New WOTC Poll: Mapping The World

Mistwell · December 12, 2013, 12:53:16 PM

It seemed like some were not aware WOTC was still conducting polls on 5e, from another thread where I linked to the latest monster poll.

So, here is the latest poll, this one on the topic of Mapping the World:

http://wizards.com/dnd/Article.aspx?x=dnd/4wand/20131211

What do people think?

Hex is 6 miles, or 10?
Dungeon Square is 10' or 5'?
How much do you map out to start a campaign?
What do you put in that initial map?

Sacrosanct · December 12, 2013, 01:02:47 PM

Quote from: Mistwell;715542It seemed like some were not aware WOTC was still conducting polls on 5e, from another thread where I linked to the latest monster poll.

So, here is the latest poll, this one on the topic of Mapping the World:

http://wizards.com/dnd/Article.aspx?x=dnd/4wand/20131211

What do people think?

Hex is 6 miles, or 10?
Dungeon Square is 10' or 5'?
How much do you map out to start a campaign?
What do you put in that initial map?

Haha, the first thing I thought of when I saw the thread title was, "WotC has canceled polls. I have it on good authority

"

Re: the actual poll, my choice is:

Hex: 10 miles
Dungeon: 5'

I like things in increments of 10 because it's the easiest (I hate the US system by the way lol). However, since the combat encounter seems to be in 5' increments, I went that way.

For initial map, I put the region, key areas such as towns and major dungeons and major features. And then detail out the areas most likely to be visited, with only brief outlines for the other areas.

One Horse Town · December 12, 2013, 01:03:27 PM

That is a really good article.

I'll have to ponder before i add more, but i really enjoyed reading it.

Shipyard Locked · December 12, 2013, 01:14:54 PM

That post is one of the most fascinating and useful things they've ever done for someone like me. I'm terrible at judging measurements, especially distance, so I've mostly relied on imitating other campaign setting maps. I actually feel like a better DM for having seen that.

Mock me if you must.

Also, I notice with some cautious interest that one of the examples was from Eberron. Not exactly confirmation that they'll ever do anything official with that setting again, but they're thinking about it.

I voted 1 hex = 10 mile out of tradition and comfort, but I have to say the example for 1 hex = 1 mile is intriguing.

Haffrung · December 12, 2013, 05:01:04 PM

Quote from: Shipyard Locked;715549I voted 1 hex = 10 mile out of tradition and comfort, but I have to say the example for 1 hex = 1 mile is intriguing.

1 hex = 1 mile is far more practical for a D&D campaign than 10 miles. It started with Gygax and the mammoth scale of Greyhawk, more suited to a nation vs nation wargame than a boots-on-the-ground exploration and adventure game. And from there designers have made their outdoor setting material too large scale. A 10 x 10 mile hex can easily contain a half dozen adventure locations - lairs, ruins, settlements. In medieval Europe, you could come across a village every few miles. Even in wilderness areas settlements were rarely more than 10-12 miles apart. A 30 mile by 20 mile area should have enough settlements and adventure locations support a many months of a campaign.

Emperor Norton · December 12, 2013, 09:01:07 PM

I think the important thing we learned from this article is that WotC needs to buy the empty lot next to their offices and build a full sized replica of Daggerford.

(also that was an interesting read)

Haffrung · December 12, 2013, 09:22:13 PM

Okay, I just read the article. So I was right all along - the scales used in most D&D outdoor maps are completely fucking out of whack. It's funny how something that daft can be propagated and sustained for decades out of habit. I really hope that little experiment convinces someone at WotC to start publishing regional maps at 1 hex = 1 mile scale.

Omega · December 12, 2013, 09:53:31 PM

Personally I like 1 hex = 20 miles. About average how far a person can travel in a day including camp set up, sleep, etc.

mhensley · December 12, 2013, 11:08:36 PM

nah, 1 hex = 3 miles ~ how far you can walk in an hour

Omega · December 12, 2013, 11:46:52 PM

Quote from: mhensley;715662nah, 1 hex = 3 miles ~ how far you can walk in an hour

Heck with that man! Im switching to kilomiters now. 5 per hex! That'll mess everyone up! :cool:

For a while I played around with hexes inside hexes. Hour hexes inside a day hex.

Zachary The First · December 13, 2013, 07:30:58 AM

That's actually a really good article. Glad to see they're looking at this sort of stuff.

Exploderwizard · December 13, 2013, 08:23:25 AM

The Daggerford thing is actually pretty funny.

I don't think standardized map scales are really a requirement. For a small building/dungeon I might use a 5' scale. A large dungeon complex might use a 10' or even 20' scale.

For outdoor maps, a lot depends on how large the GM wants to make the starting area. Both large scale and small scale maps have their uses.

Its cool that WOTC is considering this kind of thing. I just hope that it doesn't turn into some rigid " map by numbers" system.

S'mon · December 13, 2013, 09:14:09 AM

I enjoyed the article. I find for medievalesque D&D 1 or 2 miles per hex works well. 1 mile/hex is ideal for western European countryside, 2 miles/hex for sparsely settled frontiers. Bigger scales don't really give any feel for the terrain IME, it's too abstracted.

I am hopeful this may hint at more realistic scalings in D&D Next. As it is I've taken to changing the listed scales on D&D products, often by a factor of 5 - so 5 miles/hex goes to 1 mile/hex and 150 mile river valley with 3 villages, as in Vault of Larin Karr, becomes 30 miles.

Bedrockbrendan · December 13, 2013, 09:24:16 AM

Quote from: S'mon;715741I
I am hopeful this may hint at more realistic scalings in D&D Next. As it is I've taken to changing the listed scales on D&D products, often by a factor of 5 - so 5 miles/hex goes to 1 mile/hex and 150 mile river valley with 3 villages, as in Vault of Larin Karr, becomes 30 miles.

I always asumed in large areas with just a few settlements marked, there were meant to be others, but they just were not shown.

Haffrung · December 13, 2013, 10:10:26 AM

Quote from: BedrockBrendan;715744I always asumed in large areas with just a few settlements marked, there were meant to be others, but they just were not shown.

Not in the case of Vault of Larin Karr. It's a sandbox adventure with detailed maps and underground connections. NPCs in the villages have various associations with one another.

Funny, but VoLK was the adventure where I finally threw my hands up in despair at D&D map scales and decided to do exactly as S'mon does and zoom in the scale on every map by x5. It's pretty clear most RPG designers and publishers haven't the faintest idea about geography beyond what they see from maps in the back of Forgotten Realms novels. It's also evidence that very few RPG designers are Europeans, as Europeans tend to have a real-world understanding of how medieval communities grow and are spaced from one another.