I am new to DMing (yet to run my first module) and I would like to know how to handle maps. Especially maps in dungeons or areas where combat happens. I can print them out so that we can use the minis on it so that's not a problem. But should I reveal the entire map at once? Should I simulate fog of war live in video games?
It would be great to hear what DMs out in the wild are doing.
Revealing the entire map at once makes life a lot easier. For most things, you can just presume that the party has a basic map of the space and as they explore, you can add elements that wouldn't be on the map, like structural damage and monsters.
Some people use black paper to conceal parts of the map, but that often feels like more work than it's worth, or imprecise.
The best compromise may be to invest more in small dramatic combat spaces that don't need to be partially concealed, and then leave transitional spaces to Theater of the Mind and hand drawn battle mats.
Revealing the entire map at once makes life a lot easier. For most things, you can just presume that the party has a basic map of the space and as they explore, you can add elements that wouldn't be on the map, like structural damage and monsters.
Some people use black paper to conceal parts of the map, but that often feels like more work than it's worth, or imprecise.
The best compromise may be to invest more in small dramatic combat spaces that don't need to be partially concealed, and then leave transitional spaces to Theater of the Mind and hand drawn battle mats.
I use a dry erase board and markers for a hand drawn experience. I look at the battle map and draw it out with miniatures placed for combat. This works really well, so the players don’t see things like secret doors or the layout of the next few rooms. It’s also not too hard to do, if you don’t worry too much about precision. The players won’t care or notice unless you have a crazy careful mapper in your party. ‘Why doesn’t this line up? There’s an extra square here. I thought the tunnel wasn’t that long.’ If you do have one of those players, invite them behind the screen for a day. I used to be that player, and when I started dming I realized how hard it was to be perfectly precise and stopped. :)
I took a 2x2 tile of pink insulation foam an made it into a 2 foot diameter dungeon floor map I use to procedurally generate a dungeon. Its glued onto a lazy susan so it can rotate too. I also made wall segments and door pieces to create rooms or hallways as needed.
For non-dungeon combat I generally just draw the combat area on a map. If they ask what's beyond the map I will describe it, but unless 50% or more of the party leaves the map I wont draw the new area.
I've done an. opaque construction paper overlay over a map and "cut away" as they explore. This is probably the one area where the digital mapspace purveyors out there (Dungeon Fog, maybe Inkarnate, etc) actually do come up over paper in their fog of war feature (I just suck. at rendering with their tools).
Way way back, one party member was supposed to be the "map maker" and it was on the players to draw the map off the DMs descriptions. A lot of DMs did that for the party. But these days everyone's really two architectually sophisticated for that to practical all the time.
If it's relatively mundane facility, I'll let the party;'s druid wildshape scout it out and provide the party with a rendering, sometimes.
My first thought about maps was to cut the rooms out and just build up the map on the table as the exploration goes on. However, simulating fog of war with black paper is also great... although it's not cat safe :) (I have 2 in the house).
We play in person, but this group started January this year and we began on Role20. As we all use D&D Beyond as well, we all bring a laptop/tablet and usually link one up to a big flatscreen TV on the wall so that we can have the map that everyone can see up there. I am a long time mini-collector so I am sad not to use my minis, but virtual tabletop maps are just so much better for what I like to do (especially using dynamic lighting) that we have stuck with it.
If you are lying a map down make sure it is the player friendly map (secret doors, traps, and hidden passageways not shown on it). Seems obvious but I have seen that mistake made, especially with module maps which tend to be the DM version.
My most recent game I have got large gridded paper and gone old school for interiors, So the players map the area themselves as they explore. Scaled 1 square to 5 feet. I will describe the size of the space and they will draw it out. I then have maps pre drawn of large outside areas, or some more complicated rooms (such as the inside of a house with furniture etc). The players love this interactive aspect of exploration.
I have also started mapping out in Inkarnate, I do an online game as well as my in person one, so I can share maps between and print the rooms off and then cut them into individual areas so I can lay them down as they are explored. This works really well combined with getting them to draw themselves, the rooms are printed off at the same scale so the players draw the corridors and simple rooms and I then lay out the more complicated sections.
Hi,
I am new to DMing (yet to run my first module) and I would like to know how to handle maps. Especially maps in dungeons or areas where combat happens. I can print them out so that we can use the minis on it so that's not a problem. But should I reveal the entire map at once? Should I simulate fog of war live in video games?
It would be great to hear what DMs out in the wild are doing.
Thanks.
Revealing the entire map at once makes life a lot easier. For most things, you can just presume that the party has a basic map of the space and as they explore, you can add elements that wouldn't be on the map, like structural damage and monsters.
Some people use black paper to conceal parts of the map, but that often feels like more work than it's worth, or imprecise.
The best compromise may be to invest more in small dramatic combat spaces that don't need to be partially concealed, and then leave transitional spaces to Theater of the Mind and hand drawn battle mats.
Thanks. Lots of good info here.
I use a dry erase board and markers for a hand drawn experience. I look at the battle map and draw it out with miniatures placed for combat. This works really well, so the players don’t see things like secret doors or the layout of the next few rooms. It’s also not too hard to do, if you don’t worry too much about precision. The players won’t care or notice unless you have a crazy careful mapper in your party. ‘Why doesn’t this line up? There’s an extra square here. I thought the tunnel wasn’t that long.’ If you do have one of those players, invite them behind the screen for a day. I used to be that player, and when I started dming I realized how hard it was to be perfectly precise and stopped. :)
Only spilt the party if you see something shiny.
Ariendela Sneakerson, Half-elf Rogue (8); Harmony Wolfsbane, Tiefling Bard (10); Agnomally, Gnomish Sorcerer (3); Breeze, Tabaxi Monk (8); Grace, Dragonborn Barbarian (7); DM, Homebrew- The Sequestered Lands/Underwater Explorers; Candlekeep
In the past when we had a printed map, we used bits of flat card to hide the parts of the map that the party haven't reached yet.
I took a 2x2 tile of pink insulation foam an made it into a 2 foot diameter dungeon floor map I use to procedurally generate a dungeon. Its glued onto a lazy susan so it can rotate too. I also made wall segments and door pieces to create rooms or hallways as needed.
For non-dungeon combat I generally just draw the combat area on a map. If they ask what's beyond the map I will describe it, but unless 50% or more of the party leaves the map I wont draw the new area.
I've done an. opaque construction paper overlay over a map and "cut away" as they explore. This is probably the one area where the digital mapspace purveyors out there (Dungeon Fog, maybe Inkarnate, etc) actually do come up over paper in their fog of war feature (I just suck. at rendering with their tools).
Way way back, one party member was supposed to be the "map maker" and it was on the players to draw the map off the DMs descriptions. A lot of DMs did that for the party. But these days everyone's really two architectually sophisticated for that to practical all the time.
If it's relatively mundane facility, I'll let the party;'s druid wildshape scout it out and provide the party with a rendering, sometimes.
Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
Thanks guys, lots of good info.
My first thought about maps was to cut the rooms out and just build up the map on the table as the exploration goes on. However, simulating fog of war with black paper is also great... although it's not cat safe :) (I have 2 in the house).
I wrote my own program to stream to the others playing which includes icons, initiative, effects(like stunned).
But if you need some thing simple then owlbear rodeo is great.
I use grid. When character opens a door I draw next room.
We play in person, but this group started January this year and we began on Role20. As we all use D&D Beyond as well, we all bring a laptop/tablet and usually link one up to a big flatscreen TV on the wall so that we can have the map that everyone can see up there. I am a long time mini-collector so I am sad not to use my minis, but virtual tabletop maps are just so much better for what I like to do (especially using dynamic lighting) that we have stuck with it.
If you are lying a map down make sure it is the player friendly map (secret doors, traps, and hidden passageways not shown on it). Seems obvious but I have seen that mistake made, especially with module maps which tend to be the DM version.
My most recent game I have got large gridded paper and gone old school for interiors, So the players map the area themselves as they explore. Scaled 1 square to 5 feet. I will describe the size of the space and they will draw it out. I then have maps pre drawn of large outside areas, or some more complicated rooms (such as the inside of a house with furniture etc). The players love this interactive aspect of exploration.
I have also started mapping out in Inkarnate, I do an online game as well as my in person one, so I can share maps between and print the rooms off and then cut them into individual areas so I can lay them down as they are explored. This works really well combined with getting them to draw themselves, the rooms are printed off at the same scale so the players draw the corridors and simple rooms and I then lay out the more complicated sections.
As for cat, well anyone want a random terrasque fight :)