Mapping

Yeah old school dungeons basically REQUIRE mapping, I remember them being densely packed room to room affairs.

Mapping is part of the fun!

Do you want us to tell you which character(s) have the maps(s)?

That's an interesting idea, that the PCs would also be making a map. I always thought that the maps were more for the players than something that exists in the game world: a way of helping to envision what the characters are experiencing, memorizing the relationships of rooms, remembering how many steps have been taken, hearing how sound echoes, feeling the walls, etc.

If the PCs are making the map, then it's obviously going to be a character that has map-drawing materials. Do any of our PCs have parchment, candles, ink, quills, and a penknife?

I also like the idea that we players do the mapping, because if one character was doing it, it might lead to only one player doing the map...and I think it would be fun if more than one of us worked on the map and then occasionally (once a month?) post what our maps look like.

We can laugh at how different they are!

But that's kind of a meta-game entertainment. If people want to experience the old-school feel of assigned roles and have one player be a dedicated mapper, I'm happy to do it.

I could also try my hand at it. I've got some drawing and mapping software that could do with some use XD

The reason I asked was in the old days the mapping player’s character was assumed to carry the map. If that character was disintegrated or dissolved by a gelatinous cube, then so was the map. Which made it difficult for the party to find their way out of the dungeon. I’d prefer everyone mapping though. That’s part of the fun 😁

Here's the maps I have so far. I will update the thread as we explore more and the map(s) gets updated.

Thank you! I appreciate the clarification.

Updated with the entrance and the Grand Foyer.

Your mapping is a blessing spaceseeker19. So good! Looking at it I can fully understand the situation. Just have to remember to jump back and look for it. I'm not so go at just reading what is written.

Are they pressed against the eastern wall or the western one? I'm assuming from your description that cave opens out in one direction or the other...

Ah, so they're in the tunnel that connects the caves. I misunderstood. Thank you!

Continue to use Spaceseeker19's maps. I'll add mine here so we can compare. I ink over in pen, so some mistakes are permanent.

Ah. I was wondering what you meant by 15'. I'll regret it later, but I'm going over the map in pen. I might get some areas wrong, but that adds to the chaos of the dungeon delve.

ok thanks

I don't think I'm clear on the room we entered. Are we in the phosphorus room? I took a picture, but something is not adding up

I know it's a hassle, but would it help to mark our position when you upadate maps?

Yes; I don't know how I got that confused; you were very clear when you said "I will always refer to room dimensions as (length west -> east) x (length north -> south)." Thanks again for pointing out the error! I don't expect corrections, but I REALLY appreciate them, and will happily receive them for as long as you provide them!

A prompt/question for the other players: let me know if/when you feel like the level 1 map is getting too small. As we explore further, the map gets larger, but the dimensions of the image I'm using to post the map remains the same. The result is that the view of individual features on the map is gradually shrinking as we expand the map outward. I've been trying to keep the images set to "large," so as to not be too big for any people using GP on a smaller screen (a phone or a tablet), but let me know if you feel they should be larger.

I use my phone most of the time. I can zoom in on the picture. As long as the quality is good, I'm fine.

By the way, I really like how you did the stairs. It's so much easier to distinguish up and down. I always get messed up with direction.

I'm a phone player too so image size is fine for me, great work, very much appreciated!

Map is great, thank you!

Mapping has been great. Such an aid. Hope it catches up soon now. GM has given lots to do.

I'm not sure I'm accurate on the distance of the doors. I'm not sure if you mean "30', then the door is on the next 10' section of the wall", or "the door is on the section of the wall 30' from the crossroads ".

Note that I'll update the level 1 map east of the "Tree Mural" room once the party has a light source and can all see from the intersection.

Update: That's been posted as the "1 April 2024" version of the Level 1 map.

So the map is getting VERY large, and I'm curious about a couple of things:

1) How is the map presented in the published material? Are the squares much smaller, so that it all fits on two pages (like the initial canyon map did), or does it span more than two pages? My map is spread across three pages so far (as you can tell), and will at least spread to a fourth as soon as we choose a particular exit from the Kobold Market.

2) Though I suppose it could use Dungeon Scrawl, I very much enjoy drawing the maps by hand. But this presents two issues: there's a delay while I scan and stitch together all the pieces of the map, and the map is getting VERY LARGE. The size in itself isn't a problem, but the size of the map that we can see is going to be a problem. I know I've talked about this previously in this thread, but now that the individual rooms on the map show up so small (because there is a practical limit to how images are displayed on Gamers Plane), I'm going to ask a similar question: do you guys want to see close-up maps of the area we are in, as well as the "whole dungeon level" map?

I'm happy just to see the overview, I don't need much detail. But honestly whatever method is easiest for you, the mapping efforts are very much appreciated!

Sorry for being MIA. I went through a funk and needed a break. Map is updated.

I've just updated the map for level 1. If you're on a desktop and can't pinch to zoom, you can right-click and select "open in a new tab." Most browsers will allow you to zoom in on a very large image like the map when viewing the image by itself.

I'm human and so I like to see patterns in things; I wonder if the pattern of the octagonal rooms is going to be mirrored throughout this part of the dungeon. We've got the "Feet Statue" room and the "Chamber of the Woods," both octagonal with portcullises blocking their west and east exits, so I wonder if the room where we saw the "Orcs" (watching the kobolds get massacred by the giant shrew) is also octagonal.

Similarly, now that we're in the "Maritime" room, which is an octagon with portcullises blocking the east and west exits, I wonder if there will be other octagonal rooms to the north and south. I guess we'll find out about the south pretty soon...