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Thread: Need help with Wizards Keep!

  1. #1

    Help Need help with Wizards Keep!

    Hi there!

    I need some help. I want my PCs to go to (if they want...) an old wizards keep. Like the one in Terry Goodkind books "Sword of Truth". I´m a newbie GM so I´m having a bit of trouble making the map for the keep.... It´s supposed to be complicated, I want them to be able to get lost down there. There will bee no monsters, but traps. The keep have been empty for 1000 of years, so many traps will fail or will just give minor damage.
    To me the keep is an school for young wizards, like a college maybe. With rooms to sleep in (is it called dorms?), lecture halls, dining room/s (Harry Potter-style?). I´m thinking different levels in the keep for different knowledge, the newbie wizards cant pass onto the next level until they have learn this and that and reached a certain level of expertise... Oh, and of course... there will be many libraries, small ones, big ones. And some hallways displaying different magic items, gifts from wealthy parents and even some weird stuff. (A nail in the wall with a sign next to it saying "Cloak of invisibility", but is there really something on the nail?? And stuffed monsters that will spoke the PCs.. hehe)

    Soo... give me your best map, and I will show you mine. Lets take the weekend to think it out. =)

  2. #2

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    If you want help you may want to be more forthcoming. Is the keep in a town, on a plane, underground, on a cloud, under water, in the middle of nowhere?

    Since you want help you may want to show your map first to establish common reference. Are you using any rules to determine wealth, value, space?


    I don't know that I can help but its much easier to tell with more points of reference?


    Dollhouse Syndrome = The temptation to turn a map into a picture, obscuring the goal of the image with the appeal of cute, or simply available, parts. Maps have clarity through simplification.

    --- Sigurd

  3. #3
    Community Leader Facebook Connected tilt's Avatar
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    I you haven't made anything yet - start with a sketch. It don't have to "fit" at first.. just make an overview of the levels - where you say that this level has this and this level has that. That way you start to place the different things you need. Ex: basic meditation for novices on level 2, extended novice classes level 2, nature classes level 3, etc... and then place offices for the administration, kitchens, sleeping quarters, stables etc etc...
    When you place traps, concider why they are there.. what do they protect and how would they have worked when the tower was in use... can't imagine novices dodging traps on their way to dinner for instance
    And... remember to give some great action to the players... I had too many traps in a scenario once... and they got a bit bored + they checked ALL they could think off ALL the time after the 3rd or 4th trap *lol*

    When you've done all that - post the sketch here for some good comments
    regs tilt
    :: My DnD page Encounter Depot free stuff for your game :: My work page Catapult ::
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  4. #4

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    Not to sound rude, but this is the second map request I've seen in the last couple days where people want someone to create a free map on a quick turn-around. While we can from time to time, do a free map design based on an honest request in the Map Request Forum - we are not a staff of cartographers waiting for something to do at no cost. Designing any map takes time, and for some us time means money.

    The newbies shouldn't expect us to rush out a map design for free. That's not what we do here. When somebody asks for help, the best help we can usually offer is techniques in using specific software in helping you design your own map. We want to help you become a better mapper. In general we really don't want to make maps for free nor do everyone's maps. We want you to do the map yourself.

    I get requests for maps that people are willing to pay for, and sometimes due to time constraints, I have to turn them down. So I don't do every paid-for map requested of me, because I lack the time. However, not that I never do it, but I generally don't have time to do free maps.

    There may be someone willing to do a quick map design for you for free, but you shouldn't expect that's what we will do. Like I said, the best help we can offer is helping you make your own map, not the other way around.

    GP
    Gamer Printshop Publishing, Starfinder RPG modules and supplements, Map Products, Map Symbol Sets and Map Making Tutorial Guide
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  5. #5

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    Quote Originally Posted by Sigurd View Post
    If you want help you may want to be more forthcoming. Is the keep in a town, on a plane, underground, on a cloud, under water, in the middle of nowhere?

    Since you want help you may want to show your map first to establish common reference. Are you using any rules to determine wealth, value, space?


    I don't know that I can help but its much easier to tell with more points of reference?
    Hi!
    I´m picturing the keep in an mountain (just as it is in Goodkinds books...). The nearby town has been destroyed for ages (maybe 1000 of years ago) and is mostly rubbish and overgrown.
    There wont bee too many traps, and most of them will be practical jokes. Like a knock first-trap. If they open a door to someones private room without knocking first they will get punched in the face by the door...

    Here´s a cut-trough of the mountain...
    Attached Images Attached Images

  6. #6

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    Quote Originally Posted by tilt View Post
    I you haven't made anything yet - start with a sketch. It don't have to "fit" at first.. just make an overview of the levels - where you say that this level has this and this level has that. That way you start to place the different things you need. Ex: basic meditation for novices on level 2, extended novice classes level 2, nature classes level 3, etc... and then place offices for the administration, kitchens, sleeping quarters, stables etc etc...
    When you place traps, concider why they are there.. what do they protect and how would they have worked when the tower was in use... can't imagine novices dodging traps on their way to dinner for instance
    And... remember to give some great action to the players... I had too many traps in a scenario once... and they got a bit bored + they checked ALL they could think off ALL the time after the 3rd or 4th trap *lol*

    When you've done all that - post the sketch here for some good comments
    Thank you!! Just the kind of help i needed! =)

  7. #7

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    Quote Originally Posted by Gamerprinter View Post
    Not to sound rude, but this is the second map request I've seen in the last couple days where people want someone to create a free map on a quick turn-around. While we can from time to time, do a free map design based on an honest request in the Map Request Forum - we are not a staff of cartographers waiting for something to do at no cost. Designing any map takes time, and for some us time means money.

    The newbies shouldn't expect us to rush out a map design for free. That's not what we do here. When somebody asks for help, the best help we can usually offer is techniques in using specific software in helping you design your own map. We want to help you become a better mapper. In general we really don't want to make maps for free nor do everyone's maps. We want you to do the map yourself.

    I get requests for maps that people are willing to pay for, and sometimes due to time constraints, I have to turn them down. So I don't do every paid-for map requested of me, because I lack the time. However, not that I never do it, but I generally don't have time to do free maps.

    There may be someone willing to do a quick map design for you for free, but you shouldn't expect that's what we will do. Like I said, the best help we can offer is helping you make your own map, not the other way around.

    GP
    Hi! You're not being rude. =) I should have been more clear when i wrote my request... Of course I don't expect anyone to give out an entire map for free, just some bits and pieces... And as I wrote, lets take the weekend to think about it and then you and I would post our maps. But now I have posted my map already (at least part of it)...

  8. #8
    Community Leader Facebook Connected tilt's Avatar
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    when you save from photoshop for posting here - save as .jpg instead (after saving your psd file) - psd files down show in browsers so we have to download your map and open photoshop (those who have it) to see it.
    regs tilt
    :: My DnD page Encounter Depot free stuff for your game :: My work page Catapult ::
    :: Finished Maps :: Competion maps - The Island of Dr. Rorshach ::
    :: FREE Tiles - Compasses :: Other Taking a commision - Copyright & Creative Commons ::
    Works under CC licence unless mentioned otherwise

  9. #9

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    Having read the Sword of Truth series I am intrigued with your idea. But I would put some levels above ground (living rooms tend to be a lot more cozy if they have windows and fresh air isn't dangerous either). Just start at "ground level" (at the foot of the mountain or halfway up) and every time you have need for some new rooms either dig into the ground or add another tower or build further up the mountain, that way the whole building will gain a "natural" feel having grown with time.

  10. #10

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    Quote Originally Posted by cfds View Post
    Having read the Sword of Truth series I am intrigued with your idea. But I would put some levels above ground (living rooms tend to be a lot more cozy if they have windows and fresh air isn't dangerous either). Just start at "ground level" (at the foot of the mountain or halfway up) and every time you have need for some new rooms either dig into the ground or add another tower or build further up the mountain, that way the whole building will gain a "natural" feel having grown with time.
    Hmm... Yeah, that´s a nice idea. The wizards keep in SOT had some above ground-levels... Have you read Debt of Bones? There´s a picture of the keep there. It looks sort of a castle being built into the mountain, and it has a tall, narrow bridge leading up to the keep. I´m not sure, but I think the back entrance (where Zedd and Richard entered (?)) is cut out straight from the mountain, though. There is also a very pictorial description of the inside in Dept of Bones, at least of the only room common people are allowed to visit...

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