Author: MattMilby

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The Defiled Monastery

The premise of this map is simple: for many years. this monastery was occupied by the peace-loving followers of the god of wisdom and happiness. Then, some non-peace-loving followers of the god of smoking meth and shaking babies arrived. And, after the liberal application of a technique known as “violence,” the former occupants were driven out. Then, they smashed the statues, burned the books and started sacrificing nearby villagers.

There’s a fairly simple adventure to be run here, which starts with a monk approaching the party and saying, “Help.” I’m fairly sure I don’t need to elaborate on where it goes from there. It’s not a complicated adventure, but they don’t all have to be some ultra-sophisticated Game of Thrones type of thing. Sometimes The Witcher is more your speed. “Please kill dudes, I have money.” “Dudes are dead. Gib money.” Had a busy week? Drop a dozen cultists and a demon into this place and let ‘er rip.

So, let’s talk about the giant hole we discussed a few weeks ago. That megaproject is officially happening and I wanted to share some details. A lot of people had ideas on how to use the location and I want to make sure you can do what you want with it. Since it’s a giant pit, the most important thing is what’s at the bottom. People have proposed an imprisoned entity, a planar portal, an artifact, an aboleth lair, a pile of trash and debris, and more. My version of the bottom will be something different, but I’m going to draw alternate versions with at least those options as well. I think I’ll be able to get started on this in about a month.

Anyway, I think that’s it for now. If you’ve got any thoughts, by all means let me know!

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The Castel Sant’Angelo – Rome, Italy

When I first started working on this map, I didn’t know much about the Castel Sant’Angelo. I knew that it was in Rome and once belonged to the pope, but I wasn’t aware that it was originally built as the mausoleum of the Emperor Hadrian. When I read that, I had to pause for a second and process what I had just learned. So…wait, the pope used to live in a gay man’s tomb? Huh. That was my fun fact for the day and now it’s yours.

That also helps to explain why this place is so unusual. The long, circular ramp at the entrance and the long stairway up the center aren’t things you’d see in many castles, but they were a part of the original mausoleum and are still there after 1900 years of renovations.

There’s an alternate version of this map I want to make for patrons and it should only take a day. I think there are a lot of things this map could be used for if it was just a bit less of a castle, so I’m going to remove the outer walls and leave the keep in the center. At that point, it could be a temple, a monastery, a small village, an unusual wizard’s tower, etc. I think you’ll see what I mean.

Well, I’m gonna get to work on that and I should have it for you tomorrow. In the meantime, let me know what you think of the Castel Sant’Angelo. And if you’ve got any questions about the place, feel free to ask. It is genuinely a strange castle, it’s not just you. I promise.

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Castel Sant’Angelo (Almost Done)

I’ve got the Castel Sant’Angelo almost finished, but I thought I’d give you all a look at it anyway. These are the 2nd and 3rd floors of the castle, which has five levels in total. I should have the whole thing wrapped up in a couple days.

In the previous post, I proposed an idea for a new megaproject and, after your overwhelmingly positive response, I will definitely be drawing it. I should be able to get started next month. By the way, I’m incredibly relieved that you liked it so much because, honestly, I really wanted to draw it. It’ll be an amazing hole in the ground, I promise.

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The Next Megaproject?

Photo Credit: Stijndon, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

So, I have an idea for a new map project and I want to get your opinions on it.

The photos above are from the Initiation Well in Portugal. That isn’t what I want to draw, but I think it illustrates my idea fairly well.

Imagine a large, cylindrical pit in the middle of a small village. The villagers don’t know who made it or how deep it is. But it’s deep. If you drop a rock, you won’t hear it hit the bottom.

Looking down into the pit, one can see walkways and chambers dug into the sides. The villagers didn’t dig them, but they use them as homes and shops. The village tavern is down there, too. Below the village are the mines, where most of the villagers work, digging for copper ore.

The tunnels circling the pit go deeper, but the villagers rarely wander beyond the mines. They know there are giant bats living down there, which come up at night. And there are goblins, or at least there used to be. They haven’t seen one in years.

Here’s a rough outline of what each level of the pit might look like:

  • 1-3: The village
  • 4,5: Villagers’ mines
  • 6: A maze of tunnels and collapsed chambers overrun by mold
  • 7: Caverns inhabited by giant bats
  • 8: Ancient crypt
  • 9: A goblin settlement. Possibly friendly. They eat the bats.
  • 10: Caves inhabited by giant spiders. Huge webs strung across the pit (which caught the rock they threw in earlier).
  • 11: Rough, partially-collapsed tunnels and chambers inhabited by monsters
  • 12: Night Hag’s lair in ruins of an ancient temple
  • 13, 14, 15: Ruins of an ancient settlement
  • 16: Ancient prison covered in mushrooms
  • 17: Myconid colony around a crumbling fountain
  • 18: Ancient catacombs
  • 19: Ancient oracle and library with a long-abandoned scholars’ camp containing notes about the pit’s history
  • 20: Mushroom caves. Below this, the pit is filled with water
  • 21, 22: Underwater ruins with undead
  • 23: The bottom (Sealed vault? Trash and debris? I have no idea what goes here yet)

That’s what I’ve got right now, but it’s all subject to change, especially once I figure out the story of how the pit came to be and what’s at the bottom. If you’ve got a better story in mind, the whole thing would basically be modular, so you could rearrange the levels or remove the ones you don’t need.

Anyway, is this something you’d be interested in? I’d love to know what you think or whether you have any ideas to add. Right now, nothing is set in stone, including whether I draw it at all, so by all means, if you’re into the idea, please let me know!

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Castel Sant’Angelo (Work-in-Progress)

These are four of the five floors of Rome’s Castel Sant’Angelo. I’ve got the rest drawn too, but, as you can see, I ran out of desk, so someone had to get cut from the class photo.

As big as this is already, there’s actually one more thing to draw: the outer walls. I’ll draw those in on my tablet. This place is extremely unique as castles go, so hopefully you like it so far. It’s been a ton of work, but I think it’s looking pretty good.

I also had an idea for a new megaproject and I’d love to get your thoughts on it, but let me put that in a separate post. Until then, let me know what you think of the map so far!

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The Chateau de Breze in Saumur, France

The Chateau de Breze is one of the most fascinating places I’ve ever been. If there has ever been a place that looks like a real-life D&D map, this is it.

You cross a drawbridge into a castle, then down some stairs into a long, underground tunnel. Then, after going through an ancient, underground settlement, you get to the bottom of the moat, where there are even more tunnels and two more ancient, underground settlements, all connected by a complex network of passages and chambers carved into the rock. I mean, a lot of castles have a cellar, a crypt, maybe a cistern underneath, but these guys have their own personal underdark down there.

Now that I think of it, this place would make a pretty good underdark entrance. Or, wait… what if the lord of the castle was secretly in league with the drow, who were helping him seize power in the region so they can have free reign to raid the surface? Hmm… that might be the start of something interesting.

Next, I’ll be starting on the Castel Sant’Angelo in Rome. This is the last of the three historical castles I’ve been drawing lately and I don’t think it’ll disappoint. Dating back to 134 AD, it was built as the mausoleum of Emperor Hadrian, later becoming a fortress and eventually being occupied by the pope. I’ve had a look at the floor plans and I can tell you right now: this will not be a small map.

Anyway, if you have any questions about the Chateau de Breze, by all means ask. I don’t know everything about it, but I’ll answer if I can.

Well, that’s it for now. I hope you like the map!

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Chateau de Breze – The Underground Tunnels (Work-in-Progress)

These are the tunnels underneath the Chateau de Breze. I’ve got to tell you, there is no way I’d have been able to draw this place if I hadn’t visited it and taken photos of everything myself. Like, my only reference for the upper levels of the castle is a photo I took of the fire escape plan (it’s a solid floor plan, though). And I’d have no idea how these tunnels underneath the place connect to each other if I hadn’t seen them firsthand.

Anyway, I’m coloring this now, but I thought I’d give you a look. Back to work!

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Chateau de Breze (Work-in-Progress)

This is what I’ve drawn so far for the Chateau de Breze. I’m currently drawing the network of tunnels and caves connected to the dry moat. That’s pretty big, so I’m drawing it on my tablet rather than trying to draw it across 5 or 6 sheets of paper and Frankensteining them all together.

Anyway, I just wanted to keep you all updated. I’m gonna get back to work. If you’ve got any thoughts or questions about any of this, let me know!

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Scaligero Castle – Sirmione, Italy

So, there are eight buildings called Scaligero Castle in Italy. They were built by the Scaliger family, who ruled over Verona and were not very creative at naming castles. I mean, being fond of your own last name is fine, but maybe mix it up a little.

This is the Scaligero Castle in Sirmione, which has a very unusual feature: a fortified port. The port once held a fleet which the Scaligers used to control Lake Garda and its waterways. It’s mostly a fortification rather than a noble residence, so it’s fairly utilitarian in design, with most of the castle being defensive structures. The only two buildings inside are a barracks and a tower.

If you’re looking for a way to use this map in your game, allow me to suggest pirates. That’s what I’d use it for and something tells me I’m not alone there.

Next, I’ll be drawing a map I’ve been looking forward to making for a while now: the Château de Brézé. This is a French castle that looks like it was made for RPGs. There isn’t one photo that can explain this place, so let me walk you through it:

  • This is the Château from above. Note the dry moat surrounding it.
  • At the bottom of the dry moat, the walls of the moat are lined with tunnels and caverns. Here’s a photo of these. Here’s another.
  • Some of these lead to very long tunnels. A lot of them are interconnected. And a lot of them predate the castle, having been dug as an underground settlement in the 1100s.
  • So, to recap: people dug tunnels, creating an underground settlement. 400 years later, someone built a castle over that settlement. Then, they dug more tunnels. This place is unbelievably fascinating.

So, that’s the place I’m going to draw for you. I’ve been wanting to draw the Château de Brézé for years and it is time. Wish me luck.

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The Digging Machines

This map is an underground mining complex run by mechanical constructs. It has equipment for stamping and smelting ore, as well as a factory for making more constructs. I imagine this place being built by deep gnomes or duergar, since they are:

A) Good at engineering, and

B) Crazy enough to think building self-replicating machines is a good idea.

For patrons, I’ve got a version without the machines in case you just want a regular mine. And there’s the unfurnished version as well for anyone who just wants some caves.

There’s some good stuff coming up, so let’s talk about it. Do you like castles? I hope the answer is yes, because castles are happening. Bullet list mode, engage.

  • Next up is Scaligero Castle, a very unique Italian fortress with its own walled harbor.
  • After that, I’ll be drawing the Chateau de Breze, a French castle with a complex network of tunnels running underneath it. I visited this place a while back and took hundreds of photos of these tunnels so I could make a map of them one day. That day is soon.
  • A few months back, the Castel Sant’Angelo came in second to the Chateau de Breze in a vote for the next big historical map. But Shawn proposed the Castel Sant’Angelo to the Cartographic Congress last month and won, so I’ll be drawing that too. In case you’re unfamiliar with the place, it was originally built as the tomb of the Roman Emperor Hadrian, but was later turned into a fortress by the pope. It’s another very unique place.

So, that’s our future: a France sandwich with two slices of Italy. How’s that sound?