HOME | DD

Description
So I've always had issues doing maps for my D&D campaigns so I finally came up with a way that works (for me) and if you are new to map making or D&D maybe it'll help you too!

.:You will need Graph paper, Red/Yellow/Blue/Purple/Brown/Green colored pencils, a pencil and a separate note pad (I strongly suggest you not to use a little note pad like one of those pocket 5' by 3' ones they will kill your hands just get a normal sized one trust me! )

.:First things first you have to draw the map (rooms, halls, ect ), but if your not sure you can always use a site that will generate a dungeon for you (I've been using it for my current campaign because its just a silly in-between game while our DM gets his game all ready ) the one I use isdonjon.bin.sh/fantasy/dungeon/

.: Once you have your map you can add doors, try to get a feel for the rout you'd like the players to go by using one way or locked doors. If a door needs a key make sure to mark it and the key location with a corresponding letter

.: One way doors that I used (See Key) will have a line on the side they can be walked though. These are also good for trapping players.

.:Now number your rooms, I use yellow as to not interfere with the "props" in the room (barrels, tables, beds, ect) I didn't add props in the picture because I wanted to keep it simple but I do suggest you add them it gives the map authenticity.
after you number the rooms, decide what they are I do this above the map for quick reference but here you will need
a not pad. Write out descriptions of the room it will help you describe it to your players so they can visualize it and it may give you ideas for encounters

.:When you have specific details mark it with A. B. C. and make notes in your note pad of what it is. take A in the picture above
for example
.: A. a statue of an archer stands here pointing his bow and arrow at the door. The tip of the arrow is brass and looks shiny on one side like its been touched a lot (twisting arrow will open Wall A to reveal a hidden path) :.

.:Hidden paths, Doors Switches and the like are marked in blue and I usually do a corresponding letter so I can make a note of how the players can discover or solve the puzzle of the hidden thing, doing this kind of thing will get the players thinking and from my experience the players will feel quite epic to solve a puzzle

.:Traps of all sorts are marked with purple much like hidden doors or the like make sure to make a note about your traps using a letter

.:Enemies you can draw Red circles, simple enough you can also draw them to scale (small, medium, large, ect)
and you can number the enemies if need be like for different kinds of monsters and such just make sure to make a note about the corresponding enemy. you can also plot a path the enemy can walk by simply drawing it in light red.

.:Npcs are marked similar to enemies with green, if the npc is supposed to fight the players for some reason you can outline the green circle with red, just make sure the players don't kill them if they need this npc.

.:I mark out the scale of the rooms in brown so while we are playing I can quickly see what needs to be drawn out and how many squares I will need to draw, this will also help you prevent over/under counting squares and messing with the detentions of the rest of your map

I find this method of Mapping is amazing if you like getting lots of detail into your maps.
mapping how I've seen most other DMs do seems to get really busy and hard to read, hopefully this will help you and maybe impress your players!

Description
So I've always had issues doing maps for my D&D campaigns so I finally came up with a way that works (for me) and if you are new to map making or D&D maybe it'll help you too!

.:You will need Graph paper, Red/Yellow/Blue/Purple/Brown/Green colored pencils, a pencil and a separate note pad (I strongly suggest you not to use a little note pad like one of those pocket 5' by 3' ones they will kill your hands just get a normal sized one trust me! )

.:First things first you have to draw the map (rooms, halls, ect ), but if your not sure you can always use a site that will generate a dungeon for you (I've been using it for my current campaign because its just a silly in-between game while our DM gets his game all ready ) the one I use isdonjon.bin.sh/fantasy/dungeon/

.: Once you have your map you can add doors, try to get a feel for the rout you'd like the players to go by using one way or locked doors. If a door needs a key make sure to mark it and the key location with a corresponding letter

.: One way doors that I used (See Key) will have a line on the side they can be walked though. These are also good for trapping players.

.:Now number your rooms, I use yellow as to not interfere with the "props" in the room (barrels, tables, beds, ect) I didn't add props in the picture because I wanted to keep it simple but I do suggest you add them it gives the map authenticity.
after you number the rooms, decide what they are I do this above the map for quick reference but here you will need
a not pad. Write out descriptions of the room it will help you describe it to your players so they can visualize it and it may give you ideas for encounters

.:When you have specific details mark it with A. B. C. and make notes in your note pad of what it is. take A in the picture above
for example
.: A. a statue of an archer stands here pointing his bow and arrow at the door. The tip of the arrow is brass and looks shiny on one side like its been touched a lot (twisting arrow will open Wall A to reveal a hidden path) :.

.:Hidden paths, Doors Switches and the like are marked in blue and I usually do a corresponding letter so I can make a note of how the players can discover or solve the puzzle of the hidden thing, doing this kind of thing will get the players thinking and from my experience the players will feel quite epic to solve a puzzle

.:Traps of all sorts are marked with purple much like hidden doors or the like make sure to make a note about your traps using a letter

.:Enemies you can draw Red circles, simple enough you can also draw them to scale (small, medium, large, ect)
and you can number the enemies if need be like for different kinds of monsters and such just make sure to make a note about the corresponding enemy. you can also plot a path the enemy can walk by simply drawing it in light red.

.:Npcs are marked similar to enemies with green, if the npc is supposed to fight the players for some reason you can outline the green circle with red, just make sure the players don't kill them if they need this npc.

.:I mark out the scale of the rooms in brown so while we are playing I can quickly see what needs to be drawn out and how many squares I will need to draw, this will also help you prevent over/under counting squares and messing with the detentions of the rest of your map

I find this method of Mapping is amazing if you like getting lots of detail into your maps.
mapping how I've seen most other DMs do seems to get really busy and hard to read, hopefully this will help you and maybe impress your players!