Underground cities
I'm contemplating creating a map for the capital of the major Dwarf empire in my epic campaign.
I've never done an underground city for some reason. The few villages we encountered I just placed in some random dungeons I wasn't going to use for anything else. But I want this city to look real, and not be in a dungeon but instead a real city underground.
Has anyone here done this before? I think a lot of things would have to be different to suit different economic needs.
Maybe because of Eddings I always think of underground cities as being layered...like a skyscraper. I can see how they might be more sprawling on one flat plane, like a dungeon, but I've never done either. I'll be watching to see what you come up with.
If the radiance of a thousand suns was to burst at once into the sky, that would be like the splendor of the Mighty One...I am become Death, the Shatterer of worlds.
-J. Robert Oppenheimer (father of the atom bomb) alluding to The Bhagavad Gita (Chapter 11, Verse 32)
My Maps ~ My Brushes ~ My Tutorials ~ My Challenge Maps
D'ni has come to be what I think an underground city to be. Large city built inside a massive cave, and expanded through tunnels and chambers.
I'll be watching this too. Later this year I'll be starting on my own dwarven city.
I think the key would be to find a large natural cavern as stated above, and then build into it and then carve away unique areas.
Think up as well as sideways...
Good luck.
You can always take a look a Dwarf Fortress, a pretty complex ASCII game where you control a dwarven society as they try and build their mountain city. I would watch you tube videos of gameplay to get some inspiration.
Hmm... I got a lot of ideas by now, just how to put them on paper I am not sure yet. I'll likely try to hand draw it first, seeing how I'm limited in software for this.
The interesting question is, will i be done before the campaign is over?
The book City Works from FFG has interesting "city building" mechanics and includes a system for generating underground cities as well as vertical cities. For huge underground cities I would use both combined - underground and vertical.
Dyson's Dodecahedron
an RPG blog, with a few maps
Pretty much all my maps are drawn by hand - ink on paper - and then scanned and contrast-enhanced
Ooh then I want that book. Thanks for the tip.
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