The blueprints of Obawangchicheng

The module contains the layout of the entire castle/city in the cardboard backside of the cover of the module. It has a scale of 10 feet per square, translating into four minecraft blocks. The usual scale used in this kind of projects seems to be only 3 blocks per 10 feet (as the avatar is two blocks high making it proper scale). However, minecraft’s thinnest wall element is one block in width, so in house elements of 10 times 10 feet rooms would have only one block size of interior size! Therefore I opted to use the four blocks scale making interior plans easier to follow. This results however in some block intensive structures.

The outer wall
Outer wall

The parts which I have started to build are south-western corner of the outer wall corner, and from there the western wall to north to the midsection of the wall. Just to see the scale in effect. How big it is, oh and its big!

The inner section
Inner castle

Elevation of the whole structure
Elevation

Note that the northern-south axel is not from up to down, but left to right in the images.

Minecraft meets Obawangchicheng

Couple months ago I bought Minecraft for my son, after his tedious wishing and whining. Actually, I was going to buy it for myself, but never had got into it. Like my son, I have played with it, toyed with it, and died many times within it. Damn you Creepers!

Yes, I have built like everybody else several castles to keep my avatar from harmsway and well fed. However, lately the game had started to taste a little bit stale. There were nothing new or fun things to do: adventuring in the mines, seeking gold and other treasures – been there, done that. And as I am not interested in The End, the excessive hoarding has no meaning for me.

However, last week it hit me  – how about a castle of truly Grand Design? In Survival mode? Without any cheats? Sure, why not?

The mode was easy to decide as the Survival is the only mode I like. Infinite amount of blocks in Creative mode is childsplay. And because, the Monsters are really after You! No cheats of course, because cheating is always Bad!

The castle part was also easy: not a castle from history (somebody has already done those), nor from my own imagination (my imagination sucks), but from an old module (Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Oriental Adventures – Ochimo The Spirit Warrior) with floorplans (10 feet = 4 blocks) provided: Obawangchicheng – City of The Dead Spirit King.

ochimo_spirit_warrior

I have been building it now for a couple of days, and it really is Insane task. Lets see how this Epic quest unravels itself.

Greyhawk weather forecasting

Long time ago, in a far away realm called Oerth there was a spell scroll of weather forecasting. More than once it has been lost to the daemons of the ethereal binary planes. Lately, it was found again. And not to be lost again, I the creator of this mighty spell, give You its wherabouts, to be known to all Oerth walkers. Even thou might be good or naughty.