As a referee I map as much beforehand as possible, but even having on hand a number of unplaced maps for undefined areas I will as often as not make up the map on the spot according to what the structure or locale is.  Mostly this is basic residences, shops, or terrain, so the validity of the the map design beyond basics is rarely impacting the role playing.  I mean, if I don't have a map for it, by definition it didn't come up in play before.

As a player I map as I find necessary to my desires.  More often than not we map outdoor road travel and coastlines so we don't get lost.  In dungeons we might map, but our Referee will map on battlemat often enough so it isn't a problem.  Then we just do quick maps to help us in case we ever revisit and the place is confusing / hard to remember in order to get around.

My players, when in a dungeon, will map if they know what's good for them.

RPGPundit

The last few dungeons I either DMed or played in, including an RQ "dungeon", all used mapping by the players. With the RQ game the passages were way too irregular to describe or draw with any accuracy in terms of scale, so I resorted a "nodal" map that just showed connections not distances, and it worked well--we all survived, in fact.

I like mapping and I do not like the DM "giving the map to us" entirely, but if players aren't into it, I'll compromise as DM/GM.

Maps work better when rooms are simple geometric shapes and doors are in the middle of walls; it gets more tedious to communicate between DM and mapmaker the farther you go from that model, to the point that a "real" PC mapmaker would probably do it faster and more accurately by eyeballing. On those grounds I think maybe a good approach would be for the DM to draw rooms on a whiteboard or battlemat, or set them up with models, then erase or take them down when the PCs leave.

Regardless of whether you draw maps or lay out the dungeon as you go, I think one thing that's somewhat lost is the sense of disorientation when viewing an underground environment at eyeball level compared to god-view. Particularly when characters are moving quickly (fighting, pursuing, running away), maybe players should be forced to turn their map over and work from memory and GM description. It's a fine balance between being excessively unfair to players who are, after all, dependent on the GM to describe an environment that their characters can experience with all five senses, and making the whole thing too pat.

I actually really like giving maps as treasure and prefer not drawing out battlemat rooms either, unless the players really prefer otherwise.  Still, if they return to a specific locale, it's room by room to see if they remember where they are going.  

Player maps for me are things that exist in the gameworld, so that stuff is all hand drawn or painted as most D&D worlds aren't high tech.

Quote from: One Horse Town;281709So, do you still map?

Only when I want to find my way there. And back again.

So, yes.

No dungeons but there is a city map/planet map/star system map/star cluster map/galaxy map. So, there are maps but they are premade affairs that the players have access to from the start. If we get into combat, then there will be either a premade map (from a starship plan or building plan) or hurriedly scrawled one in pencil. There are no minis (the scale would be wrong), only letters on the page.

So I answered "yes" but I feel that I might have misunderstood the question...

I'm the party mapper in the group. The DM provides us with a partial map, describes the area, and I draw it onto a piece of graph paper. If he doesn't eventually show us at least some of the map, then I won't even remember what we did last week. That's just the way my brain works. So I map, but not without some visual assistance from the DM.

I hadn't realized it until I read this thread, but I seem to map for them (or just show them the map) for any game OTHER than D&D, but with D&D, I just describe it and have them map it on their own.  

I don't how it started but I seem to have a double standard.

Quote from: jhkim;281878One approach here is to find a good reason for the PCs to have access to the map or equivalent information -- so knowing the layout isn't out-of-character information.  i.e. The PCs are given a map as part of the mission they set out on, or they have a magical device that lets them survey the rough shape of stone/earth, or some such.

One of our greatest pleasures in D&D is exploring. So for my group, knowing the layout of a dungeon beforehand would remove much of the fun of playing. We consider it cheating of the worst kind for a player to even briefly look at the map of a dungeon.

Quote from: RPGPundit;281903My players, when in a dungeon, will map if they know what's good for them.

RPGPundit

Ditto and likewise for the other main DM in my group. One way to circumvent always having to map in our games, though, is to take a cartography NWP/skill. If the players are being lazy that game, a character with the ability (that declares that he/she is mapping and has the needed tools) can roll for the chance to see if the mapping was done correctly and can find their way back (or wherever they're going), if lost. I'd say our groups maps more than half the time, though, even if it's just some simple lines and shapes on occasion.

Requiring players to map so that their characters know where they are going is liking asking players to bench-press to see if their characters can force open a dungeon door.

I have played and seen many games being played over the years and I have never seen or heard of players mapping out their location.

Is it an American thing?

I am deliberately trying to recapture the feeling of gaming in Gary's study, because it's STILL the most fun I ever had gaming.  SO, yes, the players are mapping.

Quote from: Darran;283299I have played and seen many games being played over the years and I have never seen or heard of players mapping out their location.

Is it an American thing?

I think it's just one of those things folks like to use to say "you're not playing it right".

If I think I'll get lost if I don't I'll draw a sketch or line-map.