Month: February 2022

I took a little break last week, as I have a holiday and wanted to spend a little bit more time away from the PC. This week, I’m back with a Heroquest map made in Dungeondraft, which is the eighth mission of the game: The Fire Mage.

Interpreting the maps and making decisions

Surprising this time around is that even the US version of the map is incredibly spare. There’s almost nothing to fall back on to interpret the map! It goes without saying that the US version has more monsters and traps, but that tells us little in terms of working out the map itself.

This led me to quite the concundrum in trying to work out what to do. There’s some manner of study or laboratory in the middle, that’s for sure. The only other two rooms with an item have a single chest and a single table, which leaves us with very little information.

We can nevertheless glean some things from here. Firstly, the entryway being such a long hallway around the actual route even though a quick turn to the right would have been easier suggests a natural environment to me. If it were designed, there’d be little reason for such a long detour. Furthermore, Balor waits at the top left (and the notes tell us he teleports to the middle once the Heroes see him), so that seems to be some kind of parlor or reception room. Lastly, there’s a few dead ends on the map, further suggesting a natural origin to the map.

So, the large areas of unused space could be gaps, natural formations, water, or something of that ilk. However, given the number of dead ends that appear to have been paths at one point, I would sooner suspect this is a cave of some sort that has suffered some cave-ins that have ruined paths previously traverseable. So, tentatively, I’ll consider this a cave with a reception area at the top-left, which would suggest to me that the bottom-right may be a more personal space.

Information from the flavor text

As usual, I next turned to the flavor text in the hopes that this would help provide me with some more context to interpret the map.

This time, the two stories are pretty much the same. Most differences are probably caused by the lacking fantasy vocabulary in Dutch in the late ’80s and early ’90s.

The Fire Mage

The Orcs of the Black Mountains use magical fire in their attacks. Balur, the Fire Mage, is suspected of helping them. Magical fire cannot harm him and the King’s wizards are unable to break his magical power. That is why ye have been chosen to enter his fortress deep underneath the Black Firemountains. The King will reward each of you with 150 gold coins for the eradication of Balur.

My translation of the Dutch version of the text

The text clinches the map themes for me: firstly, the setting should indeed be a cave, since Balor dwells far below the Dark/Black Mountains. Since he is a Fire Mage, and immune to all fire magics, I think it would be really interesting to make fire a repeating theme here. I haven’t taken the opportunity yet to work with the materials-menu in Dungeondraft and I know that lava is one of the available materials. So, it’ll be interesting to make that unused space in the map be lava.

We’d decided based on the overall map above that there were a few cave-ins blocking off standard routes, so that suggests that this level of the keep isn’t maintained all too well. So, that too would be fun to feature here. Lastly, we’re dealing with an apparently competent user of magic, so I think those traps on the map may be magical in nature: runes and glyphs and so on.

Translating into a final map

So far, I hadn’t really marked traps off on the maps, so I wanted to give that a try this time. Obviously, I didn’t want to give anything away necessarily, but at the very least there could be a little hint. So what I’ve done is placed little magical circles on the tiles that were marked for a trap. They should be easy to spot if a player is paying attention, which would encourage a more in-depth look at the map.

Working with the lava material in Dungeondraft was interesting, as it works pretty similar to the water tool. With both, I don’t feel fully in control of the shape I end up getting. On the one hand, that’s good, because I want to have natural and unusual shapes; on the other, however, I do want to have a reasonable expectation of what will happen when I use a tool. Nevertheless, I like the look of the lava so far. What I did need to do to really make it work was add high-intensity but low-range red colored light sources mixed with a low-intensity but high-range orange light on top of the lava. Adding those things together resulted in the lava itself being quite brightly lit yet the environment having an orange-reddish hue everywhere. I think the result looks absolutely sweltering.

The other lighting trick that I wanted to try out was to have various magical lights in the central room by using different colors for the candles. While you can see some purple in the bottom-right of that room, it didn’t really pop as much as I would have liked. That’ll certainly take some more experimentation.

The shadowing on the spiral staircase really worked out, though. In fact, it gives such a stark contrast that I think I may want to accent that a little less next time. Overall, I’ve been working on my use of paths more this time, adding little details such as a rope hanging from the winch in the starting room, the snapped bridge at the bottom, or the runner in the two top-left rooms.

The last lighting trick that I tried was to decrease the opacity of the environmental light. Before, I kept it at 255 and switched it to a dark blue, making the maps incredibly dark. This time, I kept the blue tone but I turned the opacity down to somewhere around 120 to just give everything a shadow. I think that turned out quite well, suggesting a darkness but keeping everything visible. A lighting trick that I didn’t get to apply was to try and darken various layers. This map has three layers of depth: the lava, the play area, and then the raised area above the map. Since the lava is a light source, I couldn’t shade that for being deeper; conversely, the raised area about the map is greyed out with dungeon texture, so that didn’t need additional work either. Hopefully, the next map will give me some more opportunity to work with various depths!

Either way, here is a small version of the map:

For a larger version of this map, have a look at the Reddit post I made about this:

This week’s Heroquest map is my favorite of the ones I’ve done so far. Quite early one, I got some inspiration on how to approach it, and everything started rolling from there. I’ve become familiar enough with Dungeondraft that the process of making the map itself is taking less and less time, leaving more time for the design process itself.

Interpreting the maps and making decisions

It stopped being a surprise that the maps are similar in outline but that the US version consistently has more traps, monsters, and details. What is quite interesting about the map this time, however, is that hallways are much less prominent in the overall design. Frequently, the ratio of hallway to room is quite high but now there just seems to be the central hallway between the two sides of the map and the little hallway at the bottom. Somehow, when I saw this, my mind immediately started reading this as a dirt pathway between three buildings. I think it might have been that central rectangular walkway, because it just reminds me so much of a gravel path around an inner courtyard or little park.

Once I’d made the choice of seeing this as three sets of buildings with an outside area, the rest of the ideas started flowing quickly. I was interested in making a little natural area in the center there, as though it was a little contemplative park for our lost wizard to think about his project. Either it would be a dwelling in a city or a more remote little estate. However, given that the map is called “The Lost Wizard”, it would seem a little odd if the building was just in a city. So, I made the call to have it be a little more remote: this would be the place that the wizard goes to for their more dangerous experiments or when they needed a little quiet time to mull things over.

Information from the flavor text

I realized the other day why I keep seeing some interesting differences with the new US flavor text compared to the style of the old flavor text. Apparently, in 1997 Milton Bradley (now Hasbro) let their trademark on Heroquest lapse, and since then that trademark has been bought and sold several times as companies changed, split up, merged, and so on. Long story short, the trademark for the remake was bought back by Hasbro from Chaosium but Chaosium still owns the Games Workshop licenses, so all the Warhammer branding had to be removed. That’s why my original manual will say things like “Chaos wizardry” whereas the new version changed that to “Dread magic”.

The Stone Hunter

Karlen, the King’s personal wizard, has disappeared. The king fears that he’s been murdered or has succombed by the temptations of Chaos wizardry. Ye must find out what happened to Karlen and, if he’s still alive, bring him to safety. Upon your return, ye will each receive 100 gold coins.

My translation of the Dutch version of the text

There are some interesting little differences in the texts. For one, the English version prepares the players for the idea that the wizard is dead—all they have to do is find out what happened to Wardoz the wizard. The Dutch version, however, suggests that there’s a possibility that the players would have to escort Karlen the wizard back. It’s an interesting callback to the second mission, The Rescue of Sir Ragnar, where the players had to escort Sir Ragnar back to the circular staircase.

The most interesting difference to me, though, is that the English name is “The Lost Wizard” but the Dutch name is “De Stenen Jager“, i.e. “The Stone Hunter”. The Dutch map notes only explain that all the Chaos Warriors are made out of stone but there’s no other mention of stone things. If the focus of the map is the wizard, then why call it “The Stone Hunter”? The map notes for the US version of the map make it a little more clear: the storage room at the bottom left contains an unidentified potion, which turns anybody who drinks it into a stone statue (though they come back to life five turns later). That suggests that the wizard must have been experimenting with ways to make warriors more durable; hence, there are four stone guardians in the central pathway and that one stone potion in storage (a failed experiment, perhaps)?

This helped me flavor my idea for the map much more. Apparently, this wizard was interested in stone and stoneskin potions. So, I decided to have stone be a central feature: stone walls and pathways, along with multiple stone statues around the place. Furthermore, given that I know that the wizard is no longer alive but actually a zombie, that suggests to me that in their experiments something went horribly wrong as they tried something on themselves. So, the final room with Wardoz/Karlen will have a little sign of trouble and his study will be messy and broken.

Translating into a final map

Crosshead Studios had just released their Studio Ghibli pack, which I wanted to make sure to apply. In particular, their grass assets, water assets, trees, and shrubs have come out really nicely. Together with my usual application of Krager’s Shadow & Light Pack, these assets really make the map come alive. I learned some little tricks with the shadows to make things pop: for example, the little stairway down in the bottom-left building is a standard asset from Crosshead that I layered over some of Krager’s shadows to emphasize the steps, making it pop a little more. Similarly, those two bridges across the water in the middle are pathways from Crosshead that I used shadows on the two ends of to create the illusion of them arching upwards.

Having decided that there were three blocks of buildings helped me theme each one for a different purpose. The top left, being two large rooms attached to the entrance, became an entry building where the wizard could welcome their guests. In contrast, the building in the bottom left was more of a personal quarters, so I designed it to be much less grandiose and more practical. In my previous maps, for instance, I made more extensive kitchens but int his case I figured a little table and a small stove would be enough. I also put in just a small round wooden table for a meal for one; after all, if you come here to isolate yourself from others to think, you’re not likely to invite guests. For the bedroom, I loved the idea of a large, luxurious bed, and fortunately Crosshead had a double bed with loads of pillows that seemed perfect!

The bottom-right area was an interesting addition. For one, it was so separate from the structure on the left, so it seemed to deserve special status to begin with. Secondly, that was where the wizard had met their end, so it seemed sensible that this would be a full laboratory area. Since it was already separated from the quarters to the left, I figured to increase that distance by adding a water feature in the middle. I was on the fence about whether I should add a bench for somebody to sit and think, but in retrospect I liked it as a place to pace around and think.

Where the left-most buildings were fairly static (aside from the foreshadowing with the fallen chair in the kitchen), I decided that I wanted the right-most area to look pretty active. So, the study that forms the entry to the workshop, I wanted broken and messy. Books litter the floor with a broken table in the middle. Perhaps the now-zombified wizard rambled in there and wrecked the place, or perhaps he was frantic before he rushed to the lab proper to conduct his experiment. Similarly, I liked the idea of a magic circle with a clear blood spatter/explosion and a trail leading off to show something went seriously wrong here. The last area, functionally speaking, is only a place for the players to find some equipment. I was torn between making this a standard treasure room (which seemed to make little sense to me) and a stoneworking/masonry workshop, given that the wizard seemed to have an obsession with stone. However, since the players are to find a suit of armor here, having that be a stoneworking shop seemed odd to me. So, perhaps the wizard just had an enchanting business on the side to make money.

The last fun new experiment in this map was the wall and roofed areas surrounding the estate. In principle, the Heroquest maps are built onto a dungeon-map framework, so they’re all square and assume straight, natural barriers. In this case, since I wanted it out in the open, I needed to find a reasonable explanation for the limitation. In this case, I decided to make it a walled estate; after all, the wizard performs some dangerous experiments here, so it’d be good to keep prying eyes away! In principle, there was nothing to stop me from making the wall curve around the building to the right; however, that would make the whole area look more natural than I wanted it to look. As I wanted to emphasize the stone theme of the wizard’s buildings as well as contrast it to the nature in the “empty” part of the map in the upper-right (I guess the negative space, gameplay-wise?), I decided to keep to the orthogonal nature of the walls. The added benefit is that this creates a number of spaces where the red roofing goes in the right, contrasting it strongly with the green of the greens. I think that will draw the eye to the right of the map, and given that the players enter on the left, that creates a natural flow for the eye to follow.

This time, I only made a light version of this map without a nighttime version with fire effects. The main reason was that the wizard has been lost for a while, so there’d be nobody there to light fires. While I think in play it would actually be great to go through the map in the dark (a zombie adventure with dark rooms leading into scary surprises? Awesome!), for displaying the map I think a light version is best.

As always, a full-sized version of this map can be found on the Reddit post about the map:

This week, the Heroquest map came out really well, and I’m quite pleased with the result. I’ve applied some of the lessons about pathing and layers in Dungeondraft from last time, and that really helped me create a sense of several layers of depth. On top of that, I had an idea to try something new, and I really enjoy the way it came out. So, without further ado, here’s this week’s map design process!

Interpreting the maps and making decisions

The two maps are, as usual, largely the same, with the US map featuring more monsters, traps, and room items. There’s a really interesting difference in the two maps, though: the NL map has Grak placed in the main conference room in the middle, whereas the US map has him in the exit room. To be honest, just game mechanically, the latter makes more sense to me, as he then functions like a final boss to the level. On top of that, in the NL version, the players could walk down the hall, open the first door they see, and immediately face the main antagonist! That’s quite a shock.

For once, the NL version doesn’t shy away from using the torture rack item in the top-right room, so that’s a fresh change. Following up on last week’s map, it’s clear now that it’s the Fimir monster model that’s consistently replaced by the Abomination model. Other interesting additions are the bottom left room in the US version getting a fireplace, and the top-left room now getting a weapons rack added to indicate where the players’ weapons will be.

Overall, the theme of the map seems pretty consistent: this is a dungeon, with a torture room to extract information, and some manner of central meeting place. There’s a storage room top-left, what looks like a kitchen bottom-left, and some kind of generic room bottom-right. The empty room bottom-center is a bit of a mystery still, but that shouldn’t be too much of an issue. Overall, an map that fits an easy theme.

For some reason, though, this week, I really felt like making a mountain-top map. Perhaps it was the Prince Magnus’ Gold map that spoke of the Black Mountains location, or just that I’ve been playing Skyrim lately but I wanted to have snow-covered peaks in my map this time. So, I flipped the idea of a dungeon: rather than have it be deep in the earth, I put it on the top of a mountain—equally as inaccessible and foreboding.

Information from the flavor text

As was the case last time, this time the NL and US flavor texts actually fully agree:

The Legacy of the Orc General

Grak, the repulsive child of Ulag, has sworn to avenge his murdered father. After months of searching, he tracked you down, ambushed you, and has taken you captive in his dungeons while he wracks his brain to think up a horrible punishment for you. While the guard is sleeping, you manage to pick the lock of your cell with a ratbone. Ye must find your equipment and escape.

My translation of the Dutch version of the text.

While I chose the word “repulsive”, it could easily have been “foul”; similarly, “child” and “offspring” is more a choice of flavoring than exact meaning. In considering the translation, I did come to appreciate the Dutch word “weerzinwekkend“. The Dutch word “zin“, in this context, indications “desire”, “appetite” or “intention”. “Weer“, in the adverbial sense, is a contraction of “weder“, meaning “again”, “back” or rather in the older Germanic sense “against”. Lastly, “wekken“, in this case, is derived from “opwekken“: “to generate” or “to create”. So, as a word “weerzinwekkend“, translated overly literally, would mean “to generate a sense of distaste against itself”. Wow, what a word!

Philology aside, we can deduce a number of things from this text. Firstly, Grak has “dungeons”, so likely he has an established settlement (compared to, for example, Prince Magnus’ Gold, where the Orcs were just hiding in some mountains). Furthermore, this is a place where he can calm his mind and decide on things; after all, this is where he took the heroes to determine their punishment. So, the area itself is likely quiet or restorative, and there’ll be places to consider, discuss, and contemplate.

Potentially, that reference to Grak having to work out a proper punishment might even give some meaning to that odd space at the top-right of the map. Regardless of where the map is set, that large surrounding walkway makes little sence, as it leads nowhere and there are quicker routes to get to each room. So, perhaps, if we’re putting this all on a mountain top, that is the edge of a mountain where Grak might throw down prisoners as a means of execution!

Translating into a final map

Taking some cues from Prince Magnus’ Gold map, I knew I wanted to layer some pathed cliff assets from Crosshead create the peaks, and use Krager’s Shadow & Light Pack to create a sense of depth. The key to make it work this time was to ensure that I was carefully apply consistent layers from the start. I had to decide which was my core level, which areas were lower, and which higher. I decided that the elements to the lower-left of the map would be higher up on the mountain, and since I liked the idea of the execution place on the top-right, that means the top-right of the map would have to be “lower”. While, by necessity, the Heroquest map format would result in a bit of a square-looking mountain, I’m still quite happy with how that looks overall.

Given that this is a mountain-top feature, I assumed that stone would be the most used building resource. After all, you’re already generating your main resource just by clearing the space to build your structures. So, I decided on stone tiled pathing to represent Heroquest‘s hallways. Moreover, all the rooms would be stone-walled. In retrospect, since this is a snow-capped mountain, I realize this would make every place be quite cold, so I should have focused on creating a source of warmth in each room. Currently, the cell, bedroom, dining room, and study lack such a feature. Well, let’s chalk that up to Orcs being hardy and not caring much about the wellfare of their prisoners!

Another element that I wanted to put back into my maps is the creation of little environmental narratives just to add detail. So, in the kitchen in the lower-left of the map, for example, you can see some sacks of trash to the south, with a dirty line back to some muddy boots, next to a mop. I figured that somebody just took out the trash, which leaked, and got a mop ready to clean everything up again. In the little depression at the bottom-right, I wanted to hide some bones, as though people disposed of former prisoners there. Below the grate in the torture room, more bones can be found, as though somebody was locked there. Lastly, the rickety bridge at the top of the map has a snapped chain hanging on both sides of that ravine. Perhaps that’s a sign of neglect, or perhaps Grak has decided that’s a great place to throw people down to the forest far, far below.

All these details leave me a little conflicted. The light version of rhe map shows these details most clearly:

However, as always, I like the darker, night-time version of the map, as I love the contrast of blues and reds with fires. It just makes the map really pop for me:

I’ve started experimenting a little with more map-wide light coloring, such as trying a slight orange tone to create an autumn feeling or perhaps a late-afternoon sun. I’ve hit some nice notes, and will look forward to experimenting more with that. Ether way, below you cna compare the two quickly:

Full-sized versions of these maps can be found on a post I made on Reddit about this:

So, which version of the map do you prefer—the dark or the light version?