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Show and Tell: Tomb of Shaddad (Al-Qadim Encounter)

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    Hey all...This is a reproduction of a map for the Al-Qadim adventure/encounter “The Genie’s Terror” from the City of Bones sourcebook. The basic story is that the PCs are walking along a wadi (dry desert river basin) when a storm comes (sudden storms in the desert often lead to flash floods which temporarily fill the wadis). The storm has washed away some mud in a nearby cliff face to expose a set of steps descending into the earth. They will soon discover that this is the tomb of a powerful Shi’ar and a dozen shadows.

    Its a pretty basic map, but should hopefully make for a fun encounter to break up the monotony of trudging through the desert. Overall I'm pretty happy with it, but not entirely sold on the mud texture I used for the wadi (far left) and inside the tomb...I guess I was hoping for it to look a little more "wet"... as always, criticisms and suggestions are welcomed.

    full resolution version can be seen here... (http://drunkennerdery.wordpress.com/2013/01/18/tomb-of-shaddad/)
      Tomb of Shaddad - 800px.jpg
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      CommentAuthorRalf
    • CommentTimeJan 18th 2013
     
    The darker texture outside the tomb looks more like mud than the current one, I think. Perhaps try swapping them?

    Also, perhaps add a few small puddles of water to the mud?

    But in any case, it's another great map!
    • CommentAuthorKenG
    • CommentTimeJan 18th 2013
     
    This is great, I like your style of using different shades of brown to form the whole map.
    • CommentAuthorKier
    • CommentTimeJan 19th 2013
     
    Crisp, clear and clean. Very nice.
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    Excelent work. It would be complete, in my opinion, if you put some ornamentation on it. Maybe an shield (or banner) of Shaddad on the uper left corner?
    • CommentAuthorHenrie61
    • CommentTimeJan 19th 2013
     
    Another great map.
    Think the mud texture looks ok.

    I second Ralfs idea of a few puddles
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    Thanks for the comments guys. Ralf is absolutely right, that darker texture outside the tomb is actually the original mud texture I downloaded from cgtextures.com. My "mud" that fills the wadi and extends into the tomb has that texture and a water texture over top of it (with a transparency effect). Unfortunately, that combination just washed the whole thing out.
    So, I grabbed a new water texture (from cgtextures). I think it looks a little better...I tried doing puddles, but couldn't get it to look right.

    Mat's suggestion for ornamentation is a good one and would work really well with this encounter. If they defeat Shaddad (in mummy form) they can grab his sword ("The Cyclone of the Four Quarters") which is a +2 legendary scimitar (+4 against genies). It also inflicts double damage against genies, makes the wielder immune to their magical attacks, and vibrates when genies approach. So...if I could actually draw a sword, it would make a great ornamentation....but I can't so I won't....

    Here's the update...re-uploaded this version on my blog....http://drunkennerdery.wordpress.com/2013/01/18/tomb-of-shaddad/
      Tomb of Shaddad_v2 - 800px.jpg
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    After writing my last post, I realized that even though "I" can't draw, lots of other people can....So I grabbed a scimitar from the Dunjinni forums, added some text to it, and plopped it into the map.

    Generally, I think that you need to plan to do ornamentation while doing the map...otherwise it looks like an after thought...which I think is the case here...but I leave it for you guys to judge.
      Tomb of Shaddad_v3 - 800px.jpg
    • CommentAuthorHenrie61
    • CommentTimeJan 20th 2013 edited
     
    Youre right, ornamentation should not be placed after making a map.
    But here it still looks pretty cool.
    Espcially if you known that the "boss treasure" is a legendary scimitar.
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    It looks nice in my opinion. Maybe not 100% organic, but it definitely do not look throwed in.
    • CommentAuthorKenG
    • CommentTimeJan 26th 2013
     
    I think it looks great, I like the added color to the overall look of the map.
    • CommentAuthorJimP
    • CommentTimeJan 27th 2013
     
    I think the scimitar, particularly the red jewel, sets off the map and makes it 'pop'.
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    Didn't realize the Scimitar would be such a hit....i've added it to my blog page, so you can see it in full res if you like.

    http://drunkennerdery.wordpress.com/2013/01/18/tomb-of-shaddad/

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