Saturday, February 16, 2013

Map and Adventure Under Construction


here's the map I've been working on this morning.  Drawn in pencil, gone over with a Sharpie Pen then colored in the pencil.  I can't crosshatch worth a shit.  So coloring within the lines is what I go.  Not completely happy with it, but like the shape.  Needs some tweaking.  There will be one other cave that goes with this one.  Possibly two.

This is the second map.  It's another MiP.  A natural (maybe) bridge spans an creek.  No shading yet.  Might try something in Xara.
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I wrote an introduction to an adventure today.  It's a narrative.  The GM would read it as is or put it into his own when words to start the adventure.  Why did I do it this way?  No clue.  It's still new, the embryonic fluid is still dripping off.  Here's a sample...



Little is know of the caves along Butcher Creek.  The sides of the valley are too steep for climbing.  Creek too shallow for fishing.  The woods too overgrown for traveling.  Not much motivation to go in until a few months ago when two good ol’boys, Clarence and Pickle found themselves a gold coin laying in the ice cold water of Butcher Creek.  Right there shining in the sun, stuck against a big rock.  So they go traveling up the creek and find themselves another coin in the water.  Silver this time.  That’s where they stopped.  They was on the edge of Misty Hollow where the caves are. 

Well Clarence and Pickle came into town hooting and a hollering.  They got drunk as ever I saw a man get drunk.  With the ale disappearing as fast as the small fortune they found they went and told everyone in the tavern where and how they found it.  Never said they were smart. 

Next morning there was at least fifty people out there in the creek turning over rocks, digging in the muck and fighting over which stretch of creek was theirs.  People only yesterday who were friendly neighbors were now broken up into rival tribes, each fighting over stretches of the creek. 

While I am no coward, I am also no imbecile.  I saw no sense of what these people were doing.  It wasn’t like it was raw gold.  Someone probably dropped coins into the water by accident.  Who knows.  Lots of people come this way once the weather starts to turn.

Another gold coin was found under a rock.  This time a fight occurred between two young boys who started the week as friends.  They got into a dust up then the fathers took up to fighting.  Barric stabbed Willie in the arm.  While the wound would heal in a week the town would suffer from that wound for a long time.  No one got to trusting no one. 

If I recall it was the night of no moon.  Dark as the nine hells out.  People had been at each other for a couple weeks by this time.  When I heard the first scream I didn’t pay it much mind.  Thought it was Malcolm next door taking liberties with his wife.  The second scream froze my soul.  Something inside me said to stay inside.  Don’t open the door. 
 This is about half of it. It's just an unnamed narrator (at this time) telling the players of what happened. Of course a GM can completely ignore all this and get right to it.  Anyway, that's what I'm up to this Saturday. 

3 comments:

  1. Nice maps. Personally, I like the coloring (as opposed to crosshatching).

    Butcher Creek is a good place name too. Sets a nice tone.

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  2. I am also cross-hatching disabled. I just can't figure it out. I wish that someone who CAN do it would give us a video tutorial. Or perhaps a weekend symposium on the merits and possible methods of cross-hatching.

    No, really...I'm serious.

    And the blurb? I agree with Bard. "Butcher Creek" is an excellent name. Ehhhhhx-cehhlent. (a la Mr. Burns) Not to mention you've got me wanting to read more.

    You've had a good, productive Saturday. Congrats!

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