Valley of the Mounds
Added 2015-07-17 13:48:39 +0000 UTCFor this map I felt like channeling a bit of the Caves of Chaos, combined with a few classic tombs.
This stream-fed box canyon has been used as a sacred burial site of the Coalfoot Troglodyte clan for as long as they have recorded their history on their clay tablets. At the narrowest point before reaching the pool at the end of the canyon (at the south edge of the map), troglodyte mystics and young warriors are tasked with maintaining a number of small totems to ward off intruders and to mark the area as sacred tribal land.
Within the box canyon are a number of burial sites (and probably many more that are lost but could be found with appropriate research and a lot of digging).
The oldest is on the east wall of the canyon, a small natural cave where a small river once flowed into the canyon. These small caves have been used as crypts for the Coalfoot elders since before they began making records of their dead.
The southern burial mound is very old and completely covered in grass and undergrowth. Given another few decades, the barrows within will be completely sealed off by dirt and plants and lost to time.
The western burial site is the most recent of the barrows, cut into the side of the canyon proper by slave labour during the height of the era of Coalfoot supremacy over the creatures of the area. It is apparent though that this age has passed, as the structure is not well maintained and the fallen pillar in front of the entrance has not been replaced. In fact, the most current great heroes of the Coalfoot Troglodytes have not been buried in a barrow, but entombed in plain stone cairns along the bank of the pool at the bottom of the box canyon.
You can download the 300 dpi maps (one with and one without the grid) at https://rpgcharacters.wordpress.com/2015/07/17/friday-map-valley-of-the-mounds/
