Month: May 2024

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Drow Academy of War, aka “Black Metal West Point”

This is a place where drow men– the ones who weren’t smart enough for magic school– go to learn how to bludgeon each other to death with assorted metal objects. The lower level of the map is an obstacle course and I suspect that some people might not be into that, but I think it’s a very drow thing and I want to try to sell you on it.

Here’s how I imagine it. The students don’t run this course solo. They’re running it alongside other students and it’s a race to the end. And the person who comes last is punished. That’s important because one of the main points of the course is to foster ruthlessness in the students. The real danger here isn’t the obstacles in their way, it’s the other drow who are trying to impede them. “Be ruthless” and “Watch your back” are important lessons to learn in drow society and I can see them building something like this to teach those things. I’m not sure I’d like this idea for anyone else, but I think it works really well for the drow.

Next, I’m going back to Das Pit. I’ll be drawing the next few levels of the city, which are going to get a lot more interesting. The upper levels were dug early, when the residents lived around, rather than in, the pit. But now we’ll be getting into the city itself, which is much more elaborate. The next few floors will have a goblin settlement and a colony of giant spiders (which are the main thing the goblins eat). Anyway, I’m looking forward to drawing it and, as soon as I stop typing, I can, so

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The Stygian City: Caves and Catacombs

The next three levels of the Stygian City are finished! As promised, I updated the previous levels with the lower level windows. I also renamed all the previous levels. I’d originally named the first three floors 0, 1 and 2, but I realized that it would take less time to change them to 1, 2 and 3 than it would to answer questions about that for the next several years.

For patrons, I updated the DM notes with an overview of the history of the pit and how it came to be. I made a copy of this story for non-patrons as well, which you can find above. I’m very curious to know what everyone thinks about it. In any case, this whole place is designed to be very flexible, so if you’ve got a better idea of what to do with it, you can tell your story instead.

Next up is a drow academy of war, where drow males can go to become useful for something other than reproduction or being beaten for the entertainment of others. There’ll be an arena, training areas, maybe even a classroom where students come to study Drow Clausewitz and Sun Tzu. After that, I’ll probably draw another few levels of the pit.

Well, I hope you like how it’s coming so far! Check out the DM notes and let me know what you think of the story. And if you’re not a patron, check this post tomorrow and I’ll have a copy for you too.

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The Stygian City: Caves and Catacombs (Work-in-Progress)

The next three levels of The Stygian City are drawn and ready to color.

I realize that this “city” doesn’t look much like one yet. But I promise it will, starting with the levels after this. The upper floors were carved out when the builders were still mostly living on the surface.

By the way, when I post this, I’ll update the DM notes with an overview of the history of the pit, so you’ll have a basic idea of what this place is and why it was built. It’s kind of horrible and I hope you’ll like it.

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The Pyramids of Cuamiztli

Gods expect different things from their followers. Some simply want people to believe in them. Others want people to follow their teachings, honor them or pray. The Old Gods of Mexico weren’t into that kind of touchy-feely crap. They wanted human hearts. And they wanted a lot of them.

At the Great Pyramid of Tenochtitlan in 1487, the Aztecs were said to have sacrificed around 4,000 people over the course of four days. Here’s how that goes: the priest cuts open the victim’s chest, rips out the heart, puts it in a stone bowl. Then, they chuck the body down the steps of the pyramid. And finally, someone chops off the head and puts it on the skull rack. Repeat 3999 times.

I’m not going to say I approve of that sort of thing, but the Aztecs were certainly dedicated to their gods. And you’d think that if they ever needed a little divine intervention– like, say, blowing a few Spanish ships off course– they might get it. Alas.

Next, I’ll be drawing the next few levels of The Stygian City. These will include caves inhabited by giant bats and a series of catacombs.

Well, I think this is the first map I’ve drawn that was inspired by something in the Americas. Or maybe I’m forgetting something. Feel free to correct me about that. Either way, let me know what you think!