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Underhive Meeting Place

The great spires of industry blacken the skies of Solace. And deep within these hives there is a rot. Heretics to the creed would subvert their fellow hab dwellers and hive toilers. Here we have a small section of the deep hive – a mix of residential space (the seven rooms in the lower right), corridors, workspaces, and a small domed chamber that was once a mix of command centre and warehousing for war materiel that has now shipped offworld.

It is in this roughly circular chamber that...

The Iron Fortress of Varvara Kazakova the Mad

In the Crags of Shargun near the verge of Troll Country, this massive ruin has been reclaimed by various warlords over the ages. The structure is noted for the six towers that still stand watch over the mazelike fortress – each tower has massive plates of iron bolted to the walls, now orange with rust from a few hundred years of Kislevite rains.

The fortress itself was once a two and three story structure, but all that remains today are the towers and the ground floor – several sect...

The Circles of Keténgku's Contemplations

The ancient city of Púrdimal struggles to remain above the swamps that surround it. Old dusk-grey structures of porous stone squat like ugly toads slowly turning green from the pervasive wetness and stench that seems to overwhelm the city.

The temple of Keténgku is the city's largest library, and the scholar-priests of the Many Eyed Master of Scrolls wage a desperate battle to transcribe texts before the swamp destroys them. The Circles of Keténgku's Contemplations are beneath the te...

Temple Map: Pharika’s Walk

Few temples of Pharika are supported within the major city states of Theros. While Pharika teaches many healing arts, she is best known as the god of afflictions, poisons, and disease. While not presented as a foul Nurgle-esque monstrosity, Pharika is still treated as a monster almost more than a god. A serpentine woman master of venoms and mysteries.

Pharika’s Walk is a temple dedicated to the healers of legend in many forms but all dedicated to Pharika’s works. Statues of these he...

The Ruins of Boar Isle Tower

A few decades ago the tower on Boar Isle was the kind of place that you would go to for a picnic, or as a stop-over point when fishing on the lake. As chaos rises and the wilds become wilder, it comes as no surprise to the townfolk across the lake that some nights you can see torchlight across the lake coming from the tower.

Someone, or something, has either moved in, or is using the old tower for their own purposes. Beastmen? Mutants? Dark Sorcerers? Or hopefully a witch-hunter and his...

There’s a Hole in the Dungeon, dear Liza, dear Liza

In the north of Yán Kór several days travel beyond Dháru where the Kai’odrath Plains give way to the northern steppes is an ancient ruin dating to the Empire of the Dragon Warriors. Little remains besides cyclopean stonework indicating that a number of large structures in a walled compound once stood here. Beneath these ruins is a small cave with some expanded sections tiled in a pale rose-coloured ceramic that has survived the passing of ages better than the rest of the caves and ruins ...

Return to Appletree Pond

A small farming community, Appletree Pond is built by their namesake water source, but is most notable because of the great church near the middle of town. Founded and built by a potent wandering cleric thirty years ago, the church is still attended to by this powerful minion of the gods.No one is quite sure what convinced Patriarch Brunn to found his church here, but no one is complaining that their small community is watched over by someone who can create food when the crops are poor, or ev...

December Backstage Pass

Here's this month's Backstage Pass - well, most of it anyways. This package contains 8 of the planned 10 releases this month (if we make it to 10, mind you). Additional releases will get packed up separately for your convenience. :)

♫ It's the most wonderful Kraken of the year! ♫

Greetings Patrons! Somehow 2020 is coming to a close after only 196 weeks (most of them made entirely out of Mondays).

I'm watching the snow falling outside as I type this up. December is upon us and we need to pick what maps from the archives are getting re-released this month under the free commercial use license.

For those of you who are new to the Patreon Campaign, each month I try to...

Research Station Palatua

Contact was lost with Research Station Palatua as we approached the system. When we pulled around to the landing area on the trojan asteroid that houses the station, there was a debris field where the outside elements of the station were, and yellow strobing lights from within the portions dug into the stone.

This map shows the station along with the lighting conditions of the areas. Areas in yellow are the main station elements and are currently lit by yellow strobes. Green areas are m...

Release the Kraken on The Demon Pillars of Iv

Every month we go through our back catalogue of maps and you decide which two should be re-released under the free commercial use license. This map from last year is the latest to be voted in.

Many enjoy living next to l’Étendue Sombre, or the Dark Desert – a fragrant desert of dark sands and slowly shifting dunes where the faint smell of anise suffuses the dry air. Those used to life in colder and wetter climes find the border cities around l’Étendue to be therapeutic....

Geomorphic Crypts of the Lich Lord – Set 3

Here’s the final set of the Crypts of the Lich Lord geomorphs – the final four designs that I put together a few years ago with an alternate geometry designed for use as a deck of cards but that I only managed to get 10 done before other work took over.

Maybe one day I’ll get back on the project and release a full deck of these, but in the meantime here are the original designs.

Some sections of the crypts are more designed as memorial sites and “museums” to the dead as ...

Crypts of the Lich Lord Set 2

This continues the Crypts of the Lich Lord geomorphs – another three designs that I put together a few years ago with an alternate geometry designed for use as a deck of cards. Maybe one day I’ll get back on the project and release a full deck of these, but in the meantime here are the original designs.

Some sections of the crypts are more designed as memorial sites and “museums” to the dead as it were, if nothing else to provide areas between the many crypts and tombs in these ...

Release the Kraken on Cooper’s Hole

Every month we go through our back catalogue of maps and you (my amazing patrons) vote on which two should be re-released. This map originally goes back to 2014.

We don’t know why the ancients built so many underground structures (perhaps to remain out of the sight of the elves who ruled the lands) – and something about how they built them enabled them to survive for ages beyond what you would expect for stone structures in unstable land.

Regardless, over the ages sin...

Geomorphic Crypts of the Lich Lord – Set 1

Somewhere around three years ago I started on a project to make a new set of geomorphs using a different layout than my traditional geomorphs. These geomorphs were designed to fit on a regular set of playing cards and have entrances in the middle of each facing. The project never matured past the proof of concept stage and only ten of these were drawn and only one ever got scanned.

The theme of this set of geomorphs was also a lot more firm than just “dungeon geomorphs” like my earl...

November Backstage Pass, Part 2

Hey, let's get the second half of November's Backstage Pass out, right? 

We've already seen a few of these make it on to the blog already, but here's the full set that complete's November's releases. 

And now I had better get to work on December's maps!

The Mountain Temple

On a clear day you can just make out the trail leading up into the mountain north of town. When the sun hits just right on such a day you can see the glimmer of the white columns of the mountain temple itself.

It is here that would-be heroes climb to request the blessing of the gods in their endeavors. Mostly the gods are silent, but this is taken as assent by most petitioners. Occasionally the gods are not… some petitioners never return, others go on their quests blessed but also gea...

Sanctuary of the Magi

The conjoined magi were masters of communications with the strange beings beyond the walls of sleep. As infants, they spoke strange tongues and received answers as if from the ether. As they aged, they took up the study of magic and the assistance of these same beings seemed to propel them into greatness – they worked opposite ends of the same spells, mastering light and darkness, heat and cold, the bright open of the air and sun and the dark enclosure of the heart of worlds.

Much to ...

Lautuntown on the River

Tucked into the fertile hills of Pantesh are the fortifications of Lautuntown. Lautuntown is a moderately sized community that supports (or truly is supported by) the extensive farmlands in the nearby hills. Central to the geography of the town is the Chatting Rill, a small river that winds and meanders through these hills without picking up much speed.

Lautuntown is governed by Lady Gevrest – and while paralyzed from the waist down she is a fierce and proud woman who keeps close tabs...

Shrine of the Demon Eskarna

The rough rocks of Irloga Isle in the open seas beyond Khalesh-Sonket is home to a small cult of demon-worshippers, said to be the last remnants of the old Semut clans. Here they raise sheep and goats and make sacrifices to their ancient demon gods. The island is home to a dozen small demonic shrines in small caves and niches and carved stone pillars. But none are as important or impressive as the shrine of Eskarna.

A wide natural cave with a floor smoothed by untold ages of foot traffi...

The Borderlands Caves - Level 1

The Borderlands Caves are a complex of natural and creature-“built” caverns and associated dungeons where more “civilized” folk added their own living, working, and worshiping spaces to the caves.

This is only one entrance into the Borderlands Caves, but the most obvious one. The caves here were used as the base for a structure by the demon-worshiping Semut clans during the peak of their civilization – with some work done on the surrounding caves to incorporate them into the c...

Somerrich Cays

South of the Ashwood a few small islands jut out into Bittersweet Lake. These Sommerich Cays have been home to their namesake family through three generations – the various Ladies Somerrich using their small island estate as a summer getaway traditionally and in more recent years as the family fortunes have dwindled moving the whole family here.

The current Lady Somerrich is holed up on the island estate with a number of bizarre rumours circulating about her – generally along the li...

Backstage Pass Fragments - October & November

Last month's backstage pass didn't have all of Otober's releases in it, and I'm less caught up now than I was in October (had my primary production system die on me and only just got my replacement / upgrade system up and running yesterday). 

So this Backstage Pass download includes the three maps that were released at the end of October, and four of the maps being released in November. 2020-11-05 10:40:53 +0000 UTC View Post

November's Release the Kraken Poll!

Get out there and vote!

For that other thing too, but also on what maps will be pulled out of the achives and re-released under the free commercial use license!

Here's the poll: 

https://forms.gle/c52yRXKVxcP8Q2qw5

Release the Kraken on the False Tombs!

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. The second release this month is the False Tombs from 2017.

Lord Dranoel was the kind of mad king that of course would get buried with all his entourage, advisors and hangers-on when he finally died at the ripe old age of 27. Since taking the throne in his teens he had been planning for his eventual death ...

The Overlook Cave

The side cavern from the deeper sections of the old dungeon had a surprise at the end. An area of worked stone & masonry in what appeared to be a gallery with a chamber looking down over it 25 feet above. Portions of the cavern had collapsed and other sections appear washed away. The suggestion is that this gallery significantly predates most of the rest of the dungeon and might have been discovered accidentally.

Ancient stone chambers act as home to newer residents though. And the ...

Flowing Celadon Grotto

The waters along the back of these old limestone caves are almost opaque and nearly pea-green in colour. Nonetheless they are some of the only waters in this part of southern Zorisz.

The central space of the cave contains a small house, with roof and everything, that currently serves as the home of an ancient dwarven druid-priest and a few initiates who both quietly meditate upon and guard the caves. The dwarf offers purified water to those who desperately need it, and those who can pay...

Release the Kraken on Axebridge over Blackbay

Every month we go through our back catalogue of maps and YOU, the army of amazing supporters on Patreon vote on which two should be re-released under the free commercial use license. The first such release this month is an “ancient” map in my reckoning, going back to 2013.

Axebridge over Blackbay dates back to an urban mapping “kick” I was on in late 2013. It is also one of my favourite non-standard cities, as the defenses are very different than a typical walled city.

Reg...