Another Puzzle Handout

This is another of those things that I've wanted to make for a while (as I've done similar things in the past) and I  wanted this one to be as versatile as possible, and also have miniature versions that could be used on the tabletop...

...and, as you can see, it's a fairly simple design, and there are lots of different words that you can make - so it could potentially be used more than once.

Furthermore, I've also tied it to one of this months VTT maps (as you might have seen in the video)...

...and I actually got to use the puzzle in my online game last weekend:

Anyway, if anyone is interested, here's some of the riddles that I had lined up (though in my game the players managed to get through the door on their second attempt):

Never foremost, but enduring.

(LAST)

I lie upon the shore, and fall to measure time.

(SAND)

I can shroud both land and sea. A veil before thine eyes.

(MIST)

I have no voice when I'm at rest, and my rings cannot be worn.

(BELL)

My waves are not of the sea, my grip is not of fear.

(HAND)

In the dark I linger. In the light I wane.

In thy mind I haunt thee. Thy courage I will drain.

(FEAR)

Using my (VTT) tiles in Roll20

 If you have ever loaded a map with it's own grid into a virtual table top, you may have come across the issue of trying to align the pre-drawn grid of the map, with the default grid of the VTT itself (this can be particularly annoying if the map has a border of irregular size).

However, with my own maps and tiles it's a pretty straight forward process (or at least it is in Roll20) - so I thought I would discuss the method I use to get the tile to align with the grid (the whole process takes about 10 to 15 seconds).

So, to begin with, I make sure that I have the map layer active...

 ...and then, assuming the map has already been uploaded to my library, I'll drag it onto the battlemat area.

Now, as you can see, it will rarely transfer at the right size - so right click on the image and choose Advanced > Set Dimensions...

...and because most of my maps are multiples of 12 (i.e. the small tiles are 12 x 12 squares, and the larger tiles are 24 squares), simply change the 'pixels' pull down menu to 'units' and input the number of squares that the map contains (so in this instance I've used my latest tile - which is 24 x 24 squares).

And, as you can see below, that will resize the map and align it perfectly to the inbuilt grid of Roll20.

As I say, the whole process takes a little over 10 seconds - so you should be able to build a nice looking map in just a couple of minutes.

Now, I don't know if it's quite as easy as that in other VTTs (as I say, Roll20 was the first one I became familiar with - and since it works well enough for me, I've stuck with it) - but if there is a similar trick, then feel free to post it in the comments.

Anyway, I hope that was of help. It's the method I use for my own maps, and it seems to work rather well :)

 

(NOTE: you can find all of my own map tiles HERE ...there's currently over 400 of 'em)

VTT Tiles

It's been a while since I last spoke about the VTT tiles that I create each month - but the project is still going strong ...with around 400 tiles available now!

This month I've been working on a request for more cave-to-dungeon transition tiles, and this is what I've come up with:

So, as you can see, there are 4 tiles ...and all of them are slightly different in their design.

Furthermore here is a small encounter map that I've put together that features a few of these new tiles...

...and while I have no idea (yet) what the locals are 'feeding' - you can be sure it's not anything pleasant ;)

Anyway, you can find all of individual tiles in THIS album (they are free for personal use) ...and if you want to help support this (or any of my other projects) please feel free to check out the PATREON PAGE.

Basic Dungeon Tiles: VTT Edition

When I first released my range of Basic Dungeon Tiles, the aim was to provide folks with a whole bunch of (pay-what-you-want) 2D tiles that they could print out on their home printer (for use at the gaming table).

Well, since a lot of us are gaming online nowadays, I thought I would take the time to convert all of these tiles to something more suitable for use with virtual tabletops.

So, with that in mind, I've released the above as a zip file over on DriveThruRPG ...and just like the rest of the range, it's available as a pay-what-you-want download.

So, pick it up for free, or pay as much/little as you like!

Note that all of the tiles have a screen resolution of 72 pixels per inch, and each individual grid square is 140 pixels by 140 pixels in size (i.e. the format recommended by Roll20).

Narrow Passage (VTT) tiles.

I've taken a short break from the cave maps that I've been drawing recently, and have instead been working on a small expansion set for the dungeon tiles... i.e. those pictured below:

And, at first glance, these might seem like a bit of a strange addition - as these maps do not conform to the usual size of 12x12 squares (or multiples thereof), and they don't have the normal '2 squares wide' exits.

However, the idea behind these is to allow us to add some variety to the dungeon in a few places - simply by overlaying one of the special narrow passages on top of an existing tile - i.e. this kind of thing:

Which means that we can turn something like this...

...into something like this!

So, as you can see, this helps to break up the 'modular look' that you can sometimes get with the regular tiles - plus it also allows us to have narrow passages that connect to the main dungeon at any point that we choose.

And if you're looking to get hold of all these tiles (both old and new) - they are freely available from my Patreon home page (i.e. you don't even need to be a patron ;) ).

Anyway, I hope all of that made some kind of sense, and I hope you'll be able to put them to good use!

Random Dungeon Map generator

If you've been following the blog for any length of time you will probably know that I like to make lots of little (modular) dungeon tiles for use with virtual tabletops ...i.e. something like those pictured below:

Well, I was recently contacted by the guys from Fantasy Calendar ...and they asked if I'd be OK with them making a (free) random dungeon generator that featured my tiles.

So, of course, I said yes!

Anyway, the generator went live last night - so HERE is the link (note that only the artwork is mine - the website, the coding, etc., is all a result of their hard work)...

...and pictured below is an example map/screenshot:

So, as you can see, you can:

• Generate maps of various sizes (or even make a multi-level megadungeon).
• Click on some of the tiles to cycle through a few of the variants that I've drawn.
• Export the full size map (that you can then load into your VTT of choice).
• Download a dynamic lighting layer for (the paid version of) Roll20.

So yeah, I think the Fantasy Calendar team have done a fantastic job on this ...so if you like the idea of being able to generate a nice looking dungeon map with just the click of a button, why not give it a try :)

(note that Haxxer, from Fantasy Calendar Ltd., just posted on reddit if you want to give them any feedback)

VTT Maps for February

Here's a quick look at the two (large) map tiles that I've drawn this month...

...and here's a small example of them pieced together (with a few of the other VTT tiles) to make a small cave map.

As usual, I've added both of them to the (ever expanding) library of maps in THIS album - as well as organising them slightly better over on GOOGLE DRIVE.

So, here's hoping you like these latest additions!

All of the (VTT style) map tiles from 2019

Well, now that 2019 is behind us, I thought I'd write a short article to show off all of the tiles that I created last year - thanks to the support of my kind patrons (without whom, I probably wouldn't have got nearly as much done).

Anyway, the main focus for 2019 was 'caves' (you can find the full size images HERE by the way) ...and over the course of the year I managed to get all of the basic cave tiles finished...

...which, as you can see, includes:

• Small chambers with various exits.
• Large chambers that can be pieced together from multiple tiles.
• Tunnels/passages/dead-ends of various shapes and sizes.
• A few cave 'assets' that can be placed on top of the tiles to add a bit more variety.

Plus, if you take a look at the maps on the right hand side of the above picture, I also managed to squeeze in a few 'feature caverns' that can be used for specific encounters.

So, with all those done, we can now build nice 'little' cave maps that look something like this:

However, it's also worth mentioning that I did manage to get a few dungeon tiles (and one transitional tile) done as well ...as can be seen in the image below:

So yeah, that's another year's worth of maps done, and I've added them to the growing library of over 300 tiles (found HERE) ...which contains all of the (VTT style) maps that I've drawn over the past three years.

But what's next I hear you ask? (or is that just the voices in my head ;) ) ...well, to start things off, I think I'm going to concentrate on more 'feature caverns' and 'assets' for a little while - as I think that will really help to add some variance to the type of maps we can piece together.

So, all that's left to do is repeat my thanks to those of you that support this little ongoing project* over on Patreon, and to wish you all a happy new year. Here's hoping that 2020 will be a good one!

*along with my print & paste stuff ...there'll be

a separate post about that a little later on.

Latest VTT Map Tile

Just a quick post to show off the latest (VTT) map that I've recently finished...

...and the idea for this one came from one of my patrons (who requested a rickety rope bridge with missing slats).

Anyway, while drawing this one I figured that I could make the bridge crossing a little more 'interesting' if there was a higher ledge (i.e. the one over on the right hand side) where lookouts or guards could harass the PC's (with missile fire or similar) while they were making the treacherous crossing :)

So yeah, I'm quite pleased with how this one's turned out ...and just for a bit of fun, here's a quick cave map that I've put together from various other tiles that I've been working on this year...

...so that you can get a better idea of the kind of thing that you can make by piecing a few of these map tiles together :)

Anyway, that's it for this post, I hope to get the next Print & Paste video (and pdf) out next week if I can, so keep an eye out for that!


NOTE: did you know that you don't have to be a patron to get your hands on these tiles. Just head on over to my Patreon home page, and you'll find links to all the various album/folders there.

Let's Draw a Dungeon Map (FINISHED)

If you've been following me on social media, or watching some of my videos on youtube, you'll be aware of the fact that I've been drawing a dungeon map, room by room, based on the suggestions and ideas of others.

Basically it went something like this.

• I created a starting area on the map.
• I asked people to provide a description of any of the adjoining rooms.
• I selected a few of those ideas (combining several suggestions whenever possible).
• I drew in the new areas, and posted a picture of the updated map.
• I then repeated the process for the new rooms...

 ...and this is how it turned out:

So, if you want to download a pdf copy of this map (along with all the descriptions) you can find it on google drive HERE.

And if you want an unlabelled copy of the map (for use with a VTT for example), you can find it HERE.

Anyway, here's hoping you'll be able to get some use out of it!

Patreon (VTT tiles) Update

I'm halfway through this year's 'caves' project (i.e. the modular cave tiles that I've been creating for use with virtual table tops), and I'm pleased to say that I've just completed the basic set of small cave tiles :) :) :)

This means that I've finally got all the basic configurations covered (i.e. passages with one exit, passages with two exits, passages with three exits, etc.) - as well as several 'feature caverns that have been suggested by some of my kind Patrons (as seen below).

So, here's a quick look at the kind of thing that you can make with these now...

...and I have to admit that I'm quite happy with the result :D

However, when you piece them together, you are going to get a slightly unrealistic 'modular tiles' look (which is hard to avoid when using modular tiles ...obviously) - but the plan going forward is to create a few larger caverns (made up of 4 or more tiles themselves), which should help to mix things up a bit.

Basically ...something similar to these old black & white tiles here:

Anyway, a big thank you goes out to everyone who supports my endeavours over on Patreon. As I've always said, the aim has never been to hide any of these tiles/maps behind a paywall or anything like that (as I want them to be available for everyone to use) ...so your continued patronage really helps to keep the project alive. THANK YOU!

Expanding the Patreon Campaign.

For quite some time now, people have been asking if I intend on running a Patreon campaign for the YouTube channel - but I have to admit that I was a little hesitant to do so at first.

The main reasons behind this feeling were:

1) All the pdf files are available as pay-what-you-want downloads - so if you wanted to support the channel financially, there was already a way of doing so.

2) I didn't want to seem too greedy by having this stuff be both PWYW and on Patreon.

3) I already have a Patreon campaign for the VTT maps that I create, and I'm pretty sure that having more than one campaign running at the same time is frowned upon.

However, the requests have kept on coming in, and so I have asked my existing patrons if they would have any objections to me rolling the YouTube stuff into the same Patreon campaign as the VTT maps. And, as you can probably tell by the title of this post, I was encouraged to do so!

So, whether you're interested in the VTT tiles for use in your online games, or if you're a fan of the 2.5D tiles for use on the regular tabletop, the Patreon campaign will now include both of these projects (along with any other random 'dungeon stuff' that I come up with along the way ;) ).

However, just like before, the aim is NOT to hide any of the finished tiles/textures/maps behind a paywall (that has never been my intention for these) - though there are a few benefits/rewards for those that want to join me on Patreon, and it would be great to see more people jump on board.

So yeah, I've put this off for long enough, if you really do want to support me on this journey of mine, then here is an additional way of doing so (though please don't ever feel obliged ...just think of it as a tips jar kind of thing).

Anyway, I hope that's good news for those of you that have been prompting me to do this - I admit that it's taken me a little while to get around to it ...but better late than never :)

VTT Maps - still going strong!

I know that the blog has been featuring a lot of the 'print & paste' stuff recently, but I wanted to point out that the smaller (VTT style) maps are still going strong :) ...and that the library of 'cave maps' is steadily growing.

So, here's a quick look at a layout I've just put together that features some of the newer tiles...

...and I have to admit that they do have a bit of a 'tiled look' at the moment ...but this should become less of an issue when I get more 'feature caverns' and multi-tile caves drawn (the latter being similar to THIS).

Furthermore, I've also been trying some of these maps out with this new (at least I think it's new) 'Astral' virtual table top (that DriveThruRPG has teamed up with)...

...and, as long as you change the map to a grid size of 50, all of my tiles snap to the grid without any fuss - plus it seems to have dynamic lighting in the free version (which is nice):

Anyway, as you might already know, I have a Patreon campaign tied to these particular maps (though none of the final maps are hidden behind a paywall or anything like that), which you can find HERE.

Or, if you're not a fan a Patreon (for whatever reason), I'm also compiling them all in THIS lengthy album ...or you can find them (in a slightly more organised fashion) over on GOOGLE DRIVE.

Anyway, here's hoping you can put them to use!

All of the (Patreon) maps from 2018

As most of you will probably know, I've had an ongoing Patreon campaign for a few years now (one that's tied to my smaller/VTT maps), and so I thought I'd take a few minutes to show off all of the tiles I created last year - thanks to the support of my kind patrons.

As you can see, most of them are modular dungeon tiles that allow you to make maps like this:

...though, I also added in a few stand alone pieces (like the cave and the barrow) for a bit of added variety every now and again.

Anyway, now it's the start of the new year, I've decided that I'm also going to start work on an accompanying set of cave tiles (for even more variety) ...though obviously, it's probably going to take a few months before we get enough tiles to make a reasonable looking layout ...but you've got to start somewhere, right?

Note that you can find all of the maps from 2017 onwards in THIS album or over on the PATREON page.

Crafting Encounters : Room 1

Back in August I mentioned (over on the YouTube channel) that I was thinking of putting a few 'encounters' together which utilised some of the print & paste dungeons that I've been making.

Similarly, on the odd occasion I've also mentioned how I've used some of the 'rooms' that I've drawn for the Patreon campaign (like the 'troll hole' from back in June) in my games.

Well, I recently had the idea of combining all of these things (i.e. the print & paste terrain, the VTT maps, and D&D 5e dungeon encounters) into short booklets that can be downloaded from the DMsGuild ...and I'm pleased to say that the first one is now available:

Each booklet will be little more that a single encounter (that can be slotted into an existing adventure -or- used for inspiration when designing your own), with the first part detailing the encounter itself, while the second part runs through which bits of terrain you'll need to build (with links to the corresponding YouTube videos).

Furthermore, I'll also be including VTT map tiles* of the same rooms (that are compatible with all of the other tiles from the Patreon campaign) - so that we can also use the tiles when playing online (though this first encounter might need to be changed a little if you're not gaming in person ...as you'll see when you read through it).

However, I will admit that this first one is a bit of an experiment (to test the waters so to speak), so if you do pick it up (it's a pay-what-you-want booklet over on the DMsGuild) I'd love to hear what you think ...and also be sure to let me know if you'd like to see more of this kind of thing.

That being said, there is nothing revolutionary on offer here ...just an encounter ...in a dungeon ...all statted up and ready to go!


*note that I'll also blow these up to miniatures scale for those that play in person, but don't have the time/inclination to build the 2.5D terrain pieces - so hopefully, all bases have been covered :)

Encounter Rooms? (D&D)

A little while back, I mentioned (over on the youtube channel) that I might start to share some of the D&D encounters I've used (or have ideas for) that utilise some of  my 'pay-what-you-want' dungeon terrain.

Well, a few folks seemed interested in that idea - but I haven't had time to get around to anything like that as of yet (as just filming the tutorials is more work than you'd think).

However, I was wondering ...instead of doing them as a video series, how about I supply them as $1 (or pay-what-you-want) booklets over on the DMs Guild?

They'll probably not be all that regular, but I'll include pictures of the tiles in action, a list of all the things I've built (or modified) for the scenario, and maybe even create a similar VTT map to tie it in with the Patreon maps as well (for folks who play online).

Sound like a plan?

November's Patreon Maps

OK then, here's a quick look at all of November's Patreon maps...

...and, as you can see, these first two are meant to be used together - with the larger map representing the upper level of a massive stairway, and the smaller map the room at the bottom.

Then there is this room with a well at its centre...

...and the layout for this one was suggested by a couple of my patrons.

So, if you want to get your hands on the full size version of these maps, you can find them (along with all the other tiles I've drawn thus far) in THIS ALBUM. And if you'd like to support the project, feel free to head on over to the PATREON PAGE, and check out the different reward levels.

October's Patreon Maps

As some of you will know, for several years now I've been drawing a bunch of modular style maps (suitable for VTTs, etc.), and sharing them for free on the various social media platforms.

However, I'm not sure why, but I've neglected to post them on the blog for some time now - so I thought I would change all that, and start doing monthly updates again (and generally try to be a more active blogger) :)

Anyway, I'm currently at a point where I'm drawing the equivalent of six 12x12 maps each month* (though I will often combine several of these to make larger, more detailed tiles), and here's what I've come up with for October's offerings...

This first one is a bit of a convoluted junction - with no real purpose other than that of confusing the party mapper (perhaps it's part of a larger maze or similar).

And, just to show how modular all of these maps are, here's an example of what it might look like when used with other tiles in the range (note that the full album of tiles can be found HERE).

For the remaining two maps I've gone ahead and drawn a couple of blocked passages ...ones that might be possible for the PC's  to clear/dig through (given the right tools and enough time) - or that tiny creatures can pass through (or retreat through) to harass the party.

So that's all of this month's offerings (hopefully you'll find a use for them) ...and if you would like to support the project, feel free to stop by the PATREON PAGE and take a look around.

*note that the number of tiles I draw each month is based upon the amount of support I get on the associated Patreon page (which functions as a kind of tips jar for supporters of the project, and as a place for folks to post any requests or suggestions that they might have for future tiles).

Making a map from my Patreon tiles (tutorial)

In response to a couple of questions I've received recently, I thought I would post a quick tutorial to show how easy it is to assemble an adventure map from my Patreon dungeon tiles.

Obviously, if you're already familiar with any of the major image editing programs, then this article will be of little use - but if you've never done anything like this before, then keep on reading...

OK, still here?

Right then - the first thing you'll need to do is download GIMP (it's a free image editing program), as that is what I'll be using throughout this tutorial. I'll also be assuming that you've downloaded all of the tiles you plan on using (though feel free to download the entire set ;) ) onto your hard drive.

So, assuming you've done all that, we're ready to go ...so lets begin.

Open up GIMP

Select FILE > NEW

In the dialogue box that appears enter values that are multiples of 600 (as each of my 12x12 tiles are 600 x 600 pixels in size) ...so in this example I'll go with 2400 x 2400 (which is enough space for 4 tiles high and 4 tiles wide).

Then select VIEW > SHOW GRID (also make sure the 'snap to grid' option is checked).

Then select EDIT > PREFERENCES

In the dialogue box that appears select DEFAULT GRID and then enter values of '50' pixels in the WIDTH and HEIGHT boxes (this is because each grid square of my maps measures 50x50 pixels).

Your image should now look like this (note that these grid lines are invisible, and they'll not appear in your saved or printed image):

Then choose FILE > OPEN AS LAYERS and locate the tile that you want to use (i.e. one that you've already saved to your hard drive) .

This will import the tile as it's own layer (think of this layer as a post-it note on top of your blank canvas) ...and you can move it into the position you like with the move tool (i.e. the highlighted icon in the toolbar).

Then do the same FILE > OPEN AS LAYERS for any additional tiles, and position them accordingly (and if you have the 'snap to grid' option enabled that I mentioned previously, the tiles should snap to the nearest square - which makes lining them up super easy).

You should also note that every time you insert a new tile, it also gets added to the layers window on the right ...so if you want to move a specific tile around you'll first need to select it here (which makes it the active layer) - and you can then drag it around in the usual fashion (i.e. with the move tool)

Then, if you want to save the file for further manipulation later, save it in the normal fashion (i.e. GIMP's own .xcf format), and that will keep all the layers (i.e. the map tiles) separate for further tinkering at a later date.

However, if you want to use the whole map in a VTT of some description (or just save it as an image file) then select EXPORT AS.

By default it might be set to export as a .png file, but you can change that to any other file format via the options in the bottom right corner of the dialogue box (I personally suggest saving it as a JPEG ...as the image will still look fine - but the file size will be much smaller).

And that should result in an image like this...

...which you can then load into your VTT of choice!