Annotated – For Patrons – Page 18

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.

November 30, 2018June 21, 2019

The Old Rampart Inn

The idea for this map was chosen by the 3rd Cartographic Congress, based on Senator MacTorg’s proposal of an inn, such as one might find several days’ travel outside of town.

Due to its location away from any population centers, the Old Rampart Inn was built on a hill, amidst the ruins of an old fort. This, along with the stone walls and crenellated roof of the inn’s small tower, make it a fairly defensible location. By inn standards, anyway. Additional features include stables and an outhouse for all your excretory needs.

Here is the black and white version. Nothing but lines, like a birthday party at the Escobars’.

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

November 26, 2018November 26, 2018

Small Town Jail – A Place For Naughty PCs

Do you have one of those people in your group who plays D&D the way you’d play GTA5? You know, the type of player who thinks the major themes of your campaign are public intoxication, dead hookers and arson? Well, I don’t have a cure for that problem, but this might be a good band-aid. Who knows? Maybe it’ll make them a better person. You can hope, anyway.

Here’s the black and white version.

ALSO, I just received a module written for Finbarr’s Marsh from u/anthson on Reddit. It’s called The Haunting of Finbarr’s Marsh and it’ll be posted on this page, along with any others anyone wants to share. Thanks, anthson!

November 23, 2018November 23, 2018

The Crimson Chateau

Here’s a little something for the Ravenloft players. It’s a lovely six-bedroom, three-privy Victorian with two balconies, a back patio and, best of all, a fully-equipped underground vampire lair, complete with a hidden entrance. Plus, it’s in a great school district.

Here’s the black and white version, in case your game is too goth for color.

There’s an annotated version and DM notes for this map for patrons.

BY THE WAY, someone recently told me they were writing a campaign for Finbarr’s Marsh and asked if I’d like to see it when it’s done. I told them I’d love to and that I’d be happy to put it up on the site. This goes for anyone else who’s got a campaign or adventure for Finbarr’s that they’d like to share.

I think it’d be especially useful for less-experienced DMs who might want to use the map, but find the size and complexity of it intimidating to write for. And it might provide inspiration for other DMs who want to write a story there but aren’t sure where to start.

Anyway, if you’ve got a module written for it (not just notes or an outline, but an adventure that’s usable by other DMs), feel free to send it my way whenever it’s done. I’ll put up a page on the site for them once I get something. There’s no rules on content or formatting, but if there’s, like, bugbear orgies or something, please let me know so I can give people a heads-up.