D&D General Maps, Maps, Maps! Dungeons, Ruins, Caverns, Temples, and more... aka Where Dyson Dumps His Maps.

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Scavengers’ Deep – Map 17

The Scavengers’ Deep is a reminder of the amount of work that went into underground structures during the great war. Generally, the elves only built underground when hiding their breeding and research facilities, whereas the forces of the kingdoms, assisted by the dwarves, were constantly building underground as the elves were unrelenting and would completely raze any surface defences that they defeated.

But the structures now known as the Scavengers’ Deep are atypical, an elven complex mixing some (ruined) surface structures, natural caves, and significant sprawling underground complexes dedicated to research, training, and breeding their slave species.

This is the seventeenth map in the Scavengers’ Deep series – this starts a new column on the right side of the existing maps, sitting immediately to the east of Map 10 – the next three maps will continue to the south of this one before we start on a new row to the south of the existing set.

This is an extension of the complex that makes up maps 10 and 11 to where it juts out of the mesa where a deep defile cuts into the northeast side (extending into map 18 to the south, and the two upcoming maps to the east of 17 & 18)

Four towers jut out of the mesa along this section of the defile. One of these towers has collapsed, along with part of the bridge that linked it to a tower to the south of it. More shorter towers are built into the walls of the defile to the south (to be detailed in map 18). The cave complexes that twist through the mesa also come out here on this side of the defile. From the floor of the defile, it is obvious that these caves honeycomb the mesa like mold through a fancy cheese.

The caves and complex connect in two places – the northern complex has a chamber that looks down upon one section of the caves from a height of about three flights of stairs. Not far to the southeast of that, a secret door leads into the south side of the complex.

In addition to the damaged bridge and towers along the defile, a single ruined outbuilding has no conclusive signs of what it was used for before the fall of the complex. It shows signs of having been used repeatedly and temporarily by travellers, adventurers, and probably by expeditions that launched into the Deep itself.

If printed at miniature play scale (where 1 inch equals 5 feet), each of the individual maps making up the Deep would be 8 feet by 8 feet in size. This starts the fifth column of maps (so when this column is done, it’ll be a 7 x 6 grid of maps) making the current set 40 feet wide by 32 feet tall. Expect more maps of the Scavengers’ Deep over the coming months, probably at a rate of one map per month.

The 1200 dpi versions of the map were drawn at a scale of 300 pixels per square and are 14,400 x 14,400 pixels (48 x 48 squares) in size. To use this with a VTT you would need to resize the squares to either 70 pixels (for 5′ squares) or 140 pixels (for the suggested 10′ squares that this is designed around) – so resizing it to either 3,360 x 3,360 or 6,720 x 6720 pixels in size, respectively.

Scavengers’ Deep – Map 17

Illo by Mikołaj Ratajczak The Scavengers’ Deep is a reminder of the amount of work that went into underground structures during the great war. Generally, the elves only built underground when…

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[Queer Venger]

big fan of your maps Dyson, thanks for sharing. I also follow you through your website, you are a community rock-star.

 

[Baron Opal II]

The Scavenger's Deep reminds me of Steamboat Rock in Washington state. It would be a perfect fit.

 

[Dyson Logos]

big fan of your maps Dyson, thanks for sharing. I also follow you through your website, you are a community rock-star.

Thank you!

 

[Dyson Logos]

The Autumn Lands – The Final Map

The Autumn Lands lie to the south of the Midsummer Lands. This map sits to the east of map H from last month and to the south of Map B and is the final map in the set. The goal of the Autumn Lands was to produce a series of commercial-use hexmaps that can be used in their entirety or just one map for a specific adventure. There’s no set scale for these maps, and the items on the maps are not to scale with each other so we can see points of interest like towers, cities, and caves. If you really need a scale for this and don’t want to pick one yourself, go with six miles to the hex.

For this series, I’ve been working with the style I started putting together a couple of years ago where the rivers run along the hex borders – this allows for river travel to be great for exploration as you can see the hexes on each side of the river as you go. This encourages exploration-style games to stick to the rivers a lot, much like explorers did in the real world.

This map is back on the shore of the Autumn Lands and the many islands in the Mulberry Sea. In the south we have the mouth of the Autumn River and the Doven Gulf, with the City of Ivory Blossoms on the north side of the gulf and on the island in the mouth of the gulf, and the smaller settlement of Flowers Port on the island to the east in the Mulberry Sea. The only other settlements on this map are The Yellow Domes, a strange elven city on the easternmost island, and a nameless fishing village on “Elbow Island” south of the elven city.

As with most of the Autumn Lands, there are many ruins and standing stones around this map. Other points of interest include a massive petrified serpent entwined around a hill northwest of the City of Ivory Blossoms; a solitary volcano on the island north of the elven city of Yellow Domes, and the spires of some ancient fortress sticking out of the shallow waters in the crook of Elbow Island.

I've also attached a combined map of the nine Autumn Lands maps, which I'm in the process of getting a test print done at poster size.

The Autumn Lands – Hex Map I

The Autumn Lands – Map I (300 dpi promo, no commercial license) The Autumn Lands lie to the south of the Midsummer Lands. This map sits to the east of map H from last month and to the south o…

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[Dyson Logos]

The deeps far below “The Finger”

This is the last of the maps of “The Finger” and the dungeons beneath it. Last month we introduced the location as part of the Autumn Lands and then did three maps of the location itself (the surface structures, the immediate sublevels, and the deeper sublevels). We are now well below the sections of the structure used by the followers of the “Somnolent One” – these levels were never found by their strange cult and still show their origins as some sort of underdark warehouse or storage facility. This map is of levels 5 and 6 of the understructures.

Like the fourth level above, the fifth level is not connected to the level above except by an elevator (powered by whatever strange magics that still operate down here, albeit slowly and erratically). Level 6 is linked to level 5 by an elevator as well as two spiraling ramps.

The residual weirdness of the “Somnolent One” are no longer felt on these levels, but instead they are warped by their own past as abandoned warehousing or storage for their prior underdark denizens. For those entering from the underdark entrance (the western entrance on level 6 through two sets of arcane locked rusty iron doors). The great hall beyond and the wider chamber at the end of it before it climbs up to the level above are now covered in strange mutated bioluminescent lichen – glowing faintly in hues of blue, green and violet. The lichen pulsates and shifts colours in response to sound or movement. The air is thick with a faintly sweet aroma – and after twenty minutes spent breathing the strange spores people must make saving throws to avoid seeing weird glimpses of massive lichen-infested caverns – as if glimpsing the underdark through lichen memories. These glimpses of course occur at the worst times, disrupting spell targeting, concealing dangers, and so on. Actually touching the lichens produces small motes of glowing energy that drift away from the disturbance at a fast walking pace (lighting the way, but also probably attracting predators – sometimes ones lurking in the ethereal nearby).

The chamber to the south is home to a number of giant slimy “eggs” of some kind, nestled in the same lichen as above. This lichen has also consumed and undermined the stone floor here, so moving across the floor can (and often) results in sinking up to a few feet into the crumbling stone & lichen .

A central chamber on level 5 is divided into two by black iron bars that show no sign of rust or wear. There are a pair of statues behind the bars – strange toad-like beings carved with massive tumors and growths. Spectral chains hang behind each statue. The chains will suddenly spring to “life” when approached, attempting to grapple and bind those who wander too close, and then drawing them into the ethereal where they can be eaten by otherworldly predators.

The 1200 dpi versions of the map were drawn at a scale of 300 pixels per square and are 8,400 x 12,000 pixels (28 x 40 squares). To use this with a VTT you would need to resize the squares to either 70 pixels (for 5′ squares) or 140 pixels (for the recommended 10‘ squares) – so resizing the image to 1,960 x 2,800 pixels or 3,920 x 5,600 pixels, respectively.

The deeps far below “The Finger”

This is the last of the maps of “The Finger” and the dungeons beneath it. Last month we introduced the location as part of the Autumn Lands and then did three maps (the surface structur…

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[Dyson Logos]

Under Eastmeadow Manor

Two months ago we explored Eastmeadow Manor – a three-story stone manor house outside of town. The manor is home to the Lindwyne family and their three servants.

There are three levels of basements beneath the manor- centred on the structure of the stone tower as the three upper levels of the manor are.

The first basement spans the entire footprint of Eastmeadow Manor. It serves as a general-purpose area for the household’s operations. A spacious central chamber (with a low ceiling making it still feel oddly claustrophobic) is surrounded by smaller rooms that house supplies, tools, and provisions. Stairs lead down into the lower levels of the tower, and a back room has a secret stairwell to lower chambers that Master Reginald has refitted for his own use.

The second level of the basements diverge – with the secret chambers underneath the main structure of the house, and the tower extending further downwards. The secret chamber at the bottom of the stairs is marked by strange, glowing sigils etched into the floor. These arcane symbols are in the ancient magical tongue of the Serpent Lands, and radiate a mild transformation magical aura. The tower’s basement serves a more practical function – housing carefully organized goods of some age (much forgotten down here) and the manor’s wine cellar on the north side.

On the third level, the separation of the secret chambers and the tower is more pronounced, with no accessway between them. The lowest level of the tower contains old musty boxes and shelves covered in spider webs and containing goods that were moved down here in preparation for other events at the manor and forgotten. The secret chambers were once a shrine but have been repurposed by Master Reginald for his studies and research. One chamber has six statues of ancient serpent folk magi that Master Reginald uses with magics to get hints and ideas from the long-dead sorcerers.

The 1200 dpi versions of the map were drawn at a scale of 300 pixels per square and are 7,800 x 11,100 pixels (26 x 37 squares). To use this with a VTT you would need to resize the squares to either 70 pixels (for 5′ squares) or 140 pixels (for the recommended 10‘ squares that make sense with the furniture scale) – so resizing the image to 1,820 x 2,590 pixels or 3,640 x 5,180 pixels, respectively.

Under Eastmeadow Manor

Under Eastmeadow Manor (300 dpi promo, no commercial license) Two months ago we explored Eastmeadow Manor – a three-story stone manor house outside of town. The manor is home to the Lindwyne …

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[Dyson Logos]

Building 13 – Netmaker

Back to the shops along the intersection of Market & Random. Based on a Patreon request from Mark Clover, I’m drawing up individual floor plans for shops, stores, vendors, and businesses along a single market block. As I draw these, I also have the overhead views drawn out on a map of the city block as I go, so when the series is complete you can use them on their own, or as a fully mapped out block of shops.

This is our thirteenth shop on the street, an oddball to find in the core market area of the city instead of dockside. There are several other netmakers in the docks district who work with the many fishing vessels and who see a constant flow of heavy business, but Alwen Bramblethorn moved his business to Market & Random a dozen years ago, and still sees significant business (and is welcomed by the other shop owners in the area because he’s always got spare rope and time to help with odd jobs in the neighbourhood – leaving the shop in his apprentice’s care).

Alwen Bramblethorn is a wiry, elderly halfling with nimble fingers that practically dance across the ropes as he crafts his nets. His weathered face is framed by a shock of wild white hair, and his eyes sparkle with wisdom and quiet amusement. Alwen’s hands bear the calluses of a lifetime dedicated to his craft, and the faint scent of salt and rope lingers around him, as though the sea itself has never released him even after a dozen years in this location.

Knotty Nets is a rustic, multi-level netmaker’s shop bustling with activity. The ground floor serves as the main workspace, cluttered with tools and half-finished nets, while the basement is stocked with supplies and storage for larger projects. Upstairs is a modest living area, with basic furnishings and hints of the owner’s personality scattered throughout.

The shop has a reputation for exceptional craftsmanship – and it must to keep in business away from the docks. Alwen is a trusted name among fishermen, traders, and adventurers alike – but most fishermen buy their nets and get them repaired at the dockside netmakers, so Alwen’s trade has definitely decreased since his move inland.

Alwen’s elven apprentice, Jago, is another story altogether. Jago is an oddball—frequently talking to themselves, making absurd contraptions, and sometimes forgetting where they put the actual nets.

Alwen lives upstairs in the shop, while Jago has a room in the basement. But the other door in the basement (concealed behind a large set of shelves that swing away from the wall) explains the true reason for Alwen’s move inland. A tight secret tunnel goes down to the basement and winds its way to a set of smugglers’ tunnels under the city. Both Jago and Alwen work with the thieves' guild to assist in the smuggling of smaller valuable cargoes.

The 1200 dpi versions of the map were drawn at a scale of 300 pixels per square and are 8,400 x 5,100 pixels (28 x 17 squares). To use this with a VTT you would need to resize the squares to 70 pixels (for 5′ squares) – so resizing the image to 1,960 x 1,190 pixels.

Building 13 – Knotty Nets (Net making, repairs, and sales)

Building 13 – Netmaker (300 dpi promo, no commercial license) Back to the shops along the intersection of Market & Random. Based on a Patreon request from Mark Clover, I’m drawing u…

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[Dyson Logos]

Longboat Mountain – Figurehead House

At the top of the trail leading up Longboat Mountain to the valley travellers get their first view of the longboat itself – an impossibly big wooden boat made from trees that must have been 100 feet across and miles high. Perched over the head of the trail is the rotted prow of the boat, and at the very end of the prow a small house has been built, over a hundred feet above the trail proper.

To get to the house proper, one must walk past it to the ruins of the boat and then climb the prow and then the bowsprit up to the house. Stairs have been painstakingly cut into the steeply angled ancient wood that leads up to the house. The house itself is an amalgam of modern wood and bits of the ancient wood of the boat – some parts festooned with petrified barnacles, others with moss and alpine flowers.

The house is home to an eccentric gnome hermit, who goes only by the name of “Driftwood” – a crooked figure wrapped in layers of patchwork robes, worn thin by decades of mountain winds. The hermit’s gnarled hands are as weathered as the ancient wood of the ship, but at the opposite end of the size spectrum.

The hermit’s long, silver-white beard cascades down to their chest, often tangled with bits of feather, twigs, and a whole collection of mysterious trinkets. The hermit moves with a peculiar gait, as though each step is part of a ritual. Their piercing gray eyes gleam with the wisdom of countless years—or perhaps it’s a spark of madness. They speak in cryptic riddles, their voice carrying the rich, husky timbre of someone who’s spent more time conversing with the wind and stars than with people.

The 1200 dpi versions of the map were drawn at a scale of 300 pixels per square and are 10,200 x 6,600 pixels in size (34 x 22 squares). To use this with a VTT you would need to resize the squares to either 70 pixels (for the recommended 5′ squares) or 140 pixels (for 10′ squares) – so resizing it to either 2,380 x 1,540 or 4,760 x 3,080 pixels, respectively.

Longboat Mountain – Figurehead House

At the top of the trail leading up Longboat Mountain to the valley travellers get their first view of the longboat itself – an impossibly big wooden boat made from trees that must have been 1…

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[Eyes of Nine]

View attachment 402620

Longboat Mountain – Figurehead House

At the top of the trail leading up Longboat Mountain to the valley travellers get their first view of the longboat itself – an impossibly big wooden boat made from trees that must have been 100 feet across and miles high. Perched over the head of the trail is the rotted prow of the boat, and at the very end of the prow a small house has been built, over a hundred feet above the trail proper.

To get to the house proper, one must walk past it to the ruins of the boat and then climb the prow and then the bowsprit up to the house. Stairs have been painstakingly cut into the steeply angled ancient wood that leads up to the house. The house itself is an amalgam of modern wood and bits of the ancient wood of the boat – some parts festooned with petrified barnacles, others with moss and alpine flowers.

The house is home to an eccentric gnome hermit, who goes only by the name of “Driftwood” – a crooked figure wrapped in layers of patchwork robes, worn thin by decades of mountain winds. The hermit’s gnarled hands are as weathered as the ancient wood of the ship, but at the opposite end of the size spectrum.

The hermit’s long, silver-white beard cascades down to their chest, often tangled with bits of feather, twigs, and a whole collection of mysterious trinkets. The hermit moves with a peculiar gait, as though each step is part of a ritual. Their piercing gray eyes gleam with the wisdom of countless years—or perhaps it’s a spark of madness. They speak in cryptic riddles, their voice carrying the rich, husky timbre of someone who’s spent more time conversing with the wind and stars than with people.

The 1200 dpi versions of the map were drawn at a scale of 300 pixels per square and are 10,200 x 6,600 pixels in size (34 x 22 squares). To use this with a VTT you would need to resize the squares to either 70 pixels (for the recommended 5′ squares) or 140 pixels (for 10′ squares) – so resizing it to either 2,380 x 1,540 or 4,760 x 3,080 pixels, respectively.

Longboat Mountain – Figurehead House

At the top of the trail leading up Longboat Mountain to the valley travellers get their first view of the longboat itself – an impossibly big wooden boat made from trees that must have been 1…

dysonlogos.blog

Very evocative NPC!