Artwork Update - POP-001

Over on Ko-Fi, I am working on POP-001. This takes place in a lost temple. The artwork for that appeared here several years ago. I didn't mean the maps to be a module, but when I discovered that it survived the fire, I decided to go for it. 

These images are very spare and were not meant to be a dungeon. Through the magic of digital media, I can actually adapt them to what I need them to be. Once complete, you will be able to see the original artwork at the same time as seeing how it was adapted for this title. 

Right now I am working on the main battle map, the cenote chamber. For this map, I need to deviate from the simple one-marker, black-and-white design without moving too far from it. This is for clarity.   

You'll have to check out my Ko-Fi posts for the complete ideation of what is to come from this module. What I'd like to write about is my process. 

A lot of times, people will get cagey about tracing stuff. Well, don't be. 

If you look at the 4 images above, they are digital combinations of 3 images that were traced. Granted, they were traced from my own original work, but this is an old-school version "fix it in post". If you zoom in, you'll notice that the gradient lines of the shoreline are exactly the same because it's a scan. With a lightboard and tracing, it would almost impossible to match the lines over and over again. 

At least for me, because I have a tendency to right to ink, no pencil at all. Usually, to create such things I do pencil on graph paper, then trace right to ink. The image is already set on the underlayer, so why not? 

Interestingly, this type of image can be turned sideways for elevation or twisted by some math to give a 3/4 view or whatever I decide, all on paper before the digital process starts. 

My goal is to generate different layers on paper then scan, then combine so I can have multiple images in a variety of styles. This mixed-style allows me to edit stuff digitally to output documents in 8.5x11", A4, or A5 and 5.5x8.5 booklets.  

As I get closer to completion, you'll see more art from me. However, at the end of the day, you'll want to follow me on Ko-Fi to see more of the behind-the-scenes stuff that didn't make the final cut. 

The Temple of Light - Maps

Update: May 3, 2023. These maps will go into a new product called POP-001, Revenants of the Lost Temple. 

This temple complex is the work of an ancient people. The first map is of a traditional family abode. In the past, the tribe dug horizontal homes, as a means of collecting flint. 

As the people transitioned to a bronze age culture, they began the construction of the Temple of Light. The structure is a gleaming white, the effect was achieved with a decorative coating of quartz and flint. 

The Temple was a beacon of solidarity for the people, but it also proved to be a beacon for raiders. The pirates devastated the village proper, taking valuables and prisoners. The raiders returned seasonally to plunder the people. For a time, the villagers disbursed to escape the onslaught.

One day, several young children entered the Temple and discovered a pair of holes in the central hall leading to a deep natural cavern. When the chief was informed, he ordered a return to the old ways of digging pit homes under the Temple.

In a few months, the tribe had relocated under the Temple. By concealing the upper openings with floor tiles, the villagers were able to exact revenge when the raiders breached the Temple. The surviving pirates completed the turnabout with tales of a diamond-encrusted temple protected by spirits of the earth.

Epilogue:

The children discovered the leader of instability in the rock. Future generations will tell the story of a fortress of diamonds beneath the crystal blue waters of a cenote. The stone age villagers speak in hushed tones about the mighty Sea Mage sinking the fortress in anger for the king's refused tribute payments. Adventurers may find tablets of stone that tell of the powerful shaman who levitated the entirety of the Temple to allow her people time to escape the collapse into the waters below.

This series of maps are based on a mix of real-world places and cultures, Grime's Graves, Ancestral Puebloans and people of Teotihuacan in particular.

POP-001 - The Pantheon of Gods

Welcome back. Tick-tick-tick! The counter is down to 90 days. What do I got? 

A lot more and less than what I need. First, let me do a shout-out to Evlyn Moreau over on Dice.Camp. You can also find her on:

patreon.com/evlynmoreau
https://ko-fi.com/M4M85ZSV
https://evlyn.itch.io

She sent me a collection of jungle-theme images, which will go in POP-001. So I'd better get this thing done. 

One item that stands out in this work is that I must devise a pantheon of gods. Typically, I don't do whole pantheons of gods in my campaigns. I let the players tell me about what gods they know. 

It's easier that way. The alternative is: "Hey... can you fit your character in this tiny box you can see? Perfect!" 

When roughing out a campaign, I will typically have the barest minimum of divine beings. I'll have one God of Light, one of Dark, one in between, and one alternative choice that doesn't fit within these three groups. The last category is for the first NPC cleric or druid the characters encounter and it is a hint that the players can be creative in what they believe. 

When I have a city where a large number of different people reside, there is a Temple Row. I keep the gods non-descript unless someone asks me about them. Invariably, the players will come up with a god that won't fit any of my description and I will have to wing it.  

I personally love this trick. 

As the players search the Temple Row, they will not find a temple to their god but they will have a feeling that they are in the presence of something powerful and familiar. If they continue searching, they will find a place that feels right. An NPC will mention this is "the place of the lost ones" and if the character makes an offering or prayer in this space, they will find a path to their God's temple. For a while, they will be able to interact on a personal level with this space, describing it to me. When they have given me a good idea of what it is like, I let them leave. As they exit, that temple, their temple bends and warps reality until it becomes real. Even if the row, the road, the city, or even the world itself has to get bigger to accommodate it. 

Players often find this experience wonderful. 

An AI rendering of a Moon Goddess

This is a consequence of my trying not to impose my will on the players, nor waste time creating stuff that will never be used. It's cool if the players hop right into my world, but I can't expect this outcome and need to invoke a bit of magic. 

Revenants of the Lost Temple must be different than what I am used to doing. I lead with "its a temple". It must follow that I must have gods here. These creatures will be cameo actors to be sure as the module is created for first to third-level characters. I need them to be unique avatars for a whole culture that vanished. 

I have selected a couple of ideas for them to embody. A goddess of the sea, a god of the land, a goddess of the Moon, and a god of the Earth. That sounds like a good AI photo prompt. 

It's pretty... pretty much not what I wanted. As I flesh these beings out, I will post updates over on my Ko-Fi page. Why don't you follow me there? 

One More Add to Favorite Blogs

I just realized I follow Evlyn Moreau over on Dice.Camp. 

I might as well add her to the favorite blogs roll. 

 

Too Many Irons in the Fire

I'm working on a few too many projects. I need to get myself on a posting schedule. The countdown tells me I have 92 more days to finish my first module, POP-001. 

To that end, I am working on artwork. Or at least, sharpening my skills. 

This is a copy of Frank Frazetta's style, which I hope will assist in creating pictures for POP-001. 

Project 2 is a little more down to earth. I'm getting the raised beds ready in the backyard. I'll have two 8x4 foot areas this year to prevent the overcrowding I experienced last year.

In addition to the tomatoes, cucumbers, strawberries, and peppers I grew last year, I'll be trying out lettuce, beans, radishes, and herbs. I plan to keep the strawberries, beans, and herbs out of the raised beds with a new area plus large planters. 

Ideally, at the end of the year, I'd like to bring the herbs inside. I didn't plan for that last year and managed to kill off everything by mid-December. There was some saving grace as I had a ton of dried herbs from the summer. 

Next up is a slow-moving project, one that may turn into a regular series here. I'm making a castle. I really love the classic look of Bodiam Castle and I recall drawing a rough floorplan for fun and as a blog post. 

Funny, I apparently forgot to blog about it and you are seeing the rough plan for the first time today. 

Anyway, I am upcycling some junk I have lying around to make this happen, I will probably detail my progress as I go. 

I don't plan on being too faithful to Bodiam or even rudimentary scale. I am letting the supplies on hand control the look. For a base, I used a bit of wood used for packing material. The towers stand 6 inches tall and will be spaced out 2.5 to 12 inches. The idea is to have something that would help out as a game space. 

As you can see from the image above, I have a bunch of different figures arrayed in front. I have a 1:144 scale T.I.E. Fighter, 1/296 Battlemechs, a 25 mm Space Marine from Aliens, a Lego figure, a couple of 25 mm fantasy figures, random plastic animals, and 20 and 15 mm figures. The block in front is 1.25 inches on a side. Roughly, anyway.  

It all seems pretty reasonable.