Category: DM Notes – For Patrons

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The Gates of Brazenthrone

“How big is Brazenthrone going to get,” you ask? This is just the door.

The next part will be the entrance tunnel and the fortified inner gates (marked as 3 here). They’re the fallback defensive position in case the main gates are taken and they’re basically a meat grinder. You’ll see why.

Before that, we’ve got an Alchemists’ Guildhall and Manufactory, the map chosen by the Cartographic Congress last month.

Finally, here’s the non-annotated version and the black and white. DM notes for this map are available to patrons. Also, starting with this map, I’ll be making VTT versions of all maps, sized for Roll20, for patrons.

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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.

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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.

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The Century Pelican (with 4 engine variants)

VTT Version 15×24

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…”

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.

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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.

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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.

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The Source of the Lifespring

 

I have two versions of this and I’m not sure which I like more, so I’m uploading them both.  This is the other version, with brighter colors.  There’s also the version with no colors, as usual.  Hopefully you like one of those.

Thanks again to everyone who joined my patreon.  That was definitely a much bigger response to Finbarr’s Marsh than I was expecting.  And if you liked Finbarr’s Marsh, I have good news: you ain’t seen nothing yet.  The next megaproject is going to be 6-8 times that size.  And it may be kicking off a lot sooner than I expected.

This map has DM notes available for patrons.

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The Necromancer’s Corpse Farm

 

This map was chosen by last month’s vote of the Cartographic Congress (although there was only one member at the time, so it was more of a Cartographic Tyranny, really).

Anyway, the idea of this map is that a necromancer (probably of an aquatic species) who lives in some caves beneath a lighthouse has managed to gain control of the lighthouse keeper (or become the lighthouse keeper, if you prefer) and is doing a really terrible job of keeping the fire lit.  As a result, the necromancer has a ready supply of corpses to… you know, necromance.  Build an army of the dead, make Frankensteins, whatever they’re into.  The rest of the details are up to you!

This map has an annotated version and DM notes for patrons.

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Fugitives’ Isle

 

Here’s something I came up with that I thought could be useful for creating an encounter at sea.  A small island, dominated by a big, ruined… something, newly inhabited by a small group of people.

I’ve got a black-and-white version for you as well:

This map has an annotated version with DM notes for patrons.