Month: September 2018

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The Elven Citadel of Oakenhold

 

This one took some time.  Whew.  The annotated version is below.  Since the image is big enough as it is, I decided to write the DM notes here:

  • Let’s get this one out of the way first:  You’re not burning it down.  Well, not without a lot of effort, anyway.  The tree is 40 feet in diameter at the base of the trunk (that’s 125 feet in circumference).  That’s a hard log to burn.  And getting there to start the fire means getting shot at by a whole lot of archers.  Levels 2, 3, 6 and 7 are all lined with arrow slits.  And from 100-200 feet up, they have the range advantage for sure.  You have a mage who knows fireball?  Check the range.  He’s a pincushion long before he gets that close.  Brought a catapult?  Ballistas?  Level 5 has three ballistas with bows almost 20 feet across.  They are there specifically to disable war machines.  Is burning Oakenhold impossible?  No.  But the elves who built it did take that into consideration when designing its defenses.
  • Oakenhold is not designed to be a seat of power, from which a king rules.  Rather, it is meant to serve as a military stronghold for defending the land around it.  This is why there is relatively little in the way of luxury or space devoted to the nobility.
  • If you want to make it a seat of power, I would recommend changing the archery range at 24 (see annotated version below) into a throne room/audience chamber and devoting most or all of the 8th level to the nobles.  Change out the rooms for a bath, a dining room, a sitting room, a study or two, maybe a vault.  You get the idea.
  • So, what do you do with a ten-level elven tree fortress?  I’ve got a few suggestions:
    • Attack it
    • Defend it
    • Infiltrate it
    • Steal something from it
    • Sabotage it
    • Kill someone in it
    • Escape from it
    • Help the elves take it back from the people who took it from them (possibly involving one of the above).

Also, I started a Patreon today, if you’re interested in giving me some support so I can spend more time making stuff like this.  If not, its no problem at all.  Just wanted to mention it.

Finally, here’s the annotated version:

 

Edit: And here’s a version that’s easier to print: Page 1, Page 2

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The Forgotten Village of Cottering

This is an abandoned village in the woods.  If you want, it can be no more than that.  Or you can send your PCs underground to find their creepy little secret.  The nature of that secret is up to you, of course.  Dark gods and demonic summoning?  Opening a gateway to another world?  Trafficking Eastern European prostitutes?

Here’s another version with the basement hatches removed in case you want to show the map to players but you don’t want to give away the location of the basement entrances.  Or if you just want to scrap the underground level altogether.

Also, I was torn on whether or not to give it a grey background, so I made a version with and without.  Here it is in grey:

 

This map has an annotated version with DM notes for patrons.

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Baron Kelroy’s Stately Manor

 

I haven’t actually used this map in a game, but I had some thoughts on what kind of adventure it might be used for, so I made an annotated version and some notes for DMs.  The annotated version also gives my ideas on what the rooms might be, in order to make it a little easier to put to use.  Of course, feel free to ignore any or all of it and use this map as you please.  Let me know what you think (if anyone is reading this).

Annotated Map:

 

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The Goblin Winery

 

This is a map of an abandoned winery that is currently home to a group of goblins. I sent a group of first-time players here in order to give them a taste of the traditional, classic D&D experience. You know, meet at the tavern, go on a nice, easy goblin-stomp, run into a few traps along the way.

After that, they were headed down the tunnel in the cellar to the underdark for a somewhat less-traditional experience traveling on a ship in the Glimmersea with some orog pirates. Their orcish is getting pretty good.

This map has an annotated version with DM notes for patrons.