#RPGaDAY2021 2: MAP

#RPGaDAY2021

2: MAP

I use maps very rarely.

I’m mostly a Theatre Of The MIIIIIND GM whose combat tends towards stunts, and also fairly low on prep.

I used maps twice in five and a half years of The Watch House, once for the final battle (with miniatures I made as souvenirs) and before that at player request for a fight against vampires inside a country house with heavy shutters on the windows keeping the daylight out - who was where and in and out of the sun made for an interesting battle.

My most recent example of not mapping things out came in Vampire: The Masquerade: Nobody’s Home where thanks to a player using Google Maps we discovered that the dramatic race against time in one session was between two locations that are actually a block apart.

Despite this, I did consider a series of World Of Darkness location books with focuses on their history and modern uses as well as details like all the obscure ways to get in and out... but would have had to make maps.

One place I might bring up a map for is the PCs’ base if they have one, as it’s the most likely place to need some spatial awareness. So if I can find something suitable online I’ll grab it.

GMing online has upped my use of maps a bit as suitable images are often a quick Google search away if something comes up. Still more for atmosphere than tactics, though.

The other main use of maps in RPGs is in character. Treasure maps might not reliable, but city guides should be and modern surveillance photos can cover a lot. These are basically handouts, and fall under high prep, so not something I do often either. It may come up when a game really needs it, like that final battle, or a planned raid, or a Base Under Siege situation.

Settings not based on Earth may have world maps as well. Laying them out leads to expectations of visiting many of the noted places, trying to avoid some of the ones that sound bad, and going off the map into the Here Be Dragons bit at some point.

The only fantasy world map you'll ever need

With something like this, logic need not apply. But consider real-world naming like Greenland being icier than Iceland, the Cape of Good Hope being dishonest marketing, and how many places Alexander The Great named Alexandria.

Bonus round:

Senses - I rarely invoke senses other than sight and sound, particularly in media-based game. What does a lightsaber smell like? I have no idea. It can come up occasionally, like the supernatural senses vampires and werewolves have, but if I bring it up it’s a big factor.

Plan - I like the flashback method of avoiding OOC planning in heist games.

Voice - I don’t do accents for NPCs but I do changes of tone and cadence.

Dave Chapman vlog, also featuring Theatre Of The MIIIIIND

Runeslinger on Plan

Designers & Dragons on the history of RPG maps