How to tackle Undermountain with tools (SOLVED!)

[Keefe the Thief]

I´m currently prepping a hard-core points of light Moonsea Campaign, where everything but Phlan is either destroyed or listed as "status unknown". My players are normally high-story roleplayers, but suddenly everybody is pestering me with one wish: "we want dungeons! Gimme dungeons!"

Well, no problem. I have the articles about Undermountain from the WotC page, i think about buying the Expedition book, i have a friend who is willing to lend me his old boxed set for reference, and Undermountain has enough portals so it could pose as my generic dungeon, but... well...
I´m a completist. What i dream about is this: I have a program that lets me view the maps i scanned from the old box, and that lets me easily and conveniently mark all the areas i need and write down all the relevant information. So, i would go to the "START HERE" entry area below the Yawning Portal, click on the map, and enter my notes, quotes, perhaps even pictures and stat blocks somewhere. During play, all i have to do is click on the area and see all the info i need, perhaps in a separate smaller window, a sidebar etc.

Is there a program out there that allows this and is better useable than using .pdfs with comments or photoshop with comments? I have maptool, but it´s not very conventient to browse information i enter into tokens or objects i put down.
Note that i will browse the map alone - my players are going to draw their own copy in maptool (we play online). The tool for me would be purely for reference and dungeon building. I have tried many different tools but perhaps i´ve been missing one that allows me to do this with a big map.

And if you have additional advice for tackling Undermountain, fire away. Note, however, that i like to prep my sandbox nearly fully in advance - that´s simply my style of DMing. In the best case, i would try to get my hands on all the information that has been released about Undermountain, and compile it all into that very map i´m talking about. Yes, i´m crazy, why do you ask?

Oh and a small question for all those that played the original Pool of Radiance Gold Box game. What map would you use for the caves where Norris the Grey hides with his bandits?

 

[Psion]

I´m a completist. What i dream about is this: I have a program that lets me view the maps i scanned from the old box, and that lets me easily and conveniently mark all the areas i need and write down all the relevant information. So, i would go to the "START HERE" entry area below the Yawning Portal, click on the map, and enter my notes, quotes, perhaps even pictures and stat blocks somewhere. During play, all i have to do is click on the area and see all the info i need, perhaps in a separate smaller window, a sidebar etc.

Is there a program out there that allows this and is better useable than using .pdfs with comments or photoshop with comments?

Well, the old FR atlas had a complete set of undermountain maps (including one that AFAIK was never published). The maps are compatible with Campaign Cartographer 2, which would let you add your own modifications all day long.

Of course, the FR atlas is long out of print, so you'd have to scrounge it up on ebay or something.

And if you have additional advice for tackling Undermountain, fire away. Note, however, that i like to prep my sandbox nearly fully in advance - that´s simply my style of DMing. In the best case, i would try to get my hands on all the information that has been released about Undermountain, and compile it all into that very map i´m talking about. Yes, i´m crazy, why do you ask?

Yes, you are crazy. I started a 3e undermountain conversion and eventually gave up... there's just too much. I started converting things on the fly; that worked pretty well.

I don't like the Dread Guard stats in monsters of faerun; they are much more powerful than they were in 2e. I made my own update (sorry, it's not handy right now...) Just be ready to downgrade them.

 

[Keefe the Thief]

The Atlas! How could i forget... Hmm, i know somebody who owned it, maybe he can lend me his CD. It´s awfully hard to get in Germany. But as an "info browser", neither the Atlas nor CC are easy to use. Hmmm... Is there no tool out there that lets you use a map as background and add "information points" in that can be minimized and shown in something like a sidebar?

 

[Keefe the Thief]

HA! I did it. Everythink works, hyperlinked goodness of mappy persuasion. Ok, ok, i´ll explain...

I got the first level map scanned with a really good scanner. Later, i connected the parts again togeher - voila, a .png file of proportions ca. 2200 X 1200. Big, but useable. I´ve tried to somehow link text to that map for days, but nothing was really good.

What i wanted: Klick on an area of the map, insert a link to another page or a sidebar where i can manually enter text (for instance stuff from the box or stuff i come up with).

What i tried: Doing it as a really big .pdf (Adobe Pro sucks), using Photoshop as my map viewer (gah!), using maptool (nothing beyond tokens can somehow hide text). I even tried blowing up a word docx page to 55 X 55 cm and adding the map as a watermark. Looked good, but the ability to add text where i want it was ... lacking.

The solution? Microsoft One Note! Ha! I knew that tool was going to be useful. I just inserted the map into a new page, and then pulled it big, big, BIG. Then, i chose "set as background". Voila, pixelating, but useable. Big working area, can scroll in any direction, can add pictures, words and the best: Links! It´s possible to just insert a number or word and create a linked section. Then all you need is a backlink and you can change from explanation to overview map with a click! I already entered some text from the boxed set and it´s easily the most useful setup i ever used: Always when some section in the text says "in room 30, its like that" i directly link to room 30 and enter the relevant information.

Give me a couple of weeks, and Undermountain is ready to eat the first adventurer! I would never have believed that i would say it after all the crashing office did on me, but.. thanks, microsoft.

 

[questing gm]

Would it be against the CoC if you posted it up here?
If not, would you mind sharing ?

 

[Keefe the Thief]

Aren´t the original maps copyrighted? Even if they´re part of a Onenote Notebook, wouldn´t it be against the law sharing them with everybody on the net? I´m not shure about that one.
It will be interesting to see, however how long it takes to connect the first two levels and fill the rooms with the relevant texts from the box. Oh, and i´m really interested how big the notebook is going to be. Right now its approx 9 MB and growing...