The Dark Zen Garden

Dimensions - (16 x 25) squares
Image resolution - 2240 x 3500 px
DPI - 140

"A fluttering breeze wafts through the glittering leaves and outstretched branches around you, filling your ears with a hushed and muttering whisper. The soft glow of the garden's lights send shadows scattering across the smooth plastic and glass, like some abstract dance of nature imprisoned by man and metal.

The echo of your feet on the floor is muffled and suffocated by the surrounding vegetation, with the outside world kept out by walls and flora stretching to the stars and satellites blinking above. Other patrons of the garden glide past you slowly, lost in the meditation of this moment as everyone tries to forget they have to return to their sad lives outside.

The bright shining screen that covers an entire wall of the enclosed space is drawing people like moths. As you step closer it feels like gazing through frosted glass, your head throbbing from how bright and unnatural the light is. It takes up almost the entire field of your view with vague, bony outlines of trees far in the distance or just of focus.

You're not sure if it's the fans blasting out humid air to keep the breeze gusting through the space, but you feel your eyes start to blur and grow wet. Choked sobs from other visitors echo around you, mixing with the hushed and muttering whisper."

~ SlappinFace

Happy end of month everyone!

I hope everyone's well and that you're working hard (but not too hard) and gaming even harder!

This is the last battle map for the month of July and it is one of those art pieces that plucks at my heartstrings - simply because it took so much effort for this concept to be conceived. As humans, we tend to be biased towards the things we put most of our efforts into, do we not?

I present to you, the "Dark Zen Garden". I know it is a tacky name, but my maps are already dark enough in nature and a little lightening up wouldn't hurt, I think.

About This Map

The idea was seeded by Patreon member "@ToiletTruck" over at the Discord server. He actually suggested this idea a long time back as a darker alternative to the "Japanese Garden" map that I drew many moons ago. It just took me a long time to find a concept that I thought would work.

This battle map's concept is about a large interior garden located inside some sort of futuristic corporate sci-fi building or structure. It's really dark and the main sources of illumination are the glowing trees and the large curved screen panel that projects a looped video of lush foliage.

This map will be a good interim location that the players come across whilst enroute to the main bio lab. Or, a place where corrupt bureaucrats gather in secrecy to discuss their nefarious schemes.

Map Variants

Here is where the fun begins...

Tree Canopy

I've created a canopy layer of the tree leaves for you to add as a overly in your favorite virtual tabletop gaming apps (such as Roll20, Foundry VTT, Fantasy Grounds - there are just so many to choose from nowadays).

Base Layers

These are the variants without the tree leaves, showcasing the details underneath.

The Thing

Here we go. I had fun with this one. The entire curved screen is replaced by a large terrarium made of frosted glass. Inside the terrarium is a vague plant-like create organism with tentacles. Scattered around are spore sacks reminiscent of the egg sacks from the movie Aliens.

I wanted to have fun with this one so I didn't try and define the creature's details, instead leaving it to the GM's imagination. I think the abstract view is much creepier in this case.

Containment Breach

Tentacles come bursting out of terrarium, smashing the glass. The tips of those vines are razor sharp. The movement of the tentacles are erratic. Either way, someone's going to get impaled this session. Helldivers never di... oops, wrong game.

I hope you guys like this one. It took a while to complete but I definitely had fun creating this piece for you all.

Like it? Let me know in the comments below.

~ Frag

Patreon Supporter Downloads

Bronze

• Dark Zen Garden - base map (watermark-free, full resolution, grid + grid-less formats)

Go to Bronze downloads section

Silver

• Everything above plus…

• Tree Canopy (transparent .PNG file) + base layer

Go to Silver downloads section

Gold

• Everything above plus…

• The Thing (variant)

• Containment Breach (variant)

Go to Gold downloads section

PS: This cyberpunk battle map was made possible by all of my Patreon subscribers. Thank you for allowing me to draw battle maps on a full-time basis!