Generating an Adventure Location for OpenRPG

Now that we have our adventure idea, we need to generate the NPCs for our first adventure.  In this example, we will start the characters out in a press gang.  I thought it might be best if they were working in a mine, doing a 3-month pennance for petty misdemeanor crimes committed by the characters after arriving & trying to survive in Terlune.

First, lets generate a mine.  I used Cavern Mage to generate this cavern.


I threw in some torches, plus an area for the adventurers to find equipment as they get out of the mine.  Now, lets load the image into Gimp and scale it to OpenRPG's map scale (60 pixel squares).
First, use the Script-Fu to put a 60x60 square layer of lines over our picture.  Right-click on the picture, and choose the grid of guides menu option.


Now that we have a grid available, notice the number of squares inside of our grid.  Looks like it is close to 4 squares.  So, lets scale the image 380% larger than it is currently.  First, hit Ctrl-Z to undo our last command, which will get rid of the grid.  Then, choose the scale image option.


Now, re-apply the grid.  If it looks good, then save the picture.  If not, use Ctrl-Z a couple of times to undo our grid & resize.  Then, resize it again till you get it just right.

That is how I setup a map for OpenRPG.  Now, we need to import the map into OpenRPG, and save the resulting XML file.  That way, we can load the map any time we need it.  You have to save the map to a web server first.  The faster the server, the better.  The map is 2mb, and refreshing it can be very painful unless you can save it to a high-speed web server.  EhostPros will give you a great setup for $3.00 per month.  If you are like me, you have access to a free high-speed server, so this isn't a problem.

First, start OpenRPG and generate a new game tree.  Next, change the map background to be an image.

You can add any minis that you want.  I have placed all the minis I have on my mini site.  Check it out and use them as you need.

Finally, you can fog the whole map, and save the resulting setup to an XML file using the little save button in the lower right hand corner.  In the future, load the map into the game tree and you are set.


You need to change the name of the map from the default of 'miniature map' - open the .XML file you saved with Crimson Editor.  Change the name to something else (I changed it to Mine_Cavern) and save the file.


Here is the file generated by OpenRPG, and