czepeku

Elven Magitech Portal [35x95]

Hey everyone!

After our recent poll and seeing just how many of you are playing in sci-fantasy campaigns we thought it'd be good to make something specifically with that vibe to it. And you know, it's been a really long time since we made something with an elven flair. So here is the Elven Magitech Portal! We hope you like it. Lots of flowing, dream-like paths for Elves to ponder over the nature of stars and being. We imagined this as a bit of an astral gateway possibly connecting far o...

Peaceful Village Church [25x34]

Hey everyone!

We were thinking about the village maps that we made as supplements to accompany our Ages of the Vale series. There were some common village buildings listed, like village church, blacksmith, etc. but we hadn't actually made battlemaps to accompany those points of interest. So we're going to rectify that!

2022-08-15 16:28:19 +0000 UTC View Post

Would you like to see more modern content?

Hey everyone!

We've been pleasantly suprised by how successful Hyperdrive Fleet has been. It was a bit of a gamble to see how much of our community also wanted sci-fi maps but it turns out that it was a lot of people!

With the exception of the Train Station and Hangar Bay, we've shied away from making overtly modern content here at Czepeku. Anything which is too steampunk, victorian, dieselpunk, etc. d...

Harpy Cove - Animated Battlemap

Hey everyone!

Here's an animated version of our popular Harpy Cove map! This map has long been one of our favourites so it's great to see the waves crashing against the cliffs as we imaged. We think Kin did a fantastic job of it and we really hope you like it!

The track in the video is "The Silverspring Mine," by the hugely talented Will Savino, from his album 2022-07-31 22:09:01 +0000 UTC View Post

Annis Hag Lair [34x60]

Hey everyone!

We talked about making some hag lairs a while back but this week Peku suddenly had inspiration for how she wanted to design an Annis Hag lair and here's the result. We might make some more hag lairs in the future when inspiration hits!

We know it's a bit gruesome but that's just what hags are like. A lot of the motifs: the skulls, twigs and skins were inspired by the fifth edition art. The undulating hills, dead trees and the zig-zag pattern of the ribs were inspired...

Mushroom Infested Mines [66x50]

Hey everyone!

Way waaaaay back in the depths of mythical pre-covid 2019, we released a map called the Abandoned Mine Entrance. It was one of our first maps and we never expected to actually make the mines connected to it, but people have asked us a lot to do a follow up, so here we are 3 years later with the Mushroom Infested Mines.

The two maps don't stitch together, there's som...

Please Vote for Us for 'Best Cartography' at the Ennie Awards!

Hey everyone! There's a yearly competition in the TTRPG industry called The Ennies that has categories like Best Setting, Best Adventure, Best Game, etc. it's like our equivalent of the Oscars or the Emmys.

And this year, for the first time, we've been nominated for Best Cartography!

If you want to vote for us you just need to head 2022-07-15 21:50:51 +0000 UTC View Post

Dwarven Throne Hall [29x58]

Hey everyone!

It's about time we made a map dedicated to Dwarves! Deep down in the underground halls, beyond the mines and the forges and the armouries is the Throne Hall.

The Throne Hall is protected by the heat of flowing lava that leads on into other chambers for use in smelting. The Dwarves enjoy the intense heat but others will find it exhausting. Parties have to battle up flights and flights of stairs guarded by only the best trained guardians if they want to face up against...

How would you describe your campaign setting?

We're trying to gather some ideas on what people are playing right now and what maps people would want. :) We've been blown away by the huge support for Hyperdrive Fleet and its made us appreciate the different directions we can explore.

Please pick multiple options if you're running multiple campaigns! Or if you campaign crosses over multiple genres. And of course, feel free to let us know about your campaign and any specific genres you'd like to see from us in the comments.

Spelljammer Ships!

So we've been pretty inundated with requests for Spelljammer ships now that the new book is being released next month. So it was time for a poll!

As far as we're aware the ships for the new book haven't been released yet, but here's a selection of interesting ones from the old 2e Spelljammer.

Of course these are WotC IP so we'll just use the poll winner to inspire our own take on the concept. Don't expect a 1-for-1 remake or anything like that. Unfortunately that's not possible. 2022-07-01 20:05:53 +0000 UTC View Post

Riverwood Toll Castle [30x44]

Hey everyone!

It was about time that we tackled another castle. This one is meant to be a toll castle, protecting the road up to the hill and granting access to the bridges above the riverlands beyond.

We imagined this as a nice hilltop garrison for your players to defend or attack or maybe use as a long standing base that they keep as their own, taking coin from the merchants passing through and hea...

Eldritch Church - Animated Battlemap (with a new twist!)

Hey everyone!

This month we decided to animate our Eldritch Church battlemap! Lots of ghostly lights and strange dust swirling before the pulsing eldritch vortex! I think we've really captured the eerie atmosphere of this dark place.

BUT there's more!

Remi tried out something different with this animation pack. We're giving out 3 different animations this time. Two different loopi...

Tutelary Turtle Island [29x46]

Hey everyone!

Another long awaited suggestion: a floating turtle island!

We imagined this location like a secretive fey-imbued floating chapel that star crossed lovers would seek out to have clandestine meetings and moonlit weddings. Turtle-friend slowly travels the waterways of the world, guided by its sense of where it is needed most. Over centuries of diving and storms and rough seas most of the chapel has collapsed to ruin but the altar still stands, hazy with a magical glow, ...

Introducing Hyperdrive Fleet

Hey everyone! It has long long been requested that we start making sci-fi maps.

And well... that time is NOW!

This week we're launching Hyperdrive Fleet! Our new czepeku sci-fi maps project!

If you’re interested already you can sign up to be a patron here.

!! EDIT:

So our 40% ...

Court of Justice [29x59]

Hey everyone!

Civic buildings have been requested a lot recently so we decided to make a Court of Justice! Bring your players here so they can atone for their crimes. Or assault the room and take down the corrupt judges of the land. If you want to cut straight to a punishment, there's a variation where the stand is a trap door. We might even make a follow up map showing the dungeon down below. We're imagining it a bit like the rancor pit.

We made a lot of variants for this one, i...

Forgotten Chapel - Graveyard [30x44] & Crypt [26x34]

Hey everyone!

A spooky graveyard has been a constant suggestion for years, so we thought it was finally time to make one. Hopefully this is what you all had in mind. :)

We decided we wanted the church to be collapsing from years of damp and neglect, after the parish was pushed out by vampires, ghouls or witches who wanted to use the holy place for their nefarious ways. Now this once sacred place is abandoned by all but ghosts and ghouls.

But you can still climb the old steep...

Chthonic Lighthouse - Animated Battlemap

Hey everyone!

This month we decided to animated our Chthonic Lighthouse battlemap! The dark waters swell and beat against the rocks, the lonely boats bob in the water, the occassional will'o'wisp darts across the channel and high above the lighthouse beams across the vast expanse of the underdark.'

The music in the panning promo above is by 2022-05-29 18:44:42 +0000 UTC View Post

Hellfire Prison [48x79] - Special Collaboration with Questiary!

Hey everyone!

This is a super special release as it's our first collaboration with our new czepeku project Questiary! neeewwww project!

Deep in the realms of devils, atop a lonely stone cast out on the lava sea, stands the Hellfire Prison where the worst souls are ferried for torture and incarceration. Come here to rescue your sinful paladin or extract secrets from the lich prisoners.

2022-05-23 23:30:18 +0000 UTC View Post

Beachside Bazaar [30x44]

Hey everyone, welcome to the Beachside Bazaar! 

Peku's original idea for this map was that the Kuo-Toa lived here a long long while back and built giant fish statues here to their deities. Some unknown event forced them out of the region and soon traders came to settle in this peaceful beachside valley. The Kuo-Toa temples ages and crumpled and were soon replaced with shops, watchtowers and a lighthouse to guide in ships. But in their revential fear of the mysterious fish statues, ...

Gryphon Roost Inn [various]

Hey everyone!

So many people had told us that they appreciate the floating sky island stuff we've been releasing that we thought we'd dedicate a map to it!

So here is our cute Gryphon Roost Inn, floating high amongst the clouds and offering a warm bed and a pint of ale (or cup of tea if you prefer) to any passing by. Most visitors come via airship but there are stables for those on gryphonback or riding pegasi. There's even the occasssional portal that opens up in case you're not ...

Wonderful Wizard Waterfall [various]

Hey everyone! Lots of maps today as we finally found time to post. :)

Welcome to the Wonderful Wizard Waterfall. This is a crafty wizard's house perched on a ledge beside a waterfall. We liked the thought that the wizard was harnessing the raw power of the waterfall in his studies... or maybe they just liked the view. The interior has 4 floors to it, including a basement full of dragon bones!

Map sizes are:

Third Floor - 5x5
Second Floor - 8x10
First Floor - 8x13
Ou...

Bone Mill Part 2 - Interior [13x15] + Lair [28x39]

Hey everyone! This is the second part of our Bone Mill map we made last month. This is the interior of the mill and the cave lair of the black shuck that roams this area.

This set of maps was designed as a tie-in to our recent Boro...

Caravan Roadblock [18x55]

Hey everyone!

This map is a simple concept but hopefully has a lot of uses for your campaign. Whether that be taking on a job to help out the stuck caravans or maybe looting them whilst their stuck, clear the debris out of the way and help them through the mountain pass or protect them whilst bandits try to attack them in their prone state. We definitely had some Oregon trail stuff in mind whilst making these! And of course for those that want the map without the caravans, most of the v...

Windmill Farm - Animated Battlemap

Hey everyone!

This month we decided to animated our Windmill Farm battlemap! We've wanted to see this map animated since we first created it. It's so awesome to see those windmill blades finally turning! Other than the windmill itself, we've got lots of little leaves, wind effects, clouds and chickens wandering around. Oh and trees blowing in the breeze.

As always the music that accompanie...

Bone Mill Exterior[28x39]

Hey everyone!

Welcome to the Bone Mill! It occured to me as we were working on this map that maybe not everyone knows what a bone mill is. Basically it's a place where they used to dry bones and crush them to use as fertilizer. Here's a website that talks about a real bone mill from near Cze's home. There'll be a follow up to this map coming next month which'll have the machin...

City Rooftop Chase - Animated Battlemap

Hey everyone!

This month we decided to animated our City Rooftop Chase battlemap! Lots of little details going on here, chickens and pigeons wandering, waves lapping, chimney smoke billowing on the breeze, dust and wind passing over the city and of course all the market awnings and buntings gently swaying for that quintessential marketplace feel!

The music that accompanies the video above was composed b...

The Forbidden Gates [28x60]

Hey everyone!

Welcome to The Forbidden Gates. This map was originally designed to accompany the Mountaintop Observatory, we thought this could be at the foot of those mountains, warding people off from the holy mountains above. Hats off to Jesse for brainstorming this cool design inspired by several villages in the Himalayas. 

The idea for the gate came from prayer wheels. We had this c...

Solar Cathedral [37x48]

Hey everyone!

Welcome to the Solar Cathedral! We've been meaning to make a cathedral for so long.

This map is a sequel to our Beach Town map. This Solar Cathedral is designed to depict the interior of the building in the top right. This one:

We purposefully didn't include the exterior on...

Clifftop Warcamp [31x46]

Hey everyone!

Welcome to the Clifftop Warcamp where generals and officers plan their assaults on the lands below. Individuals can be lowered by the rickety wood and rope lift to the battlefield and the giant warhorn can call out orders.

This map was made to accompany a new Borough Bound city, Crabwell, which we just completed! Check out this preview image of the whole city:

The city...

Ruined Courtyard [28x48]

Hey everyone!

Back again for another map, two days in a row. :) As we've made quite a few dungeon-y maps recently we thought we'd make something a bit more suiting of a boss fight! Hope you like it.

The original concept was a lush courtyard garden that befell a terrible cataclysm and has now gone to ruin, the plants overgrown, the topiaries ragged, cracks in the floor letting in beasts from deep below.

(If you can't fit the last variation into your game, you need to invent a...