milbysmaps

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 an...

The Stygian City: Caves and Catacombs - Patrons' Edition

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 an...

The Stygian City: Caves and Catacombs (Work-in-Progress)

The next three levels of The Stygian City are drawn and ready to color.

I realize that this "city" doesn't look much like one yet. But I promise it will, starting with the levels after this. The upper floors were carved out when the builders were still mostly living on the surface.

By the way, when I post this, I'll update the DM notes with an overview of the history of the pit, so...

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...

The Pyramids of Cuamiztli - Patrons' Edition

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...

Aztec Temple Complex (Work-in-Progress)

When I started on this, I spent a good hour trying to find out what Mesoamerican pyramids looked like inside. As it turns out, there usually is no interior other than the temple at the top.

But do you know what's inside a lot of pyramids? More pyramids. There was a gigantic pyramid called the Templo Mayor in Mexico City that was destroyed by the conquistadors and they found 2024-04-29 09:48:40 +0000 UTC View Post

I changed some things. What do you think?

Shortly after I posted the first part of the pit, I decided that I hated the colors. And, when you're planning to draw another twenty or so maps with those colors, that's a problem. So I made some adjustments and partially recolored the underground levels. I think the colors for the surface were basically fine and, besides, the rest is going to be underground.

Here's a...

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, t...

The Stygian City: Into the Pit - Patrons' Edition

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, t...

The Pit: Ekersfield (Work-in-Progress)

The surface level of the pit is done. It's not quaint, exactly, but it's about as quaint as a village can get with a huge, ominous hole in the middle of town.

I've got the two levels below this about halfway done as well and they should be finished in a few more days. All right, I'm gonna get back to it.

The Pit: The Village of Ekersfield and the Mines (Work-in-Progress)

These are the first three levels of the giant pit megadungeon I'm working on. I've got 23 levels planned, but I get the feeling it'll end up being closer to 30 by the time it's done. You can see the current plan at the link above, but I think some of those areas are going to end up having more than one floor. And I'll probably let patrons propose ideas for and vote on a couple more levels to a...

The Human Queen's War Wagon (ft. Elephants)

This isn't too different from the original version of the map, but I classed it up a bit for a slightly more civilized crew. The spikes are gone, the worgs were replaced with elephants and the beds are about 70% less filthy.

So, it's time to start working on the next megaproject: the pit. I still don...

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...

The Goblin Queen's War Wagon - Patrons' Edition

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...

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 sack...

The Forgotten Place - Patrons' Edition

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 sack...

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, whi...

The Defiled Monastery - Patrons' Edition

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, whi...

Castel Sant'Angelo - Alternate Version

This is probably some kind of heresy, but I actually think this version of the map is a lot more interesting than the proper one. At least, I think it's more useful for RPG purposes. The other version is a castle. And it can't not be a castle. Which is fine, there's always a use for a castle in a fantasy RPG.

But without the walls, it can be a lot of other things. I can see a temple, a mo...

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...wa...

The Castel Sant'Angelo - Rome, Italy - Patrons' Edition

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...wa...

Castel Sant'Angelo (Almost Done)

I've got the Castel Sant'Angelo almost finished, but I thought I'd give you all a look at it anyway. These are the 2nd and 3rd floors of the castle, which has five levels in total. I should have the whole thing wrapped up in a couple days.

In the previous post, I proposed an idea for a new megaproje...

The Next Megaproject?

So, I have an idea for a new map project and I want to get your opinions on it.

The photos above are from the Initiation Well in Portugal. That isn't what I want to draw, but I think it illustrates my idea fairly well.

Imagine a large, cylindrical pit in the middle of a small village. The villagers don't know who made it or how deep it is. But it's deep. If you drop a rock, y...

Castel Sant'Angelo (Work-in-Progress)

These are four of the five floors of Rome's Castel Sant'Angelo. I've got the rest drawn too, but, as you can see, I ran out of desk, so someone had to get cut from the class photo.

As big as this is already, there's actually one more thing to draw: the outer walls. I'll draw those in on my tablet. This place is extremely unique as castles go, so hopefully you like it so far. It's been a ton of wor...

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 tw...

The Chateau de Breze in Saumur, France - Patrons' Edition

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 tw...

Chateau de Breze - The Underground Tunnels (Work-in-Progress)

These are the tunnels underneath the Chateau de Breze. I've got to tell you, there is no way I'd have been able to draw this place if I hadn't visited it and taken photos of everything myself. Like, my only reference for the upper levels of the castle is a photo I took of the fire escape plan (it's a solid floor plan, though). And I'd have no idea how these tunnels underneath t...

Chateau de Breze (Work-in-Progress)

This is what I've drawn so far for the Chateau de Breze. I'm currently drawing the network of tunnels and caves connected to the dry moat. That's pretty big, so I'm d...

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...

Scaligero Castle in Sirmione, Italy - Patrons' Edition

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...