I make this mistake often.
I know my players are heading into an area soon. I know they’ll want a map when we get there.
But I don’t draw it out ahead of time.
Mostly it’s just that I’m lazy. But sometimes I think “oh I don’t want to spoil anything – I’ll draw as we go.”
Honestly though, when I do have a map drawn and the players see the whole thing laid out, they’re actually usually more interested in exploring and seeing “ooo what’s that over there?”
If you draw as you go, either out of laziness (like me) or fog of war reasons, maybe try giving drawing ahead a shot. Let your players see what’s coming and they may well be more excited to explore it.
Links
Temple of the Seven Heretics – Dyson’s Dodecahedron
New Spoiler images from Ghosts of Saltmarsh! – Sage Advice
The Monsters Know What They’re Doing: Combat Tactics for Dungeon Masters, Available for Pre-Order – The Monsters Know
Encounter of the Week: Werewolves on the Warpath – DnDBeyond
Into Each Plot, A Little Chaos Must Fall – Campaign Mastery
DM Deep Dive with Adam Koebel on Dungeon World – Sly Flourish
160+ Magic Items – 20 pages of arcane loot and gear for characters of all power levels – DMsGuild – $3.98
DM Notes & Maps for Ships of the Sea Maidens Faire 7.1 for Waterdeep: Dragon Heist (single) – DMsGuild – $2.00
Now get out there and tell a story!
Peace,
Maximilian Hart