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

[Eyes of Nine]

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Longboat Mountain – Reflecting Lake

Continuing up Longboat Mountain from the Drop Falls, the climb takes another reversal in direction (and an increase in grade of the ascent) at the reflecting lake (location D on the Longboat Mountain overview map). The stream running down to the Drop Falls and then over the edge to Silver Lake pools into a pair of large ponds here (honestly not big enough to earn the name “lake”).

The area around the lake is a small bowl with significant tree and brush coverage.

But climbing over the edge of the bowl, one cannot but notice the obelisk. Sitting on the island as part of a shrine made up of four small polished obelisks around this tall and rough cut chunk of stone that emits a silver radiance that shines off the lake like bright moonlight. Sharing the island with the shrine is an apple tree – while the majority of the tree seems normal, the parts of the tree that don’t see much sunlight appear to have turned to silver and a single silver apple hangs not more than ten feet from the shrine.

The goblins who have established themselves above Red Eagle Tower have tried repeatedly to acquire this apple, whereas everyone else on the mountain has learned to give it a wide berth. A number of shattered goblin skeletons sit just below the waterline around the island. A row of five rough-cut stones that look like more recent attempts to copy the design of the obelisk sit atop the small rise between the two parts of the lake. These were crafted by goblins attempting to “steal” the magic of the obelisk.

Anyone approaching within 30 feet of the tree feels a strong repelling force pressing against them. Continuing further towards the tree the force envelops the intruder (but is strongest from the side of the tree) and begins to crush them. Every five feet advanced deals 1d10 cumulative damage (1d10 at 25 feet, 2d10 at 20 feet, 3d10 at 15 feet, 4d10 at 10 feet, 5d10 at 5 feet, and a crushing 6d10 when at the apple proper). The force by the last five feet is easily as strong as a storm giant, and attempting to acquire the apple from further back with tools requires dealing with that powerful repelling force. The same force holds the apple in place until a living hand grasps it (preventing telekinesis and many other tricks), at which point the force ends. Probably the best chance to get the apple would be some sort of teleportation to arrive right at the apple, deal with the 6d10 damage, and grasp it.

The apple itself is a single-use magic item that can be used to either cast Resurrection or thrown as a grenade up to 30 feet +5 feet per point of Strength bonus whereupon it emits a brilliant flash of moonlight that deals damage identically to the damage dealt for approaching it in the first place, as well as turning all shape-shifting creatures back to their original form and dispelling all forms of illusions within the area.

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

Longboat Mountain – Reflecting Lake

Longboat Mountain – Overview Continuing up Longboat Mountain from the Drop Falls, the climb takes another reversal in direction (and an increase in grade of the ascent) at the reflecting lake…

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Cool magic item/trap/environmental puzzle

 

[Dyson Logos]

Thank you!

 

[Dyson Logos]

Scavengers’ Deep Map 10

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 tenth map in the Scavengers’ Deep series – sitting east of Map 7 (map2 11 & 12 will sit immediately south of this map). We have returned to the outside of the Deep here along the north face, where again we find some fortifications, caves, and a few ruined outer structures.

Unlike the fortifications to the west in map 7, these ones dig much deeper into the Deep and are fully intertwined with the underground caves and complexes.

The ruins here are an old watch tower (with all the upper levels long gone) and a few remnants of ancient walls. A path leads through the ruins and over the small stream via a bridge to a fortified entrance that is designed to look like an elven knight’s helm (a long, tall variant of a barbute) with the doors set in the base of the T-shaped opening. The ornamentation of the helm hides a series of arrow slits to defend the entranceway. The iron-clad stone doors, however, are currently kept slightly ajar as they have a heavy locking mechanism that engages whenever they are closed. The lock has actually been refitted in the last decade or so, as it does provide for immediate defensive positions when attacked. But the act of unlocking the massive locks from inside is slow and ponderous, so the current residents keep them open.

The residents, in turn, are a small team of dwaves and a couple of halflings who are here to collect loot from the ruins. They have secured a small section of the area for themselves, and keep watch over the halls to the east in case anything nasty comes from deeper within to find out who the new guests are. They snuck past the bandits in Map 7 one night, and have been establishing a camp in the lower portion of the bastion and the main hall at the entranceway. They also keep one halfling on watch in the raised courtyard between the complex and the bastion – but hidden near the back so the bandits won’t spot them.

This map is connected to Map 7 via the exterior of the structures – none of the passages or caves span between the two. In turn it connects to the next map to the east via the surface as well as two passages (one a gallery with windows overlooking the exterior) and a cave. Multiple connections to the south are present – one wide accessway via the elven complex that becomes much more complex and intertwined south of here, and a pair of caves that in turn make their way to the seemingly endless maze of caverns in the Deep.

View attachment Scavengers-Deep-Compiled-10.jpg

Here’s a low-resolution compilation of the ten existing maps of the Scavengers’ Deep set. 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 (so once this fourth column is done, it would be 32 feet x 24 feet in size). 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 10

Scavengers’ Deep Map 10 (300 dpi promo) The Scavengers’ Deep is a reminder of the amount of work that went into underground structures during the great war. Generally, the elves only bu…

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[Dyson Logos]

Return to the Champion's Retreat

The Champion himself had this dungeon constructed, a strongpoint where he could succour those he was sworn to protect. The entrances to the retreat are three caves that are meant to represent his willingness and ability to confront even death itself. Two of these end in traps, one enters into the retreat itself (and a secret door in one of the trapped caves also leads into the retreat – meant primarily to be an emergency exit, not an entry).

But when the amazons arrived on the shores of this land and proved to be more than a minor challenge to the Champion, his mettle broke, and he ran. He ran straight to the Retreat and frantically barred and sealed the doors, locking his myrmidons outside the retreat in his fear and haste. The amazons pursued but were not in time to prevent the sealing of the retreat – but in their annoyance they captured and castrated the myrmidons who have no reason to love the Champion anymore.

The amazons have pulled back for now, leaving only a pair of lookouts with mighty horns to watch the entrance should the Champion emerge. You have information that both the myrmidons and the amazons do not – both the location and the means to open the secret door from the left-hand cave. Within the Champion’s retreat there are many traps and strange bronze automatons that provide the Champion’s last line of defense. The Champion has hidden in the side chamber of the main hall of the retreat where he cowers in fear.

With this information and access to the retreat, you have a unique chance to plunder it before the amazons do. Will you help the Champion? Or help yourselves to his treasures and leave him cowering and snotty in the corner?

The original version of the Coward’s Retreat was drawn way back in November of 2013. I was recently contacted by Sly Flourish / Michael Shea to use it in an adventure he was writing up, and looking at it I decided I really needed to bring it up to my current style.

The 1200 dpi versions of the map were drawn at a scale of 400 pixels per square (I’m not sure why, I usually work at 300 pixels per square and just… didn’t for this one) and are 14,400 x 18,000 pixels in size (36 x 45 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 2,520x 3,150 or 5,040 x 6,300 pixels, respectively.

Return with me, to the Coward’s Retreat

Return to the Coward’s Retreat (300 dpi promo) The Champion himself had this dungeon constructed, a strongpoint where he could succour those he was sworn to protect. The entrances to the retr…

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[Dyson Logos]

The Autumn Lands – Map A

The Autumn Lands lie to the south of the Midsummer Lands. I’ll be posting a series of interlocking hexmaps that I drew over the next few months. 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 about four 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. The style of these hexes is similar to those of the Midsummer Lands, but a bit darker / heavier in lines. One of the later maps in this series will link these maps to the Midsummer Lands.

This is the central map of the collected Autumn Lands – each map after this will sit on one side or another of this map, home to the City of Flowers on the coast, and to the City of Stone on the furthest island in the great Lake of Fairies. Two smaller settlements are on the shores of the lake – a large walled town built around a stone lighthouse with a magical beacon to the north, and the ruins of another city of stones south of the dwarven City of Stone on the island.

Other points of interest on this map include a small skull-themed fortress in a swamp, a “lost city of the ancients” in the badlands to the west, a walled forest to the north, and a monolithic tower on the larger island in the lake with incredible lines of sight.

The Autumn Lands – Hex Map A

The Autumn Lands – Map A (300dpi promo – no commercial license) The Autumn Lands lie to the south of the Midsummer Lands. I’ll be posting a series of interlocking hexmaps that I d…

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[Eyes of Nine]

View attachment 379036

The Autumn Lands – Map A

The Autumn Lands lie to the south of the Midsummer Lands. I’ll be posting a series of interlocking hexmaps that I drew over the next few months. 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 about four 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. The style of these hexes is similar to those of the Midsummer Lands, but a bit darker / heavier in lines. One of the later maps in this series will link these maps to the Midsummer Lands.

This is the central map of the collected Autumn Lands – each map after this will sit on one side or another of this map, home to the City of Flowers on the coast, and to the City of Stone on the furthest island in the great Lake of Fairies. Two smaller settlements are on the shores of the lake – a large walled town built around a stone lighthouse with a magical beacon to the north, and the ruins of another city of stones south of the dwarven City of Stone on the island.

Other points of interest on this map include a small skull-themed fortress in a swamp, a “lost city of the ancients” in the badlands to the west, a walled forest to the north, and a monolithic tower on the larger island in the lake with incredible lines of sight.

The Autumn Lands – Hex Map A

The Autumn Lands – Map A (300dpi promo – no commercial license) The Autumn Lands lie to the south of the Midsummer Lands. I’ll be posting a series of interlocking hexmaps that I d…

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I do like regional maps a whole bunch, looking forward to the series

 

[Dyson Logos]

I do like regional maps a whole bunch, looking forward to the series

I was talking to one well-established RPG writer and he told me that in his talking with smaller creators, there's a high demand for hexmaps that can be used in commercial products, so I took the design style of the Midsummer Lands that I posted a few years ago and ran with it.

I really enjoy making these maps, and it is fun hiding little points of interest around them.

 

[Dyson Logos]

The Autumn Lands – Map B

The Autumn Lands lie to the south of the Midsummer Lands. This is the second map in the set, situated to the right / east of Map A. 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.

This portion of the Autumn Lands focuses on the densest cluster of islands in the Mulberry Sea – dominated by the “twin” islands of Vostreux (on the northeast) and Balta (on the southwest). Both are somewhat tamed and settled and connected by an arching stone bridge that was evidently crafted magically from the very bedrock of the islands. The cities on these two islands are quite different, as is the geography. Cove City on Vostreux is a rambling small city mostly made of stone buildings with wide streets and a plethora of plazas and open spaces, while Balta shares its name with a cramped wooden city built up on some of the little good land in the Balta swamp.

The only other settlement of any size in this part of the Mulberry Sea is the small port of Jacktown just off the coast of the Autumn Lands. There was evidently another settlement in the bay of the island northeast of Jacktown, but all that remains of it is a section of fortified wall and a massive crater.

Other points of interest on this map are a few strange temples scattered throughout the islands, several on plateaus keeping them generally unmolested by adventurers and treasure seekers, and a massive stone structure rising directly out of the depths on the eastern edge of the map.

The Autumn Lands – Hex Map B

The Autumn Lands – Map B (300 dpi promo, no commercial license) The Autumn Lands lie to the south of the Midsummer Lands. This is the second map in the set, situated to the right / east of Ma…

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[Dyson Logos]

The Riddle of Steel

Back to the shops along the intersection of Market & Random. I’m drawing up individual floor plans for a number of 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 ninth shop on the street, across from Hammerhead Loans and south of Red’s Leather Works. It is distinctly inspired by Illyra & Dubro’s business setup in the Thieves’ World stories.

This building contains two businesses owned by a couple. On the north side we have a small three-story structure with large colourful awnings and curtains in the front, and on the south side we have a squatter building with a long covered front area where wares are displayed and firewood is stored.

The name of the business is a joke based on the owners’ trades. On the north side the husband runs a fortune-telling business where he has all the regular accoutrements – crystal ball, scrying mirror, decks of cards, a tea service, rune sets from various distant cultures, and so on. On the south side his wife is the local blacksmith – not the biggest nor the best smith in town, but conveniently located along Market & Random and friendly with all the neighbours (even Red’s leatherworks, which on some days stinks up the area so badly that few make it so far as the fortune teller’s, and then they are escorted inside to get away from the wafting acrid stink).

The front room of the fortune-teller’s is set up almost identically to his outside space and is used in bad weather, when dealing with very rich clients, and as mentioned when Red’s Leathers’ tanning processes are at their worst.

The smithy has sliding barn-style doors leading from the covered raised stone terrace out front into the main smithy. Connecting the smithy to the fortune-teller’s is a small kitchen with the stairs up to the apartments above. A small attic on the third floor of the north side is used for storage and also has a small bedroom in the back that occasionally houses a friend in trouble.

The 1200 dpi versions of the map were drawn at a scale of 300 pixels per square and are 8,400 x 9,600 pixels (28 x 32 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 2,240 pixels.

The Riddle of Steel

Building 9 – The Riddle of Steel (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…

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[Baron Opal II]

Meant to ask earlier, is there a Yellow Leather?

"Red Leather Yellow Leather" repeated is an exercise to limber vocal muscles before going on stage. That came to me with "Red's Leather".