Tackle's Dwarven Stronghold
Gday everyone. Well after a longish break from CC3 I decided to get stuck back into it. I had made most of the maps for the Lost Mine of Phandelver D&D adventure ages ago and it took our group nearly a year to finish the adventure but we finally got there and all lived to tell the tale.
Over the last few months I had a crack at using photoshop to make maps with limited success. I seem to be able to whip up a map in CC3 much quicker and I really like the precision of the CAD features that CC3 offers. So Campaign Cartographer you have me back, and I shall never be unfaithful again!
Over the last 2 or hmmmm maybe 3 weeks I have been working on a battlemap for where Tackle, my Dwarf Cleric will spend his retirement. Adventuring life is fun, but if you don’t think of the long game, you will end up dead in a ditch.
And just who is Tackle? Well read on if you’re feeling bored and want to read a little story…
Born sole son to a pair of dwarf miners in The Year of Silent Thunder 1432DR, Tackle spent the first years of his life working the clan mines of Eartheart in the East Rift, refining the precious iron and gold ore from the mines catacombed under the dwarven citadel.
At the age of 35, Tackle and a dozen members of his clan were on a mining expedition close to Underhome, the dwarven fortress abandoned during the Spellplague some 80 years earlier. They were attacked by Drow and most of the expedition slaughtered. Taken prisoner, Tackle spent the next 17 years of his life enslaved in the Drow city of Erelhei-Cinlu, forced to work and fight for House Vae, one of the eight ruling Drow Houses.
In The Year of the Awakened Sleepers 1484DR, a rival House attacked the Vae to usurp their position in the ruling houses. In the ensuing chaos of battle and sorcery, Tackle killed two drow slave masters and managed to escape. Grievously wounded, Tackle found himself lost, wandering the depths of the Underdark. Some untold time later he sensed a soothing presence on the edge of his awareness. Following the presence through the murky caverns, avoiding the countless dangers of Underdark that would surely have killed him, Tackle eventually emerged under the open sky for the first time in nearly 20 years. In a nearby glade a silvery mist coalesced into a beautiful figure who began dancing in the moonlight.
Enraptured and drawing close, Tackle was bathed in the silvery light of none other than Selune, goddess of the moon. Falling to his knees Tackle payed homage and pledged his life and allegiance to Selune for he recognised this was the presence that safely led him from the darkness.
With dawns light falling upon his still form, Tackle woke upon the ground, cold but his wounds healed. He felt an unfamiliar but comforting weight around his neck, the amulet of Selune; a pair of eyes surrounded by seven stars.
Having spent most of his life underground, and in particular the last 17 years a slave in the crippling gloom of Underdark, Tackle vowed to spend the next stage of his life far from a cave entrance. Hundreds of miles from home, Tackle wandered west and after many a day he found himself at the seaport City of Splendors; Waterdeep.
In particularly undwarven fashion, perhaps with subtle influence from his newfound patron, Tackle took a position of crewmate on a merchant ship The Buxom Dancer. Tackle spent the next 5 years of his life sailing the western coast of Faerun transporting goods from towns and cities up and down the length of the Sword Coast. Selune was never far from his thoughts and Tackle soon found himself living the life of a cleric, in Selune’s name, much to the satisfaction of the captain and crew. Bloody skirmishes with pirates were an all too common occurrence along the Sword Coast and the crew of any ship with a dedicated cleric could count itself lucky.
Somewhat sensitive to the unusual situation of a male dwarf worshipping a female goddess of the moon, Tackle let his fists reply to any mocking taunts from those doubting his allegiance to his goddess. A broken nose or shattered jaw seemed to be the best solution for those who chose to question his beliefs or dedication.
Two months ago in The Year of the Warrior Princess 1489DR, while anchoring in a small bay north of Waterdeep, The Buxom Dancer was attacked under the light of a full moon, the crew slain to the sound of primal snarling and tearing flesh. With blood frothing from his lips, Tackle mouthed one final prayer to Selune expecting his journey on Faerun to finally be at an end as heavy eyes closed one last time. Selune had other plans for him though, once again saving him from the brink of death and Tackle awoke, the sole survivor on the deck of the slowly sinking ship.
Vowing vengeance upon his attackers, Tackle swam to shore and began hunting for the creatures who killed his captain and crewmates. Wandering the countryside and small villages in search of information, Tackle finds himself in the town of Neverwinter and with the last few coins in his pocket, decides to drink the night away in a mostly clean tavern; The Manticore’s Tale...
Over the last few months I had a crack at using photoshop to make maps with limited success. I seem to be able to whip up a map in CC3 much quicker and I really like the precision of the CAD features that CC3 offers. So Campaign Cartographer you have me back, and I shall never be unfaithful again!
Over the last 2 or hmmmm maybe 3 weeks I have been working on a battlemap for where Tackle, my Dwarf Cleric will spend his retirement. Adventuring life is fun, but if you don’t think of the long game, you will end up dead in a ditch.
And just who is Tackle? Well read on if you’re feeling bored and want to read a little story…
Born sole son to a pair of dwarf miners in The Year of Silent Thunder 1432DR, Tackle spent the first years of his life working the clan mines of Eartheart in the East Rift, refining the precious iron and gold ore from the mines catacombed under the dwarven citadel.
At the age of 35, Tackle and a dozen members of his clan were on a mining expedition close to Underhome, the dwarven fortress abandoned during the Spellplague some 80 years earlier. They were attacked by Drow and most of the expedition slaughtered. Taken prisoner, Tackle spent the next 17 years of his life enslaved in the Drow city of Erelhei-Cinlu, forced to work and fight for House Vae, one of the eight ruling Drow Houses.
In The Year of the Awakened Sleepers 1484DR, a rival House attacked the Vae to usurp their position in the ruling houses. In the ensuing chaos of battle and sorcery, Tackle killed two drow slave masters and managed to escape. Grievously wounded, Tackle found himself lost, wandering the depths of the Underdark. Some untold time later he sensed a soothing presence on the edge of his awareness. Following the presence through the murky caverns, avoiding the countless dangers of Underdark that would surely have killed him, Tackle eventually emerged under the open sky for the first time in nearly 20 years. In a nearby glade a silvery mist coalesced into a beautiful figure who began dancing in the moonlight.
Enraptured and drawing close, Tackle was bathed in the silvery light of none other than Selune, goddess of the moon. Falling to his knees Tackle payed homage and pledged his life and allegiance to Selune for he recognised this was the presence that safely led him from the darkness.
With dawns light falling upon his still form, Tackle woke upon the ground, cold but his wounds healed. He felt an unfamiliar but comforting weight around his neck, the amulet of Selune; a pair of eyes surrounded by seven stars.
Having spent most of his life underground, and in particular the last 17 years a slave in the crippling gloom of Underdark, Tackle vowed to spend the next stage of his life far from a cave entrance. Hundreds of miles from home, Tackle wandered west and after many a day he found himself at the seaport City of Splendors; Waterdeep.
In particularly undwarven fashion, perhaps with subtle influence from his newfound patron, Tackle took a position of crewmate on a merchant ship The Buxom Dancer. Tackle spent the next 5 years of his life sailing the western coast of Faerun transporting goods from towns and cities up and down the length of the Sword Coast. Selune was never far from his thoughts and Tackle soon found himself living the life of a cleric, in Selune’s name, much to the satisfaction of the captain and crew. Bloody skirmishes with pirates were an all too common occurrence along the Sword Coast and the crew of any ship with a dedicated cleric could count itself lucky.
Somewhat sensitive to the unusual situation of a male dwarf worshipping a female goddess of the moon, Tackle let his fists reply to any mocking taunts from those doubting his allegiance to his goddess. A broken nose or shattered jaw seemed to be the best solution for those who chose to question his beliefs or dedication.
Two months ago in The Year of the Warrior Princess 1489DR, while anchoring in a small bay north of Waterdeep, The Buxom Dancer was attacked under the light of a full moon, the crew slain to the sound of primal snarling and tearing flesh. With blood frothing from his lips, Tackle mouthed one final prayer to Selune expecting his journey on Faerun to finally be at an end as heavy eyes closed one last time. Selune had other plans for him though, once again saving him from the brink of death and Tackle awoke, the sole survivor on the deck of the slowly sinking ship.
Vowing vengeance upon his attackers, Tackle swam to shore and began hunting for the creatures who killed his captain and crewmates. Wandering the countryside and small villages in search of information, Tackle finds himself in the town of Neverwinter and with the last few coins in his pocket, decides to drink the night away in a mostly clean tavern; The Manticore’s Tale...
Comments
Being a wealthy retired adventurer he will be able to build and fit out a fairly impressive stronghold to house his fellow dwarf miners and also his adventuring friends when they come to stay.
Don’t get too critical about some of the scaling of the symbols. I opted for what looked best, rather than what was dimensionally accurate. Yes, most of the doors are 10 feet wide, but they looked really silly at just the normal 5 feet. Tackle is exceptionally stocky and does need wide doorways to get his massive shoulders through…
The symbols and textures are mostly from the SS4 Dungeon of Schley but also a few DD3 and CSUAC ones too.
I’ll load up a picture, but it is quite a big map so will look terrible resized. Here is a link to a JPG (60mb) if anybody wants a high res image to look at or use themselves for something.
I’ll attach the FCW too, but there will be a lot of red X’s on it so dunno how much use it will be.
Cheers!
This gives me a lot of great ideas.
I like the mining tracks and the fossils in particular.
Very Nice!
:-)
I used the Symbols Along command (aka the Escarpment or ESC command) that Monsen mentioned above when I did the tracks for a battle map I posted in a different topic (using SS4 too, ha!). I also used the OFFSET command for the rails, though it wasn't really important for the straight section of track in the battle map. It's nothing compared to your map (and my tracks run straight), but you can see the results.
Seriously loving your map. Thanks for sharing it.
Cheers,
~Dogtag
I've been hoping id get a chance to 'meet' you. :-) I'm ladiestorm, and I'm sort of new here, I've been using g cc3+ for less than 6 months now. I'm doing pretty good with the maps I've done so far, but I know I'm still just scratching the surface with this program.
You seem to have mastered the effect of texturing, and I'm hoping you might explain how to use the effect. I have the Tome, and I've read up on this effect, so I sort of understand what it does, but I can't figure out how to make it work. The would you be willing to explain a bit?
Incidentally, when I tried to use the help for this command, I got an error window:
Draw--> Symbols Along --> Help works fine, but then if I click on the image in the help dialog box with the little trees to get more information, I get the Script Error window. Is that just me?
I really like the texturize effect. Dogtag's link, and Jslayton's comment solved my concerns at the time.
I like to use cracked mud textures on the floors and walls. For the Walls sheet which has all the grey rock that is not floor or wall edging I used the attached texture (zipped up at the bottom of this post) with these settings...
[Image_6422]
I find it takes a few goes to get the settings right, so I tend to turn effects on, hide all sheets but the one I am working on, tinker with the texturize settings then press Apply and Ok on the Texturize window then also Apply on the Drawing Sheets and Effect window to get the final product. As Jslayton says in Dogtag's link there is sort of a double effect being applied initially so you have to Apply the settings on both widows.
If the texture file has a large resolution, make sure the "Size" value is quite big (I used 150 in the above example), otherwise the effect will be quite small and may not be that noticeable.
Or, after having a re-read of your post, by texturing, do you mean blending things together nicely or incorporating non CC3 textures into maps? That's a bit different. Happy to explain if needed. To use non CC3 textures, my approach is primitive and brutal and i'm sure there is a better way, but will wait to explain my version if it's required
As an aside, to any HTML gurus, what do I type to place images in certain places within this post? Monsen helped me once, but I cant find that post. I would like to insert the posted image after the paragraph "I like to use cracked mud textures..."
cheers!
[Image_0]tag in the post, where the number is the ID of the attachment. The only way to find this ID however is to add the attachments to the post, post it, then go back and edit it, you should then see a list of your attachments at the bottom of the post along with their ID's in square brackets.For example, the ID of the image in your post above is 6422, so you would insert the
[Image_6422]tag at the place where the image should appear. (Only the author of the post and moderators/admins can see the attachment id)Quick question to anyone that knows... does cc3+ have it's own textures? If not, then Mappy, I may need to ask where you find yours! lol
www.textures.com is a good resource too, I signed up for free and you can download a few textures each day. Even if you pay for them they are pretty cheap.
The good thing with the texturize effect, you can mostly get away without the images having to be seamless.
Working on version 2 of Tackle's Stronghold. I've given it a title, numbered the rooms and will do some minor renovations. I showed my partner and although she is not into D&D she did feel Tackle's room wasn't as luxurious as it should be for a retired adventurer and she felt the library could have been designed a little better. Good suggestions so the virtual hammer is about to start knocking down walls...
Beautiful map, Mappy