Category: Annotated – For Patrons

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Brazenthrone – The Anvil Quarter- Second Level

 

With the second level done, the Anvil Quarter is now finished and Brazenthrone looks a lot less like The Dwarven City of 10,000 Desk Jobs. As I mentioned in the last post, the next Brazenthrone map is the Noble Quarter, which completes the core of the city (although there’s still a lot more to do). After that, I’m going to do something I’ve been waiting to do for a while: I’m connecting all the chambers of Brazenthrone and putting everything into a single image. Of course, I’ll have to shrink it way down to keep the file size from being absurdly huge, but I think it’ll be cool to step back and get a look at the whole thing.

So, I went to Spain earlier this month. And I learned a few things:

1)”España” is not Spanish for “Hot France.” I have it on very good authority.

2)Spain doesn’t know anything about October. Seriously, it was like 35°C (95°F). I don’t think October has even been invented there yet.

3)The Torre Del Oro is definitely going to be a map. Not soon, since there’s plenty of Great Vote maps to take care of first, but one day.

4)The Alhambra is unbelievable. It’s a giant castle with several palaces, a church, homes, workshops, gardens and about a billion fountains. These guys were really into fountains. Like, there are literally fountains surrounded by other, smaller fountains. Will this ever become a map? I don’t know. This place is absolutely enormous and it would easily be the biggest thing I’ve ever done aside from Brazenthrone. For now, let’s file it under “we’ll talk.”

5)Seville is kind of unreal. I’ve been to Spain before (I live in Ireland and Ryanair will fly you there for some loose change and a stale slice of leftover pizza). But before, I was in Barcelona. Barcelona is a great city with some impressive stuff, but… how do I put this? You can go to Barcelona and not realize that Spain was once the center of a massive empire that was swimming in gold. That is not the case with Seville. Seville slaps you in the face with that fact over and over again. In fact, I’m pretty sure the Plaza de España was built for that specific purpose.

Okay, here’s the non-annotated version. And, of course, there’s patron stuff for patrons. You know the drill.

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The Kothoa – The Dual Harbor of Carthage

 

The Carthaginian harbor is one of those things that has to have been imagined by a fantasy artist, except it wasn’t. It was real and this is, from what we know, what it looked like. On the left is the merchants’ harbor, built for trade, with a chain boom at the entrance that can be raised or lowered to block access. On the right, the war harbor, housing the mighty Carthaginian fleet. And in the center of the war harbor is the Admiralty Isle, a man-made island with more docking space, a naval shipyard and an observation room from which the fleet’s command can oversee everything.

The main departure from reality is the scale– the war harbor shown here has space for 34 ships, but the real harbor held around 220. Still, I think this gets the point across without the need for a map the size of a mattress.

Thanks to Anders, who proposed this idea to the Cartographic Congress. Some of my favorite CC maps are the ones where I started out thinking, “How the hell am I supposed to draw this?!” I definitely felt that way with this, but I’m really happy with how it turned out. Hopefully you like it too.

Next up is the second (and last) floor of Brazenthrone’s Anvil quarter. Then I’m going to do last month’s Cartographic Congress map, which will be inspired by the . Then I’m going to go straight into Brazenthrone’s Noble Quarter. I was thinking about trying to get one of the Great Vote maps done in between, but my thinking on that is this (and correct me if I’m mistaken): the Great Vote maps people are really champing at the bit for are the bigger ones, but I need to get the core of Brazenthrone (the Noble and Anvil Quarters) finished. Once I’ve got those two huge maps taken care of, I’ll be freed up to take on Mont-Saint-Michel, which, I suspect, is the map a lot of you are looking forward to the most. So, that’s the plan at the moment. We’re just gonna run past all the minions and rush down the big guys. Can I get a Leeroy Jenkins?

If you need it, here’s a version without the ships. There’s also an annotated version of this map and DM notes available to patrons.
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Brazenthrone – The Anvil Quarter – Ground Level

 

The Anvil Quarter is Brazenthrone‘s center of industry. Here, dwarves can be found making things from steel, stone, gold, glass, ceramics and more.

One of the quarter’s more notable landmarks is the massive, communal Freehammer Forge, built to ensure that no dwarven smith is unable to practice his or her craft on account of being unable to afford a smithy of their own. Waterwheels power the Freehammer’s giant bellows, as well as two hammermills, a grinding mill and a rolling mill. The jewelers, smiths and engineers all have their guildhalls in the Anvil Quarter and the Royal Mint can be found here as well.

So, on Monday, I’m taking my first vacation since I started this. I’ll be going to Spain to attend a friend’s wedding on Monday and I’ll be gone for six days. That’s going to be pretty weird for me, since I’ve hardly even taken a day off in the last year and not drawing for six days seems like a totally alien concept right now. Luckily, my friends are getting married near the Alhambra and there is no version of reality in which I don’t take the chance to see that. It might end up becoming a map, who knows? I mean, not soon, but someday.

Next up is the harbor of Carthage, last month’s Cartographic Congress winner. I’m going to try to get it to you before I leave, but it’ll probably be pretty big, so I don’t want to make any promises.

And finally, this month’s Cartographic Congress has chosen Senator Williams’ proposal of a cathedral fortress. As it happens, I went to see a cathedral fortress several months ago and I was tossing around the idea of making a map inspired by it. Well, now it’s happening. If you’ve never heard of it, behold the .

Here’s the non-annotated version. There’s an expanded annotated version of this map and DM notes available to patrons.

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The Assassins’ Monastery

If you like this map, but you’d prefer to hide the secret rooms from your players, here’s a version without them. That’s also the version for people who’d prefer this monastery to be occupied by honest, wholesome monks who actually spend their days thinking about god, growing herbs and killing as few people as possible. Also: boring. Just kidding, do your thing.

In case you missed the last post, this place was inspired by Rudkhan Castle in Iran, which was actually controlled by the historical assassins at one point. I think this place could be used for plenty of other things, though. Maybe they’re cultists. Or vampires. Or werewolves, or bandits, or… bandits who are also werewolves. You get the idea. Anyone who wants to hide in plain sight.

I said I was going to do a residential part of Brazenthrone next, but I changed my mind. I’m doing the Grand Temple instead. After that, I’m doing one of the bigger maps chosen in the Great Vote. Then, I’m not sure, but I can tell you this: I want to make a push to get Brazenthrone’s Anvil Quarter and Noble Quarter finished. That gets the core of the city done, along with entrances from the surface and the underdark, and puts the whole thing in a much more usable state. I think I can get those both finished within the next two months or so. All right, I’m going to get to work on that temple.

As always, there is patron stuff for patrons.

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The Great Library

The map above is 63×31 if you’re using a VTT.

The Great Library is a fantasy version of the Great Library of Alexandria. The historical Library of Alexandria is famous for being the largest repository of knowledge in the ancient world. Its construction, ordered by the Pharaoh Ptolemy II, was probably the greatest accomplishment anyone who slept with their sister has ever made.

In addition to its large collection of books, scrolls and maps, the Great Library features living facilities for resident scholars, a lecture hall, shrine, scriptorium and more. It truly is a great milestone in mankind’s eternal quest for knowledge. You should send your players to burn it to the ground.

There’s the usual patreon stuff for patrons. You know the deal.

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Brazenthrone – The Common Quarter – Second Level

Here’s the non-annotated version. Also, let me save you a google search: a luthier is a person who makes stringed musical instruments. Like lutes.

There will be one more level of Brazenthrone‘s Common Quarter, then it’s on to the next chamber. I originally planned for this to be three levels and it looks like I managed not to go crazy and make it into some 800-floor monstrosity. Which leaves me feeling strangely both proud of myself and disappointed. Hmm.

So, in news you don’t care about, I just bought new paper. AMAZING paper. If you’re someone who makes fantasy maps that are so large you need huge-sized graph paper, this is what you’re looking for: Rhodia. This one. I haven’t drawn a map on it yet, but I’ve tested my pens on it and it is GLORIOUS. We’ll see how much of a difference it makes in the end next time. Until then, back to work.

There’s an expanded annotated version of this map and DM notes available to patrons.

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The Tempest of Reckoning – An Airship of the Line

This is the second of the maps chosen by patrons in the Great Vote. The Tempest of Reckoning is like the Goodyear blimp’s crazy older brother who got mixed up with the wrong crowd and is serving 40 to life for a triple homicide.

If you’re in the market for an airship for your players, the Century Pelican might be more your speed. It has 2 fewer engines, 29 fewer ballistas and, crucially, 1 less bomb bay. Do think carefully before giving your players a bomber. It’s your game, of course, but… I’m just saying.

I didn’t do four different engine variants for this like I did with the Pelican, but here’s an alternate version with the engines removed. If your setting features airships powered by sails, you’re good to go. Or you can draw in your own zombies-on-a-hamster-wheel or whatever. Or you can just tell your players the power plant is there and leave it at that.

Next up is the second level of Brazenthrone’s Common Quarter. After that, the Library of Alexandria, as chosen by the Cartographic Congress. Then it’s the third and final level of the Common Quarter, then the map just chosen by the Cartographic Congress, a Persian-inspired Assassins’ Keep. I need to catch up on that and this seems like a good time to do it.

As usual, there’s an annotated version of this map and DM notes available to patrons.

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Brazenthrone – The Common Quarter – Ground Level

This is the first of three levels of Brazenthrone’s common quarter. This is the central hub of most of the city’s residential areas. The Amethyst Arcade in the lower right is a large arcade market with all kinds of shops and vendors’ stalls, built to keep the Quarter’s merchants in one place (and off the streets). There’s also a theater, a park, two fountains and a variety of bars for all your drinking needs.

There will be two more floors for this map, but it’s pretty big, so I’m going to do them separately. Next up will be the Airship of the Line, chosen by you in the Great Vote. After that, we’ll come back to the Common Quarter with the second (and maybe third) levels. Then it’s last month’s Cartographic Congress winner, the Library of Alexandria.

Here’s a version of this map without annotations. There’s an expanded annotated version of this map and DM notes available to patrons.

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The Lighthouse Fortress of Torchguard

This map was chosen by the Cartographic Congress, based on the proposal by Parker. Originally, I wasn’t sure how I’d combine a castle and a lighthouse, but I really like how it turned out.

Torchguard is built on a rocky outcropping in the middle of a harbor. This puts it in a good position to defend against attacks by sea, but it also makes it a thing that ships might run into at night. Thus, the lighthouse atop the keep. An array of artillery, as well as docks to host its own fleet, help Torchguard keep unwanted ships from marauding the surrounding city.

Next up is Brazenthrone’s Common Quarter. It’s one of the bigger parts of the city and it’ll take a little while to draw, but I’ll give you some work-in-progress pics along the way.

Also, something I wanted to share: the other day, I went to the dentist and I had to fill out a form, which had a space for “occupation.” Writing “Fantasy Cartographer” on that line was one of the sweetest, most delicious moments of my life. I still can’t believe I do this. My god. Thank you so much.

There’s an annotated version of this map and DM notes available to patrons.

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Brazenthrone – The Underdark Trading Outpost

This is the bottom of Brazenthrone, as far down as the city goes. While dwarves aren’t typically a nautically-inclined people, they’re happy to trade with those who are and deep gnome, drow and orog merchants come here to do business. The thing across the harbor’s entrance is a chain boom, which can be raised or lowered to control access to the outpost.

Next up is the map chosen by last month’s Cartographic Congress, the harbor fortress of Torchguard. Like the Underdark Outpost, it’s looking like it’s going to be bigger than I’d originally planned. It might actually be approaching the size of Neuschwanstein.

I suppose it wouldn’t be the first time I made modest plans and then went way overboard. I originally planned for the Great Hall of Brazenthrone to be four floors before I added another two. And that’s the biggest map I’ve ever made. How do you look at that and think, “It could be bigger?” Well, anyway, I hope you’re cool with that because I’m probably not going to stop.

EDIT: Here’s a version without the annotations.

There are DM notes and an expanded annotated version of this map with the rooms of the numbered buildings marked available to patrons.