I won’t claim that this is a perfectly accurate depiction of Egyptian tombs, but I did do some research on the Valley of the Kings and other necropolises and I tried to capture the general spirit of the layout.
The middle tomb on the left is a good example. The stairs lead down from the entrance into a room with a deep pit. This is called a “well chamber” and most tombs in the Valley of the Kings had one. A little past that is a room with a ship in it. You might think no one would be buried with an entire ship. And you might be wrong about that. Keep in mind that these are the people that built the biggest thing in the world for a funeral.
The Egyptians took funerals seriously. These folks didn’t just order some flower arrangements and give speeches about all the nice things grandpa did back in the day. They built grandpa a temple, ornately painted the walls, filled the place with luxuries, then put him in four lavishly-decorated coffins, each a bit larger than the last. How many coffins are your relatives in? One? Pathetic.
Well, this is the second of two tomb maps in a row and it’s time to move on to other subject matter. Next, I’ll be drawing a large, indoor market on the side of a steep hill. It’ll be inspired by Seattle’s Pike Place Market, but in a middle ages kind of style. No Starbucks, no Sunglass Hut, no parking lot. I’ll try to make it a unique marketplace for a major city. A good place to do some shopping and get into a fight.
Well, that’s it for now. If you’re a patron and you’re thinking about using this map, check out the DM notes for a list of suggestions for traps to use here. And if you’ve got any questions or thoughts about the map, let me know!