Annotated – For Patrons – Page 17

January 21, 2019

The Buried Tower

This came from an idea I had for a tower buried in a landslide with a stream now flowing into it, which filled it with water, eventually breaking through the cellar floor into a chasm below. The chasm can connect to another dungeon, the Underdark, or– if you’d rather keep it shorter– can just be filled with water. The tunnel in the side is a cavern or burrow whose inhabitants dug in through the wall. Or it could be from something that dug its way out. It’s meant to be flexible.

The next map will be the Great Hall of Brazenthrone. It’s going to be huge and it’s going to take a week or two. I’ll keep you posted with work-in-progress pics to let you know how it’s going.

An annotated version of this map and DM notes are available on the patreon.

January 16, 2019January 16, 2019

Brazenthrone – The Inner Gates

This is the fallback defensive position and meat grinder that rewards the success of any army that manages to take the city’s outer gates. With no walls to climb and no space for artillery to break through, this is an assault that has to be done the old fashioned way: by sending lots and lots of people to die. Good times.

This is the last Brazenthrone map before the Great Hall, which is the central chamber of the city and will be around the size of Finbarr’s Marsh. Before that is a map called The Buried Tower.

An annotated version of this map and DM notes are available to patrons.

January 12, 2019June 21, 2019

FOR SCIENCE! The Alchemists’ Guildhall and Manufactory

This map was chosen by the Cartographic Congress last month, based on the proposal of Senator Tim. If you’ve ever wondered where all those potions the PCs keep finding come from, this is the place. How they got into a ghoul’s pocket or a goblin’s treasure stash is another question.

This place doesn’t necessarily have to manufacture potions, though. There are all kinds of scientific pursuits these guys could be engaging in, from inventing gunpowder to cooking 99.6 percent pure crystal meth. It’s all up to you.

An annotated patrons’ edition of this map and DM notes are available on the patreon, if you’re interested.

January 2, 2019January 2, 2019

The Grey Huntress – A Ship for the Underdark

This is the ship my PCs are currently on, cruising through the Underdark with a crew of orogs whose occupation might be described as “often but not always pirates.”

Since the Underdark lacks wind, this ship lacks sails. Instead, it’s powered entirely by rowers on the lower deck. And since the Underdark is a dangerous place, this ship is equipped with a pretty solid arsenal of weaponry. Still, there’s nothing here that rules it out as a surface ship if you’d prefer to use it as one. In the Greek and Roman times, this is more or less the kind of warship you might have seen.

Here’s the black and white version. And there’s an annotated version of this map and DM notes available on the patreon.

December 27, 2018June 21, 2019

Brazenthrone Surface Trading Outpost

Here’s the first part of Brazenthrone: the outpost for trading with surface-dwelling peoples just outside the gates. On the city layout map, it’s marked as 1.

The next map to go up will be a ship. After that, the next Brazenthrone map will be the city gates, at 2. Initially, I had planned for these to be fairly simple and not the city’s main line of defense, but I had a change of heart. Brazenthrone is getting some big, impressive, heavily-fortified gates.

Here’s a non-annotated version of this map and here’s the black and white version. Also, DM notes and a Patrons’ Edition of this map with all the rooms numbered and labeled is available on the patreon.

December 21, 2018April 5, 2024

The Century Pelican (with 4 engine variants)

She’s the finest airship in all of your party’s price range. “But wait!” you say. “That’s a mechanical engine. In my world, airships are powered by…”

Magic? Here’s a version with a magical engine.
Sails? Here’s a version with no engine or propeller. (You have to imagine the sails).
Something else? Here’s one with a generic-looking lump that you can say runs on apple cores, hope, an undead on an exercise bike… whatever your thing is.
While we’re at it, here’s the black and white version.

By the way, I’ll be out of town for a few days for Christmas, so the next post will probably be around a week from now. Have a good holiday!

An annotated version of this map and DM notes are available to patrons.

December 12, 2018December 14, 2018

Tortuga – Fourth Level

Here’s level four. Here’s the gridless version. Check back tomorrow for the fifth and sixth levels, then Friday for the overview map.

There’s an annotated version of this map available to patrons.

December 11, 2018December 14, 2018

Tortuga – Third Level

Here’s the third level of Tortuga. I’ll have the fourth level up for you tomorrow, the fifth and sixth on Thursday and a full overview map on Friday. Then we get started on Brazenthrone.

Here’s the alternate versions: gridless, no annotations, gridless without annotations.

There’s a fully annotated version of this map with 16 rooms marked available to patrons.

December 8, 2018December 14, 2018

Tortuga – Second Level

Here’s the second level. Just as a heads-up, this may take me until Friday to get finished. Anyway, I hope you’re liking it so far.

Here’s a gridless version, a version without the annotations and a gridless version without annotations.

There’s a fully annotated version of this map with 21 rooms marked available to patrons.

December 5, 2018December 5, 2018

The Town of Tortuga Upon the Great Zaratan Monhatnus – Main Deck

First off: “What is a zaratan?”

A zaratan is a giant turtle that sleeps for years at a time. They often come to look like islands, with plants and even trees growing from their backs. Sometimes, people– knowingly or unknowingly– inhabit those “islands.” The main problem with living on a zaratan is this: when they get hungry, they wake up and look for food. And when they look for food, they dive. Which is catastrophic for anyone living on the creature’s back. So, in order to prevent this, the zaratan must be fed. Even sleeping, it will eat anything coming into its mouth. The town of Tortuga is well-prepared to handle this, having a small fleet of fishing boats and a large crane to deliver their offerings.

The idea for this map came from a patron, who suggested a city on a zaratan. That’s been done before, of course, but it’s typically a small village with a few huts. I thought it’d be interesting to make the most overpopulated zaratan ever.

My idea was that the town of Tortuga grew so much that they had to keep building higher and higher, which necessitated constructing the wooden deck on their host’s back. After all, it’s hard to build a solid foundation on a curved surface, especially when you can’t dig or drill down into it without pissing off a creature that can bite the head off a storm giant.

Here’s a (mostly) gridless version, a black and white version, a version without annotations and a gridless version without annotations.

Since this map is so complicated, I’m releasing this partially annotated edition to all, but there is a fully annotated Patrons’ Edition with around 45 rooms marked available on the patreon.