When building maps for Dungeons & Dragons, many DMs think of the world in 2 dimensions. It makes sense; most D&D is played either on a table or a screen, both 2D surfaces. Still, making an effort to keep in mind that all environments exist in a 3D space can do a lot for a campaign. Adding verticality to🔴 your maps, even if you can’t display it except in the imagination, can make for unique combat encounters and memorable moments.
When making battlefield maps, think about the🐲 fact that not all enemies are on ground level. A bandit camp might include a sniper’s nest in a tree, or a castle might have guards ready to pour boiling oil down the murder holes of the main gate. This can create dynamic encounters, forcing characters who have more ranged options to focus their attacks on enemies that are out of reach. In addition, players who aren’t used to having to pay attention to what is ab🌄ove them might get a few surprises before they catch on.
Some monsters have the power of flight, whether through natural or magical means. Obviously the eponymous Dragons of Dungeons & Dragons can fly using their wings, but there is a wide variety of creatures in the Monster Manual and beyond that can fly or hover. Incorporating these monsters, and making sure to utilize the fact that they can move in 3 dimensions, can create some interesting encounters. However, it is important to make sure in these scenarios that melee characters don’t feel left out. If your paladins and monks can’t reach their enemies they might feel useless, so make sure they have something to do in these encounters, or just don’t stretchꦫ out your aerial battles for long periods of time.
Not every su♎rprise has to come from above. A castle under siege or an enemy experienced in guerilla warfare might hide in a pit, waiting to ambush their opponent. Similarly, hidden traps that drop party members into deep pits can force them to spend time or resources getting out, which could be difficult in the middle of a fight. One of the downsides of pit traps, unfortunately, is that overuse of them can make players overly cautious, but other two-level battlefields can achieve similar effects without training players to poke everything with a 10-f༺oot pole.
Of course, turnabout is fair play, and players with access to the Flight or Levitate spells may use vertical maps to their advantage. That doesn’t mean, however, that enemies are powerless to stop them. Just like players will be able to deal with a flying dragon, intelligent creatures in a world where magic exists should be at least somewhat ꧂prepared for an attack from above. Planning for fights to happen in 3D can add – quite literally – an extra dimension to your campaign.