# Mapmaking Discussion & Philosophy (WIP/Critique) > Pen and Paper / Traditional Methods >  The Mausoleum of the Pharix [WIPish]

## Adfor

I haven't seen any tabletop RPG dungeon maps in this new WIP section, so I'm going to shake it up a bit.

This is a new project I've been working on to not only try some new things, but also to work on content that my players haven't begun yet. This preemptive strike is composed of a Zelda-style approach of "gather the (number) pieces of said thing, to do a thing". The simple mechanic takes the form of the Mask of Zouol, a powerful artifact that was divided by the Auzari. The shards of the mask, 10 in total, correspond to an element or plane, that in turn inspires the process in which the players need to complete to retrieve said shard. Below is a snipit of lore from my world regarding the age that Zouol was in power.

***LORE ALERT***Prior to the Age of Strife, before the sound mages rose to power against the Auzari, a free state calling themselves the Avori had taken root in the verdant lands of the present-day Praxian Lowlands. Their name was snidely taken from the forgotten Auzari language, roughly translating to "resounding ones". Their leader, Zouol, had come to know the secrets of the Auzari--that sound was the glue that held together this material plane--during his youth as a slave to them. Inspired by the struggles of his people, he slowly brewed a magical renaissance. Learning the ways of sound magic, he taught his closest revolutionaries the forbidden art of the cobra-headed mystics that ruled over all, an art that quickly became commonplace in the Avori oligarchy. In due time, the resistance began. At that time, all of Octerraca had grown beyond the bounds of the Auzari's ability to control, and so, Zouol's fateful day had arrived, the day he would usher in the Aeon of Strife: the age in which all the heros and gods of present days bet their stake on a new world.***END LORE ALERT***

The shard I'm beginning with, is the Shadow Shard, which is capable of manipulating the veil of the material and shadow planes, making the two connect. It was whisked away by a group called the Vigil, a predecessor of present day Praxia, and stowed under the guise of a vast catacomb, which without further ado, I present to you.


The surface level is finished, huzzah!



I'd love to heat your thoughts!

IR

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## wminish

I really like the way you've done the top down trees, particularly the ones with no foliage. Bare trees always give me trouble when drawing from a top down perspective, they often come out a bit strange looking.

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## Adfor

> I really like the way you've done the top down trees, particularly the ones with no foliage. Bare trees always give me trouble when drawing from a top down perspective, they often come out a bit strange looking.


Thank you for the feedback, it helps a lot, especially because the dead trees are a first for me. I wasn't going for any kind of realism, rather I wanted them to be more geometrically pleasing.

Edit: Quick update. I tend to progress with writing descriptions/monsters/treasure/mechanics of the rooms as I draw them, it helps me to focus on keeping a forward progression.

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## Adfor

I was whisked away from this by the arrival of a new laptop, but that hyperfocus has evened out, so I've made a return to it.

### Latest WIP ###


I wanted to get more into shading light effects, hence the abundance of candles. Turns out, it's not very easy to do, but the idea is simple enough to execute if I tread very carefully.

XVII is the last room I have to finish for room descriptions, once I finish that, I'll print them out and get some pictures of the notes posted. I would just post the file, but I used special fonts, which I don't think will translate to other computers.

Also, the "filling" outside of the map is an idea of been toying around with for awhile now, the gray with white absences is a new thing I tried, what do you think?

IR

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