Crumbling Crypt, Adept (Patreon)

Hello Adepts! This week I made the Crumbling Crypt (26x24), an old and nasty tomb with more than a few collapsed walls leading into tunnels and caves. Your alternate version of this one goes a little further than that, cutting the webs from the original version and instead featuring several patches of large mushrooms and a warmer yellowish palette. These changes help change the map's theme away from giant bugs and more towards plant creatures who might harm players through spores. It might be one of those changes that only I would appreciate, but maybe some of you will enjoy that sort of thing too!

1. Starting this map, I was in the mood to make a nice and simple crypt, just a couple rooms with one to two doorways. I feel like I very rarely make small maps, which are somewhat less useful than big ones but also have their place, and while this map did end up growing a little larger than I intended it still is one of my smaller ones. 

2. I like making dungeons, it's nice to make a map with a straightforward flow to them. Sometimes it's satisfying to work with a clear structure- start by setting down walls, then floors, then props. Outdoor areas aren't usually that simple and I tend to get distracted partway through placing trees or drawing rock walls and start working on some other props. 

Also! Diagonal tile floors are my new favorites. Something about them makes a space feel more complex than it actually is, it's neat. On top of that, I'm a fan of how they don't hide or obscure the grid lines. All in all, diagonal floor tiles are pretty cool and I recommend them for all dungeons. 

3. It's easy for me to let shadowy structures end up with boring or subdued lighting. I usually start off shading with the intent of giving the space 'realistic' lighting, and only later realizing that that would actually mean that the space should be nearly completely darkened since I don't often like to add clear light sources. In the end, I usually decide that satisfying/attractive lighting is always better than the alternative and I bump up the vibrancy of the colors and call it a day.