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The Dungeons of Windkeep Citadel

Perched over the great cities of the plains, Tabuld Amberhand watches the world change from his throne room in Windkeep Citadel. Beneath the halls of the Citadel are of course the dungeons – home to those “special” prisoners who are not dealt with by the common constabulary and “justice” system of the plains cities. There are four levels to the dungeons all connected by a single stairway – the three lower levels of which are dedicated to housing prisoners.

Level 2 has four l...

The Hive Maze in the Dry Bay

In the dry bay there are strange hive-like structures of a ceramic material excreted by the previous residents. These structures are always built into a hexagonal structure, and the interior walls and “cells” seem maze-like and inscrutable to those who explore them now.

This particular structure was semi-adapted to human use who knows how long after the original builders left. Furnishings were added and the whole place has taken on a strange mixed atmosphere of church basement, obsc...

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...

Secret Installation E1M9

Like last week’s Dungeon of Holding, today’s map is another secret dungeon level hidden beneath another structure or at least well-concealed beside an existing fortification. In the latter concept, I would make the central room (which is much higher up than the rest of the dungeon) open to the sky above and protected by a tall wall as part of other fortifications. From that central space (and the massive cage that takes up the middle of it) there are four staircases down to the various se...

The Dungeon of Holding!

I received a copy of the shiny new “Book of Holding” in the mail two days ago and almost immediately began to draw a dungeon in it. The book is lovely and shiny and features Hydro74’s artwork on the cover and as divider sheets within. The paper is nice and heavy (about 32lb stock would be my guess) with a grey grid that doesn’t quite come out in scanning like a traditional blue grid can.

Welcome to the Dungeon of Holding – a small complex hidden underneath [insert dungeon you ...

Sanvinesh's Delve

Along the northern border of Mu’ugalavyá is the empty husk of one of the domed cities of the Shunned Ones. The buildings within are stone husks half-covered with desert sand and nothing of the sharp smell of the Shunned Ones’ favoured atmosphere remains.

Sanvinesh Birednyá, high priest of the beast-headed Hŕsh, lead a recent expedition to the ruins following notes acquired from merchants travelling from N’lǘss. A hundred slaves dug out the sand from one ruined building and unc...

The Raven's Rum & Roosts

Found on Theatre Street, a few blocks from the College of Music and the Grand Theatre, the Raven’s Rum & Roosts tries to dress itself up as a more upscale inn than it is. The manager, Giles Baar, always wears a long black coat and bow tie and his hat is home to a raven (taxidermied, but that isn’t immediately obvious) – he keeps the lighting in the tavern fairly low and attempts to maintain a mien of being both aloof and friendly.

“The Raven” primarily serves goose (stew o...

Once more to the Temple of Illhan the Binder

I’ve been on a bit of an isometric map kick lately and last month I posted a comparison between one of my recent iso maps and the maps of the Temple of Illhan the Binder that I posted to the blog a decade ago. A few people suggested that I take those old maps and draw them in my new style.

In the hills of Urh, a halfling village has recently discovered the ruins of an ancient temple. The church of law in Oakridge knew what this meant – they had rediscovered the razed temple of the B...

Crowned Hill

The menhirs of Crowned Hill have been here for a few decades – erected by an order of druids who come out from the nearby farming communities for their rituals, gatherings, and occasional parties.

The hill has a set of six menhirs set atop it, with two more marking the way up the hillside. Slightly behind the menhirs is a low, wide dolmen used as a ritual table, altar, and honestly just a place to put down the mead when you need to gesticulate with abandon to really get a point across...

Hey, that was July, right?

That was a rough July over here. Between pandemic exhaustion and work and working on our house, we've been a bit overwhelmed chez Dyson the last little while. To be honest, without your help I don't know how we would have gotten through the whole month.

I've got four maps drawn for August, but that's nowhere near the 9-10 that will be released over the month so I'll be working on them as we go....

Release the Kraken on Springhollow!

Every month we go through our back catalog of maps and you vote on which two should be re-released under the free commercial use license. Today’s selection is one of the oldest settlement maps I’ve published (just over seven years ago). It was drawn with a black gel pen in a small notebook, so the quality isn’t quite at the level of my more recent work - but I did upgrade the resolution and clean up the scan.

Considering how much I love urban adventures, I definitely don�...

The Deep Shrine of Durritlámish

In the Desert of Eyági near Fasiltúm is an ancient shrine of Durritlámish, the Black Angel of the Putrescent Hand, Opener of Catacombs. Little of the shrine remains above the desert sands beyond fallen pillars and a few cyclopean stone blocks that frame an archway and stairs leading down beneath Eyági.

Sand and small stones have infiltrated the underground shrine down these stairs, but the structure is such that most has fallen in the deep central chamber, 60 feet below the base of ...

Cult Basement

The Communion of the Gold Hand doesn’t appear all that secretive. The members (mostly merchants, traders, importers and exporters) each wear a golden ring set to look like a hand is holding the band of the ring and attend small gatherings at the Communion headquarters on Bell Street.

Beneath the Communion headquarters is a much larger structure with permanent guards, temple staff, and a few members of the Communion who have become “changed” through their rituals and magics. Becaus...

Release the Kraken on the Four Pagodas of Kwantoom

Every month we go through our back catalog of maps and the many amazing supporters of the blog over on Patreon vote on which two should be re-released under the free commercial use license. Today’s selection is interesting because it is based on the results of a random adventure generator – Mad Monks of Kwantoom.

My love of Kabuki Kaiser’s solo D&D masterpiece “Mad Monks of Kwantoom” isn’t much of a secret. So when I saw Tim Hartin of Paratime Design playing a g...

The Stepped Pyramid

Stepped Pyramids are a perennial favourite adventure location – usually hidden away in deep jungles as left over reminders of ancient civilizations. Some are still in use by the original builders, others have been adopted by whatever throwback civilization has taken over the location or inherited it from their more advanced and knowledgeable forebears.

The stepped pyramid has three interior levels, reached by an access at the top of the pyramid proper – so pull on your “boots, tal...

The Moathouse Dungeons

While I often point to In Search of the Unknown as one of my favourite and ideal dungeon adventures (since it comes unstocked, even the “empty” rooms have a nice description), there is no denying that T1 Village of Hommlet is a near perfect module all the way through. While studying what makes it tick so well, I decided to spend a day focused entirely on the dungeon level and how it comes together. And there’s nothing that gives me a better feel for a dungeon than sitting down and drawi...

My Sumerian Summer Home

The current Neoclassical Geek Revival game I’m playing in is set in a neo-Mesopotamian pastiche. A land of deserts and mountains where cities are built up on mounds made of the crumbled bricks of the buildings that came before. Strange desert gods and Conan-inspired snake religions compete for worshipers and the dead. Deep in the desert, ancient cities are buried under waves of sand.

Combined with my existing interest in the Babylonian and Sumerian mythoi (and love of ziggurats), I st...

The Vrock Cave

(Please note that the version of this map in this month's Backstage Pass accidentally didn't include the grid - the version on the blog today has both the gridded and gridless versions of the map.)

Beyond the low, wide gap in the stone is a vaulted cavern – dark and reeking of excrement. Deep within the cavern there is a shrine to a foul demon that is said to grant knowledge and power over the arcane to those who would pledge their souls to it. But the demonic shrine brings i...

The Bottomless Tombs – Part 3

While a number of the old shaft tombs of the Etturan Dynasty have been found and explored, there is one that remains a well-kept secret amongst sages, masters of dark arts, and the few adventurers who have been there. Possibly the original shaft tomb of the dynasty, or perhaps a strange discovery that became the inspiration for the ones to come – the Bottomless Tombs seem to have earned their name.

This set of interconnected crypts and ossuaries starts out on a thin ledge 50 feet belo...

Voting time for July's "Release the Kraken"!

Every month we poll you, the amazing people supporting my work, to determine which maps should be pulled out of the archives and re-released under a free commercial use license.

This month I've pulled ten maps to choose from - the two receiving the most votes will be re-released towards the end of the month. 

Click on the link to get to the poll.

2020-07-13 16:00:45 +0000 UTC View Post

Five Shops along Moonset Street

Here we have a collection of five mercantile businesses along the south side of Moonset Street. These are fairly traditional business designs – in most cases there is no access to the interior of the business for shoppers and they instead interact through the long shop windows.

From left to right we have:

First Building – Front – Cloth Shop

This shop mostly deals in lengths and bolts of cloth, imported and domestic. They also provide some dressmaking and tai...

The Warlock’s Arms

Just inside the north gate of the city is the Warlock’s Arms, a small inn that relies on their reputation for excellent stabling to attract out of towners. The inn has stabling for 13 horses as well as enough room for a few coaches in the courtyard, as well as five guest rooms ranging from single rooms to triples, and one room with a vestibule for those who travel with a servant or man-at-arms.

Tavarel, the one-eyed wiry owner in her mid-40s, is gruff but welcoming – she enjoys hear...

July 2020 Backstage Pass

Hello mighty patrons! Thanks again to your support, we've got a collection of ten maps going out over the course of July. I've already released the first one of the month (the Gladiator's Temple, inspired by Mythic Odysseys of Theros which I had the pleasure of doing maps for).  

Your support makes this possible. Thank you and I hope you enjoy this selection of maps.

Gladiator’s Temple

The digital version of Mythic Odysseys of Theros is out (but the print edition has been delayed by some sort of global pandemic). In that book I did maps of temples and temple-like structures of all the gods of the setting. For this piece, I wanted a slightly smaller structure – a minor temple of Iroas in human form where warriors and gladiators go to seek inner balance and blessings before battle.

While Iroas is normally depicted as a centaur, as the god of noble warriors minor templ...

Dark Stalker's Ascent

The dark creepers occasionally strike out from a cave not quite far enough away from the Blue Gods’ Step Well. That step well bears the blessing of the blue gods, and thus always has water even in the driest seasons. Thus, this year the villagers find themselves walking the 90 minutes to the well every day and those who would do so in the cooler night hours have been found slain and mutilated, their smallest fingers removed.

Someone needs to go to the cave where the dark creepers are ...

Release the Kraken on Vigilance Trail!

Every month we go through our back catalog of maps and the many amazing supporters of the blog over on Patreon vote on which two should be re-released with free use license. This wasn’t one I honestly expected there to be a big demand for – it is a rough map of an area known as the Vigilance Trail. I like using maps like this for regional exploration because they work well as handouts also.

This is a somewhat rough and quick map of the Vigilance Trail as it comes down from Raven’s...

Dungeons of the Ghost Tower of Inverness

When my friend Andy was discussing his D&D campaign and how they were going to take on the classic weird funhouse adventure of “The Ghost Tower of Inverness”, the discussion moved to the maps in that classic adventure.

I find that the non-repro blue maps of the old school modules is difficult to read, and in Andy’s case, also difficult to use in a VTT environment. So one afternoon as we were chatting, I put together this redraw of the map from that classic adventure.

Unl...

A Maze of the Dead.

There is gold in the maze – it litters the floor and you can just pick up coin after coin as you run through the halls.

And you will run – because the maze is haunted by three fierce and jealous specters (and a fourth slightly less fierce spectre). At four points in the maze there are fonts of holy oil, each containing a small amount that can temporarily enchant a weapon to deal with these spectres.

In the centre of the structure is a single large chamber where the corpses of ...

Release the Kraken on the Infested Hall

In the lowest chambers of the ancient complex is a great hall now known as “the infested hall”. A two-level chamber cut into the depths. The original chamber had a small reflecting pool at one end that was used primarily for religious and ceremonial purposes but that was also a backup water supply for the complex. When the complex was sacked and destroyed, the hall was used as a latrine by invading forces and the reflecting pool broken allowing water to seep into the rest of the chamber.<...

Return to Linyaró!

On the known maps of Tekumel (the world of the Empire of the Petal Throne RPG), Linyaró is just a dot on the distant southwest edge of the map – one of three colonies on the Ashge Peninsula of the “Southern Continent”, and the toehold of the Tsolyani Empire upon those lands.

It is a fairly well-established colony that has already outgrown the original colony city walls and is now pushing against the new walls. It isn’t old enough to have experienced a Ditlana yet (where section...