Serpentine Tunnels, Adept (Patreon)

I'm back! This map is the Serpentine Tunnels (25x40), a basic cave map with tight corners, winding corridors, and a handful of slightly larger chambers for slightly less cramped combats. Nice!

1. I was a bit short on time with this map, so I felt that I could whip up a basic cave map with the time I had. I try not to overdo it with 'basic' maps, which usually feature as few storing-inciting props as possible for the sake of keeping things more broadly useful, because I feel that people usually prefer maps with a little pizzazz. 

This one has a simple linear layout with a couple circular routes to spice up combat, ending with a small but decently-sized chamber with enough room to write in and play around with your own end goal- a small bandit camp, a monster nest, an abandoned mining operation. Simple stuff, but effective. 

2. Due the the simplicity of the map, I played around a little with the small details- making the ground a bit more craggy than usual with more texture and a few more cracks. Additionally, I worked more on the new jagged walls I've been trying out for caves, mixing in stretches of less jagged wall which I think help keep the effect from feeling excessive. I also returned the cracky effects in the upper walls for another try despite how often I've gone back and forth on them. Sometimes I just feel like this part of the map could use some extra details, you know?

3. Simple map gets simple lighting, colors, and effects. Without extra props and environmental details bringing new colors into the map there isn't much I can do to avoid the monotone. But you know what? That's what caves look like and I don't think I care. The thing about caves is that they're made up of a lot of the same rocks and are mostly all the same color, and I'm sick of pretending otherwise. Now you know what would have looked really interesting? If this cave was full of crystals, mushrooms, spider eggs, water, or ruins, but then this wouldn't be a basic map, the potential uses of the map would be different and not necessarily more plentiful, and that's all there is to it.