Ties That Bind - Sewer Map Redux

[Green-Pilgrim]

Oh WOW. I love the use of the grate as a detail in that big pool. Excellent use of image there. I think my only recommendation - and this is minor - would be to soften the layers of blue in your big pool at the bottom left of the map. We know that it's representing various depths of water but if it were up to me I might soften the boundaries just a bit.

Mucho cool.

Question of preference: Do you make numbered and unnumbered versions of your maps? Something for the GM to keep track of what room the party is in and then another for the party?

Great work.

-GP

[JPQuinn]

Oh WOW. I love the use of the grate as a detail in that big pool. Excellent use of image there. I think my only recommendation - and this is minor - would be to soften the layers of blue in your big pool at the bottom left of the map. We know that it's representing various depths of water but if it were up to me I might soften the boundaries just a bit.

Mucho cool.

Question of preference: Do you make numbered and unnumbered versions of your maps? Something for the GM to keep track of what room the party is in and then another for the party?

Great work.

-GP

I have to agree about the pool layer shading, they need to be lightened up.

In my next step (a little later today if the wife and kids leave me alone long enough to do it), I will be adding the map labels and room numbers. But, I'll post a fully labeled "GM Map" and a partially labeled (also eliminating the trap markers) "Players' Map" version.

[Havard]

Thank you for your nice comments.



Possibly. All depends on the final render. Currently, my working PSD file is 570Mb, 300dpi, 7050 x 5550 pixels, RGB 16-bit, with each 1/4" square being 75 x 75 pixels. These JPG samples I have been generating are cut down to 60% quality and 50% the actual size. However, I think the final PNG map would be fine to use as a VTT battlemap (though printing out a full dpi physical floor map may be a little big - 94" x 74").

Step 6: Details - Round 2

In this step I have added an entrance ladder, cistern grate at the bottom of the large pool, and 3 shaded and glowing areas to represent the area of the three main traps.

Attachment 68976

Since this is a page map (something for the GM to look at quickly to say "hey, there's a room with a door"), not so much an encounter map (with room furnishings and deeper decorations), I think the major elements have been covered and the "drawing stages" of the map are done. One or two more steps and this one will be done!

I like this one alot. The extended areas make the functionality of the sewers more obvious. Also, I could now see potential for running more adventures in these sewers after Ties That Bind.

I am wondering if some of these cisterns can be used to access other dungeon levels?

Overall, really beautiful work!

-Havard

[Big Mac]

Step 6: Details - Round 2

In this step I have added an entrance ladder, cistern grate at the bottom of the large pool, and 3 shaded and glowing areas to represent the area of the three main traps.

Attachment 68976

Since this is a page map (something for the GM to look at quickly to say "hey, there's a room with a door"), not so much an encounter map (with room furnishings and deeper decorations), I think the major elements have been covered and the "drawing stages" of the map are done. One or two more steps and this one will be done!

Very nice. I'll need to get this printed out and put with my Blackmoor books (or get it printed out big and make it into a poster).

Your style reminds me a bit of the 2.5D dungeon map tiles created by theDMG and DM's Craft. I wonder if it would actually be possible to build your sewer system, using their methods.

One thing I am wondering (if you are looking for constructive criticism) is if one feed in and one feed out is enough for a big city.

Havard posted your map with a map of the surface of the city of Jackport superimposed on it and it looks like you need a sewer inlet going north and maybe a second inlet going west to provide enough drainage for the city. I wonder if your pipe leaving the west of the map could have a dogleg with a second branch going to the Old Market. I wonder if your original "straight stairway into the sewer" could be an other sewer going west towards the House of Father Aeris, with the new improved ladder coming down from an inspection manhole in a long sewer.

[JPQuinn]

Havard posted your map with a map of the surface of the city of Jackport superimposed on it and it looks like you need a sewer inlet going north and maybe a second inlet going west to provide enough drainage for the city. I wonder if your pipe leaving the west of the map could have a dogleg with a second branch going to the Old Market. I wonder if your original "straight stairway into the sewer" could be an other sewer going west towards the House of Father Aeris, with the new improved ladder coming down from an inspection manhole in a long sewer.

Hi Mac,

It's entirely possible to expand the map out further beyond its current limits. This is just a sectional snapshot of a piece of it that relates to the adventure. I got to see Havard's Jackport map, nicely done. There could be multiple levels of sewers, cisterns, and catacombs running under the city. My suggestion is to utilize the random dungeon tables found in either the 1E or 5E DMG to make some sprawling underground locations for your players to get lost in. The ladder in this map could be 2, 3, or even 4 "levels" below the surface (perhaps Jackport's sewers are to the Blackmoor campaign world as Waterdeep's Undermountain is to FG).

[Cards77]

Very nice work. I would be interested in using this for my current campaign in Waterdeep if it could be gridded with 5' squares. I think you could definitely put this on DriveThruRPG or some other such site. Good sewer maps are VERY hard to find and time consuming for us DM's build. Very well done, cheers!