Champion Tier - City Docks [40x30]

 Hello everyone, and happy New Release Monday! Today, I am launching my newest map in the Saltmarsh series called the "City Docks".

This docks map features a 40x30 gridded area of the town featuring both the dockside of the harbor and one of the city streets where most of the dock traffic passes by.

I designed this map to be encounter-rich, with many areas to explore and fight on!

This particular stretch of docks is relatively small, but I plan on doing more larger, shipped-focused dock areas in the future as well, so you can have numerous dock maps to explore!

 I enjoyed looking at various medieval dock reference images to try and recreate a real dock feel for this map. From the tide wall to the small water drainage, no detail was spared. I am also so fortunate to be able to test out some of Inkarnate's newest assets from their upcoming Dwarven pack, featuring the two large wooden cranes (I extended the middle part with my assets to make it more angled). Additionally, I continue to commission brand new art each month (from an actual human, not AI), and I am always amazed at the quality of art assets that are delivered each month. The new row boats, rope, and pier posts are all brand new for this map, and it was an honor to be able to add them to my personal art library. I feel they really help add that additional layer of depth and immersion to the map.

I was also proud of my buildings, which were hand-drawn skeletons; then, I added textures, details, and shading. The windows and doors were hand-drawn using the shape tool and various textures I had to match the perspective angle, and I very much enjoyed working with this style. Even though it takes my maps longer, I love the depth, feel, and immersion of being able to see the building facades. I strongly feel it adds to the height of the map as well and helps your players visualize the area much better!

For my Champion Tier Patrons, you will get the following with this map release:

• Six Color Moods, including: Gloom, Ghostly, Dark Fairytale, Sunny Day, Night, & Warm

• No Lights versions

• Various weather effects, such as sun rays, fog, & rain

• 8k & 4k image resolution

• Jpg & Webp file format

• Grid & No Grid

• VTT Sizing guide

That's it for September! This month we got to see a fun scene between brother and sister within the ruined halls of their ancestral manor. We got to hear the howling winds and see the freezing snow cover three of our favorite Village of Barovia locations. And finally, we get to witness the bustling docks of Saltmarsh, fish from the warm sands, and launch into your next adventure!

Next month is going to be an extremely exciting (and spooky) month! It's no surprise October, Fall, and Halloween is my favorite season of the year (as far as seasons go here in California) and I crank up the spook dial to max!

Next up, I'll be working on my Old Bonegrinder V2.0 map which I'm super excited to revisit! I've even had some custom assets designed specifically for this map that I can't wait to show off.

Additionally, I'll be working on a fun little Halloween-themed map in which I've hired none other than Caleb to draw me four custom portraits that will adore the walls in this "stretching elevator" (Hint, it's a room from one of my favorite rides at Disneyland).

I can't wait for the spooky season to start and to show you what I've been working on.

What fun Halloween plans do you all have for your players? Let me know!

Until then, thanks as always for your continued support.

Cheers,

DM Andy