Rocky Shoreline, Adept & Expert (Patreon)

Hey there, Adepts! Your alternate map this week includes just a few more props than the regular version, hopefully just enough to kick off an encounter. Truth be told I thought the presence of a little dinghy and some supplies would make for a bigger center-point than it turned out to be, but I might have underestimated how the scale of the map would lessen the impact. Still, it does a good job of providing a sense of scale and gives a little prompt as to how you might want to use this map, which is more or less what I set out to do. 

1. The thing about beach maps is that a lot of it will be taken up by nearly empty space such as empty stretches of sand and water. While I don't like leaving so much unused real estate it is an important part of the terrain, so even though I added some obstacles to spice up the space and break up line of sight I wanted to be sure not to lose the aspects that make this terrain unique. So depending on how the encounter is set up, potentially there's little your players can do to gain an environmental advantage without taking time to set it up- dashing/climbing to get out of the open. 

2. I wasn't planning on making a map this week due to timing with my side job, but I ended up with enough time that I felt I could throw together a somewhat simple map without too much trouble. So, going into the outlines I did my best to work smarter, not harder. That said, very little of this map was drawn fresh this week: the rocky platforms in the water, the grass/sand/water, and most of the larger rocks. The rock walls are stitched together from patches of Bullseye Island and the trees are actually almost 2 months old already (speaking of which I think it's time to draw some new ones, these are a little over-detailed for my taste). 

I think if I always made maps in this way, piecing together old assets with a few fresh pieces mixed in, I could very likely make two maps a week. A fun thought, but I'm sure my designs would get a little same-y, and few people would be willing to pay for 2 maps a week. Maybe some day, huh? 

3. As I mentioned in the post for my last grassy map, Riverside Ruins, I was planning on making only one more with this palette before trying out something different. I'm still considering it, but there was a small outcry at the suggestion which made me second guess myself. I'm still considering it, but I'm much less sure- I wouldn't want newer maps to clash with the palette of older maps, but maybe there's an in-between point I can work towards. Either way, for now I'm sticking with these vibrant and cheerful colors until I can come to a conclusion!