Post by unclecranky on Oct 15, 2008 2:16:07 GMT -5
Okay, so start with a town.
Doesn't have to be a big one, and don't go drawing any interior maps unless you're the Flash. You'll never get done that way.
Get some graph paper and a pencil and pen.
Put in places of business, simple ones like a grocery, smithy, butcher's shop, brothel, inn, stables, and dry goods store.
Move along, and slap in some ramshackle little huts around the outside, shove in some clapboard or brick row-houses up the main street, just down from the businesses, and add in some nicer estates well away from the rest, preferably on the other side of town from the huts.
Next come town services, and you'll want a jail, cop shop of some sort or another, town hall and mayor's office, and places for all those guys to live. put them behind main street, and cut a rude little road around the back for them to use.
Next, you'll want to go outside the town a bit, and put in some farms and/or ranches, and possibly a river, ocean, or lake for a water supply.
Now go on and fill in the rest of the paper with desert, forest, plains, mountains, or a combination of two or more of the above for flavor.
Now to give thought to your theme. Think about what point you want to make with each adventure. Is it going to be humorous, where nothing changes much from trip to trip, or will it be a grand escapade, such as started with The Hobbit and went through Lord Of The Rings? If the latter, start small. Little forays at first, and all your major bad guy has to be here is a rumor. Filling in the details of what he did, how he did it, and what his stats are, can all wait. You also don't need to build his home, quite yet. Just some uruks and cobras, a few trolls and dragons and zombies will do, nicely to get it going... But start those rumors. Little whispers in the inn while the characters are getting their after-trip drink on.
If on the other hand, the point to your game is simple discovery, you're going to be making a lot of little, rough maps, and you're going to need a notebook in any case.
As you draw each room in on the map, number it, and in your notebook, put down what characters in that room will see, hear, feel, and most importantly, smell. Note any monsters and/or traps, and how things happen to whom, based on height, weight, or any other pertinent factors. If all your trolls buddy around with leprechauns, but eat hobbit middles for snacks, jot it down. Also note any treasure that might be there, and the existence of any fixtures, like rocks, tables, chairs, and debris.
After finishing the room drawings, use your pencil to black out any spaces on the graph paper that aren't in rooms or part of some grand trap, so that you know at a glance what you're looking at. Make sure that your poor monsters have a way to get out to hunt, or a food supply ready to hand (no, a constant supply of delver DOESN'T count). Stick an 80 foot tall giant in a room with no egress, and what you will shortly have is players complaining that the poor thing should've starved to death ages ago.
While you're doing all of this, consider what point you're making. Is this a typical place in your world? If so, why? Was there a wizard war sometime in the long-ago, or did people used to live here and abandon it for some reason? Or are people trying to colonize it now for some reason?
Just some thoughts, and you guys can start in commenting now.
Doesn't have to be a big one, and don't go drawing any interior maps unless you're the Flash. You'll never get done that way.
Get some graph paper and a pencil and pen.
Put in places of business, simple ones like a grocery, smithy, butcher's shop, brothel, inn, stables, and dry goods store.
Move along, and slap in some ramshackle little huts around the outside, shove in some clapboard or brick row-houses up the main street, just down from the businesses, and add in some nicer estates well away from the rest, preferably on the other side of town from the huts.
Next come town services, and you'll want a jail, cop shop of some sort or another, town hall and mayor's office, and places for all those guys to live. put them behind main street, and cut a rude little road around the back for them to use.
Next, you'll want to go outside the town a bit, and put in some farms and/or ranches, and possibly a river, ocean, or lake for a water supply.
Now go on and fill in the rest of the paper with desert, forest, plains, mountains, or a combination of two or more of the above for flavor.
Now to give thought to your theme. Think about what point you want to make with each adventure. Is it going to be humorous, where nothing changes much from trip to trip, or will it be a grand escapade, such as started with The Hobbit and went through Lord Of The Rings? If the latter, start small. Little forays at first, and all your major bad guy has to be here is a rumor. Filling in the details of what he did, how he did it, and what his stats are, can all wait. You also don't need to build his home, quite yet. Just some uruks and cobras, a few trolls and dragons and zombies will do, nicely to get it going... But start those rumors. Little whispers in the inn while the characters are getting their after-trip drink on.
If on the other hand, the point to your game is simple discovery, you're going to be making a lot of little, rough maps, and you're going to need a notebook in any case.
As you draw each room in on the map, number it, and in your notebook, put down what characters in that room will see, hear, feel, and most importantly, smell. Note any monsters and/or traps, and how things happen to whom, based on height, weight, or any other pertinent factors. If all your trolls buddy around with leprechauns, but eat hobbit middles for snacks, jot it down. Also note any treasure that might be there, and the existence of any fixtures, like rocks, tables, chairs, and debris.
After finishing the room drawings, use your pencil to black out any spaces on the graph paper that aren't in rooms or part of some grand trap, so that you know at a glance what you're looking at. Make sure that your poor monsters have a way to get out to hunt, or a food supply ready to hand (no, a constant supply of delver DOESN'T count). Stick an 80 foot tall giant in a room with no egress, and what you will shortly have is players complaining that the poor thing should've starved to death ages ago.
While you're doing all of this, consider what point you're making. Is this a typical place in your world? If so, why? Was there a wizard war sometime in the long-ago, or did people used to live here and abandon it for some reason? Or are people trying to colonize it now for some reason?
Just some thoughts, and you guys can start in commenting now.
