Using Maps in Conan

[damiller]

I was just wondering how all of you used the many maps available in and from the Conan supplements?

I ask because back when I played DnD and we would go dungeon crawling, my brother (the DM) would have us draw out the map ourselves on graph paper, as he read us the dimensions.

However, I don't really want to do that with my Conan game (or any other game) so I am kind of stumped as to how to use maps without turning it into a graph paper exercise, or loose the excitment of exploration.

In case I am not too clear here is my dilemma. I want to use the fines maps of the Green City Xuthocl (spelling I know), and I want to the PCs to feel like they are actually exploring those ruins. But how do I do that wihtout pulling out the graph paper?

Thanks for any help!

d

 

[Halfbat]

imo Dungeon Crawling in Conan will ruin the pace and destroy the feel, so you're right to want to not replicate D&D in Conan.

When I've had to have a "dungeon" or anything looking like one, I narrate it for the most part and only used a battlegrid or similar when they encounter something or I want them to think they might encounter something. On the whole, we tend to allow the players a look at the map of an area they've explored (if important) but before that we just loosely draw it out for them, if necessary, as they go through the area.

 

[René]

The same here, and it works 1A.

Further it disencourages "crawling", but sets a harder pace for the scenario.

 

[urdinaran]

when it comes to the big picture, I tend to either describe what they see or draw a simple picture; i.e. a valley, a canyon, etc.
In tactical situations, we use a dry-erase map and miniatures. I tend to mix up the use of miniatures; I might break them out once in a while in order to confuse their anticipation of combat.

 

[Bregales]

Before we started, I made up a map on a huge sheet of graph paper to get the guys used to the Conan game's combat system as opposed to v3.5 OGL we were playing in 2 different D&D games. I made up a random map of Shadizar city streets (this is before the Atlantean Edition revision came out, so it was long before the Shadizar supplement) and used the opening encounter from the re-written story "The Bloodstained God" where the players come upon a shack where several bravoes are torturing a Kezankian hillman. This was just a combat exercise (to see how Combat and AoO's for example were different from D&D3.5). The players engaged in a fair tactical fight, and the guys all got killed off, which surprised and infuriated them as I am/was the least "rules-lawyerly" guy in our gaming group, but I had borrowed one player's core book and read it before trying this combat experience (Mine hadn't yet arrived from Amazon.com).

After we started our campaign, I usually didn't use direct maps and had no dungeon crawls whatsoever. But for one adventure I had where the party's evil Stygian sorcerer had to go against the enemy who drove him on the path of adventure, I drew his temple house on Microsoft Word and then used game tiles to draw out the rooms as they came upon it. In this situation it came out very well, as I had a Shambling Boar thing, some Risen Dead and the powerful sorcerer to deal with, and the players were very happy with the adventure (if not the way it actually played out).

As has been written in many instances on these Conan boards, I think most players will agree that dungeon crawls ala dungeons & dragons is not a good idea with the Conan game. But maps of combat or conflict settings/situations may be necessary, and while I had always been a narrative GM, my rules-lawyerly gamers got me into using maps in combat situations, which tends to severly cut down on misinterpreting the situation to a great extent.

Hope this helps.

 

[thulsa]

As has been written in many instances on these Conan boards, I think most players will agree that dungeon crawls ala dungeons & dragons is not a good idea with the Conan game.

I dunno. A bit of 'crawling is good as long as the dungeon isn't too big (since the players won't be able to heal up [except for short-term care with the Heal skill] along the way).

Of course, it also depends on what your players want. My group is mostly into the "killing things and taking their stuff" style, so they actually look forward to getting to "the dungeon" (which could also be a ship, tower, shrine, garden, etc.).

But maps of combat or conflict settings/situations may be necessary, and while I had always been a narrative GM, my rules-lawyerly gamers got me into using maps in combat situations, which tends to severly cut down on misinterpreting the situation to a great extent.

Agree 100%. We never used a battlemat and miniatures before 3rd edition, but it really is a lot easier to run combat in the d20 System when you know exactly where people are, and the distances between them.

- thulsa

 

[Bregales]

As has been written in many instances on these Conan boards, I think most players will agree that dungeon crawls ala dungeons & dragons is not a good idea with the Conan game.

I dunno. A bit of 'crawling is good as long as the dungeon isn't too big (since the players won't be able to heal up [except for short-term care with the Heal skill] along the way).

Sorry, that's what I meant by dungeon crawls ala dungeons & dragons, where every game session is a dungeon crawl over sprawling complexes with numerous monster encounters & traps, which require a cleric, druid & paladin to heal the party; that kind of war of attrition via the Gary Gygax screw the players style dungeons shouldn't be used every session in Conan, but overland topside encounters should be used too, and I used more human encounters than d&d monsters. But that's just my take on the game.

Of course, it also depends on what your players want. My group is mostly into the "killing things and taking their stuff" style, so they actually look forward to getting to "the dungeon" (which could also be a ship, tower, shrine, garden, etc.).

Right, sounds good to me.

 

[Sutek]

Yeah, a "dungeon crawl" to use "Over 30" types is a series of sessions where everyone stays under ground for protracted periods of time, running out of rations, torches and rope while getting generally paranoid of every new passageway intersection. (lol)

Just keep in mind that "dungeons" in Conan will be just that: a group of cells for the purpose of imprisoning people. The more likey scenario is a vast tomb complex, and that concept has already been discussed. But, as far as mapping it, having players take the role of sketching what essentially amounts to "thier only way out" can be a great way to increase the suspense.

If you have characters with Profesion or Craft skills that are pertinent, allow then to use rulers and give them the opportunity to make skill checks to increase accuracy by either your giving them better, more precise info or even drawing it out yourself.

Otherwise, they have to rely on thier own chicken-scratch to get them out of that hole!!

 

[quigs]

Actually, I have been running the Age of Worms adventure path out of Dungeon magazine, and we are just wrapping up the second adventure tommorrow, Three Faces of Evil. The first 2 adventures were straight out dungeon crawls, and I think the group is ready for a break, so the next adventure, which takes place entirely above ground, should be a welcome change. I also know that there are a couple adventures later on that take place in gladatiatoral arenas, mysterious ruins, and a city under siege. Great stuff so far, but I've had to remove of lot of monsters and replace them with humans or animals. Not really that hard.

As for mapping, we started using an overhead projector hanging from my ceiling pointed straight down, but soon my work was asking why I needed it so often So we went back to the graph paper, and only sketch out rooms that will involve combat. Otherwise, its best just to describe stuff, I agree.