Finished: Tomb of Malice Level 2 and 3

[grayfox211]

very, very impressive. it harnesses that 4e dungeon style wotc puts out now. very few cartographers doing that. i really like that because i like the illustrated look, but also the exterior texture brings a sense of realistic immersion, but the illustration has a fantasy feel. not many cartographers doing that, and wotc never puts out high enough quality maps with their adventures for virtual table top. looking forward to any more releases you have, including level 1.

as a tip, from the perspective of someone that runs vtt sessions (i make my own maps but from tiles so i wouldn't call myself a cartographer) lighting is very important and makes a huge impact on play quality. my players say it makes an order of magnitude difference. what i do is make a map with no light fixtures of any kind built into the background, even if they are supposed to be there. then i load it into maptool or masterplan, etc, and place tokens that look like torches or lamps etc on the unmovable layer, and give them a light source. This allows them to be moved, or doused. when players walk into a room, they truly only then can see what the light source permits since sing FoW.

So, if you wanted to, release a map with no light sources, and a copy with markers where the lights go, and little png's of the lights, if you were so inclined. You would be the most beloved cartographer of all time ....at least by me lol.

[kewlpack]

Thanks very much GrayFox!

I'm not really up to date on the VTT stuff at this point. For our group, it's all about good old graph paper and battle mats. I created these, but didn't show them to the group until they'd made their way through the level... The problem with all these new ways of mapping is that you need a large display and a way to easily program the VTT to show only what the party can see. I don't have time or resources to work on VTT versions.

I barely have time to pencil my ideas lately, much less draw them digitally. That said, I'm starting to work out some plot ideas on a North African/Egypt-ish (desert, deltas, steppes, nasty swamps, etc.) setting adventure where the endgame takes place in a hidden, inverted pyramid located deep beneath the sands.

Not sure how many of those maps or settings I'll build out with Photoshop... we'll see.

[Jacktannery]

I agree with Bogie - the maps are great and you have a good clear style. Hopefully you'll make some more maps for us to look at.

[Sereptus]

Good stuff Kewl! Uuuuummm...can we get level one now? LOL

[Quill]

I love the style of these. especially the awesome texturing so it doesn't look like the only tool you've used is the paint bucket tool. Very impressed

[kewlpack]

Thanks gang. I'll have to go back and put level 1 together. Free time just isn't at the level it used to be.