Underdark Passage, Adept (Patreon)

This week's map is the Underdark Passage (35x30), a straightforward tunnel with some mushrooms and ledges- not something to build an adventure around but perfect for treks through cave systems! 

Additionally, your alternate variant of this map is Luminescent, one where I boosted the glowy effects as high as I could while increasing the vibrancy of the rest. It felt to me like the base version could be more mushroom-focused, and this is that! 

1. Yup, didn't start with much. When it comes to basic maps (maps with a simple premise like 'tunnel with ledges'), I don't like to put too much down on paper beyond the framework. This one was designed to be simple but interesting,  just a little passageway with room for a combat- the ledges are there to make this simple premise a little more exciting and the mushrooms set the scene nicely and add some detail to an otherwise straightforward terrain. 

The shape of the map's outer walls was a bit of a puzzle for me, however. I wanted this to be a tunnel but I hated the look of a straight shot from one side of the map to the other- it felt stiff and unnatural. The jagged walls plus the little passageways at the bottom give it a more natural vibe will cutting off sight lines, win-win.

2. I'm hoping I'll get to reuse more assets eventually in these Underdark maps- just copying over mushrooms is nice but it would be cool to be able to reuse cave walls or something (unlikely, considering how the layers are arranged). But seriously, I think I've reused these mushrooms enough already that I probably will need to whip up some more that look a little more... visually interesting. Mushrooms are proving to be trickier than expected- when viewed from above they look like circles, and even if you tilt them a bit then they look like a wobbly blob. I think I'll have to do some trial and error here pretty soon because these mildly-textured circles are bumming me out. 

3. So you know how I've been splashing in patches of fun pinkish grass in these Underdark maps and that's been great, it adds color and gives the cave a more verdant vibe? It seems like using big patches makes the map way too pink and that's starting to be a bit much. I suppose I didn't think this through too much, but for this map I just toned down the pinkness somewhat; in the future I'll probably have to do a major color overhaul, like making the grass teal or something, because this palette is getting pushed to its breaking point fairly quickly. Similarly, these glowing mushrooms' colors/effects are almost identical to the glowing crystals, which will someday be another issue I'll have to confront. In short: this palette clashes and contradicts itself often and will need to be corrected sooner or later.