Distance is one of the first things players want to understand. And for good reason. Plans for plundering, overtaking whole kingdoms and slaying big dragons are easier to make if you know how long it takes to get somewhere. Are we three days from the capital, or three weeks? Is that mountain range something we can cross in an afternoon, or does it swallow a week of travel? All those elements are things to consider when you want to conquer the world!

A clear scale and clearly placed landmarks let players do this math themselves instead of asking you every five minutes. And are they so caught up in their game that they do ask all the time? No problem at all, because you can see it yourself on the map.

And yes, we all know that as a Dungeon Master, you can bend the rules or want to direct them in a specific direction. Do your players want to go around the mountains instead of over them, but you don’t want that? You can always show your players the unlabeled map without the distances. That way, you can guide them in the right direction ;)

Desert, swamp, mountains, dense forest. Terrain really makes a big difference in your RPG world. It shapes what kind of encounters make sense, how fast your players can travel, and how much food and water they'll need to bring.

With a good regional map, your players can plan better. Think you can plunder the next village in one day? But what if the next village is nearby and there’s a swamp to cross? That can make things more difficult. Or are they crossing the great desert? How much water do they need before crossing it? Should they hire a guide for the swamp?

These are all things that, without a map, just float around in your head. Uhm, maybe this… or what did I say last time? Wait, was there a forest there or not? With a regional map, you don’t have to think twice about all of this!

This one might be the most interesting, depending on your players. Because there's something irresistible about the edge of a map. The unlabeled space, the coastline that just ends, and the mountains that fade into unexplored territory.

Have they plundered every village there is? Are your players rulers over the whole kingdom? Maybe it’s time to explore more options. Is there more they can destroy? Is there more treasure to be found? Or perhaps you, as the Dungeon Master, can spice everything up by introducing a powerful king from another region who makes your players shiver.