elventower

199 Beardhold City

Denizens of the Tower

Something a little different today, but really cool. This is Beardhold City, it started as a dwarven settlement that grew a lot when an influx of new people arrived because they had a lot of precious metal veins. The city grow downwards and upwards. So it is divided in three vertical quarters, undercity, the lower city and the upper city. So it is three different city maps in itself, plus the side map you see above in miniature.

I had a lot of fun creating this city...

The Temple of Scarabs

Traveler!

Here's the sad story of a priest who turned to evil after the death of his wife. A demonic entity discovered that his faith was shaken and took the opportunity to turn him to evil. He is now a kind of double agent. He still preached at his church, but at nights he is a cultist for the wise scarab.

I'm really happy with how this illustration looks. I don't do illumination effects often because they are not easy to do. I also lack the experience but I will start adding stuff like...

198 Temple of Scarabs (Photoshop)

Here's the .psd file for 198 Temple of Scarabs. 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 ...

198 Temple of Scarabs

Hey Denizens of the Tower

Here's the sad story of a priest who turned to evil after the death of his wife. A demonic entity discovered that his faith was shaken and took the opportunity to turn him to evil. He is now a kind of double agent. He still preached at his church, but at nights he is a cultist for the wise scarab.

I'm really happy with how this illustration looks. I don't do illumination effects often because they are not easy to do. I also lack the experience but I will start a...

I need help to buy this.

Hello friends,

As most of you may know, I live in Mexico. I want to buy a set or two of the D&D Core Rules Gift set with the limited edition covers which will only be available at selected FLGS.

They won't be on sale down here so I'm looking for someone willing to get it for me at a local store in the US, and then send it to me via DHL or UPS. I can pay for the gift set and the delivery service via Paypal.

Please let me know if you can do this for me, I will be...

Chuck Clutterbuck's Codex of Cartography

Hello denizens of the tower! A goodie here.

Together with Noble Dwarf Printing and the smith Gil Ramirez. We've come up with a crazy idea for a kickstarter. This is a hardcover book with hand-made metal binding. The interior pages of the book are made of canvas. And all of the maps available for print are a selection of some of my best pieces of the las six months.

I invite you to visit the link above, there are plenty of pictures and two videos so you can see what I'm talking about. Th...

197 The Darkness From the Well (Photoshop)

Here's the .psd file for 197 The Darkness From the Well. 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 ra...

The Darkness From the Well

An aberrant visitor from the Far Realm now lives under the well. The creature was summoned by an accomplished spellcaster who is now a thrall to it. The creature has lived under the well for a few years. The people in the town above fear and respect it so they feed it livestock and farm produce.

The creature has grown in size and aggressiveness over the past few weeks. A person is missing and the townsfolk believe it was the monster from the well. Will there be anyone brave enough to follow th...

197 The Darkness From the Well

Denizens of the Tower!

This is a two-level underground complex. Where an aberrant visitor from the Far Realm now lives. The creature was summoned by an accomplished spellcaster who is now a thrall to it. The creature has lived under the well for a few years. The people in the town above fear and respect it so they feed it livestock and farm produce.

The creature has grown in size and aggressiveness over the past few weeks. A person is missing and the townsfolk believe it was the monster ...

196 Mountain Sanctuary

Shhh, traveler, look at my wares.

This adventure is about how a folk hero monk became what he is now and his ideology. If adventurers wish to become his disciples, they must spend a decade as acolytes, or else they have to demonstrate their martial prowess against the old monk and his students. This is a non-lethal fight (as written). And I think it is interesting to include events where the party must fight, but the consequence of losing is not death. This way you may go over board with the f...

196 Mountain Sanctuary (Photoshop)

Here's the .psd file for 196 Mountain Sanctuary. 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...

196 Mountain Sanctuary

Hey there Denizens of the Tower!

I wrote this encounter map for a party that wishes to meet an old monk in his monastery. This is a high level monk here. The lore in the PDF describes how this monk became what he is now and his ideology. If adventurers wish to become his disciples, they must spend a decade as acolytes, or else they have to demonstrate their martial prowess against the old monk and his students. This is a non-lethal fight (as written). And I think it is interesting to include e...

OP6 - The Unresting Knights

Here's the .psd file for OP6 - The Unresting Knights. 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 raste...

One-Page Dungeon 6 - The Unresting Knights

Hello, Denizens of the Tower, friends, supporters, and random internet people.

Here's the sixth installment of the one-page-dungeon series. The objective is to create self-contained adventures/dungeons with all things necessary to spawn fun adventures in a single page.  The adventures are system neutral so no rules or mechanics are included.

This adventure is about a faraway tower where a very small order of brave knights protect the kingdom from foreign forces in the tall mo...

Pack No.11 - Cave Geomorphs

Hello Denizens of the Tower.

Here's one more pack of assets that are great for Roll20 or other VTT environments. This is a pack of 32 8x8 squares geomorphs for making natural caves. There's enough variation to build a lot of cool things.

All pieces are 8x8 and can be used in any orientation or combination. The number of possible scenarios is really big. Because all pieces are squares, making maps will take 5 minutes. I included variant geomorphs with grids.

Now, as usual, I have in...

Ennie Awards Votes are Open

Hello, friends, supporters, collaborators, players and creators.

My name is Derek and my website Elven Tower was recently nominated for the Ennie Awards. These awards are held once a year and are all about RPG gaming. Last year I earned a silver medal for Best Website.

This year my website is competing in two categories, “Best Blog” and “best Website”. The awards are decided by public vote, and that is the reason for this message.

If you like my stuff and have enjoyed some ...

Bugbears terrorizing the eastern road!

This is a natural cave formation that used to be the home of a pair of bears. Now it is the hiding place of a goblinoid band where the chief is Hraggana, a gigantic bugbear.

They terrorize the eastern road to rob caravans and merchants. The local Captain of the Guard has issued a reward for whoever gets rid of Hraggana and his band of goblinoid brigands.

Adventurers Wanted!

195 Bugbear's Lair (Photoshop)

Here's the .psd file for 195 Bugbear's Lair. 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 to ...

195 Bugbear's Lair

hello Denizens of the Tower. I've been working on a new asset pack for caves. It will be released really soon but this is a derivative work made with those cave tiles. It is a natural cave formation that used to be the home of a pair of bears. Now it is the hiding place of a goblinoid band where the chief is Hraggana, a gigantic bugbear. They terrorize the eastern road to rob caravans and merchants. The local Captain of the Guard has issued a reward for whoever gets rid of Hraggana and his band ...

Cinderhail City

Hey I just posted this metropolis map on my Patreon page. It's really big. It can be printed poster-size if needed.

The compass rose is a piece by fellow creator Caeora. You'll find his stuff here. 

194 Cinderhail City (Photoshop)

Here's the .psd file for 194 Cinderhail City. 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 to...

194 Cinderhail City

Hope you're having an awesome start of the week, Denizens of the tower.

I've been getting backlogged here at work because I rediscovered video games. I've only been playing games that cause a nostalgia effect on me like Stardew Valley (farm game) and Tropico 5 (city building). Apparently it's all about maps and creation for me.

Now this city is Cinderhail. It's a humongous metropolis next to a river. The city has a few water canals that bring water to most river-level districts. There ar...

Something wrong with Patreon's attachments

Edit: Patreon Support contacted me last night to let me know the issue was fixed. As far as I could tell, it is. But please let me know if you have issues downloading something.

Hello, friends.

Two subscribers let me know about a few posts which had missing files/attachments. When you click them it only shows a blank screen with the error message "not found".  I thought this was a small issue but I now see that quite a lot of my posts are behaving like this. Even ve...

193 Extraplanar Maze (photoshop)

Here's the .psd file for 193 Extraplanar Maze. 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 t...

Extraplanar Maze Adventure

This is a big extraplanar maze. I included a fun adventure for my supporters about a crazy mage (corny, I know). The adventure is fun and all but this is the good part.

I also wanted to share a funny story. A few weeks ago I went shopping with my wife. We went to Sams Club here in Mexico and bought "Choco Krispies" I believe you know it as "Cocoa Krispies". Well the back of the cereal box which often has stuff for little kids had this:

2018-07-04 21:55:29 +0000 UTC View Post

193 Extraplanar Maze

Happy 4th of July!  (For supporters currently in the US)

Hello, Denizens of the Tower!

This is a big extraplanar maze. I included a fun adventure about a crazy mage (corny, I know). The adventure is fun and I also know you can give this place a ton of different uses.

BTW, I also wanted to share a funny story. A few weeks ago I went shopping with my wife. We went to Sams Club here in Mexico and bought "Choco Krispies" I believe you know it as "Cocoa Krispies". Well the back of ...

OP5 - The Broken Dam (Photoshop)

Here's the .psd file for OP5 - The Broken Dam. 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 t...

One Page Dungeon 5 - The Broken Dam

Hello, friends, supporters, Denizens of the Tower, and random internet people.

Here's the fifth installment of the one-page-dungeon series. The objective is to create self-contained adventures/dungeons with all things necessary to spawn fun adventures in a single page.  The adventures are system neutral so no rules or mechanics are included.

This adventure is about a band of hobgoblins that take over a dam/fort. A few of the guards are still alive inside, taken prisoners. The...

192 Goldenleaf Dancing Hall (Photoshop)

Here's the .psd file for 192 Goldenleaf Dancing Hall. 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 raste...

192 Goldenleaf Dancing Hall

Denizens of the Tower

This is the Goldenleaf Dancing Hall, a place for the higher ups. where senators, merchants and politicians gather to chat, drink and conduct business away from prying eyes. The place belongs to Finnaria, an elf woman who has been adventurer, mage, researcher and many other professions before.

The place is so selective that a party of lowly adventurers will not have it easy trying to find a way in. They may have to buy some finery and perform their way in.

Due ...