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

[Dyson Logos]

Gatecrest Tower

The old hilltop tower has been abandoned and ignored for ages. The farmers work the land around the hill, and sometimes their cattle rest in the shade of the tower on hot days. But something has risen. A wight captain from the tower’s final defenders has risen and is intent on reclaiming “the territory”, starting with the nearby village of Woldbridge. It stalks the night, and has killed one of the farmers. But worse, after she was buried, she clawed her way out of the grave… and her trail leads back to the tower.

She isn’t here, however, she has been ordered down below, into the tower dungeons. But the captain is still here – staying within the tower by day and planning his next sortie to Woldbridge. Even waiting for his departure isn’t safe, as the two gargoyles atop the tower have regained their semblance of life and remain on guard for easy pickings and shiny objects.

Gatecrest Tower is mostly in ruins, with only the tower itself still standing tall above the hill. The old gatehouse on the way up the hill is solid, but the roof has long collapsed within (mostly covering the secret door that leads to the dungeons below). The single-story structure around the base of the tower is roofless and the west walls are in slow collapse leaving large gaps in the stonework to climb in and out. The tower itself is slightly under 30 feet tall, and is mostly intact, with a minor section of fallen stonework at the top that has fallen into the tower proper. The wight captain makes his home here on level 3, looking out over the lands and planning his next move in reclaiming the territory here.

The wight captain is the last of a knightly order tasked with guarding a moongate somewhere in the region. Gatecrest Tower was one of their mundane watchposts, built to monitor mortal threats while the “Heralds of the Northern Gate” focused on the moongate and supernatural dangers. Discovering that the region is now tamed and farmed, he fears that the gate will open and spirits from the moon will have their choice of hosts from among the farmerfolk.

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 10' foot squares that work with the furnishings as shown) – so resizing the image to 3,080 x 2,380 pixels or 6,160 x 4,760 pixels, respectively.

Gatecrest Tower

The old hilltop tower has been abandoned and ignored for ages. The farmers work the land around the hill, and sometimes their cattle rest in the shade of the tower on hot days. But something has ri…

dysonlogos.blog

 

[Reynard]

S3 Expedition to the Barrier Peaks though.

::swoon::

 

[GuardianLurker]

I have done both full rebuilds of B1 In Search of the Unknown and S3 Expedition to the Barrier Peaks though.

Well - d***. I wish I had known that before I ran my party through it last year (assuming such was available then). Because, frankly, the dungeon layout sucks. Badly enough that I don't actually enjoy playing it anymore, and it was the very module that introduced me to D&D.

Are either of those buried in your Patreon bennies?

 

[Dyson Logos]

Well - d***. I wish I had known that before I ran my party through it last year (assuming such was available then). Because, frankly, the dungeon layout sucks. Badly enough that I don't actually enjoy playing it anymore, and it was the very module that introduced me to D&D.

Are either of those buried in your Patreon bennies?

Return to Quasqueton was published back in 2018

Return to Quasqueton – Map 1 of 3

This is the first map in the Return to Quasqueton series where I re-imagine and remap the dungeon maps of the classic 1979 D&D adventure “In Search of the Unknown”. The three maps i…

dysonlogos.blog

Return to the Barrier Peaks in 2020

Return to the Barrier Peaks

Expedition to the Barrier Peaks is one of my all time favourite AD&D adventure modules. I’ve run it about a dozen times in its entirety and run a few more games that ventured there over t…

dysonlogos.blog

 

[Dyson Logos]

Gatecrest Tower Dungeons

There are two ways into the dungeons beneath Gatecrest Tower and a third entrance to a solitary chamber beneath the gatehouse. The spiral stairs in the centre of the tower proper also lead down to the first and second levels of the dungeons, and some years ago something tunnelled a way into the third level, with the tunnel exiting in a mound of rocks in a tree-filled gully southwest of the hill.

While the tower above is home to the wight captain, the younger wights spawned by his level draining of the locals are relegated to these dungeons.

The first level of the dungeons (on the upper right) is directly below the tower and gatehouse. The structure under the gatehouse has a set of collapsed stairs that used to lead further down, but that area is completely sealed off by the collapse of the understructures. Much of this level is in a similar condition, with collapsed halls, fallen ceilings, and fully blocked off areas.

The stairs from the tower continue on past this level and down to the second level of the dungeons. These dungeons are far more extensive than the first, and are in much better shape with few signs of damage from the ages. The third level is more of a sub-level beneath the central part of the second level and is again in worse shape – partially collapsed not from time and lack of care, but by the ravages of some beast that dug through the rocky earth to get (or escape?) here.

The farmer whose trail leads to the Gatecrest Tower is based out of the second level, along with a number of other wights raised from local farmhands and an itinerant merchant. This level includes a set of crypts that the wights have taken up as their “homes” when they aren’t wandering the halls. These lesser wights are under the control of the wight captain above, but should the captain be slain, they will become full wights with more hit dice and their own twisted free will – with an overwhelming hatred of the living that they lie to themselves is because the living allowed this to happen to them.

The third level was once more crypts, but has been ravaged by something that either dug their way in or out of the understructures. The wights avoid this level, and an eerie breeze blows in from the rough tunnel on windy days, producing a chilling moaning and whistling sound.

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 10‘ foot squares that work with the furnishings as shown) – so resizing the image to 3,080 x 2,380 pixels or 6,160 x 4,760 pixels, respectively.

Gatecrest Tower Dungeons

There are two ways into the dungeons beneath Gatecrest Tower and a third entrance to a solitary chamber beneath the gatehouse. The spiral stairs in the centre of the tower proper also lead down to …

dysonlogos.blog

 

[GuardianLurker]

Return to Quasqueton was published back in 2018

Return to Quasqueton – Map 1 of 3

This is the first map in the Return to Quasqueton series where I re-imagine and remap the dungeon maps of the classic 1979 D&D adventure “In Search of the Unknown”. The three maps i…

dysonlogos.blog

Return to the Barrier Peaks in 2020

Return to the Barrier Peaks

Expedition to the Barrier Peaks is one of my all time favourite AD&D adventure modules. I’ve run it about a dozen times in its entirety and run a few more games that ventured there over t…

dysonlogos.blog

Sigh. Before I started the patreon. And apparently buried out of my sight. It would have been nice... (wistful daydreams). Yoink'd.

And now I have to see if I can hunt down the rest of ... frack, almost all of.. the missing years. After all I've only got 2023+, and worth the effort of hunting down.

Edit: God bless you for having things published on DriveThru. Though neither my wallet nor my budget thanks you.

Oh, and as an aside - three of your maps (Hall of Champions, Crypt and Worm, and Iseldec's Drop) are anchor dungeons for my current campaign, with some of your other work filling in as needed. Iseldec's Drop is the map that got me onto your Patreon, in fact. All money very well spent.

 

[Dyson Logos]

Oh, and as an aside - three of your maps (Hall of Champions, Crypt and Worm, and Iseldec's Drop) are anchor dungeons for my current campaign, with some of your other work filling in as needed. Iseldec's Drop is the map that got me onto your Patreon, in fact. All money very well spent.

Awesome!

I'm very happy with Iseldec's Drop, and the way I tied it into the Heart of Darkling series.

 

[Dyson Logos]

Iron Key Crypt

Before the coming of the necromancer’s armies, the crypts and tombs of the Dreaming Islands were built as mounds with an entrance in the centre of the mound, with stairs down to the doorway. After the age of the necromancer, the dead are burned instead of buried to keep them from being raised again. This particular set of tombs had a much more impressive name when it was built, but now is known for the massive rusted iron key that is embedded into the wall over the locked stone door that leads within. The lock built into the stone door has obviously been oiled and worked, with scratches into the metal that are quite recent.

The crypt has been partially looted on several occasions. Some expeditions were luckier than others – one returned with a few grave goods, one returned with grave goods and a rotting curse, and at least a few never returned at all or returned empty-handed and frightened. All agreed that the dead within are restless and do not entertain visitors with kindness.

The crypt can be broken up into several sections. The first is the great hall when one enters. This area appears well-looted and the only defenders here are those that wander in from other areas. Unfortunately for looters, the dead in those other areas have been awakened and will come if they hear any noises of sarcophagi being opened (or if heavy tools had to be used to get past the door). The two chambers to the north have also been well-plundered, and the desiccated bodies of both defenders and looters can be found in both.

The southernmost chambers are the sepulchre and tombs of the noble family the crypt was built for, and those chambers appear almost untouched – the doors to the three tombs around the sepulchre are still sealed and have not been breached. Both routes down to these chambers, however, pass through the crypts of many of the noble family’s warriors and henchmen, many of which will rise to stop intruders – but who can also be a fine source of grave goods for those brave enough to rob them. The final tombs contain the real treasure that would bring adventurers here – the sword and shield of the prince that were brought to this world from the crystal plains of the crimson hells.

The 1200 dpi versions of the map were drawn at a scale of 300 pixels per square and are 7,200 x 9,900 pixels (24 x 33 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 10‘ foot squares that work with the srcophagi as shown) – so resizing the image to 1,680 x 2,310 pixels or 3,360 x 4,620 pixels, respectively.

Iron Key Crypt

Before the coming of the necromancer’s armies, the crypts and tombs of the Dreaming Islands were built as mounds with an entrance in the centre of the mound, with stairs down to the doorway. …

dysonlogos.blog

 

[Dyson Logos]

Red Knife Hole

“A Wizard Did It!”

Sometimes you discover dungeons that don’t make a lot of sense. Weird constructions built by insane wizards for inscrutable reasons. That is the story of Red Knife Hole, once a workshop for the mage Veltorix the Progenitor and eventually where they were slain by a blade that still bleeds red with their blood.

Veltorix believed that spells were alive. That they were embryonic entities that grew, mutated, and sometimes rebelled. Rather than perfect their magic, they embraced the unpredictability and tried to found a school of “chaotic formalism” that insisted that every spell must be cast differently each time. Veltorix was slain within their own workshop by an assassin hired by the Orthogonal Conclave and the Guild of Immutable Forms – organizations of mages and theurges who insist that magic is mathematics and anything not perfectly reproducible is entropic and destructive to all order.

The knife the assassin used to slay Veltorix remains here, still weeping Veltorix’s blood into the pool at the base of the stairs. Veltorix’s “living spells” continued to shape the space, evolving into strange rooms, odd creatures, and new magics.

The entrance into the hole is a single stairwell descending into the stones. Nothing protects it from the elements, so leaves and debris are scattered down the stairs and throughout the first chamber. At the bottom of the stairs, the room is slightly sloped towards the middle where a twenty-foot-wide square pool choked with leaves and debris collects the rainwater. The water here is rusty-looking and red, as the red knife sits at the bottom of the basin. Drinking from the basin (which appears to be unadvisable considering the colour of the water and the old organic debris floating in it) can cause a mild illness, but definitely imbues the drinker with a random minor magical quirk for an hour (your shadow begins to whisper, your footsteps sparkle, a hot breeze follows you around, words you speak appear in glowing letters over your head, you emit the odour of glue, etc). The aspect of the pool also shifts with the weather above – seeming to be brighter in the sunlight, darker at night, electrified and rippling during a storm – acting as a “mood ring” for the dungeon.

The round chamber to the west of the entry room descends over three tiers to a smaller space containing a stylized statue of Veltorix – 9 feet tall, crowned with floating runes, and holding a quill made of lightning. The statue occasionally changes poses when no one is watching. The stone runes float around the statue’s head and hint at magical spell formulae. Casting a spell while touching the statue will “evolve” the spell in some way (rarely beneficial, but also rarely changing the spell too much). If you have a copy of Dungeon Crawl Classics (from Goodman Games), then use the Mercurial Magic table (Table 5-2 in the core rulebook) or use the Weird Spell Modifications, Weird Magical Accidents, or Weird Spell Enhancements tables from “The Weird” (from Monte Cook Games). If all else fails, grab the Wild Magic tables from various editions of D&D.

The other rooms of Red Knife Hole contain other strange magics and spells, and the entirety is “patrolled” by magic that has condensed and taken on physical form – usually in the shape of a weird shifting blob that takes on aspects of Gibbering Mouthers, Black Puddings, and so on, but also occasionally in the form of small weird humanoids of unusual shape and behaviour.

And of course, the players are going to need to collect something unusual from here. A living spell, an artifact, the residue of an experiment, or even the red knife itself.

The 1200 dpi versions of the map were drawn at a scale of 300 pixels per square and are 6,000 x 6,000 pixels (20 x 20 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 10‘ foot squares that work with the srcophagi as shown) – so resizing the image to 1,400 x 1,400 pixels or 2,800 x 2,800 pixels, respectively.

Red Knife Hole

“A Wizard Did It!” Sometimes you discover dungeons that don’t make a lot of sense. Weird constructions built by insane wizards for inscrutable reasons. That is the story of Red Kn…

dysonlogos.blog