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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?

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The Vagabond Queen, or “The City of Sails”

If you’re planning to run an adventure on the Vagabond Queen, here’s a good way to kick things off:

  1. When the party boards the ship, have an NPC mention that there’s a tavern on board.
  2. The players will head there because 90% of all D&D characters are degenerate alcoholics.
  3. When they walk in, there’s a bard in the corner tuning up his harp. After the players sit down, the bard gently runs his fingers across the strings of his instrument and he begins to sing this song…
  4. Play the song “I’m On A Boat” by The Lonely Island.

If you’re at work, be sure to unplug your headphones and max out the volume before clicking that link.

I’ve got a bunch of ideas for adventures involving this map in the DM notes, along with a list of possible backstories about who built this ship and why, so if you’re a patron looking for inspiration, you may want to have a look.

I’ve got a few more things to make for this map, but I wanted to get it posted anyway. I should have the Foundry module and the Roll20 wall commands done later today. I’m also making some tokens for the smaller boats and some artillery. And, of course, there’ll be a spelljammer version of the map.

In a couple days, I’ll be leaving to see my family for a week, but I should be able to get the spelljammer version up the day I get back. Everything else should be done before then.

Well, drawing this map has been a ton of work, but I really think it turned out well. I’d love to hear what you think. And if you’ve got any questions, feel free to ask!

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Giant Ship Update. Also, Baldur’s Gate 3.

Well, the color is taking a bit longer than I expected, but I’m over halfway done and I decided to finish up this deck completely to give you a look at it.

There’s one other thing I wanted to say before I get back to work. I just started playing Baldur’s Gate 3 with my wife and it’s pretty good so far, but there’s something I can’t help noticing. I’ve played the whole series and, at the end of Baldur’s Gate 1, I was a powerful warrior. At the end of Baldur’s Gate 2, I was a legendary Bhaalspawn. And, at the end of Throne of Bhaal, I was the actual, literal god of death. It’s been a while, but I remember that much.

Then Baldur’s Gate 3 starts and I’m some guy with a magic brain tumor who’s getting slapped around by goblins. Excuse me? Larian Games, I’d like to speak to your manager, please.

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Big Ship Update: Everything is drawn and inked. Time to color this monster.

After almost a month of planning, drawing and inking, this thing is ready for color. I’d guess that’ll be around two weeks of work, but we’ll see.

People seem pretty excited about this map and I’ve already had people tell me they’re planning campaigns around it, which is really cool to hear. I’ve also had people say they’re going to use it, but they’re not sure how, so if anyone has any thoughts on what to do with it, by all means, leave a comment.

Also, before I get back to work, I’ve got a question for you: what do I name this ship?

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Giant Ship Update: The Last Four Decks are Drawn

These are the pencils for the bottom three decks and the topside. All that’s left to do now is ink these and then get them scanned and colored. That’s actually quite a bit of work, but this absolute beast of a map is now well past the halfway point and I think it’s looking pretty good so far.

Something a lot of you might be wondering is what the rectangles on the topside are. Those are gardens, but I’m going to draw the plants in on my tablet since it’ll make a thinner line than I can with a pen. Also, there’s a fifth boat that’ll be hanging off the stern, but there was no room to draw it in, so I’ll probably draw that on the tablet too.

Anyway, just wanted to keep you all updated. Hope you like how it’s coming!

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Third update on the big ship.

The first half of the ship is inked and done. I’ve got three lower decks and the topside left, but those should go quicker.

I’ve also redesigned one of the remaining decks, which will have a promenade around the sides. It makes the layout a little more unique and allows people to use it as a gun deck if they want this map to be a warship.

Anyway, just wanted to let you know how it was coming. I’m gonna get back to work. If you’ve got any thoughts about it so far, let me know!

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An update on the giant ship.

These are the pencils for the enclosed parts of the upper four decks of the ship. There are another three decks below this plus the topside left to draw, but I’m going to get all this inked first.

I’m pretty happy with it so far. What do you think?

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Here’s the plan.

I’ve got the giant city-ship planned out and I thought I’d share it with you. This thing has six full decks, two partial decks and a few hundred cabins (I think, I’m not counting). There are three taverns, two general stores, a library, a temple, a marketplace, a gambling hall, a broken-down area that’s been sealed off and left to the rats, a wide variety of stores and workshops and a million other things.

The second picture is one deck drawn at full size. I’ve only got half the furnishings drawn in, but it should give you an idea of what this is going to look like. That’s the fancy part of the ship, by the way. The cabins get smaller and the residents poorer as you go down.

Anyway, I’m gonna get back to work on this. Let me know what you think so far! And if you have any questions, let me know. Don’t drive yourself crazy trying to read my godawful handwriting.

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The Tir Thelandira Codex

Tir Thelandira is now officially finished! I’ve updated the map, added descriptions of all the locations to the History and Lore of Tir Thelandira, and compiled them, along with the DM notes, into a Tir Thelandira Codex.

You can download the free version of the codex here. It has an updated map, an updated History and Lore of Tir Thelandira, and I threw in the DM notes for Oakenhold and Fiachna’s Knoll. The Patrons’ Edition Codex has all the DM notes.

Anyway, I hope you like how the project turned out! There are definitely some things I’d do differently, but I’m pretty happy with it overall. Even if you don’t see yourself using the island in your setting, hopefully you can get some use out of the maps piecemeal.

Coming up, there’s the giant ship megaproject I’ve been talking about, which I’ll probably be working on for most of next month, if not all. After that, I’ll have a couple of Cartographic Congress maps to draw, then I’ll be getting started on the Château de Brézé. The Chateau is a French castle with a complex network of tunnels and caves underneath it. I was there last year and I took photos of EVERYTHING so I could draw a map of it. It’s an incredible place and I think it’ll make an amazing map for RPGs.

Anyway, that’s it for now. Thanks to all my patrons for helping me to draw this and everything else I’ve been working on! I hope you like what’s coming up next!