Hiya everyone
I mentioned in the plots and plans post yesterday that I am going to start releasing asset packs when I can, via the new shop-tab here on Patreon ... Asset packs will only be released in the 'shop' for now, not as a regular patreon reward (until such time as I am able to commit to a regular-ish out-put) ...
This is the first set of mapping asset supplies is a pile of raggedy and stained paper scraps to use for notes, notice board messages, letters, sketches, ba...
2023-09-06 01:15:38 +0000 UTC
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Maps & GeoCity Tiles
The arid Savannah-lands fort and trading outpost in 2 eras
After a visitation from Murphy's Law, and the loss of hours of work... both era maps are nearing completion again and will be out later this month ...
The next tiny settlement map, after the fort maps are finished, will be a ruined goblin hamlet in a dark forest. I am looking forward to exploring a darker feel and a diffe...
2023-09-05 01:30:38 +0000 UTC
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This month, a commission gave me the opportunity to work on a couple of region maps (The speckled Sea & The Ragged Isle) which made a lovely change of pace. The 3rd map below, Hollow Bay, was painted for a Cartographers guild challenge a couple of months ago.
They are too pretty to hide away, so even though they are not settlement maps, I thought I would share them with you all...
They are just simple little landscape only maps, so if you find a spot for them to shine, you wil...
2023-08-30 04:30:54 +0000 UTC
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4 'Paper scraps' for map titles and keys
Because I feel like it :-)
These are the 4 paper scraps That I used for the Fort Eelry and Willow Hill maps.
So you can change up the title and key in the free poster versions of the maps
Have fun :-)
2023-08-08 13:32:18 +0000 UTC
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Here is a little hamlet that grew out of almost nothing over the last week.... Though, if we go by the ruins of the old settlement on the other side of the river and the general run down and patched up feel of the current buildings, the area around here has been occupied for a very long time.
Don't let the raggedy appearance of the hamlet fool you. It is all protective colouration as it were. Most of the population have townhouses in the capital and commute daily ...
2023-08-06 11:48:34 +0000 UTC
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Lots going on at the moment :-)
The next in the series of 6 tiny settlement maps based on suggestions by Defenders last October is an arid Savannah-lands fort and trading outpost suggested by Amberlane. It is set in 2 eras, 1000's of years apart. In the 2nd era map, it will all turn to ruins and desert...
1st WIP sketch is in the header above
There may or may not be another little settlement map before that:
I umm, ...
2023-08-02 01:41:29 +0000 UTC
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Set 6 has NO connecting roads... This is the spacer set that rounds out the first series of 150 tiles. Use these tiles to fill in the gaps in between tiles with roads
There are a few tiles with only a scattering of trees at various densities, a few with some extra farms + random trees, and a few with water features and other interesting locations
(a portal, ruins, a cairn, little huts, and a 'hidden' forest tower)...
You should be able to toss together s...
2023-08-01 06:05:04 +0000 UTC
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Fort Eelry is the 3rd of 6 small settlement maps based on ideas suggested by Patreon Supporters late last year. This one was suggested by Owen and started out as:
"... a remote border fort, where a settlement has grown up alongside the fort. The settlement is originally military in nature, so it is strategically located on the border of this nation-state. The first structure there was the fort. To the North east are hazardous mountains, to the northwest treacherous fo...
2023-07-08 13:17:50 +0000 UTC
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Heading into the 2nd half of this year already! ... So where are we at?
The next map that will be out is Fort Eelry and it is closing in on the finish line. I am currently colouring the ground ... and all those rocks! Once that is done, it is just shadows & highlights and the frame & key :-)
After that I will make a start on the next small...
2023-07-03 02:24:28 +0000 UTC
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This set has connecting roads only 1 side... So here are 25 explorations of what a cul-de-sac might look like in this ever expanding city-scape: From a park with lakes, a palace, a temple, a jousting arena, and a densely packed walled compound, to more farms for use at the edge of town or as part of a village, to a run-down area with a rather large nest occupying the middle of the block
The Next set will have no connecting roads at all...
2023-06-27 08:58:19 +0000 UTC
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Here is the 'little' mountain pass (or canyon) at last.
I am hoping to come back to this map at some point and add the gate fort to it. For the moment however, the next settlement map is desperately calling my name and demanding attention ...
Meanwhile, I hope that you can plan a grand adventure within the borders of this map.
The 'west' side has 4 cave openings so that you can add a cavern system too if you wish. You could also add cavern access tunnels under water......
2023-06-12 01:48:34 +0000 UTC
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Hiya everyone... just a quick little summary of where chaos is at this month....
The mountain Pass battlemap (base landscape stage - snippet of it in the header) is very nearly ready. I just have a bunch of trees to shade and then I can combine it all into the final form and will post it here.
Then I will work on the Gate Fort as an overlay. Probably after the next Settlement map though....
The next settlement, Fort Owen, is in ...
2023-06-05 11:50:06 +0000 UTC
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yup... I ran dry on names.... This patch of countryside however, is not dry
Somewhere, along a road that passes through a rocky, grassy plain, you get caught by an unexpected rainstorm... after a while, puddles form between the rocky outcrops.
When the rain clears, you stop to dry your clothes out in the sun and maybe do a bit of washing and top up the water bottles, after all, it has been a while since you crossed the last stream....
The fresh new puddles ho...
2023-05-16 07:18:55 +0000 UTC
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100 unique tiles drawn!
To be honest, when I started this 'little' challenge for 2023 back in December, I thought I might have given up by this stage... Happily, I am still enjoying it and the city grows... aided and abetted by a couple of wonderful folk over on the Discord server who keep coming up with interesting ideas for the special location tiles :-)
This set has connecting roads on the 2 opposite sides. There are more 'edge of town' tiles and...
2023-05-15 00:49:21 +0000 UTC
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Since the April Plots & Plans update: April was about painted & ink-less battlemap experiments... a style I rather like and am going to continue exploring. We had 2 new map releases in that style, the Mystery Pool and the Lakeside campsite.
And where are we now?
- The 4th GeoCity set (roads on 2 opposite sides) is finished and ready to export and upload
- There is a third 25x25 painted battlemap: Puddles after Rain - s...
2023-05-07 05:38:42 +0000 UTC
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Beside the lake, or perhaps on the sea shore or on the bank of a wide river is a clearing that over time, as the road has become more traveled, has become a popular stopping place and fishing spot....
This is a second experiment in the watercolour painting style... a little bit of fun with 3 water phases at each of 3 points in time ... making it a re-visitable location
All feedback is welcome :-)
Goodies For Defenders of Chaos can be found
2023-04-27 07:29:51 +0000 UTC
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Two little pools of water near a popular rest stop along a forest road.
Both, for no immediately apparent reason, strangely round.....
This is a first play with an alternative watercolour painted style...
(You know me... always messing about and creating chaos!)
I fancied making a simpler map with no inking and less fine detailing to see how it looked, and this is the result.
I would love to hear what you think of it :-)
Goodies For De...
2023-04-03 08:37:27 +0000 UTC
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March... That was all about the final stages of Otsutan, the 3rd GeoCity tile set (connecting roads on 2 adjacent sides), and a little adventure collaboration with Elven Tower.
So, where are we at now?
- The 4th GeoCity set will have connecting roads on 2 opposite sides...
- The very rocky 60x60 battlemap of a mountain pass fort is at inking stage and I finally have some time and mental space to work on it over the next week or...
2023-04-03 02:24:11 +0000 UTC
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Heya Everyone... here is something a little different for you!
This month my friends at Elven Tower dug through my map archives and found 3 that they were inspired to create a one-shot adventure with.
I love how it has turned out, especially as the main NPCs are Hobbits...
In Journey to the Wayside Shrine, a level-2 Shadowdark adventure, the characters are sent to catch up with a group of halfling pilgrims as they travel north to a shunned location...
2023-03-30 02:30:33 +0000 UTC
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75 unique city geomorph tiles finished...
We are on a roll towards a rambling countryside populated with villages and towns... maybe even a city...
This set, with connecting roads on 2 adjacent sides has more farms and 'edge of town' type tiles... so that your settlements can come to an end and fade into the countryside at some point.
Or, you can create little enclaves of farms within the heart of your city.
You could even, if you felt like it, put a c...
2023-03-23 02:54:09 +0000 UTC
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Otsutan Part 1, Was set in the times before the cursed swamps, when all was light and the forest was filled with music.
Otsutan Part 2, Was the dark times, when the Heart Oak was lost and the houses of Otsutan got up and walked away
<...
2023-03-13 10:30:21 +0000 UTC
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Otsutan Part 1, posted a couple weeks back, was set in the times before the cursed swamps when all was light and the forest was filled with music.
Since that time, some fool cut down the Great Heart Oak and released a curse that created the Upwelling and an influx of swamps throughout the area. The Thorp of Otsutan was abandoned, a long r...
2023-03-03 07:49:02 +0000 UTC
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It's been quite a month down here in Southern Tasmania. Various care for aging parents things derailed a great deal of my plans for the month
Luckily, these tiles keep me sane ... I have been able to sneak a few new tiles inbetween everything along the way and the result is a growing city or three :-)
This second set has connecting roads on only 3 sides, so they can be backed up against each other to break up the road system, or used as a town edge tiles.
2023-02-27 07:04:22 +0000 UTC
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Hiya Everyone...
Just a quick little post for everyone who is not a Patreon.... with the full set of 25 tiles from the 1st set of Geomorph city tiles that were released for Defenders of Chaos last month.
Each tile is 600x600px and has 2 connecting roads on every side. They are fully rotatable and flip-able so that you can lay them out in as many different ways as you can imagine.
Set 2 will be hot off the press in the next little while with 25 more t...
2023-02-27 05:43:58 +0000 UTC
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Remember back in October I asked for ideas for thorps?
Otsutan is the 2nd one. It has grown somewhat from the original suggestion of "A ghost thorp with roaming mimic Werehouses in the forest".
Specificaly, it will be 2 maps, set in 2 different eras: Before and after the swamps.
Part 1 is set way back in time before the swamps took over the area.
At this point in time, this is a light and sunny area, with a small school for bards in the forest ...
2023-02-08 07:02:13 +0000 UTC
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Well, we are off to a good start this year with the Town square market map and the 1st set of 25 Geomorph city tiles in January. ...
The next map is the forest swamp ghost-town. It has not quite made it into January ... Instead it has expanded from the original plan to become a before & after map set... before the swamps and after the swamps. As well as being larger than I had originally envisioned (one of my failings! .... maps keep getting bigger)
The before the swamps era...
2023-02-01 22:27:58 +0000 UTC
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As you arrive in the small town you have been aiming for, you hear music and the noise of a happy gathering ... It must be market day! Arriving in the town square, you find yourselves swept into a small but busting market.
The bunting is flapping gaily in the breeze, a gazebo in the center of the square has a band playing lively music and the scent of fresh cakes drifts on the air.
Everyone seems to be celebrating something special...
Perhaps the older folk s...
2023-01-11 12:22:37 +0000 UTC
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Happy new year!
Summary:
- Patreon rewards this year continue to be 'not promising anything'...
but in reality I am aiming for a minimum of 1 map a month. preferably 2.
Map types will be split 50/5-ish between battlemaps and settlement maps. - The Great 2023 Geomorph City-Tile Project begins - aiming for 20 tiles a month and releasing only to Patreon supporters at the mo...
2023-01-04 02:45:31 +0000 UTC
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For those of you who are not on my email newsletter list or don't hang out in Discord much.... I thought I would drop in and show you what maps I am currently working on.
I have too many on the go at the moment. Ideas are flying every which way!
These are the 3 that I am trying to focus on at the moment though.
- The 1st is a battlemap scale map of a small town square on market day
- The 2nd is a Mountain pass gate-fort with an old ruined gate to the nor...
2022-12-24 06:36:02 +0000 UTC
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Create a sense of drama and raise the intensity of an encounter by periodically raising or lowering the level of the lava in this circle of Fire ...
I think this might be the most obviously "Boss-encounter" map that I have ever created... I will probably go back to wider area maps after this one :-)
Need to fight a Balrog? it is nominally 24x24 with each square being 300 pixles. .... so, in the Vtt environment, you could stretch it out to quite a large arena if you nee...
2022-12-15 07:02:24 +0000 UTC
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