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

Scavengers’ Deep – Map 28

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 twenty-eighth map in the Scavengers’ Deep series – this map sits directly east of Map 19, and is the third map in the new column started with map 26 and map 27 to the north.

We are beyond the defile now and exploring the complex and some caves that are connected to the complex and that lead off to the south and east. The large passage in the centre of the map leads back to the main passages of map 27. We have the continuation of the cistern from map 27 on the left, along with more pipes that transported water from the cistern back when it was full. Near the centre of the map is a variation on the breeding pits found throughout the complex. This one has more of a horseshoe shape than the usual circular shafts, and lacks much security beyond a pair of locked doors at the entrance. The main hallways meet here on the upper level of this pit where one could have looked down on the poor wretches below.

The caves twist and turn through this area, and at one point one of the water pipes does through the main cave almost 40 feet above the floor of the cave.This set of caves is quite damp, and while there is no stream flowing through them water accumulates in all the low points and small pools and ponds form in the lowest chambers. There is a thick, earthy smell, and further to the south, these caves start being infested with massive fungal growths.

Passages and a large empty water pipe lead to the west to map 19, and connections to the next map (map 29) are either through the small section of the complex in the southwest corner that connects 19 to 29, or via the caverns (or taking a roundabout route through the next column of maps when those get added to the structure).



I've also included a low resolution map of the current state of the Scavengers’ Deep – 28 of the planned 54 maps are all connected in this set. But there’s still a lot more to go!

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.

Darklingtown – Vorpal Gate District

The Darkling River works its way through the underdark beneath the grey hills to depths unknown. Darklingtown is a trading community built into a series of claustrophobically low-ceilinged caverns on the banks of the Darkling and a number of its tributaries. Darklingtown (which in turn is made up of 11 maps, this being the final one in the set) is the seventeenth mapped location (and this the 30th map total) along the Darkling River and the Darkling Sea beyond.

The Vorpal District is the main residential district of Darklingtown. Each tier here is about 16 feet above the previous tier, so all the houses built here look down upon the Sword River as it flows past on its way to join the Darkling. The gate district is where the sword emerges from beneath the rocks and begins cutting through the deep-cut caves of the Vorpal District. No real boat traffic comes along the Sword as much of it prior to entering these caves is completely submerged with no air flow above it – instead a few aquatic species use the Sword to get to Darklingtown and conduct trade in Darklingtown and Frogsport – showing up at the Vorpal Gate with their wares attached to giant shrimp used as pack animals.

This district map is only connected to via caves and tunnels to the Vorpal North district directly north of it and has no other connections to other parts of Darklingtown. A passage to the east leads down to a throughway used by drow slave caravans – this access way is well secured because of a few slaver incursions back when Darklingtown was still being established.

There are very few businesses in the Vorpal districts – the vast majority of the structures are homes. To further increase the density of the housing, you could add a second floor to every building that can be reached either by a ladder or stairs on the ground floor, or through a door on the upper tier making the upper level a fully separate residence, perhaps with walkways between them. I might even try to map this out myself at some point in the future, but in the meantime this is the final map to finish off the whole Darklingtown project and now I can go back to drawing other locations along the Darkling.

The 1200 dpi versions of the map were drawn at a scale of 300 pixels per square and are 19,200 x 14,400 pixels (64 x 48 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 4,480 x 3,360 or 8,960 x 6,720, respectively.

Sewer Connector (2026 B)

Back to the sewers. Fantasy sewers look like… well… like no actual sewers in the world. They are a strange mix of catacombs and wide-open waterways with raised walkways that might be slightly related to modern storm sewers but are definitely not related to any real-world waste transportation system.

So many sewers have shown up on the blog over the years, plus the ones I drew for Dragonheist (which I’ll post as portfolio pieces in a few months). During one of my first drawing streams of the new year, I got a request for more “connectors” that will link the various sewer geomorphs and points of interest, but focusing on more twisting and turning structures than the nearly straight connections I’ve posted in the past.

The main thing about these connector sets is they don’t have a primary “point of interest” like a lair, thieve’s guild, secret temple, cult shrine, etc. They exist purely to link one set of sewers that do have a point of interest to another. In this case we have a confluence of multiple sewer lines from the north, east, and west that meet in or around a large circular pool before flowing further south. There are two access points to the surface, one a small basement in the southwest corner that also has a secret passage leading further under the city; and the other at the north end of the map with a narrow set of stairs leading down from above that is used by workers (and likely adventurers) accessing the sewers in order to fix problems down here.

The 1200 dpi versions of the map were drawn at a scale of 300 pixels per square and are 7,200 x 19,200 pixels (24 x 64 squares) wide. 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 1,680 x 4,480 or 3,360 x 8,960, respectively.

The Ziggurat of Shadows – Main Level & Isometric

At the edge of the city, beyond the ruined necropolis, sits the heavy stone ziggurat of shadows – made of massive grey stones that had to be hauled from a quarry weeks away. The dark grey stones sweat in the rain and creak and pop in the sun. The priests who tend it to this day speak of it as a monument originally meant to worship the lords of the old city. They claim that these lords were struck down for their insolence and pride, and now the ziggurat is dedicated to the gods that smote them and the tales of human excess and pride.

The truth is that the ziggurat is much older than that. When settlers found this site, the ziggurat was already standing in the swamplands at the head of the river. The settlers built around it because the land here was dry and solid, never questioning why. None asked why the swamps had not reclaimed it.

But living near the ziggurat brought its own troubles. Animals wouldn’t graze on the hill the ziggurat stood upon, and then those born within the shadows of the structure were nearly blind, with pale eyes and dreams filled with cold light and voices from afar. So the settlement moved down the ridge that the ziggurat sat upon, to where the land was less dry and less solid, but also seemed less cursed. To put a barrier between themselves and the cursed structure, the settlement’s graveyard and later necropolis were built between the residences and the building.

But that was many ages ago. The settlement is now a thriving trading port, the swamps mostly drained as the harbour was dredged. The new priests who have moved into the ziggurat know nothing of its past, but attribute the curses to the gods who smote the lords of the old city. Over the years they have found the secret passages within and continue to use the structure to preach moderation in all things to avoid the curses of the heavens.

This map shows the exterior and bottom floor of the Ziggurat. This level is used to welcome those who would petition the gods for moderation (especially after particularly long spells of ill luck, ill health, or other afflictions). Many documents of the current city’s history are kept here, as well as the birth and death rolls of the populace. The secret chambers on this level are mostly used for storage, but a ladder in the middle chamber leads upstairs to a small chapel of contemplation.

The 1200 dpi versions of the map were drawn at a scale of 300 pixels per square and are 7,200 x 10,800 pixels (24 x 36 squares) wide. 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 1,680 x 2,520 or 3,360 x 5,040, respectively.