Always intrigued by how folks do mapping for their games. In person it’s easy to look over a players shoulder. During my Skype 1e game I text folks a map of where they’ve been - one or two try to map in game. In one of the last PbP games I DMed over on Unseen Servant I would post little snippets of maps and then edit them out if the post and let players keep a map themselves whether by hand or by puzzling together the snippets. I saw this post (and some discussion about it after) and wondered how other folks ran mapping in games. What worked or not.
greyarea wrote:I’m in a new Roll20 game with merias, jcftao, and others. Doug is having us map it ourselves (as an experiment, I think). It’s been an interesting experience so far. Certainly not the same as graph paper and pencils.
Which is definitely interesting. I do like the fog of war of roll20 but there are too many bells and whistles I never figured out there.
Holy Schmidt He swears by his pretty floral bonnet... Cure Light Wounds --3/3 Hold Person —1/1
Updated: 4/16/2024 Bind wounds for 1d3 after each combat
I agree roll20 has way too many features attached to dynamic lighting. The features look great in-game, but take a lot of time for the GM to setup, so I never use them. Normally, I just use the fog of war, and reveal the map little by little as the players move around. That works, but hand-waives the whole mapping thing. So I decided to try a compromise - the player who is the mapper just draws on a blank map page. So far it is working well, although you have to simulate the limits of torch or lantern light with your descriptions (like only being able to see half of a large room at first). If the mapper dies or the map is lost somehow, what they have drawn so far can just be obscured and the players would have to rely on memory to get out, or risk getting lost.
Essentially using it as a virtual whiteboard? Ah cool.
I’ve seen something similar done with excel too. Interesting stuff. So many different ways! I like the oldish school method of the players mapping, but also don’t want to fuss more than a minute or two on mapping as they enter each room.
Holy Schmidt He swears by his pretty floral bonnet... Cure Light Wounds --3/3 Hold Person —1/1
Updated: 4/16/2024 Bind wounds for 1d3 after each combat
Essentially using it as a virtual whiteboard? Ah cool.
I’ve seen something similar done with excel too. Interesting stuff. So many different ways! I like the oldish school method of the players mapping, but also don’t want to fuss more than a minute or two on mapping as they enter each room.
Exactly that. I figured it was the path of least resistance to "real" mapping, or as close to it as you can get in roll20.
