I’ve got this mostly colored and I should be done before long. Anyway, thought I’d give you a look at what I’m working on. Okay, I’m gonna get back to it. Let me know what you think!
The Kernsridge Barrows
These barrow mounds are a great place for your party to fight some undead and score a few “graveyard souvenirs.” Some of these tombs are meant to be the graves of common people, while a few are for leaders or nobility, and others are the graves of warriors.
The warriors’ graves contain the weapons wielded by the deceased, which were interred alongside them. That might seem like a strange choice, given that metal weapons were valuable and they were usually only found in the tombs of important people. But that’s one place where real life and fantasy settings diverge. Like, a lot.
In most fantasy settings, metal weapons aren’t rare at all. Take the Forgotten Realms, for example. Everyone who wants a sword has a sword. Goblins have swords. Kobolds have swords. Swords aren’t valuable, they’re trash. When your players kill bandits, do they even bother to take the weapons? And if they do, are they like, “Ho-lee hell boys, we’re rich!” Nah. Just more swords. A few axes. Leave ’em.
This isn’t true of all settings. In Dark Sun, finding a metal sword is like finding a magical sword. When you’ve been beating monsters to death with a rock tied to a stick for months, finding an actual blade is a big deal. But in most settings, a non-magical weapon is practically litter. Anyway, that was my thinking here.
I hope you like tombs, because next up is more tombs! I’ll be drawing an underground tomb complex in the style of Egypt’s Valley of the Kings, with hidden passages, animated statues, traps and places for undead guardians. After that, we’ll be moving back to the realm of the living.
Well, I’m gonna start doing some research on the Valley of the Kings. If you’ve got any interesting ideas for the map, let me know!
The Lost Library
Personally, I’m of the opinion that, in fantasy RPGs, a ruined, abandoned library is much better than a regular library. Hear me out. So, either one can be a place the players go to find information, but in a ruined library, much more interesting things can happen. There might be monsters. There might be traps. There might be some crazy old guy that’s been living in there for the past 20 years. Maybe one of the bookshelves is a mimic. There are lots of possibilities.
But what’s really going to happen at a regular library? The party might get told to keep it down? Most RPGs don’t really have “library mechanics,” where you roll to see if you can effectively navigate the complexities of the dewey decimal system. Plus, it feels kind of weird when the arcane lore the party needs in order to defeat the ancient lich god turns out to be publicly available information. “Oh, so lots of people know that you need a mithril hammer engraved with dwarven runes to destroy his phylactery.” Maybe it’s just me, but that feels a little awkward.
Next up, I’ll be drawing an orcish/barbarian burial ground. I’m imagining a number of small crypts and barrow mounds, plus maybe one larger one. I think it should be a pretty useful map, since nearly all D&D parties do a bit of grave robbing now and again. And, hey, barbarian tombs are worth looting too. They may have been poorly educated and unhygienic, but that doesn’t mean they weren’t buried with some good stuff. It’s worth a look, anyway.
I’m back! Vayl’s Firth is Finished!
You can download all these maps here.
It’s been over a month since I posted for non-patrons, but, as promised, here’s the complete city map and the upper levels.
If you want to become a patron, there are individual maps of all the islands, plus unfurnished versions, annotated maps, DM notes, a Foundry module and various other stuff. There’s a lot. It took me three hours to upload all the patrons’ edition maps. Admittedly, I’m on a trash-tier internet connection at the moment, but still.
For anyone who can’t afford that, every part of the map is here for you to use and I hope you enjoy it.
With Vayl’s Firth finished, I’m going to get caught up on all the Cartographic Congress maps that have been chosen since I started drawing this. And then, at some point, I’ll get to work on the next megaproject: The Vatican.
Well, that’s about it. So, what do you think of Vayl’s Firth? I hope it lived up to your expectations. In any case, let me know what you think!
Vayl’s Firth – The Trade Port, Fishing Port and Small Market
Here’s are the first three islands of Vayl’s Firth finished. I’ll have another three up in a few days. Since the map is already about half-colored, they should be coming at a pretty good pace. Most of these smaller sections of the map will be for patrons, but I WILL post the full-size map for everyone once it’s finished.
Next, I’ll be drawing the three islands below these: the poor district, the barracks and the temple. After that, I’ll probably just work my way around the map, finishing each section in turn.
I know I’ve gone over my estimated 2 months to finish this project, but it’s officially delivering maps now and it’ll keep doing so every few days until everything is done. Despite going into overtime, I hope you consider it time well spent.
Well, I’ve got some chairs and crates to color, so I’d better get back to work. If you’ve got any thoughts or questions about the map, by all means let me know!
Vayl’s Firth – Background Colors Finished (Work-in-Progress)
Here’s a section of the city that should give you an idea of what the map looks like right now. Most of the background and terrain is done and what’s left to color is mainly details like furnishings and so forth. From here on, I’m going to start finishing up the map a few islands at a time and post them as I go. I’ll probably start with the islands in the bottom-right and work my way around. Once it’s all done, I’ll post the complete city.
I should have the first few islands done within the week. Let me know what you think so far!
Vayl’s Firth – The Full City (Work-in-Progress)
Here’s the entire ground level of Vayl’s Firth, assembled and ready to color. This took a bit longer than I expected because, as it turns out, drawing three billion trees, bushes and crops takes a while. In any case, it’s done and I’m ready to start coloring this thing.
Well, I’m gonna get to it. Hope you like how the city looks so far! If you have any questions or thoughts about it, let me know.
Vayl’s Firth Update 10: The Mages’ Island and the Unlabeled Island in the Bottom-Left
This is officially the last of the city drawn! I can’t really say “It’s done,” because I still need to scan all of this, touch up the drawings, put them all together and color everything, but drawing the city– the biggest part of the job– is done.
Well, I’ve got a long day of scanning ahead, so I’m gonna get started on that. Once that’s done, I’ll put them all into a single image and post a picture for you. Hope you like it so far!
Vayl’s Firth Update 9: The Palace
The founding of Vayl’s Firth has become something of a legend among the people of the city. Almost 1000 years ago, a wizard named Vayl killed a giant serpent that lived in the mouth of the River Ophidias, enabling settlers to move in and found a city in his name. The independent settlement had its own laws, which did not acknowledge any families as noblility and had no hereditary titles. Vayl himself had two children, but passed down his chain of office– along with rulership of the city– to a wealthy trader instead. This tradition has continued ever since.
Here’s the thing, though. The chain of office is cursed. Vayl, a powerful wizard, stored his soul and consciousness in it and empowered it to take over the body of anyone who wears it. So, they’re all Vayl. Every ruler of the city for a thousand years has put on the chain of office and was immediately possessed by Vayl. Only a few people know about this and they’re smart enough to stay quiet. Vayl was a wizard of legendary ability a millenium ago and god only knows how powerful he is today.
There are only two more parts of the city left to draw: the magic island, which is almost done, and the little island on the bottom-right of the map. I should have them both finished in a day or two.
All right, I’ll be back with those soon. If you’ve got any questions or thoughts about the lore, let me know!
Vayl’s Firth Update 8: The Manor and the Great Market
Here are a couple more parts of the city finished. I’ve got the palace about halfway drawn and I should have the whole thing finished before long.
The great market is the town’s main marketplace, with a variety of shops and vendor stalls and a cistern in the center. The manor is the home of one of the city’s powerful merchant families, who are allegedly involved in piracy, smuggling and other forms of maritime naughtiness. Allegedly.
All right, I’m gonna get back to finishing up the palace. Let me know what you think!