Online Dungeon Mapper

There are a number of online dungeon map sites using javascript. Some create dungeons randomly and others allow you to manually create using tiles. A few years ago I used one to quickly come up for my Mare Nostrum setting (Labyrinth Lord). I have completely forgotten the the software and the website. But I still have the maps.  I also misplaced the dungeon key. It looks like a pseudo Egyptian Valley of the Kings style tomb.

Tomb of Shesmu (Labyrinth Lord 2009)

I would say that room 11 and the room between area 10 and 6 are secret rooms.  I also still have a player map for use in online table top emulators.

Players Map

Ouroboros 2

I had an idea for a unique ship in my Stars without Number setting. I was thinking about the possibility of finding a salvageable pre-Scream ship in the sector. I already have a planet that was a former Military base and has a salvage industry (Midwrath). It is a little bit of a stretch because the ship would be over 500 years old. Even in space a ship is going to get pretty beat up over 500 years.

I built a hull in blender that is 200 meters long by 94 meters wide and 60 meters high. There is a control room on top of the hull and a large hanger in the front that stretches back halfway into the hull. I used a transparent plane across the entrance to the hanger but it is fairly hard to see. Inside the hanger I placed a standard (M) container and a ship’s cargo lander.

Ouroboros 2 with Cargo Lander in the Hanger

I have decided the ship was in a repair station in orbit around Tethras 3.  According to records found in the ship’s memory banks and a slightly off-kilter ship’s computer the name of the ship was the Aurora and it was launched on Soldadera 575 years ago. Soldadera appears in history texts as a major ship-building hub several sectors from Tethras.

Once the salvage corporations of Midwrath (Tethras 2) re-discovered interplanetary flight they quickly travelled to Midwrath 3 because they could detect the ship in terrestrial telescopes. The spike drive was not operable but they eventually got it functioning (most of the time). The hull was damaged by meteorites but repairable.  There is some equipment on the ship that is still not fully understood. The ship has a drive-5 engine making it the longest range ship in Wolf Sector.  It is also the largest commercial ship in the sector. The ship is obviously not capable of entering atmospheres but it carries a cargo lander that can make the short hop from orbit to surface on planets. The cargo lander can carry one class M container.

Ouroboros 2 recovering its lander from a planetary delivery

It has been re-christened the Ouroboros II by the Vanhampler & Cillar Trade company who own and operate the ship.  The ship has passed from company to company over the 90 years it has been back in operation. The current captain is Kelemen Swift who has been captain for 13 years.

It is a unique ship so it is not likely to come into the possession of players but I can use it as a plot point.  It could vanish off course, breakdown, have a ship’s computer mutiny or fall to pirates. Or maybe the players just book passage on the enormous ship and there is a murder or board. A lot of possibilities.

Yellowjacket Deckplan

Another deckplan today, this is the Yellowjacket I mentioned before.  It is a small trader, a shuttle to be exact.  This time I took the time to design it in blender in meters so I had a good feel for whether it was the correct size. I have watched one tutorial on textures and I have been experimenting on my own as well. I quickly realized that it is easy to make your own textures. The ship texture and background textures (stars, horizon) are ones I created myself.

Yellowjacket Deckplan Mark IV - author 2017

The Yellowjacket is a Spike-1 transport capable of carrying to standard (M) containers or 6 tons of cargo. The cargo is loaded directly onto a loading dock in the front of the hull (see photo). This is also the main entrance to the hull for the crew planetside. There are emergency airlocks on the top and bottom of the hull.

The version pictured is the “Stellar Flare” captained by Joshy Areen and owner/captain whose home port is Alpha on Bomar. His Yellowjacket is maximized for cargo and has not weapons or defenses. The Stellar Flare is mainly found on the Kaitos-Bomar route which is reasonable safe. Captain Areen has a crew of six.

Loading Cargo Alpha Port - Bomar

It could be crewed by a single person. But more commonly the crew is 4-5 people. Sometimes crew quarters are given over to paying passengers. The accommodation for passengers is basic but comfortable.

In some busy systems, barebones model Yellowjackets are used to ferry cargo from larger traders to the surface or from space stations to the planet’s surface. This especially the case on Kaitos where the hull was developed.

At an entry point of 200,000 credits for the hull (usually coming in around 240,000 with fittings) the Yellowjacket is one of the workhorse traders found in Wolf Sector.

Leaving Orbit - Ten-Go Station Kaitos III

Crescent Moon Maze

I was doodling in paint on a black canvas and turned the sketch into a quick dungeon map. A very simple one.  I decided to take it another step and detail out room descriptions. In 20 minutes I had a complete 1-2 session adventure for any old school game (and some new).

Crescent Moon Maze is a series of natural and worked caves connected to the surface by a cold water stream. Located to the north of the village of Stillwater, most of the locals are aware of the caves because of the curious carving above the cave mouth - a crescent moon. The carving has been there since before anyone can remember.

Several villagers working in the fields have gone missing.  It happened near dusk and a local boy saw short, dog-like creatures chase down the farmers and tussle them into large sacks and drag them off.  It sounds like an overly aggressive tribe of kobolds. The locals ask the players to help. An intermittent trail leads to stream bubbling up into a pond that eventually empties into the lake. To follow the stream upriver explorers will have to briefly dip under water to enter the caves. Note what that does to spell components, food, torches and the like.

In the caves, the kobold chief Grimfang has been building up his tribe with the help of a Human cleric of Stibon (god of pain, suffering and despair). Now that cleric (Zul) has insisted on some human captives so he can sacrifice some souls to his god.  So the kobolds went out and found some locals.  There is also a kobold shame, Sootcloak he has become Zul’s faithful assistant. I have not differentiated between male and female kobolds figuring they have the same statistics. Also no kobold young.

There is an escape chute in the ceiling of Grimfang’s lair. The stone ball ambush is exactly as it sounds. Four kobolds will roll 1 ½ foot stone balls down the slides at adventurers. There should be some treasure in Grimfang and Zul’s belongings. Also, something amongst the stolen supplies.

Crescent Moon Maze Quick Map

Yellowjacket Light Trader

I am still spending a lot of time playing around building spaceships in Blender. I have not had the time to watch any more tutorials but I am still picking up things a little at a time. The latest one I created is an atmospheric landing capable trader capable of carrying at least 2 small size containers, maybe four.  I have finished it yet and I need to work on the deck plan.

I was trying my hand and creating and wrapping the shapes in textures today and came up with this image of the Yellowjacket sitting on a landing pad preparing to receive cargo. On the Yellowjacket the cargo bay is in the front and the control room will be somewhere along the side of the ship.

Imator Parallax approaching Bomar VI to refuel

I also put an image of the ship in orbit about a planet.  I am still dropping the ship images on planet and stars images.  But I do plan to learn how to place starfields and planets in the scene. Maybe even animating a few frames of action. There is really a lot you can do with Blender.

Imator Parallax receiving cargo

Timgal Ruins Overland Map

A quick map today showing the location of the Deep Pits of Timgal dungeon recently detailed. Landfall is the closest village. It is a mix of outcast Alusian natives and explorers and pirates from the seven cities. Many expeditions into the interior of the main island leave from Landfall.

The Timgal ruins are well known. But most explorers have spent their time exploring the ziggurat near the river and the ruins near it. A few miles away on a trail through the jungle is a large, stone ruin leading to the Deep Pits Dungeon.

A few other sites have been added to distract the players with. The Moaning tower is a tottering stone tower which moans eerily when the wind blows through cracks in the rock. The Mongala marshes is a deadly area full of quicksand, bogs, hidden pits and venomous snakes. Giant sea turtles can be found at Lafira beach.

There are few natives on the big island now that the serpent men activity has picked up. There are a few abandoned villages near Timgal and one fishing community at Dja still manages to hang on. Though the population of Dja has fallen to 45 natives.

Timgal Ruins area Map

The Lair of the Lycanthropes

I thought I would post one one of the level maps from one of the first dungeon I every mapped and the map the players created.  This was level 3 of my “Haunted Keep” dungeon based on the introductory dungeon in the Red book rules. It was drawn up in early 1982. I was always just a level ahead of my players when we first started gaming.

The Haunted Keep Level 3: Lair of the Lycanthropes (1982)

Back in 1982 part of the fun was seeing how lost the players could get in the dungeon as you tried to describe what they saw in words and provided minimal help with the mapping. This was exacerbated by the dreaded “natural caverns” style dungeons. Level 3 of my Haunted Keep was called “Lair of the Lycanthropes”.  If you ever read the Red Book rules (1981 version) the introductory adventure hinted that the Rodemus family that built the keep might still be around and were rumored to be wererats. My adventure ended in a cavern on the other side of an underground lake where the Wererat chief held court. To make getting out of the dungeon quicker, there was an elevator on this final level (it was 1982 and I was a high-schooler). It was my first dungeon and I figured the players would not want to roleplay traversing all three levels again to get out.

Below you can see how my players made out on their map of level 3.

The Player's Map of Lair of the Lycanthropes

Probably not my best design choice for a dungeon