Completing my trip to the Banjar region of Kumarikandam recently, after the Sussara Region, I've now been visiting part of the coast by the mouth of the Kalabanjar River, the tiny red-square-marked ruined settlement at the head of the Bay of Aqesh on the area map from the Atlas (not the one in the mountains - that's Sussara!):

The map I'd generated in advance from the Inkwell Ideas "Ruins" dice set only covered part of the settlement, and given the large scale of the above map, as with the Sussara Region, I knew I'd have to begin with an area map to fit it into anyway. Having already prepared a 20-mile-square map for Sussara, I simply continued the process here, using the same Scorching Sun style for consistency, having generated a list of ideas for features on this map using the same random tables as for Sussara (albeit re-rolling any duplicates with that map), while taking into account the very different circumstances for this part of Banjar - invaded and devastated by incomers in the relatively recent past. Thus we arrive at the Marshmalika Area map ("Marshmalika" = Queen's Cove, incidentally):

Descriptions of what's where (with how recent some of them are), and the significance of the various items shown will be provided as text and PDF files in the Atlas, as usual, although it's fair to say there are battlefields, and many signs of devastation (not all created by the invaders; war is war, after all). Oh, and there are a LOT of ghosts. They make the invaders feel REALLY uncomfortable, although all they do is stand and stare (mostly). In ever increasing numbers. At any destroyed formerly inhabited place. By day and night, continually. Until the invaders leave.

Constructing sets of connected maps like this is always an organic process, with ideas for one influencing the other along the way. For these "Crypts" designs, I've been referring to Inkwell's own "Dungeonmorph Delves and Descriptions" book, one of which options has included an order of necromancers that collect strange things from many places, storing them in their own tombs, along with reminders of their greatest leader. Since this chimed with a very long-standing idea of my own from many years ago (it's a useful way of explaining random dungeon layouts sometimes!), I decided to indulge especially heavily from the Inkwell notes for this design, with just a few adaptations and changes, since it all seemed to flow together quite nicely otherwise. Additional elements - notably among the treasures - came from the random tables mentioned in my first posting here, or ideas that occurred along the way. Thus we arrive at The Crypt of the Necromancers map:

The mapping style is Sue's Creepy Crypts 1 & 2, from Annual issues CA 186 and CA 188, partly because I'd only used elements from it last time, and wanted to try out the complete style, partly because - of course - it's ideal for constructing burial layouts, and partly because it has those really invaluable individual step symbols, perfect for creating daises, or when the mapping design needs a non-standard staircase that rises straight before becoming a quarter-spiral at the top (in room 4 here - hopefully a little more visible on the Gallery version of this map). I've also used a couple of Sue's other symbols in this map, one from her City Domes Annual, CA 144A, the other from the CA 175 Marine Dungeon pack.

The outside, cave entry and long cavern to get to the dungeon proper, were simply sketched-in by hand - and those two blind side passages in the Cavern aren't accidental - after the Crypt layout had been drawn-in. The mechanism for drawing caves in this style is somewhat different to normal, and took a little experimentation to get right, particularly in relation to masking the outside of the Crypt's straighter wall-lines, as that's drawn a different way. And that 10-foot grid was actually drawn on three different sheets as a result of this - some of the lines only by hand!

I knew from the original sketched layout that there'd be space around the design to add a places list (expanded considerably by the text and PDF accompanying Atlas notes), and I opted to indulge further by using more of Sue's Creepy Crypt symbols as decoration to fill some of the spaces this left, and to add to the atmosphere. The coloration is deliberately muted and grey, in-keeping with the generally gloomy aura The Scar region encourages, aside from a Necromancers' Crypt not really being a likely place for bright wallpaper with cute puppies and kittens frolicking over it (though that would rather challenge an adventuring party's expectations)!

The next layout is to be from Inkwell's "Delver" dice set, which has a mixture of cavern and dungeon aspects to the designs. That's scheduled for somewhere on Kraken Island in the Forlorn Archipelago...

So, as promised, the final submission version of the map is now completed, as of Day 280 of 2023 (i.e. yesterday!). And here it is:

You may not notice any difference from the Day 250 version posted last time, and I'm not sure there actually is one, at least not that would be obvious at this resolution. However, behind the scenes there have been substantial changes, as following discussions with Remy ahead of submitting the map for the Atlas, I've added descriptions as CC3+ map notes for each individual area, as hotspots tied to each number on the map, and which will thus be available in the FCW version of the Atlas map. The complete set of texts for all these, and the general map notes, will also be provided as a single PDF file, as normal.

This particular mapping style is very straightforward to use, and as noted earlier, is also a very forgiving one, which uses no sheet effects. Thus it wasn't a strong challenge to map with, for all that was an interesting experience in itself. However, adding the map notes and hotspots to the map was something I've never tried before, and that proved a useful exercise in expanding my CC3+ experience. It was a great deal more straightforward, and quicker to complete, than I'd anticipated too, which was a pleasant surprise. [This is the point where Remy admonishes me for getting some key part of the exercise wrong, of course...]

I'd never really considered adding notes to my maps electronically, since I normally only use printout versions of them, and while that's unlikely to change, this would be something I'd consider for the Atlas in future now, where the map's suitable for such, having tried it out. Which of course was part of the point in my taking part in mapping for the Atlas, to let me explore elements of the program new to me!

Time to return to my Alarius mapping now though. Although it's possible there might be a further distraction before then...

Well, my original intention was to provide a progress update here during January. And then before the end of January. And here we are in February, so you can see how well that went...

However, progress HAS been made despite that, even if a lot of it's less easy to show here as yet. That's mainly because I've been preparing handwritten notes on the various itemised areas within this dungeon, which in turn has led to a few alterations in the look of the map. As I've reached area 100 of the 360 this way, things in that respect aren't going too badly. Typing-up my handwritten scrawlings is not moving at the same speed though, and that's still a LONG way behind.

As I mentioned briefly before, from the initial map, it was clear that the parts nearest the entrance cave (areas 1-49) formed a separate region within the overall dungeon, as all being linked to one another, with just a single access-route to the remainder. Looking at the Atlas notes regarding Malajuri, in conjunction with the relatively small sizes of the rooms, led me to the idea that this had originally been a Gnome subterranean complex. For obscure/now long-forgotten reasons, the Gnomes had had to leave it for long enough that its whereabouts had been lost, until the Gnomes under King Dendorlig XXX had managed to find it again, and start to reoccupy, renovate and explore it in more recent years.

As also noted, the description of what's where within the complex has been drawing heavily on the random details generated by the Wizardawn system, albeit amended or adapted in places, particularly in this first Gnome-reoccupied zone, where random monsters are not going to be lurking! Instead, things like that have been reimagined as alternative features, such as wall-paintings or sculptures, and rather more has been added to have the whole make sense, since there's now a village (in cavern 22) and a military compound covering access to the rest of the dungeon (where dangers DO still lurk), around and off the muster courtyard 39. Along the way, a powerful maybe-deity nature spirit of the mountain has been inserted, Dendorla, at the great Water Temple (17), since water is a) naturally vital for living things, and b) the Gnomes long had elements such as piped water supplies and flushing toilets. I've mentioned before how making sense of random descriptions and area layouts helps me better visualise what may have been happening/is still occurring in such places. There's even a serious danger I may yet have to devise a small area map for the Gnome and Halfling farmlands in the hidden Dendorlig Vale area just beyond the underground complex here (food, after all!). Yes, Halflings too, taking on-board the Tolkienian idea of Halflings being natural farmers and gardeners. Plus as there are almost no Halflings in the area of Alarius I've been mapping, I thought this would give a chance to explore something a little different this way.

Since other parts of the map are still subject to change, I've not tried to present the whole again currently, so this is a view of just the reoccupied "Village" area and a small part of the adjacent areas, from the top right corner of the original map:

As is rather obvious, the top edge of the map has grown, to better illustrate the full extent of cavern 1 (and yes, the number for that needs moving on this shot still!), and there have been other changes too. The "red-S" doors are no longer secret doors, but sliding ones, operated by magical card-keys only, to better restrict access to various places, such as the Royal Apartments (12-16), the Keep (3), and the route to the remainder of Dendorlig Hall (between 39 and 50).

While not illustrated again here, as I'm still compiling notes and map amendments for the latter stages, I've set areas 50-66, 93-110 and 143-146 on the original plan as those areas the reoccupying Gnomes have currently explored, at least cursorily. The other areas - so most of the map - have yet to be looked over by them, and this is where things can get especially interesting. Even if that "cursorily" proviso means even the explored regions might not be quite so "safe" as expected. That stout, well-secured, red-S door between areas 50 and 39 isn't merely for show!

All being well, further updates to follow (not saying they'll be any more frequent/regular though...).

While the choice and location for most of the map's non-landscape features were decided randomly, as done, and discussed, for previous of these Errynor maps, this time not all the settlements were, as just over half the smaller ones were added subsequently, chiefly along the main river lines in the lower half of the area:

Those that were located randomly had helped determine the general layout for the river lines, in combination with the more obvious geographic requirements. After the resources were added, again randomly, the curious concentration of several coal markers near these established waterways helped provide the spark for what became the civilisation hereabouts, as portrayed in the map's PDF file. Adding the "missing" coal mining villages deliberately to complete the pattern, led naturally to providing mining settlements near the mercury deposits that didn't already have one, plus of course there would be further smaller places, down to individual farmsteads, were this map not at the "large-regional" scale it is.

Route junctions, bridging points, minor landscape features and nearby creatures then helped generate ideas for the varying local character of particular settlements, with names then either chosen to suit those, or sometimes where the names helped give an extra concept of what might be happening at certain places, beyond anything obvious from their physical siting.

Having done that on land, a couple of smaller settlements were added undersea as well to round things off more, along with one last non-random settlement on Hwael Igland ("Whale Island"), since this little island took on an increasingly important role during the development of ideas regarding the ocean trade-route to Arkant from here. However, Hwael Igland is the subject of another Atlas map, so that's a story for another time!

Approaching the end of this "guided" (?) tour of Embra, the penultimate group of sites to visit comprises the Wooded Places of Interest, approached via the relevant central pie-wedge from the "Official Guide" map, as usual:

This set, like the Hilly Places, has half-a-dozen individual mapped locations to connect, plus a seventh map for its four "Streets".

From the start with the Enclosed Places at Embra, it always seemed likely I'd be revisiting the foliate borders used there for these Wooded Places map frames too, as nothing else I'd come across seemed to fit the bill quite so well, this time with a reworking of the colours. As we shall discover however, I couldn't resist another couple of the knotwork creature designs from that page of those also in the Dover Clip-Art "Celtic Borders on Layout Grids" book...

Lastly, the fourth map covers the seven Crossing Places Streets in one:

Which of course is tricky to see much detail on at this size, so some closer views might help:

Two of these are obviously bridge-style crossings, albeit in rather unusual ways. Spiderweb Way suspends part of its street, its paths and buildings high above an Inlet of the sea, for all Embra is in the most landlocked part of all my Errynor maps. This is, however, Faerie, so think more surrealist thoughts, and it all starts to make perfect sense. If it doesn't, you just need to think more surreally... Seafield Road too suspends part of itself high above a deep, rocky ravine, although one that nobody ever seems to have managed to get down into. Like the sea Inlet, is it real? Or illusory? Naturally, choosing which Place of this pair was to have the sea inlet was quite deliberate; can't make things too obvious in Faerie always, after all! 

One more street, Ferry Road, has a ferry across the River Clack at its end, but the other four are all narrow ways linking broader routes that are completely ignored and unnamed here. For clearly, only the Crossing Places matter in this case! Naturally, each of these smaller streets has features all their own too - the odd, wailing music along The Remin is only one curiosity (yes, that's NOT mentioned in the featured texts, only in the text and PDF files), as the houses there appear to be made of thorny bushes, for instance.

Now we only have five more "Places" groups to discuss...

The eastern village is Embra - Mornside, a name partly influenced by the real-world district of Morningside in Edinburgh, although naturally, it also fits neatly into the general naming conventions here (none of which is merely coincidental!).

Now the broader Clack has a small island in it, and one of the tributaries from the Clack Valley map features as well, the Wadingburn, in an especially prominent form.

There are more buildings too, a mix of larger and smaller properties, one of which, Gofannon's Farm, has an upper storey:

The southernmost village, Embra - Noonday, has a particularly narrow Clack stream, yet one that both the main near-Embra tributaries from the Clack Valley map, the Silverburn and Wadingburn, join by the east edge of this map:

Although there are more buildings this time, each is still only a ground-level property:

Resuming the presentation of the final maps linked to Errynor Map 01 from previously, all concerning the deep-sea hag Aunty MacKassa, we must now zoom right in to Aunty's deep-sea-bed home:

From early in the process of constructing Aunty's lair, I wanted both a fixed-spot home cave, and at least one unusual vehicle, to let her get out and about in "her" 50-mile zone, as established earlier, more readily. This is what some hags have in real-world folklore after all, such as Baba Yaga's chicken-legged hut and flying mortar and pestle. I settled on two smaller "spare" random cave designs from what I'd downloaded from the Curufea's Random Cave Map Generator website earlier as suitable for her coral cavern lair, providing a pair of subterranean levels. These were chosen mostly because each had one cave of a form roughly like the stern of a ship, and a shipwrecked vessel seemed the most obvious choice for a deep-sea hag's vehicle. My idea was, being a faerie creature, and thus seemingly able to circumvent physical "laws" most folks take for granted as "normal", that Aunty would be able to shift her lair effortlessly between cave and vehicle whenever she chose, so a similar shape and size for at least part of both seemed reasonable. Then an idea for a second vehicle, suitable for amphibious sea to land transport, came about too, from which the clearest option was a hut made from another shipwreck, with - what else? - gigantic crab legs.

As I knew elements would need to be copied between all three of these maps, I decided to use the standard DD3 mapping package, except for the fonts. The Coral Cave map was done first (using the East Anglia font from the 2012 Cartographer's Annual):

The hatch and ladder between the levels of the Home Cave were chosen to fit with the ship's-cabin concept, of course, while the scatter of clutter and treasure (if it is) was distributed as a compromise between the classic D&D very cluttered hag's lair, and a map that could be read still. Although the deep-sea hag creature is largely an idea of my own of old, it has always been heavily influenced by D&D, and as the 5th edition allows powerful hags to have an assortment of servants, I came up with the illustrated variants of Undersea Gargoyles and Shadow Killer Rays here (the latter drawing partly on a 1953 short story by Joseph Payne Brennan, "Slime", which made a lasting impact on me when I first read it as a youngster). The illustrations for the latter, the north pointer, and the "sunken" border around the Lower Level map segment, were enhanced thanks to the chance publication of Remy Monsen's blog posting on the use of Bevel Effects to create sunken "carvings" on floors while I was preparing this map.

Then I thought it would be interesting to see just what Aunty MacKassa looked like. So I constructed this image of her, using CA3:

As usual, there'll be a PDF and series of text-file notes available in the Atlas to explain the game-relevant map details, from which you can discover why she has a long, bone hairpin in her grasp, and a pair of gold-tinted spectacles in her other hand, should you wish! Plus of course, I added her face to the Coral Cave map to serve as the Atlas link-point to this portrait.