I’ve been a bit busy over the summer, but here is part of the fruits of my labour – a new map, and a new style of drawing the map as well.
I realized that a more painterly style was causing me a lot of headaches, and wasn’t as clear and sharp for players as I wanted it to be. I also ran into the problem of actually needing this stuff on the (virtual) table right now, so I wanted to create my own system of reusable assets and building blocks to quickly make dungeons and random encounters.
Plus, funds are tight and I though maybe taking this seriously and putting together Patreon in the middle of an energy crisis was a great idea.
This map is part of a larger map that I worked on in 4 sections. Originally, even that map was just a quarter of the full map, but I cut that down to a reasonable size to have a starting point that can be expanded on if I need it. In the middle of the big map is a ridgeline, which can be used either as an ambush point or as a campsite for the players. This map shows one side of that ridgeline, and a mix of large trees (black trunks), medium, and small trees to give cover and create a more natural feel.
One of the things I really dislike (because hating things is a healthy creative impulse, right?) are bland nature maps that look like a city park or something. No real elevation changes, perfectly spaced out trees, etc. Honestly, I’d like 20% more deadwood and other mess in this forest to really get my ideal across, but sometimes you just have to start showing things to people.