Revealed Map, post-game

After trying the fully revealed giant graph paper maps, I noticed a few good and bad things (but mostly good things) about it in practice:

Good Thing: it made process of dungeoneering much faster. We had 12 combat encounters, plus additional trap and exploration encounters and a trip to town in a single session. It eliminated all the mapping questions and the tile setting.

Good Thing: it made tracking of search and movement turns much easier. As they moved and explored, we put a poker chip on the map to mark the location of the first person in line, and held the miniatures in marching order to the side. We just moved the chip a number of squares equal to the slowest party member's speed each turn, and rolled for wandering monsters every other turn. Whenever an ecounter or trap happened, we slid the miniatures onto the map.

Good Thing: Combat tactics were generally more interesting. It was easier for characters and monsters to move around and use the set-up of multiple rooms and corridors for gaining advantageous position. When wandering monsters showed up in corridors, it was especially interesting because it was a large party with many hirelings. The party was getting very stretched out, especially in narrow corridors, and so an attack at the rear was more easily able to be clearly visualized.

Good Thing: for some reason it was much easier to remember to call for "Open Door" checks for ordinary doors.

Bad Thing: Secret Doors are less easy to administer. You either have to put thme on the map, or hide them in the "shaded" empty areas, either way you need to decide that up front.

Bad Thing (theoretically): getting lost and tricks such as sloping passages and false stairs are not of much use. I listed this as theoretical, because I never really focused on those things to begin with.