Where to find building blueprints for games.

[Gorkamorka]

So I was listening to Technical Difficulties RedMarket campaign (reformers ep9) and the DM was lamenting the difficulties of finding factory floor plans.

And that sounded strange to me...Because around here (Iceland) blueprints are public records.  All I have to do to get them is to go into the cities interactive map, pick the building and ask the browser to give me the blueprints.  (Browser: http://borgarvefsja.reykjavik.is/borgarvefsja/  Just click on "teikningar" and then select the building, then "teikningar")

So as example, for you to use in your game, here is...
A big ars church http://teikningar.reykjavik.is/fotoweb/Grid.fwx?SF_GROUP1_BOOLEAN=and&SF_FIELD1_MATCHTYPE=exact&SF_FIELD1=102542&SF_GROUP1_FIELD=IPTC202
A multi functional music hall http://teikningar.reykjavik.is/fotoweb/Grid.fwx?SF_GROUP1_BOOLEAN=and&SF_FIELD1_MATCHTYPE=exact&SF_FIELD1=209357&SF_GROUP1_FIELD=IPTC202
A bottling plant  http://teikningar.reykjavik.is/fotoweb/Grid.fwx?SF_GROUP1_BOOLEAN=and&SF_FIELD1_MATCHTYPE=exact&SF_FIELD1=111019&SF_GROUP1_FIELD=IPTC202

And that brings me to the point.  How do I get blueprints/floor plans for buildings where you are from?  I figure if we pool our resources we will never want for floor plans again.

[trinite]

Wow, that's super incredibly useful. Unfortunately, it appears to me that United States law doesn't mandate that sort of public access (even if blueprints are a matter of public record, that could just mean that they're filed in the basement of the county courthouse somewhere).

However, thare are some good resources I've found.

Residential house plans are super easy to get. My favorite collection is at http://www.eplans.com/ which has thousands of plans and is searchable by house size and style.

One good way to get basic maps of larger public buildings is to do a Google search for "fire evacuation map" or similar terms. These images could also be used as in-game handouts, representing the actual maps the Takers have to use, since they're more likely to be publicly accessible than blueprints.

[The Lost Carol]

Yeah, it's hard to find floor plans. Wish I had thought of trying to search in foreign methods.

My method is just to Google "type of building" map of floor plan. I'll make sure to use this method for future campaigns.

[Gorkamorka]

What about other countries then the US and Iceland.  Surly there are RPPR listeners in other countries?

[Gorkamorka]

Multiple blueprints for an Icelandic prison.  It's a report explaining who bid on the job and what they suggested.  So it's multiple different types of futuristic-ish prisons.

https://www.innanrikisraduneyti.is/media/frettir-2012/Fangelsi_Holmsheidi_Domnefndaralit_Skjautg_rett.pdf

[Alethea]

If you want a particular type of architectural style (like say a brownstone), you can also try searching for the style name and 'blue prints' - I found a few historical examples this way.

[Jace911]

When dealing with building interiors I tend to boil it down to areas of interest and draw lines between different sections to indicate where the characters can go from any one place, but I don't sweat not knowing the exact layout and square footage of the place most of the time. As long as I can communicate the imagery of the space and provide them with a basic map of how to go from A to B I'm good.

It's like Caleb tells Ross in Fallen Flag: when in doubt, make something up and hope it's plausible. As long as you sound even a little bit confident and authoritative with your descriptions your players will take it at face value--nobody's going to pull out their phones and start googling to prove the GM wrong unless his spaces are completely insane or they're powergaming.

[Tim]

I am looking for floor plans for a medium size river boat (illegal gambling den). Most of the plans I have seen are for either very small boats or way to large (cruise ships). I need to poke around some more diligently but if anyone has a good pointer I would appreciate it.

[trinite]

I am looking for floor plans for a medium size river boat (illegal gambling den). Most of the plans I have seen are for either very small boats or way to large (cruise ships). I need to poke around some more diligently but if anyone has a good pointer I would appreciate it.

How about paddle wheelers? Here's a basic floorplan map of the Showboat Branson Belle, which is primarily designed as a floating dinner theater: http://www.silverdollarcity.com/showboat-branson/map

[Tim]

How about paddle wheelers? Here's a basic floorplan map of the Showboat Branson Belle, which is primarily designed as a floating dinner theater: http://www.silverdollarcity.com/showboat-branson/map

That is is a touch bigger than I am looking for but I can play around with it. Might go and do this as my game is an arabesque bookhounds of london game and I like the idea of this boat on the Thames. Could even be a boat from the dreamlands. Might be too over the top but hey why do subtle.

http://www.kastenmarine.com/kapal_layar_mesin.htm