One of the last things I tend to work on when it comes to a project such as an adventure are the maps. I love maps and I also love the 'old school' maps that TSR provided with so many of its adventures. I know I'm not alone in this regard. This is one of the reasons I try to give particular attention at how some of the maps are done. When I did the C&C conversion of the Ruins of Ramat (available NOW in digest format HERE), I took a look at the maps that a talented person who works closely with Brave Halfling Publishing did up and decided to take a stab at it. The result was stark black and white maps reminiscent of the old style present in many of TSR's iconic adventure modules and a style which was continued professionally in the various Dungeon Crawl Classics by Goodman Games. The maps I did up seemed to do the trick and everyone seemed to be happy with them. They were nothing fancy... but then again, those style of maps were not intended to be fancy.
Well, now I'm finishing up Keith Hackwood's "A Trick on the Tain" which was a module (I'm sorry to admit) I thought would be going to print today. I guess it's still just a few days away as I'm still at the mercy of my overlords which have kept me busy at my regular 9-5 job. Don't get me wrong, I like getting a regular paycheck but sometimes I could use a bit more time off for my other projects. ;) At any rate, the maps in this module call for some overland work. Once again, having a fondness of an 'older yet functional style', I knew from the outset the sort of maps I would be using. I didn't bother getting an artist to do the maps since I already had pretty much what I needed. The author provided me the reference maps to use (nothing fancy but unsuitable for publication), I made sure I had all the various bits of software to achieve what I wanted, and some time. Well, time admittedly is the one thing I seem to never have enough of... but the job is done. Since I don't map on a regular basis (aside from quick sketches for my own games that I run), it took me longer than I thought it would. That said, I'm happy with the work I've put together and I hope the fans will be equally happy. The end result are a couple of 'old school' wilderness hex maps. One is a closeup of the area the adventure takes place in and the other is a much larger area which could be used as a springboard for other adventures and material -- some of which I imagine will be coming out of Arcana Creations.
As for the module itself... just a couple of more days before it REALLY hits the printers. ;)
M
Well, now I'm finishing up Keith Hackwood's "A Trick on the Tain" which was a module (I'm sorry to admit) I thought would be going to print today. I guess it's still just a few days away as I'm still at the mercy of my overlords which have kept me busy at my regular 9-5 job. Don't get me wrong, I like getting a regular paycheck but sometimes I could use a bit more time off for my other projects. ;) At any rate, the maps in this module call for some overland work. Once again, having a fondness of an 'older yet functional style', I knew from the outset the sort of maps I would be using. I didn't bother getting an artist to do the maps since I already had pretty much what I needed. The author provided me the reference maps to use (nothing fancy but unsuitable for publication), I made sure I had all the various bits of software to achieve what I wanted, and some time. Well, time admittedly is the one thing I seem to never have enough of... but the job is done. Since I don't map on a regular basis (aside from quick sketches for my own games that I run), it took me longer than I thought it would. That said, I'm happy with the work I've put together and I hope the fans will be equally happy. The end result are a couple of 'old school' wilderness hex maps. One is a closeup of the area the adventure takes place in and the other is a much larger area which could be used as a springboard for other adventures and material -- some of which I imagine will be coming out of Arcana Creations.
As for the module itself... just a couple of more days before it REALLY hits the printers. ;)
M
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