Introduction and purpose

[Shindig]

Hello everyone!

I have been lurking this site for a few years now. I run weekly campaigns and have found this site to be a great help when running store-bought modules. I have utilized a lot of maps from this site and I thank you all.

I have run games for over 20 years and have played D&D almost from inception. I have also played a few other rpgs, Cthulu and Earthdawn, among them, but I enjoy D&D the most. Building a world of your own is a wonderful thing, but when you continue with a career, the time to do this shrinks dramatically; so relying on modules becomes crucial. Getting maps for the players can be a challenge, though.

I used to print out maps, but with monitors becoming so affordable, I found that purchasing a 25 inch ASUS flat monitor, taking the stand off and laying it on the table with a Plexiglas protective screen works fantastically for our purposes. We then use Maptool to layout the maps. With the maps provided from this site gaming has been very smooth the past few years.

Then I realized that I have to contribute. I have relied to long on the work of other kind posters. I purchased Campaign Cartographer several years ago but never sat down and really used it. There was a campaign coming up that I found no maps to my liking and decided to learn it while constructing the granddaddy of castles for the upcoming campaign: Castle Ravenloft.

I started last September and completed all 10 floors at the end of December. We started playing that month and I am now designing the maps for the encounters leading up to it.

I really want to share what I am doing and will be starting a new post in the proper discussion group for this purpose. The biggest challenge will be learning how to post these maps correctly, which will require a lot of reduction, formatting, etc. I will be asking for advice on this in that forum. I am by no means an accomplished web poster, so please forgive me for any silly mistakes I may make.

I hope that the work I have done will help repay all of the help I have received from this site these past few years.

Thank you, everyone.

[Jaxilon]

Well then accept an official welcome to the guild. I for one look forward to seeing what you have been working on.

Posting is pretty simple, you will want to use the "attach" (paper clip icon) when it comes to posting your images. That will post them with a thumbnail that can be clicked on to enlarge. Also, images can be up around 4MB in size so you hopefully won't have to reduce it too much. Whatever filetype you have it saved as you will want to create a .jpg version for posting. That may require an 'export' or 'save as..' from within your software, I think you said CC which I don't know anything about. You can always use the 'Go Advanced' button in the bottom right corner to double check what your post will look like before you post it.

That's just a really quick run down of posting here so don't be afraid to ask questions if anything is unclear. I'm waiting for someone to pull up in front of my house right now so I can't get too detailed

[Gidde]

Welcome to the Guild! I'm really looking forward to seeing your castle, too, so don't just post up the WIPs

[Shindig]

I am probably going to post in the Dungeon/Subterranean Mapping thread first, as WIPs. I am doing this because I still have a bit to learn and may end up editing these as I get advice. I just got the renderings completed for the first floor and grounds, so you should see my post there tonight.

Thanks!

[jtougas]

Welcome to the Guild

[Steel General]

Welcome Aboard!

[ravells]

Great to have you here. I'm sure you'll find everything you'll need tutorial wise to get started!

[Kilian]

Welcome to the Guild!

[NeonKnight]

Welcome to the Guild!