Three Maps, One Location

 Back when I first started trying to make maps I had an idea. I made an island to be the starting point for a campaign I ran. The idea was simple. The game would start with the PCs washing up ashore on one end of this island, and need to make it to the other end in order to escape. This would be the first 'adventure' which could be anything from a simple 1 level one shot, to bringing the PCs to level 3 or maybe even as far as level 5 if so desired.

Ultimately I only used it for a one shot intro for what ended up being only about half the group by the end.

More Maps!

 Just another couple maps today. These two I feel came out really well and I used them in the D&D game last weekend. Both made with Dungeon Draft, but found more tools - namely the Shadow Path tool and the Cliff Path tool. 

Also, after playing Elder Scrolls Online I realized how boring a lot of cave maps are for color and textures, and so I tried a different way to get a cave effect but with room for water and plant life growing inside. You can decide for yourself if you like it or not.

Some Maps I Made

 In lieu of the normal Discussion post, I thought today I would share some maps I've made. These have already been revealed to my PCs in the relevant game - or don't have spoilers. Feel free to use them for your own games. These maps were made with Dungeondraft and/or Wonderdraft.

Dungeondraft

When talking about map making before I think I made it known how much I like Wonderdraft. It's not the best or most in depth  map making program I've ever seen out there, but it makes good looking maps quickly with little skill on the part of the user. And ultimately, that's all I need. I'm not looking to make professional maps to sell to Wizards of the Coast. I'm looking for a visual guide to my world that I can share with players.

You can imagine how delighted I was to find that Wonderdraft now also makes a dungeon mapping software called Dungeondraft. Like Wonderdraft, Dungeondraft puts out solid quality maps quickly and with little skill required on the part of the user. You can see more about it in the video they have advertising it here:

And below you can see a map I made earlier today for a game I'm running on Friday. As far as battle maps go it is serviceable. But it didn't take long to make, just a bit of futzing around with the tools.

My favorite part though is there is a random generator for dungeons or caves so you can just click a few buttons and get a random layout that you then populate with decorations. Definitely useful when you just want something small and quick, or something you can potentially reuse in different scenarios.

Not bad for $20.

Building A World From The Ground Up

The other day I had an idea for a world for a potential future campaign. It was focused on my semi-fascination with sunken cities, ships, castles, etc as a location for adventures in movies, comics, videogames, RPGs, and everything else. The idea became persistent to the point it wouldn't let me think about other stuff. And so last night I set out to make the world. Only I had one problem: I know basically nothing about geology, and most of my friends know - especially by comparison - quite a bit. It happens a lot where aspects of maps irk them just because it goes against expectations.

Now I'm a big fan of fantasy being able to break rules from how the real world works. After all, in a Fantasy universe gods, magic, and monsters are all provably real. But it is also nice to have a grounding in at least the basic aspects of our world. If nothing else it pre-emptively solves problems. You don't need to figure out where is dry - and why it is dry - when you know how the winds generally travel in your world. And so working with my friends over the course of about two hours we made the following world, and I figure I will present it step by step so you can see how it went.

Starting A New Game - Preparing Your World

You've got your map, but that's not really enough to get the game going. As awesome as maps are, and as strong a tool as they can be for running your game, a map is just a picture of your setting. Yes, a picture is worth a thousand words, but when it comes to your setting those aren't the words you need. At least, they're not the words you need now, because you already have them in the form of a map. Today I want to talk about fleshing out your world.

Starting A New Game - Making A World Map

World maps aren't necessary for all games, and you should never feel bad for not having a map. However, I made the decision I wanted to at least learn how to make maps a few years ago and have taken some steps to learn. I also find for some games - particularly campaign style RPGs in fantasy universes - that it can be a lot of fun. Today I want to talk about building a world map, share some advice, and, well, we have pictures so why not.

Mini-Campaign Idea: Shipwreck Island

I've had this idea in my head for a while. It's not particularly special or unique, but I figured it'd be worth sharing - and the map was worth spending some practice time on it. This would work for any western fantasy game. I suppose you could use other settings, but it was meant for that kind of game. In specific it was meant for Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition, though I imagine it'd work fine with Pathfinder, FATE, or about anything else.

Discussion: Maps - Mine and Yours

About a year - maybe more - I decided I wanted to learn how to map better. I even started a project on the blog which was short lived and ultimately failed. However, I didn't forget about mapping. I've been practicing here and there, making small doodles and what not for myself and my games, and it's been working out fairly well. More recently - several months ago - I took the plunge and dropped some cash on Campaign Cartographer.