Saturday 8 February 2014

Mucking about with D&D maps

We've been running an original D&D campaign for our group on a Friday night on and off for a few months now. So far we've played two B Series modules and have just started a third with me acting as DM again.

This week I've been wandering about the web have have found a number of wonderful sites with loads of lovely home-brew dungeon maps. I decided to have a go at drawing a map myself for a break from relentlessly wielding the paint brush.

Here's my first effort....


It owes a LOT to the maps and style of +Ed Allen, a lovely gent whose rules we've used for years for skirmish games and whose Ruminations of a Geek blog is superb. Ed's Hobby Hovel web site was a treasure trove of all sorts of gaming goodness way back before blogging was even conceived.

The map consists of nine rooms of dark and gloomy rough cut stone, tricked out with all the usual goodness like secret doors, barred gates and stairs to an as-yet unmapped lower level.

I'm already getting a significant itch to turn it into a small module for entry level characters, complete with all the appropriate fluff, fonts and cheesy artwork. Now if only I could make it smell right too...

Cheers,
Millsy

15 comments :

  1. Very nice job. I like your variation on the stone walls a lot. Thanks for the kind commentary.

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    Replies
    1. You're most welcome Ed. It was only the truth after all! I hope you don't mind the stylistic "homage" but it is literally years since I've done anything of the sort. You may not remember us but we certainly remember you :-)

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    2. Mind? Of course not. It's really cool that you like the style enough to riff on it, so well, in your first map back. I plan to borrow the ruggedness of your heavy wall lines on occasion. They make it look even more "dungeony"

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  2. Interesting twist on the dungeon map. If I would make one suggestion, maybe you could try to cluster the rocks rather than spread them evenly amongst the dots. Something I learned when designing Japanese karesansui gardens. ;-)

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  3. Very neat, brings back many memories...

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  4. Pure nostalgia!

    Now add some pig-faced orcs, a gelatinous cube, a nest of kobolds, and one party of unsuspecting adventurers, and voila!

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    Replies
    1. Way ahead of you mate. Don't forget the malnourished captive in the cells, stinking barracks and haughty "king" who now occupies the "throne". How many wonderful cliches could you possibly jam in??? :-)

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    2. Hmm, nine rooms and a main corridor. So, maybe 30?

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  5. That's a great old school D&D map! Thanks for sharing the link to the blog with the cthulhu lemon. Fantastic.

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  6. Very cool. What program did you use, if you don't mind my asking?

    Cheers,
    Aaron

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. LOL. I drew it by hand with paper and pencil, before finishing it with a half decent felt tipped marker. I did touch it up a bit in Photoshop afterwards to be fair but otherwise it was rather rudimentary in terms of kit. I kind of like it that way though some times. Not going to change any time soon either :-)

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    2. Ah, the old Mark I Classic. Been so long since I've seen one produced that way I didn't recognize it! ;-)

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    3. Indeed. Executed using the Mk I Eyeball and Mk I Fat Fingers.

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