Hi folks,

On p. 153 of the Adventurer's Book there's a suggestion that players update the Adventurer's map with their own travels exploits and findings. I love that idea but don't want to mark my nice shiny map.

Does anyone have a scan of the map that they might use for this purpose?

Many thanks

A scan would be good. Another idea I had for my players, but not implemented yet. Is to find a large enough piece of tracing paper to cover the map, then have the players mark their journeys on that. So that way you keep the map clutter free and if they want to see where they have been and what they have done just lay the tracing paper on top, or even attach it with a low-adhesive tape, like scotch tape.

I finally convinced my players to start keeping a record of their journeys during our last session. I too did not want them marking my nice shiny map, so I just printed an A4 copy from the pdf. It's worked well enough so far

Theoretically this idea is viable, but I have not tried it so your individual results might vary. Please take precautions so as not to ruin your game products.

Real Map Overlay Suggestion
Go to your local craft store and, in the fabric section, ask for clear plastic tablecloth 'fabric'. Test for color fastness, bleed and transfer of permanent marker ink. Try all colors you might want to use - some colors might be problematic while others are fine.

Assuming everything is fine with the plastic, purchase a larger piece and have it placed inside a storage tube - which you'll need anyway, so you might as well purchase one. Do not fold the plastic! Place the plastic over the map and mark the corner artwork so you can be sure of the placement. (Cut to size or not, as you prefer.) Make sure the plastic is flat, uncreased, but not stretched. Now you can draw on it.

I suggest using markers that have dual writing nibs / tips - a thick one (for bold lines like rivers in the Adventurer's Map) and a fine one (for fine lines like the parallel lines used for roads), making drawing easier. Keep in mind these are permanent markers - proceed carefully in a large open space without distractions.


PDF Map Overlay Suggestion
Some of the more recent PDF Viewer programs released allow a PDF file to be annotated without running into security issues. There is also a measurement tool. Basically both of these things are placed on top of the map, which is equivalent to writing on the plastic mentioned above. It's not perfect. But it might work - I have not tried.

Adobe Acrobat and Foxit Reader (latest versions) are two programs that I know offer these features. But it does depend on the PDF files' settings as well.

I was wondering about this as well. I don't have the Pdf so I guess I'll have to with the low tech solution.

Toke your map to Kinko's, the UPS store or someplace else where they can produce a nice, full-sized copy for you and your players.

Awhile back Francesco gave us this link to an adventurer's map with hexes: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/14117990/TOR_map_hexes.pdf

Just thought I'd leave this here:
MashupForge

It's a link to a website that lets you upload an image, and you can place markers on it, akin to Google Maps. I'm using it currently for my own game.

I'm under the impression that it will allow multiple users to edit the map in the future, but I don't recall where I saw it. Still, someone could use a generic account or set one of their players up with details to use it.

Awesome! Thank you SO much!

You are very welcome!

For some reason I can't get this link to work appropriately. All that happens is a new tab opens on my internet browser and it hangs and runs for a while and finally stops to a blank window.


Any ideas?

Nevermind - I tried just "Saving Link As" and although I can't Open the link, it did save it as a PDF that I can open from my downloads folder.

Carry on!

Ok. Great! I was struggling with giving any technical advice, because the link works for me and I was suspecting it had something to do with your computer.

I got mine printed at Costco. 20" x 30" poster map for $9.99.

Excellent, thank you very much.

Maybe someone already said it, but you should have the PDFs if you bought your books under Bits and Mortar terms. You might think you don't need them, but maybe you can use the PDFs after all. Maybe you'll win an iPad. Check your spam folder for details. (Comedy!)

Yours in fellowship,
Stephen "Trotter"

Thanks Trotter. I got my hard copy from The Book Depository (UK). Does that qualify me for PDFs?

Book Depository isn't a part of Bits and Mortar, I am pretty sure.

http://bitsandmortar.com/

You're welcome!

Here's the link to Bits & Mortar. Just have your receipt scanned in and send it to the folks at Cubicle 7. Others handle this differently sometimes (Evil Hat with the Dresden Files RPG), but C7 will send you a code that will apply a "discount" to The One Ring on DriveThruRPG/RPGNow which will make it free. The nice thing about that is that you can go back and download it again if you have a crash, or need to put it on another device.

Stephen "Trotter"

Cool. My understanding seems incorrect.

I don't know anything about the outlet where it was purchased. If it's not a "Friendly Local Gaming Store" then B&M might not apply. Is it like Amazon? If so, you may have to spend whatever discount you got to get the PDFs. I don't think such outlets fit the terms. After all, the B&M program w as designed to allow publishers to move into the electronic book format, and not take business away from local gaming stores. If your purchase is in the spirit of the program, your fine. Otherwise you might have to buy the PDFs. Or just ask. You never know, the C7 folks may grant a pardon as long as you vow to support a local shop in the future.

Stephen "Trotter"