Explaining Dungeons w/o maps and minis(not the same 'ol discussion)

[Malaketh]

Hello all, I am having a conundrum that I cannot find an answer for. Every time I do a google search about maps and minis the results I get are all about combat.

Here's the thing, I love mini combat and fully utilize it. When a battle starts I lay down the tiles and monsters, position the characters, and away we go. My players love it. This question isn't about that.

My issue is navigating the dungeon. The players get bored/confused/frustrated with the typical left/right/ north/south directions. They don't wanna map it and frankly it takes up way too much time. If they don't map it they get lost.

I actually tried one time, using GIMP software, blowing up the map into 1 inch tiles. It took up 2 tables, was very awkward, and turned the game into a board game feel. My players didn't like that either and frankly, it was way too much work anyway.

So how do I do it, we are in curse of strahd and a lot of it is roleplaying, but there are some "dungeons" and also I am dreading the castle when the time comes. How do you guys navigate your players through these mazes?

[Unoriginal]

Hello all, I am having a conundrum that I cannot find an answer for. Every time I do a google search about maps and minis the results I get are all about combat.

Here's the thing, I love mini combat and fully utilize it. When a battle starts I lay down the tiles and monsters, position the characters, and away we go. My players love it. This question isn't about that.

My issue is navigating the dungeon. The players get bored/confused/frustrated with the typical left/right/ north/south directions. They don't wanna map it and frankly it takes up way too much time. If they don't map it they get lost.

I actually tried one time, using GIMP software, blowing up the map into 1 inch tiles. It took up 2 tables, was very awkward, and turned the game into a board game feel. My players didn't like that either and frankly, it was way too much work anyway.

So how do I do it, we are in curse of strahd and a lot of it is roleplaying, but there are some "dungeons" and also I am dreading the castle when the time comes. How do you guys navigate your players through these mazes?


Why not make them a quick small sketch of the area with a pencil and a checkered paper sheet?

[Foxhound438]

a) linearize. Rearrange the rooms so that they don't loop into each other over and over where it doesn't seem necessary to loop, and have some side branches to make it at least a little interesting. A big building or castle might be hard to justify doing this with, but for a general dungeon I think you can get away with it unless there's a specific reason not to.

b) just print out a smaller map and let people look at it. Maybe if you really don't want the players to metagame put in some pieces of paper covering the rooms they can't see yet, or blank out the secret doors and traps and stuff. The Tales from the Yawning Portal's "Dead in Thay" adventure has a good built in solution, giving the players a slightly adjusted map at the start, so maybe you can use that as an example of what I'm talking about.

[Malaketh]

Oh yeah, I like the idea of giving them a small map. I could probably alter things like traps and secret doors on GIMP easily enough.(I think, I'm not very adept with it). But yeah, give them a 1 sheet version of the map. Simple solution. I guess I thought it may break immersion if I did that but it's better then what's happening now.

Thanks for the tips...

[Unoriginal]

Oh yeah, I like the idea of giving them a small map. I could probably alter things like traps and secret doors on GIMP easily enough.(I think, I'm not very adept with it). But yeah, give them a 1 sheet version of the map. Simple solution. I guess I thought it may break immersion if I did that but it's better then what's happening now.

Thanks for the tips...

You could hide the parts of the map they didn't explore yet.

[Tanarii]

You have to give them meaningful information, or even just red herring info, to base their decision on. What can they see, hear, even smell? If you just give them identical left/right passages out to the torch or light spell distance, they might as well out a silver piece to make a decision. And of course they'll rapidly lose interest.

Otoh getting lost because they dont have a designated mapper, even if its just an in-game character and not actually done by the players, thats a decision too, so that should be on them.

Decisions are the core of the game. They should have info to use to make them, and there should be consequences for making them. And the players need to be able to see the connection between the two.

[iTreeby]

You can use flashcards to generate the "map" as they travel through it. Each card is a room or set of hallways. sketch combat areas on separate graph paper.

[Malaketh]

You can use flashcards to generate the "map" as they travel through it. Each card is a room or set of hallways. sketch combat areas on separate graph paper.

Yes I don't worry about the combat areas being "exactly" like the room they are in. I have a boat load of tiles that take seconds to set up. They really like the miniature combat so that parts fine. I like the idea of flash cards. I suppose I could print of an 11x17 page of the dungeon and cut it into sections?

[Whit]

Use the hex map and ink out the combat encounters only. Errase and repeat. Otherwise draw out each section as needed to fill entire hex map as they travel. Or in the old days with a map we would just describe it. “ a dark huen cave 20x20 lies ahead moving north. What do yuh do? As you travel deeper into the tunnel it splits to the east or you can continue north. Dwakin the dwarf can determine the passage to the east slopes downward and has rough steps made by an unknown source.
As you get to the bottom of the steps, an old rotted wooden door is implace bolted by rusted hinges into the cave wall.
Faulk the elf rogue listens to the door for sounds beyond. You feel movement on your ear. Something has crawled inside of it.
Etc.
then when u enter x chamber give it a description how u want. Vurki the human warrior bashed the door with his axe. The door splinters and falls. A perception check from Faulk shows tiny rot grubs moving around the ruined door.
Hence the cleric casts cure disease on Faulk killing the rot grub that diseased Faulk. Zillion the mage shines light from his staff into the chamber. A ruined alter of an unknown god stands in the middle of the room 15ft high with the head lying on the floor. A murky pool of water in a well sits before it. The room appears to be 50x60. And has a dim lit glow from moss on the walls and floor.
As each of you enter what do you do.

If Combat happens just Ablid where what goes on. How far people are from xyz etc. it was more fast pace back then letting people describe more with no figures. But figures are fun

[Spectrulus]

When I have that I use these cards to help me out.

Inked adventure and dice cards

https://inkedadventures.com/main/2017/06/inked-adventures-map-dice-playing-cards/

It's a full deck of cards with modular dungeon pieces you can randomly draw from a pile or setup ahead of time.

I use a glass bead or penny to show where the party goes, bringing it the battle map when necessary. I've been using them this past year to great success.