XaiJu
neutralparty

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neutralparty posts

Desert House

I'm back once again with a shiny new map just for you! I skipped down the poll a bit to one I've been looking forward to, the Herbalist's Desert Shack, and I'm loving just how cute that little garden turned out. 

The campaign that I'm DM-ing is in a slightly topical environment but there isn't much opportunity for deserty fights. I really want to pit my players against some mummies though, so maybe there's teleportation in their future?

My Adept and Expert patrons also get a ...

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Desert House, Adept & Expert

Wow, this has been a crazy week. I've been a little overwhelmed since the end of May (which is why this map is a fair bit smaller and simpler than usual) but I think I'm starting to get things under control. 

Also prepare for freebies, Adepts and Experts! I'll be making an alternate version of each map just available for you folks from now on; this time it's a version of the map set at dusk. This alternate version can be whatever, if you recall last week's map I made an alternate '...

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Bandit Camp

Happy Friday, Patrons! Continuing down the list, this week we have the Bandit Camp. I wrestled with this one for a while because I wasn't sure how to make a camp seem bandity. The way I see it, if you're hiding your camp in the shadow of a rocky hillside, you're probably up to something suspicious (but that's just me). I also like making bandits seem like real dummies, which I think you'd have to be to make your camp here. 

What I like about this layout is that it begs for crafty w...

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Bandit Camp, Adept & Expert

This week's map is the bandit camp, which tied for 4th in the poll from a month ago, and this map was tougher to make than I thought. I mostly didn't want to repeat the Watchtower map (I'm not very into that one) from a month ago which led to me second-guessing myself about almost everything. In the end I just pushed through it and just finish it. Hopefully that haste doesn't show, because I think a lot of the map came out great. 

Also, this week you guys get a bonus additional 'empty' ve...

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Winding Mountain Path, Adept & Expert

 

I'm back and I'm trying out new things this week! I wanted to play it fast and loose this time while messing with different styles and brushes; I think it ended up pretty rad. 


1. When I know I'll be messing with elevation (more than usual), I have to add some extra details, such as shading, to help me visualize things better. I was a bit concerned that I was limiting move...

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Winding Mountain Path

Welcome back! This week I've got a multi-tiered mountain path for you. I think I would pit my players against giant goats here if they were low level, or maybe something that take advantage of the terrain, like creatures that fly or use ranged attacks. Perhaps a griffon or 2 have made their roost on the path, and travelers need someone to scare it off?

This week I felt like trying out a few things, new brushes and styles that I've had in mind (I talk about it a bit more in the adept pos...

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Burnt Down Farm

Hey everyone, here's what I've got for you this week: the runner up to the poll, a burnt down farm! It ended up being a bit more thatch-roofed cottage-y as I worked on it, but I think it's got a nice vibe to it. This is my return to slightly bigger maps, but let me know if you would rather I stick to somewhat smaller ones!

Old farm houses are my go-to for traveling encounters, so hopefully this one comes in handy for your campaigns. Perhaps the perpetrators are still lingering about the...

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Burnt Down Farm, Adept & Expert

I'll be real with you guys, I didn't realize how much I enjoyed last week's throneroom, but I wasn't pumped to be back to drawing dirt roads and grass again. I think it came out well, but I felt a bit less inspiration than usual (maybe I'm just in a mood, who can say?) 

1. Very very little changed after my initial sketch, which is not unexpected. I've had this map in mind for a long time now, so ...

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Crumbling Throneroom

Hey patrons here's this week's map, the winner from the poll! What dwells in the crumbling ruins of the castle? My bet's on skeletons, but any number of beasts or men may dwell here! This is based off of the boss room of the ghoul king from my personal campaign, but I hope it fits well into any place that needs some spooky ruins. 

Now, I don't like to advertise to my patrons but this is a nice one to be an Adept for; I've set up the PSD so that the columns and carpet can be easily ...

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Crumbling Throneroom, Adept & Expert

This week's map ended up being a little more tricky than I expected, but overall I think it came out pretty well! The idea for it came from my personal campaign I'm running where my players were exploring a long abandoned underground city of ghouls. The final confrontation was in the throneroom of the ghoul king, where his last subject was trying to bring him back to life. Anyway, let's talk about it! 

...

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Cliffside Ruins

This week's map is a loose collection of walls and rubble by a cliffside. There's some nice verticality this time, with lots of cover to get behind. I think this one definitely favors ranged combat, though there's plenty to hide behind if you're of a stealthy persuasion.

What might you find here? Cultists sifting through the rubble for relics? Territorial spirits from a passed age? An uppity druid who thinks you looked at him funny?

My next few maps will be from the poll, so make ...

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Cliffside Ruins, Adept & Expert

Hello and welcome back Adepts and Experts! There are many more of you this week than last time so I'll take the opportunity to thank you from the bottom of my heart, all of you especially make this all work :) Anywho, this is where I give you a little play-by-play of this week's map and my thoughts about it, as well as your rewards (which are attached at the bottom).

1. As always, I start off with a r...

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Mountain Checkpoint

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Mountain Checkpoint, Behind the Scenes

This week's map is a bit smaller than my others, but that doesn't mean it was any less work to make, so let's talk!

1. Things didn't change too much after the rough sketch, I cut out the leafy plants in favor of a more arid feeling and changed the ledge to the right of the wall to be more like the others. I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted to draw, so this stage came and went pretty quickly. View Post

Forest Path, Free Map

A winding and poorly-maintained road through the forest, with a fallen tree across the path! A big setback for anyone leading a cart, and a bigger setback if bandits and highwaymen are responsible, for this tree didn't fall naturally!

This was my very first map, now up on Patreon and free for everyone. My Patrons receive 1 new and freshly-made map per week as well as alternate nighttime and gridless versions, and always in high resolution.

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Lava Path, Free Map

A treacherous path through a field of lava, only a thin and crumbling stone bridge stands in the way of certain crispy death! Perhaps someone particularly light on their feet could cross on the stones floating past, but certainly not with ease.

One of my first maps, this hasn't yet been seen on Patreon but it's now free to everyone! Patrons get one new, high resolution map per week (give or take) as well as alternate night versions.

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Hilltop Watchtower, Behind the Scenes

Here's this week's behind the scenes, now new and improved with more steps and commentary!

1.  This map is heavily inspired by an area in perhaps my favorite game, Guild Wars 2, a little scouting camp overlooking a bridge in Kryta. So, I had a pretty strong idea of what I wanted to do when I started drawing the rough sketch. Looking back, it looks like very little actually changed after this poin...

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Hilltop Watchtower

Here's this week's map!  A small scouting camp in the middle of a plain or clearing with a sturdily-built watchtower with a spiral staircase as the center-point at the top of the hill. I thought this would be a fun one to set up as a stealthy encounter, but if your party doesn't roll that way then who am I to judge? Either way, whoever holds the camp has the advantage (upper ground and all that), so perhaps this encounter will require a bit of planning. 

Last week's map made me want ...

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Island Shrine

Hey folks, welcome back! Here's my first map funded by you patrons, a little island with an even littler shrine plopped right on top. Thank you so much for your support, it feels good to be making art again :) 

This week's map is a little more open than last week's forest graveyard, much more open space to run around in but also much more verticality. My textures are also a little different than last week's as my stylus broke just as I was starting them :'( I had to use some strategies I'...

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Island Shrine, Behind the Scenes

Welcome back for this week's Behind the Scenes! This ended up being an interesting one for a couple reasons, so lets get to it.


1. The first rough sketch. If anything, it's less pretty than usual (not that it matters horribly). As you can tell a lot of changes took place after this: the shape of the island, the shrine, the boat's gone, the little fragment island is missing a couple features, the trees are gone. I just didn't feel like these things added enough, so they were scrapped...

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Forest Grave, Behind the Scenes

Hi! Here's my first Behind the Scenes, the format may change for these as I learn more about Patreon but as for now let's just jump into it!

I made the map a couple days ago, before I thought of having behind the scenes pics, so these are gathered afterwards (5 minutes ago). In the future, there will be more in between these steps, but hopefully you enjoy these as they are!

1. The first rough sketches. Mostly just blocking out the shapes, this stage isn't supposed to be pretty and just d...

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Forest Graveyard

My very first post! Thanks for coming by my Patreon and checking it out. This is just the beginning though, so come on by again for even more maps (about 1 per week!).

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