Here is a selection of 3D-rendered images that I played around with quite some time ago. I think they were done with E-on Vue. It was fun to play around with 3d rendering software, but very time-consuming and with a steep learning curve.
The location is a town called Korenia in a harsh desert. It’s built around a freshwater spring and is the only water source for some distance. A wicked ruler has monopolised the water supply and controls the small population by rationing the water.
He lives in a palace with a golden dome that shines brightly in the desert sun. The palace is surrounded by a lush lawn. To keep people away, the lawn is actually blades of grass and will cut people who try to walk on it.
A covered market bisects the town with the newer, wealthier part of town to the north, closest to the palace. The older, grittier part of the town lies to the south of the market.
There is a cistern system beneath the town which could be used to covertly access the dome.
Rough sketch of the town.
View of the palace, looking back at the town across the killer lawn.
Rovers’ End is a small village on the three-way border of Dwarven controlled mountains to the west, human domain to the east, and largely uncontested wilderness to the north. This was a once prosperous village but has fallen on hard times.
I originally used the watabou city generator to make this map, but it’s undergone a few revisions and additions since then. This is the most recent redrawn version.
Rovers’ End
TheTown Square has a well in the middle and hosts a monthly market where farmers from the outlying areas come to sell produce. Dwarven merchants often come into town at market time to sell pots and pans and the like.
TheCouncil Building is where the council meets and is also where town records are kept (although births, deaths, and marriages are recorded at the church). There is almost always at least one council member present here.
The Baker uses locally grown grain ground at the nearby mill and produces good quality bread here. Nothing fancy, but tasty. Villagers buy directly from the baker, but the inn is the bakers’ main customer.
TheLocal Inn is the social heart of the town. Food, drink, lodgings, as well as basic adventuring gear can be purchased here. In more prosperous times, the inn would have often been full, but now many of its rooms sit idle. (I’m using Dyson Logos Wooden Duck Inn map for this.)
The Manor House is where the local lord used to live. The town prospered under his patronage for a while, but strange events cast a shadow over the house, and people started avoiding the town which led to the current decline in the towns fortunes. After the lords’ death, the house has been locked and uninhabited.
The Mill uses a water wheel drive by the river to grind locally grown grain.
The Blacksmith is a gnarly old dwarf with a sour disposition but makes excellent quality metal goods. He typically mends pots and forges plough sheers, but has a small inventory of common weapons for sale to the occasional passing adventurers.
The Docks used to see a lot more use than they do today, with shipments of grain and other goods being sent downriver to the larger towns. Today the docks sit idle a lot of the time except for harvest time, or when the occasional traveller arrives by boat.
The Church is the spiritual heart of the village. Olaf, the head priest, has presided here for many years and is a strict but kind patriarch of the village.
Orchard. Fresh fruits grown here.
The map above is the 72dpi version. The map below is a 300dpi version.
