'Heart of Shadow' cavern encounter map

[Jacktannery]

First attempt at the streams of blood. I'm finding it difficult to portray the steeply sloping parts.

Heart of Shadow.jpg

[Myrhdraak]

I think the streams looks very good. You perfectly nailed them. The sloops looks too "gentle". I can imagine the players saying "I just walk up that slope". It will need to show it is an area you will have to climb in order to reach. Maybe find some mountain sides from google map and overlay that on those areas???? (But I am not the expert here....)

[Jacktannery]

Thanks Myrhdraak. I agree the slopes look very gentle, however this is a function of your base map. Most of the slopes shown on the extract above are five feet in level difference. I know you put rules for climbing the slopes in your conversion guide, but since the distance is just five feet a hero can simply leap up to the next level - according to the rules (PH1 - jump) this is an autosuccess for a level 19 PC with a running jump (as it should be, quite frankly).

*Note that I tried to use the number of steps to indicate the difference in levels: 3-4 steps is a five feet difference; 7-9 steps is a 10 feet difference.

EDIT: but that's a really good idea about mountains on google maps. I can find a photo of cliffs, then copy that and overlay it over the slopes. I'll do up an example tomorrow.

[Myrhdraak]

I agree, the slopes for the 5 feet difference should be ok (maybe those squares should be marked as difficult terrain then?). But you have several slopes that compared to the bottoms, should be 10, 15 and 20 ft that might need to look more harder to negotiate.

[Jacktannery]

Okay, here's an attempt to make a cliff-type edge. Let me know what you think. Do you think this treatment would look good on the 10-20 feet drops?

Heart of Shadow.jpg

[anomiecoalition]

That looks great and I think its also going to probably help you sell the rivers going downhill.

[Bogie]

The cliff texture looks great! Can't wait to see the final map.

[Jacktannery]

Shouldn't be too much longer Bogie.

I'm still playing around with the wall textures (I shrunk the barnacles by 50%), and I need to finalise the map colours.

Here are the finished rivers and a second cliff. Just one more little cliff left.

Heart of Shadow.jpg

EDIT: Sightly different version - fixed some errors at the edges of the walls, and also altered the shadow layer (to overlay). Not sure if this is better or not. Also check out my really gross-looking slimy barnacle wall texture on the E wall, NW and SW.

Heart of Shadow.jpg

[Myrhdraak]

I liked the first version better than the second (the shadows became too strong on it). I also think you should add shadows on the northern cliffs, just in order to give the eye impression that you have incoming light that cast the northern cliffs in shadows, but lights up the sourthern cliffs (now it is very little difference in shadows on them). I would also suggest that on the souther cliffs, where you have "two consecutive slopes" which in total should be 10 ft height difference - make them one cliff as well.
These are of course minor details - I think the new cliff faces looks very good.

[Jacktannery]

Latest version, with more cliffs and mini-cliffs elsewhere.

I have not added the shading to the cliffs, because I want to be sure before I do. In your notes, there is no directional lighting, rather a sort of ambient lighting from the pools of blood. If I start shading one side of the cliffs as if the light is coming from one direction, I will need to do the entire map.

Heart of Shadow.jpg

Also, here is a gridded thumbnail

Heart of Shadow (thumbnail).jpg