# [CC3] jaerdaph's CC3 Maps, Dungeons, Floorplans etc...



## jaerdaph

I thought I'd start a thread of my own to share some of my mapping projects done with Profantasy's Campaign Cartographer 3 software and add-ons. 

This is a map of a vampire's castle loosely based on the castle map found in WotC's _Heroes of Horror_.  I created the floor from an image I found at Will's Hand Made Dungeon Floorplans. I really like the way the muddy, trampled grass turned out around the castle - I did a lot of experimenting (which I'm chalking up as time well spent) with the various sheet effects in combination to get it to look right. I'm not sure I'm done with this map yet - it still needs something. I'd also like to swap out the tree symbols with some more realistic pine trees.  I plan on eventually using this for a True20 Hammer Horror style campaign. I've also attached a map of what the image looks like with CC3's powerful sheet effects turned off.


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## Kris

That looks pretty nice.

The 'sheet effects' definitely adds a lot of depth to the image by adding bevelled edges and shadows and the like (which are the kind of things I use a lot in photoshop).

And (please excuse my ignorance here) it certainly looks like these mapping programs have come a long way since I first looked at them (which I admit was a loooooooooong time ago) ...and I have to admit that I'm quite liking the quality (though obviously the maps don't draw themselves and you've still added your own 'touch' to get it looking so good).


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## jaerdaph

Kris said:


> That looks pretty nice.
> 
> The 'sheet effects' definitely adds a lot of depth to the image by adding bevelled edges and shadows and the like (which are the kind of things I use a lot in photoshop).
> 
> And (please excuse my ignorance here) it certainly looks like these mapping programs have come a long way since I first looked at them (which I admit was a loooooooooong time ago) ...and I have to admit that I'm quite liking the quality (though obviously the maps don't draw themselves and you've still added your own 'touch' to get it looking so good).




Thanks, Kris!  Yeah, Campaign Cartographer has really come a long way from its CAD vector design roots with the edition of photoshop-like effects and the ability to use bitmap PNGs as fill styles.


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## jaerdaph

I updated this with more realistic trees from the CSUAC symbol collection.


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## jaerdaph

So Greyhawk Grognard Joe Bloch is doing this really cool old school Castle Greyhawk-esque mega dungeon called _The Castle of the Mad Archmage_. I decided to try mapping this out in classic retro old school module blue and white. Here is the first map - the northeast section of level 2 of The Castle of the Mad Archmage:

*Edit: Image removed because it is out of date. See new Level 2 poster maps below. *


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## soulcatcher78

Great looking work!  The blue/white look brings back the memories and works well with the Castle of the Mad Archmage (CZ) feel.  I hope you do the rest of the maps for this as well.


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## jaerdaph

soulcatcher78 said:


> Great looking work!  The blue/white look brings back the memories and works well with the Castle of the Mad Archmage (CZ) feel.  I hope you do the rest of the maps for this as well.




Thanks! I finished up the southeast section of level 2 last night, and I hope to have the last two map sections (northwest and southwest) completed by Sunday. I had to fix an error on the previous northeast map as well, and I've uploaded a new version where I've corrected the section containing rooms 26, 27 and 28 - it was aligned ten feet off and so didn't connect properly to the southeast map. 

I intend to paste all four maps together for a single "giant poster" PNG when I'm done as well - Campaign Cartographer makes doing that quite easy. 

So, here's the southeast section of level 2 of The Castle of the Mad Archmage:

*Edit: Image removed because it is out of date. See new Level 2 poster maps below. *

Any comments or errors would be greatly appreciated.


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## Angel Tarragon

Are you doing the dungeon maps in Dungeon Cartograprapher? If not, are these files you're putiing up portable into CC3 for modification?


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## jaerdaph

Reveille said:


> Are you doing the dungeon maps in Dungeon Cartograprapher? If not, are these files you're putiing up portable into CC3 for modification?




I made them with CC3 and the tools/symbols in the December 2007 Cartographer's Annual. 

Since the symbols are vector symbols and not bitmap, they are embedded in the CC3 FCW file, so opening the FCW file on another computer for editing wouldn't be a problem. Let me check with Joe Bloch to see if he minds having editable versions of his maps out there before I share the files.


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## grodog

jaerdaph said:


> I intend to paste all four maps together for a single "giant poster" PNG when I'm done as well - Campaign Cartographer makes doing that quite easy.




Great news!  Time to try to fix my plotter, I see


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## Kit Cloudkicker

Great maps! Thanks for sharing.


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## jaerdaph

Here's a revised version of the level 2 southeast map that reflects the changes made in the latest installment of The Castle of the Mad Archmage (which now includes level 3!):

*Edit: Image removed because it is out of date. See new Level 2 poster maps below. *


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## jaerdaph

And now the southwest section of Level 2. My mapping momentum has me on a roll. 

*Edit: Image removed because it is out of date. See new Level 2 poster maps below. *


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## grodog

Great work jaerdaph!  You and Joe should work with Canonfire!/greyhawkonline.com to host these jointly. He's already got space allocated on the server.


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## jaerdaph

Thanks, grodog! I've been emailing back and forth with Joe Bloch about optimizing file sizes, making a map booklet etc. Hopefully we'll come up with something soon to share. 

Over the weekend I finished up the the last (northwest) section of level 2, so here it is: 

*Edit: Image removed because it is out of date. See new Level 2 poster maps below. *

I also finished the first map of level 3 (northeast section): 

*Edit: Image removed because it is out of date. See new Level 3 poster maps below. *

I also cleaned up other the level 2 maps this weekend with some things that had been bothering me, and Joe Bloch sent me some notes for a few more fixes. I hope to do those tonight and I'll swap out the new images into the posts above tomorrow. I should also have the "poster" map for level 2 tomorrow too.


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## jaerdaph

The GHCC has been very busy. I've updated all five previous TCofMA maps above with minor fixes and improvements. I've also combined all the level 2 maps into one giant poster which shows the Deep Cellars in all their glory:

*Edit: Image removed because it is out of date. See new Level 2 poster maps below. *

Now, back to mapping level 3...


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## jaerdaph

I've read and received several comments from a few folks who are having problems viewing the neon blue maps. I'm very sensitive to the issue, as myself and members of my family have had problems with our eyes. In response (because I want as many people as possible to be able to enjoy these maps), I've created a black and white version of the poster map above. Please pass this on to folks you run into on various message boards etc. where The Castle of the Mad Archmage is being discussed. 

*Edit: Image removed because it is out of date. See new Level 2 poster maps below. *


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## jaerdaph

And finally, here's the southeast section of level 3:

*Edit: Image removed because it is out of date. See new Level 3 poster maps below. *


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## ATOM

Those maps are really cool Jaerdaph,
I dig the old school blue ones the most.
What program did you use to create them?


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## Thulcondar

Level 3 is one I'm particularly interested in seeing the poster map for. With that large room smack dab in the center, it should prove a little more interesting than Level 2, which kinda had a blank spot right in the middle where the pages meet. (Level 4 is different still, with a bunch of corridors in the middle; I tried to go without regard for the page edges this time, rather than self-consciously putting a big room or empty space at the interior corner.) 

And btw, Jaerdaph and I are working out how exactly to present all his wonderful maps together with the Castle. Hopefully we'll get it all worked out in time for the March release.

Joe
Greyhawk Grognard


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## Knightfall

Wicked work!


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## jaerdaph

ATOM said:


> Those maps are really cool Jaerdaph,
> I dig the old school blue ones the most.
> What program did you use to create them?




Thanks, ATOM! I'm using Campaign Cartographer 3 and the Dungeon Designer 3 add-on to make these.


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## jaerdaph

Thulcondar said:


> Level 3 is one I'm particularly interested in seeing the poster map for. With that large room smack dab in the center, it should prove a little more interesting than Level 2, which kinda had a blank spot right in the middle where the pages meet. (Level 4 is different still, with a bunch of corridors in the middle; I tried to go without regard for the page edges this time, rather than self-consciously putting a big room or empty space at the interior corner.)




Level 3 has been an interesting (but enjoyable) challenge to map in CC3 as well - I have to refer back to the previous maps to make sure all the pieces fit together. Here's another piece of the puzzle, the southwest section of level 3. I should have the last piece, the northwest section, as well as the poster map done by the end of the weekend!

*Edit: Image removed because it is out of date. See new Level 3 poster maps below. *



Thulcondar said:


> And btw, Jaerdaph and I are working out how exactly to present all his wonderful maps together with the Castle. Hopefully we'll get it all worked out in time for the March release.




Yeah, we'll come up with something good, and hopefully something that satisfies everyone. I'd like to see this happen in the March release as well.


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## jaerdaph

Knightfall said:


> Wicked work!




Thanks, Knightfall! 

So, does the World of Kulan have any megadungeons?


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## jaerdaph

Okay, I did this for my own enjoyment. I've always loved the maps in the original boxed set for Undermountain, the Forgotten Realms megadungeon beneath Waterdeep. Here's the second level of TCofMA, Undermountain style: 

*Edit: Image removed because it is out of date and some people had problems viewing the PNG file. See new Level 2 Undermountain poster maps below. *


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## Knightfall

jaerdaph said:


> Thanks, Knightfall!
> 
> So, does the World of Kulan have any megadungeons?



Actually, I have a place for both Waterdeep and Undermountain in World of Kulan... on Harqual of course.

I also created something called The Dungeon a while back, which I'm going to incorpororate into Kulan. I did two levels of it but they are big levels. I posted the PDFs to my World of Kulan Maps thread just recently.


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## Thulcondar

Didn't see an attachment in Undermountain-style in that post, Jaerdaph.

Oh, and on level 3, room #116 is supposed to have a door leading to yonder curvy corridor. 

I'm intentionally putting in those diagonal corridors to confound mappers amongst the explorers. Didn't mean to confound you as well! ;-)

Joe
Greyhawk Grognard


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## jaerdaph

Well, I got a lot done this weekend. I've reposted corrected versions of all four section maps for level 2 and the level 2 blue/white and black/white poster maps (see above). I've also posted corrected versions of all the level 3 section maps to date (see above). I completed the final section map of level 3 (northwest section), and made the poster maps for that level as well: 

*Edit: Images removed because they are out of date. See new Level 3 poster maps below. *



Thulcondar said:


> Oh, and on level 3, room #116 is supposed to have a door leading to yonder curvy corridor.




 D'oh! Of course, that would be the one thing I missed when I redid that map this weekend. I really need to get an Internet connection installed at home again...

Hopefully the Undermountain style map is visible now. I'll be redoing those and posting them as I go along (I began a more detailed version of level 2 last night), but the priority will be on the blue & whites.


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## jaerdaph

Knightfall said:


> Actually, I have a place for both Waterdeep and Undermountain in World of Kulan... on Harqual of course.
> 
> I also created something called The Dungeon a while back, which I'm going to incorpororate into Kulan. I did two levels of it but they are big levels. I posted the PDFs to my World of Kulan Maps thread just recently.




Those are really good, Knightfall! I really like the water areas. Did you use CC for these?


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## Knightfall

jaerdaph said:


> Those are really good, Knightfall! I really like the water areas. Did you use CC for these?



No, I used the Campaign Mapper program that came with the 2nd Edition AD&D Core Rules CD-ROM to make those maps. I still have the program, it's just not installed right now. I still want to see if I can find a copy of Dungeon Designer 2 that I can use with CC2 Pro.

I also use a program called Dungeon Crafter, a tile-based mapper, but I hadn't downloaded the latest version until just now.  See here: Dungeon Crafter 3


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## grodog

Any updates on new blue maps, jaerdaph?


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## jaerdaph

Just a quick update - I'm moving out of the City this weekend (movin' to the country - gonna eat a lot of peaches) and once I'm settled in next week, I'll be back to mapping. I'll be in touch with Joe Bloch about catching up with the Castle of the Mad Archmage maps (which I'm thrilled to say are now included in the PDF!) After the stress of this move and the crappy state of the economy in general, I can't wait to get back to mapping. 

Edit: Also, I will be updating the broken PNGs to ones that everyone can view.


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## grodog

Good luck with the move, and thanks for your efforts!


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## jaerdaph

And away we go - here's the latest, updated Level 2 PNGs in old school blue & white, black & white and Undermountain style.

*Edit: Images removed 4/23/2010 because they are out of date. *


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## jaerdaph

On to Level 3...

*Edit: Images removed 4/23/2010 because they are out of date. *


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## jaerdaph

And finally, here are the level 4 poster maps that I worked on this week. This was a pretty challenging level to map because of many unique features found here, most notably the arena where various factions hold gladiator style games. Joe Bloch really did a great job creating a living, dynamic dungeon level here and I hope I did it justice.  Once again, I've included old school blue & white, black & white, and Undermountain style maps. There are two Undermountain style maps this time, one that designates the areas controlled by the different factions by their color, and one in "classic" Undermountain colors only. 

You can download the latest version of The Castle of the Mad Archmage here.

*Edit: Images removed 4/23/2010 because they are out of date. *


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## jaerdaph

Rath (Richard Graves) over at Dragonsfoot recently released Level 1 of _The Mad Demigod's Castle_ as a PDF. What's nice about this PDF is that it fills the void for folks who do not own Gary Gygax's _Castle Zygag: The Upper Works_ by Troll Lord Games which is now out of print and going for huge sums of money on eBay. The maps also match up nicely (i.e. stairs etc) with Joe Bloch's _Castle of the Mad Archmage_ which starts at Level 2 where CZ left off. I volunteered to do the maps for Rich which are now included in the PDF. Here are the poster maps in classic blue & white, black & white and Undermountain styles.


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## jaerdaph

Here are the blue/black & white poster maps for level 5 of The Castle of the Mad Archmage. I'm still working on the Undermountain-style version. 

*Edit: Images removed 4/23/2010 because they are out of date. *


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## jaerdaph

And here are the blue/black & white poster maps for level 6 of The Castle of the Mad Archmage. The Undermountain-style map is still under construction.

*Edit: Images removed 4/23/2010 because they are out of date. *


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## jaerdaph

And finally, Level 6A: The Sub-Labyrinth. Again, the Undermountain version to follow soon...

*Edit: Images removed 4/23/2010 because they are out of date. *


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## jaerdaph

*Battle for Earth!*

Here's something a little different. Morrus our host here at EN World is putting together this space battles board game called SPACE FIGHT! thats looking really cool. Tonight I put together a template in CC3 that I could use to make my own hex maps for the game - nothing special, it's based on a NASA image I found on the Web that I thought was cool.

Since Morrus is selling PDFs of hex starscape maps, I really don't want to pump out a whole bunch of free "generic" ones and step on his toes. Instead (and if Morrus is okay with the idea), I'd like to do a few fan freebie ones and post them here that use licensed properties like Star Trek or Star Wars that he can't include in a product for sale. 

Anyhow, here's the mockup.


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## Morrus

That's great, jaerdpah!  Although I'd note that one sheet is pretty small - most battles would take place on a much larger map.


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## jaerdaph

Thanks Morrus! I just saw the picture of the cutout of the Imperial Star Destroyer and see what you mean now about larger maps!


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## Morrus

jaerdaph said:


> Thanks Morrus! I just saw the picture of the cutout of the Imperial Star Destroyer and see what you mean now about larger maps!




Yup, plus you may get fighters moving at 8-12 hexes per round.  

Things like planet surfaces or the surface of the _Death Star_ would be landscapes over which the game is played.  The rules allow for those landscapes to include things like defense turrents and so on, and the latest update of the rules includes rules for bombers and ground targets.  Who says a space game hex map has to just show space?


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## jaerdaph

Morrus said:


> Yup, plus you may get fighters moving at 8-12 hexes per round.




Okay, so I'm thinking the board/poster on the table probably should have 1" hexes to accomodate minis. What 1" represents in game distance would vary depending on what battle scale you are using for a particular scenario too I suppose. With that in mind, I've attached a simple mockup of a 32 hexes-high poster (I'm not sure this PNG is scaled to print out at 1 hex = 1" yet though). Looking at the preliminary rules, should all minis (from X-Wing and TIE fighters to larger Imperial Star Destroyers, for example) have a 1" hex base then fighting over a hex grid with the Death Star in the background, for example? 



Morrus said:


> Things like planet surfaces or the surface of the _Death Star_ would be landscapes over which the game is played.  The rules allow for those landscapes to include things like defense turrents and so on, and the latest update of the rules includes rules for bombers and ground targets.  Who says a space game hex map has to just show space?




Thats what's going to be really cool about designing some game boards for this.


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## grodog

jaerdaph said:


> And finally, Level 6A: The Sub-Labyrinth. Again, the Undermountain version to follow soon...




Thanks for all of your mapping efforts, Joe:  they are very appreciated!


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## jaerdaph

grodog said:


> Thanks for all of your mapping efforts, Joe:  they are very appreciated!




You're welcome - I enjoy this a lot. 

I'm still following along with the development of Morrus's _Space Fight!_ game, but I'm still trying to figure out the best way to make printable images that are to 1" hex scale. I'm thinking PDFs may be the way to go, which could then be printed out and tiled together to get a full game board. More on that later.

For now, here's the Undermountain versions of the maps for levels 5, 6, and 6A of _The Castle of the Mad Archmage_ that I promised earlier! 

*Edit: Images removed 4/23/2010 because they are out of date. *


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## grodog

Downloaded


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## jaerdaph

deleted...


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## jaerdaph

I'm resurrecting this thread to share some tavern signs I made in CC3. Hopfully, I'll be able to share the maps for level 7 of the Castle of the Mad Archmage soon as well!

Here are some tavern signs I made using CC3 based on the coat of arms template that came with the Heraldic Signs March 2008 annual.


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## grodog

jaerdaph said:


> Hopfully, I'll be able to share the maps for level 7 of the Castle of the Mad Archmage soon as well!




Looking forward to them


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## grodog

Are the level 7 maps ready yet?


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## jaerdaph

*The Castle of the Mad Archmage Level 7*



grodog said:


> Are the level 7 maps ready yet?




Level 7 has now been added to _The Castle of the Mad Archmage_, so here you go! I finally got the Undermountain version completed today. 

*Edit: Images removed 4/23/2010 because they are out of date. *


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## grodog

jaerdaph said:


> Level 7 has now been added to _The Castle of the Mad Archmage_, so here you go! I finally got the Undermountain version completed today.




Wonderful work, and thanks again!


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## jaerdaph

*I've Got The Blues... (or, Be True to Your School)*

Lately, I've been obsessed with matching the classic "Old School" blue used in the original TSR AD&D module maps as closely as possible. The blue I'm using now is, well, garish and a little rough on the eyes - I blame my choice of tacky neon colors on the Caribbean half of my gene pool. I've been asking around (unsuccessfully) for Pantone colors and hex numbers, did some experimenting with scans and the "eyedropper" tool, and came up with an RGB color in CC3 by customizing the palette that I think best matches the original TSR maps. 

Here are poster maps of Level 2 and Level 7 of the Castle of the Mad Archmage. I've (slowly) been cleaning up the maps made prior to Level 7 to improve the look and fix any errata or mistakes that may have crept in. These will eventually make it into the CotMA PDF (not necessarily in this color - but the improved maps w/ errata fixes certainly will). I've also started experimenting with the new anti-aliasing tools in CC3 (from the latest patch 8) as well. 

Any thoughts are appreciated. 

_Edit: I am not sure why these files are being posted at smaller dimensions than the previous poster maps as well as with larger file sizes - the files on my computer are closer to 250 KB on my computer before I load them to EN World (and the dimensions are larger too). Either EN World is altering them, or CC3 is doing something wonky when I generate the PNGs using the new anti-aliasing tools. I ran these through Fireworks first though before posting... Anyhow, I need to look into it more. _

*Edit: Images removed 4/23/2010 because they are out of date. *


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## jaerdaph

*The Castle of the Mad Archmage Level 8*

Attached are the poster maps for Level 8 of The Castle of the Mad Archmage, released today at Greyhawk Grognard:

Greyhawk Grognard: Castle of the Mad Archmage January Release Now Available!

No Undermountain-style map yet - sorry. 

*Edit: Images removed 4/23/2010 because they are out of date. *


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## jaerdaph

I accidentally Google Image searched "www.enworld.org" tonight, and on the first page of results, I was surprised to see not one but two of my Castle of the Mad Archmage maps pop up:

www.enworld.org - Google Search

I am truly humbled. 

The maps for levels 9, 10 and 11 continue to progress, so there's more coming soon - I promise!


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## jaerdaph

The latest edition of _The Castle of the Mad Archmage_ is now up at Greyhawk Grognard:

Greyhawk Grognard: Castle of the Mad Archmage April Release Now Available!

This version now takes you from Levels 2 through 11 of Joe Bloch's megadungeon. In preparing for this release, we did some extensive cleaning up of the cartography, making most of the poster maps I've previously posted in this thread out of date. To make sure everyone has the latest and greatest, I've removed all the old images above and will be replacing them with new ones using the latest versions of the maps as soon as I can. 

A note about the Undermountain style maps - since these are a little more detailed and harder to edit once they are done, I've decided to hold off on redoing these (or making new ones) until _The Castle of the Mad Archmage_ reaches its conclusion. I apologize for the wait, but it was just getting to be too time-consuming keeping track of so many maps while trying to create new ones. 

For those of you new to _The Castle of the Mad Archmage_, it's basically a megadungeon inspired by Gary Gygax's original Castle Greyhawk. It's the perfect complement to Gary Gygax's _Castle Zagyg: The Upper Works_ published by Troll Lord Games and takes off where that out of print and discontinued product line left off. If you don't have Castly Zagyg, fear not! _The Mad Demigod's Castle_ by Rath has you covered for Level 1 and complements _The Castle of the Mad Archmage_ nicely (I should know, I helped Rath out with the maps for that as well!)

Stay tuned for new maps!


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