#dungeonqueering

[dungeonqueering]

Okay small Nazgul update: we're Facebook friends now and so I've seen his face and holy fucking shit he's HOT

[dungeonqueering]

LETS MAKE SOME MFING MAPS Pt 1

For a very very long time, I never used maps for DnD or any other tabletop, I just did my best to describe the spaces my players inhabited. After all, I exclusively use theatre of the mind combat, so maps aren’t needed, right? WRONG

You don’t necessarily need maps, but they do absolutely add a flair to your game, especially in locations that your players will be revisiting frequently. In fact, this post will enhance a post I am making later about a highly custom and kinda weird game I’m doing that will be very map heavy. There’s already a post going around* that recommends how to use elbow pasta to make country maps. That’s absolutely wonderful. There are also tons of resources on how to make dungeon maps, and there will be links later. However, a lot of those require artistic skills that I simply do not have.

I CAN’T DRAW FOR SHIT

So what does someone like me to do make dungeon maps that are at least pleasant to look at? Well buckle in, because we’re gonna see it. This is part one, and is not necessary to enjoy part two. The rest of this post is mostly going to be some old maps, next to a single new one. Part two will cover how to actually make maps, so skip there if you want.

First thing I want to do is let you know exactly the background I come from. In that vein, here are a couple pictures of the maps I did way back when, when I used to do encounter maps and all that good stuff.

So these are my old works, that last one probably being the only one I may reuse. The B&W ones are a Snake Temple in the jungle, the two colored ones are a secret base in Cyberpunk Seattle. I was going to show you some of my old battlemats, but apparently I threw them away in one of the 5 times I’ve moved in the last year and a half.

Here, now, is an example of a map I did for my current in-person game:

It’s not perfect, but it is FAR better. Crisp, defined edges, cleaner lines, just generally pleasant to look at. But it gets far better than that with experience.

Just for reference, here is the (colored) version I’m handing out to my players, and the final version in my notebook.

Obviously, some of the things I tried to do here worked and some did not.

*This is not a link to the actual tumblr post, I couldn’t find that. This is, however, screen caps of it which includes a link to the blog that originally posted it, which seems to be down.

[yo-its-flan]

I was going to go for level 120 dungeoneering.

Until I realised the cape is exactly the same as any other skillcape, albeit looking a bit cooler.

You'd think having 120 dungeoneering the cape would give +12 def and +6 pray or something.