tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8604481147223427499.post994619583565031061..comments2024-03-28T05:35:10.811-05:00Comments on Beyond the Pale Gate: Underworld & Wilderness Adventures Examination Pt 1Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17820010482226879079noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8604481147223427499.post-78218015786690836372012-04-25T14:41:46.025-05:002012-04-25T14:41:46.025-05:00I suppose that's fair, but I meant more so tha...I suppose that's fair, but I meant more so that it's useful as a tool to help a party's delve, and shouldn't ever require them to be absolutely perfect and accurate in drawing each individual room, and its dimensions. There's even a charm in beholding maps drawn without grid paper; very personal thing with lots of notes and scrip. It's fascinating though, how that Gygaxian mentality is to put in teleporting traps or non-Euclidean geometry to make mapping nigh impossible. But yes, death by mapping error is very lame to say the least.<br /><br />For non-standard room shapes I would be willing to quickly sketch out the shape and tell them the box dimension around it, because part of map error is equal parts failure to communicate, and registering information by the receiving party. If the players should die, it should be by their own doing, not miss-communication.Joshuahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10009433185355976238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8604481147223427499.post-87370645349227730192012-04-25T04:50:18.838-05:002012-04-25T04:50:18.838-05:00Well, like most else in OD&D, it depends on th...Well, like most else in OD&D, it depends on the referee. In his role as Ultimate Authority, the referee really sets the tone for his particular campaign. Since D&D is fundamentally about resource management, mapping can be vitally important, if a referee emphasizes it in his campaign. Imagine being 3 levels down a dungeon, banged up, loaded down with booty, no more healing potions or spells, and the party becomes lost. Now they have a gauntlet of wandering monsters to deal with before they can get out.<br /><br />I like player mapping to play a role in the campaigns I referee. In my experience the players enjoy the tactical edge they feel it gives them when they are plotting an ambush or potential escape routes and rallying points. I would never impose it as divine edict, though, because that wouldn't be fun, which is the name of the game. I would also never screw my players into some TPK or loss of a favorite character over a mapping error. Bitch move supreme.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17820010482226879079noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8604481147223427499.post-69061831116796343812012-04-24T21:42:01.709-05:002012-04-24T21:42:01.709-05:00I've never understood why people need to be so...I've never understood why people need to be so accurate in their mappings any way. It seems more of a resource to remember which path is out and where the unexplored areas are.Joshuahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10009433185355976238noreply@blogger.com