So I've DM for about 3 months. I did a bit in person tabletop, a bit in person theatre of the mind and now I have been doing the last month and a half of beyond maps.
Although Beyond maps is generally pretty decent, I am finding parts of it inhibits player exploration. Like, tell me about this rock hill, and it turns more into figuring out the places on the map they missed cause they can see it etc etc, and the feel is more like a video-game. Especially as players move their characters across the map by themselves and stuff.
My question is, how do you utilize maps to bring out the best of the combats and the situation while maintaining so many unknowns for explorations etc, etc?
Or any advice for new DM's about how to balance the use of maps with theatre of the mind, without removing too much player agency.
Players have always had access to the maps. You have to get the players to buy into the exploration side of it, just like you do with spells, magic items and monsters. They have to roleplay not knowing what they know as players. They have to imagine things from the perspective of the characters. Metagaming and as you say, video game perspective kills role playing in the game.
There really isn't a way around "well, there is a large chunk of paper in the upper left that we haven't explored" or "these rooms are close together, there must be a secret door" from a player perspective, it has to come from their buy-in.
Good luck!
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Hi all,
So I've DM for about 3 months. I did a bit in person tabletop, a bit in person theatre of the mind and now I have been doing the last month and a half of beyond maps.
Although Beyond maps is generally pretty decent, I am finding parts of it inhibits player exploration. Like, tell me about this rock hill, and it turns more into figuring out the places on the map they missed cause they can see it etc etc, and the feel is more like a video-game. Especially as players move their characters across the map by themselves and stuff.
My question is, how do you utilize maps to bring out the best of the combats and the situation while maintaining so many unknowns for explorations etc, etc?
Or any advice for new DM's about how to balance the use of maps with theatre of the mind, without removing too much player agency.
Players have always had access to the maps. You have to get the players to buy into the exploration side of it, just like you do with spells, magic items and monsters. They have to roleplay not knowing what they know as players. They have to imagine things from the perspective of the characters. Metagaming and as you say, video game perspective kills role playing in the game.
There really isn't a way around "well, there is a large chunk of paper in the upper left that we haven't explored" or "these rooms are close together, there must be a secret door" from a player perspective, it has to come from their buy-in.
Good luck!