Moving in non combat on a map

Just curious. How do y'all handle non combat movement  on a gridded map. I used to just tell my players " Move until you want to stop, just beware of time and maybe stuff lurking that you may trigger"

I dont use normal movement because that implies a round to round mechanic and exploration is not that. OSE DnD is built around a separate phase called " exploration" and it assumes a set amount of time takes place and the players are generally doing stuff over a course of that time.

Is it common to just ask what they are doing in a micro management amount of time for each player letting them move tokens....

just curious about how anyone handles this in their games?

Greetings Dwayne,

As with many aspects of D&D, you can alter how you want 'Exploration' to be handled at your table.

With that said, there are many variations that I have seen in different 'Actual Plays' that are available to watch, and each DM seems to bring their own version of how they handle 'Exploration' to the table.

Weather you are playing on a gridded map because you are in a dungeon, or if you are using theater of the mind, describing a cave-system the players wanted to look through as they passed while traveling to their next town, typically you run 'Exploration' the same.

The DMG has a good section within Running Exploration called Actions in Exploration that describes what you are inquiring about.

At the tables I play at, we follow what the DMG outlines, as an example:

The players finish combat in a large room after the last Cultist is slain, and they want to explore the room and look around.
The DM will usually re-describe the room, and ask what the players want to do.
Once the first player (first to speak up) states that they want to go take a look through the book case along the far wall, the DM will then just go around the table (in any order) and ask each player what they would like to do.
The players move their mini to the location on the map for what they want to do, and the DM will go back to the first player, resolve their actions, then onto the next player and so on.
This order will then repeat until the players have accomplished everything they wanted to, and no one is trying to do anything else.
Then off to the next room as the players indicate which direction they are moving and their intentions.

The only thing that I have personally seen that can make a player feel left out of situations like this, is if the DM does not call on everyone, but just lets the players state what they want to do, and resolves each task independently as they speak up.
In situations like this, I have seen quieter players be glossed over as they don't speak up quick enough to get a chance to accomplish something, as the other players spoke up first.
Just make sure that everyone gets a chance to 'Explore', even if one of them is just going to stand watch at a doorway, include everyone.

Hope this helps :)

Cheers!

I handle moving on any gridded map as free as possible unless time-pressured somehow or when relying on turn-based combat or exploration for example.

Something I have taken to having my players do is to have them gently slide their tokens across the map instead of picking them up and setting them back down where they want to be. That way, as they move across the map if they move to a spot where something might happen (like triggering a trap or a monster suddenly appearing, I just say "PAUSE" and narrate what happens at that point. I got this method from a DM I played with on a VTT and it has been working pretty well for my in-person game as well.

If there are no time pressures, hidden enemies, or traps, I think I'd allow free movement. If there are traps or something, I'd probably default to rolling initiative without combat and moving one at a time. The calling pause technique can sometimes result in PC's moving where they shouldn't.

Thank you so much. I am also concerned about the game devolving into a " board game" type feel as engagement is based on token movement and not imagination.

This sounds like what I have been doing. I have a problem where players start zig zagging all over the map and running into rooms. But a MASTER " PAUSE" BUTTON WOULD FIX THAT

I like the " non combat initiative" idea