August 2024 - Montly Recap New

Hey everyone, and welcome to my monthly recap post! Here I will give you a quick summary of all the map releases I made in Aug with download links for each so you can easily find them.

Also, don't forget to check out my map hub pages, which can help you find any map that I previously released. I've had some questions about this, but to clarify, you are not charged for any map that you download, and when you are a patron of DM Andy Maps, you get full access to everything I've ever done.

Free Map Hub

Champion Tier Map Hub

Tser Vistani Camp

I was extremely excited to create this V2.0 of my old Tser Vistani camp map for a few reasons. Firstly, I LOVE the Vistani. I love their vibrance, culture, rituals, and the beauty they bring to such a bleak land. I also love the nod to the real-world Romani culture, which I find equally beautiful and vibrant in many ways. So, even before creating the map, it was hugely important for me to ensure I captured this same essence of vibrance and beauty. So I set out to collaborate on the design, look, and feel of the Vardos with my artist friend to design a set of wagon assets that would befit the Vistani and work from various perspectives. I'm so happy with the finished product. The original wagon was created with unpainted wood, and I studied various real-world Romani patterns and designs to paint the wagons in such a way as to make each Vardo feel truly like a home. Additionally, it was important for me to focus on the bonfire, which is the central focus of the camp, both physically and metaphorically. A Vistani Captain is in charge of the placement of the campfire, and it is said where a Vistani campfire is placed, the land is healed. It is here where stories are shared, food is enjoyed, and the Prastonata is performed (the dance of the Vistani).

I made sure to make the area around the campfire feel comfortable and showcase the Visani's art, music, and culinary talents. For the tents, I wanted to create a sense of community work and contribution to the well-being of the camp, so each tent focuses on a various chore, such as shoeing the horses, woodcarving/wagon repair, clothing alterations and laundry, and more.

And lastly, we have Madam Eva's tent. My goal was to create a sense of eerie wonder from the outside. A blend of mysticism and foreboding. Inside her tent, I focused on the red light as described in the book, and this time, I only added a single extra chair to her table, unlike my last map, where I created multiple chairs. The feeling I wanted to capture here was the spotlight on the individual who was receiving the reading from the Tarokka. I'm very pleased with how this map came out, and I really hope you are, too. A lot of love and adoration went into this design, and I hope you can also feel that!

Download the Free Version Here!

Download the Champion Tier Version Here!

Winter's Grasp: The Gothic Village

The Gothic Village was my take on creating a map inspired by my original Streets of the Village of Barovia map. The Winter's Grasp series has allowed me to revisit these locations and give them a full and complete overhaul of frosty, snowy goodness! My goal with Winter's Grasp is two-fold: 1) to create a spread of maps that will allow you to run adventures like CoS with a fully snowy overhaul, making the land colder and more deadly, and 2) to create a set of maps that supports cold-themed and winter campaigns like the cold north of Etharis from Grim Hollow of other campaigns like Rime of the Frostmaiden. I hope no matter what you are running, you'll find a use for these Winter's Grasp maps when you need something on the frosty side.

Download the Winer's Grasp: Gothic Village Here!

The Weekly Market

I've greatly enjoyed creating this series of maps inspired by the Saltmarsh, as it's allowed me to expand my work to a different, more vibrant, and bright environment. I think nautical/coastal campaigns are so much fun, and mapping out each location in large, detailed spaces has been great. From the Council Hall to Sharkfin Bridge, creating the Saltmarsh maps has been an extremely rewarding and challenging experience. While there is a smaller market on the other side of the bridge called The Green Market, The Weekly Market takes place in the heart of Saltmarsh near the docks. As such, it has become a hub of trade and activity as all of the various merchants sell their wares to the townsfolk, keeping their economy alive and healthy. I wanted this map to feature the various commodities that can be purchased outside of the standard things you might find in a market. Additionally, I wanted to create a sense of verticality with the buildings on the side and also the sense of a gradual slope of the ground as it slopes down toward the harbor. Meeting with the steps taking you to the docks, you'll see the blend of both the cobblestone streets and the boardwalk of the docks to the south. These market maps are great for running all sorts of encounters, from social, chase scenes, and investigations even to combat!

I hope you enjoy this map as much as I enjoyed making it.

Download The Weekly Market Map Here!

Road to the Old Mill

As I work to finish the last of the re-works from the Village of Barovia with the Burgomaster's Manor next month, I wanted to start creating a set of maps that supports the road beyond the Tser Falls as it turns into a windy, path-cutting through the hills of Barovia. As a DM, I find it important to vary the geography in a way that creates a sense of difference in the terrain your players explore to create diversity while keeping with the themes of a dark and corrupted land. Focusing on The Svalich Woods to the south of the Tser Falls, I wanted to create rolling, grassy hills to the north leading to a series of old and crumbling Windmills. Here, I'd like to think there were large farmland areas to support a larger population before the land was corrupted and turned foul by the Dark Powers. I created this map to support the area around The Old Bonegrinder as your players travel through the Old Svalich Road on their way to Vallaki. Whether to choose to investigate the Old Mill or keep moving on, I wanted to show the slow and unnatural corruption of nature in the presence of three hags. I've always associated thorny brambles with witches and hags, which was this map's core focus. Large, almost writhing thorny brambles choke the terrain and consume all in its path. Who knows? Maybe your players will be drawn into their ominous thorns as they investigate something shiny in the center of a large bramble patch. Here, I wanted to hint at corruption without spoiling it, and I hope this road map will be handy in your road encounter tool kit!

 Download The Road to the Old Mill Map Here!

That's it for August, and now it's time to set sail for September. Next month, I will be taking the first week off from releasing a map since it's a five-Monday month, but I have already started on the first major project of the month, which will be the Burgomaster's Manor inspired by the Village of Barovia. This will be a run-down, decrepit manor to represent the dreary and dour mood of the town with boarded-up windows, holes in the roof, and overgrown weeds swaying gently in the wind. Manor maps are always huge projects, so this map will be divided into two releases: the exterior and interior versions. This will be a perfect spooky manor to run a haunted house or even siege the manor with the undead forces of the land's vampiric owner. Additionally, I hope to have a handful of building maps converted over to the Winter's Grasp theme and a portion of the bustling docks from Saltmarsh. It'll be a busy Sep for sure, but excited to bring you new sets of detailed maps for your games.

Thank you SO much for your continued support of my work and belief in my craft. Your support makes all of this possible and allows me the bandwidth to continue to hone my skills to bring you more immersive and detailed maps!

Cheers,

DM Andy