I'm usually the mapper in our gaming group. I like drawing maps, I like knowing where we are relative to where we were, and no one else seems to have the slightest interest in doing it. A couple of the other folks seem to be able to keep at least a vague idea of the layout in their heads, but not me. I gotta have it in front of me.
The thing is, I'm really not very good at it. I don't use graph paper (the DM doesn't usually give exact measurements of rooms anyway, usually just "large" or "small"), I tend to get my East and my West mixed up for some reason, and OK, I'll admit it, sometimes my attention wanders a bit during room descriptions. It's not that my head isn't in the game, it's just that if an interesting feature gets mentioned it tends to draw my focus towards it. For example, if the DM says "There is a large altar with a demon head carved into it," my mind immediately starts running through all the things it might be for and what I want to do with it, and I don't really hear anything he says after that.
So just for fun, I've got here a few of the maps I drew while we were running through the 5th edition starter set. I've found the actual maps from the adventure on the internet for comparison, and wow, they do not make me look good.
 |
| The published Cragmaw Hideout |
 |
| My Cragmaw Hideout |
 |
| Published Cragmaw Castle |
 |
| My Cragmaw Castle |
 |
| Published Redbrand Hideout |
 |
| My Redbrand Hideout |
Now, we didn't explore the whole Cragmaw Castle, we found what we needed pretty quickly and then got out. If the notes on the maps seem cryptic, don't worry; I can't remember what I was trying to say either.
You may also note that I still doodle that stupid goblin after all these years. I know what you're thinking, and I don't care. He's my pal.
