Post by grodog on Sept 14, 2005 1:29:47 GMT -5
Last weekend, I finally sat down to draw maps that show how I think the dungeon level elements of S4 The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth fit together as a whole---the entrances, exits, additional hinted-at levels, sinkholes, underground streams, and what-not of the Lesser Caverns and the Greater Caverns. (I've also been working on this page in general over the past two months or so, including adding comprisons between the 1976 Tsojconth tournament version and the 1982 module, among other things).
I posted a copy of the maps to my site in .pdf format at www.greyhawkonline.com/grodog/temp/S4-maps.pdf
and they're also linked in from my S4 page at
www.greyhawkonline.com/grodog/gh_s4.html
Please check the maps out (the file's about 2.5 MB), and give me some feedback on them. In particular, I'm looking for some guidance from those of you who are better cartographers than me on how to orient the maps so that I can correctly identify directions that will be consistent with how I display the levels themselves and their relationships to one another. While I still want the the maps to communicate as much spatial information as possible to their readers, and I'm sure that the way that I've drawn the maps now is correct from a distance-from-one-element-to-another POV (the space between the Lesser and Greater Caverns, etc.), I am also quite sure that the directions are munged. For example, I think the Greater Caverns should be pivoted relative the Lesser Caverns (since you enter the GC from the W, not from the N), and the umber hulk tunnels exit on the north face of the mountain, whereas the Great Cavern corridor exits on the west. I'm not sure if it's really possible to show those kinds of relationships without a 3-D map??? It's those kindses of tricksy, nasty errorses that I needses your helps with, my precious....
If it would help with helping me, I can scan and post my working notes, which show how I distilled the distances, depths, etc. from the module descriptions. (For those paying very close attention at home, I intentionally extended the Lesser Caverns D River Exit waterfall to 450' from 100', since the original distance in the tourney was 450' and that seems more consistent to me with the "distant roaring" that PCs would hear as they approach the edge of the map---I think if that waterfall was only 100' away, it would be LOT louder!).
I'm also looking for some general input on the format, layout, etc. on the maps: are they clear, do they provide useful info, etc.? I'll eventually get around to buidling the underwater lake dungeon level---it may well be where I place Iggwilv's living quarters, etc. (assuming that I don't just connect them via gates to the Lost Caverns and have them very much elsewhere, perhaps the Sea of Dust area...).
Thanks!
I posted a copy of the maps to my site in .pdf format at www.greyhawkonline.com/grodog/temp/S4-maps.pdf
and they're also linked in from my S4 page at
www.greyhawkonline.com/grodog/gh_s4.html
Please check the maps out (the file's about 2.5 MB), and give me some feedback on them. In particular, I'm looking for some guidance from those of you who are better cartographers than me on how to orient the maps so that I can correctly identify directions that will be consistent with how I display the levels themselves and their relationships to one another. While I still want the the maps to communicate as much spatial information as possible to their readers, and I'm sure that the way that I've drawn the maps now is correct from a distance-from-one-element-to-another POV (the space between the Lesser and Greater Caverns, etc.), I am also quite sure that the directions are munged. For example, I think the Greater Caverns should be pivoted relative the Lesser Caverns (since you enter the GC from the W, not from the N), and the umber hulk tunnels exit on the north face of the mountain, whereas the Great Cavern corridor exits on the west. I'm not sure if it's really possible to show those kinds of relationships without a 3-D map??? It's those kindses of tricksy, nasty errorses that I needses your helps with, my precious....
If it would help with helping me, I can scan and post my working notes, which show how I distilled the distances, depths, etc. from the module descriptions. (For those paying very close attention at home, I intentionally extended the Lesser Caverns D River Exit waterfall to 450' from 100', since the original distance in the tourney was 450' and that seems more consistent to me with the "distant roaring" that PCs would hear as they approach the edge of the map---I think if that waterfall was only 100' away, it would be LOT louder!).
I'm also looking for some general input on the format, layout, etc. on the maps: are they clear, do they provide useful info, etc.? I'll eventually get around to buidling the underwater lake dungeon level---it may well be where I place Iggwilv's living quarters, etc. (assuming that I don't just connect them via gates to the Lost Caverns and have them very much elsewhere, perhaps the Sea of Dust area...).
Thanks!
