Jonathan Roberts cartographer for Kobold Quarterly, Sunken Empires, and the official Dungeon & Dragon comic books, presents another Fantastic Map: "The Arboretum."
This multi-page PDF allows you to print out the battlemap at a 1 square=1 inch scale as a letter-format or A4 map and is also available in a printer-friendly light grayscale version. The pack contains high-Resolution JPEGs of the maps with and without grids for poster printing or use in virtual tabletops. The file also contains a MapTool map file set up with vision blocking and light for quick use in the 4E, PFRPG, or any OGL game. The MapTool file requires MapTool 1.3b86 or newer to work.
This product is 51 pages long. It starts with a credits and how to use this product. (2 pages)
Maps (49 pages)
It starts with a single page color overview map of the location. Then it moves onto pages of the map blown up to be printed out to be used with miniatures. There is both a color and black and white version of the maps.
In addition to that there is the same set of maps in A4 format as well. As well as a file for maptool.
Closing thoughts. It is a well drawn map from one of their recent adventures The Breaking of Forstor. It is the location of one of the main encounters in that adventure. The pack offers everything you need and if you are looking for a location map for this or like using mini's and have that adventure then this is worth picking up. So what's my rating? Well it gives exactly what it promises in a well done format. So I am going to give it a 5 star review.
The latest installment of Jonathan Robert's Fantastic Maps-line is 51 pages long, 1 page front cover and 1 page how to use, leaving 49 pages for the maps.
As is wont with the Fantastic Maps series, we get a grided one-page overview-map of the Arboteum and its adjacent buildings and something seems to be wrong there indeed - after all, there's a gaping hole in the ground and several trees have been uprooted. The map also comes in both full color and b/w blown-up versions for use with miniatures, an alternate A4-version for Europeans like yours truly, high resolution jpegs with and without grids and a maptool version of the map.
Conclusion:
Jonathan Roberts delivers a beautiful map that some of you might already know from the stellar "Breaking of Forstor Nagar" adventure. As its direct predecessor, that means that some of the rooftops that have been largely cut off are slightly blue-tinged. However, due to the rock-buildings and colorful nature in the arboteum, this blue-tinge is not nearly as dominant as in the predecessor, making this map probably much more useful to DM who want to use it for other adventures/locations than BoFN. Thus, my final verdict will be 4 stars, as the blue-tinge still is there and could limit usability for rather nitpicky persons.
And yes, more fantastical locations should make use of remorhaz underfloor heating systems. How else would a frost giant grow grain for frost giant whisky?
