Written by Deven Rue.
Though we all know how much a map can help inform our players where they are on the battlefield, it can also help immerse them in the world they’re traversing. Instead of just describing a sleepy village, a cozy shop, or roadside farm, show them!
Czepeku have a wide range of creations that go well beyond your average encounter map. As a matter of fact, several of their maps can easily be used to simply give your players a better sense of their environment and the world around them.
If you also happen to use LegendKeeper, an online world-building tool, I highly recommend using the feature to post maps to regular pages. Let me share an example from an ongoing community project I have with my patrons where they submit ideas, NPCs, story hooks, classes, lectures, services, etc., called The Magisterial Society of Scriveners & Cartographers Archival Library (TMSoSCAL). Here, I have three Czepeku maps that I used for Heirloom Farm & Apiary, the library’s greenhouse, and Bushel & Peck Grocer. If you click on the tabs for the maps for each page, you’ll see the image of the buildings or areas, allowing for a quick visual reference for your players. And should anything occur while your players are visiting that shop, farm, or whatever, you already have a map ready to go!
To create a similar page on your own LegendKeeper project, simply navigate to the section you want to put the map under, create a new page for the area if you don’t have one already, and then click the plus sign (only shows up for editors). You can easily hide the page by clicking the eye icon in the left-side column if you want to keep it hidden until the players visit it. The best part is, if your players don’t visit that shop or building while they’re in one town, you can drag and drop them into the next town, allowing you to use previously unvisited areas in seconds!
If you don’t use LegendKeeper (and honestly, you should), all of Czepeku's maps are virtual tabletop ready, easy to upload, and are simply a visual feast sure to add 'oohs and ahs' to any online session or even when printed out if you play in person.
To make it even more immersive, Czepeku also offer several variations of their maps including different seasons as well as day and night versions. They even have versions for after an encounter! The Bushel & Peck Grocer from my library project is from their Gentle Village Greengrocer pack (pictured above), which includes versions for day/night, seasons, flooded, drought, foggy, rain, and even one with no building at all.
And the possibilities don’t just end there! Czepeku also have several cinematic Scenes that match the maps they create and allow you to have cover art to match the map space. So, if I didn’t want to show the map quite yet but wanted to give the impression of a cozy village grocer, I can use one of these scenes (pictured below) as a cover image or map on LegendKeeper or share it on the screen to show my players during virtual games. Just like their maps, their Scenes are offered in a wide variety of variations! This particular scene has lighting effects for “Blood Moon,” “Creeping Dead,” “Haunted,” “Rain,” etc. Or you can have added embellishments for your scene, like the shop flooded with water or toxic fluid, or even blood for those wanting to bring a bit of The Shining to their game. There are lots more Scenes, so I recommend clicking the link and having a look.
Speaking of sharing things on your screen during virtual games, let’s not forget Czepeku’s animated maps! Continuing with our Gentle Village Greengrocer, wouldn’t it be so cool to have this animated scene playing while your players chat with the grocer or are shopping for supplies?!
Those are three different ways you can captivate your players and keep them engaged with a single scene using maps from Czepeku.