Modular Castle Contest - August 2021 - Best Single Submissions

Hello everyone, it’s time to review and vote on the entrants for this month’s community contest! This was another round of really fantastic submissions, all of these bring a lot of variety and utility to the Modular Castle system and I’m excited for these great artists to share them with you.

Remember that there are two categories: Best Single Submission (this poll) and Best Body of Work (link to other poll). The two Community Members with the most votes will get a fancy VIP Discord role and one year of Tier 3 Patreon, but any worthy entry may  have their content added into the Modular Town (whichever is more appropriate) Module and live in glory forever!

Best of luck to everyone who entered, and I hope that everyone enjoys the great work the community has been putting out.

-Zephyr

Without further ado, the Single Submission Entries:

Elezraita

Elezraita has been a great and active member of the community, posting lots of interesting works in progress and new mapping concepts, usually involving water. Recently, Elezraita has been honing his Clip Studio Paint skills and has submitted the first, of hopefully many, CSP entry. For this contest, he’s submitted a single project: The Grotto.

Elezraita - The Grotto

Elezraita thought out of the box for the Modular Castle contest. Rather than a room, he’s created a way to enter a castle, or other area. He’s even written up some flavor text for players to experience when they first discover it:

From the castle garden, or from just outside the walls of a great keep, you found a simple, non-descript cave entrance (or a really ornate one in a grove with statues scattered about). You have decided to enter the cave.

You find yourself in almost total blackness aside from the faint purplish glow emanating from some odd crystals of some mineral that seems to be pushing its way out from wall in various places, and the tiny bioluminescent mushrooms that dot the moss covered floor. You stand on a path of large stone slabs that, inasmuch as a few of the slabs are missing, has fallen into disrepair. If you look more closely, you can also observe that the many of the stones at the edge are cracked or completely broken off. Perhaps the servants who originally built the path intentionally cut the slabs this way to avoid having to clear the natural limestone pillars and stalagmites that surround the path on both sides.

With the relative lack of light by which to see, you pause to listen. All around you can be heard the occasional drip, drip of the water that slowly, over many years, formed those natural pillars that surround you. To the north, you hear the loud crashing of water hitting water. And as your eyes adjust to the darkness, you can make out the shore of a an underground lake or pond ten or fifteen feet in front of you. What is the purpose of this place? It is beautiful, so perhaps some past ruler of the castle enjoyed spending time here, despite the darkness. Or maybe those bioluminescent mushrooms or glowing crystals have magical properties.

As you contemplate these things, you suddenly hear a voice from near the waterfall. Another calls out in mild protest. There are two splashes that you somehow hear over the din of waterfall. After that, you hear no more, save for water falling in water, and faint dripping on the limestone.

As the preview suggests, this room isn’t just a single tile, but a series of tiles that would be laid out with a very impressive use of the Levels module. Elezraita has also written up a description going through his inspiration, thought process, and intention with the piece:

I know this isn't, strictly speaking, a room for the modular castle, though I started making it as an addition to the gothic castle maybe a week before the contest was announced. I've always loved the scene in the Count of Monte Cristo (2002) where Edmond finds the Treasure of Sparta in that grotto on the Island of Monte Cristo. That was kind of my inspiration for this. My purpose was to give players infiltrating the castle an alternate way in through exploring a beautiful limestone grotto. The grotto would use levels and better roofs to allow the players to find cave off-shoots at different water depths, then follow them to wherever they went. Maybe a given exit will lead to another cave. Maybe another leads to an underground treasure room where the king or the court wizard keeps magical items. Maybe yet another leads to a secret staircase that allows direct access to the king's chambers, or to a garden within the walls. Perhaps all but one lead to a dead end, traps, or worse still. Maybe the grotto was meant to be utilized as a secret escape for the royal family in case of attack from foreign (or domestic, as the case may be) powers.

Obviously, I wanted to allow for some interesting water based, three dimensional encounters. Or maybe the players can fight giant spiders hanging from the ceiling while treading water. It could be both a help and hindrance to effectively fighting. I think that the opportunities for interesting encounters are considerable.

Each level of the cave fits with the one above it and below it, and each is separated into base and overhead tiles. The water for each level is a separate tile, so you can use this cave without the water, if you want, though I don't recommend that the players just go down that hole. The waterfall is optional. Also, the ladders, furniture, and torches I've placed on the highest level are placeholders. While there isn't a whole lot of room to decorate, I want you to be able to decide where and what exits are, as well as what the small amount of terrain above the water table that is not occupied by rock formations will hold.

I realize that it's kind of hard to see how things all fit together here, so I've provided a preview of the whole thing together, sans the "entrance tile" I made as an example. All the tiles except that one are designed to be basement tiles, so I don't really consider it part what will be the main prefab. Thank you for looking at my work. It's been fun!

--elezraita

Thanks to Elezraita for submitting this beautiful and thoughtful entry!

Idiot Wizard

Idiot Wizard makes his contest debut with a trio of great rooms for the castle.

Idiot Wizard - Cursed Sepulchre

Idiot Wizard’s first piece is The Cursed Sephulchre, a great crypt room to incorporate into any castle build. Idiot Wizard has gone a step further and designed a unique wall tile for the room so that it has pre-cast shadows. One of the great advantages of this approach and using overhead tiles, is that this wall tile can be deployed on any of the 8x8 octagonal room footprints in the modular castle system, adding flexibility to more than just the submitted room.

Idiot Wizard - Jester’s Quarters

The next room from Idiot Wizard is a beautifully crafted Jester’s Quarters. Idiot Wizard workshopped this a bit in The Workshop channel on the discord and it’s come together really beautifully. The room really tells a story with how well organized a lot of the jester’s “tools of the trade are” while their living area is a bit more distraught. You may recognize only bits and pieces of some of these assets. To create the assets he needed, Idiot Wizard kit-bashed a variety of Dungeondraft Prefabs, so, in addition to a great room, he’s created some great usable assets as well!

Idiot Wizard - Tax Collector

Idiot wizard put together a wonderfully crafted space for a tax collector or treasury office in the castle. The attention to detail with the object placement is just fantastic here. It feels like thousands of gold coins pass through the room every day and they are meticulously accounted for.

Shaftoe

Returning contest winner, Shaftoe, is back with a suite of rooms, halls, and more to further round out the possibilities with the Modular Castle system.

Shaftoe - Entrance Hall and Entrance Hall Ruined

Entrance Hall

Entrance Hall Balcony

Entrance Hall - Ruined

Entrance Hall Balcony - Ruined

Shaftoe is back at it with another highly functional piece that has both a pristine and ruined variant, this time with a Levels-ready balcony to take advantage of 0.8. The soft glow of the balcony railing of the Entrance Hall Balcony and the carefully selected tile damage in the Entrance Hall - Ruined showcase the detail and care that we’ve come to expect when Shaftoe shows us a new project! Since this is the same room with two versions, I’m considering this a single submission, and one that provides a lot of utility: witness the fall of a great house, or the rise of one restored to glory!

Shaftoe - Barbarian’s Room

Shaftoe has put together a series of “class” rooms, using the major classes in 5e as inspiration. First up is the Barbarian’s Room. Furs, weapons, and vittles dot this humble but homey room for your favorite greataxe-wielding party member.

Shaftoe - Bard’s Room

A much more whimsical room from Shaftoe is the Bard’s Room. Bright colors and musical instruments galore would make any wandering minstrel feel right at home here.

Shaftoe - Cleric’s Room

The fantastically detailed Cleric’s Room is decked out with an altar and all the fixings. Your party’s cleric can doff their armor and settle in for some dinner and devotionals.

Shaftoe - Druid

Much more rustic is the Druid’s Room. The perfect place to connect with nature, even when indoors, and maybe keep a pet or two in the pool.

Shaftoe - Fighter’s Room

The Fighter’s Room is kitted out with two bunks, a training facility, veritable armory, and a buffet of vittles to keep those action surges coming. While your party may have only one Fighter, there’s nothing that quite gives that home-sweet-home, barracks room feel like bunks.

Shaftoe - Monk’s Room

Simple and utilitarian, the Monk’s Room is the perfect place to recharge ki and practice stunning strikes.

Shaftoe - Paladin’s Room

The Paladin’s Room boasts training facilities, equipment storage and maintenance, foodstuffs, and an altar to contemplate one’s oath.

Shaftoe - Ranger’s Room

Shaftoe’s Ranger has clearly done a lot of hunting. This room is decked out in furs and even has an indoor tent to really keep the roughing-it feel that rangers seem to love so much.

Shaftoe - Rogue’s Room

The Rogue’s Room is a great fake out. The stickiest-fingered member of the party having a nearly bare room? At first appearance it might look that way, but a secret door leads to the real Rogue’s Room: a hidden alcove for storing and sorting the tools, and spoils, of the trade.

Shaftoe - Sorcerer’s Room

The Sorcerer’s Room is over the top and gregarious, much like many of its would-be-inhabitants. Great use of color and lighting to create an eccentric room that conveys luxury.

Shaftoe - Warlock’s Room

A darker and more brooding room, the Warlock’s room is perfect for conducting clandestine rituals, lounging in a creepy throne, or chatting telepathically with your patron.

Shaftoe - Wizard’s Room

For those studious magic users, there’s the Wizard’s Room. The over-full bookshelf, resplendent desk, and comfy bedding would make any mage feel right at home slinging spells or feverishly researching.

Shaftoe - Hedge Maze

Hedge Maze Base 01 - Clean

Hedge Maze Base 02 - Dirty

Hedge Maze Green 01 - Walled

Hedge Maze Green 01 - All Hedges

Hedge Maze Yellow 01 - Walled

Hedge Maze Yellow 01 - All Hedges

Stone Maze Base

Stone Maze Walls

Shaftoe wasn’t content with just creating interior rooms for this contest, and has also created a hedge maze for us to disorient and confound players. There are 3 base patterns and 3 main wall types. The “Walled” variants of the mazes are also suitable for outdoor use or  as a courtyard within the castle itself. Since this is a single design with multiple aesthetic options, I’m considering it a single submission.