Castle of the Bloated One - Running Water Level 6

December 16, 1977 Original Concept

Level 6 took five days to layout, due to the angled section at the bottom. I wanted a design that included a mushroom/lichen garden, so I researched my Encyclopedia Brittanica collection. I discovered that soil rich in nutrients, and higher humidity would be key. Logs could be stacked into various shapes, and over time the mushrooms would flourish. The level is split horizontally by the river, which falls partially from Level 5 above, and a natural fissure that runs due north some 1400 feet before branching off. One of my favorite types of rooms includes multiple stairs, and this particular design include five separate sets which lead down to three different levels.

Cheers,

Castle of the Bloated One - Deep Level 5

December 10, 1977 Original Concept

This is the first level I laid out on the morning of my 14th birthday. My notes include the following info:

This level includes a waterfall (from the aqueduct on Level 4) and a combination feeding ground/slaver region. The water leads around to room #8, which has an entrance to a set of natural caverns, home to mushrooms, lichen and a couple big nasties. Traps are prevalent throughout, along with a couple surprises. Thus, presented below is Deep Level 5:

Cheers,

Castle of the Bloated One - Garden Level - revisit

Originally, I had posted an image of the Castle of the Bloated One Garden sub-level on December 16, 2012. I had the write up from my original notes, but the image was based on an workaround due to not having the original main castle layout and the sub-levels available. It was all based on memory. The original image:



In any case, last week I was looking through my Forgotten Realms boxed set (for info on the gods of the realms), and in the bottom were six hex maps folded up. Angels did sing! So, I'm revisiting and posting the now correct information.

December 10, 1977 Original Concept

The Garden Sub-Level was designed as a place where crops are grown and harvested for the Castle's occupants, while the resulting seed is stored/maintained for next season. Fresh water is collected via the natural sandstone filter in the ceiling, which slowly drips down into the deep central collection chamber. An aqueduct complete with gated levers, drops the water down to Level 5.

Ventilation, sunlight, and some rain water is filtered down to the 80 foot tall chamber via four vertical Columnar Basalt shafts who's entrance is housed in twin open air buildings on the surface. These shafts have steep vertical stone steps, and while only the steadfast dare to use them on a regular basis, most prefer the twin Guard Tower stairs.

A grove of trees serves as a reminder of the deep connection to the Older Faith, while the outer walls keep the residents safe and secure during wartime. Other secrets remain...

Cheers,

Custom Mapwork: Basement

The basement includes one of my favorite features in maps, both carved rooms and natural caverns. I decided to add in a stone backround, which I feel finishes the design:

 Cheers,

Custom Mapwork: Ground Floor

The Ground Floor mentioned a vegetable garden outside, but no details were included. This was an opportunity to create one in black and white, and add in a bit of detail including a cobblestone path and well. The design also required two Sphinx at the entrance:

Cheers,

Custom Mapwork: First Floor

A fellow gamer over at Dragonsfoot had put a request out for some custom work, and after seeing my blog, he sent over some preliminary sketches.

Requirements:
Based on a beloved cartoon
Black & White layout
Three levels: Basement, Ground Floor, First Floor

The first floor inludes a shaded balcony region where the chandelier is:

Cheers,

Isolde-Delta and the Coins of the Realm - Collected

27 March, 1978:

To finalize the revisit of original material, included below is a collected image showing all five coins together.

Cheers,