Traditionally, I've always been a 'theatre of the mind' DM, and have always run games for players that aren't interested in battle maps and minis, beyond the occasional crudely sketched top-down to help explain the battlefield, or what's going on.
Recently, I've been running for a group of new players, and I tried out creating a 'modular' map for the dungeon. In this case, the Redbrand Hidehout from the Lost Mines of Phandelver. As they're new players, I wanted to help them get a feel of the dungeon, things they might want to explore, how they might want to approach situations, etc. It looked like this:
They really appreciated the visual reference, and seeing the dungeon open up as they explore. We don't use minis, but it's good to get a feel for size regardless. I liked being able to lay the next room out, without having to give away more than I want to, and talk about features and where they are in relation to the space.
It was fine for this dungeon, but how do you handle more complicated ones? Wave Echo Cave is coming up soon, and it's massive. Do you have any tips? Someone suggested covering unexplored areas with paper - but that still suggests there's something to explore. Any tips?
I recently played that dungeon with a DM who used an electronic map of some sort that allowed him to reveal the map as we (the PCs) could see it. (If we were using a torch for lighting, he could reveal just as much as the torchlight would illuminate (though no differentiation between bright and dim). I don't know what software he was using, but he put a flat screen monitor on the table, face up so the players could see it, and controlled it with his computer behind the DM screen. That seemed to work well, but of course you'd have to have the electronic map, the software, and the hardware.
I like your modular approach.
I use "theatre of the mind" too though I've recently purchased a dry erase board to draw out things that are more easily shown than described. (I know, big technological upgrade!)
I have a couple wet-erase grid maps. Normally I can have a "main focus" for the adventure on one, and a potential secondary objective on another (or a detailed map), depending on where the players end up going.
I draw the map at a 5' scale for miniatures, but you could use a larger scale if you then occasionally rotate in more tactical maps for when the players engage in combat. Granted, the above advice is more for those using miniatures and less for "theater of the mind". However, you could draw out the map on a grid, and then simply have it covered, and reveal areas as the party discovers them. This is what I generally do.
I'm not saying it's the best, but it is pretty low tech and works well for us. I find the players having reference points makes us all able to visualize the area more clearly.
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"An' things ha' come to a pretty pass, ye ken, if people are going to leave stuff like that aroound where innocent people could accidentally smash the door doon and lever the bars aside and take the big chain off'f the cupboard and pick the lock and drink it!"
Looks really good. Took me hours to just draw the outline of maps. Let alone also color them in with stuff. The size of maps isn't the only issue with the time it takes to make, but its also very inconvenient I noticed. Especially if you don't play at your own home and have to take it all with you.
If you have a laptop, a tv and a hdmi cable. You can use the laptop with GIMP or Photoshop. Have the battlemaps in there with a layer that is just black which you can erase parts of as fog of war. Make/Download tokens really fast and simple. Its so easy for great results. And you can have multiple images open. So if you're not in a dungeon there can be atmospheric images of landscapes or such. With a simple piece of software can have multiple wireless mice so everyone can move their own tokens around. Really easy, time efficient and cool effect. All you need is a USB stick to take with you. Which in turn can also store ambient music and tons of your campaign notes. Lounging on a sofa with dice and char sheet with the rest happening on tv screen.
It did take a long time to produce all of the different rooms, corridors etc; it was enjoyable, but not realistic for complex dungeons.
I like your idea of having the map digitally available. It wouldn't even need to be on the table, as we don't use minis or anything, it's just for visual reference. I could use a large screen, and have the dungeon unfold digitally.
I almost always use maps for combat encounters, and now that my group is used to it, I don't feel it slows down combat at all (even with having to draw the map beforehand).
With exploration, I rely more on theater-of-the-mind, though I'll happily draw things as needed if something about the layout of a dungeon or other locale is unclear to the players. For something like Wave Echo Cave, you could draw them a rough map as they delve deeper, but I don't know that creating a map of the same quality as the one you did for the Redbrand Hideout is practical.
A middle ground here is to give the players a very rough sketch of the map and then use additional visuals to help bridge the gap. Oftentimes, I'll supplement a quick map drawing with fantasy art that roughly fits the location, projected onto a screen. Narrative descriptions are good, but I find that many players really appreciate the extra visuals to help set the tone.
Absolutely - I'd normally do everything purely in the mind, but as these players are new, they really appreciated being able to focus on their characters, roleplay etc, without having to also remember what the room looked like etc.
I think your idea of a rough map is a good one. Perhaps I could leave it fairly blank, and let the players themselves fill in the details. Do you think that could that work, or would that slow things down too much?
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Hi DMs,
Traditionally, I've always been a 'theatre of the mind' DM, and have always run games for players that aren't interested in battle maps and minis, beyond the occasional crudely sketched top-down to help explain the battlefield, or what's going on.
Recently, I've been running for a group of new players, and I tried out creating a 'modular' map for the dungeon. In this case, the Redbrand Hidehout from the Lost Mines of Phandelver. As they're new players, I wanted to help them get a feel of the dungeon, things they might want to explore, how they might want to approach situations, etc. It looked like this:
They really appreciated the visual reference, and seeing the dungeon open up as they explore. We don't use minis, but it's good to get a feel for size regardless. I liked being able to lay the next room out, without having to give away more than I want to, and talk about features and where they are in relation to the space.
It was fine for this dungeon, but how do you handle more complicated ones? Wave Echo Cave is coming up soon, and it's massive. Do you have any tips? Someone suggested covering unexplored areas with paper - but that still suggests there's something to explore. Any tips?
I recently played that dungeon with a DM who used an electronic map of some sort that allowed him to reveal the map as we (the PCs) could see it. (If we were using a torch for lighting, he could reveal just as much as the torchlight would illuminate (though no differentiation between bright and dim). I don't know what software he was using, but he put a flat screen monitor on the table, face up so the players could see it, and controlled it with his computer behind the DM screen. That seemed to work well, but of course you'd have to have the electronic map, the software, and the hardware.
I like your modular approach.
I use "theatre of the mind" too though I've recently purchased a dry erase board to draw out things that are more easily shown than described. (I know, big technological upgrade!)
Recently returned to D&D after 20+ years.
Unapologetic.
I have a couple wet-erase grid maps. Normally I can have a "main focus" for the adventure on one, and a potential secondary objective on another (or a detailed map), depending on where the players end up going.
I draw the map at a 5' scale for miniatures, but you could use a larger scale if you then occasionally rotate in more tactical maps for when the players engage in combat. Granted, the above advice is more for those using miniatures and less for "theater of the mind". However, you could draw out the map on a grid, and then simply have it covered, and reveal areas as the party discovers them. This is what I generally do.
I'm not saying it's the best, but it is pretty low tech and works well for us. I find the players having reference points makes us all able to visualize the area more clearly.
"An' things ha' come to a pretty pass, ye ken, if people are going to leave stuff like that aroound where innocent people could accidentally smash the door doon and lever the bars aside and take the big chain off'f the cupboard and pick the lock and drink it!"
I use lots of Post-it® notes, torn into irregularly-shaped areas.
I have seen someone using wargame sand, brushing it away with a soft brush to reveal areas.
As an aside, a clear sheet of plastic or poly carbonate is great to put on top of modular maps, to stop them moving around.
These are great ideas - thanks!
Looks really good. Took me hours to just draw the outline of maps. Let alone also color them in with stuff. The size of maps isn't the only issue with the time it takes to make, but its also very inconvenient I noticed. Especially if you don't play at your own home and have to take it all with you.
If you have a laptop, a tv and a hdmi cable. You can use the laptop with GIMP or Photoshop. Have the battlemaps in there with a layer that is just black which you can erase parts of as fog of war. Make/Download tokens really fast and simple. Its so easy for great results. And you can have multiple images open. So if you're not in a dungeon there can be atmospheric images of landscapes or such. With a simple piece of software can have multiple wireless mice so everyone can move their own tokens around. Really easy, time efficient and cool effect. All you need is a USB stick to take with you. Which in turn can also store ambient music and tons of your campaign notes. Lounging on a sofa with dice and char sheet with the rest happening on tv screen.
It did take a long time to produce all of the different rooms, corridors etc; it was enjoyable, but not realistic for complex dungeons.
I like your idea of having the map digitally available. It wouldn't even need to be on the table, as we don't use minis or anything, it's just for visual reference. I could use a large screen, and have the dungeon unfold digitally.
Appreciate your advice!
I almost always use maps for combat encounters, and now that my group is used to it, I don't feel it slows down combat at all (even with having to draw the map beforehand).
With exploration, I rely more on theater-of-the-mind, though I'll happily draw things as needed if something about the layout of a dungeon or other locale is unclear to the players. For something like Wave Echo Cave, you could draw them a rough map as they delve deeper, but I don't know that creating a map of the same quality as the one you did for the Redbrand Hideout is practical.
A middle ground here is to give the players a very rough sketch of the map and then use additional visuals to help bridge the gap. Oftentimes, I'll supplement a quick map drawing with fantasy art that roughly fits the location, projected onto a screen. Narrative descriptions are good, but I find that many players really appreciate the extra visuals to help set the tone.
Absolutely - I'd normally do everything purely in the mind, but as these players are new, they really appreciated being able to focus on their characters, roleplay etc, without having to also remember what the room looked like etc.
I think your idea of a rough map is a good one. Perhaps I could leave it fairly blank, and let the players themselves fill in the details. Do you think that could that work, or would that slow things down too much?