Do you use hex maps?

without fail they look artificial, distorted and well... just plain amateurish!

Though I was around for the old Greyhawk maps, I have no fond memories as some people do. Even back then I thought "this looks rubbish" and "why couldn't they be bothered to do some real cartography". The enforced granularity of true 'hex-mapping' (cf OD&D) as opposed to hex overlays is even more sharply artificial.

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Well, I'd argue that RPGs are granular by definition. Everything in an RPG can be reduced to the context of an encounter. Hex maps reflect this - they may be less visually aesthetically appealing to some eyes as a result, yet I think they're a friendlier gaming tool than a freeform map because they provide easily discernable divisions of encounter locations...be they cities, lairs, or bandit encampments.

Horacio said:

In you opinion, why would it be difficult using D&D combat rules with hex maps? I've done it a few times without major problems...

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No, no I think you misunderstand me. I was trying to say I am not going to address D&D combat. I have another agenda.

I use squares or no scale for inside and hex maps for outside. In fact, my world began as I was sitting before a hex sheet, with the 1e DMG's random wilderness generator at my side.

I am a fan of hex maps - they give my wilderness a sort of "real" character. You don't say anymore: "You arrive at the city in ten days." - Now your players can go off on tangents to see what's beyond those mountains, or in the woods. They are also convenient for measuring distance, figuring out support for settlements, etc.

The best, I think, were the Judges Guild poster maps with numbered hexes - is there any way to find something like that, either on the net or offline? I would love to get one of those, just unfilled...

bwgwl said:

i'm definitely in the last category.

does any company even make hexpaper any more? i remember asking my FLGS a while back, and he didn't know of any for sale.

of course, now that we are in the "computer age" i've made my own hex paper with graphics software and used that to make maps for my campaigns.

but nothing would beat going down to the game store and buying another pad of hexpaper.

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You can also go to S. John Ross' Hexpaper page and for $3 you can buy a Hexpaper font. You can print Quad graph paper, Hex graph paper, and Isometric ("angled view" quad) graph paper. You can print any size you want.... Perhaps a little easier than creating paper in a graphics program, especially for us graphics-impaired types.

rounser said:

Well, I'd argue that RPGs are granular by definition. Everything in an RPG can be reduced to the context of an encounter. Hex maps reflect this - they may be less visually aesthetically appealing to some eyes as a result, yet I think they're a friendlier gaming tool than a freeform map because they provide easily discernable divisions of encounter locations...be they cities, lairs, or bandit encampments.

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Well, I guess I find it a problem because each hex invites the DM to think: "in this space there is a thing. What is this thing?"

To me as DM the question should rather be: "what is around here? how does it lie relative to other things?" If your hex grid is at a scale of 24 miles, then things happen every 24 miles, rather than encouraging you to think about what and why encounters occur. Plus the end result is something which looks damned ugly and bears no real relation to the actual physical layout of the region.

I guess I am saying it's the usual problem: to me the hex-mapped wilderness interferes with my suspension of disbelief, since the real world doesn't come served up in neat portions. As always Your Mileage May (and does!) Vary.

Deadguy said:

Well, I guess I find it a problem because each hex invites the DM to think: "in this space there is a thing. What is this thing?"

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Actually, I think that's great. It's inviting me to think "in this space is something. What could lie in here that piques the PCs' curiosity? What plot and adventure seeds could lie in this wilderness/forest/range of hills?"

I dunno. The attraction to me is that a hexmap (or square grid, it's all the same) seems to invite that sort of interaction with the world. A "normal" map, while perhaps less distorted, is just a map. It's a way of showing you how to get from point A to point B, without getting lost. There's nothing particularly intriguing or exciting about the locations in between, unless I set out to make them that way. Maybe it's a holdover from wargames and CRPGs.

Speaking of which, 3 hexmaps from my Britannia 3E campaign are now on my web page. In the end, making these maps is just plain fun, in a retro kinda way.

Trobridge and surroundings

Skara Brae and northern Spiritwood

The West Road between Ember and Paws

Ultima purists will note that, strictly according to U4/5, there is no West Road from Paws to Skara Brae. True, but I'm claiming artistic license.

And here's the 3rd one, squashed down to fit under the 100Kb limit: