[submitted] Community Atlas competition entry: A mega-dungeon level, fire
JimP
🖼️ 280 images Cartographer
So far it is just in my memory. I see ( adjusting the focus ) two sections divided by lava. With narrow walkways crossing the abyss. The lava down below. Maybe a cloud of steam somewhere in there.
Now to map it.
Comments
Just the time you wished to had splurged for that computer-brain interface......
Yeah, that could work.
Preliminary map. Need to look over lava bitmap fills and choose one. Currently its a completely different one. The bridge across the lava needs work to. The spiral stairs down to this level will be on one side of the lava trench, and the one going down to the next level will be on the other side of the lava trench. Yes, adventurers will have to cross a stone bridge, to get to the other side.
900 pixel jpg
Found the lava field I was looking for in DD3 dungeon maps. Yes the southeast corner of the odd-shaped room on the west side does hang over the lava. it is either buttressed up, or it has no support and anyone walking to that corner will very likely break through and fall into the lava. Ah, the scale is off, that should be 25 not 26. Alyssa Faden clouds in use.
900 pixel jpg
Rooms are now numbered for convenience. Room 9 is a dead end. Stone door illuminated by a fire pot on the floor. Why characters could just fly or levitate across and continue on. But as you can see from the map, it dead ends. I probably should make the corridor on the north side an open doorway instead of a secret door. Water will go in room 7. Heated water, test it with something you can afford to lose, before dipping hands and face into it.
900 pixel jpg
I think I have all in the correct order, just need to add some debris, et al, and type up the text.
first text, likely modified later.
1 nothing.
2 looks like a last stand defence, so why is the chest not opened ?
3 west door is secret. south and east doors are wood and easily opened. Guding away from the secret door ?
4 southeast corner of the odd-shaped room on the west side does hang over the lava. it is either buttressed up, or it has no support and anyone walking to that corner will very likely break through and fall into the lava.
stone bridge crosses over to a small anteroom room and into room 5.
5 nothing there yet
6 stairs down. Three large empty barrels. Open doorway leads to room 11. Corridors allow any being in room 11 tto circle around behind the adventurers.
7 circular room. Note the small bit of lava at the bottom of the water.
8 debris
8A stairs up
8B a pit protecting 2 closed chests.
8C debris
9 dead end
10 behind 2 secret doors and passageways. The level's big treasure could be in here.
11 nothing yet
900 pixel jpg, 2000 pixel in gallery under mega dungeon
Wow that looks great - I love the way you have shown the progression of it's development.
Are you going to add door symbols and secret doors?
A totally minor niggle is the corridor coming south out of room 10....
I love the steam over the lava.
There are doors, but they don't seem to be showing up very well at 900 pixels. The 2000 pixel jpg in my gallery should be better.
Those are Alyssa Faden clouds from Annual issue 95.
I use them throughout the Community Atlas as fog down in the depths. They have their own sheet, so it is easy to move them around. I used 2 of the around 5 or 6 different versions.
Oh, any location where is no door, it is a secret door.
If I mark it as secret it becomes harder to use in a vtt.
I think this is it, unless someone has a suggestion. Or I missed something.
1 three broken tables as a barricade. Debris with one skeleton under it.
2 looks like a last stand defense, so why is the chest not opened ?
3 west door is secret. south and east doors are wood and easily opened. Guiding away from the secret door ? A large green crayfish statue. Does it answer questions ? A pile of skulls behind broken barricades.
4 a pit. A fire pit but it doesn't look used. A spiked barricade, easily moved out of the way. Or should it be touched/moved ?southeast corner of the odd-shaped room on the west side does hang over the lava. it is either buttressed up, or it has no support and anyone walking to that corner will very likely break through and fall into the lava.
5 Two wood debris piles. Two skeletons. Two small trenches, they look hurridly dug. No tools here.
6 stairs down. Three large empty barrels. Open doorway leads to room 11. Corridors allow any being in room 11 to circle around behind the adventurers.
7 circular room. Note the small bit of lava at the bottom of the water. A statue with a bowl of greenish water. The statue could be gold, or fake gold.
8 debris
8A stairs up
8B a pit protecting 2 closed chests.
8C debris
9 dead end
10 behind 2 secret doors and passageways. The level's big treasure could be in here.
11 Wood spikes as a barricade, they look new. Three skeletons. Three small bags, unopened. A metal spiked barricade that doesn't go all the way across the room.
12 stone bridge crosses over to a small anteroom room 13.
13 small anteroom to room 14 A skeleton. Looks like they might have been fleeing towards room 5 ?
14 a small corridor shaped room to room 5. A skeleton. Looks like they might have been fleeing towards room 5 ?
900 pixel jpg , 2000 pixel one in my gallery.
Maybe an island out there on the lava with a secret? Only the best equipped adventurers would be able to reach and search it.
Ooh ! I like the idea.
Islands are an actual thing in the real world. The current eruption at Kilauea has several such islands. The darker patches are floating islands in this thermal image.
15 The Island. Looks like a stone wall or room was there once.
Sorry Sue, I didn't see your post until after I updated the map.
900 pixel jpg, 2000 in my gallery.
Looks a bit flat-ish. Try throwing a small bevel on it and a small black outer glow, or perhaps just a black inner glow.
Short time owner of CC3+ and short time lurker :) here. I really like the posting of the step by step process you went through. Saving as a favorite to use as future point of reference. I also like the look of the lava!
The lava is a bitmap fill from DD3 dungeon. I do many steps sometimes. I save as filename01_0001, do some amount of work, then save as filename01_0002, do some work, etc. until done.
Yeah, it does look off. I'll check into that glow, etc. today.
Working on my drive-in movie theater web site today, but since I'm not making maps, its a bit off topic.
Here we go, I used the default inner glow, black color zero.
900 pixel jpg, 2000 in gallery.
I'll submit the map if there are no further suggestions.
It is a trap seen from the passageway on the north side. .all groups I have refereed only had fly and levitate memorized once.
Still online. Looks like we got down to 19F this morning, light snow during the night and into the day. Roads are icy. We are all staying home. It will reach 32F today, then get cold again.
Stay warm, Jim :)
I am staying at home. Maybe go out for breakfast tomorrow. If it isn't too cold.