dysonlogos

Release the Kraken on the Temple of the Communion of Zeviax

Saint Zeviax still walks the hall of this temple. At one time it was a church to a higher power – an ideal that almost everyone could get behind. But the long-term tenancy by Saint Zeviax has taken over and the temple is dedicated to their strange communion and seeming eternal resistance against death.

You see, Saint Zeviax is a martyr who just won’t die.

To make matters weirder, Zeviax is slowly changing as the decades pass and their memory has long suffered for it – was th...

Release the Kraken on the Dungeoneer’s Survival Guide Perspective Map

When I got a copy of the Dungeoneer's Survival Guide some 36 years ago, it was a flood of information, rules I would consistently ignore, scraps about the underdark for the first time since the D series of adventures...

And a collection of pages at the back on drawing perspective-based maps. Not the isometric (axonometric) projections of Castle Ravenloft, but grids set at various perspectives and rotations along with instructions on photocopying and cutting them up, or tracing them in o...

DungeonMorphs – Crypts Set 6

And one last set of Crypt Dungeonmorphs to finish off our February map releases.

These are redraws of the Dungeonmorph designs originally drawn by myself, Glynn Seal, Billiam Babble, Alyssa, and Joe Wetzel. I’m doing these redraws one “die” at a time. The geomorphs have been assigned faces on the DungeonMorph Dice, and I’m translating them not by artist, but by die. So this is the fifth die of the crypts set. (There are a total of 24 dice in total – I’ve already posted all e...

DungeonMorphs – Crypts Set 5

Once again we are finishing off the month with some more geomorphs from the DungeonMorphs IV set.

These are redraws of the Dungeonmorph designs originally drawn by myself, Glynn Seal, Billiam Babble, Alyssa, and Joe Wetzel. I’m doing these redraws one “die” at a time. The geomorphs have been assigned faces on the DungeonMorph Dice, and I’m translating them not by artist, but by die. So this is the fifth die of the crypts set. (There are a total of 24 dice in total – I’ve alr...

The Goblinoid Pits – A level from Greg Oppedisano’s #Dungeon23 project

This dungeon level was designed by Greg Oppedisano as part of his #Dungeon23 project, and I loved the huge chains, twisting & looping passages, and general design so much that I asked if I could redraw it in my style – and thus we have the Goblinoid Pits…

The obvious biggest point of interest is how this level is connected to two other zones via giant chains, and to a small sub-domain of its own also (on the upper right – a small stony plateau with four pillars and a small sto...

Time to pick the February Kraken releases!

It is about that time - as February comes to a close, we need to pick out which maps from the back-catalogue we are going to re-release under the free commercial use license.

I've put together a selection of 12 to pick from this month, which is your favourite?

https://forms.gle/1EMFUDK5AAF9YEz86

Deeper Underground… A secret dungeon level.

Below the dungeon level detailed in the adventure is another. A deeper area that can be found if you know where to look – like after you got that treasure map from the Ogre Magi that showed where the secret stairway is, and hinted at a much larger treasure below…

Here the dungeon intrudes on a large natural cavern that has been expanded in a few places with structures cut into the cave walls and then fixed up with masonry. These chambers include some that appear to be religious in c...

Dungeons of the Twin Demons

The split theme of the Gateway of the Twin Demons is not carried through to the underlevel of the complex – these lower chambers of the Gateway of the Twin Demons contain a deeper cistern, a small garden of poisonous fungi, and a double-levelled tomb of the faithful to the demons of Vimúhla. The entire complex is decorated with bas-relief sculptures and mosaics of the demons of Vimúhla and the destruction of the world.

The hexagonal tomb chambers are sealed off from the rest of the ...

Gateway of the Twin Demons

Near Prakú Cháya Peak in Western Mu’ugalavyá is this ancient temple to twin demons of Vimúhla – their names lost to the ages, they were once the patrons of a town south of Gashchné that was considered very fortunate to be looked over by not one but two of Vimúhla’s favoured servants. Much of the town’s resources went to the veneration of these patrons, including the building of this temple complex into the rocky foothills of Prakú Cháya – but none of this prevented the destr...

The Sirens’ Grotto

There’s a cave on the cliffside beaches of the dark shore where eerily beautiful music can be heard on occasion. The caves have evidently been cut and modified by pickaxe over the years, with doors, stairs, and chambers cut into the stone and sometimes decorated and smoothed even further with masonry work.

At the heart of the largest cave is a pool linked to the ocean by an underwater cave. Four sirens use this pool and cave as their home (and d6-2 of them will be present at most time...

With Teeth!

In the goblin hills there’s a hill crowned with a circle of white granite standing stones that can only be described as… giant stone teeth. In the centre of the teeth is a wide stairwell down into the hill itself.

While originally built as a barrow, there is little to show of the original purpose now. Instead of the quiet dead, within we find the masters of the goblin tribes in the region. Chamber 4 is home to the warlock Zrilx who long ago abandoned his soul to the machinations of ...

The Tumíssan Underworld - Map 1

And here's my second #Dungeon23 project - the first keyed and stocked zone of the Tumíssan Underworld on the shore of Lake Néttu Tlakán directly under the ferry buildings and the Great Market Plaza.

https://dysonlogos.blog/2023/02/08/dungeon23-tumissan-underworld-zone-1-complete/

1-1 Lake Entry
Iron grate blocks ...

Dyson's Delve II - Level 1

I’m still keeping on with the #Dungeon23 projects – here’s level 1 in its entirety with the full map and short-form stocking.

1-1 The Gates
The doors of the gates are long gone but sounds can be heard from within the walls as scavengers dig through the ruins of the burned structure within. The walls are 16 feet tall and lack any form of battlements or similar, instead being rounded at the top to prevent grappling hooks and similar from finding purchase.

<...

Release the Kraken on the Pits of the Black Moon

Every month we go through our back catalogue of maps and you vote on which two should be re-released under the free commercial use license. Our second release from January’s poll is this small dungeon map that was originally designed to fit on a postcard.

The ruins under the Signet Heights are leftovers of the war with the elves – most were there to help produce materiel and magics to fight the elder foes. Many were sealed behind strange arcana or disguised by dwarven machi...

Release the Kraken on the Lost Tomb Complex of old Jaikalór

Jaikalór isn’t all that exciting – a small mercantile city that exports cloth from the many looms here, and timber harvested from the Forest of Gilrayá that it is nestled against. The city has changed significantly since it was captured (bloodlessly) from the Ebon Throne three hundred years ago – much of the city has been rebuilt in that time and it continues to slowly “move” towards the forest, following the clearing of land there.

These changes in the structure of the city...

February Backstage Pass

February is coming in WITH FURY up here - we're looking at -29 tomorrow night (-48 with wind chill). So as I get towels together to put in front of doors and double up on curtains, I thought I should take a break and zip up all the map files we'll be releasing this month!

Unlike last year, we'll not be releasing the commercial maps as the first four maps of the month. Because of the #Dungeon23 ...

Oh noes! The Kraken poll is WICKED LATE!

So, I had scheduled to release the first of the "release the kraken" maps tomorrow morning... and then noticed that I NEVER SENT OUT THE POLL!

So, this poll will only be open for 36 hours or so. For those new to my patreon, this poll determines which two maps we'll take from the back catalog and then re-release under the free commercial use license.

So which of these maps would you like t...

DungeonMorphs – Crypts Set 3

One of the final stretch goals of DungeonMorphs IV was to include an alternate version of the DungeonMorph cards (2.5″ x 2.5″ cards of the geomorphs) in the style of one of the artists involved in the design. That artist was ME! So I spent a month and change redrawing all the geomorphs from their original artists’ styles to my own.

I’m doing these redraws one “die” at a time. The geomorphs have been assigned faces on the DungeonMorph Dice, and I’m translating them not by a...

Ribbon Jammer

Ribbon Jammers are a fairly traditional spelljammer format – designed around a long, lean, ship structure that would fit in well in any non-jamming ocean world except for the lack of a keel and rudder. It stands out because of the long ribbons that hang off the sides of the ship and flow out and along it as it sails through space. They operate primarily as small tramp cargo vessels with acceptable storage space, a modicum of defenses (four ballistae – two in the fore turrets and two on th...

Beneath the Infected Spire

Down beneath the strange spire is the source of the infection – why the strange insectoid humanoids are now arriving mutated and twisted, spreading chaos in their wake. The base level beneath the spire shows all the organization and clean design of the creatures in their “natural form”, but even here there are a large number of weirdly mutated egg clusters waiting to hatch… The hexagonal column in the main chamber is of the same stone as the rest of the structure, but the lower part o...

Formian Incursion! The Infected Spire

Bizarre humanoid insects are pouring out of this structure that has formed like a foul boil upon the land in the last month. The grounds around the spire have also slowly transformed into a lifeless rocky terrain broken into hexagons roughly 20 feet across.

These extradimensional ant-like beings seek something and hunting parties range far and wide from the spire. Initially, the creatures all looked identical, but something is obviously wrong now, and with each wave of these things we s...

The Circle of Plunder

Chiténg’s Circle of Plunder is not exactly a secret (as it is a fairly large round dome with an open roof in the centre over the arena proper), but one requires an invitation from the cult in order to witness the battles fought here – this is no Hirilákte arena for glory and personal deeds of arms, but a ritual space where sacrifices are performed to Lord Chiténg in the form of semi-scripted gladiatorial battles and some darker and more sadistic ritual sacrifices in His name and for Hi...

The Ioun Tower

Floating in the badlands in exactly the same manner that most towers don’t, this odd structure is evidently of ancient design and made of a strange bone-white material. There are several ways to access the tower, but for those who can’t fly the obvious choice is to bridge the small gap between the rocky cliff face and a breach in the wall of level 5 of the structure. Persons who can fly or dimension door are more likely to try the door on level 2, or on the narrow ledges of level 4.

Hnálla’s Tower of Pillars

Made of nearly white stone and then decorated in soft but brilliant white howlite, the pillared tower of Hnálla peaks over the wall of the foreigner’s district so even the heathens and barbarians from other lands can hear the Tunkúl gongs ringing to call the faithful of the Supreme Principle of Stability to prayer. The top of the tower is a silver-plated dome that is kept to a perfect polish to celebrate the sun and the eight statues that pierce the walls of the dome are of eight differen...

The Grotto Beneath Lazuni Hill

When the Rangers of Lazuni built a tower atop this hill, they also put some work into expanding the small caves within the hill, although they never connected the tower and the caves (to prevent infiltration of the tower from the caves below). When the shrine was built using the old stones of the tower, the cult of the local earth deity also worked on the passages beneath – using earth magics to reinforce the structures and to cleverly add new secret doors between the passages and caverns.<...

The Shrine atop Lazuni Hill

The Rangers of Lazuni built a watch tower atop this hill in ages past to track the movements of the spider armies through the region. With the end of the Arachnid Empire the tower was only checked in on once a year or so until it was compromised during a major earthquake and then collapsed over the next few decades. About two centuries ago the ruins were finally cleared and the stones used to build a shrine to the local aspect of an earth deity. That local aspect has slowly been subsumed into...

Ephara’s Alithinero – Temple of the High Spring

Every month we go through our back catalogue of maps and you vote on which two should be re-released under the free commercial use license. Our second release from December’s poll is this map I drew after working on “Mythic Odysseys of Theros” for Wizards of the Coast – a temple to a water goddess. Again, like the previous Kraken release this month, I must remind readers that none of the text nor the name of the map is available for use as it use...