Black Bishop's Maps

[B376Bishop]

Once upon a time I stumbled across Logrey's Landscape, and thought, 'Humph, I bet other's would like my maps'.
I started keepin a collection of my coolest maps, and it's grown pretty big this last year or so.
My hope's were to release a "collection" with ten or twenty cool maps in an "email-able" package containing the Landscape file, some pictures from my cheap digital cam, and a written description of the map and anything else that was needed to convey a clear picture of my maps.
Then I learned that I couldn't email Landscape files, and shortly after, we all started using Virtualscape.
Now, my computer is a bit outdated, and my knowledge of video cards might be too...
I can't for the life of me, make virtualscape work on any of my three antique computers. And I've kinda realized (after seeing everybody's else's pictures), that it's really just concept art that we're sharin.
We all don't need the Virtualscape file to reproduce our maps. You just get good at improvising, and I do it all the time with my maps.
So for a bit, I think I am just going to offer "free previews" of the up coming "Black Bishop's Official Mapbook Volume One" and see what kind of feedback I get.
Now, officially for a moment, I want to say that I am NOT able to see any of the maps using Virtualscape, so for all I know, or don't know, I'm copying from someone else's maps and calling these my own. I am sincerely apologizing to you and everyone else whose ever been proud of your own maps. The only other thing I can say is 'Great minds think alike' and 'Hey, cool map huh?'
I have around fifteen maps that I made before I (recently) found my two castle sets, so I'll be sharing those next.

Enough Introduction...

Here's a realy cool map I made using two castle sets, one road set, one snow set and three master sets.
I liked the idea of a river running under a huge castle, but I wanted to make the "sewers" big enough to fight under, too.
A couple of my pics are from the back, the two doors are more like "the front". If you're having trouble "suspending the slab", experiment for a bit with a single layer of six twenty four hex pieces connected, and adding support pillars (two towers pieces) under the joins (where the big pieces meet). Or reply with a question and I'll try to clarify more.
Most of my maps are for two players, I play with seven hundred and twenty points on both sides.
I thought this one would be cool for Airborne and grenades since most slow squad climbers have only one path to higher ground, but they didn't get drafted.
Instead my team composed mostly of Saylind and flyers, Braxus and Srg Drake.
My opponent chose a crapload of samurai and Krug with Syvarris (I think he had a theme in mind).
Even though I kept the higher ground, I seemed to loose it with my dice rolls and lost in the end.
Still a cool map for a good slaughterfest in a big castle.

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k222/b376bishop/th_Stilts01.jpg (http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k222/b376bishop/Stilts01.jpg)

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k222/b376bishop/th_Stilts02.jpg (http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k222/b376bishop/Stilts02.jpg)

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k222/b376bishop/th_Stilts04.jpg (http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k222/b376bishop/Stilts04.jpg)
http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k222/b376bishop/th_Stilts03.jpg (http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k222/b376bishop/Stilts03.jpg)

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k222/b376bishop/th_Stilts09.jpg (http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k222/b376bishop/Stilts09.jpg)
http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k222/b376bishop/th_Stilts08.jpg (http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k222/b376bishop/Stilts08.jpg)
http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k222/b376bishop/th_Stilts07.jpg (http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k222/b376bishop/Stilts07.jpg)
http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k222/b376bishop/th_Stilts06.jpg (http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k222/b376bishop/Stilts06.jpg)
http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k222/b376bishop/th_Stilts05.jpg (http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k222/b376bishop/Stilts05.jpg)

[Buffrat]

Those are great pictures, B376Bishop!

I like how you have Grimnak for size compariosn, and the underground sewer type area is very well put together. Overall, a nice castle map.

[B376Bishop]

Second in the installment, here's a cool map I called "ScarFace".
It's got my normal three master sets, one lava, and one road set.
I had this idea, as I'm sure someone else out there probably had too, of a tall mountain range running the length of my "field", with a big ugly scratch exposing some lava in the middle.
This one's great if you're still waiting on your castle set(s).
Also great if you're a fan of the Airborne Elite chucking grenades in the second turn. I always put my Syv in a good spot to get his four or six shots on the hill in, should I need him. I call that my airborne insurance package.
Good overall beginner map, try to get your meatbags up there and chop in a downward fashion.
Let me know if you guys battle on this one, I won barely with an Agent Carr, and it was a really close fight.

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k222/b376bishop/th_ScarFace04.jpg (http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k222/b376bishop/ScarFace04.jpg)
http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k222/b376bishop/th_ScarFace03.jpg (http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k222/b376bishop/ScarFace03.jpg)
http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k222/b376bishop/th_ScarFace02.jpg (http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k222/b376bishop/ScarFace02.jpg)
http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k222/b376bishop/th_ScarFace01.jpg (http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k222/b376bishop/ScarFace01.jpg)

[netherspirit]

I merged both of your threads, its best to keep all your stuff in one thread. When you add something you can change the title by editing the first post and changing the subject.

[B376Bishop]

Thanks NetherSpirit. Hey, how do I change my topic's title?

The third map in this special I called Mt Doom and I had the image of Frodo standing above the lava, ring in hand.
There is a path from one side to the other along the front, if you don't take lava damage. And the cliff, at it's closest, is still too far for Grimnak to reach up and munch people from.
This map used three master sets, one lava and one road, as usual.
I made a line of trees to split the action early, and once you gain the height, it's a lot like all the other "king of the mountain" maps. Maybe a good one for some glyphs (I never use 'em) or a good scenario mission map.
Saylind is great for moving people on this one, Airborne can also be devestating.
I both loved this one and feared it. Enjoy.

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k222/b376bishop/th_MtDoomOne04.jpg (http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k222/b376bishop/MtDoomOne04.jpg)
http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k222/b376bishop/th_MtDoomOne03.jpg (http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k222/b376bishop/MtDoomOne03.jpg)
http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k222/b376bishop/th_MtDoomOne02.jpg (http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k222/b376bishop/MtDoomOne02.jpg)
http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k222/b376bishop/th_MtDoomOne01.jpg (http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k222/b376bishop/MtDoomOne01.jpg)

[netherspirit]

Thanks NetherSpirit. Hey, how do I change my topic's title?

Click the Edit button on the first post in the thread and change the subject.

[B376Bishop]

My fourth map I called TwinPeaks and I tried something different than my usual seven-hundred-and-twenty point free-for-all's.
I've had this idea once or twice in the past, but after seeing a post with some awsome pics by HyperactiveSloth, (That was a super cool idea man) I knew exactly what I wanted to do.
I kept thinking, 'it would be cool if each side could get some kind of reinforcements... at some point'.
I made four random rolls with twenty-sided dice and added the numbers to get somewhere between ten and eighty (four dice rarely got me a number less than twenty). With my number, I would first shuffle my deck of Cards (I have them all laminated) carefully! I would find the card in the place of the number I rolled (say, Number 67) and I would place those characters in one of the "jails". I would then, generate another number, and place that Card's figure(s) in the opposite jail. I did it again for the first jail, and rolled a fourth "random" card to join the figures of the second jail. Lost yet?
One note on my stack, I counted 85 cards in my collection and I have/allow only one of each of everything. I have one of all the expansion packs, the lava men, the snow men, Dumutef, you know what I mean. Except the Door Card obviously. Should also let both (all) players shuffle as much as they want.
With these four Cards out of play in a safe spot, I would roll my twenty-sided for Initial Pick, or what I call 'Pick-zies'. Then I would proceed to pick my team of seven-twenty, carefully considering the teams already "out-of-play" because one group will be my teammates, eventually.
After my opponent and I have picked our teams, we again roll a twenty-sider and choose starting sides on the map, or what I refer to as 'Side-zies'.
Winner of this roll considers which of the jails contains the group of fighters he wants to try and "rescue".
Loser places his figures on the opposite side of the board and assumes he will have to rescue the opposite group.
As a general rule, my figures must be as close to the rear two rows of hexes to start on each side. With this map, I also only allowed one figure to stand at the jail "entrances", as a gatekeeper. I "encouraged" the other figures to start on the lowest level, filling the bottom first.
The gatekeeper must stay where he stands and "hold the door closed". If at any time, the gatekeeper dies, is summoned or decides to move (abandoning his post), the door of the jail comes flying open and the figure Cards that were assigned to that jail would be awarded to the controlling player, the "rescue-er". He would not be allowed to put action markers on them until the following round, and I established before we played that 'Shooting or killing figures that had just been freed before the next round, was a no-no.'
I tried to leave a Krav Maga Agent my first game, only to have her roll blanks on her defence. I also tried a Sentinel, which lasted a bit longer before he was ice-breathed by Nilfhiem.
My opponent made a critical error, assinging DeathWalker 8000 as gatekeeper. He just couldn't be mobile, and wasting that many points is not recomended. Unless your playing defence because in your jail sits three Marro Drones and a Swog Rider.
I found that while you can still just advance your main team and fight it out in the center of the map, as a typical kill-em-all fight. Or, you can use some tactics and skill, get one guy to bust open your imprisoned friends and have a much better chance of wining (especially if there happens to be a Krug, Charros or Major Q9 waiting for the tag).
Like with all my other maps, this one contains three master sets, one castle set (although you might be able to substitute land pieces, if you have enough), one road set and a snow pack.
Let me know if you guys like the “jail” idea, I’ve been working on some variants.

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k222/b376bishop/th_TwinPeaks04.jpg (http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k222/b376bishop/TwinPeaks04.jpg)
http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k222/b376bishop/th_TwinPeaks03.jpg (http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k222/b376bishop/TwinPeaks03.jpg)
http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k222/b376bishop/th_TwinPeaks02.jpg (http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k222/b376bishop/TwinPeaks02.jpg)
http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k222/b376bishop/th_TwinPeaks01.jpg (http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k222/b376bishop/TwinPeaks01.jpg)

[monkeyfish]

Nice maps!!

[curseyoukhan]

Nice maps!!

OHMIGOD ... must have Fred Fredbarger custom ... must!!!

[auralerogeny]

Dude, the sewers are cool...I like the idea of being able to fight on two separate levels. Is it hard to get your hand underneath to move the characters? Do you find yourself reaching for a flashlight to see how many spaces you can move, who's in range, etc? I wonder if there were some holes in the second level to let light down, maybe even an arm for moving the figures, or a ladder or two so you can attack the castle from the sewers...But still, I like the ingenuity it took to build this map. Good job.

Scarface is ok, but not my favorite, and Netherspirits has too many straight lines for my liking. I much prefer more organic maps. It seems to me that maps that have too many straight lines takes away from some of the strategy and tactics of the game. But that's just me.

TwinPeaks is absolutely AWESOME. This is an impressive map in my mind. I really like how you pulled off near symmetry in a very organic fashion. I really like the idea of "rescuing" other members of your army. This map is one of my favorite that I've seen recently... A+ dude.

Do you have these files in the download section of HSers.com? Where could I get a copy? I use VirtualScape, but I also have LandScape...

[B376Bishop]

Hey thanks man. To answer some questions, i'll try to keep it simple.

The sewer map, yes, it is a little tricky movin figures around. Yes, both me and my opponent had good flashlights handy. And the lighting really depends on the lights in the room you're playing in.

To expand on that map, it was really cool because my first game on it, I sent my Charros up top and some 4th Mass to shoot anybody in range on the ground floor. My Charros engaged Nilfhiem and my 4th Mass was overwhelmed with Kozuke Samurai. What followed was nothing less than a spectacular shootout as the last 4th Mass retreated while firing from the hip.

The second time I played on that one, I tried to hide from Mimring, using hit and run tactics. My Marro Hounds would sneak out and engage Mim and his fellows, while my Blastitrons unloaded. It kind of limits the big guys from getting close, so if your opponent goes with big heros, you can pick a bunch of smalls, and still have great success.

And finally, like I wrote in my first post, all I have right now is Logrey's Landscape and it's the old one. I'm not sure if he updated for the castles and snow yet (anybody know?). I don't have a computer that can run Virtualscape yet. If anybody has any suggestions for how I can share more, please let me know.

Thanks for your coments and keep on killin!