I have a question. I am a writer and fantasy cartographer, and while busy with quite an ambitious city map I would like to sell, I wondered what kind of maps are really useful for DMs and players alike?
Reason being, I want to create content that will be useful for others.
Anyway, I am bit in the dark about that because of my lack of experience playing DnD or tabletop RPGs. But, I am fan of stuff like Critical Role and started making maps for the purposes of tabletops, for people to enjoy.
Are these maps the ones you want to see appear more on the guild:
1. Detailed city maps? (Top down or perspective?)
2. Town maps?
3. Region maps?
4. Encounter maps?
5. Battle maps?
6. Other?
If any of the above, I would appreciate your reason why. :)
Then, what would be nice to be included alongside such a map? (That is, in the file you receive.)
(This is a side question, as I am busy with a city map hopefully suitable for hosting an urban campaign. Do you loads of tags with names, or is numbers good enough for the DM to fill in by themselves?)
Thanks in advance!
Omri
EDIT: This link points in the direction of the thread on this site for the maps. Here.
Encounter maps are probably the most interesting thing for me. There's lots of different maps out there these days that it's always more fun when someone has designed a few rooms that are different and have some kind of hook to play with and adapt for your own games. Battle maps and encounter maps would get my vote.
@Yeenoghu9000 I am just about finished with my city map that I will post on DMs Guild. I will put a link here when it is on there. ;)
@Baramura Okay, that is something to think about. What kind of encounter maps are you specifically looking for? (Just for a example, A keep? College grounds? A region somewhere of the beaten tracks? Or something you have not seen?) It would be nice if you are more specific. :) Then I can plan forward into what content I create.
I would personally enjoy a city map because I suck at making city maps. I would also probably use battle maps.
Agreed. I've always been on the lookout for good urban battle maps. I like the idea of a gritty urban encounter with bystanders/crowds, varying elevations, and plenty of environmental weapons/traps.
In general, I also like battle maps that feature organic geometry, since most creators seem mentally locked into the idea that square grids imply straight hallways etc.
Color me interested then. Okay, I have NOT played any RPG in a Sharn setting, so I have no clue what kind of map (with more than one use for it) would be the best to start with on the side.
I would love if you could point me in the right direction, then I can do maps for it on my free time and make it available.
I'd love to see modular city maps where you can piece it together yourself with pre-rendered art. Something like tiles with a small city block or an inn or a theatre or a a city square/fountain printed in such a way we can separate them and put together our own cities/towns/villages as necessary.
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C. Foster Payne
"If you get to thinkin' you're a person of some influence, try orderin' somebody else's dog around."
I'd love to see modular city maps where you can piece it together yourself with pre-rendered art. Something like tiles with a small city block or an inn or a theatre or a a city square/fountain printed in such a way we can separate them and put together our own cities/towns/villages as necessary.
Are you talking about 3d digital sculpted models or what?
If so, my main direction is cartography is '2D' traditional/digital art that sometimes have the illusion of 3 dimensions. (Basically what is possible on a painting with only more control of colors and shading.)
No, I don't mean 3D at all... just token printed just the way you describe. With a large enough collection, you manage a running city battle. I don't know how many times the battle I've planned for my group has spilled outside of the small area I've prepared... being able to add tiles to expand the area would be awesome!
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
C. Foster Payne
"If you get to thinkin' you're a person of some influence, try orderin' somebody else's dog around."
If I understand it right, create a bigger map and break it up into sections that can be added together as necessary as the story progress? Hmm, not a bad idea for a project.
(for the time being, I can use the City map I have created already and try break it up into sections and label it to see how it works.)
If you like this kind of thing, let me know. If more people want maps like this, I can do some on the side. :)
Adventure Hook:
Sitting at a table at the Frontiers Tavern, you over hear sailors talking. One with a big scar running down his arm slams his fist on the table. "How many moar of our lot do we need to lose to that infernal whirlpool?! He can't be serious of risking that run!" From the side another sailor pats his shoulder and says, "The same reason any of us would risk that run." "Ha! Mysteries and folk tales, that is what it is about. Nothing ever came from those isles to prove otherwise." An old sailor spits at the table. "Let's forget about stories and enjoy da ale." "Stories you say?" A deep voice says from the door. "Me brother sailed to those shores and came back with extraordinary things. Best respect them that has the brass to take up that voyage." He smirks at the glares from the table before disappearing out of the portal. "Bah! He does not know what he is talking about." "Still... I hear it is not only treasures people are making that run. There are stories of Ruins and a strange peoples actually living there. Or something me thinks." A slapping sound fills the air. "Enough! Dangers be there! Not just the twice be damned whirlpool! I'm going to find me a better place to drink." With that, several sailors leave the Tavern.
(P.S. This came from an idea I had for one of my stories.)
Speaking for myself, I find large-format top-down battle maps to be something I can never get enough of. I prefer them gridded and the perfect dimensions for me would be about 43 x 26 since I display on a 55" television for gaming. Anything close to that is welcome and of course, I can always lay a grid over it using GIMP. Maps that follow a 16x9 layout are optimal. The same would apply for encounter and city maps as well.
Also, I have been wondering what @TexasDevin meant exactly with large-format top-down battle maps? I understand the top down battle map part, but the large format I am not too sure about if I have the right thing in mind. If someone can give me the right idea I would appreciate it.
Are the small regions I am posting useful to you all? I could use some solid feedback.
One other question, would you purchase a continent map with interesting areas like these?
A lot of times, I will see maps that are 8 squares by 11 squares or 11 squares by 17 squares. This is great for printing them out on common paper sizes and getting 1" squares, but there are very few maps that are 30 or 40 squares wide on the long side. And when I say 16x9 format, I'm talking about a map that can be displayed on a typical widescreen TV in aspect. Like maybe 32 squares by 18 squares for instance.
Sometimes it's as easy as taking an existing map and putting smaller squares on it. Sometimes, if there are obvious human-sized things on the map like tables, carts, campfires etc, it's not as easy to just drop a tighter grid on a map and effectively make the map larger that way.
I have been busy with a new style on my encounter maps the last several days.
Number one, this is a just one chamber of a quite a larger cave system which borders on the fringe of a town next to a College. I have a map specifically for the College and the town, and then the large cave system map, with the town at the edge. Is the idea attractive to you all for a map pack? (I will write some lore for the college and a mystery that is going on and include it with the map set)
Small sample of the cave.
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Hi, everyone! :D
I have a question. I am a writer and fantasy cartographer, and while busy with quite an ambitious city map I would like to sell, I wondered what kind of maps are really useful for DMs and players alike?
Reason being, I want to create content that will be useful for others.
Anyway, I am bit in the dark about that because of my lack of experience playing DnD or tabletop RPGs. But, I am fan of stuff like Critical Role and started making maps for the purposes of tabletops, for people to enjoy.
Are these maps the ones you want to see appear more on the guild:
1. Detailed city maps? (Top down or perspective?)
2. Town maps?
3. Region maps?
4. Encounter maps?
5. Battle maps?
6. Other?
If any of the above, I would appreciate your reason why. :)
Then, what would be nice to be included alongside such a map? (That is, in the file you receive.)
(This is a side question, as I am busy with a city map hopefully suitable for hosting an urban campaign. Do you loads of tags with names, or is numbers good enough for the DM to fill in by themselves?)
Thanks in advance!
Omri
EDIT: This link points in the direction of the thread on this site for the maps. Here.
I would personally enjoy a city map because I suck at making city maps. I would also probably use battle maps.
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Encounter maps are probably the most interesting thing for me. There's lots of different maps out there these days that it's always more fun when someone has designed a few rooms that are different and have some kind of hook to play with and adapt for your own games. Battle maps and encounter maps would get my vote.
@Yeenoghu9000 I am just about finished with my city map that I will post on DMs Guild. I will put a link here when it is on there. ;)
@Baramura Okay, that is something to think about. What kind of encounter maps are you specifically looking for? (Just for a example, A keep? College grounds? A region somewhere of the beaten tracks? Or something you have not seen?) It would be nice if you are more specific. :) Then I can plan forward into what content I create.
Agreed. I've always been on the lookout for good urban battle maps. I like the idea of a gritty urban encounter with bystanders/crowds, varying elevations, and plenty of environmental weapons/traps.
In general, I also like battle maps that feature organic geometry, since most creators seem mentally locked into the idea that square grids imply straight hallways etc.
My first direction for a supplement map product went in the direction of a city map. On dungeon masters guild it is called, Thunder Rock. :)
A more detailed set of maps for Sharn in Eberron. :)
Watch your back, conserve your ammo,
and NEVER cut a deal with a dragon!
Hi, I thought Sharn received a quite detailed city map? Or what are you referring to?
I have yet to find any decent maps of Sharn here or anywhere.
Watch your back, conserve your ammo,
and NEVER cut a deal with a dragon!
Color me interested then. Okay, I have NOT played any RPG in a Sharn setting, so I have no clue what kind of map (with more than one use for it) would be the best to start with on the side.
I would love if you could point me in the right direction, then I can do maps for it on my free time and make it available.
I'd love to see modular city maps where you can piece it together yourself with pre-rendered art. Something like tiles with a small city block or an inn or a theatre or a a city square/fountain printed in such a way we can separate them and put together our own cities/towns/villages as necessary.
C. Foster Payne
"If you get to thinkin' you're a person of some influence, try orderin' somebody else's dog around."
Are you talking about 3d digital sculpted models or what?
If so, my main direction is cartography is '2D' traditional/digital art that sometimes have the illusion of 3 dimensions. (Basically what is possible on a painting with only more control of colors and shading.)
No, I don't mean 3D at all... just token printed just the way you describe. With a large enough collection, you manage a running city battle. I don't know how many times the battle I've planned for my group has spilled outside of the small area I've prepared... being able to add tiles to expand the area would be awesome!
C. Foster Payne
"If you get to thinkin' you're a person of some influence, try orderin' somebody else's dog around."
If I understand it right, create a bigger map and break it up into sections that can be added together as necessary as the story progress? Hmm, not a bad idea for a project.
(for the time being, I can use the City map I have created already and try break it up into sections and label it to see how it works.)
Free for use with friends. ;)
If you like this kind of thing, let me know. If more people want maps like this, I can do some on the side. :)
Adventure Hook:
Sitting at a table at the Frontiers Tavern, you over hear sailors talking. One with a big scar running down his arm slams his fist on the table. "How many moar of our lot do we need to lose to that infernal whirlpool?! He can't be serious of risking that run!" From the side another sailor pats his shoulder and says, "The same reason any of us would risk that run."
"Ha! Mysteries and folk tales, that is what it is about. Nothing ever came from those isles to prove otherwise." An old sailor spits at the table. "Let's forget about stories and enjoy da ale."
"Stories you say?" A deep voice says from the door. "Me brother sailed to those shores and came back with extraordinary things. Best respect them that has the brass to take up that voyage."
He smirks at the glares from the table before disappearing out of the portal.
"Bah! He does not know what he is talking about."
"Still... I hear it is not only treasures people are making that run. There are stories of Ruins and a strange peoples actually living there. Or something me thinks."
A slapping sound fills the air.
"Enough! Dangers be there! Not just the twice be damned whirlpool! I'm going to find me a better place to drink." With that, several sailors leave the Tavern.
(P.S. This came from an idea I had for one of my stories.)
Speaking for myself, I find large-format top-down battle maps to be something I can never get enough of. I prefer them gridded and the perfect dimensions for me would be about 43 x 26 since I display on a 55" television for gaming. Anything close to that is welcome and of course, I can always lay a grid over it using GIMP. Maps that follow a 16x9 layout are optimal. The same would apply for encounter and city maps as well.
"Not all those who wander are lost"
Hi! Here is another free for RPG one.
Also, I have been wondering what @TexasDevin meant exactly with large-format top-down battle maps? I understand the top down battle map part, but the large format I am not too sure about if I have the right thing in mind. If someone can give me the right idea I would appreciate it.
Are the small regions I am posting useful to you all? I could use some solid feedback.
One other question, would you purchase a continent map with interesting areas like these?
A lot of times, I will see maps that are 8 squares by 11 squares or 11 squares by 17 squares. This is great for printing them out on common paper sizes and getting 1" squares, but there are very few maps that are 30 or 40 squares wide on the long side. And when I say 16x9 format, I'm talking about a map that can be displayed on a typical widescreen TV in aspect. Like maybe 32 squares by 18 squares for instance.
Sometimes it's as easy as taking an existing map and putting smaller squares on it. Sometimes, if there are obvious human-sized things on the map like tables, carts, campfires etc, it's not as easy to just drop a tighter grid on a map and effectively make the map larger that way.
"Not all those who wander are lost"
I have been busy with a new style on my encounter maps the last several days.
Number one, this is a just one chamber of a quite a larger cave system which borders on the fringe of a town next to a College. I have a map specifically for the College and the town, and then the large cave system map, with the town at the edge. Is the idea attractive to you all for a map pack? (I will write some lore for the college and a mystery that is going on and include it with the map set)
Small sample of the cave.