Cartographers' Guild - Mapping Challenge Archive

* April/May VOTING - Not Your Father's 1st Level Lair *

Diamond — Tue, 14 May 2013 03:21:00 GMT

Thanks for being gentle with me, seeing as this was the first challenge I've posted since becoming a CL. :D We had some great entries this month, so without further ado, here are your

April / May Challenge Thumbs

Vote for your favorite maps - yes, more than one vote is allowed. Voting ends in 4 days, and the winner gets a shiny new silver compass and the grovelling adoration of the masses. (Well, maybe not that last part, but we'll all congratulate you.)

Also, don't forget to rep those you feel worthy of it!

April-May Lite Entry: Befouled Temple

geamon — Sat, 11 May 2013 08:24:50 GMT

Was unsure about entering this months challenge, here we go...

Threats: Kobold + Traps
Setting: Cave + Sewers, Stormreach, Eberron
Features: Small waterfall and stream which leads to another tunnel of the sewers and a treacherous back entrance
Plot: Irvhir kobolds have dug out a ruined temple under Stormreach and found a worn idol believing it to be a source of power from Khyber. Recently, they have plagued the residence of the harbor and stealing away "cattle" for their necromancy. Little do they know the idol being unrecognizable being so worn is indeed a symbol of Siberys. The temple is in need of cleansing...

Just getting a basic shape down to see where I started.

Enjoy.

### Latest WIP ###

Attached Thumbnails

April/May Lite Entry - The Serpent Cavern

foremost — Sun, 05 May 2013 18:28:59 GMT

The following is my April/May challenge entry. This is the first challenge I've entered, so I'm learning all sorts of stuff as I go. When I saw the prompt (which I think is excellent) I just knew I had to enter.

My entry is hand drawn. I did use the computer programs to darken it up a bit, as I thought the bright white of the paper was unnatural. If I finally figure out how the layer thing works, I'll let you guys know!

Though humans had once erected and inhabited a fort within the cavern, it is now overrun with derpent-like creatures, who spit fire and slide down the tunnels within the place. The pit of fire is a sacred location for them, and they often go there to worship their evil god, Ardor. Players might enter via the portal, or through walking alongside the boiling stream that runs through the cave.

I have another map that I posted today --> The Bleak Castle so please take a look at that one too. If you feel that one might be better for this challenge, let me know!

Thanks folks! :D

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April/May Lite Challenge - Mausoleum of Dark Waters

Caleth — Fri, 03 May 2013 12:17:40 GMT

I was pleasantly excited at seeing that the lite challenge for this month was a battlemap, since battlemaps are as close as I have to a specialty when it comes to map making.

For centuries, the elite of Naltan buried their dead in monumental mausoleums. However, the city of Naltan was annihilated long ago and as the surviving noble bloodlines died out the tombs ceased to be visited and were stripped of their furnishings and valuables. Now, the empty ruin has begun swarming with undead, far more than there were ever bodies interred there. What has happened to the ancient dead? Who is causing this infestation? Are there any adventurers who can stop it?

### LATEST WIP ###

This is just the first of three planned floors (two floors above ground and a crypt). I am not sure how much dungeon dressing to include, since I generally make my battle maps with a minimum of clutter beyond walls and floor, but for the challenge I might pretty things up a bit. I also am not sure if I like the aesthetic of I have going with the gridlines; I thought it would look cool, but it wound up just kind of looking sloppy. More tinkering to come.

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April/May Lite Entry - The Red Rock Jackals

Zarylin — Thu, 02 May 2013 18:47:23 GMT

Right then, about time I actually put some work in!

So, this month's challenge actually works out rather nicely for me; I'm considering starting a small monthly game at first level, so I will very likely be using this map as the groups first 'dungeon delve'. I had already settled on the idea of using my entry from last month's challenge (Red Rock Bay) as the group's starting point, so the natural progression now is to invent a source of trouble for the town, and then give that trouble a home! Incidentally, the reason I originally found and joined this forum was to learn to make maps so I could really develop and flesh out a campaign world for my home games. This small game and the maps here will be my first real foray into that world, so that's pretty exciting too. Anyway. Since the group will be more story/role-play driven, I've kept the actual 'dungeon' on the smallish side.

Farmer Kells shook his head in concern as he watched his son repair the fence. This was the third time this month that the fence had been knocked over, and he counted four sheep missing from his flock, which was much worse than the previous two incursions. It didn't make sense to him; he hadn't lost an animal to the jackals since he had first built this fence, almost 8 years ago. Why the creatures had finally decided to come back, and how they'd managed to get in, he just didn't know. What he did know was that the next capable looking group of travelers to pass through town wouldn't have any trouble finding work.

What Farmer Kells doesn't know is that the reason the jackals have figured out how to get through his fence is because they've recently been 'adopted' by a pack of gnolls, who are both the brains and the brawn of this operation. Technically, the lowest level gnolls I could find were 4th level, but I'm not really concerned by that; they fit the environment well, so these gnolls will be scaled down to level 1.

### LATEST WIP ###

So, a spring in the hills, sheltered by the bluffs and surrounded by caves. The colors were taken from the original Red Rock Bay map, as again, they're now part of a set. Otherwise, I just have the preliminary work done so far, with lots of details yet to add. I have my water feature and my two entrances (the narrow tunnel up top will be connecting the areas that the gnolls have occupied with the actual jackal warrens), though I still don't quite know what I'm going to do for the defenses. We'll see. Suggestions, as always, are welcome!

Also, apparently the grid is not saving/displaying outside of Gimp. I'm using 2.8... does anyone know how to make it into an actual layer? I suppose I could manually trace it, but there has to be an easier way than that...

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* April Challenge VOTING - Using Dwarf Fortress ASCII Maps as a Source *

Arcana — Thu, 02 May 2013 14:35:00 GMT

This month's challenge was to use Dwarf Fortress as an ASCII source for a map. We had quite a turnout this month, and the entries look great!

Look through the month's submissions:

Challenge Thumbnails

Be sure to look in the WIP threads to see the original ASCII source maps for comparison before deciding who you vote for.

You can vote for as many as you like. Be sure to rep all those entries you vote for and may the best map win!

The voting will last for 4 days and the winner will receive worldwide recognition, the showering praises of his/her peers, and a neat little thingy (golden compass).

April/May Lite Entry - Vicinato Spavento

Meshon — Wed, 01 May 2013 17:25:00 GMT

"We're the Malvagios. We own this neighbourhood."

Southwest of the palazzos and villas where the children of the ruling elite indulge their hedonism, north of the canals that bring goods to the Commercio district, and just past the quieter end of the bustling Piazza Mercato where the city trades its goods lies the Vicinato Spavento, a quiet little neighbourhood of closed doors and shuttered windows. A few citizens of the city know this as a place to come to get things that can't be found anywhere else. Farina Malvagio sells bread and pastries that rival anything the nobles are eating. A few of her special customers know about the back room and the small but expensive "spices" she sells there. What makes her flour so wonderful? Old Cibo Malvagio's shop usually has good cuts of meat at surprising prices and if you come after dark he might be able to dispose of some spoiled meat for you. Off the main road the more daring visitors find Tesoro Malvagio's Banco which always seems to have the most interesting and rare trinkets on its tables. No point in asking where they come from, Tesoro never tells. Those with more secretive needs might find the Sicarios nearby, a close-knit band of Malvagio brothers and sisters who can make particular sorts of problems disappear. Permanently.
Not long ago the Magistrate Avaro, concerned that some of his own missing property might be for sale at Tesoro's, sent his personal guard in to the neighbourhood to take back what was his. Sadly Avaro has fallen on hard times lately, and his guards have not been seen since the night they took their swords to Vicinato Spavento.

I might be pushing the rules for this challenge a bit, so if a family with criminal leanings doesn't fit the bill, do let me know. I'm going to use this as an opportunity to try out some mapping techniques that I need to get sorted.

This is just my rough layout in Illustrator before I start pulling layers over to Photoshop to make it look like something. I also get to try out one of my variant cobblestone brushes!

### LATEST WIP ###

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April-May Lite Challenge Lair of the Sorcerer's Apprentice

Bogie — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 03:45:40 GMT

This will be the Lair of the Sorcerer's Apprentice. Beekham had not considered just how old Trell the Sorcerer was when he won an apprenticeship with him. The first 6 months had passed as expected for a young mage apprentice, lots of drudge work, a little bit of magic. He was just reaching the point where Trell was starting to teach him some real magic when the worst possible thing happened. Trell went to bed and did not wake up. It was not fair that Trell died leaving Beekham so untrained. But that did not stop the young wizard. Now he had access to all of Trell's books and equipment. Beekham started to experiment, to teach himself. That's where things went bad. Beekham became obsessed, he lacked guidance and wisdom, and he tried any kind of magic he thought he could learn. It was bad enough when some of his experiments got loose, but when he started sacrificing people from the nearby village they decided they needed to get rid of him. The village hired a group of adventurers to rid them of this young sorcerer before he does more damage. The lair is a few miles out of town. They are given a key to unlock the main door by an old farmer who had been Trell's friend. Unfortunately neither he nor anyone else had ever been inside, so the layout of the lair is unknown.

I just started working on this map so this is just a rough beginning.

### Latest WIP ###

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April 2013 Entry: Isiliad Delemai - The Wretched Realms -

Schwarzkreuz — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 22:15:39 GMT

Well here comes again, another reincarnation of my wretched realms but with a slightly more lifeform friendly enviroment. I also did choosed a part of the 3rd map of the samples to start with.
After my long time of recovery I hope I can rejoin the Guild now. As most of you know, I rarely finish a Challenge, but well maybe we will be surprised now :P

### Latest WIP ###

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April/May Lite Entry - Troglodyte's Lair

anomiecoalition — Sat, 20 Apr 2013 21:01:00 GMT

Really like the challenge theme this month - just hope that real life doesn't keep me too busy to finish it. I've decided to map a small cavern that houses a small tribe of Troglodytes (around 30 excluding hatchlings). The cavern is situated beneath an Inn on the outskirts of a coastal fishing village. There are actually 3 entry/exit points - The first is through a well on the surface which drops about 50 feet into a larger pool of water (top right of the map). The second is a small dock (bottom left of the map) where you would sail into an alcove on the side of the cliff. The 3rd is a secret stairwell that runs from the basement of the inn to the top right of the map (not sure how to actually depict that yet). Ultimately, I plan on having a small trickling stream of water running through the map from the pool of water in the top right to the sea in the bottom left. I have a number of traps planned for this adventure (but, haven't figured out how i'm actually going to depict them - i.e. when you step on certain false steps you will break a jar of Trog Musk which will alert others of your presence.)

Backstory - The cavern is an entry and storage point for a smuggling operation run by the Inn Keeper. He has found a way to manipulate the Trogs into protecting it and often disposes of meddling adventurers in the well (If all goes as planned - PCs would be drugged by the Inn Keeper and wake up falling into the dark cavern - they will need to fight/sneak their way through the lair to the safety of the dock).

Made with CC3. I still need to work on the bevel effects so they are more gradual and cut down on the darkness of the stairs. I'm also not completely sold on the textures i'm using. Having said that - looking forward to any comments, suggestions, and criticisms you guys may have.

### LATEST WIP ###

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* April/May Lite Challenge - Not Your Father's 1st Level Lair *

Diamond — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 03:23:00 GMT

Hi folks, and welcome to the April/May Lite Challenge. This month's challenge is thus:

Take a minor race that bothers adventurers when they're starting out and create a fiendish lair for them. It could be an abandoned temple repurposed by a tribe of kobolds, thick with traps; it could be a series of mines or caverns inhabited by goblins; it could part of a haunted forest protected by spiteful fey folk; it could be a ruined castle inhabited by a low-ranking necromancer and crawling with hordes of low-level undead. Go crazy!

Additionally, each entry must contain one or more of the following:

1) one watercourse (a stream, a canal, etc)
2) primary and secondary defenses (thought that poison-dart spitting statue was the only trap in the room? Surprise!)
3) two different means of entering the lair (could be a stealth method and a brute force method, for example)

Title each new thread March/April Lite Entry -

Precede each WIP image with the tag ### Latest WIP ###.

The challenge will end on or around the 13th of May, and the winner will receive a silver compass, and glory.

* March/April VOTING - Organic Mapping *

torstan — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 18:18:00 GMT

This month's lite challenge was to create an organic map. This could be as diverse as a dryad's oak tree home or a town that grew up in tune with the flow of the natural landscape around them. We have four entries this week - so check out the challenge thumbs:

March/April Challenge Thumbs

Please vote for your favourite maps. The voting will run for 4 days and the winner will receive honour, glory, and a silver compass. May the best map win!

Remember to rep the entries you vote for.

March/April Light Challenge - Home of the Mud People

Xyll — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 20:19:10 GMT

It's been a while and I was bored.

Here lies some simple earthen dwellings by a river. Are the friendly or are they hostile. You will never know unless you knock.

### LATEST WIP ###

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March / April Lite Challenge - WIP - Kartin Lowlands

Carbus — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 00:45:33 GMT

Hello guys, so it�s been a while since my last challebge, so I decided to give it a try. The theme is a little hard, inicially I thought of making a waterfall city, or even and underwater metropolis, but my drawing and manipulations skills are bellow that, so yesterday I came up with this idea....A region inside a crater ( original I know :D).

No one knows when Kartin Lowlands became populated, but it�s fame it know worldwide. Some theorist say a giant meteor fell in the region, resulting in the massive crater of 150 km wide, some say dark magic took place, and even other says of anciente powerfull civilizations that destroyed each others. The fact is, Kartin Lowlands is know for it�s rich mines, and strategic position. The only safe acess to Kartin Lowlands is through the villages of Prinkton Pass and Sauhuanis Pass, these two developed a safe transportation method, through ropes, and chains, making the acess much faster. (...Continues)

### LATEST WIP ###

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April 2013 Challenge Entry - Orsmata

matty406 — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 20:01:09 GMT

Hello Cartographer's Guild! So I found out about this challenge through the DF dev blog. As a DF player with some creative skill to burn, I thought I'd give it a shot.
From the main map, I'm cropping a section of it. I'll use Dwarf Fortress' map export tools to tell me which settlements trade with which others, to help create a map of a localised set of trade routes.

### Latest WIP ###
Scaled down to shave some filesize off, for a preview.

Attached Thumbnails

Cartographers' Guild - Mapping Challenge Archive

*** April/May VOTING - Not Your Father's 1st Level Lair ***

April-May Lite Entry: Befouled Temple

April/May Lite Entry - The Serpent Cavern

April/May Lite Challenge - Mausoleum of Dark Waters

April/May Lite Entry - The Red Rock Jackals

*** April Challenge VOTING - Using Dwarf Fortress ASCII Maps as a Source ***

April/May Lite Entry - Vicinato Spavento

April-May Lite Challenge Lair of the Sorcerer's Apprentice

April 2013 Entry: Isiliad Delemai - The Wretched Realms -

April/May Lite Entry - Troglodyte's Lair

*** April/May Lite Challenge - Not Your Father's 1st Level Lair ***

*** March/April VOTING - Organic Mapping ***

March/April Light Challenge - Home of the Mud People

March / April Lite Challenge - WIP - Kartin Lowlands

April 2013 Challenge Entry - Orsmata

* April/May VOTING - Not Your Father's 1st Level Lair *

* April Challenge VOTING - Using Dwarf Fortress ASCII Maps as a Source *

* April/May Lite Challenge - Not Your Father's 1st Level Lair *

* March/April VOTING - Organic Mapping *