# Maps - Jon Roberts' Map thread



## torstan

I'll stick all my maps in this thread rather than force people to search a number of different threads. So, first off, here's the newest one done for a game today:







Go to here for the full-size version of this and all the other maps in this thread.


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## Angel Tarragon

Damn, that is a _nice_ map.


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## torstan

Thanks a lot! It was a fun map to draw.

Here's the bits of the map for those that are interested in lifting the elements for their own use:


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## torstan

In a similar style, here is a regional map:









If it is of use to people, you can get the full size version as well as versions without the place names and without the labels here


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## Kid Charlemagne

Wow!  I love the style of the regional map!


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## torstan

Thanks! I hadn't really done a regional map before so it was an interesting challenge. I'm starting a new 4e game (aren't we all?) and it seemed like a good time to have a shot at one. I'm really happy with how it turned out.

I'll try not to post without an image to add, but there's nothing new this time. However, as I am collating old images as well, here's a map I posted here that has fallen off the end of the boards. A shipwreck:






Here's a launch to go with it:





and finally the wrecked ship itself, for those who want to make their own shipwreck maps:




These are (apart from the launch) at significantly lower resolution than the originals. The high-res versions can be picked up here:
http://gallery.rptools.net/v/contrib/torstan/Locations/Shipwreck/


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## torstan

This one's new. It's a battlemap for a recent game. Best used with a grid setting of 40px=1square.






Full size image and variations can be found here:
http://gallery.rptools.net/v/contrib/torstan/Locations/Dreeston/StormWatchInn.jpg.html


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## arcanaman

How did you get your regional map to look like I've been trying to get my 

to look like something similar but they never turnout the way I want them to.


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## Angel Tarragon

torstan said:


>




Now that is just pure awesome. And totally yoinked.


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## torstan

Thanks! Make sure you yoink the big one in the gallery I provided the link to.

As for how to get the look of the regional map, I use gimp (a free image editor somewhat like photoshop). I start with a parchment background, lay in a careful line drawing (all the lines you see on the map are done at this point) and then lay down the colours. The fina step is to use the dodge/burn tools of Gimp to create highlights and shadows to get a sense of height and depth. If you're interested, and want some help developing your regional map, head over to the cartographer's guild:
http://forum.cartographersguild.com/index.php
where you'll find lots of friendly people who'll give you advice, as well as a shed load of tutorials, and the work-in-progress threads for all of the maps above.


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## Relique Hunter

My word. I certainly couldn't work up maps with kind of detail in a short amount of time. Very well done, color me impressed!


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## torstan

Duly coloured 

I'm getting to the end of my winter theme, and I am frankly becoming sick of snow. However there are a few more yet. Here is a cliff battlemap in which the entrance to some caves lies high up on a ledge:






The full-size image can be found here:
http://gallery.rptools.net/v/contrib/torstan/Locations/Dreeston/?g2_page=2


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## torstan

Now the mine entrance has to lead somewhere, so here's the mine:





The full-size version can be found here:
http://gallery.rptools.net/v/contrib/torstan/Locations/Dreeston/withoutPit.jpg.html

And here is a pit that can be placed in the large room to the east (think Jaba the Hut and the opening floor)


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## Dr Midnight

You do some damned fine stuff, sir. Your use of texture and color is exactly what it should be.


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## torstan

Yours aren't too shabby themselves!

It so happens that I finished a commission recently and got permission today to post the images over here for general use and interest! The commission was for the Living Airship by Rite Publishing in the world of Monte Cook's Arcana Evolved. I hear that they will be touted around Gen Con this week so some of you might actually get to see the real thing!

Anyway, here they are:

























The adventure is a good one - and though it is Arcana Evolved on the front I will be modding it and using it for my 3.5 game (and probably for my 4e game as well) because it's really rather good. I'd also like to take the opportunity to recommend Rite Publishing to other freelancers out there as I have had an excellent relationship with them throughout this project. Clear instructions, fair deadlines and prompt payment. You can't really say fairer than that!

Edit: Note that these maps are an exception to the Creative Commons Licensing in my sig. They are property of Rite Publishing and thus rights reserved. However permission has been given for private use and reproduction. Just don't resell them! So, if they are useful for your game, go ahead and print them off.


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## Qwillion

Just some quick words from Rite Publishing. 

As a small pdf publisher, I will tell any number of people to hire Jonathan as his freelance work has been, easy to read, clear, and his color choices make sense.  He has also been receptive to suggested changes and  has always turned in his work in a timely fashion along with communicating important issues and concerns in an effective mannor. 

I am really looking forward to our next project together. 

*[Conversion]*
Converting from Arcana Evolved to 3.5 is like falling down stairs (Its D20 and the author of this adventure the _Ennie Nnominated_ Soren K. Thustrup wrote the conversion guide for AE) The only thing you should have to do is change a few specific feats and spells out for those to specific to AE.   

Steven D. Russell
Lord Protector of Rite Publishing

Who is now drooling over his maps.


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## torstan

Thanks. It was fun. Here's to the next one being even better!


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## torstan

Here's an old one and a new one. I've been taken up with maps that are 'in development' for people at the moment so not so many maps to post on the forums. More to come soon though as those commissions get finished.

An island (the old one):


Some slums (a quick 1/2 hour map for my game):


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## torstan

*New maps!*

Here's a new map for you guys. It was an island that was requested for someone's private game yes - I do private commissions for very reasonable rates  )

Here's the map a the print scale (11" by 17" at 300dpi)


The full resolution version can be found in my deviantArt gallery (see sig).


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## torstan

Here's a few more. These were created for Wolfgang Baur's Open Design Project - Wrath of the River King. It's designed to be able to be played as a follow on to Keep on the Shadowfell. You can find out more here:
Open Design - Matter of Days: Wrath of the River King
and here:
The Free City
It's worth signing up if you want an early copy. It was a fun adventure to draw maps for and looks like a lot of fun to play.

Here's two maps commissioned for the adventure. I did 14 in total and will post the rest when it has been out for a while.

















The full size images can be downloaded from the deviantArt gallery in my sig. The grids are sized in whole number of pixels, usualy 75 or 50 pixels per grid spacing, for ease of use in VTT programs such as maptool. Enjoy!

These are an exception to the CC licensing in my sig. As a result they are rights reserved and I'd prefer it if you would avoid modifying or reposting them. Otherwise, feel free to lift them and use them in your home games.


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## torstan

And a couple more, also from the Wrath of the River King













Each thumbnail links to the image in my deviantArt gallery. The unlabelled versions are in there too. You can download the full resolution images via the download link at the top left of each page.

Please note that these are not CC licensed (neither are those in the previous post). Feel free to download them for use in your home game, but do not redistribute or alter them. Thanks!


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## torstan

A recent world map commission for an upcoming game:





This is rights reserved as it was commissioned. I promise there will be some more freely usable maps soon!


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## Khuxan

It looks very interesting! Any details as to what book it's for?


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## torstan

None that I can pass on at the moment, though I'll be sure to post an update when it gets close to release.


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## darkhall-nestor

that mill is good stuff


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## WhatGravitas

A clockwork world with four (elemental) mini-worlds? Whatever it is, it looks really cool!

Cheers, LT.


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## Deepest Bluest Evil

Awesome maps!


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## torstan

Wow, thanks for all the compliments. There are a few more in the works that I should be able to post soon.


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## torstan

Okay, here's a map I posted to ICE for a contest they were running - their inaugural map contest. It's a temple in a frozen waterfall that has trapped an ancient dragon.





There's also a pdf at a scale that can be printed at home here.

I also came up with a little flavour text. Now I am no writer and my flavour is usually done with pictures rather than words, but for those who are interested, here it is:



> In ancient times a dragon ravaged the lands. Thousands of people were slain and cities burned to the ground. First the people turned to the gods of summer and spring, but they were too fey. They helped when life was good and wouldn't understand disaster. They turned to the god of autumn, but she told them that bad times were inevitable and that they must accept their fate and ride it out. Finally, in desperation, they turned to the cruel god of winter. He understood bad times and hard choices. When people are desperate they will do desperate things. He would handle the dragon, but the people must make a pact. One virgin sacrifice every midwinter's eve. The people wept but they had no choice.
> 
> The dragon was lured to a high mountain top in with a cascading river, but today there was nor river, as it was dammed with a wall of ice. As it flew closer the ice cracked and a avalanche of water engulfed the beast. The god of winter spoke, and the water froze, trapping the dragon in an enormous icicle. The people heard of the event and celebrated. The king knew better and sent his best climbers to see for themselves. They saw the dragon in the ice and were joyous, but then they looked closer and saw that above the dragon lay a vaulted pillared hall, and at the end, overlooking the valley of the cities, and whipped by icy winds, stood a cold butcher's block of solid ice - an altar for the price of the deal.
> 
> In the following years, steps have been carved to make the perilous climb possible. Every year, in the dead of winter, the priests take the god's prize to his lofty temple and keep their people's pact lest the dragon return.



If people would like to use this with different grids please let me know and I'll see what I can do.


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## torstan

Right, a few more. These are from the upcoming adventure A Witch's Choice by Rite Publishing. They were a lot of fun to do - especially the first. The adventure is set in Arcana Evolved and comes out at the beginning of April. It'll be through lulu for hardcopy and through Paizo and rpgnow for pdfs.

Anyway, here are the maps:












As these are commissions these are rights reserved, rather than CC licensed.


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## Qwillion

*ummmm./.. maps!*

I always love it when I get work from Jonathan Roberts (Torstan) for our products.  He really know how to create a beautiful piece of cartography that is both a work of art and yet remains entirely functional. He is also a joy to work with.  

I ordered my maps to scale from Gamer Printshop (and you can too) I should be using them at Origins and Gencon so in my demos. 

When the adventure is available for sale I will post all the appropriate links here.

I look to more maps from Torstan on our next project "To Kill or Not to Kill"


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## torstan

Okay, so it's been a while. Here's a little update. I've had maps out for Open Design, two Kobold Quarterly Maps of Fantasy (like the old Maps of Mystery feature from Dungeon) and some private commissions, as well as creating a set of tile for use with maptool that allow you to create a dungeon from movable sections.

But is this a talking thread or a map thread? More eye-candy say I! Here's a map I created for Open Design's gazeteer: Dwarves of the Ironcrags:





This is obviously Rights Reserved, and this is at 1/3 the original resolution. It was great fun doing a regional map for Open Design, and I got to get my teeth into all that heraldry as well - which ended up illustrating the entries for each of the Cantons.

The book's great - it really takes dwarves back to their roots in myth and legend with Cults of Greed, secret brotherhoods with feats, prestige classes, new monsters and a very cool goldveined template. I'll admit to giving dwarves pretty short shrift in my games as short, slightly dull humans but this supplement really made me think twice about that. There are loads of great plot hooks in there. Definitely worth a read.

Oh, the crunchy info. It's 72 pages long (including covers), OGL and I hear it has a rather nice map in it too.....

If you're interested then you can get the pdf here:

Dwarves of the Ironcrags

More maps to come in due course...


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## Maidhc O Casain

These maps are fantastic! I _love_ maps, and in my spare time I play around with Campaign Cartographer. From one map lover to another - your stuff is inspiring!


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## Scott DeWar

great work! You gave permission to copy for individual and non reprintable use as long as no map is altered. how about the title of the saved file, such as the green Knight at the mill pond map being shortened to just mill pond as the saved file?


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## torstan

*Kobold Quarterly Interview!*

What you do with these in your own home is your own business 

I can't imagine that Open Design will send around their kobold knee breakers if you change the name of the file on your home hard drive. The copyright only comes into play if the maps are reposted or reproduced in the public domain. (Well yes, it also comes into play if you pass them around to your friends - but they can come on here and find them themselves so it's not really an issue).

Thanks all for the compliments.

In other news - the nice folks over at Kobold Quarterly did an interview with me and it's now up on the site:
The More Fantastical It Can Be:Map Talk with Jonathan Roberts « Kobold Quarterly


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## pogre

Great interview! Very inspiring. I spend most of my time on terrain and miniatures. I'm usually the only one that sees my maps, but your maps are fantastic! I wouldn't keep my maps on my side of the screen if I could do something half as good!


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## torstan

And excellent miniatures they are too! The CG actually has loads of tips on creating maps that don't require much in the way of drawing - instead using computer filters to do much of the heavy lifting. People get some really beautiful results.

Thanks for the compliments. I'm really pleased you enjoyed the interview.


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## torstan

It's been a while so it must be time for another map! I have been busy with a few ultra-secret projects of which more details soon....

Here's a recent map created for the Pathfinder setting of Mor Aldenn, for Headless Hydra Games:





It's a den of thieves and scum - a proper dive that reeks of adventure. It was created for use in a pdf supplement (great production values - certainly worth checking out):

RPGNow PDF

and it also comes in a $1 map pack for battlemap printing at home, or for use at high resolution in a virtual tabletop like maptool:

Map Pack

I did not do the linework on the sign, but everything else is mine. It's a commercial product so rights reserved. If you want to use the map in all its glory you'll need to scrape together that dollar 

Oh, and I'm also involved in the first custom made adventure designed for a virtual tabletop (think D&D Gametable, but real). If you want to find out more, check out the link in my sig. I'll be putting up more details shortly.


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## Longtooth Studios

torstan said:


> What you do with these in your own home is your own business
> 
> I can't imagine that Open Design will send around their kobold knee breakers if you change the name of the file on your home hard drive. The copyright only comes into play if the maps are reposted or reproduced in the public domain. (Well yes, it also comes into play if you pass them around to your friends - but they can come on here and find them themselves so it's not really an issue).
> 
> Thanks all for the compliments.
> 
> In other news - the nice folks over at Kobold Quarterly did an interview with me and it's now up on the site:
> The More Fantastical It Can Be:Map Talk with JonathanRoberts « Kobold Quarterly





LOL @ kobold knee breakers!

I have got to get some of those! DO you find that they are more effective than goblin knee breakers? Gnomes maybe?


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## torstan

Can't beat a good kobold knee breaker - it's all they can reach....

As promised, here's some more details about the project I am working on. I am the lead designer on the Breaking of Forstor Nagar, an adventure in the frozen north to rescue an ambassador from a city built into a great glacier before it falls to the hordes. It's an adventure built from the ground up to played using maptool - either remotely or face to face. We have great people on board - ENnie award winning designer Ben McFarland will be designing and writing, Mark Moreland - editor of the Pathfinder wiki - will be editing it, I'll be doing the maps and the bulk of the maptool campaign construction, James Hazelett (DevinKnight) will be doing the tokens, and Tyler Bartley will be creating the illustrations that bring the characters and places to life. The other important person involved is you. This is a patronage project, so we need people to sign up and get involved. Patrons get a raft of benefits including daily input into the design and development, playtesting, input into the art and cartography, free high res graphics not to mention tuition on using maptool. If you're interested, check out the link above for more information.

It's great to be involved with this project. I've been a long term advocate and user of VTTs and it's exciting to be creating the first ever adventure designed specifically for use with maptool (free and open source, so no need to worry that you won't have the required software or hardware). Ever since the D&D gametable promised so much and then failed to deliver I think there has been a hole in the market for a good computer based aid to tabletop gaming. Maptool provides the software, and we'll be providing the adventure.

As a taster of what to expect, here's a screenshot from within maptool:






Now isn't that better than a battlemat and dry erase markers? The minis are by DevinKnight, who will be creating custom tokens for use in the adventure. The ship is by myself and is a movable, rotatable object that can be taken out and used in other campaigns and adventures. 

If you are interested in finding out more, go to The Breaking of Forstor Nagar. It'll be great to have you on board!


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## torstan

Part 2 of the Q&A is up.


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## torstan

I have  new map up on RPGNow:

The Tree Bridge

This, and the other maps in the line, can be found here:

Fantastic Maps on RPGNow

Here's a preview of the Tree Bridge:







Each map pack contains:


A pdf of the map chopped up into printable pages that can be printed on a home printer and then composited on the table into a full scale battlemap - in both colour and printer friendly greyscale
2 high resolution jpgs for use in virtual tabletop software, one with a grid and one without. Each is sized so that 100px = 1 square so you can drop it directly into your vtt of choice


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## torstan

... and a little more about The Breaking of Forstor Nagar. This time showing off what maptool can do with light, shade and vision.





Token once again by Devin Night, map and torch by me. To find out more about the project, go here or have a read through the Q&As:

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4


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## torstan

Another screenshot, this time showing what happens if a PC is blind:






In this shot you can see that Valeros can only see himself. This is the GM view - so the GM can still see the enemies. However the white line designates the limit of what the player will see.

States are easily tracked in maptool. You can see the clear label showing that Valeros is blind. There are equivalent images that cover all the other states.

Now you'll also see that there's a rather nifty little portrait and stat sheet on the bottom left. This contains all the vital information about Valeros, as well as his portrait. This allows the players or the GM to quickly see important information about a PC, so no more asking the player what his perception skill is before checking if he sees a hidden creature. I'll be showing off a little more of what you can do with this later. The stats here are for Valeros, the iconic fighter from Pathfinder.

Portrait art by Tyler Bartley - our interior artist for this project. Tokens by Devin Night. States by AidyBaby from the RPTools boards. Map and torch by me.

As always, more information on the Rite Publishing web page: The Breaking of Forstor Nagar.


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## torstan

Continuing the series, here the adventurers meet a dragon:






This shot shows how maptool handles the properties. Each player can see their character's vital stats, as can the GM. The GM can decide whether the players can see each others stats. But importantly, the players can't see the stats of the monsters. Although they do get a close-up of it's ugly mug.

Now who can tell me just how much trouble these adventurers are in?

Tokens by Devin. Kellen's portrait by Tyler Bartley. All other art by myself.


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## torstan

Today we look at storing information within objects on the map.





This shows that we can have objects - in this case a runic circle - that contains information for both the players and the GM. If that information is also placed into a macro (as it is here) it can be sent to chat, allowing us to hyperlink the information that the GM needs at their finger tips.

We'll be building that level of reference into the adventure for all areas, allowing for quick reference to rules to minimise time spent flicking through indexes and maximise the fun!


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## torstan

Roll for initiative!






Maptool tracks initiative in fights, so you always know who's next. When you switch to a player, that characters name is shown in chat so everyone know's the order. You can also drag and drop PCs or monsters to different places in the initiative as people ready or delay actions.


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## torstan

Here's another comparative shot of the different virtual tabletops. Here the characters face off agains the dragon in Fantasy Grounds, TTopRPG and maptool respectively.





Click for a larger view. You can see that each tool has a different approach to combat, but each allows the GM to easily track hp, access information, roll attacks and all other tasks that you need to make combat flow smoothly.

Today also sees the first part of an interview with our designer and author - ENnie winning Ben McFarland.

To find out more and sign up visit The Breaking of Forstor Nagar.


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## torstan

The second part of the interview with Ben McFarland is up.

Now as we enter the final stretch before development begins in earnest with, here's a new screenshot. This time we're looking at the chat functionality and how this works with dice rolling and macros to make combats slick and fast.





Here the combat has taken a turn for the worse for our players. The rogue breached the magic circle and now the dragon is free to full attack.

In this screenshot I've showed what the chat output looks like for the player and the GM. First you can see the Kellen's attack as he swipes (ineffectually) with his flaming longsword. Now one risk of playing online is that a player might decide to just write in their dice roll, rather than rolling the dice. Maptool offers a way to avoid that (other than just being suspicious of any player that rolls 5 20s in a row...). You can mouse over the number and if the roll is legit, a tooltip will pop up. If it's a dice roll it will show what was rolled. If it's a calculation, such as roll + base attack + strength + weapon focus, then it will show all those bonuses too. So you can be safe in the knowledge that your players are behaving themselves, whether they're on the other side of the GM screen, or on the other side of the world.

The dragon's full attack shows the time saving possibilities in maptool. It would take a decent amount of time to roll all the dragon's attacks at the table, find the relevant modifiers and dice, and then roll the damage. Here one click of one button and the GM (and the GM only) gets a full break down of the attack.

Note that our plan is not to have maptool decide whether an attack has hit or not, or automatically apply damage. Pathfinder is inherently based on exceptions. There will often be odd bonuses or penalties imposed in a fight (+ because you got higher ground, -2 because your character has a phobia of dragons). Equally, the GM may have modifiers for the enemies that they don't want the players to know about. Therefore we let the GM see all the attack and damage rolls. They then decide who has hit, and who has missed, and tells people the damage to apply. If you want to fudge a roll, you can. If you just don't want the player's to know that their sword is actually cursed and gives them -4 to hit dragons then that's fine too. And you can do it without worrying about the code giving you away.

These features make combat easy and quick. I now use maptool for face to face games even if the players can't see it. It makes hp tracking, initiative tracking and running monster attacks so much faster than before. It's nice to have combats that run fast again!

The details of how combat is managed within maptool will be a subject that we'll be debating in detail with our patrons. Sign up now at The Breaking of Forstor Nagar!


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## torstan

Part 3 of the interview with Ben McFarland is up

In non-Breaking of Forstor Nagar news, I did a series of three tutorials for the newbieDM blog on how to create a battlemap in Gimp. They can be found here:

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3


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## torstan

We have reached the finale of the teaser screenshots. Our heroes have defeated the dragon and stand on an icy precipice looking out at a burning city:





and in Fantasy Grounds:





You can click the images to see them larger.

This showcases the ability of both programs to easily include flavour text for the GM and the players, as well as placing images that give a more direct impression of a location than a top down map. The text is by Ben McFarland, our author on the project.

These screenshots are examples of the style we will be using. The art, monsters and storyline will be fresh and new for the adventure itself (though that pirate ship will make it in if I have anything to do with it  ).

We have 6 days left before the project goes live when we open the forums to patrons and development starts in earnest. Find out more and sign up at The Breaking of Forstor Nagar.


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## torstan

My Fantastic Maps store has a new map:

The Island Cave




The Map Pack contains:

Pdf map pack that can be printed page by page for use at the tabletop in both colour and greyscale
High resolution jpgs with and without grids
Two maptool campaign files with lighting and distance set up for OGL/Pathfinder, and 4e games.

This map can be picked up here for $1.35.


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## torstan

I created some free city tiles for Wayfinder #4. Here are some thumbs that link to the full size files:



 




 



Are tiles in this style useful? Would people want more of them? Is the necessary grid structure an issue that you'd be happy with. If not, how would you consider getting around it in a tile based structure?

These are free for use, and licensed CC-NC-BY-SA under a creative commons license, so please feel free to download them, play around and use them.

Enjoy!


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## torstan

I finished this over Christmas for the world of Midgard. It's a new style for the Open Design maps and was one of the first of the new maps created since the launch of the full blown world project. The rest of the regional maps for Open Design will be in this style.




The supplement is looking very pretty (and came out yesterday) - and who can resist armoured bears There's a bit more about this map on the blog. If you like what you see, then you can get a full res version in the pdf of the Frozen North. Enjoy!


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## torstan

This is an older map, but recently released in partnership with Kobold Quarterly as a map pack on RPGNow:






The map pack is huge, with the map covering 25 square feet when fully printed. You can find out more about the map and the map pack on my fantasy map blog.


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## torstan

New map up today from the stormpunk Pathfinder setting Rhune: Dawn of Twilight:






You can see a high res version and read more about it on my fantasy map blog.


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## torstan

Here's the Old Stross Bathhouse for Open Design's Streets of Zobeck:






More about the location on my map blog.


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## TheClone

Really great looking maps!


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## torstan

Thanks a lot - glad you like them!

There's a new pair of maps up on the blog today. These were done for the Pathfinder adventure The Elusive Foe by Interaction Point Games. Here's the overall chase map:





It was fun to put this together as I actually know the area (a rare occurrence in the fantasy mapping world...). There's a bit more about this map and another map preview on the blog post.


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## torstan

Another map - this one for today's map pack: Pirates!






This is one of two ships in the map pack. The pack contains:
• multi-page pdf scaled to print at 1 inch=1square, in both letter format and A4 with full colour and printer friendly greyscale.
• High resolution jpgs of the ships for home printing and for use in virtual tabletops (vtts) – with and without grids.
• pngs of the two ships with semi-transparent rigging, so that they can be used in mobile ship combat within a vtt.
• Ballista and ladder pngs to kit out your tall ship with the paraphernalia of war.
• Maptool map files that can easily be imported into any campaign with vision set up, for quick use in any OGL, 4E of PFRPG game. The files require maptool 1.3.b84 or newer to work.

You can pick up the pack on:
• Paizo
• RPGNow

You can find out more about the map pack, and see more previews, on my fantasy map blog.


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## AdmundfortGeographer

These are terrific. I'm glad these are being shared.


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## torstan

Thanks! I'm glad you like them.

This month sees the release of a map from the back pages of this month's Kobold Quarterly: The Watchfire Keep





This accompanies my adventure in the magazine "Who Watches the Watchfires" set in Open Design's world of Midgard - A capture the flag style adventure.

My plan was to create a simple, well defended Keep that could be used for a castle assault, or for adventurers to hold against the dark forces. The double gate on the entrance, crenellated walls and single wall over the steep cliff offer a selection of approaches and challenges to an invading force.

The map pack of the keep (available here on RPGNow and on Paizo) contains versions that allow you to use this in any type of game:

Multipage pdf for printing at home for tabletop use, in both international A4 and US letter format, in colour and printer friendly greyscale
High resolution jpgs with and without grid for use in VTTs or for poster printing
Maptool campaign file with vision and light implemented for quick use in OGL, Pathfinder or 4E games.

This could be a watchfire that provides a critical warning for an unsuspecting city or the starting keep for your players when they get their first castle. At $2.99 it'll be the cheapest first home purchase they'll ever consider.

*Fold-n-Go Castle Kit #1*

I can't help but mention a spin off product I worked on that came out today. Inspired by the Watchfire Keep, I teemed up with Brian Bartlow of Lone Tree Games and I challenged him to create a glueless modular castle kit that would be able to recreate the Watchfire Keep in glorious 3D. I'd say he succeeded!







The kit is a pdf pack of textured parts that can be cut out and folded together to create modular sections of a castle. With walls, towers, staircases, gate, houses and a working portcullis you have everything you could possibly want for your inaugural fort.

The kit is available on RPGNow and Paizo.

You can read more about both of these on my blog. Enjoy!


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## torstan

Just a quick one here. Here's a WIP of the map I'm putting together for Blackstar Studios.






And here's a little gif walkthrough of the process used in that map:





More about it over on the blog.


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## torstan

Piracy is in the air this year. Open Design is now well underway with Journeys to the West – an anthology of adventurers set in the exotic unexplored western ocean – and Paizo is set fair on a course for the swashbuckling adventure path Skull and Shackles. But what good is a pirate (or, ahem, privateer) without a trusty ship? 

Well, to resolve that particular problem, this month I’ve put together a ship that any peg legged terror of the ocean waves can be proud of. After some feedback on my previous ship pack, this one comes in a number of formats. The pack contains 2 overview of the full ship, one with the ship underway with sails billowing and the other with the ship resting at the harbour quay. In addition, the pack contains fully detailed maps of all three interior deck levels, with captain’s table, storage and crew hammocks.
















In addition to the fully rendered maps, the set includes pngs of the ship if you want to fight mobile ship battles inside maptool, or have the ship moored on new and unexplored shores (just drop the ship onto any other map as a background object). This should allow you to use this ship map as the base for your players to explore any new and exotic places – or as the home of a recurring pirate threat. All the accoutrements of the ship come as separate objects too – from the ballista and gangplank down to the crates and barrels below decks, and right up to the full rigging of the ship as a separate object (to allow you to show/hide the sails for deck combat, or for high stakes sword fights a-top the mizen mast.






The map pack weighs in at a hefty 122Mb of art and contains:

Three distinct maps – overall ship in sail, overall ship moored and the three levels of inner deck. Each map is provided with all bells and whistles (grid and objects), without grid, and without grid and without any objects (no ballista, tables, chairs, crates, doors and so on). The jpgs are sized at 100px per grid for poster printing or use in vtts.
Multipage pdf packs for printing out for your home game table, both in light greyscale and full colour
A bare sea map (4000px by 4000px jpg) for use in any nautical encounter, or to use as a base for creating any ship based encounter
A large chunk of pngs with transparent backgrounds – crates, barrels, hammocks, doors, table, chairs, ballista, furled and open sails,  full ship in sail and with furled sails, and a separate png for the ship’s wake.
Maptool files for the three maps, with all objects placed separately (yes, you can rotate all the ballista to take aim at an escaping smuggler), with vision blocking implemented.
All of that comes in at $4.99 and should give your players, or your recurring pirate scourge, a comprehensive base of operations whatever strange seas they might explore.

You can check out the full pack on RPGNow and Paizo.


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## RangerWickett

Really splendid work. If you feel the urge to release a steam-powered ship pack, do let me know. *grin*

Actually, ZEITGEIST has a strong naval component. Do you mind if I share information about your map pack on an upcoming blog post about the adventures? I'm sure some groups would appreciate extra options in their campaigns.


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## torstan

I'd be more than happy for you to share it around! I was mulling submitting a Enworld news submission about it, but I'm not sure the front page is taking that kind of stuff anymore? And a steam powered ship is certainly a good idea, especially as there are a fe settings that can take a little sea going steampunk at the moment. Good thought!


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## torstan

*Ancient Temple map bundle*





A couple of weeks ago I posted the world map for Lannithir, for the Illfrost adventure arc for Illusionary Press. The first adventure for the world of Illfrost is out now and I created the tactical battlemaps for it:





The adventure takes place in and around an ancient temple on a remote island that has been occupied by a present day threat. But ancient temples always hide some darker peril, and this one is no different. The maps had to hark back to the older magic woven through the fabric of the temple itself, so I added some swirling spiral patterns through the walls and floors. As players explore, they’ll see bits and pieces of the design, but only the GM sees the full picture.





A hidden staircase behing the temple chamber leads down into the dungeons where the true secrets of the temple lie in wait for intrepid, or unlucky, adventurers.





I’ve also partnered with Illusionary Press to provide these maps as map packs. You can get your hands on the full res (100px per grid) maps, along with multipage pdfs for home printing, and maptool files with vision and light implemented – over on my map store or over at Illusionary Press. The maps are available individually (click the images above to go to the product page for each) or as a discounted bundle for all three.


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## Iconic Maps

Hi there Jon, nice to see another familiar face from the Cartographers Guild here.  Sadly it seems that many of the images on this thread are now broken (not sure if you were aware of that or not).

Cheers,
-Tad (aka Arsheesh)


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