[Mini Map Monday] The Sepulcher of Craemal the Decayed

I had some time on my hands today, plus a stack of 3" x 5" gridded cards, and a couple of pens, so I decided to jot down a quick off-the-cuff mini map. This has the distinction of being my first attempt at "Dysonizing" a map with cross-hatching.

The map is a bit linear, I'll admit, but I think it makes sense as a sepulcher. I imagine Craemal the Decayed as a low- to moderate-level lich. I also imagine that directly below the large mausoleum there's a room that matches the dimensions and is Craemal's workroom/library. The workroom/library would be accessed through Craemal's sarcophagus. There is a 200' shaft, perfectly smooth, that leads downward to a series of spikes set into the floor of his workroom/library. An illusory panel in the sarcophagus hides the shaft from detection...until it's too late.

In addition to the basic map, I have a numbered version as well as a gridded version. If you're interested in me posting up links to either of these maps, let me know via comments and I'll throw up a link.

As always, feel free to use my map in your home games. You can rename it, modify it, stock it, or abuse it in any manner legal in your particular jurisdiction. If you do use it, all I ask is that you let me know and tell me about it afterwards.

[A to Z April] Q is for Quimby's Pet Emporium (map)

http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/

Quimby's Pet Emporium is a landmark in Coldtreath, at least to wizards and animal lovers. Quimby, a grizzled, one-legged veteran of numerous wars, now stocks and sells animals of all kinds, from the plain to exotic, commonplace to rare.

His shop is plain, a thick rock exterior for protection, the inner walls are wooden, but magically-treated to be soundproof and calming to the animals (and to his customers). The walls are filled with pictures of his more exotic wares, as well as aquariums and small cages. Several racks of cages hold his larger small animals for display on the showroom floor. The floor is made of a single slab of stone for ease in cleaning.

1. Showroom Floor: The general customer area, floored with stone. Various pictures and parchments line the walls with images of various rare animals.
   
2. Counter Area: The wooden stomach-high (to Quimby) counter top zig-zags across the customer area. The north wall is lined with shelves, used for housing aquariums, bowls, and cages for the aquatic and more delicate of creatures. Quimby keeps a variety of magic wands behind the counter to deal with the more difficult customers.
   
3. Cages, Regular: Those animals who do not require special needs or isolation are housed here in a variety of cage sizes.
   
4. Cages, Special: The specialized, extremely rare, and valuable creatures are kept here, behind a locked door, both for their protection and the customer’s. These cages are likely to be protected by magic.
   
5. Pens: Large animals, when they are in stock, are housed here. Each pen has a drain system allowing for the rapid cleaning and washing of the pens. Due to the nature of these animals, these pens are usually locked and protected by magic.
   
6. Quimby’s Room: Quimby’s living quarters are here, through a locked secret door, and sparsely decorated with a bed, chest, and a desk. Quimby also keeps his valuable items on a series of shelves in the northeast corner of the room. His room is the only room floored with wood. He keeps a secret stash of gold under the flooring beneath his bed.
   
7. Garden: Quimby keeps a walled garden area here, covered over with a fine wire mesh. He exercises the birds and cleans cages in this area. Quimby’s outhouse is on the south end of this walled-off area, and empties into the same drain system as the large pens.
   

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Previous "Q"s: 
2014: Q is for Quick, Somebody Teach Me To Play 
2013: Q is for Quickvale (locale) 
2012: Q is for Quickdeath (monster) 
2011: Q is for Quaint Folk

Mini-map Monday: Nothingness Unsaved

I was sailing along, manipulating the GIMP like a mad man this morning. I was going to have a new mini-map all ready for the world by lunch.

And then I tried to add a secret door. The "text" function froze the GIMP. Everything else on my work desktop functioned. Not the GIMP. It was stuck somewhere in between my typing an "S" and the generation of the "S" image on the screen. It wouldn't close; it wouldn't change tools. Nothing. I had to nuke the program to get it to close down.

Of course, I was sailing along so swimmingly...so confidently...that I completely and utterly forgot to save ANY bit of my work.

Epic Fail of Stupidity.

I should know better. I do, in fact. Just five minutes before it happened I thought to myself "I really should save this." I really did.

But I didn't bother.

So, then I started over. And got distracted. Then came the Internet search for pre-generated freeware graphics to drop in to make a bed on the map actually look like a bed. Then there were the rock walls that would look better than simple scrawled lines. Then there were stairways.

I didn't ever find a good source of these, by the way.

Then I looked at the clock and realized I'd killed the entire afternoon with my angsting and my searches and now it was time to go home.

Guess I know what I'll be working on this week. And I'll settle for some scrawled lines rather than nifty looking beds, stairs, and rock walls.

Unless someone out there points me to some really cool GIMP add-ons, that is.

Map Monday: Barrow of the Ideskoror Kings

Hundreds of miles to the east of Coldtreath, across the Nyndael Mountains, lies the ancient realm of Ideskoror. This ancient realm was governed over by the Ideskoror family from the throne at Ideskoror Castle. The castle itself is long gone; The Birchtrick Forest has retaken the castle grounds. The castle stones are long turned to gravel; not even a foundation remains to mark its location at the base of the Tackrind Cliffs. All that still exists to prove that the Ideskoror family ever lived is their burial mound: the Barrow of the Ideskoror Kings.
(Click here for .pdf)

Mini Map Monday: The Ruined Watchtower of Al'Makhor

Behold, the Ruined Watchtower of Al'Makhor!

Mini Map Monday: Farmhouse

Welcome to the first set in my Mini Map Monday series.

As I said in my previous posts, these first ones are not perfect. I'm still working on perfecting the process. But I like this one. It's simple and I think it tells a nice little story.

And so, without further ado, I present: The Farmhouse.

Mini Map Monday: Introduction

Back before Christmas I was given a so-called "pocket briefcase"--essentially a 3x5 index card holder for your coat pocket, complete with a little pen loop.

This thing sat in my desk drawer for several months: what use did I have for carrying 3x5 cards everywhere, particularly when I already had my generic moleskine-clone notebook that I carry around for noting my writing and gaming inspirations. Then around Valentine's Day 2010 I was slumming around the local big-box chain office "supply" store looking for a gift for my wife...and came across the 3x5 graph paper cards.

And inspiration hit.