Trepindian Sea God Hall

[pyrandon]

Hello, Friends:

Here is a map I created for my weekly GURPS fantasy game on OpenRPG. For the past year (in both real time and game time) my intrepid adventurers have been investigating a mysterious ode written on an even more mysterious scroll, which has led them to the abandoned, ruined, and haunted "holy isle" of the ancient source of all culture. (I posted an earlier "isometric" sketch of the isle here: http://www.cartographersguild.com/showthread.php?t=717)

In pressing onwards they came into a great hall which, after descending the stairs to the south of the room, opened to a vast, vaulted ceiling supported by great columns. The room is "lit" by the eerie glow of a waterfall at the far north side, which shines green. A great pool stands in the center of the room, filled by two "serpent" head statues that each vomit water; a tremendous statue of a man/serpent stands in the midst of this. Below each serpent is an arched tunnel; water falls in thin sheets inside, wetting anyone passing through. Because of the moisture, the entire room is covered in fungus and mold--putrid and disgusting and thick in the nostrils.

Beyond the spitting serpents are tunnels on the east and west, each ascending slightly to deposit the traveler behind/beneath the waterfall on a ledge, which eventually leads to the exit tunnel in the north.

Anyway, I'm posting the visual I created for this room along with the map. Both, as you can tell, I tried to give a gloomy, dark feel to fit the moment. All was done by hand in Photoshop (except the floor pattern on the map, which I borrowed from one fo the fine folks at the Dundjinni boards). Enjoy!

[Fister]

What a fortunate group of players you have. Dank, dark, mold ridden, forgotten depths to be hazard by only the most foolhardy or desperate.

I wish I could make out a little more of what is hidden in each corner of the room but then, so do your players.

Do you use such visual aids at the beginning of a new area to present the right mood and feel or is it a reward for story completion toward the end of a chapter?

[RPMiller]

You make me feel like the lamest GM ever... THANKS! This is awesome. It reminds me of the good old D&D module days that included pictures of the various rooms/encounters. Well done! I have to spread some rep around before I can give you some for this contribution.

[thebax2k]

WOW! Pyrandon, your players are one lucky circle of folks. First the isometric depiction of the Holy Isle and now this. Well done sir.

One question, is there any type of map for the underground/buried part of the island or is it something you keep in your head until the players come to an encounter area?

[pyrandon]

Thank you for the comments, everyone! I had a lot of fun making these visuals, and as always I learned a lot. Keeping up with all of you is a tough call!!

Do you use such visual aids at the beginning of a new area to present the right mood and feel or is it a reward for story completion toward the end of a chapter?

Well, in an ideal world I'd show them the image as they enter the area to, as you say, set the mood; the map I'd also show as much as in eyeshot (I use OpenRPG's "fog" function for this, so only the portions I want them to see are visible, the rest is black. A great feature.) Unfortunately, time bit me on this one, so when they actually entered the room I only had a b&W version of the above pic & no map. I relied on words and some marks right on the b&w sketch to relay the mood. I completed the images after the players had exited, which is nowhere near ideal, but I got a bug up you-know-where to finish them anyway. (And even then I ran out of oompf--as if evidenced from the "quick job" on the statue(s), which I'm not happy with, but oh well.)

One question, is there any type of map for the underground/buried part of the island or is it something you keep in your head until the players come to an encounter area?

Well, I have hand-drawn sketches & notes, but generally I am lazy & don't finish mapping until the players are all but stepping into the area. I wish I was more organized & not a procrastinator, but I tend to fly by my pant seat instead. As for written descriptions, I generally write things down only right before--or AS--the guys enter the room(s).

Take care.

[Naryt]

BTW, the descriptions of the room were foul enough that I had a hard time breathing as I imagined Gereth (my character) slogging through that room...of course, having a sinus infection that day helped with the mood. However, when I saw the "finished" images above in my email--especially the watering pouring from the mouths--I had a quick fit of the heeby-jeebies....ick.

[Torq]

You players are a lucky crew. The map and visual aid are amazing. "By hand in Photoshop", means how long exactly? If its a weekly game do you do this kind of thing every week?

Fantastic.

Torq

[pyrandon]

"By hand in Photoshop", means how long exactly? If its a weekly game do you do this kind of thing every week?

LOL--Luckily, in virtual tabletop play NOTHING goes quickly enough to require much work each week! And no, I don't go to this extent much--although one of the wonderful things about a VT is the ability to use images, so one of my constant goals is to improve play through visuals. I only succeed about 5% of the time. Thanks for the compliment, though, Torq!

A sheer guess is I put about 12 hours into the painting and 5 hours into the map. A better artist/cartographer could do both in a quarter of the time. I'm a hack and an incessant fiddler.

PS: Naryt is awesomely hilarious during play; I myself was getting sick by the way he and his comrades were reacting to my own descriptions of the nasty smell! You guys say my players are lucky to have me--no way: I'm sooooo lucky to have a sweet group like them! Two years and running now!