# Mapmaking Discussion & Philosophy (WIP/Critique) > Dungeon/Subterranean Mapping >  A WIP! Dragon's Lair

## torstan

Hi all,

Well here's a WIP that I'm moving through. A set of caves with a sacrificial area up front. Thoughts/comments? It's going to be a dragon's cave where it receives sacrifices from a humanoid tribe.

The twist that is that this is back in gimp and all done with a mouse (well, a tablet with all sensitivity turned off).

----------


## mearrin69

I like the "antique" feeling you're getting there. It's a little hard to read what's going on with elevation: are those steps in the front? Is the a drop-off going from the "paved" area into the cavern? etc.  [edit]I'm assuming the answers to these are yes[/edit]

Looking pretty good, though. Is this a commissioned thing or just for fun?
M

----------


## mrrkyl

Two of those turns are rather sharp, even for a sinewy reptile which tends to be quite long in its adult form. If I were a dragon, I would want a larger sacrificial chamber for maneuverability, just in case those human servitors decide to be obnoxious or rude.

----------


## Steel General

I like the overall 'grungy look', but depending on the scale I think the dragon would have a tough time traversing the corridors - unless it shifts shape or is an extremely sinuous type (like a gold and/or oriental style dragon.

----------


## torstan

It's a young red - so it's only large. Now I wanted there to be a couple of passageways that it couldn't fit down - it gives the players a different route the can take, a possible location to take 5 minutes out and also one of those nice scenes where they think they are safe because the dragon can't get them, they see it's mouth at the entrance but it can't get in. They're safe! And then it takes a deep breath....

Equally it's pretty scale invariant - so you could bump the squares up to 10' squares and run it with a huge dragon or larger.

As for the elevation, thanks for the note. The central cavern is lower. I'll probably darken it further. There'll also be added clues - such as a rope bridge across to the sacrificial plinth.

This isn't a commission - it's going to be a 'how to' tutorial map for the NewbieDM blog. I'll cross-post the tutorial over here when it's done.

Oh, and a new version with some snow and ice outside the front door.

----------


## torstan

The next stage of the WIP:



Final stage will be to add labels a compass and interior set dressing.

Thoughts?

----------


## Ascension

Something about the lava seems kinda blobby but I'm at a loss as to how to fix that.  It doesn't seem to be sitting _in_ anything but rather it seems to be sitting _on_ the land.  I'm not sure if a stroke would create a ledge effect or make it worse.  Not sure if darker reds would push it down or make it more like blood.  I'm at a loss to come up with anything other than "it needs some sort of ledge effect".  Maybe taking the lava all the way to the edges of the existing ledges...might be overkill, though.  Love the browns, though  :Smile:

----------


## torstan

Yep, it's an odd one. The lava is on the ground level - flush with the stone floor that butts up to it, but below the ledges and elevated regions. Also, it's one of the major lightsources so I can't darken it down too much.

I'll play with it and see what I get - but at least it's clearly lava.

----------


## Ascension

I did a rough n quick idea of what I'm trying to get at.  Similar to what you have around the elevated areas...slopes.  I lightened it only to see my lines, not as a suggestion  :Smile:

----------


## torstan

I see what you mean.

I want the lava to be at the same level as the floor so I don't want to put the edge lines you have between the two. As for the walls, I can see that might help a bit. Is the issue your having that you don't feel that the lava on the vace floor is lower than the central pillar?

----------


## jfrazierjr

Perhaps a thicker outline to the floors the lave is ajoining to and/or a hint of shadow might help..

----------


## torstan

Okay, so here's a version with the shadows bumped up a little more, an elevated footbridge and a few other tweaks (as well as a horde of dragon gold!).

Thoughts?

----------


## Steel General

I really like this latest version, and the side-view helps immensely  :Smile:

----------


## mearrin69

Yeah. Looking better and the side view is an excellent addition.
M

----------

