Trepindian Sea God Hall

[thebax2k]

WOW! Pyrandon, your players are one lucky circle of folks. First the isometric depiction of the Holy Isle and now this. Well done sir.

One question, is there any type of map for the underground/buried part of the island or is it something you keep in your head until the players come to an encounter area?

[pyrandon]

Thank you for the comments, everyone! I had a lot of fun making these visuals, and as always I learned a lot. Keeping up with all of you is a tough call!!

Do you use such visual aids at the beginning of a new area to present the right mood and feel or is it a reward for story completion toward the end of a chapter?

Well, in an ideal world I'd show them the image as they enter the area to, as you say, set the mood; the map I'd also show as much as in eyeshot (I use OpenRPG's "fog" function for this, so only the portions I want them to see are visible, the rest is black. A great feature.) Unfortunately, time bit me on this one, so when they actually entered the room I only had a b&W version of the above pic & no map. I relied on words and some marks right on the b&w sketch to relay the mood. I completed the images after the players had exited, which is nowhere near ideal, but I got a bug up you-know-where to finish them anyway. (And even then I ran out of oompf--as if evidenced from the "quick job" on the statue(s), which I'm not happy with, but oh well.)

One question, is there any type of map for the underground/buried part of the island or is it something you keep in your head until the players come to an encounter area?

Well, I have hand-drawn sketches & notes, but generally I am lazy & don't finish mapping until the players are all but stepping into the area. I wish I was more organized & not a procrastinator, but I tend to fly by my pant seat instead. As for written descriptions, I generally write things down only right before--or AS--the guys enter the room(s).

Take care.

[Naryt]

BTW, the descriptions of the room were foul enough that I had a hard time breathing as I imagined Gereth (my character) slogging through that room...of course, having a sinus infection that day helped with the mood. However, when I saw the "finished" images above in my email--especially the watering pouring from the mouths--I had a quick fit of the heeby-jeebies....ick.

[Torq]

You players are a lucky crew. The map and visual aid are amazing. "By hand in Photoshop", means how long exactly? If its a weekly game do you do this kind of thing every week?

Fantastic.

Torq

[pyrandon]

"By hand in Photoshop", means how long exactly? If its a weekly game do you do this kind of thing every week?

LOL--Luckily, in virtual tabletop play NOTHING goes quickly enough to require much work each week! And no, I don't go to this extent much--although one of the wonderful things about a VT is the ability to use images, so one of my constant goals is to improve play through visuals. I only succeed about 5% of the time. Thanks for the compliment, though, Torq!

A sheer guess is I put about 12 hours into the painting and 5 hours into the map. A better artist/cartographer could do both in a quarter of the time. I'm a hack and an incessant fiddler.

PS: Naryt is awesomely hilarious during play; I myself was getting sick by the way he and his comrades were reacting to my own descriptions of the nasty smell! You guys say my players are lucky to have me--no way: I'm sooooo lucky to have a sweet group like them! Two years and running now!

[Naryt]

PS: Naryt is awesomely hilarious during play; I myself was getting sick by the way he and his comrades were reacting to my own descriptions of the nasty smell! You guys say my players are lucky to have me--no way: I'm sooooo lucky to have a sweet group like them! Two years and running now!

22 Sept 2005 (25 September 985 in game) was the first time our Intrepid Adventurers set out from Eneini. Two years later, the in game date is 19 August 986. In that time, three characters have died, two have left off from adventuring and six new characters (including the dog) have joined the group. We've also seen four players come and go and have been joined by four new players who are all a blast to have on board! (6 players + 1 GM) We now span four times zones and two countries.

Oh dear, someone thinks I'm funny...that's never a good thing, just ask my wife! BTW, I'm not the only one giving rise to family waking chortles!

The entertaining(?) thing about the nasty, slimy Well of Aeneus is that I work at a sewage treatment plant in the IT department. Occasionally (as rarely as I can help it), I have to visit the...um...nastier parts of the plant. It took absolutely no imagination on my part to know exactly what Gereth was experiencing in that room. The air was fairly dripping and each breath felt as if he were drowning, the foul stench of it all clinging to the back of his throat, filling his nostrils with the scent of decay. Even closing his mouth and nose couldn't stop him smelling and tasting the vileness that surrounded him. Although he would never admit it, he knew that if the fetid vapors didn't smother him, the rising bile in his throat likely would.

Naturally, as it reminded me of parts of the plant, I just had to say (OOC of course): A voice comes from the statue, "Welcome to Trepindia Waste Water Treatment Facility #2."

[jaerdaph]

Excellent - that would make a nice Temple to Dagon for a CoC campaign as well.