The Next Bit

This is the players' map of the next bit of country they'll be moving through*.

The HeadLand is so called because of the many great stone heads that adorn the many rises and knolls of the valley of the River Norflowd. They are the relics of an ancient people, long gone. The heads remain, looking out over the flocks of sheep that now graze those downs.

This was done in indian ink with a croquil nib, coloured with watercolour and coloured pencil. It took a lot longer than it should have, and it reinforces why I do all this kind of shit on the computer these days.

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* You would think that after SPECIFICALLY ASKING FOR A MAP OF THIS BIT OF COUNTRY the players would show at least a modicum of interest in exploring some of its many interesting features. But no, turns out the purpose of SPECIFICALLY ASKING FOR A MAP OF THIS BIT OF COUNTRY is so that they can hurry straight through it as quickly as possible, ignoring everything. For fuck's sake.

What, naked AGAIN? Oh, for goodness' sake!"

The Shieldmaiden by Danes

This is how all the characters always seem to end up equipped in my games.

I swear I don't do it on purpose.

Old Mantua

Here's an excellent roleplayable map of Old Mantua. I have just the spot for it in my campaign world too.

Ankheg

Another burrowing beastie, this time an Ankheg (Reaper Bones 77230, not in the online store yet).

It's a bit of an uninspiring paint-job, though the mini itself is OK.

Remorhaz

Next up, Reaper's 77183: Frost Wyrm by Kevin Williams.

Or, as pretty much everybody else in the RPG world knows it, a Remorhaz.

From memory, I think remorhaz are supposed to be more of a light ice-blue, but I got a bit carried away, so this one has more of a tropical look about it than an arctic one. Never mind.

Shrine On You Crazy Diamond

The Titan Wood Shrine by Josh Eiten

From Talysman the Ur-Beetle, on G+:

"I wrote something up about holy shrines. The basic idea: don't give NPC priests levels, just assign the spells/miracles to the shrine instead. One benefit of this that I didn't mention was that it encourages adventure: if you want to cure disease and don't have a cleric that can cast it, you don't just find any old NPC cleric, you seek out the shrine known for curing disease. It's a place you have to travel to, not something you can advertise around town for. And if you want a local shrine that will provide multiple services on demand, consider investing in a shrine and praying for the miracles you need."

I like this idea a lot. A whole lot. Of course it does mean that I'd actually have to give some thought to what shrines where do what, but that's probably all to the good. I've been pretty slack about sorting out the religious side of my campaign world.

I can think of some good adventure hooks around dealing with evil shrines too.