Dungeons & Dragonsis known for its fantastical cities, and one player’s Waterdeep project is impressive in a way that evenBaldur’s Gate 3couldn’t manage. Known as the City of Splendors and the Crown of the North, Waterdeep is a huge metropolis that vastly outdoes most developments in the Forgotten Realms. It’s no surprise that it can be a fun campaign setting, but trying to deal with the entirety of its scale could quickly become overwhelming for any dungeon master.
Reddit useriJoanxshared their Waterdeep modeling project on Reddit, posting a screenshot of a vast map created “in real life scale.” The project is modeled in Blender, but iJoanx is also planning to make it explorable in Unreal Engine.Waterdeep is the product of two years of work, but iJoanx notes that “there is much to do yet.”
Fan-Made Waterdeep Is A Massive D&D Location To Explore
Bringing An Incredible City To Life
The scale of the Waterdeep project might make it easy to assume it lacks detail when zooming in, but an update provided by the creator onPatreonoffers a closer look at affairs. The idea grew out of a plan to recreate Trollskull Manor alone, eventually growing into a much more ambitious project that retains a focus on “hand-crafted textures, props, music, and more.” Whileit isn’t meant to have the interactivity of a full game, it is intended to become a space worth wandering around.
Thistake on Waterdeephas received an enthusiastic response from otherD&Dplayers on Reddit, likeChelos-de, who called it “absolutely mindblowing” before concluding “I have no words.” Considering thatD&Dhas never officially offered a 3D rendition of Waterdeep on this level, it’s especially impressive to see a single fan pulling it off.
A Full-Scale Waterdeep Puts Baldur’s Gate 3 To Shame
Larian’s Massive Game Could Only Manage The Lower City
While iJoanx’s Waterdeep doesn’t have the same game-oriented ambitions asBaldur’s Gate 3, it greatly outdoes the size of the game’s city.The Upper City was consideredat some point in development, butBaldur’s Gate 3ultimately sticks to the Lower City, a more manageable area to recreate in-game. Populating the entirety of Baldur’s Gate with memorable NPCs and diverse possibilities might never have been feasible, but it’s still been a big “what if” for some fans.
D&Drecently cut its support for Project Sigil, an ambitious 3D virtual tabletop program, and this Blender-made Waterdeep is a nice reassurance that Sigil isn’t the only tool for the community to make greatD&Denvironments. I’m not expecting to see anyone else manage anotherDungeons & Dragonsproject on such an intense scale any time soon, but I’ll definitely be following the development of Waterdeep from here.
