milbysmaps

The Citadel of Ash

A lot of people will look at this map and see a place inhabited by one of two things:

1. Bad guys
2. Dwarves

Why? It's the lava, of course. Lava in FRPGs is practically code for dwarves and scumbags. It's almost like decent, respectable humans can't recognize the defensive utility of molten rock.

Hopefully, this isn't how it works in real life, because I recognize the defensive utility of molten rock. And I'm a little too tall to be a dwarf.

Any...

The Citadel of Ash - Patrons' Edition

A lot of people will look at this map and see a place inhabited by one of two things:

1. Bad guys
2. Dwarves

Why? It's the lava, of course. Lava in FRPGs is practically code for dwarves and scumbags. It's almost like decent, respectable humans can't recognize the defensive utility of molten rock.

Hopefully, this isn't how it works in real life, because I recognize the defensive utility of molten rock. And I'm a little too tall to be a dwarf.

Any...

The Black Loch Conclave - First Vote

This is the first vote in the Black Loch Conclave. With 20 proposals in all, there will be 3 more votes with 5 proposals in each. Afterwards, the top two proposals from each vote will move on to a final round of voting, in which one winner will be decided. The final round will likely have at least one runoff vote, but the others will not. This vote will remain open for 5 days. Good luck and godspeed!

Silas proposes “The Sundered Manacle,” a secret community of escaped slave...

Tower Citadel (Work-In-Progress)

I just wanted to show you the ground floor and sideview of the map I'm working on at the moment. There are another 6 floors above this and I'm about to start scanning and coloring it all. What do you think so far?

The 42nd Cartographic Congress Final Runoff

Well, I was about to call the last vote, but the tie was finally broken, so it looks like we'll have one more round. Your final contenders are:

Senator Parker and Senator Jon propose the Infected Citadel, a dwarven fortress whose lower reaches have been tainted by the Far Realm. The upper level is relatively normal, but things become more bizarre and warped toward the bottom as the Far Realm begins to pervade reality.

Senator Shawn proposes an inn built over a set of cascading wat...

El Ojo de la Madre - Aztec Version

Okay, here's the alternate version of the underwater temple I promised. Could be useful if your party ever ends up in Chult, Maztica or any other place that's basically Mexico with lizardmen.

I'll be drawing a tower fortress next, in the style of 2022-03-01 17:16:18 +0000 UTC View Post

El Ojo de la Madre - Aztec Version - Patrons' Edition

Okay, here's the alternate version of the underwater temple I promised. Could be useful if your party ever ends up in Chult, Maztica or any other place that's basically Mexico with lizardmen.

I'll be drawing a tower fortress next, in the style of 2022-03-01 17:16:08 +0000 UTC View Post

The Mother's Eye

The Mother's Eye is a kuo-toan temple partially submerged in the waters of the Black Loch. The part of the temple above water is meant, perhaps surprisingly, to accommodate land-dwelling races.

Do land-dwelling races worship naked lobs...

The Mother's Eye - Patrons' Edition

The Mother's Eye is a kuo-toan temple partially submerged in the waters of the Black Loch. The part of the temple above water is meant, perhaps surprisingly, to accommodate land-dwelling races.

Do land-dwelling races worship naked lobs...

The 42nd Cartographic Congress Runoff

This one has been a rollercoaster. The Seljuk city took an early lead, then the infected citadel came lunging ahead to meet it. And then, out of nowhere, the inn decides it wants in on the action too. I'm not even going to pretend to know which way the wind is blowing here.

Senator Parker and Senator Jon propose the Infected Citadel, a dwarven fortress whose lower reaches have been tainted by the Far Realm. The upper level is relatively normal, but things become more bizarre and warped ...

Submerged Temple (Work-in-Progress)

Here's the top level of the submerged kuo-toan temple in the Black Loch. There are three floors below this and I should have them all done in a day or two.

By the way, I mentioned earlier that I was taking proposals for a new location in the loch and that all patrons were welcome to submit ...

The Black Loch Conclave (AKA "The Unholyrood")

I mentioned in an earlier post that I wanted to hold a vote to give more people a voice in the creation of the Black Loch. Here are the details on that:

First, I'm going to send out a message to all patrons asking for proposals for new locations for the loch. If you have an idea for a place you think would make an interes...

The 42nd Cartographic Congress Vote

Here's a fun fact about the Cartographic Congress: there was no 1st Cartographic Congress vote. And there wasn't really a second, either. When the first happened, there was only one member of the Congress, so I just asked what he wanted a map of. And, during the second, there was only one proposal. I did hold a vote, but this is what the ballot looked like. Things have come a long way sinc...

Black Loch Naval Battlemaps and Tokens

I spent yesterday and today making a bunch of stuff to help you run naval battles in the Black Loch. Most of it is in the picture above. There are nine ship tokens, plus two tokens of the loch's resident sea creature, the Whisperer. One of the tokens shows the Whisperer clearly and the other is...

Black Loch Naval Battlemaps and Tokens - Patrons' Edition

I spent yesterday and today making a bunch of stuff to help you run naval battles in the Black Loch. Most of it is in the picture above. There are nine ship tokens, plus two tokens of the loch's resident sea creature, the Whisperer. One of the tokens shows the Whisperer clearly and the other is...

Man-O'-War-Class Spelljammer

NOTE: There are tokens of the ship and the artillery in the file at the bottom of this post.

There's a time in every Spelljammer campaign when the party has finally committed enough crimes and looted enough corpses to afford a new ship. Maybe not the Doomlord-Class Planetary Sterilizer they've always wanted, but something better. They've been cruising around in 2022-02-16 19:39:08 +0000 UTC View Post

Man-O'-War-Class Spelljammer - Patrons' Edition

There's a time in every Spelljammer campaign when the party has finally committed enough crimes and looted enough corpses to afford a new ship. Maybe not the Doomlord-Class Planetary Sterilizer they've always wanted, but something better. They've been cruising around in a stylish, but poorly-armed bugboat for about eight levels now. They used to love it, but now....

Man-O-War-Class Spelljammer (Work-in-Progress)

The Man-O-War comes equipped with side-impact airbags, power windows, authentic white rhino leather seats (from a planet where there are millions of them) and a standard 4-year manufacturer's warranty. Low APR financing available, see your Nissan dealer for details.

Couple more days and this should be done.

The Cull'Thaine Estate

The Cull'Thaine Estate is home to the drow matriarch of House Cull'Thaine, the ruling family of the city of Vlyn'darastyl in the Black Loch.

Something about this map got me thinking. There are two parts of the Black Loch-- the setting I've been making maps and lore of-- that came from the Cartographic Congress: the Cull'Thaine Estate...

The Cull'Thaine Estate - Patrons' Edition

The Cull'Thaine Estate is home to the drow matriarch of House Cull'Thaine, the ruling family of the city of Vlyn'darastyl in the Black Loch.

Something about this map got me thinking. There are two parts of the Black Loch-- the setting I've been making maps and lore of-- that came from the Cartographic Congress: the Cull'Thaine Estate...

The 41st Cartographic Congress Final Runoff

It looks like this month's winner is going to be an evil fortress, I just need you to tell me which evil fortress:

Senator Parker proposes a tower fortress, similar to a smaller version of Barad-Dûr (from Lord of the Rings).

Senator Jon proposes the Infected Citadel, a dwarven fortress whose lower reaches have been tainted by the Far Realm. The upper level is relatively normal, but things become more bizarre and warped toward the bottom as the Far Realm begins to pervade...

The 41st Cartographic Congress Runoff

We've got five proposals making it to the runoff this month, which is generally a sign of some good proposals. Let's see what makes it out of the runoff alive!

Senator Rosamund proposes a surreal, M.C. Escher-esque room.

Senator Morgan proposes a Hindu-style jungle temple.

Senator Fraz-Urb'luu proposes a laboratory in a small demi-plane, with facilities where captive creatures are studied and observed.

Senator Parker proposes a tower fortress, similar to a smaller vers...

Coxton Tower - Patrons' Edition

Man, it's been a while since I've made a map with only six rooms and I'd forgotten how fast I could draw something this small, haha.

Anyway, Coxton Tower was built in Moray, Scotland in the 1500s and this map is fairly accurate, with a couple of exceptions. First, it shows the tower on a clear, sunny day, which is a grossly inaccurate depiction of Scottish weather. And second, the size is off, which is intentional. An accurate map of Coxton Tower would have an interior about 3 1/2 tiles...

Coxton Tower: A Towerhouse in Moray, Scotland

Man, it's been a while since I've made a map with only six rooms and I'd forgotten how fast I could draw something this small, haha.

Anyway, Coxton Tower was built in Moray, Scotland in the 1500s and this map is fairly accurate, with a couple of exceptions. First, it shows the tower on a clear, sunny day, which is a grossly inaccurate depiction of Scottish weather. And second, the size is off, which is intentional. An accurate map of Coxton Tower would have an interior about 3 1/2 tiles...

The 41st Cartographic Congress Vote

We have seven proposals for your consideration this month and I'm going to leave you to it so I can get back to work on this Scottish tower house. Your candidates are:

Senator Rosamund proposes a surreal, M.C. Escher-esque room.

Senator Morgan proposes a Hindu-style jungle temple.

Senator AN7 proposes the Great Hall of Crafts, a large temple dedicated to the dwarven god, Moradin.

Senator Reginald proposes a train car graveyard, with various styles of cars scattered thr...

The Town of Five Arches

Five Arches might seem like a place you'd only find in the realms of fantasy, but you'd actually find something fairly similar in the realms of Italy-- namely, the Ponte Vecchio in Florence. And there's another bridge like this in Germany called the Krämerbrücke, as well as one in England called 2022-01-27 04:11:05 +0000 UTC View Post

The Town of Five Arches - Patrons' Edition

Five Arches might seem like a place you'd only find in the realms of fantasy, but you'd actually find something fairly similar in the realms of Italy-- namely, the Ponte Vecchio in Florence. And there's another bridge like this in Germany called the Krämerbrücke, as well as one in England called 2022-01-27 04:11:00 +0000 UTC View Post

Town on a Bridge (Work-in-Progress)

Inking all this took a little longer than I expected, but here's the town on a bridge. There are two levels on top of the bridge deck and another one underneath. The town has a tavern, a livery, various shops, a few gardens and a few empty buildings so you can add in whatever you need that isn't there.

I've got a little bit left to ink tonight and then I'll start on the color tomorrow. Anyway, what do you think so far?

The Whisperer - A Creature from the Black Loch

A few weeks ago, I posted a map called the Smoldering Abyss. It was part of the Black Loch and one of the more notable things living there was a monster called "the Whisperer." Well, Jamie, a longtime patron, offered to write up some stats and do an illustration of the creature.

You can download it 2022-01-13 17:49:06 +0000 UTC View Post

The Black Loch: The History and Lore of the Loch

As promised, here's an overview of the history and lore of the Black Loch. If you've read over all the DM notes for the loch, you probably won't find much new here, but it's intended as more of an introduction to the setting, with basic summaries of the locations and a few notable people. Of course, I'll be updating this in the future, once I get some more locations finished.

Okay, time to get started on the n...