No Mapping, Just Map Rolls

Back in my post about why players might map and why they should be allowed to choose not to map, I teased “there may be ways to maintain that element of player choice without requiring an actual map.”

I have an idea.

Map Skill vs. Minimalist Maps

Chaosium’s Stormbringer, unless I’m remembering incorrectly, had a Map skill. The GM would roll percentile dice vs. Map skill to see if players make it to their destination. We could use the Int ability score in a similar way. It still feels too bland to me, so I would repurpose the reaction roll (again!) and break the trip to any destination into stages.

Players could (should?) still make simple maps, but only to show which areas of a dungeon are connected. Each area would be represented by one box each, regardless of how many rooms are in each area and where they are in relation to other rooms. The areas are labeled “outer gates”, “crypts”, “treasure vaults”, “prison”, “library”, “caves”, “fungus farms”, or whatever the function or theme of that area is. Each pair of boxes is either connected (draw one line connecting them) or not connected (no line.) No individual tunnels are marked.

If the players have a map and are looking for the exit, they would follow the lines from box to box, with the GM making a reaction roll for each transition to the next area: treasure vaults to crypts, crypts to outer gates, and outer gates to exit would require three rolls.

Map Use Result Table

If the map roll is less than or equal to the Int of the character using the map, use the “Map Success” column for the result. If the roll is higher than Int, use the “Map Failure” column. Halve the Int score if the map is damaged or otherwise incomplete, or if the character is drunk, befuddled, or otherwise inconvenienced.

2d6 Roll	Map Success	Map Failure
2	3x time to reach next area	lost in new (unmapped) area
3-5	1.5x time to reach next area	lost in random area
6-8	normal time to reach next area	lost in previous area
9-11	half time to reach next area	stuck in same area
12+	half time, no wandering monster rolls	5x time to reach next area

Maps Made by Other People

The steps above assume the character reading the map also created the map. If not, the GM needs to know both the Int of the map maker (or assign it randomly) and the Int of the character using the map. Roll against the lower of the two scores when using the map.

The character using the map can substitute their Wisdom if it is higher than their Int, but only when using a map they didn’t make themselves. If the map has a lower Int rating than either, however, it’s not going to help.

When buying a map, make a reaction roll to check if the map is a lie (odd rolls below a certain threshold.) These maps automatically are treated as half Int.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons
Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0
International
(CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) license.

No Dungeon Mapping Required!

Recently, someone in a forum was curious how many GMs make (require) the players to map the dungeon, and I replied that I don’t require players to map, but they are taking a risk if they don’t.

That response may seem a bit flippant, but really I try to balance clear descriptions of the environment with dungeon features designed to be deliberately confusing. Sure, you could skip mapping and just try to remember which way you came. For the most part, the dungeon isn’t going to change configuration – although it might – so you could get away with it. But mapping makes it easier.

But why map at all?

The Reasons for Mapping

To me, the reason why I make it possible for players to map my dungeons, and why I like to map dungeons when I’m a player, is the immersion. I want to get a feel for what my environment looks like and what my character is doing. I assume at least some players out there are going to enjoy it as well.

Some GMs fill every space on their dungeon maps with rooms, so players mapping as they explore may notice suspicious areas that could contain secret rooms. I used to make my own dungeon maps that way, and I’ll admit there can be a certain joy to finding a secret room that way. But how often does that work? Seems like too much effort that rarely pays off.

But even without that kind of cramped dungeon design, players looking for a hidden shrine or other location they’ve heard exists in the dungeon might notice large unmapped quadrants on a map. This might give a clue which areas they need to search more thoroughly for secret doors into the supposedly empty area. Or they could even try mining their way into it.

Avoiding Mapping

Still, some players just don’t enjoy making maps and won’t do it. Even if you suggest not making a map to scale, just using lines and boxes to make a crude flow chart version of the dungeon. I believe players should be allowed to take that risk, but if they were to ask me to just handwave the return to the surface, I wouldn’t go along with that. The game is about players making decisions and accepting the consequences of those decisions. Just as I wouldn’t spring a surprise TPK on players without giving them enough information to decide not to take that risk, I wouldn’t choose the players’ route back to the surface for them, especially when one route might be more dangerous than the other.

Still, there may be ways to maintain that element of player choice without requiring an actual map. I’m mulling over an idea, which I will return to in a future post.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons
Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0
International
(CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) license.