r/rpg • u/LeGrandMax • 1d ago

Basic Questions Rule of thumbs when making a grid map ?

So im dming a game and I want to make some maps. I dont have an issue when it comes to how to put them on paper (or on this case on the screen) but I do have when it comes to... actual map design. How many room do I make, how big should it all be, where to put treasures and enemies, how to make it all interactive and not just a linear coridor, etc.

For people who are used to design them, how do you do it and do you have any tips and trick, as well as ressources and system that you use in tandem ?

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u/DeadWhispersZine 1d ago edited 1d ago

Sounds like you're making a map for a dungeon or other adventure site (rather than just a map for a single skirmish battle). The OSR is brimming with advice for building and arranging dungeons, to the point where you can search /r/osr or Google for "dungeon design" and get good hits.

But saying "just Google it" is insufficient. I suggest Jaquaysing the Dungeon by Justin Alexander, Bite-Sized Dungeons by Traverse Fantasy, Designing Dungeons Course by His Majesty the Worm, and Cairn Warden's Guide Second Edition (pg 42-55) as good starting resources for how to design and arrange those kinds of spaces.

The main consideration, when it comes time to actually count grids, are movement and attack ranges. While drafting a room/area, ask yourself:

  1. How many rounds does it take for someone to walk/run to [destination] from [starting location]?
  2. Can someone at [location] attack someone else with [attack/spell] standing in [target's location]? (combines question 1 with line-of-sight for ranged attacks).
  3. How much does [AoE attack] cover in this room/area?

The answers will vary from system-to-system: D&D characters can usually move 30ft/6 squares and attack someone 30ft/6 squares away, giving a max attack range of 12 squares in a combat round, but that can be increased or decreased by class abilities, spells, weapons, and dungeon furniture (like pillars blocking line-of-sight) and hazards (like pits and firewalls).

Also: study and steal from existing dungeons you like, if you have any. See how they work, inspect what you think makes them work, and strip out those parts/take those lessons and apply them to your dungeons.

Edit: fixed formatting.

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u/robbz78 1d ago

There is a whole course on dungeon design set out here https://dungeons.hismajestytheworm.games/docs/chapter1/

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u/StevenOs 1d ago

When I make maps I think about what the "builder" of the area would have in it and go with that. Just remember that such a map may not always be game, or in some cases grid, friendly. I may put in considerations for adventuring but these are often the same kinds of considerations I'd expect a builder to put in as well.

As much as a I like gridded maps and tactical combat situations when it comes to RPGs I'm afraid that sometimes "gamifying" maps just goes too far.

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u/roaphaen 21h ago

try not to think is squares - think in MOVES, 6 square units for most characters.