While trying to decide what to post today, I think I was somewhat influenced by Lord Kilgore's "Tower and Dungeon" map, posted earlier this week.
This location was something I drew up shortly after seeing The Last Unicorn for the first time (on video, probably in early 1983). I recall really liking the idea of the old king haunted by his past, and drew a lot of inspiration from the concept of a seaside castle fallen under a Wuthering Heights-esque pall of doom and gloom.
So, moved by the Muse, I immediately set to work with my mechanical pencil, compass, and graph paper. The result is The Accursed Castle, an immense structure whose foundations are carved deep into the rocky cliffs of the Cold Sea, and whose handful of spires reach high into the gray sky above. It's an "empty" location - that is, aside from room labels, the castle maps are not keyed. Anybody wishing to use this has a blank slate on which to work.
. . . . .
This location was something I drew up shortly after seeing The Last Unicorn for the first time (on video, probably in early 1983). I recall really liking the idea of the old king haunted by his past, and drew a lot of inspiration from the concept of a seaside castle fallen under a Wuthering Heights-esque pall of doom and gloom.
So, moved by the Muse, I immediately set to work with my mechanical pencil, compass, and graph paper. The result is The Accursed Castle, an immense structure whose foundations are carved deep into the rocky cliffs of the Cold Sea, and whose handful of spires reach high into the gray sky above. It's an "empty" location - that is, aside from room labels, the castle maps are not keyed. Anybody wishing to use this has a blank slate on which to work.
. . . . .
Absolutely fantastic!
ReplyDeleteSide story: I have to admit this reminds me of my junior high-school days. For a couple years I had no one with whom I could game. But that did not stop me.
I loved dungeons, but I loved Star Trek even more (at the time). Plus, it was a time when D&D was set off-limits by my parents. I carried with me -- everywhere -- the green plastic drafting templates. Circles. Squares. Odd furnishing shapes. Flowchart shapes.
And I designed starships.
They were horrendous, looking back. But loads of fun. I wish I had kept some; maybe I will find them in cleaning out an old file cabinet someday.
Anyway, when I saw the grand, sweeping circles of the tower it took me right back to my eighth-grade year. Sitting in the back of my math class, building dreams.