Shamat : Shadekeep Mapping Tool

Grain: Choose whether the grain of the hexes is vertical or horizontal on your map. This should be decided before starting the map, as an existing map will not translate cleanly between the two grains.

Update: Resize the map to the Rows and Columns values.

Zoom: Controls the display scaling of the map grid. Also controls the size of the hexes in the Save Image feature. Lower zoom levels are more suited to map design, while higher zooms create larger save images. A zoom level of 64 outputs images with roughly 1.5 inch hexes.

Outline: Controls the contrast of the hex outlines.

The Collapse/Expand icon lets you minimise and restore the Map Settings toolbox.

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Tools

Paint: Fills the active hex on the map on the current Layer with the active Material and Component.

Rectangle: Paints a rectangle outline from the start point to the end point.

Area: Paints a filled rectangle from the start point to the end point.

Line: Paints from the start point (first mouse click) to the end point (second click). Constrained to strictly horizontal, vertical, and hex diagonal lines.

Skip Line: Paints every other hex along a horizontal line from start to end. Useful for alternating components to make straight edges.

Undo: Undoes the last painting action performed.

Clear Map: Reset the map to a blank state. You will be prompted to confirm this action.

Zoom In: Increase the visual scale of the map.

Zoom Out: Decrease the visual scale of the map.

Save Map: Saves the map as a Shamat map file.

Load Map: Load a previously saved Shamat map file.

Save Image: Save a PNG image of the map. The size of the image is selected in a pop-up dialog with a size slider.

Random Map: Generate a random terrain map. You can specify which types of terrains and features will be included.

Rnd Rooms: Generate a random room map. The rooms will be created using the currently active material. The random generator will try to connect all the rooms by hallways, but you may have to add some further halls manually to connect everything together.

Rnd Tunnels: Generate a random tunnel map. The tunnels will be created using the currently active material.

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Active Layer

Base: Lowest layer of the map. Drawn in the shown Material colours.

Overlay: Middle layer of the map. Drawn in darker shades of the Material colours.

Feature: Uppermost layer of the map. Map symbols are drawn over the other Layers in the Material colours.

Terrain: Symbology for drawing landscape maps. Map symbols are drawn over the other Layers in the Material colours.

Megahexes: Add an overlay of megahexes to the map. There are controls for tweaking the placement of the megahex grid. It is always drawn in black.

Annotations: Add letters and symbols to the map to indicate important adventure points. Annotations are drawn over the other Layers in the Material colours.

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Materials

These are simply different colour values to help you distinguish your map materials or terrains.

The Next Palette icon lets you cycle through the different material palettes available.

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Components

These are the "paint brushes" for building your map. Multiple components can exist in the same hex, though painting with Whole will obliterate any partial hex components on that Layer.

Eraser: Remove all components in the selected hex on the active Layer. Material selection is irrelevant.

Whole: Paint the entire hex on the active Layer with the selected Material.

Flat Half: Paint with the flat-sided half-hex component on the active Layer with the selected Material.

Point Half: Paint with the point-sided half-hex component on the active Layer with the selected Material.

Apex: Paint with the apex component on the active Layer with the selected Material.

Bulk: Paint with the bulk component on the active Layer with the selected Material.

Channel: Paint with the channel component on the active Layer with the selected Material.

Junction: Paint with the junction component on the active Layer with the selected Material. Rotate and stack these in a hex to create branching intersections with channels.

Slice: Paint with the triangular wedge slice component on the active Layer with the selected Material.

Corner: Paint with the corner component on the active Layer with the selected Material.

Wide: Paint with the wide component on the active Layer with the selected Material.

Join: Paint with the join component on the active Layer with the selected Material. Rotate and stack these in a hex to create branching intersections with wides.

Finish: Paint with the finish component on the active Layer with the selected Material.

Rotate Left: Rotate the current selected component one step counter-clockwise. There are six total rotation positions for each hex style.

Rotate Right: Rotate the current selected component one step clockwise.

Flip: Flip the current selected component to the opposite side of the hex (equivalent to three rotations).

The Next Palette icon lets you cycle through the different component palettes available.

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Features

These are various symbols that can be added to the map. They will be drawn in the selected Material colour.

Eraser: Remove all features and terrains in the selected hex. Material selection is irrelevant.

Door: A solid rectangle along one hex side representing a door.

Stairs: A series of rectangles traversing the hex representing a staircase.

Stair: A half-series of rectangles, used in creating staircase junctions that turn within the hex.

Unders: A series of dots representing where a passage runs below a higher passage on the map, in maps that portray layered levels. Also useful as secondary roads/trails in terrain maps.

Under: A half-series of dots, used in creating underneath passage junctions that turn within the hex.

Bands: A solid band to create paths, walls, or other linear features. Also useful as main roads in terrain maps.

Band: A solid junction to connect bands. Rotate and stack these in a hex to create branching intersections with bands.

Shaft: An outlined circle representing a shaft leading between levels of the map.

Spiral: An abstract symbol than can represent a spiral staircase or other feature.

Axons: A solid axial band to create walls and other linear features. Functions well as a mid-hex door symbol or demarcator.

Axon: A solid axial junction. Rotate and stack these in a hex to create complex boundaries.

Half Door: An alternate door shape. Draw matching ones between two adjacent hexes to create an overlapping door effect.

Window: A window graphic to be placed along walls.

Mid Door: A door symbol that spans the middle of the hex instead of an edge.

Mid Window: A window symbol that spans the middle of the hex instead of an edge.

Marker: An map marker, keyed to a corresponding symbol in the adventure guide.

Rotate Left: Rotate the current selected feature one step counter-clockwise. There are six total rotation positions for each hex style.

Rotate Right: Rotate the current selected feature one step clockwise.

Flip: Flip the current selected feature to the opposite side of the hex (equivalent to three rotations).

The Next Palette icon lets you cycle through the different feature palettes available.

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Terrain

These are terrain symbols that can be used to create overland maps. They will be drawn in the selected Material colour.

Eraser: Remove all terrains and features in the selected hex. Material selection is irrelevant.

Water: A series of wavy lines that indicates a body of water.

Mtn Line: Outlined ovals indicating mountains or hilly terrain.

Mtn Fill: Filled ovals indicating mountains or hilly terrain.

Forest: A cluster of filled shapes that indicates forest, jungle or other dense plant growths.

Swamp: Groups of lines suggesting grasses, to indicate swamp, savannah or prairie.

Plains: A series of simple hatched lines that indicate plains or other terrains.

Desert: A scattering of dots that indicates desert or other terrains.

Capitol: A star that indicates a capitol city.

City: A square that indicates a city or other large settlement.

Village: A disc that indicates a village or other small settlement.

Fort: A simplified building shape that indicates a fort, outpost, or other defended encampment of some kind.

Mine: A simplified shovel shape than indicates a mine or other resource extraction point.

Ruin: A triangle that indicates ruins or other abandoned structures.

Interest: A star outline that marks the location of a unique point of interest.

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Annotations

These are character glyphs that can be added to the map to denote points of interest. They will be drawn in the selected Material colour.

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Megahexes

Show: Display the megahex overlay.

Hide: Remove the megahex overlay.

Shift Up: Nudge the megahex overlay 1 hex up.

Shift Down: Nudge the megahex overlay 1 hex down.

Shift Left: Nudge the megahex overlay 1 hex left.

Shift Right: Nudge the megahex overlay 1 hex right.

Square: Draws a "square megahex" grid, which alternates standard megahexes with square megahexes, making gridded layouts easier.

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Miscellaneous

Mouse Tracker: A convenience tool for seeing the coordinates of the highlighted hex.

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Tool Hotkeys

Cursor Left or ARotate Tool Left

Cursor Right or DRotate Tool Right

Cursor Down or SFlip Tool

+ or =Zoom In

-Zoom Out

Megahex Hotkeys

Cursor Left or AShift Megahexes Left

Cursor Right or DShift Megahexes Right

Cursor Down or SShift Megahexes Down

Cursor Up or WShift Megahexes Up

Annotation Hotkeys

Type the letter/number/symbol to select the corresponding Annotation.

About Shamat

Shamat is the Shadekeep Mapping Tool. It is a tool for creating graphical maps on hex grids. It was originally designed for creating dungeon and terrain maps for The Fantasy Trip.

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Check for the latest version at Shadekeep

The Fantasy Trip is copyright Steve Jackson Games. No affiliation or endorsement is implied.
As a felicitous side note, shamat means "misadventure" in the Urdu language.

License

This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Shamat ©2018-present Howard A. Kistler
Shamat is copyrighted software but free to use and download. If you rehost the application in either the online or downloadable form, please link back to this original page as well. Do not "wrapper" our own hosted content on your site in an embedded frame or other such mechanism; doing so is a violation of terms.

Shamat: Shadekeep Mapping Tool