I suspect I may be in the minority with an opinion like this, but I suppose it' won't hurt (much) to ask.
I'm a wargamer as well a player of RPGs -- I like fancy terrain as much as anybody.
However, for me, RPGs are a medium that rewards and requires imagination much more than a tactical wargame. So what I'm wondering about is the utility of a lot of traditional RPG maps (like the Dramascape ones which are so popular on DTRPG), and what people think.
Here's two examples which I whipped up.
1. The usual fully rendered map. (I'm aware that I haven't put any hexes or a grid on it and that the trees are all the same. It's an example). I make maps like this only when I'm using them in my own games, because I can illustrate them like I picture them in my mind's eye. But if I'm *purchasing* a map like this made by someone else, I'm suddenly locked into that environment -- summer, timbered buildings, etc. It's a map that works for a fantasy setting for a particular time and place
Then there's this:
2. This is obviously more abstracted, but I think the utility level is significantly higher. It can be a bog-standard fantasy village, but it can also be a modern Japanese estate or the high-tech base outside of a spaceport.
If I were to purchase a map for an RPG (or even download one, I suppose), I would be much more inclined towards the latter than the former.
I suspect most people would disagree, but I'm curious to know why.
I'm a wargamer as well a player of RPGs -- I like fancy terrain as much as anybody.
However, for me, RPGs are a medium that rewards and requires imagination much more than a tactical wargame. So what I'm wondering about is the utility of a lot of traditional RPG maps (like the Dramascape ones which are so popular on DTRPG), and what people think.
Here's two examples which I whipped up.
1. The usual fully rendered map. (I'm aware that I haven't put any hexes or a grid on it and that the trees are all the same. It's an example). I make maps like this only when I'm using them in my own games, because I can illustrate them like I picture them in my mind's eye. But if I'm *purchasing* a map like this made by someone else, I'm suddenly locked into that environment -- summer, timbered buildings, etc. It's a map that works for a fantasy setting for a particular time and place
Then there's this:
2. This is obviously more abstracted, but I think the utility level is significantly higher. It can be a bog-standard fantasy village, but it can also be a modern Japanese estate or the high-tech base outside of a spaceport.
If I were to purchase a map for an RPG (or even download one, I suppose), I would be much more inclined towards the latter than the former.
I suspect most people would disagree, but I'm curious to know why.
Maps, abstraction and you
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