elventower

296 The Sacred Hunt

Denizens of the Tower

Here's the map of an underground complex connected to a series of caverns and tunnels. Originally I envisioned this as a ritualistic place where a druid or similarly nature-oriented character would perform a hunting ceremony. I was thinking it could be an initiation rite, a trial, or an admission exam into a coven, druid circle or something like that.

The PC would take the sword in Area 2 and had to go to the tunnels and hunt down some kind of beast to comple...

Stay the night drinking at the crossroads!

Hello, travelers!

It's not usual that I make a map that is both a town and a playable/combat map. It is really only feasible with small settlements such as this one. A cute small hamlet with a grid on it so we can organize some town-raids or internal squabbles. The place is small enough that it does not have a wall or any defensive structures. It grows organically around a T-intersection of two well traveled merchant roads. These kind of settlements do not have immediate access to water...

295 Red Flower Crossroads (Photoshop)

Here's the .psd file for 295 Red Flower Crossroads. Notice that it is necessary to have Photoshop to use it. Inside you will find that it is all white. That is the uppermost layer, I only use it to make the file preview smaller in size. Once you remove that uppermost layer you'll see the illustration. (it's just one click)

Most of the illustration elements are properly named and arranged in folders in the layer area. Some assets like textures or smart objects have been ...

295 Red Flower Crossroads

Hi Denizens of the Tower,

It's not usual that I make a map that is both a town and a playable/combat map. It is really only feasible with small settlements such as this one. A cute small hamlet with a grid on it so we can organize some town-raids or internal squabbles. The place is small enough that it does not have a wall or any defensive structures. It grows organically around a T intersection of two well traveled merchant roads. These kind of settlements do not have immediate access ...

Let's quiet down that angry spirit!

Travelers from distant lands!

An old forgotten catacomb from a powerful family in ancient times is the source of terrible shadow creatures that attack the townsfolk in the closest settlements. Most of them are just farmers and herders with no means to defend their land. So they have all chipped in to collect a reasonable bounty for mercenaries to take. The source of the problem is nothing but a coincidence. The old bodily remains of Alice Nestwing  were taken by a colony of giant a...

294 Nestwing Catacomb (Photoshop)

Here's the .psd file for 294 Nestwing Catacomb. Notice that it is necessary to have Photoshop to use it. Inside you will find that it is all white. That is the uppermost layer, I only use it to make the file preview smaller in size. Once you remove that uppermost layer you'll see the illustration. (it's just one click)

Most of the illustration elements are properly named and arranged in folders in the layer area. Some assets like textures or smart objects have been rast...

294 Nestwing Catacomb

Denizens of the Tower!

An old forgotten catacomb from a powerful family in ancient times is the source of terrible shadow creatures that attack the townsfolk in the closest settlements. Most of them are just farmers and herders with no means to defend their land. So they have all chipped in to collect a reasonable bounty for mercenaries to take. The source of the problem is nothing but a coincidence. The old bodily remains of Alice Nestwing  were taken by a colony of giant ants to ...

Looking for a cure? On to the apothecary shop

Travelers!

We start the month with a very cool location. It is an apothecary shop/pharmacy. It is a two-story building with a secret basement. The owner Oolin and his assistant live on the second floor. There is a botanic garden next to the house. The interesting bit about this place is the fact that the apothecary has provided infalible cures to often incurable ailments over the past two months because he is empowering his potions with parts from Fey creatures. The first one was a luck...

293 Apothecary Shop (Photoshop)

Here's the .psd file for 293 Apothecary Shop. Notice that it is necessary to have Photoshop to use it. Inside you will find that it is all white. That is the uppermost layer, I only use it to make the file preview smaller in size. Once you remove that uppermost layer you'll see the illustration. (it's just one click)

Most of the illustration elements are properly named and arranged in folders in the layer area. Some assets like textures or smart objects have been raster...

293 Apothecary Shop (20x19)

Denizens of the Tower!

We start the month with a very cool location. It is an apothecary shop/pharmacy. It is a two-story building with a secret basement. The owner Oolin and his assistant live on the second floor. There is a botanic garden next to the house. The interesting bit about this place is the fact that the apothecary has provided infalible cures to often incurable ailments over the past two months because he is empowering his potions with parts from Fey creatures. The first on...

292 Horn of Dawn (Photoshop)

Here's the .psd file for 292 Horn of Dawn. Notice that it is necessary to have Photoshop to use it. Inside you will find that it is all white. That is the uppermost layer, I only use it to make the file preview smaller in size. Once you remove that uppermost layer you'll see the illustration. (it's just one click)

Most of the illustration elements are properly named and arranged in folders in the layer area. Some assets like textures or smart objects have been rasterize...

292 Horn of Dawn

Denizens of the Tower!

Hi, to close the month, I bring you this underground dungeon map where a valuable treasure or object is hidden. The name is nothing but a place holder since no lore or adventure is included with this location. The illustration is ambiguous in whether the borders of the dungeon are walls or not. Perhaps there is no walls and it is like the whole place is floating or an abyss is below. As you can see, Area 5 features a kind of stone table with many objects on it. As...

The Planetarium

Travelers!

A deranged drow necromancer left his birthplace to see the world and bring woe to those around him. Fascinated by the coexisting planes and the elemental planes, Azarin built a mechanical contraption which emulated certain characteristics of those planes of existence. The strange device features a central rotating hub which is the only means to access the inner chambers. (See diagram above)

Azarin placed a wonderful treasure in the last area of the place he came to call...

291 The Planetarium (Photoshop)

Here's the .psd file for 291 The Planetarium. Notice that it is necessary to have Photoshop to use it. Inside you will find that it is all white. That is the uppermost layer, I only use it to make the file preview smaller in size. Once you remove that uppermost layer you'll see the illustration. (it's just one click)

Most of the illustration elements are properly named and arranged in folders in the layer area. Some assets like textures or smart objects have been raster...

291 The Planetarium

A deranged drow necromancer left his birthplace to see the world and bring woe to those around him. Fascinated by the coexisting planes and the elemental planes, Azarin built a mechanical contraption which emulated certain characteristics of those planes of existence. The strange device features a central rotating hub which is the only means to access the inner chambers. (See diagram above)

Azarin placed a wonderful treasure in the last area of the place he came to call The Planetarium....

Do you want to join our guild?

Travelers!

I made this map and wrote some lore for low-level characters who aspire to join an adventurers' guild. Surely the prestigious Broken Hilt Guild does not welcome underperforming mercenaries among its ranks. That is why they created this trial course to filter out those unworthy of joining. The only rules are to only use weapons from the local armory, and to reach the other end of the course by any means necessary. Doing it in a short period of time is regarded highly too.

290 Guild's Trials

Denizens of the Tower!

I made this map and wrote some lore for low-level characters who aspire to join an adventurers' guild. Surely the prestigious Broken Hilt Guild does not welcome underperforming mercenaries among its ranks. That is why they created this trial course to filter out those unworthy of joining. The only rules are to only use weapons from the local armory, and to reach the other end of the course by any means necessary. Doing it in a short period of time is regarded high...

290 Guild's Trials (Photoshop)

Here's the .psd file for 290 Guild's Trials. Notice that it is necessary to have Photoshop to use it. Inside you will find that it is all white. That is the uppermost layer, I only use it to make the file preview smaller in size. Once you remove that uppermost layer you'll see the illustration. (it's just one click)

Most of the illustration elements are properly named and arranged in folders in the layer area. Some assets like textures or smart objects have been rasteri...

4 Cartography Brushes to share

Hi pals, I want to share with you four photoshop brushes that I use often in my work. I used them heavily for the cartography icons pack. They're designed for a drawing tablet; they have pressure sensitivity on. I use a Wacom Intuos Pro.

Sinav Cliff, a city of undead...

Travelers from far away lands, I wrote an adventure idea!

I'd been debating myself on how to implement a city with an undead population that makes sense somewhat. I know there are some examples in some setting but they strike me as odd and "unnatural" if that's a word I can use for a fantasy setting.

So this is my way of doing it, arguably not the best. Sinav Cliff is a desert settlement where a strange and old curse on the land makes dead people come back to life as ghouls/zombie...

289 Sinav Cliff (Photoshop)

Here's the .psd file for 289 Sinav Cliff. Notice that it is necessary to have Photoshop to use it. Inside you will find that it is all white. That is the uppermost layer, I only use it to make the file preview smaller in size. Once you remove that uppermost layer you'll see the illustration. (it's just one click)

Most of the illustration elements are properly named and arranged in folders in the layer area. Some assets like textures or smart objects have been rasterized...

289 Sinav Cliff

Denizens of the Tower.

I've been debating myself on how to implement a city with an undead population that makes sense somewhat. I know there are some examples in some setting but they strike me as odd and "unnatural" if that's a word I can use for a fantasy setting.

So this is my way of doing it, arguably not the best. Sinav Cliff is a desert settlement where a strange and old curse on the land makes dead people come back to life as ghouls/zombies of sorts. They lose some memorie...

Who can find the devil in disguise?

Traveler from a foreign land!

This is the Fancy Lynx. A cool location to visit in large cities. Part tavern, part gambling hall, part show house, the gambling hall has Fancy Lynx has it all. The best wines and spirits, games of chance and the chance to become rich, and shows that go from gnome theater plays to exotic dancers. However, the place has a secret. In the basement, there is a large sinkhole that goes all the way down to the Underdark. It looks dangerous but nothing can come fr...

288 The Fancy Lynx (Photoshop)

Here's the .psd file for 288 The Fancy Lynx. Notice that it is necessary to have Photoshop to use it. Inside you will find that it is all white. That is the uppermost layer, I only use it to make the file preview smaller in size. Once you remove that uppermost layer you'll see the illustration. (it's just one click)

Most of the illustration elements are properly named and arranged in folders in the layer area. Some assets like textures or smart objects have been rasteri...

288 The Fancy Lynx

Denizens of the Tower

This is the Fancy Lynx. A cool location to visit in large cities. Part tavern, part gambling hall, part show house, the gambling hall has Fancy Lynx has it all. The best wines and spirits, games of chance and the chance to become rich, and shows that go from gnome theater plays to exotic dancers. However, the place has a secret. In the basement, there is a large sinkhole that goes all the way down to the Underdark. It looks dangerous but nothing can come from below...

Chapel of the Bountiful Harvest

Travelers from beyond!

This is the Chapel of the Bountiful Harvest, It is a new church they built under the city in what used to be part of the temple's catacombs. Priest Hugh is the power figure in both churches but it is just a front. An evil entity from another world offered Hugh the power to manipulate the harvests to avoid famine during winters. Priest Hugh chose to accept this bargain without knowing that the demonic entity would move into the material world and co-habitate his he...

287 Chapel of the Bountiful Harvest (Photoshop)

Here's the .psd file for 287 Chapel of the Bountiful Harvest. Notice that it is necessary to have Photoshop to use it. Inside you will find that it is all white. That is the uppermost layer, I only use it to make the file preview smaller in size. Once you remove that uppermost layer you'll see the illustration. (it's just one click)

Most of the illustration elements are properly named and arranged in folders in the layer area. Some assets like textures or smart objects ...

287 Chapel of the Bountiful Harvest

Denizens of the Tower

This is the Chapel of the Bountiful Harvest, It is a new church they built under the city in what used to be part of the temple's catacombs. Priest Hugh is the power figure in both churches but it is just a front. An evil entity from another world offered Hugh the power to manipulate the harvests to avoid famine during winters. Priest Hugh chose to accept this bargain without knowing that the demonic entity would move into the material world and co-habitate his hea...

286 Mal, the Capital

Travelers from foreign lands!

This is Mal, a metropolis and capital of a mid-sized kingdom. I'd been wanting to do a city layout which consisted in concentric circles and several layers of walls. The result is very visually enticing. One of the internal wall-circles protudes from the outer wall. This one includes Mal Palace, the home of Queen Galiana. Outside of the city walls, the bridge district is an interesting place to visit. Scores of stores and merchants sells their wares on the ...

286 Mal, the Capital (Photoshop)

Here's the .psd file for 286 Mal, the  Capital. Notice that it is necessary to have Photoshop to use it. Inside you will find that it is all white. That is the uppermost layer, I only use it to make the file preview smaller in size. Once you remove that uppermost layer you'll see the illustration. (it's just one click)

Most of the illustration elements are properly named and arranged in folders in the layer area. Some assets like textures or smart objects have been...