Lava Lake, Adept (Patreon)

3Hi again, Adepts! This week's map is the Lava Lake (35x35), a uniquely dangerous map with tons of lava and a smattering of stone platforms for your players to leap across. 

Your alternate version of this map is a very fun Astral remake, where I've recolored everything and set it up with a swirly space-y background instead of the lava. Now, if your players miss a jump, they'll simply fall into the void of space instead of deadly deadly lava- so in a way it's actually safer (?).

1. This sketch was a fun thought, but I knew even here that this was too busy to feel right. I kept lots of its pieces as I drew in the platforms, but afterwards I knew that I'd have to move or remove huge chunks of them in order to further emphasize the lava and not make traversal too easy. I think I did alright there, there are plenty of paths a player might take easily and a few they can take if they're willing to risk the jumps.

3. Yes, it's wildly over detailed, I know. I don't mind overdetailing these volcanic maps however, since the lighting effects do a great job of toning down some of the distracting details, like the lava lines and all the little cracks on the platforms. 

That said, I probably could have tried to reuse some previously drawn platforms and saved myself some time, but I guess I was feeling productive and thought that some of these might make reappearances in future volcanic maps, so I might as well whip up a whole library for myself to pick from while I was feeling up to the task. I am starting to get a little tired of drawing them, however.

3. Like I said, the coloring and lighting actually reduces the appearance of overdetailed outlines. Mostly that's because I add a reddish glow to the lava's outlines and the outlines near to the lava, and elsewhere they're a pleasant blue. I think this adds to the warm vibe of the map while pulling the eye away from the lava lines and toward more important details, the terrain that players can actually stand on without bursting into flames.