The Oeridia Map

I have this little corner of my mind called "The Greatest Fantasy Maps Ever." In that place I keep a little secret file of maps that I think represent truly amazing works of genius.

The Oeridia Dominions Map by Twan is one such map.



What makes it great isn't the artistic skill. If you look at a detail of the map, you'll see that the techniques are pretty rudimentary.



What makes the Oeridia Map great is its scope and completeness. The maker of the map had a clear vision which he fully executed using whatever tools he had at hand despite the fact that it must have taken a truly unreasonable amount of time. The same could still be said of a huge number of fan projects on the Net (I know I've made a few myself). But of them all, I like this one best.

The Oeridia Map is 9800 x 5700 pixels in size, yet it contains artistically rendered villages, bridges, and terrain features as small as 8x8 pixels. That's a pretty impressive information density. This map is big, and not just in terms of file size. Everything about it reinforces the bigness of the world it's portraying. This looks and feels like a world so big that you could only ever experience a piece of it in your lifetime. It helps to have played Dominions yourself, because just visiting every province on this map in a single game is probably impossible within practical limits.

Note also that an attempt has been made to make every province at least somewhat individualized. Some contain unique features. Terrain features are created using repeated icons, but these are mixed so that the regions do not contain just one kind of terrain. The arrangement and mix of trees, for example, is clearly intended to make each forest distinct.



But it's not obsessiveness that makes this map great (although that helps), but imagination. The way that the underworlds are rendered as a mix of natural caves and constructed places is inspiring (and probably helped inspire How to Host a Dungeon truth be told).

But I none of that explains why I get chills when I look at this map. I guess that really it's because the map feels like it's showing me a real place -- in just enough detail to feel real, with just enough mystery to make me wonder what it would be like to go there.

What this map is is what I want my games and my art to be: specific and detailed, but offering an endless horizon for exploration.

Actual Play Maps and Outsider Art

Shout out to PlaGMaDA,the gallery of D&D play artifacts for getting mention on Boing Boing this morning!

November Compilation

Thanks to the fine work of Nick at The Fantasy Cartographic, we have another dungeon map compilation! Check it out in the sidebar to the right!

If you love maps...

Check out this collection of Maps by DysonLogos: http://rpgcharacters.wordpress.com/maps/

Goblin Housing Development

Still super busy. The art show is tomorrow! I'll post pictures. If you're in Seattle, stop by Cortona Coffee on Saturday between 7 and 9 and you'll probably get fed.

Thanksgiving

Yikes! I can't believe I forgot this one! I drew this dungeon last December, meaning to save it for Thanksgiving, but I forgot!

I guess when you get right down to it, I don't have much to say on the topic of Thanksgiving, other than thanks for looking at my dungeons, enjoying them, and giving me a reason to put them out there. Thanks to all the OSR people, game publishers, and art weirdos who keep putting great stuff out on the Net to look at, read, and play. This world is made of awesome.

Craterwrack

Polymer Woods

This is for Chris Bennet, who long ago requested more dungeons based on classic TSR games. Here's a taste of Gamme World old school for you.

Braid Dungeon

Platformers are most definitely dungeons. Time travelling dungeons are even more awesome than non-time travelling dungeons. Time travelling dungeons with stories rule. Not that I've got anything against an old-fashioned hole in the ground with a dragon, but Braid is a mighty fine dungeon.

Wow

I debated posting this dungeon, as it's a bit, er... snarky. But that about sums up how I feel about Wow. Yes, an exercise bike hidden behind a shiny facade. Actually, I'll say this. The Dark Elf city is a worthy work of art in its own right.

Civvv

It's been hard lately to get my blog posts out. I've stated that this is because I'm busy with work and getting ready for the Year of the Dungeon art show. But the real truth is that I'm playing CivV. Naturally, video games have a way of eating your spare time, and CivV is no exception. This is a worthy addition to the Civ family, Even on a short game, I find the modern age is a lot of clicking, nevertheless, they've cut a lot of the tedium, kept the essenence, and made worthy editions. Also, Siam rules.

Nethackery

I have been playing Nethack since there was an Internet. I have never beaten it, not even once. I am apparently terrible at this game. I fail and fail and fail again. Yet I keep coming back. My current favorite flavor is the spectacular Stone Soup Dungeon Crawl.

The Magic Eight Ball

Adrienne collects magic eight balls, so this one is for her. Hi Adrienne!

And now, an insidious magic item for your campaign:

That Accursed Eight Ball

The Magic Eight Ball is an item with a storied history, associated with great successes and mishaps throughout history.

When you consult the Magic Eight Ball about some action, roll 1d8.

1. "Outlook Bad" Receive -1 to your next dice roll


2. "Yes" Character receives +1 to dice rolls as though under the effect of a bless spell


3. "No" The next significant action the PCs attempt will fail if it is at all reasonable for failure to occur.


4. "Absolutely" The next time the PCs attempt something dangerous, their attempt will fail in an unreasonable and apparently random fashion, as though someone had cast a wish spell to bring the failure about.


5. "Death" The consulting character immediately drops to 0 HP.


6. "Kaboom" The Eight Ball explodes, causing 3d6 to anyone close. The Eight Ball will appear again in another dungeon 1d100 miles away soon after.


7. "Answer unclear" Nothing happens. For the next 1d20 hours, this is the only answer that can be obtained from the Eight Ball


8. "Ask again" Character receives -1 (cumulative) to next dice roll, plus effects of any future Eight Ball rolls.

The Heartsmith

Have another city tile!

Fun facts about your neighborhood:

The heartsmith can make practically anything, as long as it's a heart. Like he make a metal clockwork heart that'll keep your dying lover alive for a while. He's pretty useless at making anything else.

The lost quarry isn't called that because it's lost, it's named that because the wizard it belonged to lost it in a card game. The new owner keeps himself completely wrapped in black bandages and never comes out during the day.

Gold Street is a good place to find a goldsmith. There's really nothing else weird about it.

Den of the Owlbear

Owlbears are sophisticated and complex creatures, capable of an amazing range of subtle behaviors. Do not cross an owlbear. Other than that, I think this dungeon speaks for itself.

Also, very large bees are terribly under-rated as dungeon monsters go.

East Sump

12 Things you can buy in East Sump

1. Enbalming Fluid
2. Organ meat
3. The services of a good Djinn banisher
4. Rat traps
5. Giant rat traps
6. Enchanted hats - exploding (third door on the left, knock three times)
7. Love potions (20 minute, 2 hour, and 4 day effectiveness)
8. Fake love potions (much cheaper)
9. Lodgings
10. A trained bear
11. Raincoats
12. Really good iron rations

Achievement Unlocked

I'm sorry, but your princess is in another castle.

Lair of the Cappuccino

The Cappucchino is a fearsome opponent, but can be defeated in a number of ways, providing access to the sweet, sweet sugar. Cold magic won't harm it, but will negate its heat attack so you can defeat it faster. It is best to establish a resistance to caffeine before embarking, either by spell, or through long exposure. if a fully charged Punch Card is available, it can be an invaluable asset.

The Third Lost Githyanki Space Dungeon

A strange artifact floating in an endless gulf, carries secrets of a forgotten magic.

A legendary threat resurfaces with terrifying results in a remote space dungeon.

The true cause of an ancient war lies hidden deep in the gulfs of limbo.

Atrium

The Faithful Illithid (his or her true name being unknown) served many masters with a diligence and neutrality that belied the reputation of the Illithid race. When, in time, fame brought too many sages, kings, wizards, and demons willing to pay even the Illithids exorbitant price, it retreated to another plane of existence where it continues its work in relative peace. But if your reputation is high enough, even a pocket dimension without entrance is no discouragement.

The Faithful Illithid still takes commissions from a variety of customers, provided the customer has the knowledge and power to reach the Illithid in its private refuge. The creature is known to employ a number of trustworthy and reliable agents throughout the planes to carry out its customers requests. No commission is too obscure or too dangerous for The Faithful Illithid.