A lurker steps out of the shadows...

[töff]

A DM must wear many hats: that of cartographer is one of them. Don't sell yourself short.

[Gamerprinter]

Since you've been working with white boards and chat applications, you should really consider using a Virtual Terrain application like MapTool or Fantasy Grounds. A VT app is essentially an online program that shares maps and contact between players and between players and GM. Most let you post a regional map that shows the adventuring party as a dot on the map. Once a situation calls for an encounter scale map, the GM loads it in the VT app, and the map appears on everyone else's PC. Characters are displayed as tokens, as are NPCs and monsters.

For all intents and purposes its almost like playing a pen & paper game on a common game table. Contact between gamers is via a chat application, sometimes including sound for VOIP. While not a fast as a live game, its a viable solution and far more satisfactory than working with a white board instead.

Something to consider anyway. MapTool is a Free application and worth serious consideration.

GP