Treasure Maps

I was listening to Tavern Chat last night, and someone mentioned treasure maps. Then, while looking through OSGR, I found a podcast called Dungeon Master's Handbook. He also mentioned, in passing, treasure maps. I figured that two instances in one night deserved a blog post.

Treasure maps are an area where I greatly lack as a GM. I rarely use them, but intend to remedy that moving forward. They are way too much fun not to. Let's look at why treasure maps are so great in play:

1. They are a great visual aid. It's easy to make a treasure map: just Google and print. You can enhance the look by using different paper, or tea bags, or a lighter (with parent's help, of course).
2. They add a layer of mystery to the game. What's the treasure map depict? Who drew it? Why is it in our possession? Is it a trap?
3. Treasure maps allow the GM to plot the course of a sandbox more clearly. Once a visual is in hand, most players cannot resist hunting it down.

Treasure maps take on an extra importance in a megadungeon:

1. They can bring the party back to a place that has been "cleared out." A missed secret door, or a door that they forgot about can be the location of the treasure map.
2. It allows the players to have an idea of the theme, and design of a particular area of a megadungeon. Notes on the maps often let them know what they are facing.  "medusa here," and "fallen statue head" let them know how to plan for the area.
3. Treasure maps can foreshadow and give historical information that the party may not otherwise have. The maps can, for example, show a lost temple to Marshield that not even the clerics know about. Treasure maps can mention historical figures "King Trebor's Tomb" or "Axaclese's Stash."
4. Treasure maps have the ability to give a scope to an area, level, or the megadungeon as a whole. They can be a side-view, showing a treasure on level 6. They can be top-down, showing a particular lair on level 3. A treasure map showing the whole of a megadungeon would be a valuable thing indeed.

Treasure maps are the ultimate trick-or-treat:

1. They are not always accurate. A treasure depicted on a map may be long gone. Or, there may have never been a treasure.
2. Some groups may use them to lure the group into an ambush. The villain that the PCs keep thwarting gets mad. When he is defeated this time, he leaves a map, where he has set up the PC's "Ultimate Destruction."
3. The treasure map may lead to that Staff that the wizard has looked for since level 5.
4. The treasure map may lead to the dwarf's lost homestead/clan/religious shrine.

Treasure maps are diverse, and a lot of bang for the buck. Don't just throw that roll away the next time it comes up. Let the map and the players have a turn in the driver's seat.