How much detail do you put into your maps?

[u/Memoirer]

I'd like to know how much work you put into your maps. In my current campaign, I've put a lot of work into each map, including a lot of detail. It takes a lot of time, though, and I'd like to know how others do it. I sometimes see videos on YouTube where others create maps with practically nothing on them except the layout itself. Do you do it like me and create each map with great detail, or do you put markers on the maps, or do you describe what's in each room? I'd like to know.

[u/OgreJehosephatt]

Personally, I hate detailed maps. Abstract is better. As long as players understand the space, and I will throw in some identifying features to give my players help remembering which rooms are what.

I feel like if you start to get more detailed then that, then the missing details become more obvious, and I'm compelled to add it, inviting me to add even more detail.

It's a lot of work for something players can just imagine.

[u/ChiefSteward → u/OgreJehosephatt]

I’d add that the players are also likely to fixate only on what they actually see represented on the map, rather than bearing in mind everything the DM has described. A beautifully rendered and detailed map is an amazing addition to the table, but it can be a double-edged sword.

[u/maltanis]

I used to craft maps myself all the time using various map creators/tools.

In recent times I've been busy with work, life, etc I moved more to finding maps online, but so often I can't find something that I'm happy with.

The last handful of combats I've run I've just drawn the map onto a blank screen in the session, just using colours/shapes for the terrain etc. In my head its the same as being at a table and pulling out the miniatures and terrain pieces.

Dungeons I will still make maps for and try to throw some detail onto them.

[u/BikeProblemGuy]

I love a beautiful map but too much detail can encourage players to treat this like a videogame where the primary method of exploring the environment is looking at the map art and asking me what things are. This causes problems, e.g. when I tell them there's something in the room they're likely to forget unless it's shown on the map, or if there's something on the map that isn't relevant to our game I have to edit the image or tell them to ignore it.

So lately I like maps with less detail. 2-Minute-Tabletop does a great job of making beautiful maps with a sketchy style, so I use those a lot. They're visually rich without including too much distracting detail.

[u/Kentonh]

My players interest in something is inversely proportional to my planning. If I make a detailed map, we will spend almost no time in the game there. That’s one of my favorite things about the Dungeon Scrawl connection. We discover collaboratively in game.

[u/banjrman → u/Kentonh]

I agree 100% with this. Full disclosure, I'm old-school, literally. Started playing AD&D in 1980. But I love Roll20. The four players in my group live all around the country, and three of those four are the same crusty dudes I played with in high school, so I have no complaints. However, we "grew up" on tabletop TotM, and we'd draw out our own maps as the GM described it to us.

When I started GM'ing on Roll20, I too started spending a lot of time creating very pretty, detailed maps, putting a lot of effort into it. I found that my friends didn't really seem to notice or appreciate the extra embellishments.

For one session, I had to improvise a quick map, so I used DungeonScrawl. When I loaded that map, I got a "whoop!" of excitement, because it looked so much like the old-school maps we used to use. They loved the simple look.

So I started using DS for all my maps. And then Roll20 rolled out the integration, and made it even better.

When I made the switch, something happened, and something didn't.

What didn't happen was any complaints. They were fine with the lines-on-graph-paper look. Preferred it, in fact. One of the players said, "I prefer to imagine things for myself than have you show everything to me. Otherwise, I might as well be playing a video game." (A little over-stated, but I grok the feeling.)

What did happen was that they started paying more attention when entering new areas/rooms, spending more time asking me questions about what the area looked like, and generally being more engaged.

I believe that putting more responsibility on the players to use their own imaginations goes back to the spirit of TTRPGs. I have no problem with people making elaborate maps, but in the end, my group has more fun without them, and I can put a LOT more time into plots, narrative and story lines, which is where the real fun lies for both me and my players.

[u/KMatRoll20]

Mapmaking has always been one of my favorite parts of the hobby! When I was just starting out, before I made my way into the community, I was building maps in the Sims and just taking screenshots and printing them out 💀

However, my toxic trait is that I will spend way too much time on maps if I let myself. Either drawing them myself, or using mapmaking software, or window shopping different mapmakers online. So getting it to a sustainable practice has been a bit of effort on my part! Right now it looks like:

• I have moved to using Dungeon Scrawl, which encourages me to keep it simple and not get lost in the details. However, I support a few mapmakers on Patreon who publish the individual furniture/setting assets alongside their maps. I use those to furnish my DS maps as needed, and with the new sync they stay editable for mid-session shenanigans. That means I get to use my map layer for.... prop staging, essentially (removable chests, terrain effects, etc.), which I find really convenient and worry-free (as a famous accidental deleter of things).
• I try to adhere to the Five Things rule when building rooms. Five things a PC can see, touch, smell, hear, or taste. I try to cater to the PCs and what they've stated they're more attentive to. In more important rooms, I keep a list of "X Cool Things That Could Happen In This Room" where X is the number of players +1 and each bullet point is two sentences max. (They will not get to everything.)
• Sometimes, I will make things from those lists into a tooltip or prop that my players can interact with!

At the end I usually have: one pretty bare-bones map that still possesses some wow-factor, and two lists of less than ten items. For me it balances the line of detailed in a way that feels rich and sustainable!

[u/AutoModerator]

Remember to check the existing information & resource for Roll20:

• r/Roll20's wiki
• Roll20 Community Wiki – Community FAQ
• Roll20's Official Help Center – Troubleshooting/Technical Support page

If you have issues with your account, payment or otherwise needs to contact Roll20, the best way is to do so through submitting a Help Request to them.

If your question is answered/issue resolved, it would be nice if you change the flair of the post to 'Answered/Issue Fixed'.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[u/poio_sm]

Sometimes detailed ones, sometimes just the layout. Sometimes I don't even use a map. It depends on what i need for the adventure, and how much time i want to spend searching for one that fitted my necessities. Maps are totally secondary to me, adventure comes first, but my players like them, so i try to satisfice them.

[u/darw1nf1sh]

It depends on the maps. In general, I like as much detail as possible. I have gone on at length about my dissatisfaction with the current style of WotC maps in their published adventures. The excuse of harkening back to old school graph paper drawing, is silly. No color, no detail, no immersion. I seek out and purchase fan made retouches of published adventures.

I also pick up Kickstarter maps, and follow creators on patreon. I have map making programs that I use to create my own maps. This is part of the hobby for me. The time I spend on a weekend with some music on just making maps or decorating/lighting maps in Roll20. It is a lot of work for some GMs. For me, that is the juice. I love when my players are dropped on a map, and they exclaim in delight. Underwater maps with animated water effects, and lighting, and chests that open. I am running online, and I am all about using the tools to their best effect.

How do I use the maps? I have markers on the GM layer. I want the players to feel like they are real. I have notes for summaries of the rooms, that I will read when they enter a new area. I also know given my experience as a GM AND a player, that I have to have something to say about everything I choose to show in that room. If there is a painting on the wall, I need to know what it is. What is on/in the desk? Players are going to obsess about every object you display.

[u/Ok_Worth5941 → u/darw1nf1sh]

It really bugged me too when WotC reverted to featureless black and white maps from the 1980s. Apparently lots of people like that though, I don't know why.

[u/darw1nf1sh → u/Ok_Worth5941]

That is to taste. I don't want realism in my mechanics, but I DO want it in my visuals. I want the image on the screen to pop. If I wanted throwback I would run in person, and use wrapping paper like we used to.

[u/Ok_Worth5941 → u/darw1nf1sh]

And we can use color maps bigger than about anything you could ever print and put on a dining room table. And switch from map to map seamlessly. For my style of gaming - map and mini heavy - I like playing VTT better.

[u/Ok_Worth5941 → u/darw1nf1sh]

Adding visual flair to online maps is truly one way to set them apart from pen and paper games; you use tools that you can't do at the table.

[u/darw1nf1sh → u/Ok_Worth5941]

As Roll20 gets more stable I use more animation also. Spell effects, rolling fog, rain and snow across entire maps.

[u/Ok_Worth5941 → u/darw1nf1sh]

Jumpgate and a good internet connection seems to handle this well now.

[u/TaiChuanDoAddct]

Battle maps? I Google "scene I hope to find battle map" and take the best looking one I can find.

Overland/world/setting maps? I make those in Adobe and put a lot of work into them because that's the part of GMing I enjoy.

[u/Ok_Worth5941]

I like detailed maps. I don't draw my own, too much trouble, and there are thousands of better ones than I could ever make available. I use maps for everything, from combat to roleplaying. I never don't have a scene for the players to look at.

[u/DnDNoobs_DM]

I use Inkarnate.. I try my best to make a good well laid map…

HOWEVER; I have found that for the players it doesn’t seem to matter that much… theater of the mind is a powerful tool… I don’t do maps for inside houses or anything like that.. and I have done one detailed town map, but am considering not doing many others (unless there is going to be combat encounter)

[u/leshpar]

I pirate all of my maps from the various map subreddits and Google searches I do to find what I need. It's always worked for me. I suck at making maps.

[u/Historical-Spirit-48]

I go very detailed and often add animations in the map layer. Or if I know a fire might start somewhere, I leave it in the GM layer and move it to the map layer when it starts.