Blackmoor_Film
Explorer
These are pretty awesome looking. my maps, mostly done in ball point while laying on the couch, never look this good. 
I draw the occasional D&D map
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Hero
It has finally been done!
I've redrawn each of the individual Caves of Chaos, then combined them all back into one massive map at 1200dpi in my style.
There are too many awesome pieces to put them all here, and the individual maps are 6 megs each, so I ask, no, I DEMAND that you come to my site to see them!
https://rpgcharacters.wordpress.com/2018/08/30/the-caves-of-chaos-dyson-logos-edition/
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A few miles from the nearest outposts of civilization, just over those hills to the west of here, are the old estates of the Trent family. Sitting almost smugly on a hill in the midst of overgrown hedge mazes and fallow fields is the manor of “Mad” Fenrick Trent. Sure the first parts of the structure were initially built by his grandfather, and the last Trents to live in it were his great-grandchildren, but Mad Fenrick is the Trent who put the most work into the half-fortified squat monstrosity.
Of course, a massive cobbled together and defensively structured manor like Mad Fenrick’s Manor doesn’t stop with just the main level and a few towers. In the main courtyard of the manor is a set of stairs that originally lead to the Trent family crypt, but that now connects to a small dungeon (as well as Mad Fenrick’s Root Cellar, Mad Fenrick’s Family Crypt, Mad Fenrick’s U-Store-It, and Mad Fenrick’s Large Rodent Repository, of course).
With the manor grounds now abandoned, who knows the sorts of things that crawl about beneath the old manor house. Whatever they are, they are probably very lonely and would love to play with any visitors.
Originally drawn in 2014, Mad Fenrick's Manor has been cleaned up and re-released under a free commercial use license thanks to the amazing people supporting my work through Patreon.
High resolution versions (both with and without grid) and the free commercial use license can be found on the Dodecahedron at https://rpgcharacters.wordpress.com/2018/08/31/release-the-kraken-on-mad-fenricks-manor/
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It was the way of the Etturan Dynasty to show the might and connection to the earth of the rulers to dig out underground complexes to serve as tombs. Some tombs were fairly simple affairs, dug down as far as they could manage before the ruler’s death. Others were more massive undertakings – complexes of tombs, crypts, temples and shrines dug into the native stone of the land.
Prince Delan’s Tomb is one of the Etturan Dynasty’s “lost tombs” – roughly 40 tombs who’s locations were lost with the burning of the Tarek Archives. The tomb itself is a style that was made popular by a much earlier Etturan King, with various structures built off a central shaft. During construction wooden scaffolding was assembled in the shaft in order to climb from one level to another. Once Prince Delan was entombed the wooden structure was burned away leaving the central shaft with no easy means of accessing the other portions of the complex.
Much to the chagrin of anyone exploring the site now, sections of the tombs have collapsed, and foul beasts have moved into the bottom of the shaft and live in the walls down there making anything that dangles down to the bottom a danger.
Grab the 1200 dpi version of this map from the blog post at https://rpgcharacters.wordpress.com/2018/09/03/prince-delans-shaft-tomb/
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Few (sane) adventurers are aware of the frightening alien intelligences that live on the other planets. Even those that doe are generally unaware that some of these creatures have access to planar travel as well as interplanetary travel. The maddening brain-stealing fungi from Yuggoth are the perfect example of something no adventurer expects to run into on the Astral.
So, what better place to experiment on captive brains?
This free-floating structure is controlled by a massive collection of brains that the Mi-Go have assembled into some sort of brain cluster. A few Mi-Go may be present at any time, as well as a few orderlies (typically strong creatures like ogres who have had Mi-Go brains grafted into their heads). The rest of the population are a mix of kidnapped people lucky enough to still have their own brains; kidnapped bodies used as a chassis for other kidnapped brains; and a few classic “brains in a jar” to round out the mix – all subject to horrifying and bizarre experiments testing the limits of the standard human / elven / halfling / dwarven brains.
https://rpgcharacters.wordpress.com/2018/09/07/astral-sanatorium-of-the-mad-mi-go-brain-cluster/
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While a number of the old shaft tombs of the Etturan Dynasty have been found and explored, there is one that remains a well-kept secret amongst sages, masters of dark arts, and the few adventurers who have been there. Possibly the original shaft tomb of the dynasty, or perhaps a strange discovery that became the inspiration for the ones to come – the Bottomless Tombs seem to have earned their name.
The central part of these tombs is a 15 foot x 15 foot shaft that seems to go down forever. Determining the actual depth has proven to be beyond the abilities of scrying and simple engineering, and areas of both permanent magical darkness as well as areas of anti-magic (as well as a host of hostile inhabitants) make exploring the depths of the shaft an unwelcoming idea.
But this map concentrates on the tombs around the upper portion of the shaft. A total of seven tomb structures have been cut into the shaft at this area, including the Vault of Kezamdomnus which is accessed via the basement of the long-ruined Temple of Shol-Gath. These tombs and crypts are in turn protected by the inherent danger of the central shaft, as well as their own traps, magical guardians, and sometimes even the undead remnants of their inhabitants.
https://rpgcharacters.wordpress.com/2018/09/10/the-bottomless-tombs/
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The Bronze Vault is a small, multi-level complex cut into the Jappa Slopes and connected to one of the small cavers that dot the hillsides. Once connected to a small watchtower that was built too close to the edge, getting into the complex typically means climbing to the ruins as the door between the cave and the complex is locked, barred, and now rusted shut.
In-game, the complex fills the role of any classic “dungeon in the wilderness” setting – a place where civilization once held sway but is now home to monsters hiding in the roots of our achievements. In the grand tradition of the Moldvay Basic D&D set, this is where hobgoblins would hide their prisoners captured from the nearby town; perhaps home to a small cult that cannot worship publicly in civilized areas; or the destination for a treasure map that the party found in a previous adventure.
Personally, I like the treasure map angle – making the secret chamber in section B right by the entrance the treasure room, but with the map showing how to get there from the cave entrance instead of the upper entrance.
https://rpgcharacters.wordpress.com/2018/09/13/the-bronze-vault/
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From the Tombs of the Ancient kings in Narnia (from the Horse and His Boy) and the Barrow-Downs in the Fellowship of the Ring, the trope of exploring ancient tombs and barrows (accidentally or on purpose) is one deeply rooted in our fantasy sources.
Usually the tombs contain something useful (sometimes merely shelter from pursuit or the elements, other times grave goods of ancient lords) and even more frequently the residents of these barrows are less than happy to share their homes and their treasures with living interlopers.
Today I've posted an additional nine crypts, barrows, and tombs ranging from single rooms to small complexes. Combined with the two previous offerings in the series, this brings us to 24 barrow mounds for all occasions - and the perfect excuse to break out a d24 to see which one the adventurers have stumbled across.
https://rpgcharacters.wordpress.com/2018/09/17/barrow-mounds-iii/
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Hero
“Caves in the hills? Ach, there may be a place – we call em the travellers caves. Twisty, up and down, easy to get confused in. An’ they go deep, way deeper then any sensible person would go. So yeah, if you really think there’s beasties in caves ’round here, that’s where I reckon they’d be hiding.”
The Travellers Caves are a small complex of winding multi-tiered caves and chambers which bear the evidence of several previous tenants over the years – from animal scat and hair to old broken boxes and cold, quiet campsites.
One narrow passage leads down from the complex into deeper caverns...
This map was drawn on fairly dark paper in a lovely little travel notebook using black gel pens. The dark colour of the paper made scanning a little rough and a bit uneven in places.
https://rpgcharacters.wordpress.com/2018/09/20/the-travellers-caves/
