Category: DM Notes – For Patrons

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The Astronomer’s Tower

So this is a fairly classic wizard’s tower. I wasn’t trying to reinvent the wheel here, but I did want to make it more interesting than your average, military-issue wizard tube.

The top floor has a telescope and an armillary sphere, which is basically a 3-dimensional astrolabe. It calculates the position and movement of stars. Beyond that, I’m not sure there’s too much to explain.

I drew a ruined version of this map for patrons, which should be done by tomorrow. After that, I’ll get back to drawing more of the Stygian City. Anyway, I hope you like the map. Let me know what you think!

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Drow Academy of War, aka “Black Metal West Point”

This is a place where drow men– the ones who weren’t smart enough for magic school– go to learn how to bludgeon each other to death with assorted metal objects. The lower level of the map is an obstacle course and I suspect that some people might not be into that, but I think it’s a very drow thing and I want to try to sell you on it.

Here’s how I imagine it. The students don’t run this course solo. They’re running it alongside other students and it’s a race to the end. And the person who comes last is punished. That’s important because one of the main points of the course is to foster ruthlessness in the students. The real danger here isn’t the obstacles in their way, it’s the other drow who are trying to impede them. “Be ruthless” and “Watch your back” are important lessons to learn in drow society and I can see them building something like this to teach those things. I’m not sure I’d like this idea for anyone else, but I think it works really well for the drow.

Next, I’m going back to Das Pit. I’ll be drawing the next few levels of the city, which are going to get a lot more interesting. The upper levels were dug early, when the residents lived around, rather than in, the pit. But now we’ll be getting into the city itself, which is much more elaborate. The next few floors will have a goblin settlement and a colony of giant spiders (which are the main thing the goblins eat). Anyway, I’m looking forward to drawing it and, as soon as I stop typing, I can, so

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The Stygian City: Caves and Catacombs

The next three levels of the Stygian City are finished! As promised, I updated the previous levels with the lower level windows. I also renamed all the previous levels. I’d originally named the first three floors 0, 1 and 2, but I realized that it would take less time to change them to 1, 2 and 3 than it would to answer questions about that for the next several years.

For patrons, I updated the DM notes with an overview of the history of the pit and how it came to be. I made a copy of this story for non-patrons as well, which you can find above. I’m very curious to know what everyone thinks about it. In any case, this whole place is designed to be very flexible, so if you’ve got a better idea of what to do with it, you can tell your story instead.

Next up is a drow academy of war, where drow males can go to become useful for something other than reproduction or being beaten for the entertainment of others. There’ll be an arena, training areas, maybe even a classroom where students come to study Drow Clausewitz and Sun Tzu. After that, I’ll probably draw another few levels of the pit.

Well, I hope you like how it’s coming so far! Check out the DM notes and let me know what you think of the story. And if you’re not a patron, check this post tomorrow and I’ll have a copy for you too.

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The Pyramids of Cuamiztli

Gods expect different things from their followers. Some simply want people to believe in them. Others want people to follow their teachings, honor them or pray. The Old Gods of Mexico weren’t into that kind of touchy-feely crap. They wanted human hearts. And they wanted a lot of them.

At the Great Pyramid of Tenochtitlan in 1487, the Aztecs were said to have sacrificed around 4,000 people over the course of four days. Here’s how that goes: the priest cuts open the victim’s chest, rips out the heart, puts it in a stone bowl. Then, they chuck the body down the steps of the pyramid. And finally, someone chops off the head and puts it on the skull rack. Repeat 3999 times.

I’m not going to say I approve of that sort of thing, but the Aztecs were certainly dedicated to their gods. And you’d think that if they ever needed a little divine intervention– like, say, blowing a few Spanish ships off course– they might get it. Alas.

Next, I’ll be drawing the next few levels of The Stygian City. These will include caves inhabited by giant bats and a series of catacombs.

Well, I think this is the first map I’ve drawn that was inspired by something in the Americas. Or maybe I’m forgetting something. Feel free to correct me about that. Either way, let me know what you think!

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The Stygian City: Into the Pit

Our gigantic dungeon starts here, in a small village called Ekersfield. The villagers live in and around the top of the pit, mining iron ore from the level below. This is the nice part of the pit. The welcome center, if you will. Past this point, most of the pit’s inhabitants get a lot less friendly.

So, there’s an unusual problem with this project and its kind of unavoidable. See, the map above is finished… but it’s not. If you look at the uppermost level, you can see the windows in the sides of the lower levels of the pit. But on the bottom level, there aren’t any. That’s because I haven’t drawn the maps below this yet and I don’t know where they’ll be. So I’m going to have to update these maps after I draw the next ones. Which will also have to be updated later. And so on. A bit of a pain, but no big deal.

For patrons, I’m also making modular versions of the maps. These are individual floors which can be rearranged as you like. Here’s how they work: first, the lower level windows won’t be shown on the sides of the pit. And second, all the stairs descend counter-clockwise. The stairs won’t always be in the same place, but they’ll always move in the same direction and, if you want, you can rotate the map to get them close to each other. With only three floors, that isn’t super relevant just yet, but there will be a day when there are 20+ floors and it will be then.

Thus begins another very large project. They always seem too big to ever get done, but they always do. Brazenthrone took two years to draw, but it got finished. The Black Loch took a year and a half, but it got done too. I think this will take less than a year, but we’ll see. In any case, it’ll be done one day and, hopefully, you’ll like it. But for now, how’s it looking? Off to a good start?

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The Goblin Queen’s War Wagon

It’s a little awkward when the party travels a long distance and nothing happens along the way. I mean, if they’re going on a 300 mile journey, I don’t want to just tell them, “Okay, you’re there. Now what?” But I also don’t want to involve them in some complicated adventure that’s going to take 5 sessions, because that’s a little more of a detour than I’m looking for.

Traveling encounters are almost their own category of adventure. Not so long that you have to spend more than a session or two on it, but enough to avoid giving the players the impression that they just teleported. And a little something more than, “2d6 giant rats cross your path, roll for initiative.”

I like this map as a traveling encounter. A bunch of goblins in a Winnebago isn’t something you see everyday and it’d make for a fun fight. But it’s low commitment as well, so they can get back to reassembling the Sacred Crystals of the Ancient Ones or whatever they’re up to. Simple, but not boring.

Someone should write a whole book full of traveling encounters. That’d be really useful. I know some of the people reading this write and publish adventures, so feel free to steal that idea.

Anyway, I’m going to make an alternate version of this map for patrons, which shouldn’t take more than a day. It’ll be a “de-goblinized” version for DMs who want to use this map for humans or… well, anyone else that isn’t green. It’ll have elephants up front and be moderately less filthy. All right, I’ll be back with that soon. In the meantime, let me know what you think!

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The Forgotten Place

The Forgotten Place is an ancient ruin unearthed from the sands. It’s the perfect place for your party to do some archaeology, or– perhaps– some “archaeology.” In case you’re not aware of the difference between those two words, let me explain: the one with the quotes means grave-robbing.

I’d probably go with the second option in a D&D game. Brushing the dust off of pot shards to learn about the customs of ancient peoples may be morally and academically superior to scoring fat sacks of loot from a dead guy, but, well, moral superiority doesn’t buy you full plate and a castle.

I also want to mention that some of you may have more use for half of this map than you do for the whole thing. Maybe you like the desert ruins, but you want them to lead down into a different dungeon. Or maybe you like the underground part, but you want to put it under an old cathedral. Either way, go for it. Mix and match. There are no rules in RPGs*.

Anyway, the next map will be the Goblin Queen’s Carriage. This is going to be a giant carriage/war wagon that a tribe of goblins use as a mobile raiding camp. If you picture it looking like something out of Warhammer Fantasy, then we are very much on the same page. I think it’ll be a map that offers a lot of fun possibilities. After that, I’ll be getting started on the giant pit megadungeon that I’ve been talking about.

Well, that should do it for now. If anyone’s got any ideas on what might be pulling the giant goblin carriage, let me know. I feel like horses would be boring, but a giant seems like a bit much. My best idea right now is yaks, so if you can top that, I’ll consider it.

*There are multiple books full of rules in almost all RPGs.

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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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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!