Another holiday scene, this one a community of gnomes living near the North Pole working for a "jolly old elf" known as The Toy-Maker.

I have three versions: one daytime and two at night. One of the nighttime ones uses a galaxy background from one of the Cosmographer annuals (the bitmap file calls it "Hubble_Galaxy"), and the other uses a starfield background that comes with Cosmographer.

I may choose one of these to make into holiday cards. Does anyone have a favorite? Also, I put a tower on top of the castle to give it a little more, but does it look goofy there?

Daytime

Nighttime 1

Nighttime 2

Temple of Déine ap Gáeth

In the human religion of the Áes Camáir, Déine ap Gáeth is the fourth of the five children of Camáir, the Goddess of Dawn and the mother of everything.

Déine ap Gáeth, the Snow Queen of the Áes Camáir, is the goddess of winter and storms. She lives on remote, snow-capped mountain peaks in a palace made of ice that is shrouded in perpetual fog. She is generally depicted with white hair and pale skin, dressed in garments that are silver and white with ice-blue accents. Though she is sometimes shown clad in all-white furs, she is more often shown wearing light clothing more appropriate for the summer for someone not immune to the cold as she is. She is seen as aloof and though certainly not evil, at least somewhat indifferent to the effects of harsh winters.

She is accompanied by Nathairsioc, a draconic spirit of wind and ice who is about the size of a large cat. She is also the mother of the Four Winds, whose father is believed to be a powerful elemental creature from the Plane of Air, perhaps the raw element of air or even The Féth itself, the mysterious fog that surrounds the palaces of the Áes Camáir. The Four Winds, who are considered to be demigods, serve as messengers of the gods and occasionally as liaisons between the gods and mortals. Though the Winds are not worshipped individually and have no priests dedicated to serving them, they do have shrines dedicated to placating and honoring them. It is said that there may be some warlocks for whom they serve as Celestial or Djinn patrons.

Although Déine is worshipped everywhere where the Áes Camáir’s followers live, her monasteries and the temples attached to them are generally located in snowy alpine and arctic environments, where her monks and priests are trained to survive in cold environments without special attire.

The Festival of Déine ap Gáeth, or Fayluh Déine, is a gift-giving holiday that begins on the Winter Solstice. In the Common Calendar, it also now marks the beginning of the new year.

At this temple, a bridge spans a great crevasse to connect the temple with its monastery. A portion of the temple has been carved into an icy bluff. Years ago, a family of yeti accidentally broke through to a portion of the temple. The priests and monks were able to drive back the yeti, and have subsequently sealed off that portion of the temple.

1. Temple of Déine ap Gáeth: The temple for worshipping Déine ap Gáeth also includes a chapel for the worship of other Áes Camáir gods. Visitors typically worship here instead of the below-ice chapels. It also includes office space for the priests as well as living quarters for the most senior priests. The northern wing is buried in the icy cliffs, with a ceiling of ice about 20 feet above the roof of the temple, allowing for roof access beneath the ice. Two doors can be found in this wing. The northwest door provides access to a passage to a bridge, beyond which are tunnels extended for miles to a settlement of kobolds who some believe serve an old white dragon. The northeast door provides access to the subterranean portions of the temple. Another door on the southeast wing provides access to a road that winds around the rift. The primary entrance, however, is on an upper level reached from a bridge that spans across the crevasse to connect the temple with the monastery. 

2. Monastery of Déine ap Gáeth: Here, monks and acolytes live and train for service to Déine ap Gáeth. From an upper level, a bridge extends across the crevasse to connect with the Temple.

3. The Great Crevasse: This massive rift in the ice and rock extends to unknown depths, and many have lost their lives falling in. Some claim that the rift provides access to the paraelemental plane of Ice, located on the border between the planes of Air and Water. Others claim that Déine’s own palace in the heavens can be accessed through the rift. 

4. Reception Room: A gathering area for the below-ice temple. Though most of the below-ice temple has icy floors, this room has flagstone flooring.

5. Ice Chapel of Déine ap Gáeth: Religious services here are primarily for the priests and monks who live at the temple and monastery, as visitors generally worship in the anove-ground temple. An altar appears on a dais carved from ice, flanked by fonts of holy water on either side of the dais.

6. Hot Pool: Half of this oval-shaped room is used by a steaming pool as hot as any bath. The water is heated in pipes that extend from the Lava Room (#10). The floor is a white marble.

7. Ice Plunge: Once they have become warm in the hot bath or the saunas, some monks and priests like to plunge into a cold bath in this room, before returning to the saunas or baths to warm up again. The floor is blue tiles.

8. Steam Sauna: Water is poured over rocks heated by a brazier to provide for a warm, steamy environment.

9. Dry Sauna: No steam in this sauna, just a dry heat.

10. Lava Room: A tiny crevasse reveals a pit of lava that is used to heat the hot pool and saunas.

11. Office of the High Priestess: The high priest or (currently) priestess has an office here as well as in the main temple. This office is primarily used for changing into vestments before religious ceremonies.

12. Monks’ Rooms: Monks and acolytes who have completed their education typically spend a month living in these icy rooms before taking their final vows.

13. Chapel of the Four Winds: The Four Winds are sons of Déine ap Gáeth, demigods who serve as messengers of the gods. This main room has branches along the cardinal compass points to smaller shrines for each Wind.

14. Shrine of Anair ap Gáeth, the East Wind: Anair ap Gáeth, the East Wind, is seen as a bringer of warm rains. He is associated with the summer.

15. Shrine of Faitse ap Gáeth, the South Wind: Faitse ap Gáeth, the South Wind, is associated with the desiccating, hot wind of late summer and autumn.

16. Shrine of Íarus ap Gáeth, the West Wind: Íarus ap Gáeth, the West Wind, is the most gentle and favorable of the winds. He is associated with flowers, springtime, and procreation. In myths, he is presented as the tender breeze,

17. Shrine of Túaiscert ap Gáeth, the North Wind: Túaiscert ap Gáeth is the cold wind from the north. He is associated with storms and winter. He is depicted as being very strong, with a violent temper to match.

18. Fire Trap: Two locked stone doors block access to this room, once a storage room before the yeti broke through to this part of the temple. The priests have also added a Glyph of Fire here to keep the yeti at bay.

19. Blocked Chamber: In this chamber, the priests have used their divine powers to bring down an avalanche of icy rocks to block access to the yeti family’s home.

20. Yeti Lair: A family of yeti are believed to still dwell in these icy caves. 

21. Yeti Exit: A passageway extends for nearly a mile below the ice before providing an exit. This allows the yeti to come and go while avoiding the priests who wield fire to keep them at bay.

22. Passageways to the Ice Kobolds: These passageways extend for many miles before reaching a settlement of kobolds who are said to worship or serve an old white dragon. The priests of Déine ap Gáeth have reached a truce with the kobolds, and occasionally trade goods and services with them. 

When I was coming up with "spooky season" mapping ideas, I was debating between a haunted house or a witch's lair in a swamp. Why not both?

That required experimenting with some different styles to try to create a swamp. (Let this serve as another plug for a jungle/swamp annual compatible with annuals like Creepy Crypts, Forest Trail, and Marine Dungeons.)

I wasn't sure which way to go...so I ended up doing three versions. One is in the Mike Schley Dungeon (SS4) style, the second used Forest Trails as the basis, and the third used Marine Dungeons (though the second two had to borrow a bit from DD3 and other styles).

I don't know a lot about swamps, but the images I've seen show a lot of trees both on dry land and in the water. In all three versions, I made it so that the tree tops could be hidden, both to create a battlemap version and also to show that some of the trees were growing out of the water and not just from patches of solid land.

Here are all three side by side, and then in the comments I will show each one in more detail.

It's really great. I particularly like how you did the fence posts and railing. I can't think of anything I'd change or add.

And here's the third and fourth levels of the church. The main part of the church is covered by a dome, but it's all open air from the balconies up. The only portions with stairs going higher than the second floor balconies are the two towers on the southern side.

Level three of the towers has a light source shining through the windows, like mini-lighthouses. I like the look of the brazier on the right, but it didn't quite make sense unless it was on the top floor (where I put bells). Even if it were something like the DND Continual Flame spell, where the magical fire emits light but not heat or smoke, it still doesn't make sense if it engulfs the inner wall of a stairwell that is continuing up. So I did an alternate version on the left side using luminescent crystals.

And then there are great bells on the fourth floor of the towers, which come from Dundjinni Archives.

I am really liking this Parchment style for large-scale maps. I don't think it would suit my campaign world overall, but I can see my adventurers finding an ancient map in this style in some crumbling ruins, or being given one in this style when they consult with a sage or wizard for advice.

I met Anne McCaffrey some years ago and she urged those in attendance to compile and keep a list of names which we could draw upon whenever we needed one. That practice has stuck with me all these years later, and I have lists of thousands of names I can use.

That's what I do, too. Unusual last names are good fodder for fantasy realm names of people or geographic places, though I sometimes tweak the spelling. I keep a notepad list on my phone that jot down names as I encounter them. Every so often, I paste the list into Excel where I can make notations when I use a name.

Thank you for the tip -- I will check out Fandom.com. I actually started my own wiki about my world of Adnati on my WordPress-powered website. I use a plugin called Yadawiki for the wiki functionality. The Religion section is the most developed, followed by Geoscience. (History so far covers ancient history but not so much "modern" history.) I have tons more plotted out in MS Word docs that have not yet made it onto the wiki, much of which would have to be kept private until players learn those elements of the world.

Now that I am finally starting to learn CC3+ and FT+ (after owning the software for about six years but being too intimidated to learn it), I can finally start doing some mapping. (I decided about six months ago to start watching the tutorials and surprise, surprise, learned so much more than I did on my own with the PDF manuals.)

I don't actually have any players at the moment. Just having fun worldbuilding. But I have a fully fleshed out concept of how the players will meet, the circumstances that get them into a group and kick-off the story, and the major elements (and end goal) of their campaign arc.

Here is the third of the three monasteries that I collaborated with @Ricko on for the Atlas. This is Zhao Guong Si, and it is located here (circled in the upper right corner):

There are a bunch of FCW files to submit because in addition to the monastery's grounds, we also go inside (and below) the temple, as well as in two "dungeons." I will post each discrete location separately in this thread.

First, the city map for the Zhao Guong Si monastery.

Toggle: CLOUDS layer to hide/reveal the clouds.

Description

Zhao Guang Si 

The Temple of the Morning Glow

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.

I have been looking forward to seeing what you do since you first claimed Elkton.

Also: DD4 things! Squeeee!