I’m not the artist, ToothyBJ is. [Source}(https://bsky.app/profile/toothybj.bsky.social/post/3mvijx5k7ck2a)
NGL I’m the kind of DM that makes my players draw their own maps. I also handout character sheets that are also journals for player notes. I stitch them myself and as they fill I’ll bind more pages into their journals.
No digital devices are allowed to be out at my table too.
The players are A LOT more engaged when they do that.


The DM may have handwaved all travel and navigation rules specifically because the party contained an overgrown boy scout
Like yeah, this is normally a problem that needs to be worked around, but you guys straight up don’t have to worry about it because Eratosthenes over here always knows where you are and where to hunt food
You may not have had to roll dice to feel useful but you were still useful in that you removed a food clock from the game by virtue of existing. It’s a lot harder to credibly make travel and food an issue when the party brings a ranger, that’s kind of the ranger’s whole class identity.
For the record, I usually name my rangers Legolassie. and yes, the himbo tagging along is non-optional and totally useless.

Theoretically yes, but this DM just didn’t bother with that stuff ever, even when I played different characters. There’s a difference between specifically saying something like “the ranger leads the party safely through the forest”, which would have at least felt helpful; and just not saying anything at all by fast-traveling to the destination
That should be a question for the character. Do you want to constantly roll the day to day stuff that your character does with advantage or just assume that they’re as capable as you designed them to be? Assuming it’s not a survival struggle campaign.