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

Dyson Logos said:

Here's one I drew up almost a decade ago - a winning entry in a Cartographer's Guild competition.

Click to expand...

I don't think I've ever seen this one on your site! This is a really compelling map. I've wanted to do a giants' cloud castle adventure for a really long time now, and this might be the impetus I need.

Serpent Lands – Hex Map 2

The Serpent Lands are immediately south of the Autumn Lands. 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.

As hinted at in the Autumn Lands, this region was once the heart of a lizard-folk empire lost to antiquity. Many strange ruins can be found around these regions, some long abandoned, others taken over by new residents. While the Autumn and Midsummer Lands are home to many oddities, the sheer number of ruins and strange prehuman construction in these regions make them stand out.

This is the second map of the Serpent Lands, sitting just to the west of Map 1 (and south of the Autumn Lands). Here we follow the coast of the Serpent Lands and find the westernmost of the islands known as “the Dragons”. The Serpent Coast here is a large shallow bay, at the head of which stands the remains of a massive ruined city spanning the majority of two hexes – one on each side of the river mouth that feeds into the bay. These ruins are marked as “Dragon’s Bay” on most sea charts, but sees almost no traffic as the ruins are dangerous and occasionally home to lizardfolk nomad tribes who are quite willing to board and rob any merchant traffic foolish enough to try to head upriver along “the Dragon”.

Further up the river are more ruins where a tributary joins the Dragon – and a pair of massive stone bridges span the rivers at this point connecting the various ruins. The north side of this convergence is home to a pair of forts occupied by two different tribal groups of lizardfolk. The southern fort is made of wood and is occupied by one of the larger nomadic tribes who use it as a place to hatch and defend their young. The northern fort is a heavy stone construction built up on ancient ruins and is home to a very different group of lizardfolk who are rich compared to their nomadic kin and spend most of their time ensconced in their old palace drinking and practicing sorcery, occasionally trading golden trinkets from their ancient stores for food from the nomadic tribes.

Directly west of the massive ruined city and north of the forts detailed above is a single massive tree that is visible from miles around. This tree stands well over 1,200 feet tall with a trunk that is over 200 feet across at the base. This massive tree supports its own ecosystem and two different competing civilizations live within the branches, never actually at war with each other, but competing for the many treetop resources to be found here. The first is a group of lemur-like lizard people who collect nuts and hunt for squirrels and other smaller wildlife. The second are three small villages of Phanaton – small raccoon-like humanoids with skin between their arms and legs, allowing them to glide through the more open parts of the canopy.

There are many more ruins and other small points of interest around this map, but one to point out is the area to the southwest, where the hills slowly shift from typical stony hills pushing through the topsoil to weird arcing stone shapes that climb impossibly tall, casting strange shadows over the area and the small city nestled among them.

The Spiral Sink – Map Set 1

The remains of a low stone structure perches on the edge of a deep shaft. Spiral stairs descend as the shaft gradually becomes narrower. The “Spiral Sink” has been modified multiple times by groups since it was built, and now it has fallen into decay from disuse.

The first level of stairs circles the open pit, with a wide step and an accompanying alcove every 45 degrees around the route. Once we enter the second loop, the alcoves continue, except that the alcoves to the North, South, and East are each an entrance into the structures built behind the walls of the circular shaft. As is the trope, a section of the stairs has fallen away here, making it so most will have to travel through these side passages in order to continue their descent unless they have brought rappelling gear or any number of flying or levitation magics.

At the end of the internal structures on this level there is an open chamber that descends down to level 6, with ledges on each level between.

Level 3 brings us a change in the basic geometry of the structure – a ramp leads across from the stairs to the flat top of a 30 foot wide column that stretches down through the middle of the spiral – on lower levels, the spiral tightens and is effectively “pinned” between the pillar and the walls of the shaft. In the centre of the column is a ladder that extends down to the base of the spiral on level 6.

This level is dedicated to a series of four large tombs. The last of these tombs is (oddly) completely empty, while the others each contain stone sarcophagi. A secret chamber can be reached through a secret panel in the bottom of one sarcophagus, or a secret door in the wall of the next tomb down the spiral.

The 1200 dpi versions of the map were drawn at a scale of 300 pixels per square and are 10,800 x 10,800 pixels (36 x 36 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 it to either 2,520 x 2,520 or 5,040 x 5,040, respectively.

The Spiral Sink – Map Set 2

We descend further into the “Spiral Sink” – a dungeon built around spiral stairs down a central shaft. The Sink has been modified multiple times by groups since it was built, and now it has fallen into decay from disuse. This is the second (and last) map in the set, detailing levels 4 through 7.

Level 4 is where the spiral tightens – the walls encroach in on the central column and beyond this point the stairs are set with the outside of the shaft on one side and the central column on the other. This level has three different rooms with shafts to lower levels. The left side has a small shaft that descends to a room on level 5, as well as the large shaft that spans from level 2 to level 6. On this level the large shaft has three alcoves – one for the doorway, and three hard to access ones with odd contents in them. The right side has a narrow shaft with a ladder that leads down to level 5 and then level 6.

On level 5, the large shaft chamber has a small chamber attached to it that has been used as a private study and research area by some… thing? who would levitate up and down the shaft. For mid-level play, this is a great place for a solitary mind flayer or similar creature to base its operations. Around the main shaft on this level, the alcoves contain sarcophagi again, a final level of ancient tombs (which appears to have been the original intent of the whole structure).

Level 6 is the bottom of the spiral shaft. The contents of this level are in disarray – broken furniture, lots of cobwebs, and debris that has fallen down from above. The base of the large shaft chamber is littered with debris, and is also the accessway to the stairs down to the lowest level.

Level 7 is accessed via stairs on level 6, or by climbing to the bottom of the central ladder. This level appears to have been mostly emptied of furnishings and other items of interest except for a stone table with six circular stone “stools” around it.

The 1200 dpi versions of the map were drawn at a scale of 300 pixels per square and are 10,800 x 10,800 pixels (36 x 36 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 it to either 2,520 x 2,520 or 5,040 x 5,040, respectively.

The Font of Violet Flames

In the twilight of the Third Age, when the small gods walked the Prime and the blood of mortals could stain the weave of fate itself, there stood the Church of Veyl-Karash.

Its curtain wall, now crumbled and moss-choked, once bore the sigils of the Fourfold Concord: a cabal of warlocks who bartered with the small gods for dominion over flame and soul. Within the temple’s shattered nave lies the Font Eternal, a basin hewn from obsidian and veined with veins of amethyst, perpetually burning with a purple fire that neither consumes nor warms.

The flame is no mere enchantment. It is the last breath of the god Yzhal-Thur, bound by the Concord. They lured him from the Violet Hells with promises of worship, then chained his essence to the font, siphoning his power to fuel their rites.

Several ages have passed, and while the temple proper seems impervious to the ages, the curtain wall later added around the courtyard is not handling the weight of ages nearly as well. Various peoples have claimed the church over the ages, but the breath of Yzhal-Thur cursed them all. One congregation of the fifth age attempted to tame the curse of Yzhal-Thur with ritual and song – it didn’t work, but the choir that sang here remains in a ghostly purple form, perpetually singing in silence in the cloister attached to the south side of the church.

In the modern age, the most recent congregation that claimed this space was slain by dark goblins drawn here by the font. Now the structure is claimed by a small group of bandits who have found a dark faith encouraged by the font, and they look to the ghosts of the silent choir as guides, attempting to translate their silent songs back to music in the hope of gaining the favour of Yzhal-Thur.

The 1200 dpi versions of the map were drawn at a scale of 300 pixels per square and are 13,200 x 10,200 pixels (44 x 34 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 it to either 3,080 x 2,380 or 6,160 x 4,760, respectively.

The Mycocrypt Museum

A subterranean marvel curated by deep gnomes to preserve wonders of the Underdark, the Mycocrypt Museum now lies in ruin – a victim of one of its own exhibits. The other exhibits have decayed, the museum’s halls overrun by creeping molds, sentient fungi, and acidic oozes that digest memory as easily as flesh.

When using this map, pick a distance for the various connectors (A, B, and C), this will determine how sprawling of a complex the museum is. A very long B will also make the main exhibit hall of the ruined museum much more impressive. I also heartily recommend the book “Fungi of the Far Realms” by Alex Clements and Shuyi Zhang, published by the Melsonian Arts Council.

1 – Reception Rotunda
A cracked obsidian desk sits beneath a collapsed chandelier of phosphorescent quartz. The guestbook is now a sponge-like growth that records thoughts instead of names. Touching it may reveal past visitors (with a successful save) – but at the risk of erasing your own memories (on a failed save).

2 – Gallery of Forgotten Forms
Display cases once held rare Underdark creatures and treasures, now shattered and dripping with gelatinous remnants. A black pudding sloshes through the room, digesting labels and bones alike. Some plaques still whisper facts when touched, though the facts may now be lies.

3 – The Archive
Rows of shelves hold scrolls and tablets and less exciting exhibits that have been rotated out of the gallery. Most of these shelves are now fused with creeping lichens and a variety of other molds, ranging from powdery to nearly liquid. Perusing these stacks risks inhaling spores that cause vivid hallucinations of the museum in its prime. The hallucinations are shared with those affected seeing each other as gnomes, curators, or exhibits.

4 – The Theatre
A circular amphitheatre previously used for discussions, presentations, and small awards shows. Now the theatre is infested with fungal growths that reenact historical events using puffball explosions and bioluminescent choreography. Sitting in the audience causes spores to root in clothing and whisper commentary for hours afterward.

5 – Curator’s Hollow
A private chamber overtaken by a hivemind campestri colony that believes it is the original curator. It speaks in riddles and offers “tours” through a psychic link. Depending on reaction rolls, it may be helpful or deeply offended by the intrusion.

6 – The Vault
Originally a secure exhibit room for volatile artifacts, this is now a feeding pit for oozes. The main chamber is similar to area 3, but the smaller chamber’s walls and ceiling drip with acidic slime, and a massive ochre jelly guards a half-dissolved relic that still pulses with unstable magic.

The 1200 dpi versions of the map were drawn at a scale of 300 pixels per square and are 9,000 x 9,000 pixels (30 x 30 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 10′ squares) – so resizing it to either 2,100 x 2,100 or 4,200 x 4,200, respectively.