[Release] The Whispering Depths Is Out Now
As you descend beneath the tower, the air grows cold and wet, filled with the endless murmur of falling water somewhere in the dark.
The cave opens before you into a ruined underground chamber where broken stonework, collapsed walls, and old furniture have slowly been swallowed by roots, fungus, and time.
Strange blue growths glow faintly along the rocks, casting sickly light across black pools and narrow wooden walkways slick with moisture.
On one of the old tables, a skeleton lies tangled in something that might be roots, or perhaps something far less natural.
Beyond the largest pool, the water disappears into darkness, as if the cave itself is quietly inviting you to dive deeper.
Hi everyone :)
The Whispering Depths is now available!
I’m really happy with how this map turned out. Once again, Unreal’s FluidFlux system did an amazing job and helped me create the waterfalls, underground streams, and pools exactly the way I wanted. There is something about moving water in a dark cave that instantly makes a place feel more alive... and a little more dangerous.
So this one is loosely connected to what could be hiding beneath Lakewatch Tower, although of course you can use it anywhere and however you want in your own adventures.
Whenever I start working on a map, I usually have at least a loose story idea in the back of my mind. It helps a lot with setting the mood and giving the location its own identity instead of making it feel like just another cave or dungeon.
From the beginning, I wanted part of this cave to feel like a continuation of the building above. That is why one section of the map is still filled with old architecture, although it has clearly been abandoned for a very long time. Constant moisture, creeping vegetation, and time itself have done their job, leaving behind nothing but ruined halls and broken remnants of whatever once stood here.
The place may have once been used for some pretty dark experiments.
There is a skeleton lying on one of the tables, covered in something that looks a bit like roots. But while working on it, I started thinking that it could also be some kind of mutated mycelium. Maybe someone was trying to bring the dead back to life through fungi.
So, basically: The Last of Us meets the cult of Zuggtmoy. There will definitely be a proper lore entry for this place later on.
I’m also really happy that I finally managed to make something smaller that did not somehow grow into a huge dungeon with dozens of rooms. Although, while writing this post, another idea came to me: maybe this map could become a kind of entrance hall to a much larger system of flooded caves beneath the lake.
The biggest pool on the map could be the way forward. The party would have to take a deep dive and see what is waiting on the other side.
Now, the good stuff:
You can download the map here:
https://dranskybattlemaps.com/battlemap/the-whispering-depths/
Here is what you will find in each pack:
Local Heroes
Static map with grid and gridless versions
8K resolution
WEBP format
Heroes of the Realm
Everything above, plus:
Animated map with grid and gridless versions
8K and 4K resolution options
MOV and WEBM formats
2 static POV scenes
Champions
Everything above, plus:
2 animated POV scenes
Everything should be ready to go, including the Foundry modules. I’m literally finishing those up while writing this post, so they will be available by the time this goes live.
Thank you all so much for your continued support. Every new map, experiment, and strange idea like this one is possible because of you.
And to all Free Members: if you would like access to the animated versions, POV scenes, Foundry modules, and future releases, consider joining us on Patreon.
Cheers!
~dransky