Do your players make maps while exploring the unknown of your game's world?

Question

If so, how do they do approach map making without slowing down the game.

If not, and if you wish they did, what are ways to encourage players to do so?

Also, what are good ways to make maps without graph paper?

Answer 1

I give them an outline of the coastline and they fill in the landmass with their notes. If I was doing an exploration of the new world style game then I would just give them an updated coastline map showing only what they explored each session.

Remember there is realism, and there is gamable. The blank coastline map without a grid (maybe a scale) seems to strike the right balance in my experience. There is just enough to get the player thinking "What fills that peninsula" or "what next to that lake?" And that what you want. The player making a reasonable decision as to what direction to take.

Finally if this is a map of a civilized land then you may want to add some "big" features like mountain ranges, rivers, large forest, and largest cities. The player still need to fill in the gaps between.

Answer 2

No, because in some games it is not appropriate for the players to make a map. For example, if you are playing in a modern day setting then you will find that the players will complain their characters can't use google maps. In my Sci Fi game, the known universe has been mapped out and when they arrive at a planet they have not been to before, they use space craft sensors to scan it.

If I were to play a fantasy campaign, I would consider it.

Answer 3

Yes. Oddysey often handles that in my games.

Indoors, it's graph paper. I usually keep the rooms simple to make it easier on them, and so we don't spend a lot of time going back and forth about where things are. This means fairly regular rooms with doors in the middle of the wall.

Outdoors, the maps are pretty vague, often resembling flowcharts more than what we'd usually call a map. But we rarely need more.

Answer 4

yes to both.

Outdoors, especially. I make sure it is pretty easy to get lost in the outback, and that experience trickled down to all my live groups. Even with paths, trails, and roads, there were many people who lost their way in our history. Guides and scouts weren't cheap, but they beat being lost. My PCs generally use a notebook program to draw as they go, but update their larger map.
You need to create a reason for them to map if you want them to.

Underground, as well, once they find a need to map, they will. a good GM will make this important for the players, especially in adventures where the "world in Motion' ideal is utilized, so that things may change, such as inhabitants, or even physical features.

Answer 5

When I play, I love to do the mapping. When I run a game, my players often don't. So I draw them a tiny, squiggly copy including mapping mistakes the way I would draw it as a player. If they complain, they can always draw one themselves. I enjoy the mapping because it emphasizes the exploration aspect.

Answer 6

In the case of dungeons, since the ref already has a map, it seems a shame that the players should have to redraw it. I thought of laminating a player's version of the map (unmarked secret doors and traps), and covering it with black marker. Then they could erase a bit at a time as they explore the dungeon. I'm curious if anyone has tried this.

Answer 7

For dungeon exploration I've recently started laying out dungeon tiles as they go, removing old tiles and recentering as necessary. This gives them an easy way to map as well as a clear sense of their immediate surroundings, but keeps the sense that the dungeon as a whole is rather big and hard to keep in your head all at once.

I also like the idea that the player's map represents an actual in-game item. The characters probably need a map, not just the players.

Answer 8

In one campaign we had a character that had a pretty good cartography skill and the player maintained a fairly detailed map of the local area. It soon became the de-facto map for the campaign with the GM using it too.

Answer 9

In real life people just remember where they went most of the time (except really weird&long caves or dungeons, but I assume realism here - so no dungeon crawling). In the imaginary world the characters, not players, are seeing the environment and saving it for recognition later. My players just say where they want to go. I show them all that the character knows, I draw the map pieces when they can't get by on pure imagination and my words. I tell them what they see on their way.

We also assume that characters have better memory than players for that kind of stuff - eg. You probably remember Your country's geography better than You would remember some map of a place You've never seen. Characters remember geography of their world. It's too much to expect players to learn all the maps by heart.

Answer 10

Back in the old days yes we did. Usually the person playing the mage mapped out the dungeon. And yes it slowed things down a lot.

In latter days of me the DM drawing maps on a wipe free mat, then if there's been a reason to double back, I may just draw what they see again, it's up to them to remember I guess. Getting lost hasn't cropped up for a while.

Perhaps I should take things back to the old days for a bit :)