Riverboat

[HMB]

Hello, everyone.

I've been scouring the internet looking for a riverboat I could use for my PCs, who will require one for the next stage of their adventures, but haven't been able to find one. I'm a bit of a GIMP noob, but I've read a lot of tutorials and can do a few things with it, and I've found a bunch of resources for MapTool, so I have objects galore. So I thought, how difficult is it to make a riverboat?

Here is my first attempt. I'd love feedback and any suggestions on how to improve it! I don't know anything about shadows or advanced functions of GIMP, but I'll happily find tutorials if someone suggests that those functions would improve my maps.

[Freehand 5.5]

That's a nice little boat. I like it.

[Green-Pilgrim]

I like the design - simple and efficient with plenty of prop details to make it look like it could actually float down an river.

My question is: where does the party sleep? Is this more like a barge where there's no 'below deck' and it's basically just a glorified raft or is it an actual boat?

Either way I would suggest that your party may not want to sleep out on the raft without cover. I'm not sure how you'd handle that though - perhaps some kind of simple cover in the back?

Looks great!

-GP

[HMB]

Thanks for the feedback! Green-Pilgrim, good points. The structure toward the front of the boat is a tent, but I may need to replace it with a more tent-like object, perhaps one that opens toward the fire. This is more of a flat-boat used for shipping goods on a river system. I had originally envisioned it with sides, but my attempts to create realistic looking sides were...unsuccessful, so it became more raft-ey.

Do you think I should include a mast/sail (and tiller?) that can be raised or lowered depending on the wind? Hmm, my players might prefer that as opposed to poling it everywhere or just going with the current...

[Bogie]

River barges like this in the 1700's would have mostly been poled and towed. A sail only works if you are on a wide river or lake.

Try these tents. I didn't make either, someone posted them on Dundjinni Forums a long time ago.
tent.pngTent (2).png

[HMB]

Wow, those look great, that green one looks perfect! I'll use it instead. I'm also working on showing short sides to the boat, and also poles. Thanks!

[HMB]

Here is my latest updated version. Still no sides, having trouble with them for some reason. But I changed the tent and added a few objects, including poles.

I should note that most of the objects are from Bogie's most helpful thread!

[jtougas]

That is a very nice little boat. I realize I am coming late to this thread, but I (not very) recently "finished" a river boat of my own for my Adventures of Calan Stonebridge Encounter Map Series. I hope it can provide some inspiration. Keep up the good work !!

The Promise of Fire River Boat