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Release the Kraken upon the City of Blue!

This month the "Release the Kraken" voting was on a list of a dozen exclusively urban maps. In the end the top slot was tied between two maps, so it is incredibly convenient that funding was over the $500 mark so both can be released! So today we get The City of Blue!

Ten pillars of pale blue crystal jut straight up from the island that has become the City of Blue in the unimaginatively named Azure Sea (which is actually a massive freshwater lake). The pillars are are almost perfect...

Release the Kraken upon Dolem's Spire!

This month the "Release the Kraken" voting was on a list of a dozen exclusively urban maps. In the end the top slot was tied between two maps, so it is incredibly convenient that funding was over the $500 mark so both can be released! So let's start with Dolem's Spire:

The original city of Dolem’s Spire is between the two rivers leading into the bay. Walled and centred around a palace (now given over to barracks for the town guard and the mercenary force the town uses as an econom...

My Private Jakalla - Map 1G

As we approach the end of January, it’s time to post another piece in the collection of maps of the Jakallan underworld-like project I am taking on. The goal (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 is the seventh map in the set, you can find links to the rest at the blog post.

In t...

The Towers of Barattiel

Beyond the Highlands of Ku are the Shores of Hephron where canyons have been cut into the flinty sands and stone bringing water from the occasional torrential rains of the highlands almost straight down to the Grey Sea.

Along one waterway are a set of natural towers or spires rising up to sixty feet above the shoreline where harder stones resisted erosion... or according to legends of the tribes of Ku, where the angel Barattiel fell from the sky, its wings torn from it by foul elven magics. 2017-01-24 20:00:54 +0000 UTC View Post

The Caverns of Ulthik and the Tree of Stone

A magical stone dragon has hatched in the Ku Highlands - a call for adventure if ever there was one!

The flinty grey sands and basalt promontories of the Ku Highlands make for an inhospitable home to the three highland tribes. The nomadic tribes all share stories of various places of interest that remain slightly taboo to them (with the unspoken reasoning that these are the places where the youth will venture in their personal quests for adulthood and to "break the ...

Lair of the Gargantuan Burrow Owl

“Anyway, 10:30, the other night, I go out in my yard, and there’s the Wurster kid, looking up in those trees. I say, “What are you looking for?” He says “I’m looking for my burrow owl.” I say, “Jumping Jesus on a Pogo Stick. Everybody knows the burrow owl lives. In a hole. In the ground. Why the hell do you think they call it a burrow owl, anyway?”

– “Stuart” by the Dead Milkmen

Recently Glen Welch was posting stuff about the old Gargantua monsters from B...

Jando's Rock - The Ruins of Hejmarko

I originally posted a map of the settlement at Jando’s Arch (officially the town of Hejmarko) back in December of 2015, and several comments across the various media sources commented on how the arch wouldn’t last long because of the river flowing across to the waterfall. Thus, I redrew it during Mapvember, this time following the collapse of the arch.

Hejmarko was built on a natural arch jutting into the Egret Sea. Since the last time the map of the town was posted, the waterfa...

The Goblin Cut Gold Mine

The old “Goblin Cut Gold Mine” is up in the hills, verging on what would traditionally be dwarf territory. But the lack of dwarven interest was appealing to the local lunatic when he found a small gold vein when hunting for some odd minerals required by the local apothecary.

Today, however, the vein is getting harder to trace and the mine has grown from an open pit mine to a three different levels and lines where the vein has been worked since it was found.

The three lev...

Vault of the Ghost King

When the curse of the Naga Reborn was revealed to be creeping through the regions around the Black Mire, sages and dwarves alike brought out the archives of the Ghost King - the warrior-lord who sacrificed even his name in order to end the curse last time.

The problem in replicating his feat, however, is that his ancient palace is lost, his bloodline destroyed, and his tomb lay ever empty.

But Helbret, apprentice to the local sage, is sure that he's figured out where the Ghost...

Release the Kraken! 2017 Urban Edition!

What's the point of releasing all these krakens if they can't menace a city or town or other place full of "innocent" civilians, right?

So this month, all the maps up for RELEASE THE KRAKEN are cities and towns. Right now we are slightly below the $500 mark where I release two maps for the month, but that's probably just because people haven't updated their credit card information (I know I had to do it too - my main card expired on January 1st and I totally forgot about it until th...

Trapped in the Tomb of the 14 Imperial Princesses

In the mountains by the holy city of Thurfei are the tombs of those who have died in the quest to succeed to the Holy Imperial Throne. While there are a number of such tombs that house the dead of noble lineage, only one is said to also contain much treasure.

The Tomb of the 14 Imperial Princesses

When the 14 daughters of the Seventeenth Holy Emperor in Viridian rose up to take the throne from hir, it became less a challenge of assassination of the emperor and more of a power ...

Backstage Pass - January 2017!

Whoa! 

First backstage pass of 2017 is here. Last month's backstage pass included two maps that I didn't end up releasing during the month, and didn't get aroudn to rescheduling yet so they aren't turning up this month either.

Instead you are getting a set of nine maps that haven't seen the pale electron glow of the internet yet. Plus, in a few days, I'll post up this month's RELEASE THE KRAKEN selection - but unlike previous months, I'm going with a theme this time.

Release the Kraken - The Mad Warlock's Dome & Tower

Every month that we keep funding here over the $500 mark we vote on a set of old maps to re-release under the commercial use license on the site. So just in time for New Year’s Eve, here’s the last commercial map release of 2016!

This map was 100% inspired by playing Fallout: New Vegas again (especially the Old World Blues DLC which I think is one of the most interesting DLCs ever released). I wanted an experimental area with an office in a raised position that oversees what’s...

My Private Jakalla - Map 1F

Here we are (once again) finishing off the month with a map of the series creating a massive undercity. The goal 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 is the sixth map in the set, heading to the blog you can get full list of maps in the set.

As this section of the undercity links into the s...

Control

This tomb on the edge of the desert of the gods is the resting place of four Huecuvas of unusual intelligence for their ilk, as well as a few guardian mites that served them in life and still serve them now.

In life the four Huecuvas were warlocks dedicated to four spirit nagas, all children of the same night hag who rode their father (a paladin of great will) relentlessly through the years. While treated as typical huecuvas in most respects, they retain a typical human intelligence...

Release the Kraken - The Ruins of Lawrence Hall

Every month that our funding remains over the $400 mark I sift through my back catalog and bring up a selection of maps that we all vote on as to which will be released under the free commercial-use license. We ended last month at the $500 mark, so I put the roster up with TWO old maps being re-released this month – so for Christmas morning I’m sending out the first; the map that took in the most votes for release this month:

Lawrence Hall was a place of worship dug out of the s...

Mirelyn's Skyrealm Assembed!

’twas the night before Christmas and all through the Skyrealm there was a raucous party!

And why are they partying? Because Mirelyn’s Skyrealm was drawn as my entry in the Cartographers’ Guild “Lite” challenge that ran from November 15 to December 14th. And that version above (with the paper background) won the popular vote and took home the prize!

So to celebrate the win as well as the season, I’m posting both of these combined versions of the maps (B&W withou...

The Buildings of Mirelyn's Skyrealm

(There are three maps in this full post - head over to the blog post at http://wp.me/psUVp-2qo to see the other two because I still haven't figured out how to include in-line images in Patreon's interface... )

So after teasing everyone with the rough maps for the structures of the skyrealm, here they are in the finished glory.

The biggest and most striking structure on the skyrealm is Handau’s Fort which hangs off ...

Mirelyn's Skyrealm - Isometric Overview

Mirelyn’s Skyrealm is also known as the Highplains Community, although that name has mostly been dropped in the last few years. Consisting of three small skyrealms with remarkably flat upper surfaces, the original Highplains settlers linked the three together with bridges to keep them from drifting apart.

The main island was built up by the financiers of the community with a fortress, tower, landing zone and connecting passages between them. These semi-retired adventurers also bro...

Change of Schedule

Backstage Pass Patrons!

After releasing the backstage pass this month, I took on a mapping challenge over at the Cartographer's Guild and the map is so awesome that I'm going to bump two of the maps from this month's rotation to bring this huge multi-part map into the mix instead. 

So in the end, two of the maps in the backstage pass will be bumped to a later month (probably not next month, but sometime coming up). Sorry about that, but sometimes I just create stuff that I can't sit...

Hegruth's Labyrinth

In the valley of the eight spires there was once a massive sandstone labyrinth that separated the various structures here and was part of what made it such a holy site. But in the wars that followed the sundering of the faith, one group of heretics gleefully destroyed as much of the labyrinth as they could - both the natural portions and those worked by centuries of divinely inspired stonemasons.

All that is left of the labyrinth are the piles of rubble slowly disappearing into the ...

The Hall of Daniau the Defender

Old and decrepit stone stairs lead down into this massive hole in land – down to the Hall of Daniau the Defender, last of the knights of the Order of the Ivory Sentinel.

The first side chamber on the descent is barred by a stone door magically closed awaiting the next member of the Order of the Ivory Sentinel to enter. Within is a small bathing chamber on the left followed by a chamber where knights were expected to change into white robes and anoint themselves with sacred oils be...

LEO Workstation J3N-CAD

In a slowly decaying orbit surrounded by debris is Low Earth Orbit Workstation Juliet 3 November CAD. One of the workstation’s four work environments has been blown open to vacuum and failures of various safety systems resulted in extensive damage to the interior of the other compartments and the deaths of many of those stationed on site.

The survivors were loaded aboard two Extra-Station Repair Vehicles that slowly jetted themselves to a nearby workstat consortium. The survivors described a...

Release the Krakens!

 And now, ladies and gentlemen, it is TIME! 

Live from Dyson's Dodecahedron, it is time to bring out not one, but TWO krakens to battle to the death! Or, instead, to be released under the free commercial license.

This month the top two maps chosen in this poll will be released under the Release the Kraken initiative - taken from their "personal use only" license and moved over the the free commercial use license.

So, head through the poll, pick out the one you like best, ...

The Violet Beacon / The Lodestar of Amaranthine Regrets

Jutting out into Green Shallows Lake is an abutment of grey stone capped with an improbable 320 foot tall spire of yellow stone - the Lodestar of Amaranthine Regrets. Fueled by some otherworldly magics, the top of the spire is lit with a watery flame that seems to bubble up from it with a lambent violet light.

Those who travel to the Violet Beacon are watched surreptitiously by the residents of the nearby village, for over the ages a number of warlocks and enchanters have come here seeking dar...

Backstage Pass - December 2016

Oh mighty and generous patrons, I, your lowly cartographer, present to you the collection of maps that will (most likely) appear on the blog throughout the month of December. 

If I stick to my plans. 

Which I'll admit I don't always manage to do.

The Carmine Archives of the Granite Marsh

The northern reaches of the Black Mire were known as Karit Aun to the dwarves of Kuln - the areas where the swamps abutted directly into the foothills of the mountains west of the Ironflow. Karit Aun roughly translates to Stone Waters, but more generally the "Granite Marsh".

One of the outer structures of the Citadel of Kuln was the Carmine Archives, cut into the red granite foothills of the mountain where outsiders could come and study those parts of dwarven lore opened to their perusal. Like...

Release the Kraken - Behemoth Lookout!

The last of the votes were tallied and the second re-release has occured for this month (aka Release the OTHER Kraken!). So we're closing out the month with Behemoth Lookout, originally posted to the blog in April as a personal-use only map now being transfered over to the commercial maps collection!

I look forward to seeing it making appearances in adventures and other publications!

Check it out at http://wp.me/psUVp-2ph

My Private Jakalla - Map 1E

Here we are finishing off the month with map of the series creating a massive undercity. The goal 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 is the fifth map in the set, this tag link will bring you to the full list of maps in the set.

This section of the undercity is mostly sewers and a mix of ruined and ...

The Valley of Burning Orchids (+2 more maps)

(Head over to the blog post -  http://wp.me/psUVp-2p2 - to see all three maps. The one shown above as well as the maps of the Iron House and the Basalt Dome)

There are many tales about the Valley of Burning Orchids and its name. Most are completely made up and have no real sense to them. The Valley appears on most maps of the continent, far into lands that remain uncivilized and mostly unpopulated to this day...