# Mapmaking Discussion & Philosophy (WIP/Critique) > Dungeon/Subterranean Mapping >  [CC3/DD3] Old School Dungeon Maps: The Castle of the Mad Archmage

## jaerdaph

Greyhawk Grognard Joe Bloch is doing this really cool old school Castle Greyhawk-esque mega dungeon called The Castle of the Mad Archmage.

I decided to try mapping this out in classic retro old school module blue and white using the December 2007 Cartographer's Annual. Here are the first two maps (the northeast and southeast sections of level two). I hope to have the last two map sections (northwest and southwest) completed by Sunday. I intend to paste all four maps together for a single "giant poster" PNG when I'm done as well.

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## Steel General

Brings back lots o'memories from my early gaming days. Nicely done!

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## RobA

Nice, Jaerdaph!  Good to see you posting again  :Smile: 

-Rob A>

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## jaerdaph

Thanks, guys. It's nice to be back.  :Smile:

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## NeonKnight

Welcome Back Jaerdaph!

Have some REP for some cool Oldschool Maps!

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## wormspeaker

I always wondered why they chose that blue color for some of the maps in those old modules. Still brings back memories though. I like it, though it does seem rather random. That's ok if it's supposed to be random, but it lacks a sense of overall design. Not that I know anything about overall design.

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## jaerdaph

> I always wondered why they chose that blue color for some of the maps in those old modules. Still brings back memories though. I like it, though it does seem rather random. That's ok if it's supposed to be random, but it lacks a sense of overall design. Not that I know anything about overall design.


That is a good question - why did they choose that blue (as opposed to say black)?

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## torstan

Apparently it was almost impossible to photocopy.

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## jaerdaph

> Apparently it was almost impossible to photocopy.


Interesting, especially since this was still the pre-Internet, pre-bit torrent sites era.

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## Turgenev

Frank Mentzer over at the Dragonsfoot boards mentioned that that colour of blue was difficult to photocopy and TSR was worried about pirate copies. Nice maps, jaerdaph. 

Things have been a bit crazy on my end of things so I haven't been around here much recently but it's funny because I got a dungeon map done and I went with the old school blue theme as well (without seeing yours). Great minds think alike.  :Razz: 

Considered yourself repped!

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## jaerdaph

I updated the southeast section of level 2 map to reflect the changes made in the latest installment of TCotMA (which now includes level 3). Joe Bloch has sent me scans of his hand drawn maps for levels 2 and 3, and last night I set up some templates in CC3 FCW files with the images inserted to trace over. I calculated the factor I had to scale the image at to match the 10' per square by eyeballing with the DIST command the distance in CC3 between two grid adjacent grid lines on the hand drawn image and resizing the image using SCALE. I was having a real hard time getting the grids to line up using the SCALE command, so I ended up using SCALEXY to independently scale the x and y axis independent of one another, which was much more precise. Once I had a good fit, I used MOVE to get the part of the scanned image I wanted at the axis origin coordinates in the lower left of the map (0,0) by eyeballing and clicking on the spot on the image to get my "move from" point and then snapping to the (0,0) origin. Fun with math and advanced CC3!

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## jaerdaph

Here's the southwest section of level 2 I did last night. There's a couple of interesting features on this particular section of the dungeon, like the Moat of Blades in room 107 and the evil temple in 132.

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## Turgenev

Those maps are looking very nice! Can't wait to see more!

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## jaerdaph

> Those maps are looking very nice! Can't wait to see more!


Thanks! Now that Joe Bloch sent me the GIF files of his original drawings, the mapping goes faster. I'm planning on finishing off the last section (NW) of level 2 tonight, then combining all four sections into one giant poster map.  :Smile: 

Then I start of level 3.

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## jaerdaph

I made a bunch of minor fixes to the Level 2 maps based on things that were bothering me and some comments from _The Castle of the Mad Archmage_ author Joe Bloch. I repositioned some of the label numbers, added 1' wall sections under all doors and secret doors, created two new symbols to show one way doors and secret doors with a directional arrow, made the curtain thicker in the temple to Demogorgon (room 132), re-worked the circular stairs (room 112) to stand out better and finally made the dashed lines representing the shifting wall (area 47) clearer. And when that was done...

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## jaerdaph

...I combined all four maps in CC3 to create this giant poster map! This made use of Insert file and the Move Origin commands, which you can learn more about here:

http://www.profantasy.com/cchelp/hlp_cmd_insert.htm

http://www.profantasy.com/cchelp/hlp_cmd_origin.htm

Edit: The render from CC3 seems to have messed up some of the text. I'm going to fix this tonight if I can. 

Sometimes I really hate CC3 for major inconveniences like this (and no anti-aliasing). I might go back to doing all my text and labeling as post work in another program...

*Edit: Image removed. See new version of the poster map below...*

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## Steel General

Very cool Jaerdaph...

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## Hoel

I must ask:
How do you play a dungeon like this? Random encounters?
I GMd two days straight this weekend and managed to put in a total of 18 encounters (effective party level of 6, highest EL 12, they just run straight through my cave trolls).

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## jaerdaph

> I must ask:
> How do you play a dungeon like this? Random encounters?
> I GMd two days straight this weekend and managed to put in a total of 18 encounters (effective party level of 6, highest EL 12, they just run straight through my cave trolls).


In the old days (1e), we used to go through room by room, level by level, trap by trap. Kill monsters, take their stuff. Meet up the next day and do it all over again. Ah, high school.  :Smile: 

I think Joe Bloch is doing an amazing job filling up the numbered encounters of this old school megadungeon in Gygaxian prose and style:  http://greyhawkgrognard.blogspot.com...Mad%20Archmage

I'm going to be running this for a group of friends starting this weekend. We'll be using the Microlite20 rules instead of 1e/OSRIC. Should be interesting.  :Smile:

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## jaerdaph

Here is the revised version of the level 2 poster map. I've also included a black and white version. I've read and received several comments from a few folks who are having problems viewing the neon blue maps. I'm very sensitive to the issue, as myself and members of my family have had problems with our eyes. In response (because I want as many people as possible to be able to enjoy these maps), I've created a black and white version of the poster map above. Please pass this on to folks you run into on various message boards etc. where _The Castle of the Mad Archmage_ is being discussed.

*Edit: poster maps removed - see below for newer versions.*

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## Turgenev

Bless you for the black & white map version.  :Wink:  Looking great as always!

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## jaerdaph

> Bless you for the black & white map version.  Looking great as always!


Thanks! Just for kicks and giggles, I recolored the black poster map to get this Undermountain look:

*Edit: Image removed - see below for newer version where the PNG issue has been addressed.*

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## jaerdaph

I finished up level 3 this weekend and went back and made some corrections to the level 2 maps. Here are the revised poster maps for levels 2 and 3. 

I intend to make Undermountain-style versions of the poster maps at some point that are a little more detailed than the UM map I posted previously. My priority will be the blue&white/black&white maps though as I am thrilled to be working with the author Joe Bloch include my dungeon maps in _The Castle of the Archmage_ pdf.  :Smile: 

*Edit: Images removed - see below for newer versions where the PNG issue has been addressed.*

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## Ascension

I love megadungeons but the images don't load for me.

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## Turgenev

Same with me. I get the following error:

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## Steel General

I believe its an issue with .PNG files generated from CC3 - there's some posts around here somewhere that have covered this before.

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## thebax2k

Weird thing is, I get the error repeatedly in Firefox, but when I shift over to IE, the image displays correctly.

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## jaerdaph

Crap.  :Frown:  

Yeah, those are PNGs generated by CC3 directly. I guess I'm going to have to open them into GIMP or Fireworks from now on and convert them to a univerally usable format. I'll probably start doing them as GIFs from now on.

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## RobA

> Crap.  
> 
> Yeah, those are PNGs generated by CC3 directly. I guess I'm going to have to open them into GIMP or Fireworks from now on and convert them to a univerally usable format. I'll probably start doing them as GIFs from now on.


Please not gifs!

Use pngs, just correctly formatted pngs!  (CC3 produces incorrect png files.)  Just open it and resave it using another program (as a png) and it will be fine!

-Rob A>

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## jaerdaph

Sorry I disappeared for awhile but I've had a lot of life changes over the past month. I moved out of New York City this past weekend to upstate New York, but now that I'm settled in I'm back to this project. I'm thrilled to say that Joe Bloch is now including my CC3 maps of his magnum opus megadungeon in The Castle of the Mad Archmage PDF!  The Level 4 maps are done and Joe Bloch is reviewing/proofing them, and I'm working on the level 5 maps now. When Joe releases the next update of The Castle of the Archmage (which will take us to level 6), it should include all maps at least through level 5. 



> Please not gifs!
> 
> Use pngs, just correctly formatted pngs!  (CC3 produces incorrect png files.)  Just open it and resave it using another program (as a png) and it will be fine!
> 
> -Rob A>


THANK YOU RobA for helping me resolve this!  :Smile:  

I will be re-posting the final corrected poster map PNGs of levels 2, 3 and 4 shortly, and will be generating the PNGs in another program like GIMP or Fireworks now instead. 

It's always good to come home to the Guild.  :Smile:

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## jaerdaph

So here we go. Here are the latest level 2 poster maps in blue & white, black & white, and Undermountain style!

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## jaerdaph

Here are the latest level 3 poster maps - once again, old school blue & white, black & white, and Undermountain style. *Edit [5/21/2009]: Replaced maps with newer versions containing minor corrections and fixes.*

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## jaerdaph

And finally, here are the level 4 poster maps that I worked on this week. This was a pretty challenging level to map because of many unique features found here, most notably the arena where various factions hold gladiator style games. Joe Bloch really did a great job creating a living, dynamic dungeon level here and I hope I did it justice.  Once again, I've included old school blue & white, black & white, and Undermountain style maps. There are two Undermountain style maps this time, one that designates the areas controlled by the different factions by their color, and one in "classic" Undermountain colors only. 

You can download the latest version of The Castle of the Mad Archmage here.

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## Gandwarf

Wow, those are huge! Have some rep.

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## Steel General

Nice work Jaerdaph

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## ravells

Wow it would take a lifetime to play through that level alone!!! Epic work, jaerdaph!

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## thebax2k

I am impressed Jaerdaph, the WG13 project just keeps getting better and better.  I hope you eventually do a sideview map when most of the levels are done.  It would be cool to see the interconnections between the levels.

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## Turgenev

Wow! Very nice jaerdaph. Have some rep.

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## jaerdaph

Rath (Richard Graves) over at Dragonsfoot recently released Level 1 of The Mad Demigod's Castle as a PDF. What's nice about this PDF is that it fills the void for folks who do not own Gary Gygax's Castle Zygag: The Upper Works by Troll Lord Games which is now out of print and going for huge sums of money on eBay. The maps also match up nicely (i.e. stairs etc) with Joe Bloch's Castle of the Mad Archmage which starts at Level 2 where CZ left off. I volunteered to do the maps for Rich which are now included in the PDF. Here are the poster maps in classic blue & white, black & white and Undermountain styles.

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## Ascension

Sweet stuff, especially that undermountain one.

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## jaerdaph

Thanks everyone! Here are the blue & white and black & white maps for Level 5 of The Castle of the Mad Archmage. I hope to have Undermountain versions for this level very soon.

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## Turgenev

Wow, that's definitely a mega-dungeon!  :Wink:

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## jaerdaph

It's fast becoming a giga-dungeon!  :Very Happy: 

Here's the blue/black & whites for Level 6: The Labyrinth. Undermountain version coming soon!

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## jaerdaph

And finally, Level 6A: The Sub-Labyrinth. Again, Undermountain version soon to follow...

The latest version of The Castle of the Mad Archmage, which now goes through  Level 6 and 6A, can be found here.

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## Turgenev

Good god, I hate to get lost in that maze! Forget giga-dungeon, it is a tera-dungeon!  :Wink:  Great stuff, jaerdaph.

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## Highland_Piper

I'm really looking forward to the Undermountain style of the other maps!

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## jaerdaph

> I'm really looking forward to the Undermountain style of the other maps!


Your wish is my command!  :Smile: 

Here's levels 5, 6 and 6A of The Castle of the Mad Archmage!

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## Ascension

That maze gave me vertigo -- guess I'd get killed pretty quick in there  :Smile:

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## Steel General

Nice stuff Jaerdaph!

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## jaerdaph

Level 7 was recently added to The Castle of the Mad Archmage and released just before Christmas, and today I finally had time to finish the Undermountain version, so here are the poster maps of Level 7. It's been awhile between levels, but if you've seen the PDF, definitely worth the wait.

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## Davros01

Love the old school.

is this gonna be a tomb of horrors style map or a keep on the bordlerlands level?

Just curious, 
Marc

Great memories

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## jaerdaph

> Love the old school.
> 
> is this gonna be a tomb of horrors style map or a keep on the bordlerlands level?
> 
> Just curious, 
> Marc
> 
> Great memories


Thanks Davros!

_The Castle of the Mad Archmage_ picks up where Gary Gygax's _Castle Zygag: The Upper Works_ by Troll Lord Games left off (since they lost the license from Gygax Games after Gary passed away) - at Level 2. Essentially, it's the dungeon below the ruins of Castle Greyhawk. Joe Bloch (the Greyhawk Grognard) has done an amazing job collecting Gary's (and others who played in the original) comments and hints about Castle Greyhawk, and is designing his own version based on those. The PDF, which gets updated with a new level regularly, is a great read - Joe Bloch has really captured the "feel" of an old school TSR module and it includes a lot of Gygaxian prose and even some humor. It's a free download, so I recommend checking it out. 

And if you don't have _Castle Zygag: The Upper Works_, you should check out Rath's (Richard Graves) Level 1 of _The Mad Demigod's Castle_.

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## jaerdaph

Here's the poster maps for Level 8 of _The Castle of the Mad Archmage_, released today at Greyhawk Grognard.

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## Ascension

That's another nice piece of work.

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## Trey

Is the numbering on the maps for show, or is there reference to adventure hooks for these maps somewhere?  Also, very nice work.  Thanks for the resource.

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## jaerdaph

> Is the numbering on the maps for show, or is there reference to adventure hooks for these maps somewhere?  Also, very nice work.  Thanks for the resource.


Hi Trey,

You can download the latest PDF of _The Castle of the Mad Archmage_ by Joe Bloch (the Greyhawk Grognrd) with encounter details for all eight levels I've mapped to date here at his blog: http://greyhawkgrognard.blogspot.com...y-release.html

We are currently working on levels 9, 10 and 11, which will be released together since they are all interwoven.

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## Aval Penworth

Looking at these maps makes me feel so nostalgic, it brings a tear to my eye. LOVE it.  Good to hear there is more to come.

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## Doirche

Awesome work... glad that the "old school" work is still alive. (which is the best work imo)

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## jaerdaph

Thanks, guys.  :Smile:  The author Joe Block, our editor Steve Rubin and I have been doing a lot of work to tighten up the module and maps, fix errata etc. The current, most accurate version of the maps can always be found in the quads (we usually break the posters down into four quadrants) in the PDF of _The Castle of the Mad Archmage_). When we finally get to the end (bottom) of the dungeon, I'll be re-releasing all the poster maps with all corrections, known errata etc. along with some other enhancements improvements.

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## Highland_Piper

Awesome work!  I love megadugeons and this one sure is awesome.  When you get the poster maps ready you could make them available for down load or print on demand.  That would be cool!

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## the-golem

> Apparently it was almost impossible to photocopy.


This. They used a shade of blue called "non-photo blue" It's used in really good quality graph paper (I have some). It's also used by comic artists for penciling, eliminating the need to erase. Pretty smart idea, if you ask me.

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## Highland_Piper

Did you ever release the Undermountain versions of levels 8-13?

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## rredmond

Old school blue is just so purty. Thanks for this!

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## Umberfane

Great project and great adventure to boot!!!!

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## McDeath

Yes another zombie bump.  Sorry!  I've been looking at a lot of Undermountain-ish maps lately and this came up in my search.  Links to the pdf vis grogdog is broken and I noticed the Undermountain-like versions of some of these maps were not finished?  I take it this is a dead project?

Those maps were really nice in all versions though the blue kind of messed with my eyes.

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## Gnarshm

> Greyhawk Grognard Joe Bloch is doing this really cool old school Castle Greyhawk-esque mega dungeon called The Castle of the Mad Archmage.
> 
> I decided to try mapping this out in classic retro old school module blue and white using the December 2007 Cartographer's Annual. Here are the first two maps (the northeast and southeast sections of level two). I hope to have the last two map sections (northwest and southwest) completed by Sunday. I intend to paste all four maps together for a single "giant poster" PNG when I'm done as well.


This is exactly the awesome old school goodness I was looking for! Particularly the darker colored maps of the same style like below...


I read that these maps were made with Campaign Cartographer 3 Pro which is $45. I see that the original poster hasn't posted in more than a year, but maybe someone out there might know of a similar but free program that can be used to make these types of maps? I have a few hand drawn maps on graphing paper that I'd like to convert to a style like this.

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## rredmond

There isn't a free version?
--Ron--

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## Jacktannery

> I read that these maps were made with Campaign Cartographer 3 Pro which is $45. I see that the original poster hasn't posted in more than a year, but maybe someone out there might know of a similar but free program that can be used to make these types of maps? I have a few hand drawn maps on graphing paper that I'd like to convert to a style like this.


I'm not being funny, but can't you just use an MS Excel document or similar free spreadsheet (eg. Google Docs) and colour in the squares, adding the odd number to rooms? I don't understand buying a programme to do this.

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