Mapping for the Masses

I love maps, I always have. In fact, it was a brief, yet tantalizing, glimpse at a dungeon map that first piqued my interest in D&D (although I had no idea the map was a dungeon map at the time). I have always tried to make my maps functional and accurate, and as my meager abilities allowed, artistic. I have explored countless shading and symbol variants when hand-drawing. I've also experimented with a lot of software tools for mapping.

It has started occurring to me that I want to explore an entirely different mindset. I want to try approaching my cartography from a new Starting point, as it were. Consider the following:

• Maps were not mass produced. Each was a one-of-a-kind deal.
• Not only was each map uniquely created, the information it contained was arrived at individually. So, even if separate missions explored the same area, the maps would likely be quite different.
• Most maps were driven by mercantile enterprises.
• Considering that explorers were exploring for the purpose of opening new markets and sources of trade, the maps their travels generated should be considered akin to trade secrets.
• Being driven by economic interests, especially related to sea-trade, coastal detail, including ports-of-call and safe harborages, would be of utmost importance.

All of these thoughts has led me to the idea that I want to make my maps more artistic. I've always wanted my mountain symbols, for example, to occupy the proper amount of space, according to the scale I've established. I want to change that. I want terrain symbols to be representative of the terrain that is most likely to be found in the surrounding area.

Another common theme in antique maps are little artistic embellishments. People going about some sort of activity, perhaps tied to local tradecraft or terrain, were quite popular. Farming, herding, hunting, and trade caravans appear frequently. I really like that idea.

Ultimately, the map is a method of communication. Typically, it would have been the map-maker communicating with himself, a device whereby to remember the lay of a land, treacherous sea-lanes or dangerous shoals, or pictographic clues about the peoples found in a particular location. They could be covered in specific notes, perhaps in a personal code.

Finally, I need to stop thinking of maps as being mass-produced and each consistent with the next. Maps for characters should be rare and treated as treasure. What price can be placed on a map through a monster-infested wilderness, sure to befuddle even the most seasoned traveller? Such a map that could virtually guarantee not getting lost, thus saving wandering lost for perhaps days.

Underworld & Wilderness Adventures Examination Pt 1

This first examination of Underworld & Wilderness Adventures will only be concerned with one thing: mapping the dungeon. Specifically, player mapping of the dungeon environment. It will be brief.

There are several schools of thought regarding player mapping. EGG recommends basically trying to confuse the players at every opportunity, rendering their map useless, unless the players are very diligent. At the other end of the spectrum are referees who essentially reveal the entire map from the outset, simply placing it on the table for all to see.

Somewhere in the middle are those who enjoy the experience of a player-maintained map, but who dislike the notion of "screwing" the players by allowing their map to be grossly inaccurate. They reason that the characters are actually occupying the imagined space, and would not be prone to the same mistakes the players might make.

I have a background in drafting. I have held numerous jobs which required me to measure and draw existing structures. I can tell you from my own experience, as well as that of co-workers, that accurately diagramming a given space is not simple nor easy. I have performed this function at an easy pace, with the proper measuring equipment (including laser-type measuring tools), with good lighting, and without the stress of worrying about a pack of ravenous kobolds rushing around a corner. Rarely do corners line up, do doors or windows fall where they should, or is a square room square.

Characters are in a setting which features flickering torchlight and highly stressful conditions. They are likely using a measuring device no more sophisticated than a knotted string. They are certainly not drawing on neatly lined graph paper.

I believe that if a referee decides to require player mapping, he should accept that players will misinterpret his descriptions and make mistakes. He should not feel somehow guilty or responsible (unless, that is, he intentionally misleads them). Mapping in a dungeon as you go is an inaccurate undertaking, at best. Perfection is unattainable. Get over it.