Royal Scribe
Royal Scribe
About
- Username
- Royal Scribe
- Joined
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- 8,767
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- Member
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- 3,185
- Birthday
- February 5, 1968
- Location
- San Francisco, California
- Real Name
- Kevin
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- Mapmaker
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[WIP] Community Atlas: Kumarikandam - SE Tiantang Region
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.
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[WIP] Community Atlas: Kumarikandam - SE Tiantang Region
Here is the basement of the temple:
Toggle: SECRET layer to show/hide the secret passage escape route.
Description
Although trainees and junior monks live in barracks on the monastery’s grounds, the more senior monks have quarters in the temple’s basement, where trainees may join them for the final meal of the day. The basement also includes a kitchen and a crematorium, which share a chimney that rises outside the temple on its northwest side. Senior monks are interred in sarcophagi in the temple’s crypts when they pass away, but trainees and junior monks are cremated, with their cremains interred in urns in a columbarium.
A circular room that connects to the crypts is used for funeral services and other rituals. There is a teleportation portal here that the senior monks can use to access the Zhao Guang Si’s Trials of the Elements. Trainees who survive those trials will be teleported where upon completion of all four trials.
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[WIP] Community Atlas: Kumarikandam - SE Tiantang Region
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.
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[WIP] Community Atlas: Kumarikandam - SE Tiantang Region
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.
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What's your favourite overland style?
Maybe (when I get the texture actually right), I should do a lighter version as well so people can chose how dark or light they like their maps?
I like that idea very much. I use the Adjust Hue effect a lot when I need the same fill to be a bit lighter or darker in different places, but it’s helpful to have a range preexisting in the fills.

