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

[Dyson Logos]

The Spinning Tower

Today’s map is inspired by the Hawkmoon series by Michael Moorcock.

Around his domain, Count Brass maintained a set of strange pre-war defensive systems – towers that would spin out of the ground and fire strange bubbles at their enemies. This is my interpretation of the towers, also giving them two access points – a secret hatch concealed beneath the dirt and grass on the top of the tower (to access it when it is retracted) and a door at the base.

With a terrifying lurch, these towers spin out of the ground on their tracks and being spraying bubbles that do strange things to their targets – some towers paralyze, others dissolve like acid, and for one the victims just “pop” identically to the bubble when it comes in contact with them.

The 1200 dpi versions of the map were drawn at a scale of 300 pixels per square and are 8,100 pixels (27 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 1,890 pixels wide or 3,780 pixels wide, respectively.

The Spinning Tower

Today’s map is inspired by the Hawkmoon series by Michael Moorcock. Around his domain, Count Brass maintained a set of strange pre-war defensive systems – towers that would spin out of …

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[Dyson Logos]

DungeonMorphs – Lairs Set 6

As we close out our June maps, here’s one of the last of the DungeonMorphs sets – the sixth die in the “Lairs” set. We’ve only got two more to complete the whole set – one die will be posted later this week, and the very last die will be posted next month.

BUT we have big news! The Kickstarter has been fulfilled and now you can buy the dice, cards, books, and so on direct from Inkwell Ideas! I’ve got them all here now, so this weekend I’ll post up an article to my blog about the dice and other items in the set (including the cards with all these designs on them).

These are redraws of the Dungeonmorph designs originally drawn by myself, Glynn Seal, Billiam Babble, Alyssa, and Joe Wetzel. I’m doing these redraws one “die” at a time. The geomorphs have been assigned faces on the DungeonMorph Dice, and I’m translating them not by artist, but by die. So this is the fifth die of the lairs set – leaving just three dice to go. (There are a total of 24 dice in the three sets – now available on the Inkwell Ideas store)

Like my classic geomorphs, these are a 10 square x 10 square unit with entries at squares 3 & 8 on each side. Unlike my usual ones, because of the printer requirements I’ve had to extend the geomorphs an extra half-square or so in every direction (bleed space for the printer) – to trim these back to the classic 10×10, use the last grid-line on each hallway as the trim indicator.

DungeonMorphs – Lairs Set 6

As we close out our June maps, here’s one of the last of the DungeonMorphs sets – the sixth die in the “Lairs” set. We’ve only got two more to complete the whole set &…

dysonlogos.blog

 

[Dyson Logos]

Release the Kraken on The Ency Glowlands Map 2

Every month we go through our back catalogue of maps and the patrons of the Dodecahedron vote on which two should be re-released under the free commercial use license. Our first kraken release of the summer is this Gamma Terra map that incorporates a regional map and a few site maps into one.

Sprawling out in all directions from the Six Cities of Ency are the Ency Glowlands – areas that support only the strangest of life, monitored by the bright red inquisitor crocodiles and their ilk. As indicated by the name, large parts of the glowlands still glow at night, doubly so for those who can see beyond the limits of the traditional human genestock.

This stretch of the Ency Glowlands is west of the Six Cities of Ency and the Ency Glowlands Map 1, and continues to map the areas along the south bank of the Hot Way river. The only glowsites on this stretch are along the very south edge of the map, areas that have been stripped down to glowing bare rock and blackened sand and dust where almost nothing grows.

Ancient roads and ruins scatter the area including two points of interest that are mapped in detail.

- The upper map is an old research facility that is still operational to some extent, under the command and control systems of a remarkably sane AI. The facility is at the north end of the largest island of the small river delta here, and the island is home to a number of poorly-maintained robots. The AI uses the robots to engage in trade with those approaching the southern structures of the island – primarily offering information and sometimes access to the work areas within the installation in exchange for robotic parts to keep the robots functional.

- The lower map set is a squat dome-topped tower in the crook of the tributary just north of the glowlands and one hex column to the right of the northern facility. This facility has been taken over by a squad of Badders working with a couple of mutant adventurers who have set it up as their base of operations as they explore the nearby ruins and figure out how to disable and then salvage the facility to the north.

Release the Kraken on The Ency Glowlands Map 2

Every month we go through our back catalogue of maps and the many amazing supporters of the blog over on Patreon vote on which two should be re-released under the free commercial use license. Our f…

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[Dyson Logos]

The Rumbledown Ruins

In the liminal area between the Ghost Dunes and the Ruint Rabble are a number of ruins half-covered by the dunes, distant enough that they don’t become the mass of damaged and crushed towers and structures that make up the rabble. The Rumbledown Ruins are a pair of damaged towers that are used by those setting forth to explore both the Rabble and the Dunes. From these towers one can watch for trouble coming from either direction and make a decently comfortable camp.

Of course, that kind of comfortable base of operations appeals to other groups too. Currently a cult of the Disciples of Ten are based in the two towers with ten members in each tower – and a pair of supplicants living in the ruins south of the round tower (they are not allowed into the towers as they would make the groups therein larger than ten). At night these two supplicants make strange noises and calls in an attempt to get two of the cult to leave one of the towers so they can rush in and replace them. They do not fear death, but do fear existing in non-base-ten groups.

[If you are confused by the layout – the main structures are in the middle of the page with the upper levels of the round tower to the top of the page and the upper levels of the square structure to the bottom of the page.]

The 1200 dpi versions of the map were drawn at a scale of 240 pixels per square and are 9,600 pixels (32 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 2,240 pixels wide or 4,480 pixels wide, respectively.

Release the Kraken on The Rumbledown Ruins

Every month we go through our back catalogue of maps and the many amazing supporters of the blog over on Patreon vote on which two should be re-released under the free commercial use license. Here …

dysonlogos.blog

 

[Dyson Logos]

Gladhold Estate

A lovely little estate with a smallish two-story home, mostly covered back yard, carriage house, and guard posts at the entrance, Gladhold is currently home to the Rivermark family who are deeply involved in local shipping and receiving, with a number of warehouses in the dockside district. The front gate has two small guard houses attached to it, but generally only two men-at-arms are stationed in one of them (spending their time chatting or playing games of chance). The main entrance of the house is overlooked from the second floor gallery – with kitchen on the south side, and dining and study on the north. Upstairs we have the gallery with the main bedroom suite on the north side, and a sitting room and smaller bedroom on the south side.

The ground floor is also connected to the carriage house via a small storage shed.

The basement contains a lot of storage space and is generally a mess. A secret passage from the basement leads to a single room set beneath the carriage house (so someone down here will not be accidentally overheard from the main house).

Gladhold Estate

Gladhold Estate (300dpi promo, no commercial license) A lovely little estate with a smallish two-story home, mostly covered back yard, carriage house, and guard posts at the entrance, Gladhold is c…

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[Dyson Logos]

The Garden Tower

Referred to in some texts as “The Pillar Of Salt” because of the white crystalline structure of the tower, this towering structure and the enclosed garden sit on a hilltop but are invisible to those who don’t climb the hill – as one approaches within a few hundred feet of the structure, it gradually comes into view as if a veil of sky opens before it. The only hint of its existence otherwise is the stone path leading to the tower, and occasionally a glint as if the sun were reflecting from something atop the hill.

While the tower and garden walls are made of a hard and rough white crystal, the doors stand out as they are a very different smooth ochre mineral imported from the yellow hells. All the doors in the tower are mage locked to only open for the residents of the structure, for someone with an ioun stone, or with the use of a knock spell. The tower splits as it ascends, breaking into three separate spires of uneven height, connected by bridges and passages at various levels.

This map was inspired by a strange tower we discovered in a small pocket-dimension we explored in our weekly Empire of the Petal Throne campaign that James Maliszewski has been running for well over 8 years now. The map itself isn’t based on that tower, but when we originally saw it it was a crystalline structure in a walled garden and the mental image completely grabbed my imagination and turned into this.

The Garden Tower

The Garden Tower (300 dpi promo, no commercial license) Referred to in some texts as “The Pillar Of Salt” because of the white crystalline structure of the tower, this towering structur…

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[darjr]

 

[Dyson Logos]

View attachment 289861

Oh wait, did they finally leak some of my Giant work?!?!?

(and what on earth is going on with the weird colour fills that just don't make sense on the right map?)

 

[darjr]

Oh wait, did they finally leak some of my Giant work?!?!?

(and what on earth is going on with the weird colour fills that just don't make sense on the right map?)

It’s an image capture of video so it might have some unintended artifacts from the video.

 

[Dyson Logos]

Willowstone Hall - a 5 Room Dungeon

A waypoint for travellers through the ancient dwarven nation of Skur Garrad, Willowstone Hall is cut into a stony hillside that once sat beside a river that long ago meandered elsewhere. The name comes from a row of willow trees that stood before the hall along the bank of the river, but there’s not even stumps to show they were once here.

The hall contains a central hall with stairs leading up to side galleries, looked over by statues of three dwarven champions – priests of law & stability. To the west is a ritual chamber with a pool of clear water that is refreshed by an underground spring and overflow is siphoned off back to the original stream that the spring fed. To the south and east is a great gallery hall and an observation chamber that overlooks the entryway and ancient road.

With Skur Garrad now a much smaller enclave than the great nation it was, waystations like these are often well outside the sphere of influence of modern dwarves. This one is far enough away from any major cities that it remains generally unmolested, and dwarven caravans and travellers still have it marked on their maps and use it on occasion. Similar structures in other places have been co-opted by the local leaders and turned into military outposts, granaries, and even bandit warrens.

The 1200 dpi versions of the map were drawn at a scale of 300 pixels per square and are 12,000 pixels (40 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 traditional 10′ squares) – so resizing the image to either 2,800 pixels wide or 5,600 pixels wide, respectively.

Willowstone Hall (5 Room Dungeon)

Willowstone Hall (300 dpi promo, no commercial license) A waypoint for travellers through the ancient dwarven nation of Skur Garrad, Willowstone Hall is cut into a stony hillside that once sat besi…

dysonlogos.blog