Underwater Cave - WIP

So, I've just been on a creative high lately.....been doing TONS of writing on my homebrew world's history, some local legends and lore for the PCs and encounters, encounters, encounters. Obviously I need to get out more :) Anyway, here is an underwater map i wanted to have at the ready if my PCs make there way to the Forgotten Lake. The entire region is riddled with underground caves and caverns, both natural and humanoid made, as the island of Forynth has had multiple civilizations exist, in age after age for eons. Cataclysmic events destroy the lands between the ages and each new civilization just builds atop, or let ruins crumble and get engulfed by nature. The antagonists in my current campaign have begun utilizing these caverns as a way to "infect" the forests with a plague called the Mad Blight. My PCs may be here in search of a legendary treasure trove a mad pirate, Marlow "Evil Eye" Fane hid, in the depths of a saltwater lake. The cave is illuminated by multiple holes in the ceiling, as well as the entrance on the top right. The cave to the left heads to the unknown...

Comments

  • Very nice! Well thought out and it looks just like you described it. The thing I like about having a narrative for maps is that that it can inspire little details that add that little extra bit here and there. From your narrative above "The cave is illuminated by multiple holes in the ceiling, as well as the entrance on the top right." it gave me some ideas. I have seen some great lighting effects on the dungeon maps on this forum and I was wondering if you can vary the lighting some to "demonstrate" the illumination a little more as described in the quote. I can imagine shafts of light filtering down through the water almost like soft spotlights. Not sure if this is feasible or not though. I have only been playing around with regional maps so far and have not delved into Dungeon Designer or City Designer yet. Thanks! :-)
  • oooooohhh. Yes, i think that would look pretty neat. I haven't really played around with the lighting yet, aside from shadows and light "symbols". It's a bit technical and math oriented for me so to really understand by just reading and trying to follow along. But i think i might need to REALLY sit down and learn how to use the lighting effects for that....i picture 2 or 3 small shafts. hmmm....let me work on that. Thanks for the tip!
  • edited April 2016
    Okay, some "shaft lighting" experimenting.....Thoughts?
  • Very nice indeed! When the map is seen with the narrative, the player automatically gets it.

    I would probably leave the light sources off of the bottom left side and maybe darken it or make it a little spookier somehow to enhance the "The cave to the left heads to the unknown..." suspense feel.

    Just blurting out ideas and rambling. Lol!

    ;-)
  • great map :)
    i want to explore this with my knight :D
    but swimming in armor is not funny :D
    how do you do the sea ground?
  • Charles, i think you're right, no light to the left :) Also Vastin, the lake bed (its a saltwater lake - the land is saturated with natural salts, they even grow something called Salted Wheat), i just used a bitmap fill i found on the internet, maybe dundjinni, its just a light dirty/sandy fill, then i placed a sheet over the entire map, used the same water fill as i did on the edges and made it about 30% transparent. Viola!
    And, no, swimming in armor is NOT funny...i sure hope my PCs remember to remove theirs before taking the Water Breathing spell! XD
  • thank you for the explanation :)

    but fighting without armor is not funny too :D
    i would try drawing an underwater map, but my players don't go near oceans :D
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