, which are mostly mapped out, but with enough handwaved hallway, closet and back room space to cover things that are necessary but not interesting/relevant.

[Amidus Drexel]

Does anyone make big use of abstract maps for running games? I mean flow chart or mind map style as opposed to representative maps showing every 5 foot square.

This blog talks about doing this for wilderness travel and ruined cities: http://hillcantons.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/crawling-without-hexes-pointcrawl.html?m=1

And this one is about abstract maps for dungeons:
http://theangrygm.com/abstract-dungeoneering/

The crucial thing is that this kind of map distinguishes between what is important and what isn’t, rather than emphasising geographical completeness and accuracy. There is a concept of “connective tissue” or essentially empty space between landmarks and encounters, which is handled in an abstract way. I’ve already started running Wilderness travel in this way. I’m considering extending it to dungeons too, mainly because I feel conveying the information about the immediate surroundings to the players, whether verbally or by drawing a map, slows the game down massively.

In fact I’m considering starting to use “point maps” for pretty much everything - with the exception maybe of buildings, mansions, small castles or strongholds, which don’t seem to lend themselves to this style. Does anyone use abstract mapping? Is there anything I should watch out for?

I usually do, yes. I haven't run the kind of game that needs every 5ft square mapped out in some time - these days it's simpler for me to do broad strokes first (graph or flowchart of connected rooms with descriptions) and then build tactical maps from that if they're needed.

The main pitfall of this style is that you don't have every 5ft square mapped out (to be tautological, briefly). If you need to derive information from the exact shape or size of your rooms (such as the length of guard patrols, how far sound travels, spell areas, etc), then it can be useful to have that information ahead of time. If your players are sticklers for architectural consistency, you need to be careful how you specify your rooms.

[PhoenixPhyre]

I like this idea, but frequently need a mixture of the two extremes--some locations (where I expect encounters) mapped out at the 5' level, some (especially wilderness or big cities) at the abstract level.

Anyone found any good tools for this? Ideally I'd like to be able to tag an abstract graph with links to images of maps and pieces of text.

[Frozen_Feet]

Every map is an abstraction of environment. As such, there isn't really a binary distinction between "abstract" and "concrete" maps, instead the level of abstraction is tied to a more general question of the degree of accuracy and which pieces of information are most important for the map to deliver.

My preference is for traditional geographical maps and fairly detailed building blueprints, but I've also utilized ASCII-symbols similar to roguelikes as well as flowcharts to detail connectivity between spaces. Sometimes, I may have several different maps of the same area - like a sideways projection of a whole mining site showing relative depth between locations, and then birdview projections of individual rooms.

I also own Praedor adventure cards, which can create a landmark-based intuitive map by dealing cards tied to specific types of locations. Haven't had a chance to use it yet, though.


I much prefer it because it acknowledges that it's an abstraction. 5-foot square grid maps look like they are construction blueprints, but they almost never make any sense. You never have proper living quarters, sanitation, and ventilation that would be required to make a castle actually inhabitable. Nobody wants to draw or explore the dozens of identical servant quarters.

That the blueprints make no sense is an issue caused by the fact that the drawers probebly weren't actual construction designers. Unlike, say, me, who always tries to include all those details you mentioned as a matter of professional pride. :smalltongue:

Also, rummaging through dozens of living quarters is fun. Or at least it's fun to me as a GM to watch as the players search every nook and cranny on the off-chance of finding a servant's porn stash.

[DigoDragon]

Abstract maps is how I write my DM notes for dungeons. I can annotate the room size in a corner if the PCs need specific distances for any reason.

My players usually do the same when taking down notes on the dungeon layout. It's much quicker.