Some of you may be wondering why I was fiddling with stairs. I had this map idea for a while, partially based on a dream, partially based on some blog posts a week or two ago. What if you gave the PCs easy, central access to multiple levels of the dungeon, all at once? I started toying with the idea of a central chasm with ledges running around the edge on multiple levels, with stairs connecting the levels ... but not necessarily in order.This is the map I started on about a week ago. It's finished now, but I was toying with the idea of a fancier 3d map that would show the levels clearer. I probably won't turn this particular map into a 3d Sketchup version; instead, I'll do another map based on the same idea, for use in a possible game I may be starting soon. So, I'm releasing this version of MegaChasm to you.
MegaChasm by John Laviolette is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.
Stock the main level, create your versions of the linked levels named on the map, and add levels to the central tower. And tell me about it!
Edit: Forgot to mention I'm including this post as part of this month's Blog Carnival on the topic of RPG Cartography.
Very nice! One of the things I always liked about the Caves of Chaos was the "pick your poison" approach of seeing most of the caves from a single vantage point.
ReplyDeleteThanks! I wish I could remember who had posted about a dungeon with access to all the levels off of a single stair, though.
ReplyDeleteI'm picturing the MegaChasm being underground, so some of the openings might not be visible from far off. But I would put lights on the four pylons around the tower, and torches along the causeway, to taunt the explorers.
Very cool!
ReplyDeleteDropping by from the A-Z challenge. Cool blog!
ReplyDeleteSarah Allen
(my creative writing blog)
Very nice, I always perfer an open forum for the players to make their own way rather than lead 'em by the nose. Here they can find themselves anywhere. I did something similar but instead of stairs I had rope pulleys with weights and counter weights. The catch was that the bottom had some of the roughiest customers so you had to judge wisely how to go down.
ReplyDeleteLazarus Lupin
http://strangespanner.blogspot.com/
art and review
Sorry to come in late, I got directed here from Dyson's roundup of great mapping posts. LOVE this idea, it is similar to the basic concept I have for my current megadungeon project. THANKS for drawing this -- it is quite inspirational.
ReplyDeleteThanks! You may have been the one who inspired me, though...
ReplyDelete