Settlement Maps (updated - abandoned house map)

[Ferret]

High quality towns! Very handy. Keep up the good work!

 

[Kris]

Now what we need is a bigger one... with a river, and maybe a keep somewhere on the premises. Oh, and a small forest. Maybe some standing stones nearby. And a church & graveyard.

Yep - now that I've got this one finished I've kinda got the urge to do more maps of this kind - and to try out some new features like the ones you mentioned. I don't think I'll be as ambitious as to try everything on one go - but I think I'll at least try adding some water to the next one (and maybe do the watermill that this one points to ).

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I would at least double the size of the plowed areas

Actually, the ones on the map weren't supposed to sustain the whole settlement - as I kinda thought that the main farmland (and associated farmsteads) would be a little further out of the town-centre or just 'down the road' so to speak - kinda like the watermill mentioned on the map itself (well that's my excuse anyway ).

I'm not sure if this is too modern an idea - but a lot of the old, little, villages that I have passed through from time to time seem to follow a similar pattern (though I could be mistaken, and like I said it might be more of a modern idea, I am no historian - so please correct me if I'm way off ).

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Once again... thanks for all the comments & feedback - they are much appreciated

 

[Vigilance]

Kris, I sent you an email, drop me a line at ricecharles2112 at netzero dot net please.

Im interested in using your map for an Excalibur adventure if you're interested.

Chuck

 

[Kris]

Vigilance - another e-mail has been sent (let me know if you don't receive this one either)
...and thanks for the interest.

 

[Kris]

Hello again

I've been trying to come up with an effective look for a river today - and so as a test I have tried to do a (very) small map that shows the mill that the first map points to.

http://www.enworld.org/CrookedStaffProductions/testwatermill.jpg

I am quite happy with how the water-mill itself turned out - but I'm still not sure about the water ...I've tried it lighter, darker, different colours - but this is the best so far :\

Anyway, see what you think.

Thanks for looking!

 

[Eosin the Red]

It looks pretty snazzy to me.

 

[colonelthread]

Kris,

I think the river looks great, I can easily see that it is supposed to be water. I especially like the "reflection" effect you have used. Those are the kinds of things I need to learn how to do so that my maps are more than just simple lines and boxes.

BTW, I took at peek at the other items on your website and was very impressed. The "Bricks and Mortar" maps are wonderful drop-ins for any DM, and the "side-tracks" adventures are perfect for when a party wanders off in a direction you didn't anticipate. I will certainly keep them handy for just such an event.

Thanks for all you work and for giving these things to the community!

Cheers,
ct

EDIT: In answer to your previous query, maps without any text are the most versitile for other DMs, but maps with text tend to display more of a "finished" product. I say include both.

 

[Kris]

Thanks again for the kind words.

...actually now that I have took a look at the water today, I'm a little more happy with it. I guess I was just looking at it for too long yesterday (and tinkering with it too much), and I just needed to take a break from it for a while.

Also (ColonelThread) - thanks for checking out the site and for the comments. I went back a not too long ago and took a look at some of the mini-adventures I put on there and, in all honesty, I considered taking them down. I think that the 'derelict house' one is maybe OK - but I'm not so sure about the rest any more.

So I'll probably just be sticking to maps & stuff in the future

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Oh - and the reflection on the water was achieved simply by using the 'ocean ripple' filter in photoshop. I do have a whole mess of other stuff going on to create the water itself - but the reflection is all photoshop (so I can't take much credit for that)

 

[Kris]

I had a bit of spare time today so here's a quick map of one the few farmsteads that surround the hamlet. I have attempted a wooden roof of a small barn (or a large shed maybe) this time - to see if it would look OK (and it's also got may latest 'tree' version as well).

http://www.enworld.org/CrookedStaffProductions/farmtest.jpg


I think I might try a small ruin in the next small (test) map I do (or some other feature that I haven't tried yet), and then I'll try an put all these together as a free pdf or something (maybe with the hamlet stats, a few NPC stats, a key, etc. - so it's can be dropped in at a moments notice if needed). I'll also include some blank versions as jpg's as well - so people can add their own text, keys, etc. if they prefer.

Anyway, once again - thanks for looking.

 

[crabclaw]

The pastels, the PhotoShop layered pillow embosses, and particularily the roof tops (key) are all very nicely done -- thanks for sharing