Not necessarily a return return; however, this ground level map has only added two spiral staircases going up.
But Jim, if the first level is compromised, the bad guys can just go up and attack the folks up there !?
Nope, it isn't done by a long bow shot, but I'll post what I have so far.
900 pixel jpgs. 2000 pixel jpgs in my gallery.
Still in progress, but here it is so far. Redouts facing the spiral stairs and redoubts facing the other caves. The over caves to be added later, and some of the paths and room contents will change.
The walls and towers will be further apart in the lower left room.
Well, only you can answer that, but if you feel it doesn't fit in, or you have found a much better use for it somewhere else, then that seems completely reasonable to me.
Since I was going to change it up anyway, I just used the earlier map as a guide. Probably add another barracks, for the kitchen folks, etc. lower right of map.
Update on Western Hill Fort. Adventurer houses are numbered.
Five is larger than the rest. They decided to have weekend get togethers there. They miss the old days of adventuring. So there are the occasional, can get out of hand, punch up. Worse than the local tavern on Saturday night.
The Town Watch told them to be quieter.
So they got permission and built a 'rec room' about 30 feet down. No fun hitting exercise dummies though, they don't fight back.
Into house 2, a new guy moved in. Since only retired adventurers can move into those houses, he was invited over to 'get to know ya' night. Talk turned to the exercise dummies. The new guy turns out to be an illusionist. says he can make exercise dummies that can fight back, but don't believe in the too much, you know how illusions can hurt ya.
So, they agreed. But even then. Too loud.
They hired miners and dug down 150 feet, added in spiral stairs.
Unbeknownst to the adventurers, this illusionist isn't a nice person. He knows orcs and kobolds. Some sneak in and stand behind the exercise dummy illusions. And wait for an adventurer to come down by himself.
The adventurer, if they lose, are hauled away down a secret passage.
And if the young kobold or young orc loses the fight, well, there are plenty more just a few miles away for secret tunnel.
Or maybe the new guy wants a larger place to live...
900 pixel of the updated Western Hill Fort. 2000 in my gallery.
Here is House 5. The bedroom is upstairs, that is the dashed line on the right side back to the wall on the right. The spiral stairs goes down to the basement and up to the bedroom loft. The old adventurer goes to the tavern to eat. Besides his 'buddies' would soon consume all of his food. The round circle is to help hold up the loft.
Comfy chairs, a fireplace, and a card/book table.
900 pixel jpg, 2000 n gallery.
Not sure how to add the footpath. I could probably try an insert and copy over it.
Preliminary Cave of Tunnels. I'll make it harder to find the route around for characters unfamiliar to it. The ghost tunnel, for those more adventuresome, could be a mirage, or on the Astral Plane, etc.
Overland area for the Orc and Kobold villages. Plenty of room for other such villages, ruins, etc. This map is 10 miles by 8 miles. The cave entrances are the two gray, black glow, near each village. To the left of Strife, and under the a in Death.
Looking at your maps, one thing that strikes me is your use of font sizes. I think they would have a much better visual presentation if you spent some time normalizing font sizes.
For example, on some maps, the labels for locations are as large as the map/area title itself, for example your Danger Hills map (I assume danger hills is the name of the entire area. If not, the map should have a proper map name.)
In other maps, for example the Traraise Faire Caves ground levels, features have different sizes, such as area 2, redoubt, having a much larger size than the rest. Western Hill Fort also have some of these, some buildings have larger labels than others.
Generally, maps looks better with a consistent visual for the text size, ensuring that all locations of the same type (like numbered locations in a dungeons, buildings, etc) have the same size, and with labels covering larger areas being a bit bigger than labels for individual locations, with map titles being the largest of them all.
Comments
Thanks.
I see the keeps as more last ditch defenses. Long bows and plenty arrows.
Two are named. I'll see if I can come up with reasons/history about them.
I am still around. I am doing fine, but I have decided to work on some of my web sites... inspiration on these maps has dried up for the time being.
Keep well, and refill your well of brilliant imagination, my dear friend
One needs to vary things up a bit. Inspiration can't be forced, so better to play with something else till it returns.
Not necessarily a return return; however, this ground level map has only added two spiral staircases going up.
But Jim, if the first level is compromised, the bad guys can just go up and attack the folks up there !?
Nope, it isn't done by a long bow shot, but I'll post what I have so far.
900 pixel jpgs. 2000 pixel jpgs in my gallery.
Still in progress, but here it is so far. Redouts facing the spiral stairs and redoubts facing the other caves. The over caves to be added later, and some of the paths and room contents will change.
The walls and towers will be further apart in the lower left room.
@JimP wrote:
the bag guys can just go up and attack the folks up there
Bag guys? Like in the bag wars saga?
Corrected. Egad zaboing.
I'm thinking about using The Water map elsewhere, and not part of this set. What do you think ?
Well, only you can answer that, but if you feel it doesn't fit in, or you have found a much better use for it somewhere else, then that seems completely reasonable to me.
It kind of feels out of place to me. I'll keep working on this and then decide.
It could be a connection between these Caves and the Western Hill Fort that the defenders don't know about.
Ah, the upper level map is gone from my folder on my computer. I'll just import the graphic above and redraw it.
Since I was going to change it up anyway, I just used the earlier map as a guide. Probably add another barracks, for the kitchen folks, etc. lower right of map.
900 pixel jpg, gallery 2000 pixels.
The two moats look a bit square given that they rests against the cave walls. Perhaps make them follow the edge of the wall.
Those are smc connecting symbols. I'll change them out for bitmap fills. Out shopping, on my cell.
Okay, I re-read this thread again.
This is what I see so far:
1) Western Hill Fort with some underground area.
2) a tunnel going to The Water.
3) Orc villages with a tunnel down to The Water
4) tunnel over to a cave near the lower level of the Thrarasie Faire Caves
5) upper, ground, and lower levels of Thrarasie Faire Caves
6 maps to start, 5 to double check.
How is that ? Any suggestions ?
Looks like I have a config problem of some sort. Free symbols. I'll check into it.
Alreet ! Fixed the config problem, I'll be doing some above ground area maps next.
Update on Western Hill Fort. Adventurer houses are numbered.
Five is larger than the rest. They decided to have weekend get togethers there. They miss the old days of adventuring. So there are the occasional, can get out of hand, punch up. Worse than the local tavern on Saturday night.
The Town Watch told them to be quieter.
So they got permission and built a 'rec room' about 30 feet down. No fun hitting exercise dummies though, they don't fight back.
Into house 2, a new guy moved in. Since only retired adventurers can move into those houses, he was invited over to 'get to know ya' night. Talk turned to the exercise dummies. The new guy turns out to be an illusionist. says he can make exercise dummies that can fight back, but don't believe in the too much, you know how illusions can hurt ya.
So, they agreed. But even then. Too loud.
They hired miners and dug down 150 feet, added in spiral stairs.
Unbeknownst to the adventurers, this illusionist isn't a nice person. He knows orcs and kobolds. Some sneak in and stand behind the exercise dummy illusions. And wait for an adventurer to come down by himself.
The adventurer, if they lose, are hauled away down a secret passage.
And if the young kobold or young orc loses the fight, well, there are plenty more just a few miles away for secret tunnel.
Or maybe the new guy wants a larger place to live...
900 pixel of the updated Western Hill Fort. 2000 in my gallery.
Here is House 5. The bedroom is upstairs, that is the dashed line on the right side back to the wall on the right. The spiral stairs goes down to the basement and up to the bedroom loft. The old adventurer goes to the tavern to eat. Besides his 'buddies' would soon consume all of his food. The round circle is to help hold up the loft.
Comfy chairs, a fireplace, and a card/book table.
900 pixel jpg, 2000 n gallery.
Not sure how to add the footpath. I could probably try an insert and copy over it.
Basement. Might just let the spiral staircase be the way down to the sub-basement.
The gray trapdoor is to show the location from the ground level entrance. Debris and blood splatters. Illusional skeletons.
900 pixel jpg.
Death, a Kobolod village. With building remnants of the previous inhabitants.
900 jpg pixel, 2000 in the gallery.
Strife, an Orc Village. One thatched hut kept, most likely by the leader. A few stone remains.
Fires, wood piles, a cage, cauldrons.
900 pixel jpg, 2000 in gallery.
This is what I see so far:
1) partially done: Western Hill Fort with some underground area.
2) a tunnel going to The Water.
3) Done: Orc villages with a tunnel down to The Water
4) tunnel over to a cave near the lower level of the Thrarasie Faire Caves
5) upper, ground, and lower levels of Thrarasie Faire Caves
4 maps to start, 6 to double check.
Any village suggestions ?
Preliminary Cave of Tunnels. I'll make it harder to find the route around for characters unfamiliar to it. The ghost tunnel, for those more adventuresome, could be a mirage, or on the Astral Plane, etc.
900 pixel jpg.
More of the surface area around the Number 5 Adventurer's House.
Why no east window ? Well, what group of retired adventurers wants to be startled by a morning sun ?
There might be one placed in the loft bedroom. I'll get that later.
900 pixel jpg, 2000 in my gallery.
Okay, I decided to go back over what maps are needed and done. I was sort of losing track.
Trarasie Caves 14
ground floor map done
upper floor map done
maybe a basement area for storage ?
Cave of Tunnels connecting The Water, The villages, Western hill Fort, and the Traraise caves map done
Western Hill Fort
ground level map done
adventurer 5 house map done
adventurer 5 house loft bedroom map
adventurer 5 house basement map done
adventurer 5 house 'training' area map
The Water map done
Kobold Death village map done
Orc Strife village map done
Two or one surface cave entrances for them to get down to the Cave of Tunnels map
Any suggestions ?
Thanks.
Overland area for the Orc and Kobold villages. Plenty of room for other such villages, ruins, etc. This map is 10 miles by 8 miles. The cave entrances are the two gray, black glow, near each village. To the left of Strife, and under the a in Death.
Should I add more villages ?
900 pixel jpg
Some map updates.
900 pixel jpg. edit: 2000 pixel jpgs in my gallery.
A number of kobolod and orc villages.
changed out the water for the moats.
update on maps list. Includes map names:
Okay, I decided to go back over what maps are needed and done. I was sort of losing track.
Trarasie Caves 14
Traraise Caves The Haunted Mountains region.fcw 14 and 16 region map done
Traraise Caves ground level.fcw map done
Traraise Caves upper level.fcw map done
maybe a basement area for storage ?
cave_of_tunnels.fcw connecting The Water, The villages, Western hill Fort, and the Traraise caves map done
Western Hill Fort 16
Western Hill Fort.fcw ground level map done
WHF_adventurer house.fcw adventurer 5 house map done
WHF_Western Hill Fort adventurer 5 house loft bedroom map
WHF_adventurer house basement adventurer 5 house basement map done
Western Hill Fort adventurer 5 house 'training' area map
WHF_
Traraise Caves the water.fcw map done
kobolod_village_death.fcw map done
orc_village_strife.fcw map done
surface_cave_totunnels.fcw cave entrances for them to get down to the Cave of Tunnels map done
Any suggestions ?
Thanks.
Looking at your maps, one thing that strikes me is your use of font sizes. I think they would have a much better visual presentation if you spent some time normalizing font sizes.
For example, on some maps, the labels for locations are as large as the map/area title itself, for example your Danger Hills map (I assume danger hills is the name of the entire area. If not, the map should have a proper map name.)
In other maps, for example the Traraise Faire Caves ground levels, features have different sizes, such as area 2, redoubt, having a much larger size than the rest. Western Hill Fort also have some of these, some buildings have larger labels than others.
Generally, maps looks better with a consistent visual for the text size, ensuring that all locations of the same type (like numbered locations in a dungeons, buildings, etc) have the same size, and with labels covering larger areas being a bit bigger than labels for individual locations, with map titles being the largest of them all.
I'll have to work on that in a day or so. On my cell.