Do your players draw maps?

[Anders]

For some reason my players refuse to draw proper maps. They want me to do it instead.

What about your players?

[ericthered]

I've got one player who will do mapping stuff spontaneously, but its usually for the interior of ships, vans, and building the players own.

On yard by yard or building level, if players are giving me maps, its usually because the situation is confusing, and therefore most of those maps are wrong. So I end up making a correct version. Usually, its not high quality. Thus I make most of those maps, because as the GM I am trying to communicate something apparently tricky.


I've had maps that are higher quality and used throughout the game, but those are usually campaign artifacts generated beforehand, or they are shared documents all the players can edit. I'll start out the stub, and then the players add stuff as its discovered or write down notes about locations. But even then I do most of the work, because I know all the details and writing the map is often quicker than describing all its features to the players.

[sir_pudding]

Depends on the campaign. In games where getting lost in Mazes is a feature, then yes.

[The Colonel]

Maps of what? Old school dictates that they map dungeons themselves - although using their character's mysterious ability to see in 5' or 10' squares.
Terrain or overland maps ... vary. There's' a whole "reliable narrator" thing to be discussed when it comes to how well PCs know geography ... and if they would even recognise a map if you slapped them with it, especially in primitive cultures. Even characters who understand the basic idea of a map might struggle with recognising a location from any given example ... go and look at some of the weird looking things our ancestors used and try to imagine finding your way with that. So what are the implications for player knowledge - do you show them your campaign map, or tell them that their character knows that "Northburg is about a week North-East up river from Thistown, and from there it's two day's ride North to Dumpsville and the entrance to the Arschloch Pass"?

Tactical maps, if used, are the GM's responsibility.

[sgtcallistan]

GM usually has a basic map of the land, but PC's often rely on memory, the few roads, more often rivers, or have a guide, usually reliable, who is using his long experience of Orienteering and Astronomy (not forgetting the seasons and knowledge of how people travel) to get them where they want to go.

Maps tend to be as older maps in Britain were; the route measured in days of travel, the drawing is of a road and the towns on them, with branches off requiring a local guide, and venturing into unknown areas often the source of adventure.

It's not a literate society, and writing is usually on permanent markers such as border stones, so the route may be simply described; 'east to Goldenstone, the King's Road to Aillel's Ford, at the stone, turn sunwise to the Downs' hollow-way, then ask for Hrothcaister'.

I find players tend to recall these imperfectly, leading to adventure! ;-)

[johndallman]

Originally Posted by Anders

For some reason my players refuse to draw proper maps. They want me to do it instead.

I long ago switched to drawing the map as GM, on the grounds that the PCs can see their environment, which gives them far better information than verbal descriptions from me, and saves a lot of time and frustration. The quality of the maps does depend on how much of a hurry they're in, and if anyone has Cartography skill.

For games in real-world settings, the characters usually have a reasonably accurate map from in-game sources, and I'll just screen-share the relevant bit of an online map.

[Michael Thayne]

Originally Posted by johndallman

I long ago switched to drawing the map as GM, on the grounds that the PCs can see their environment, which gives them far better information than verbal descriptions from me, and saves a lot of time and frustration.

This is an important point. Players shouldn't be punished because the GM failed to clearly convey something that would be completely obvious in-character, and it can be hard to convey what characters ought to be seeing if you don't draw a map. Though I can't say I'd never make my players draw a map—if important information wouldn't be obvious in-character making players draw the map can be justified.

[Anthony]

Maps are a classic case of 'a picture is worth a thousand words'. The easiest way to give the players sufficient information to draw a map is... draw the map yourself.

[Michael Thayne]

Originally Posted by Anthony

Maps are a classic case of 'a picture is worth a thousand words'. The easiest way to give the players sufficient information to draw a map is... draw the map yourself.

The only catch is that sometimes just handing the players a map gives them too much information. The most obvious case of this is when the risk of getting lost is important to the adventure. Also, conspicuous "blank" areas on a map can tip players off to a secret area that's intended to be difficult to find—imagine two rooms appear to be about the same size, but if you measured them one would turn out to be smaller for seemingly no good reason, because the "smaller" room has a false wall concealing a treasure cache.

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by Michael Thayne

The only catch is that sometimes just handing the players a map gives them too much information.

True, though you can always give them a bad map. If you just do a basic scribble with a few labels they can't tell the difference between hidden things and bad drawing.