The Evil Abbey (X4 - "Master of Desert Nomads Series")

[anomiecoalition]

Awhile back I started mapping out the "Master of Desert Nomads" Module (X4) with CC3...got side-tracked along the way...and have now decided to come back to it...at least for now...You can see the other 2 maps i've done for it here and here.

The final sequence in the module involves an Abbey that has been quietly taken over by "Bhuts" posing as monks. Its a large complex with lots of areas to explore and lots of fun encounters...plus there is a catacombs.

Because the area of the Abbey is way to large to print out as one battle map (400' x 300'), I figured that I would create one map file with 3 different views. One view will be the whole Abbey complex that can be printed out on letter-sized paper. The other two views will have the roof hidden and just show floor plans of the buildings (some have 2 floors). For these, I will zoom in and print out the parts I need in battle-grid scale.

So, here is my progress thus far on the first view. Super special thanks to Joachim for pointing out that CC3 has a roof building function (ProFantasy Community Forum - Making a Roof?). I'll post a higher res version once I get a little further along.

I welcome any and all comments, criticisms, and suggestions...particularly for the roofs in the NW...there are some odd shaped buildings and I'm having a hard time figuring out where the ridge lines should be...*Note, the labeling is largely just a place holder at this point...still need to pretty it up later on.

Evil Abbey.JPG

and here's the blacksmith's shed (small square building below the well)...not entirely happy with how the arch entrance turned out, but I suppose it will do until I can figure out a better way to do it. All symbols and textures were snagged/modified from stuff found on the Dunjinni Forums and CGtextures.com

F - Blacksmith Shed.JPG

[Larb]

Oh I really like the style and palette you have used on this. Those yellowy hues on the roof look great.

[Jacktannery]

Great work anomie. The colours and lighting are excellent in both maps.

Just watch those textures in the lower map: some of them look stretched, and some seams are visible. Also the table and grinding-stone seem a little sharper than everything else.

[anomiecoalition]

Thanks guys...@Jack - Your right, in that zoomed in view, the sharpness of those objects sticks out a bit...perhaps i'll try to mod them in photoshop before the next update (thinking maybe a subtle blur or messing with one of the layer styles might help). And...also in the zoomed in view, my texture really looks odd - for one thing, the seams are readily apparent, and for another, it looks like the picture is actually taken at a slight angle rather than purely top-down. I made a first quick attempt at following a tutorial on creating a seamless texture and it didn't turn out so great, so i'll either tinker with it some more before the next update or find another similar texture to use.

[Kier]

Thanks guys...@Jack - Your right, in that zoomed in view, the sharpness of those objects sticks out a bit...perhaps i'll try to mod them in photoshop before the next update (thinking maybe a subtle blur or messing with one of the layer styles might help). And...also in the zoomed in view, my texture really looks odd - for one thing, the seams are readily apparent, and for another, it looks like the picture is actually taken at a slight angle rather than purely top-down. I made a first quick attempt at following a tutorial on creating a seamless texture and it didn't turn out so great, so i'll either tinker with it some more before the next update or find another similar texture to use.

Right there with you regarding seamless textures, nothing I do works, I end up doing them completely by hand, which makes for slow map making.

Also I think you are right that a little blur, or even just a light "smudge" overlay not truly visible but just enough to dull those super sharp objects up.

Great look overall though.

[Jacktannery]

Personally, I don't use seamless textures. My advice is to find a really good photograph of a wall on the internet (or take one yourself), desaturate it completely and put a semi-opaque burn or multiply layer of the correct colour on top, then rotate and scale it and cut and paste it to get the right effect, then do the seams by hand.

[arsheesh]

This looks great! Lovely work.

Cheers,
-Arsheesh