Day 2: Maps
So day two of the #RPGaDAY2021 challenge had four different suggestions for possible subjects. I elected to stick with the primary suggestion of “Map”. We use a ton of maps in different role-playing games. Everything from a dungeon layout on a notebook of graph paper to full color starship deck plans showing every room on the USS Enterprise.
Unfortunately I don’t have any maps ready for public release. I thought about finding some classical maps that could be used for inspirational purposes. However I decided I wanted to display two of my favorite Dungeon and Dragon maps that I spent many days studying back in the early days of the BECMI system.
Both of these maps came from the BECMI Expert Set Rulebook that was published in 1983. The first map shows the Grand Duchy of Karamiekos (that the players were first introduced to in the “B” and “X” series of adventure modules) and the second map shows the surrounding areas beyond the Grand Duchy’s borders. I loved how the various hexes were set up and filled out (there was a key in the Expert Rulebook) and these maps inspired me to “fill in the blanks” or even just create new maps of my own.
When the Gazetteer series was released a ton of information was dropped in this world. It fleshed out a lot of areas that had just been words on the map. I also loved the fact that they added different rule sets within these Gazetteers such as Dwarven clerics and more. I’m a little surprised that these supplemental rules haven’t been collected into a companion piece to the Rules Cyclopedia.
One additional note about maps. I remember selecting fantasy novels to read from various libraries and book stores. Those fantasy books that had maps in the front of the book were usually placed higher on the reading list. I could follow the adventures by referencing back to the map while reading.
Final Thoughts:
While the maps topic suggestion was an excellent one, the other suggestions were really lacking. Senses, Plan and Voice? I guess I could have posted about how players and game masters tend to over-plan, but that wouldn’t have been very positive. The other two suggestions drew complete blanks when it came to possible RPG subjects. I was happy that I had the opportunity to ignore them.
