I agree for the same reason: seeing more of the tower. I changed the varicolor to be a slightly darker yellow.

Here are a few more options. Top left is from DD3 Creatures (tried to make it look like it was crawling up the tower), top right is from CA15 Heraldic Symbols, and the bottom two are from Shessar's heraldic symbols (dragon on left, wyvern on right). I'm leaning towards Shessar's wyvern in the lower right.

Ralf does demonstrate it at the end of this "Fractal Terrains to Parchment World" tutorial (around the 38 minute mark), using a full world Parchment Map that he had created the week before.

Here is Basement 2. Most of it is taken up by the mansion's sewer system, including a branch that comes from beneath the barn. There are shadows from the shafts above where waste is deposited into the sewers. Waste flows to the southern-most part of the line, where a chute connects the mansion's sewers to the municipal sewers. There are also two shafts here to connect the wells (one in the barn) to the water table below.

The secret stairs from the wine cellar connect to a small area here, with more stairs continuing even further below.

Here's a zoomed-in look at the chute that also shows a closer look at the effluent (with sheet effects copied in from Sinister Sewers).

This is the Huo Yu Bing Caverns, which is accessed though a cave entrance on the cliffs of the main map:

No toggles. The teleportation portal in the center of the labyrinth can be linked to the Trial of the Elements (coming next):

Description

Huo Yu Bing Caverns

The Trial of Fire and Ice

Whether drawn by desperation or greed or malice, prospective monks risk everything, even their very lives, to study the mysterious Path of the Morning Glow at the Zhao Guang Si monastery. There, apprentices learn the art of killing. 

They climb cliffs without ropes, traverse fields filled with deadly traps, and duel to exhaustion, all to strengthen their bodies and reflexes. They are taught to hide emotions, manipulate the minds of their targets, and plan assassinations with surgical precision. And they study 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

Those who survive the training – and most do not – must pass two deadly trials to graduate and join the ranks of the the Zhao Guang Si monks.

The first of these trials is the Trial of Fire and Ice, which they must complete before embarking on the Trial of the Elements.

A Perilous Climb

To reach the entrance of the Huo Yu Bing Caverns, apprentices must scale the side of a cliff without benefit of rope or other tools. Those who fall may make the attempt another day…if they survive. Many do not.

Haunted and Infested Caverns

The caverns are infested with giant spiders and venomous snakes, but they are not the only peril in the caverns. When trainees perish in the caverns, their remains are not retrieved. Instead, a baleful magic infuses their bones while worms feast on their softer tissues. In about a month, those bones will reanimate, and these skeletons will attack the next trainee to brave the caverns. In addition, the spirits of those who die in the caverns are bound to them, haunting as a Spector and attacking the living who dare to enter.

The Cave of Fire

In one room within the caverns, a red crystal is embedded on the opposite wall of the room. A pool of lava blocks access to the crystal, but that is not the room’s only perils. A pair of lesser demons guard the room and will attack anyone who enters.

Anyone who reaches the crystal can easily take a shard from it. This shard will grant the possessor immunity to damage from fire and heat. Although apprentices can complete the trials without the shard, possessing one will make their efforts considerably easier.

The Cave of Ice

In the Cave of Ice, a semi-frozen lake blocks access to a blue crystal embedded in the far wall. A pair of ice devils also guard the room. Visitors who reach the blue crystal can take a shard from it, which will provide immunity to cold damage. A trainee can survive the trials without the shard but possessing it will make their task easier. 

The Labyrinth of Fire and Ice

At the end of the caverns, a spacious room holds a labyrinth traced on the floor. While monks at other monasteries use these labyrinths as a meditation tool, slowly walking the path in reflective contemplation, this labyrinth is a device of torture, pain, and possible death. The path of the labyrinth is made of ice, while its edges are magically lined with hot lava.

At the far end of the room, a statue of a horned skull will speak in an archaic but understandable tongue to anyone who enters, saying: 

“Welcome, visitor. Art thou ready to brave the Labyrinth of Fire and Ice?”

If answered in the affirmative, the statue will continue:

“Step then at the beginning of the labyrinth and follow every step of the path to the center. Lest thee attempt to bypass the path, remember that the portal will only open for those who have followed my instructions and traversed the path.”

If the apprentice attempts to bypass the path by stepping over its edges or flying over the labyrinth, the statue will again say:

“The portal will only open for those who have followed my instructions and traversed the path.”

If someone reaches the center by flying, leaping, or otherwise avoiding walking along the path, the tele

Every turn, those walking along the path must make a Constitution saving throw. Those who fail with take 1d6 cold damage from unless they have immunity to cold damage, such as by possessing a shard of the blue crystal. In addition, each round they must also make a Dexterity saving throw. Those who fail slip on the ice enough to touch the hot lava, taking 1d6 fire damage unless immune to fire damage, such as from possessing a shard from the red crystal.

Those who perish while traversing the labyrinth will ignite from the heat of the lava. Over the course of an hour, even their bones will have been reduced to ash. For those who survive and make it to the center, a teleportation portal will activate and magically transport them to the Trial of the Elements.

Wanted to try out the new Sort All Symbols function (which you can get by simply reinstalling CC3+), and since it works best with overland maps, I wanted to do a dragon's lair in the Mike Schley style. This is just a quickie - still need to see if there are weird things that need to be manually sorted by shifting onto different sheets, or camouflaged with foliage.

I played around with Edge Fade settings on the TERRAIN ROCK sheet and settled on an Edge Width of 4 units, an Inner Opacity of 100%, and an Outer Opacity of 25%. (In comparison, the grass, earth, and other textures have a width of 15 units, an Inner Opacity of 100%, and an Out Opacity of 0%.)

Here's how it looks full size, plus a few coastal zooms.

I decided against trying to "erode" the levels of the ziggurat. It was a lot to change, and I decided that I will keep the technique in mind next time I do one. Instead, I focused on adding layers of the sand texture to each level of the temple (except for the top portion that the priests are more diligent about sweeping). I tried to vary the patterning by starting drawing from different corners, but I'm not sure that helped much. I might alternate which of the sand textures are used, as I did set each to different scalings. I like the color and scaling of #4 the best but I really should change it a little so you don't see angled paths of no sand like on the north face.

I also added the edge of a mountain using the same techniques as the dunes, but with the bevel isn't smoothed as much, and I used a dark brown earth fill. Maybe I should move the mountain to the NW or NE corner?

Here are the five above-ground levels of the Zhao Guang Si Temple (the basement will be separate).

Toggle: LIGHTING layer to show/hide the red glow throughout most of the temple.

Description

At the Zhao Guang Si monastery, a five-story pagoda temple rises through the mists and clouds. The wooden walls are painted with a dark lacquer, and the lanterns are covered with a red gauze that gives the interior an ominous red glow. A center oaken beam rises through every floor, providing structural support for the temple. 

First Floor

The first floor is dominated by a 40-foot statue of a man sitting cross-legged. Although there are four windows, two on each wall flanking the statue, they generally remain closed and shuttered so that the only light comes from the red lanterns.

Second Floor

This floor consists primarily of a balcony overlooking the temple floor below. The statue is large enough to still be higher than the monks standing on the balcony. As with the other windows throughout the temple, the windows here are generally shuttered.

Third Floor

Except for a few closets for storing equipment, this floor primarily consists of a training room where trainees can spar with each other until they drop from exhaustion.

Fourth Floor

The library on this floor is the only room where the lanterns are not shrouded in red gauze, and the windows may remain open to allow for reading by daylight. 

Fifth Floor

The grandmaster has an office on this floor, but much of the floor is dedicated to the Chamber of Rituals, where it is said that senior monks may perform dark magic to enhance their abilities.

Had to make some tweaks -- my originals were in a 4x5 ratio but in looking at card options, a 5x7 ratio seemed better. Decided the Christmas tree lights popped more on the nighttime version (especially after I moved the sheet they were on to render after the Point Light Finalize effect). And I decided to go with the stars instead of the galaxy so that the sky wouldn't draw focus from the rest of the image.

Let me know if you spot anything weird before this gets sent off.

Okay, here's a first pass at the portion of the map I've adopted for the Community Atlas. This was done using the Spectrum Overland style. So far, this is mostly just terrain converted from the parent map.

I want to add more individual trees around the edges of the forests where they look too squared off. I still need to add rivers (this map only came with one in the bottom right), and if necessary, more hills or small mountains at the source of the rivers.

This map came with five settlements. At this scale (each grid square is 100 miles), should I keep the beveled dots from the parent map or use the lovely Spectrum Overland symbols? I created a diamond-shaped one (on the larger island) for other points of interest. (I'm thinking that island may be a resort playground for the rich and famous, like a cross between Monte Carlo and Las Vegas, that operates outside of the reach of the country's law enforcement.)

I wasn't thrilled with how the savannah/grasslands blur into the desert on the right. I may need to adjust the sheet effects. I also thought about encircling the desert with dunes. I did it half of it that way so you can see it with and without the dunes. Thoughts? Oh, and I need to add some saguaro cacti or joshua trees.

I'd like to add a swamp somewhere. I plan to add a henge at one of the northern forests, surrounded by more trees -- that's where elves live. And a dwarven fortress in one of the southern mountains.

Roads will come last, once I've determined the rivers, major settlements, and points of interest, and then need to connect them.

Advice welcome, including the name.