milbysmaps

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 ...

The Digging Machines - Patrons' Edition

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 ...

The Vagabond Queen - Spelljammer Version

Explaining Spelljammer to people can be a little difficult. I posted a spelljammer map to Reddit once and someone commented that it was a completely unrealistic spacecraft. He pointed out that there was no engine, no fuel tanks and no airlock. He also thought there should be toilets next to all the passenger cabins. These are legitimate complaints if you think this is meant for a sci-fi setting, but that's not what Spelljammer is.

So I explained it to him. The ship doesn't have an engin...

Accessories for your giant ship

I made maps and tokens of the small boats on the Vagabond Queen, along with some cannon tokens in case you want to arm it. If you'd prefer non-gunpowder weapons, allow me to introduce you to the Milby's Maps Artillery Token Collection, which should have something that fits the...

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 th...
   2023-12-21 12:10:30 +0000 UTC View Post

The Vagabond Queen, or "The City of Sails" - Patrons' Edition

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 th...
   2023-12-21 12:10:12 +0000 UTC View Post

The 63rd Cartographic Congress Final Runoff

The ship is close to finished and it should be done in less than a week. Until then, here are your two finalists for this month's Cartographic Congress:

Shawn proposes an urban fortress modeled on the Castel Sant'Angelo in Rome.

Ethan proposes the Goblin Queen's Carriage, an enormous carriage with several levels which houses an entire tribe of nomadic goblin raiders and their queen.

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 Bh...

The 63rd Cartographic Congress Vote

We've got 11 proposals this month and I've got a boat to color, so I'll shut up and let you get to it. As always, feel free to ask questions and discuss your choices below.

Silas proposes a cathedral for giants, with smaller passages meant for their humanoid servants.

DireSquirrel proposes a sky pirates' zeppelin.

Chaan proposes a vertical Beholder's Lair, filled with statues of petrified adventurers, living quarters for goblin henchmen, and treasure vaults.

Joseph pro...

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,...

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 w...

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!

The 62nd Cartographic Congress Final Runoff

It's down to the last two. What's it gonna be?

Silas proposes Scaligero Castle, an Italian castle with a walled port.

Jon proposes the Black Citadel, a giant ziggurat floating through the astral sea, which serves as the base of operations of a sinister organization. A non-floating version would be made as well.

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?

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 furnish...

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.

2023-10-26 15:47:58 +0000 UTC View Post

The Tir Thelandira Codex - Patrons' Edition

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.

2023-10-26 15:47:36 +0000 UTC View Post

Five Wizards' Towers

Here are those wizards' towers I promised. I'm going to try to finish updating everything for Tir Thelandira and get a Tir Thelandira Codex done by tomorrow, so I'll be back with more soon. Almost there!

Download from Google Drive here (under NEWEST PATRON CONTENT).

Valley of the Five Mages

The Valley of the Five Mages is the last map for Tir Thelandira and, while it's mostly independent from the rest of the lore, I think it's a nice addition to the island. The basic story is that five mages have come here from far away to study a mysterious hole in the ground that radiates an intense magical energy. 

I wrote some thoughts about what might be down there in the DM notes for the map, but ...

Valley of the Five Mages - Patrons' Edition

The Valley of the Five Mages is the last map for Tir Thelandira and, while it's mostly independent from the rest of the lore, I think it's a nice addition to the island. The basic story is that five mages have come here from far away to study a mysterious hole in the ground that radiates an intense magical energy. 

I wrote some thoughts about what might be down there in the DM notes for the map, but ...

The Ruins of the Torre Scola - Dehumidified Version

As promised, here's the alternate version of the Torre Scola. It's occurred to me that I draw quite a lot of islands and that I should probably draw non-island versions of those maps as well for those DMs whose campaigns involve ungulate-based travel.

So, the voting has ended and the final map for 2023-10-12 19:30:25 +0000 UTC View Post

The 61st Cartographic Congress Final Runoff

We're down to the final two. I think both of these would make fantastic maps, but which one do you want to see?

Joe proposes a mechanized fortress deep underground. The magical, intelligent machine controlling the fortress mines the area to expand itself and its army of automatons.

Shawn proposes a cemetery with a necromancer's tomb below. The tomb is guarded by a series of traps and magical guardians.

The Ruins of the Torre Scola

The Torre Scola ("Scola Tower") is a ruined tower off the coast of La Spezia, Italy. Built in the 1600s, it was heavily damaged during the Napoleonic Wars, then later used for target practice by the Italian Navy in the early 1900s.

Personally, I think the historical value of this place should've been enough to keep people from pounding it with naval guns. But even if we ignore that--...

The Ruins of the Torre Scola - Patrons' Edition

The Torre Scola ("Scola Tower") is a ruined tower off the coast of La Spezia, Italy. Built in the 1600s, it was heavily damaged during the Napoleonic Wars, then later used for target practice by the Italian Navy in the early 1900s.

Personally, I think the historical value of this place should've been enough to keep people from pounding it with naval guns. But even if we ignore that--...

Tir Thelandira Vote - Location #2 FINAL VOTE

These are the last two contenders for location #2 of Tir Thelandira. This one's for all the marbles. Which map do you want to see?

Joe proposes the home of an old elven sage who lives on the back of a giant beetle that wanders the island. There are several buildings and a small garden bu...

The Monastery of Varlaam in Meteora, Greece

Whew, this thing was a ton of work, but it's finally done! This is a place I've wanted to draw for a long time and I was really glad to see someone propose it to the Cartographic Congress and win.

There's something I didn't realize about this place until I started working on it, though. I knew there was a mountaintop monastery in Meteora, Greece, but when I started looking for floor plans of the place, it turned out there are six. And there used to be twenty-four.

The Monastery of Varlaam in Meteora, Greece - Patrons' Edition

Whew, this thing was a ton of work, but it's finally done! This is a place I've wanted to draw for a long time and I was really glad to see someone propose it to the Cartographic Congress and win.

There's something I didn't realize about this place until I started working on it, though. I knew there was a mountaintop monastery in Meteora, Greece, but when I started looking for floor plans of the place, it turned out there are six. And there used to be twenty-four.

Tir Thelandira Vote - Location #2 Runoff Vote

Here are the three finalists for location #2 of Tir Thelandira. If there's no clear winner, there will be a final runoff after this. Good luck!

Joe proposes the home of an old elven sage who lives on the back of a giant beetle that wanders the island. There are several buildings and a sm...

Tir Thelandira Vote - Location #2

This vote will determine what location #2 (on the northern island of this map) will be. There were 9 proposals in total, all of which are on this ballot. The top 3 choices will move on to a runoff vote to determine the winner. Thanks to everyone for their amazing ideas and good luck!

Troy proposes a neolithic-style burial mound.

Joe proposes the home of an old el...

Varlaam Monastery in Meteora, Greece

The monastery of Varlaam sits atop a large rock formation in Meteora, Greece. Look at this place and tell me it's not absolutely epic. This is something I've wanted to draw for a long time and I hope I do it justice. I'll probably draw a sideview as well, but this is the art for the map itself done.

Wel...