This week's map is the Desert Camp (35x35), a kinda cozy campsite tucked between some big desert rocks, which is probably the best natural defense you're likely to get out on a desert. Still no water though, so that may be an issue. But, just in case you don't want to have to justify the location, I did get rid of that pesky camp so you can just clamor on the rocks and shoot spells at.. whatever lives in the desert. Earth elementals pretending to be boulders maybe?
I haven't made many camp maps in a while and that's because I started getting complains that many of my camps felt mostly the same. After that I took a few steps back and decided that I'd have to have something unique in mind in order to justify any further camp maps. Primarily I wanted to make sure that the theming of the camp was strong enough to justify making it- in this case being a desert camp was enough to make it worthwhile. I did a little research and found some desert tents I both liked the look of and felt were distinctly different in vibe from those I had drawn in the past.
The tents I went with this time are a sort of extra large, wide style, large enough to be an entire room with its own rug flooring. Much cozier than than the little 1-2 man tents I tend to draw in forests, but I suppose they're where you'd spend most of your time in this map rather than sitting by the fire (during the day). Also, I really didn't want to overfill the area with little props like barrels or sacks because I felt like many items would be inside the tents rather than left outside where they could perhaps gather sand.
Beyond that, I've been enjoying populating these rocky desert maps recently, it's much more interesting to design than endless sand dunes. It feels distinct enough from the sandy desert maps I used to design that I'm tempted to return to a few of the old classics and rehash them in this slightly different desert setting- big ol' bones baking in the sun, crumbling shrines, oasises. Don't worry, if I do then I'll make sure they're very different than the maps they're iterating upon.
As I continue working on this revised desert palette I'm taking the expected turn toward slightly brighter and more vibrant shades of orange, yellow, and pink. I knew I'd eventually get there, as I almost always start by trying to imitate real life then eventually give in to my base instincts and decide to make something eye-catching and satisfying to look at. Or maybe I just wanted this one to be a bit brighter because it gives the impression of being a more scorching environment than the last 2 desert maps? Or maybe the encounter I was picturing in my head was more brightly lit? I can't exactly explain my thoughts, but I guess I just felt like this one should be brighter and more colorful than the Desert Canyons or Desert Cave and that's all there is to it.