gnunn
Okay, I would love to get a discussion going on the recent "Guest Article":http://newbiedm.com/2009/01/13/newbiedm-tutorial-printing-battle-maps-to-a-1-scale/, because printing custom battle maps is one of my favorite things to do.
When I make mine, I often use a couple extra tricks:
# I slide the mats into mylar sheet-covers (purchasable from any office supply store). This lets me add notations to the map using wet or dry erase markers.
# When I create a custom map on one side of a sheet of cardstock, I often print a blank grid on the other. This is super useful if you don't want to give away hints as to the shape of a dungeon (e.g. meta-gamer "He drew the entrance in the southwest corner of the battle mat... This must mean all the important stuff is to the Northeast.) If your slapping down a single 8x10 grid at a time, it helps keep the party guessing. Also, if you have your party going through a maze or something, you can pull up sheets to represent their memories getting fuzzy about the path out.
I like to use free software whenever possible, and I find "Map Tool":http://www.rptools.net/index.php?page=maptool to be an excellent option for generating dungeon scale maps... though it takes some initial investment to build up a library of images. "GIMP":http://www.gimp.org/ is also an excellent choice if you've got a little more graphic-editing skill. Finally, "Dungeons Unlimited":http://www.angelfire.com/rpg2/dungeonsunlimited/ ironically provides a limited selection of ready-made layouts. I have used their stuff quite a bit also.
Okay... your turn to talk!
Comments
For fancy stuff, like finales, I take a map graphic and cut it up in a graphic program to print on letter size paper. I print that on photo paper and then spray mount it to foamcore. I take that, and cut it up along the walls into rooms or sections that fit back together like a puzzle.
It's way too much work to do all the time, but for special maps it's sooo worth it. No one can game the map because they only see one piece at a time.
Normally, I draw out the map with sharpies and watercolor brush-pen combos on gridded presentation pad paper from "Gaming Paper":http://www.gamingpaper.com/, depending on what I'm making a map of. Then I put in enough detail to easily fill in walls, doors and basic features with a black sharpie very quickly, but not give away enough detail that the players feel confident with what will be behind any door or corridor. I've also been known to draw fake walls and such, which I take out with a white-out ribbon tool before drawing what walls are actually there. Do that once or twice, and everyone questions it on every map. :)
Eventually I want to have a rear-projected screen in my table and do all maps digitally through D20 Pro. I've made maps for GenCon RPGA events which were very well recieved by the SAGA Star Wars GMs for the last two years (probably won't happen this year with SAGA being cancelled) - those were laminated for multiple game play.
I'll try to get some pictures of what I've done to illustrate.
The best print option is getting large-scale color maps made at a print shop. I've used one that allows you to submit your job online then go pick it up later. It's really convenient, but not very cheap (Staples).
I never got the hang of keeping track of the maps; and unless they were maps I traded for written works, I often lost them and had to remake them. So, my advice - organize them well.
Now I use my laptop connected to the TV for maps. I've just switched the klooge.werks and tried it out (rather successfully) tonight. The party didn't get into any fights or deal with encounters -- so there's lots more testing to be done. :)
Signs & Portends, Dwarves of Lost Koldukar, In a certain realm
"!(media-item-align-center){width:250px}http://cdn.obsidianportal.com/assets/7924/cartoguild_banner.gif(Cartoguild banner)!":http://www.cartographersguild.com/
Cheers,
-Arsheesh
Yargh! I've been struggling with creating my own world map in Gimp and have restarted it multiple times. You're giving me the itch to do it once again! I am sooo torn with forging ahead on my latest iteration and starting over... grr...
So far, I've been using a style that incorporates isometric mountain symbols, but I feel like the scope of the map is too large for that to be actually useful. I have also started playing around with CC3, but this makes me want to revisit Gimp...
Cheers,
-Arsheesh
Cheers,
-Arsheesh
Cheers,
-Arsheesh