I draw the occasional D&D map

[Dyson Logos]

Lets set the time machine for 2014 and grab an old city map for the first commercial re-release of 2019. Welcome to Cliffstable on Kerstal – a small city that has gradually grown up where the Brown Goblin River meets the Kerstal.

The original name of the settlement goes back to when a single horse breeder maintained a stable on the raised cliff area in the south-eastern shore. Travellers and traders would come by the Cliff Stables to acquire excellent and affordable horses. While there is still a small horse trade in the region, the city is more of an agricultural and trading community in the current era.

There are two open-air markets in the city – Hillside Market in the north within the walls of the city proper (which often has a very festival-type atmosphere and sells all sorts of handcrafts, foods and treats) and Citadel Market on the cliff itself which deals more in livestock, grains, and larger trade goods.

This map was the result of waiting for two different medical appointments in one day. It was drawn in one of my little (4″ x 6″) dollar store mapping books using a Sakura Micron 005 pen. It’s very very small.

https://dysonlogos.blog/2019/02/01/release-the-kraken-cliffstable-on-kerstal/

 

[Dyson Logos]

As you head north along the Brown Goblin river it cuts deeply into the badlands, making it very difficult to cross. Boat traffic becomes prohibitive also because of the speed and roughness of the river up north. Karst Ford marks the last point where a boat can travel upriver - a ford where the river has cut through the local dolomitic stone leaving a path of hard stone that pedestrians and careful horse riders can cross while the river runs swiftly through runnels underfoot.

Overlooking Karst Ford is an unusual ruined "palace". One side has raised open stone structures that appear to be meant to serve as decorative "gardens" or similar, with the structure itself being some nonsensical series of halls and small rooms centred around a circular chamber that was maybe the base of a tower at one point.

A few efforts have been made over the years to use the structure as a garrison or guard post along the river, and the circular chamber still has wooden scaffolding within it leading up to the ruined upper level of the structure - probably intended to be used to reconstruct a wooden watch tower over the palace.

https://dysonlogos.blog/2019/02/04/strange-ruins-at-karst-ford/

 

[Dyson Logos]

Up in the hills is a small crater-like depression with a mostly smooth floor and a pair of heavy metal doors that lead to some place in the hillsides.

The doors open twice every 6-9 months. Once to allow the Blue Golem into the crater to begin its wandering, and once again exactly 10 days later when the Blue Golem returns.

The Blue Golem walks the lands nearby seemingly at random for those ten days – usually just walking from one place to another and then moving on to the next. On rare occasion the golem stops to collect something small and place it in a box build into its shoulder. Usually this is a plant or a small animal, but of course tales include it kidnapping children or seeming to want specific body parts from those that come too near.

https://dysonlogos.blog/2019/02/07/vault-of-the-blue-golem/

 

[Dyson Logos]

At the end of Rose Lane is Rose Point Manor – home of the last of the elven line of Heare and their three servants. Keeping with the name, the manor house has a number of rose bushes around it and the window shutters are painted in a rose motif.

The original manor was a much grander affair, but burned down nearly 200 years ago. The new manor was built over the same foundations, and if you were to find your way into the basement, the stairs down are still cracked and charred from that night when most of the line of Heare was lost.

The new manor is almost entirely made of stone – even the elegantly painted window shutters are made of thin slate, and much of the furniture is made of iron and steel. The elven lord of the house, Krennheon Heare, is somber and keeps much to themself, spending most of their time in study and contemplation of the arcane and the past greatness of their lineage. Occasionally guests are admitted to the manor to discuss matters of history or arcane legend – usually in the sitting room with the bay windows at the front of the structure, and occasionally back to the dining room where ancient brandies are shared over even more ancient tales.

https://dysonlogos.blog/2019/02/11/rose-point-manor/

 

[Dyson Logos]

The cellars of Rose Point Manor still show the damage from the fire that destroyed the original manor house. The stone stairs and sections of the walls are scorched and cracked from the heat. The extended subterranean structures beyond are untouched, but long ignored.

The pair of iron doors that lead to the catacombs are both rusted and long unused – the first is in exceptionally bad shape having held the fire back on the night that most of the line of Heare was lost. The locks are seized and will take significant oiling and care to make them work again.

The basement contains the usual things you expect to find in such a place – odds and ends from the manor above, a rack of wine, a few pieces of old furniture, and some supplies for potential repairs. Other spaces of note are a small side room set up as a sort of memorial shrine to the bloodline of Heare concealed behind a bookcase, and the manor’s cistern.

The lower catacombs were used as a family crypt and a secret chamber beyond the rough catacomb tunnels is decorated with carvings of deeds and people from the long line of Heare.

https://dysonlogos.blog/2019/02/14/beneath-rose-point-manor/

 

[dave2008]

[MENTION=83678]Dyson Logos[/MENTION], a few questions and comments for you (if you don't mind):

1) First I wanted to thank you again for sharing your awesome work (I think already did this at least once, but I want to be sure

2) Do you do the earth/stone/solid area hatch by hand or do you have a pattern or brush (photoshop) that you use? I ask because it is so consistent and I find when I do this type of work my ability to focus and maintain a consistent look breaks down and quality goes done. Yours always looks great!

3) Can people use your maps in adventures they want to sell on DMsGuild or similar sites? I don't normally write adventures, but one never knows and your maps a very inspiring!

Keep up the great work!

 

[Dyson Logos]

1) First I wanted to thank you again for sharing your awesome work (I think already did this at least once, but I want to be sure

Thanks!

2) Do you do the earth/stone/solid area hatch by hand or do you have a pattern or brush (photoshop) that you use? I ask because it is so consistent and I find when I do this type of work my ability to focus and maintain a consistent look breaks down and quality goes done. Yours always looks great!

Ten years of practice. All by hand. Even when I do work digitally, the hatching is always done one line at a time. It was the hardest element to bring over to working digitally though, as I would occasionally change magnification on the piece I was working at, and suddenly the hatching in that area would change in density compared to the rest of the map. But at heart, even my digital work is the same as my pen and paper work, just a stylus and graphics tablet.

There are a lot of "work in progress" photos on my various social media streams, but to really see the hatching flow, check out some of my videos on Youtube. Seriously, I can watch them all day just to see the hatching flow out of my pen since I sped up the videos.

https://www.youtube.com/c/DysonLogos

3) Can people use your maps in adventures they want to sell on DMsGuild or similar sites? I don't normally write adventures, but one never knows and your maps a very inspiring!

That depends on a per-map basis. Some of my maps are indeed released under a free commercial-use license. To find out which it works best to follow my blog where they are posted with the license information. Generally speaking I release 4 maps a month under the license, as well as re-releasing 2 older maps (thanks to my Patreon goals).

 

[Aiden_Keller_]

Over the 9 years that I've been drawing maps, I've posted the occasional thread and map to these forums. With all the hoopla going on over Patreon right now (which I use extensively), I figured I could start posting highlights and updates of my work again.

I try to draw my own maps as well...but yours are significantly better!

 

[dave2008]

Thanks!



Ten years of practice. All by hand. Even when I do work digitally, the hatching is always done one line at a time. It was the hardest element to bring over to working digitally though, as I would occasionally change magnification on the piece I was working at, and suddenly the hatching in that area would change in density compared to the rest of the map. But at heart, even my digital work is the same as my pen and paper work, just a stylus and graphics tablet.

There are a lot of "work in progress" photos on my various social media streams, but to really see the hatching flow, check out some of my videos on Youtube. Seriously, I can watch them all day just to see the hatching flow out of my pen since I sped up the videos.

https://www.youtube.com/c/DysonLogos



That depends on a per-map basis. Some of my maps are indeed released under a free commercial-use license. To find out which it works best to follow my blog where they are posted with the license information. Generally speaking I release 4 maps a month under the license, as well as re-releasing 2 older maps (thanks to my Patreon goals).

Thank you for the replies! I watched some of the videos, and the hatching is mesmerizing! They also brought up a new question. How much planning do you do before start drawing. In the video everything appears very confident and planned out.

 

[Dyson Logos]

How much planning do you do before start drawing. In the video everything appears very confident and planned out.

Generally speaking, almost nothing is pre-planned.