# Abandoned Dwarf Halls (great halls added)



## Kris (Oct 21, 2006)

Hello all 

I've not posted anything for a while so I figured I'd start posting some maps from my recent games.

Currently the party is wandering the halls of an ancient (Moria-style) dwarven city in search of a lost artefact (which will hopefully bring about an alliance between the elven people and the dwarven folk - if presented to the current dwarf lord by an elf who has braved the orc-infested halls of their former home… blah…blah…blah… cheesy/stereotypical stuff  )

Anyway… now that my players have explored this area I guess it is safe to post this particular map image. It's supposed to be the throne room/audience hall of the dwarven kings. Hope you like it.


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## EricNoah (Oct 21, 2006)

Lovely!


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## Angel Tarragon (Oct 22, 2006)

Nice and clean. Love it!


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## xmanii (Oct 22, 2006)

Very nice. 
Mind if I ask what you used?


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## Eosin the Red (Oct 22, 2006)

Kris,

Your stuff continues to impress the heck out of me. From simple line art to detailed graphics, you consistantly demonstrate exceptional ability.


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## Kris (Oct 22, 2006)

Thanks for the kind words 



> Mind if I ask what you used?



Mostly it's photoshop that I have been using - though I do use other software for different things.

For example I'll generally start by drawing simple lines/shapes in a cheap vector-graphics program - just to get the layout how I want it (using different coloured lines to represent different things... for example the red lines in the picture below will be used to make the floor pattern).

Then I'll export that image as a .bmp and then play with it in photoshop (using different styles/filters etc.) and get the empty rooms/passages looking somewhere near right (pic 2).

After that it's just a matter of adding bits of rubble and furniture etc. (most of which I have drawn at a larger scale and then shrunk down to fit this scale of map).

In this example I have also used some software called 'Poser' (they were giving the older version away as a free download not so long back... so I grabbed it) - and by playing around with that, I managed to add the skeleton and statue images.






I actually have quite a few areas drawn for this current dungeon, and they all fit together in a kinda modular fashion - and I have been using these tiles (on my website) for some regular passages etc.:
http://www.enworld.org/CrookedStaffProductions/page18.html

Once this current adventure has run it's course I hope to add all of the new tiles I have made (mostly specific areas like the throne room above, or a great rift, etc.) to that page just in case other folks can get some use out of them for their own personal games


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## Kris (Oct 22, 2006)

Actually speaking of the 'great rift'... here's the image I used to represent several high stairways:






If you look close you can see the joins in a few places as this was made using several of the 'modules' that I created... but it works well enough for me


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## xovu (Oct 25, 2006)

Awesome work! Thanks!


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## Kris (Oct 28, 2006)

Here's a quick look at the area that the players have explored so far (though this image is prone to change as I usually update it from session to session):
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c265/hador_goldenhead/halls_so_far_current.jpg
We've not done all that much dungeon crawling in the campaign so far... so I guess this is kinda making up for it.

And a close up of part of what used to be a dwarven graveyard... though (typically  ) it has since been occupied by the foul orcs and their allies:
http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l159/csp_kris/old_graveyard.jpg


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## Angel Tarragon (Oct 28, 2006)

Awesome graveyard Kris! Great work. 

What next on the agenda? Would you take requests?


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## Kris (Oct 28, 2006)

> What next on the agenda?



Well... I'm still working on some areas of this dungeon... though I have got a whole lot more already finished that I haven't posted yet (as the players have not seen them).

I've also tried to concentrate on the areas that surround the PC's route through the halls... so for example, if on session ended with them deciding to head east... then I've concentrated on the detail maps for that direction more than areas to the west (consulting a rough diagram that I've sketched showing the approximate layout of the complex).

I hope that makes sense 

So, for example, around the great hall (posted above) I have maps completed for (what used to be) the guild hall, a private chapel, kitchens, etc.

But if the players suddenly decide they want to go and try and find the great forges and workshops - then I guess that is what I'll be drawing next.... or if they want to trudge down into the deepest darkest mine - it'll be that (and all the passages/rooms along the way).




> Would you take requests?



Not whole dungeon maps... but I do plan to have lots of different room/passage types to expand on what I have already drawn (all of which will be kinda modular... so they can be used in conjunction with the other rooms and passages I have created). Kinda like the prison block module on my website:
http://www.enworld.org/CrookedStaffProductions/35_cells.jpg

So if anyone has requests for things like that... then I'll try and include them (as long as they are not too wacky  and within my limited abilities). But as you can imagine... drawing all the maps for my current adventure is taking up quite a bit of my time, so who knows when that will happen


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## Angel Tarragon (Oct 29, 2006)

Kris said:
			
		

> Not whole dungeon maps... but I do plan to have lots of different room/passage types to expand on what I have already drawn (all of which will be kinda modular... so they can be used in conjunction with the other rooms and passages I have created). Kinda like the prison block module on my website.



Hey, that Prison Block is really neat!   




			
				Kris said:
			
		

> So if anyone has requests for things like that... then I'll try and include them (as long as they are not too wacky  and within my limited abilities). But as you can imagine... drawing all the maps for my current adventure is taking up quite a bit of my time, so who knows when that will happen



How far out of the question would a gothic graveyard be?


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## Kris (Oct 31, 2006)

> How far out of the question would a gothic graveyard be?



Right now I would have to say that I'd have trouble squeezing it in... as it would be something I would have to start completely from scratch. Whereas if someone simply needed a dungeon room of a particular size/shape with some basic furniture/stairs/rubble inside... that I could probably manage (as I already know how to go about that, and I have built up a small library of such 'furniture' that i can simply copy and paste into the map itself).


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## Kris (Nov 5, 2006)

Here's a close-up of a few more areas that have already been explored by my players - the first is supposed to be a couple of small workshops (long fallen into ruin), and the second is a small jail block that has since been used as worg pens...






http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l159/csp_kris/jail.jpg

...and seeing as how they now seem to be looking to get out ASAP (loot in hand, and one party member down)... it's probably safe to post some images of areas that they are now unlikely to see... like this lower cave...

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l159/csp_kris/lower_cave_2.jpg


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## Kris (Nov 10, 2006)

Right then , seeing as how my players are now finished in this old dwarven city - I can now post some more detailed maps...

First off... here's the whole entrance complex... (sorry - it's quite a large image - over 700K)

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l159/csp_kris/entrance_halls.jpg

I hope you like it, or that you can maybe get some use out of it for your own personal games.


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## terrainmonkey (Nov 10, 2006)

okay, as always your stuff is beautiful. i have tried to get textures like yours on the floors of my stuff but i can't seem to pull it off. perhaps i'm not being patient enough. great work sir. consider this one yoinked.

i guess i'll just have to go back to my drawing board. hrmmm......


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## Kris (Nov 12, 2006)

Thanks for complements terrainmonkey.

The floor is simply a white layer with a stone pattern and a bevel/emboss texture added (the latter to create the effect of raised areas and scratches/gouges/cracks in the stone). However this also bevels the edge of the picture (which I do not want)... but I get around that by drawing the original image larger than it needs to be and just crop off the excess area when I am done (i.e. the pink area in the above example).

On top of that is a simple grid that has an outer bevel (around 50% opacity for this layer) to create the effect of the separate flagstones (which doubles as a 5ft grid).

* * * * *

Now back to the dungeon...

If you should wander along the passage to the north... you will find yourself at the High Stair:
http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l159/csp_kris/high_stair.jpg


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## Jdvn1 (Nov 13, 2006)

Wow, these are great!


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## Kris (Nov 13, 2006)

If you look at the 'high stair' map (two posts above) you will see that before you reach the main stairway there is another set of steps that lead off to the west (going up).

These lead to what once were a collection of small offices and storage rooms, and also a room that contained a dwarven lift mechanism - though now the latter it's little more than a hole in the floor and a few rusty chains and pulleys hanging from the ceiling.

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l159/csp_kris/upper.jpg


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## Kris (Nov 18, 2006)

If you look on the 'high stair' map (3 posts up) you will see that the passage continues to run in a northerly direction beyond the stairs themselves. This passage leads to the corridor at the bottom of the following map.

Also on the map with the lift and the storage rooms (1 post up) you will see that there is a set of 10ft wide steps leading downwards (near the top of the image). These lead to the stairs on the bottom left of the following map.

So without further ado, here's the great halls:
http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l159/csp_kris/great_halls.jpg
(this map contains the throne room I posted originally)


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## terrainmonkey (Nov 18, 2006)

okay, you win.


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## Turanil (Nov 28, 2006)

That's so beautiful!   

Two questions:
1) Do you print them full size so players can put their minis onto them?
2) If so, did yo ever think of printing various pieces of furniture on thick cardboard to fill those dungeons?  (As such, PCs could push, pull, and use these furnitures for whatever purpose they could think of.)


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## Kris (Nov 28, 2006)

> That's so beautiful!



Thanks 



> Do you print them full size so players can put their minis onto them?



Not at this time no... as the game I am running at the moment is an online game using some free software called OpenRPG. Also, because these images are relatively small, I think they may look a little blurry if they are printed at 1 square = 1 inch.

OpenRPG is basically a chat window, dice roller, and a map/miniatures window all rolled into one - so I simply load my maps into this software and we all move our miniatures around on them if/when it is needed (and all from the comfort of our own home - as there are folks from various countries playing in the game).

For example... here's what it looks like with the throne room map loaded and an orc miniature placed at the centre:
http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l159/csp_kris/openrpgexample.jpg



> did yo ever think of printing various pieces of furniture on thick cardboard to fill those dungeons?



Some of the older stuff on my website would allow you to do stuff like this. However those images are a little 'cartoony' and I'm not all that fond of them anymore... but I have left them available for download - just in case someone can get some use out of them.

Here's the basic dungeon:
http://www.enworld.org/CrookedStaffProductions/page9.html

And here's a few bit's of furniture:
http://www.enworld.org/CrookedStaffProductions/page11.html

There is also a small selection of newer ones I have done - which look a little better... but there aren't all that many of them yet:
http://www.enworld.org/CrookedStaffProductions/page15.html


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