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Angarth Citadel

In the old battlegrounds of Four Demons Gorge are the ruins of many goblin fortresses and structures. Few survived the ravages of the goblins and the occasional incursions of the elven warlords that swept in to keep the goblin hordes in check.

Angarth Citadel stands to this day, cut into the gorge wall between Stone’s Throw Divide and Little Black Stream. Obviously constructed in some manner not typical of goblin-kin, the outer structure appears to be molded directly from the ston...

The Crystalline Tavern of the Plains of Endless Salt

When Wayne from Wayne's Books asked for a map of something made of an unusual material... I ended up drawing a crystal tavern. 

No matter how ridiculous the setting, the PCs are going to go looking for a tavern. So here is a tavern sitting on the Plains of Endless Salt, baking under the nine suns of one of the nameless Violet Hells.

The tavern isn’t a large establishment, but the unique structure makes it memorable, and any source of liquid on the plains of endless salt would seem...

Monastery of the Sixfold Path

The Cenobites of Six are a communal order of monks and mystics dedicated to learning and understanding the six virtues of the Lord in Viridian. The main practicing base of the order is known as the Monastery of the Sixfold Path – a squat hexagonal pillar of greenish stone constructed almost like a honeycomb within.

Within the Monastery of the Sixfold Path, the Cenobites of Six maintain their libraries of lore, their main practicing chamber, and their individual cells. Stepped gard...

What Terror Lurks in Grizzly Eye Cave?

The locals call it Grizzly Eye Cave because it doesn’t take much imagination to see the small hill it is in as the head of a bear when coming towards it from the south along the Glohs Tributary. It is a bit of a tight fit to get into the cave initially, but over the ages it has seen a lot of use both by animals and locals both because of the very defensible entrance tunnel and the freshwater stream that runs through the cave below.

At one time a significant amount of (magical) work was put i...

The June Krakening Poll!

And here's the choices for the June "Release the Kraken". Except that I've been replaying Borderlands the Pre Sequel lately and now all I can think of is "The Krakening".

https://goo.gl/forms/B0vHImsLMNLWPwA72

I'll leave it open for about 2 weeks then collect the results and release a few more old maps under the commercial license!

Thanks again for your support folks!

BackStage Pass - June 2017

Let's get this summer show on the road!

The June Backstage Pass is here folks - nine more maps for your enjoyment. This month we have two sections of the "My Private Jakalla" project (and the progress / connection map that shows where they go - one is specifically an "in-fill" piece to make the structures more convoluted and a bit tighter feeling than they were getting), a pair of "classic" small cave dungeons, a pirate cove, a city map, and a pair of unusual buildings.

I'll post this mo...

Slow start this month!

I try to start each month out with the backstage pass, hopefully the Release the Kraken Poll, and then the first map release on the first Friday or Tuesday of the month.

But this past month has challenged me with some major commission work that I just finished off last night / this morning. So today is being spent slaving over the scanner and catching up on last month's emails and other work. Expect the backstage pass to come out in the next 36 hours, immediately followed by the "Friday Map", ...

My Private Jakalla Map 1J

And as we close out May, it is beyond time that we get back under the city streets of my Tekumel underworld map. The goal of this long-term project is to make a large set of maps that interconnect to produce something thematically similar to the original Jakallan Underworld map that M.A.R. Barker used in his Empire of the Petal Throne games.

This map is much simpler than most of the others in the set and is focused around the main sewer line and three temple connections. The lower c...

Release the Kraken on the Three Underworld Temples!

A pantheon of three gods in the underworld are worshiped within these cavern temples converted from caves near the dwarven city of Kuln.

In the central gallery of the cavern a massive stone temple has been built up out of stone quarried from the far reaches of the mountains in very dark and pale shades of grey. This is the temple of the lord of construction, crafts, and stowaways and is the main focus of the complex. The administrative priest of the temple maintains his chamber with...

Fall of the Azurite Sanctuary

Those travelling in boats past the Isle of Vines can often see the ruins near the shores, barely visible underneath the green vines of the island’s name. When the sun is just right though, one particular set of ruins flashes brilliantly blue – the old Azurite Sanctuary.

The Azurite Sanctuary sits near the western cliffs overlooking the only bay on the island. A small tower and the impression of a larger lower structure is all that’s visible from the water. Once the retreat of ...

Secret of the Ennos Estate

On the south side of Dawnharbor, near the Fairie’s Citadel, is the small Ennos Estate – a pleasant two-story stone house with fenced in front yard and decorative shrubberies. Klebor and Manfred Ennos, both eligible bachelors of the city’s landed gentry, keep to themselves generally and only the younger brother Manfred is ever seen at the local drinking establishments (although it is rumoured that Klebor is a member of the Order of Ochre and Garnet).

The house includes guest fa...

Release the Kraken upon Granitespire!

Granitespire is a city that I really like, but never got a chance to use in game even though I drew it back in 2013. It is also the home of my favourite guild of silver and cloth merchants - the monkeys of Granitespire.

So thanks to your support and votes, we are releasing the map under a free commercial use license!

https://rpgcharacters.wordpress.com/2017/05...

Dawnharbor

Facing east towards a volcanic island just over the horizon, the fortified city of Dawnharbor earns its name because of the astounding sunrises seen from the mountains along the region. Dawnharbor itself is tucked into a low outlet where the Hero’s Branch river crawls out of the mountains and into the sea.

Built around a number of fortifications, the city has seen several stages of growth and multiple curtain walls have been built to defend the city as it grew. The most visible fo...

The Crowspine Labyrinth

(Patrons - please note that the version of this map in the backstage pass is upside down!)

Cut into the cliffs under and around Cliffstable on Kerstal are a number of old dig sites where miners extracted emeralds for several years from twisting and confusing mines. When the mines were played out some sections were converted into crypts, others into storage areas… and the Crowspine Mine was “upgraded” into the Crowspine Labyrinth by a clan of homesick dwarves who have not been se...

Restless Hollow

When strange plague struck the Archons of the Temple of Ilunezor the Bronze Collared, their curative magics failed them but their auguries showed of a place south of the temple where a small underground spring and stream was found to have the cure for their illness.

Over the years afterwards, the location of the curative underground spring was dug out and stairs were added down into the lower cave and then up to the small cave where the spring originated. 

With the destru...

Last Stand of the Cloud Giants

We met the cloud giant forces with great magic and fierce determination - repelling them and slaying every massive giant that could be found. The cloud fortress floated away and the giants have not been seen in the kingdom again.

Alas, the assassin caught in the act of slaying Hephran the Red, magus of the 7th order, indicated that he had come from the sky fortress of the cloud giants where he had been tasked with this "job". If any part of the skyfortress still exists, it means tha...

Crypt of the Scarlet Wolf

The sorceries of Delofin Nightsister are the stuff of legend among both the few tiefling families of the Hill Islands, the Hill Island Inquisitors who destroyed the Nightsister clan, and is slowly becoming part of the local folk tales. Legend enough that rumours of her tomb circulate among those seeking mystic powers, ancient spells and curses, and connections to the fell lords that begat the Nightsisters to begin with.

The halfling sage Estendik Tallman has travelled several times ...

Jagged Reef Refuge

At the east end of the city of Dolem’s Spire, rough cliff faces look down on the grey sea below. While this part of the city was built up in recent years from a few old shacks and homes, most residents aren’t aware that those old buildings served their own purpose as the secret access to a small sea cave below that has been used for smuggling and piracy since the foundation of the city itself (and possibly before that).

The cave is known as Jagged Reef Refuge and is used to unlo...

May Backstage Pass & Kraken Poll

Let's get organized and strike two avians with one igneous projectile!

As we roll into May I have to thank you all again for your incredible support and your patience with my ever-slow methods and madness. I'm a bit scattered at the best of times, and sometimes I let things get pretty out of control around me (like almost waiting until the end of April for the release the kraken poll).

Soooo here we are again with a one-two punch.

The first is of course the backstage pas...

Release the Kraken upon Pendershire!

Every month that we keep funding over the $400 mark I sift through my back catalog and bring up a selection of maps that you vote on as to which will be released under the free commercial-use license. This month the second choice was Pendershire from the very first month of when I started this Patreon Campaign.

Pendershire is an inviting community on the edge of the wilderness. This large town deals with hostile humanoid neighbours, unpleasant local fauna and a variety of other mena...

My Private Jakalla - Map 1I

As the month draws to a close, once again we venture deep under the city streets of a yet unnamed city of Tekumel. The goal of this project (started last year) is to produce a large set of maps that interconnect to produce something akin to, but very much different in style from, the original Jakallan Underworld map that M.A.R. Barker used in his Empire of the Petal Throne games.

This particular section of the undercity is broken up into two distinct areas. On the left we have the u...

Release the Kraken on Howling Orc Bridge!

 Every month that Patreon funding remains over the $400 mark I sift through my back catalog and bring up a selection of maps that YOU then vote on as to which will be released under the free commercial-use license. This month the top choice is Howling Orc Bridge which I drew in the summer of 2014.  

The ravine known as Helver’s Cut presents a major obstacle to traffic between the Amber Woods and the port town of Seever’s Mill. The ravine was cut into the landscape by waters from ...

Stutheithland and the Goliath Isle

Named after the primarch of the faith that once unified the region (at least religiously if not politically), sages from afar call the region the Stutheit Peninsula but to those who live here, it is "the Land" and occasionally "Stutheitland". Tales of the peninsula generally focus either on the main trading city of Groveler's Port, the strange "moving mountain" in the interior that seems to have broken free of either the northern barrier mountains or the central mountain range (depending ...

The Terrasse Estate

One of the older estate houses in the city, the Terrasse Estate perches on a small rise, the highest point in the noble district. The grey-brown building itself is of quite old stonework and very small size for a noble estate -making it more interesting for its age than floorplan. 

The estate has been home to a number of noble families throughout the eras of the city, and for the last eighty years it has been home to the governor of the region. If anything, this is part of the ...

April's almost over and I haven't released the krakens yet!

This month seems to be one of constantly falling behind and scrambling to catch up. So, we'd better choose which maps are getting re-released under the free commercial license, eh?

Voting will end on the 26th (one week) and then I'll release the top two maps!

https://goo.gl/forms/ffFMO6doSJD4rvOs2

Rathmore Manse

A pair of squat towers linked by low walls and a bridge, the Rathmore Manse sits on a stony outcrop in the woods just north of the ruined village of Hromustrom. With the foul green dragon living in the ruined village, the old manse has been quiet for years now – perfect for the workings of the foul sorcerer who made it his home.

The old family manse itself is a cold stone structure, with few signs of inhabitation. The south tower has been completely abandoned, the windows boarded ...

The Demons' Hive

A plague of winged demons assaults the land, and brave heroes are needed to assault their home and end their pillaging sorties upon the people.

The foul monsters seem to live in a weird spire of stone – there are two gaps in the structure from which they stage their raids, one only 15 feet above ground level, the other a good 30 feet up.

More concerning to adventurers who come here unprepared is that the many parts of this strange demonic hive are connected by a square verti...

Torlester Hill

Nestled between rough outcrops in the Hadben Badlands on the shore of the Raven’s Sea, the small fortress-city of Torlester Hill acts as a military naval resupply base and home to a number of minor noble households and opportunistic merchants trying to make a few extra coppers by bringing supplies downriver to this rocky hole-in-the-wall.

Torlester Hill has been home to a fortress or another as long as people have known of the place. Over the years the river here has been rerouted...

Elderan Reliquary and Rectory

The Elderan Reliquary shares much with other mid-sized temples in the city, extending even to having a rectory for the wizard-sage Brondianix Serel Oje who maintains both structures and provides tours and information on the various relics and their origins to those interested. 

Unlike most reliquaries, however, the focus of this collection isn't upon holy relics of martyred saints, ancient paladins and long-dead clerics, but bits and pieces of strange hardware and devices that ...

The Ascent to Lucas' Watch

Up along the edge of the cliff face overlooking the Bay of Eels are a set of steep stairs cut into the stone. A number of niches and chambers have been cut into the cliff along these stairs over the years. The top-most of these is a landing and set of chambers known as Lucas’ Watch where the aged Sorcerer-Priest once sat for days at a time watching over the bay or retreating within the cold stone structure within when the weather became too hostile.

The lowest two flights of stair...