Good Old Blue
I've been doing some classic blue styled maps recently, figured I'd share a couple examples. These aren't exactly traditional. I'm using a five-foot grid so they can be used with VTT, secret door markers are embedded in the wall so the GM can use fog of war to hide them, and I've used a different treatment for water, but I think they retain a fair bit of the old-school blue feel.
From left to right, a shrine/temple area, a chasm across a passage, and a circular pool with an altar nearby.
As always, critique and suggestions welcome!
These look fantastic! Some months back I did my first set of dungeon maps in exactly this style and found that I really enjoyed the clean blue aesthetic of the old TSR maps (I came onto the RPG scene during the D&D 3e years). Looking forward to seeing the completed work.
Cheers,
-Arsheesh
I did a few rounds of revision, mostly playing with different water treatments, and testing some shading. Here are a few new samples. The images are the same except for some light shadows in the upper along the walls and around the objects. I think I like the non-shadow version better though. It looks cleaner.
bluetest03.jpg
bluetest04.jpg
Here's a very-close-to-final version showing a larger section @ 50%, along with some additional features. It shows secret door treatment, some false doors, and two stair treatments, one for stairs leading off-level (the fade-out), the other for internal stairs (with arrows indicating direction). I didn't want to force a direction on the off-level stairs, so they could be either up or down, but the internal stairs lead up to the balcony over the large hall, so direction there is fine. Secret doors are completely tucked into the wall so the map can be used on a VTT and fog of war can hid their presence until a search is done. Hidden doors work the same way.
I'm not 100% happy with showing the balcony as a simple dashed line, but I haven't found a better way to indicate that. The intent is the balcony encircles the big hallway, with the center open to below.
bluetest05.jpg
Another iteration on the theme. Here's a cave with a chasm and a couple ledges. Two ledge treatments, one with the floor pattern showing, one with it blotted out. This is still rough, there's a bunch of cleanup to do, but I wanted to get opinions on the fill vs. no-fill look. I'm not sure I have a strong opinion either way.
bluetest06.jpg
Looking good. I think the revisions were a good idea, looks more in line with the minimalist old school design.
Cheers,
-Arsheesh
I really like these. They take me back to the all night D&D games of my teen years.
Thanks! I've done quite a few of these now, something like 200 or so.
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