# Terrainmonkey Map showcase and Request Thread



## terrainmonkey (May 27, 2006)

After seeing a lot of you folks give up free maps and resources here, i figured i would get in on the action and test my creativity. I also think i will open this up for requests. I know a lot of you out there would like to dm but feel your map making skills are not that great. worry not. I am an experienced mapper, and some of the things below will show that. I now have a lot of time on my hands and i need practice for my own campaign. So, let me know what you would like to see. I do everything from multi level dungeons to cities and everything in between. Now, here are some rules. First: No huge cities. i like doing these for myself, but if i made them for folks here, the quality would suck. since i don't like campaign cartographer, i tend to make my cities in corel draw, because i like that look better.
Second: If i create anything for you, please give me credit. also, tell me what your other players thought about it. I love hearing feedback, good or bad, so if you have a thought, then by all means share. Im still working on the digitizing of the mapping progress, so any constructive critism would be great.
anyway, take a look


http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f127/terrainmonkey/wizards game maps/lavacaves.jpg

http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f127/terrainmonkey/wizards game maps/treasuremap.jpg

http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f127/terrainmonkey/wizards game maps/purplelilly.jpg

http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f127/terrainmonkey/wizards game maps/goroton.jpg

http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f127/terrainmonkey/wizards game maps/caves1.gif

http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f127/terrainmonkey/wizards game maps/cave2sixth.jpg

there's also a couple of JPeg files listed and these are maps from corel draw. the dungeon one is fun because it reminds me of those old blue dungeons from 1st ed modules. I like the city because there is so much you can do with cities. This one took me about 14 hours straight through. 

anyway, let me know what you think, and if you have any requests, le tme know.


----------



## terrainmonkey (May 28, 2006)

here's another basic dungeon. i could do more, but it was done in a half hour. kind of an experiment in templating.


----------



## Varianor Abroad (May 28, 2006)

Good use of red in the "basic dungeon". I'd be interested to see a manor - big house, stables, fields, etc.


----------



## terrainmonkey (May 29, 2006)

okay, started working on it tonight. got a few ideas i'm sketching


----------



## terrainmonkey (May 31, 2006)

okay, here's a manor house, though it is a work in progress. The grounds of Cherrystone Manor are in the process of being designed and i should have those up in a few days. Comments are welcome. There is also a cavern wine cellar system under the manor, with a secret way to escape. that is still in the process as well.


----------



## terrainmonkey (Jun 5, 2006)

here's a PDF of the Trader outpost on the map of the Palemans woods. I'm also going to put on a set of caves for the fire scar hills, and i'm currently working on the elven town of deepwood. Here is the pic of the Paleman's wood.

http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f127/terrainmonkey/wizards game maps/wolfwoodpm.jpg

next up after the fire scar caves, deepwood village, then the Hills of Mourn, then the Dragon Heights, the home of a particularly nasty Mature adult green dragon Druid named Ast'rax'noth. I'm also working on her lair, which is currently two levels deep.


----------



## terrainmonkey (Jun 5, 2006)

here's an updated necromancer dungeon. comments are always welcome here.


----------



## Varianor Abroad (Jun 6, 2006)

The manor is nicely done! I like the fact that it's a fortified house, and there are guard posts. Two comments.

1. Is there a rear exit? Even medieval manors usually had a second exit of some kind in case of a fire.

2. Is there a dining room? Does the Main Hall encompass that? (I'm thinking it does.)

Like the wine cellar idea too! Thanks.


----------



## terrainmonkey (Jun 6, 2006)

Hello--

yes, the main hall acts as a dining room for the main residents of the manor. the door in the back is off of the servants kitchen in the rear of the place. i'm still working on a few things so i'll post an update here today or tomorrow. thanks for the feedback!


----------



## terrainmonkey (Jun 9, 2006)

*It takes a village*

so here is a small village, town, thorp, etc. This is a request by someone on another thread so i figured what the heck. only took me about an hour to do. basic village with woods, mountains, hills, etc. plenty of opportunities to adventure here.

tell me what you think
i'm sure the scale is off a little bit, and since there is no grid or something, i'm not sure but it should be okay just for a black and white diagram.


----------



## Stormrunner (Jun 10, 2006)

One thing I see in the manor (and it's a common problem in maps created by folks used to modern plumbing) is that you have rooms and passages on the first floor directly underneath garderobes on the second floor.  The medieval garderobe is basically a pit toilet: it extends into the spaces underneath it, ending in a septic-tank or a city sewer.  Since this is a manor house and thus presumably owned by a wealthy aristocrat, you might have a "water-closet", where the pit ends in a channel full of continuously-flowing water (much less smelly, but requires a source of water higher than the house).


----------



## terrainmonkey (Jun 19, 2006)

heres one of my more recent ones. it's a wizards tower, and i'm still working out the details for the interior. i should be finished within the day or so, and if anyone has any suggestions, let me hear.
thanks!
tmonk


----------



## terrainmonkey (Jun 22, 2006)

here's another shot of the wizards tower, now with interior walls and stairs. i know it seems a little convoluted, but once you see the numbers and room detail, you'll understand more about the architecture.

Also, the wizard's dungeon level is attached. comments always welcome here.


----------



## Imagicka (Jul 13, 2006)

Greetings...



			
				terrainmonkey said:
			
		

> so here is a small village, town, thorp, etc. This is a request by someone on another thread so i figured what the heck. only took me about an hour to do. basic village with woods, mountains, hills, etc. plenty of opportunities to adventure here.
> 
> tell me what you think
> i'm sure the scale is off a little bit, and since there is no grid or something, i'm not sure but it should be okay just for a black and white diagram.




I love the way you draw mountains... Would you care showing/sharing the technique?


----------



## terrainmonkey (Jul 30, 2006)

okay, it's been a while. work work work.... no time for fun. but, occasionally, i do get the grand burst of creativity and find a style that i feel works for me. included in this post is a player and dm map for a place called mariner's bluff. the numbers are laid out so you can populate it any way you want. take a look.

also, if anyone wants pdf's of any of the maps in this thread, PM me with your email addy and i'll send them on. i'm currently putting together a pdf map collection for sale, but that is a long way in coming, and i'm not trying to advertise this here. 

anyway, here's the player map

http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f127/terrainmonkey/marinersbluff.jpg

and the DM map.


http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f127/terrainmonkey/marinersbluffdmmap.jpg

have fun stormin' the castle!


----------



## terrainmonkey (Jul 30, 2006)

Imagicka said:
			
		

> Greetings...
> 
> 
> 
> I love the way you draw mountains... Would you care showing/sharing the technique?




actually, in that map, i used a theory of "less is more". basically, i wanted to keep it as simple as possible becasue that was what the client was asking for. so what i did was draw a few polygon shapes, filled them in with a basic grey color, then added a few lines here and there. then, i copied a few of the mountains a dozen times or so, changed the shape of the outlines, put them all together and then just moved and pasted and copied until i had something that i was satisfied with. as all drawings and all artwork is never really finished, i find myself going back over stuff that i did earlier in the year and changing it. this is an artists curse, i guess. anyway, thanks for the praise. as far as a tutorial about how i did the mountains, it's mostly just an organic process where i experiment with things just to see what i like. i've been working with the corel program for about 6 or 8 months now, and most of it is just knowing the techniques and seeing what looks good visually from an aritst's point of view. and that as we all know is subjective. what looks good for one looks awful to another. anyway, i've rambled on long enough. thanks again.


----------



## terrainmonkey (Aug 14, 2006)

here's another work in progress map i'm currently working on. i'm seeing about certain effects and how they might work out. let me know what you think. and if anyone has anything else they might like to see, let me know.

comments are welcome as always.

the map scale on this one is 1 square=10 feet, and the red doors are secret.


----------



## catsclaw227 (Aug 18, 2006)

These are nice.  What tools are you using to create your maps?  I like the city one in the first thread, was that CC2 Pro?


----------



## terrainmonkey (Aug 22, 2006)

the city of bryest was done in corel draw. i don't use CC2 anymore, because i like to have more originality in my maps and i can do more artistic style with programs other than cc2. don't get me wrong, it's a great program, and i have used it before but i tend to think that the graphics are a little basic and don't allow me a feeling of individual style. CC2 is great for people who need a map in  ahurry and like to use the basic template for design that the program gives them, but after a while the maps tend to have a certain generic look to them and there really isn't anything different from one drawing to the next. i'm sure there are those who would disagree with me, but i've been using corel and i like the results better. it jsut seems you can do more artistic work with paint programs like photoshop and corel than you can with cc2. That's why i don't use cc2 anymore. 

now, when i get the cc3 software for landscapes i'll use that, but still use corel for the dungeon and city designs. corel doesn't really do a great job with landscapes and i'm still working out the details for that, so maybe i'll post some pics of WIPs in the future.


----------



## terrainmonkey (Aug 27, 2006)

here's another work i'm doing for an upcoming adventure. trying to get the cave effects and fills right. 

http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f127/terrainmonkey/wierdung1.jpg


----------



## catsclaw227 (Aug 27, 2006)

terrainmonkey said:
			
		

> the city of bryest was done in corel draw. i don't use CC2 anymore, because i like to have more originality in my maps and i can do more artistic style with programs other than cc2. don't get me wrong, it's a great program, and i have used it before but i tend to think that the graphics are a little basic and don't allow me a feeling of individual style. CC2 is great for people who need a map in  ahurry and like to use the basic template for design that the program gives them, but after a while the maps tend to have a certain generic look to them and there really isn't anything different from one drawing to the next. i'm sure there are those who would disagree with me, but i've been using corel and i like the results better. it jsut seems you can do more artistic work with paint programs like photoshop and corel than you can with cc2. That's why i don't use cc2 anymore.
> 
> now, when i get the cc3 software for landscapes i'll use that, but still use corel for the dungeon and city designs. corel doesn't really do a great job with landscapes and i'm still working out the details for that, so maybe i'll post some pics of WIPs in the future.




If I beg, would you be willing to email the Bryest Corel File?  I also use draw, but I wanted to make Warwik from the Wilderlands (pop. 35,000) and your existing objects would be very helpful, and at least get me partway down the trail. It's likely that I'll end up completely redoing it, but it would be nice to see how you have laid it all out.

And I swear by my father's name that I won't redistribute it as something else.  contact me at molivia [at] sbcglobal [dot] net


----------



## terrainmonkey (Sep 19, 2006)

hey folks. 

well it's been a while so i decided to put together a version of my current campaign world. this is the eastern half. it is not entirely finished yet, but all that's left is the western half and some of the topography names.

this was actually hand drawn and then scanned into the comp. then i added all the color and text. 

comments and suggestions are welcome.


----------



## terrainmonkey (Sep 21, 2006)

okay, so here is the update of Drakkengard. took out the hexes, added some other stuff, and generally cleaned it up a bit.

let me know what you folks think. 

also, the bryest corel file you were asking about is gone. i had a hard drive incident about two months ago, shortly after i finished it and all of my files were gone because i had to get a brand new drive. thus, this file for corel is gone, sadly. i have looked on backup files for it, and to no avail. i'll see what i can do for you with this.

if you would like, i can give you a tutorial about how to design it. i am probably going to be putting some updated maps of cities here pretty soon. also, i am working on the Grand Temple of Io for my campaign. i have taken an overhead picture of the Notre Dame cathedral and am using it as a basis for a map. god i love google earth.


----------



## catsclaw227 (Sep 21, 2006)

A tutorial would be great! How you made the buildings, terrain, etc.  Do you use a wacom tabler or import a had drawn sketch?

The drakkengard map is very similar to what I want to do for a section of my campaign.  Any help would be awesome!


----------



## terrainmonkey (Sep 23, 2006)

http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f127/terrainmonkey/drakkengardall.jpg

this is the entire campaign area. actually, not really. i have 2 other continents mapped out that i'm still working on. one to the east and one to the south that will be my area for the savage tide adventure path.


----------



## terrainmonkey (Sep 23, 2006)

here's the western half of the realms. forgot to show these before the continental drawing.


----------



## Kris (Oct 3, 2006)

I really like your latest ones... the one with hexes added being my favourite thus far 

I think what appeals to me most is the way that you have managed to get them looking really nice without making them too busy (if that makes any sense).


----------



## terrainmonkey (Oct 8, 2006)

hey folks

here's another work in progress of a group of caves for my next adventure. this is inhabited by a hill giant barbarian and his orc and ogre henchmen.

comments, suggestions, opinions always welcome here.


----------



## Ebonyr (Oct 10, 2006)

That list pic of the caves reminds me alot of "Keep on the Borderlands - Caves of Chaos" in DND 1E.


----------



## terrainmonkey (Oct 23, 2006)

here's a work in progress of a new idea that i'm borrowing from the Expedition to Castle Ravenloft. I like the idea of encounter maps with all the info on them to help out a DM with the running of combat. this is simply the first of many that i will be doing, sort of as mini one session adventures in themselves. for a lark, i might string together a bunch of them as an entire adventure, but i'm still working on the details. if you folks would like to you can give me an idea for several linked encounter sites and i'll put them together in my off times. this one only took an hour to do, but i have yet to fill in areas of text that describes what is happening here. any encounter level would be fine, as i'm sure i could whip something together for any type of monster, trap, etc.

thanks for looking. comments are appreciated here. and if you have any ideas as to what the vampire or cultists that resides in this one, make up a stat block or something and i'll include it in the room description.


----------



## terrainmonkey (Nov 17, 2006)

here's another. i got a bunch of the new WOTC dungeon tiles and proceeded to see ho i could use them. this is the result. 






what i did was put them together, draw the map on a sheet of graph paper, scanned it in and then built over the top of the image in corel. still don't know what to do about the doors so i'm still tweaking things and adding here and there.


----------



## terrainmonkey (Dec 4, 2006)

here's a city i'm working on, trying out new techniques. mostly playing with bitmaps and art effects n such. many of you can guess, and rightly so, that i used a lot of cc2 symbols. it just seems easier that way for some reason. 

here's the overall.
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f127/terrainmonkey/drakcity.jpg?t=1165244669

close up of the area that's finished
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f127/terrainmonkey/dcWIP.jpg?t=1165244531


----------



## terrainmonkey (Feb 16, 2007)

so here's a map i've been playing with. still working on making the trees, farmlands. etc. all you cartographers out there, tell me what you would do with this. i'm working in corel, as i don't have photoshop so any ideas would be helpful. i'm at a loss, and anything i come up with doesn't suit me. i'm a harsh critic i guess.


----------



## terrainmonkey (Feb 16, 2007)

http://s46.photobucket.com/albums/f127/terrainmonkey/?action=view&current=gortunsborough.jpg

so here's a map i've been playing with. still working on making the trees, farmlands. etc. all you cartographers out there, tell me what you would do with this. i'm working in corel, as i don't have photoshop so any ideas would be helpful. i'm at a loss, and anything i come up with doesn't suit me. i'm a harsh critic i guess.


----------

