Location concepts

Nestlebrook, an elfkin hamlet.
Where Featherfoot and Toothskin spend their youth, until the events at Gabbler's Ford.


Gazgarth, the Smog Metropolis.
Where elfkin become seduced by a dark path.
 
Yurruq, the City of Mages
Home to the necromancer Dol Athar, and where our elfkin's fate is decided. 

 

Design notes for next iteration:

Nestlebrook: Make the setting more visually interesting, look at terrace farming for inspiration. The hamlet's name suggests it could be tucked into a valley so terrace farming makes perfect sense.

Gazgarth: Keep feel distinctly medieval, try not to get sucked too deeply into the steam punk aesthetic. Have avoided classic bird-beak plague masks but might relent.

Yurruq: The more powerful the wizard the more their physical appearance will have been ravaged/altered by exposure to magical energy. So Dol Athar, a once mighty sorcerer, would be incredibly disfigured/distorted - revisit the initial design!

Scene development: The battle for Gabbler's Ford

At Gabbler's Ford we met the foe,
The fearsome northern hordes,
They thought to feast upon our bones
But bit down on our swords.

Unknown Elfkin Bard

My unstructured scene development process
1. Read/develop/interpret basic script outline.
2. Rough out storyboards to identify key characters, objects, settings and action sequences. Opportunity to think about visual storytelling.
3. Develop characters, props and environment reference. Be prepared for production!
4. Enhance. How might one enrich the mood/purpose of the scene? with lighting, framing, etc..
5. Repeat/iterate. Destroy/create.


Initial sequence
 
Concept development

 

Original mood sketch

Design notes for next iteration:

I decided to make it snow! Weather will be used to visually differentiate past events from scenes set in the present day... but shouldn't characters now be dressed appropriately? Hats, scarves & elfkin mittens. Breath visible on cold air.

Goblinoid chieftain is boring/generic... make him memorable. What's his weak spot? Special weapon? Don't waste the creative opportunity. Any ideas guys?

Better integrate the environment into the scene. Use the setting, make it so the events could only happen in this specific location. Troops fighting in the icy water, the makeshift bridge should be a centerpiece for the sequence. Blood in the snow.

The Stadium of Strife

Dungeon delving can be a tedious, lonely occupation. Often with only an ancient map for guidance, would-be dungeoneers might spend a large portion of their careers wandering distant and treacherous locals in the hope of finding an untouched lair. So unlikely is it that these treasure maps ever bear fruit that it is now widely believed that their creation was simply a deception of an entire generation of pernicious cartographers.

This has lead to adventurous types seeking pursuits with more immediate rewards. The Stadium of Strife provides one such opportunity, allowing competitors to win fame and fortune in a single day.

One of the contest's delights is its ability to produce unexpected winners.

Dol Athar's Tower

Dol Athar's tower is located in Yurruq, the City of Mages. It is a sprawling but relatively sedate coastal metropolis, its skyline dominated by a multitude of crooked towers, the homes of wizards and necromancers who have retired to the city in their dotage, taking advantage of its warm climate and balmy sea breezes to ease the rheumatic pains and rattling lungs which are the curses of a magically-sustained existence.


Dol Athar’s retainers might look like fearsome zombies but by nature they are little more than harmless old codgers, glumly obsessed with the many infirmities of undeath (aching joints, muscular degeneration, irregular bowel movements etc) and keeping alive the nostalgic memory of their master’s earlier career. They have been around far too long to care much for the swashbuckling antics of thieves and heroes but they do like routine and will be peeved if anyone upsets the status quo within their tower.

Words: Lee Williams

Dungeon Mistress Trials

Queen Tyrannatrix's originally intended the Game of Suitors to comprise of different trials every year, to keep the contestants guessing and the spectators interested.  However, over the course of the competitions history a few events became so popular with the crowds that they've become a permanent feature of the Games.

Pit 6 -  Arrows & Worms

Local children take pot shots at contestants while they make perilous leaps across a pit of carnivorous gulp worms. Whether slain by an arrow or swallowed by worms it's fantastic family fun. Also inspired a popular boardgame.

The Temple of Chance

In days of yore, before heroes chose their own adventures, life and death was governed by luck. The icosahedron stands as testament to the ancient rule of chance.

Dungeon rooms

Dungeoneers Boot Camp

Dungeoneers Boot Camp is set in the foot hills of the Iron Tooth Mountains. A place for adventurers to acquire new skills, improve stats and level-up under the watchful eye of veteran man-at-arms [insert name!]