I'm still practicing and experimenting with different maps of all sorts. Just for fun, I thought I would take a stab at designing a castle on a cloud. (Maybe it's a cloud giant's castle? Undecided.)

I started with an overland map set at 250 x 200, I believe. (Maybe I will do a city map of it later for a closer look, or perhaps a dungeon map.) I decided to use Mike Schley's Overland style. To create the clouds, I used various foams, rapids, and waterfall mist from Sue's Forest Trail set. It's hard to see until you move in, but there's a little bit of texture to the cloud added by the foaming rapids. I put them on a new sheet that I called "Clouds," placing it below the Roads sheet, which was the lowest of all of the surface-level sheets. I tried to put a drop shadow on the Clouds sheet but couldn't get it to work (entirely possible that some or all of my cloud ended up on the wrong sheet). Instead, I drew inspiration from the manual cliffs shadows that Sue had in Forest Trails. I used the Sea Contours to draw a shadow, and then moved the "Contours (Sea)" sheet to render before the cloud.

The castle, with its extra towers, was added to a "Symbols on Cloud" sheet that I created. I also had a Flying Lowest and Flying Low sheet above the Cloud sheet, and Flying and Flying Highest sheets below it. I thought the four different flying sheets would allow me to show things at different altitudes with different drop shadows, but I ended up only using one of them for the birds (maybe Giant Eagles or Giant Hawks?), which from the cartouches from Forest Trails.

Anyway, there's my first pass at something I haven't see here before.

I have been working on taking a part of the world I created in Fractal Terrains and recreating it in various CC3 styles. I did a version in the Parchment style, and now I'm working on one in the Mike Schley style. (I was going to wait until it was done, but I just can't contain myself.) When that's done, I will try doing the shaded contours style that Ralf demonstrated in this video:

The portion of my world that I've been experimenting with is a great island nation called the Republic of Lumadair, a democratic republic with elements inspired by the Roman Republic. Here are exports from Fractal Terrains. (Note: this map is about 6,000 miles wide, so the rivers shown should be considered to be only the very largest ones. That said, I may still add more to the island later.)

And here it is again, recreated in CC3 using the Parchment Worlds style:

It is intentionally scant on civilization details other than labeling the capitol and a mysterious and foreboding area of magic.

Hi Reddog! Welcome.

I'm pretty new here myself — though I’ve owned the software for many years, it’s only been about six months since I realized I couldn’t learn it simply by experimenting. The tutorials really, really helped me.

I’ll let others with more experience guide you, but my two cents: it sounds like Dungeon Designer will best achieve what you want. The name implies old-school D&D dungeons and caverns, but it's really great for any type of inside or outside floorplan (a house, a temple, some crypts, a section of a forest road where bandits are lurking to attack). If you want something that you can use figures on, whether to print out to use with miniatures or to use on screen with a virtual table top, Dungeon Designer will probably suit you best.

As for tutorials, which is how I learned: the new ones are great but I would start with some of the older ones to get the basics down. On the Video Tutorials page, you'll find a really well organized list. I started with Joe Sweeney's, which did a great job starting with the basics. They are old, and some tips have been superseded by software advancements. (For example, Joe made a point in the older videos of talking about placing symbols from the back and moving forward, but now there's a "Sort Symbols on Map" function that makes that advice no longer necessary.) But they really helped me get the concepts down.

The Learning CC3+ videos will give you a good grounding in the basic tools. I would then proceed to the Quickies section. With the Campaign Cartographer Concepts and Blog Videos, I would recommend going to specific ones once you've got the basics down and have a specific question about a technique or tool.

The Live videos are really great, but each one covers lots of different techniques, and many of the newer ones assume some basic knowledge, so I wouldn't start with them. Once you've gotten the basics down, you might want to look at the names to see if there are some tackling stuff similar to what you're doing. For example, if you're designing a dungeon, "Creating dungeon with the Jon Roberts style" and "Livemapping: Dungeon & Cave" would be useful. I've gone through almost the entire archives of Live videos and I learn something from every single one, but you'll want to have the basics down first.

Added some more. Only put in Lumadair's capital city and a few notable landmarks, not the other cities that were in previous versions of this map. Do you think the font size for my labels for cities/landmarks is too small?

I'm glad Sue chose to use a default font that can do accent marks because when I do the global map, there are a lot of accent marks. Mostly in names derived from Elvish, because Elves are fancy that way, like the French.

This map is 6,109 miles wide. I used the technique that Ralf showed of creating a 1000 x 800 map so that symbols would default to the scale of 1, and then resized it. I assume I should do the same when I start my global map, which is 25,000 miles wide.

I wanted to share and get feedback on the third of three monasteries that @Ricko and I have been collaborating on. This is the only one where I have also mapped interior parts of the monastery.

For context, here is the description that Ricko wrote:

Situated in a hidden valley where the morning mist never quite dissipates, Zhao Guang Si (Temple of the Morning Glow) is a place where deceptive beauty hides a dark core. Despite its poetic name, the temple is synonymous with silent death and lethal precision. Here, under the first rays of dawn, apprentices learn the art of killing. The morning glow symbolizes the last moment many see before their silent and ordered death.

The Dark Environment

The temple, with its angular and austere architecture, is surrounded by twisted trees and a river of dark waters that flows silently like clotted blood. The black stone walls are decorated with murals depicting stories of betrayal, revenge and glory gained by force. The only constant sound is the echo of calculated footsteps in the cold corridors. Lanterns covered with red veils create a blood-red glow, making the environment even more somber and oppressive. Life and Training

Those who come to Zhao Guang Si are desperate, rejected, or ambitious, seeking a new identity. Under the watchful eye of their masters, known as the Shadows of Dawn, the apprentices undergo intense and cruel training.

• Physical Training: They climb cliffs without ropes, traverse fields filled with deadly traps, and duel to exhaustion, all to strengthen their bodies and reflexes.

• Mental Training: They are taught to hide emotions, manipulate the minds of their targets, and plan assassinations with surgical precision.

• Practice of Forbidden Magic: The temple houses ancient grimoires containing magics that grant temporary invisibility, silencing voices, and even cursing the senses. These spells demand sacrifices, often blood, making the price of power high.

The Bond with the Emperor

Although few would admit it, rumors persist that the temple has deep ties to the imperial throne. Men of the Emperor’s Personal Guard, known for their lethality and unquestioning loyalty, are said to have received secret training at Zhao Guang Si. Some claim that the emperor himself is the temple’s greatest patron, using its resources to eliminate rivals and consolidate power.

Legends and Intrigues

The temple is shrouded in dark tales:

• The Ritual of the Scarlet Mist: It is said that an assassin can sacrifice his soul to merge with the shadows, becoming invincible for a night. But few return from this ritual unharmed.

• The Echo of the Morning Glow: Legend has it that those who hear a whisper at dawn are marked for death by a blade that will emerge from the temple.

• The Faceless Master: A mysterious leader who never reveals his identity rules the temple. Some say he is an ancient spirit who has ruled the place for centuries.

A Haven of Questionable Morality

Zhao Guang Si is not just a temple; it is a training ground, a storehouse of forbidden knowledge, and a center for the trade of death. Those who enter rarely leave, but for those who survive the rigorous training, life outside the shadows becomes irrelevant.

In the dim light of dawn, under the treacherous glow of morning, Zhao Guang Si molds assassins, manipulates destinies, and remains a dark pillar in the region's balance of power.

And here is the exterior:

I will post the interior maps as follow-up comments in this thread.

Added the missing pews and lounge furniture to the Fourth Floor:

And now, up another flight.

Fifth Floor

This floor is entirely for guests. Why would a wizard need plenty of guest rooms? Maybe he or she is the party's patron, and they come back periodically to receive instructions for their next adventure. Maybe adventurers periodically visit to have the wizard identify the magic items and artifacts they've found, or to help explain mysterious prophesies or other adventuring clues they've discovered. (Great opportunity for lore dumping!) Maybe the wizard's old adventuring party all decided to retire together in the tower.

There's a hallway closet between the internal stairs and external door. Another WC and bathing chamber. A small guest bedroom on the eastern side. And then two spacious guest suites on the southern side.

The southwest suite has a spacious living room with a double window, along with a separate bedroom with a "king sized" bed. But the other guest suite is for the real VIPs. Not only does it have a fireplace and working sink in the living room, it also has a private balcony with views of the river and the rear of the cherry tree garden.

These suites come are handy when adventurers visiting the wizard don't want to be separated. (Never a good idea to split the party!) The suites are large enough to accommodate the typical-sized party, assuming a few are willing to sleep on the couches or pallets on the floor. And for very large parties, the stone door separating the two suites can be unlocked to create a double-sized suite.

Onwards to the wizard's bedroom and workshop...

Okay, I think it was just one mountain that was mirrored and needed to be switched so the shadows were consistent. I tried to look at all of the hills and trees, too -- please let me know if you spot any with aberrant shadows.

Okay, the first thing I did was back another backup of the FCW in case I didn't like the fractalization and couldn't undo it. ;-)

The fractal command isn't something I've used that much, and when I tried it on this map earlier, I wasn't sure of which settings to play with. While I think the smoother map works for a map of this scale, I rather like the Depth 2, Strength 40, smooth result on the rivers. Fractalized a few of the roads but not all -- there were some where it just made the road look overly-caffeinated.

With the place names: I added names for the settlements and rivers that were missing them (let me know if I missed anything important). I've played with the Glow settings a bit. I'll post the FCW, too, if anything has adjustments to recommend.

Here it is without the borders:

And again with the redrawn borders:

I am so glad you asked, because you know I've been keeping lists! You can check out some of my ideas in this thread, but here's a recap of some highlights:

Interior

• Thrones - Ornate metal and stone; "elven" (wooden with art nouveau flourishes); "evil" (skulls, spikes, etc.)
• Regalia - Crowns; scepters; orbs
• Couches - Both "regular" and Roman-style (I think SS4 only has chairs that I make extra wide for couches)
• Mage/Sage Furnishings - Globes, astrolabes
• Ornate Staircases - Maybe modular so you can construct your own (left, right, and center for bottom, middle, and top, in stone and wood, with and without varicolor carpeting)
• Musical Instruments - Upright and on their side (lutes, harps, harpsichords, drums)
• Ancient Tombs - Think Indiana Jones-style stuff, like idols

Exterior

• Gardens - Varicolor flowers, rose bushes, berry bushes, exotic/carnivorous plants
• Tiltyard - Quintain, pell, horse armor
• Topiary - Bushes trimmed to form the shape of animals and mythical creatures
• Statues - Riding and standing free. Royalty plus archetypical character types (sword fighters, archers, mages)

Building Construction

• Flagpoles - Upright and on their side, separate from flags for flexibility
• Flags - Varicolor top-down and on their side
• Gargoyles and Grotesques
• Clocktower - Clock hands on side of building; bells for belltower
• Spires
• Façade Ornamentation - I don't know the proper term, but here are some pics I took to illustrate

I'll be starting on the actual Haunted Mansion part of this Haunted Mansion Map today. But first, here's the rest (almost) of what's going on in the church and graveyard.

Here's the first level of the church's basement.

It may seem odd that a basement has so many windows. This basement is only about 75% below ground. The top 25% is above ground, and that's where windows to let light in are located -- close to the ceiling from the inside, but at foot level from the outside. There's a set of double doors connecting to a interior ramp that leads out to the graveyard. The mortician has two rooms here, one for preparing the deceased for funerals, and another that connects to a lower storage room in Basement 2. This level also has a few offices for the priests and clergy staff, a few storage rooms, and lavatories. Other than the doors from the graveyard, it is primarily accessed from the four stone spiral staircases (the two southern ones going all the way up to the bell towers, and the two northern ones going to balconies for the choir in the main chapel.

Continuing down into Basement 2, we find the mortician's storage rooms (including a stack of unused coffins) and the church's crypts for VIP decedents. I kept the shafts for the wells here so that I wouldn't accidentally create passageways through them. The two shafts that aren't connected to the crypts come from the lavatories in Basement 1 as well as the drain in the mortician's room. They connect to the not-yet-mapped sewers one more level below. (Sinister Sewers will come in handy again!)

But wait! Not all is as it seems here. There are two secret passageways off of the mortician's storage rooms. (I love that the cut-away polygons used to carve out tunnels can be moved to the "Secret" layer so that they can be hidden or revealed so easily.) The passageway heading west connects to a secret spiral stairway entrance to the Rectory. Who knows how many generations ago it was put in -- the church's current head priest, who lives in the rectory, doesn't even know it's there! The second passageway heading north connects below the Brambleheath Tombs, created by the Brambleheath family who also built the now-haunted mansion.

But wait again! One more secret here. If you remove the lids to the sarcophagi and coffins, you'll notice that a few have moldering remains but most are actually empty. They all have proper plaques naming the supposed occupants. It's unclear if the bodies were remove after burial, or if they never made it into their coffins. One on the northern side is filled with rocks, suggesting for that one, at least, it was interred without a body.

The sewers will come later, after I've done the Mansion. For now, let's head over to the Brambleheath Tomb. When you enter the tomb, a Glyph of Warding protects it from graverobbers. For a family tomb, it's surprisingly small: one large sarcophagus on the floor, two smaller ones on ledges to either side of it, and two urns with the cremains of other ancestors.

Visitors who make it past the Glyph of Warding can trace their finger along a sigil on the sarcophagus lid that activates a temporary levitation spell, raising the lid to reveal a staircase heading down. (I love this symbol set!)

The lower level of the tomb reveals a "small"" family crypt.

But wait, more secrets! A passageway heading south on the eastern side (this is the passage that connects to the mortician's storage room beneath the church, and another passageway that heads down stairs and then turns to head beneath the graveyard towards the mansion. If we open the coffins and sarcophagi here, we see that most do have bodies. It's hard to tell because they're in shadows, but the northeastern-most one was buried with a sword, and the one next to it was buried with a staff. Plot hooks!

That's it for now. Haunted Mansion and sewers still to come...