D&D General Maps, Maps, Maps! Dungeons, Ruins, Caverns, Temples, and more... aka Where Dyson Dumps His Maps.

Sugar Dates & Figs! Sugar Dates & Pistachios!

Back to the shops along the intersection of Market & Random. Based on a Patreon request from Mark Clover, I’m drawing up individual floor plans for a number of shops, stores, vendors, and businesses along a single market block. As I draw these, I also have the overhead views drawn out on a map of the city block as I go, so when the series is complete you can use them on their own, or as a fully mapped out block of shops.

This is our fourth shop on the street, sitting on the east side of Market Street (so the street is on the left on these maps, and the storage yard is behind the building on the right) – our local fruit vendor who of course has a barker working out in the open air portion under the pergola shouting the above mentioned advertisements for sugar dates, figs, and pistachios.

This is a very small shop, combining living quarters and storefront on the ground floor, with a low-ceilinged attic above used for storage (mostly of shelf-stable products like nuts). The owner brings in fruit from several farms in the area, as well as regularly importing goods via local ship and caravan traffic.

The ground floor is effectively divided into four sections from left to right.

First we have the open air shop space under a pergola roof to provide some shade (although no protection from rain). This is where the “Sugar Dates and Figs! Sugar Dates and Pistachios!” barker operates, and where most sales take place from wooden baskets of fruits and nuts.

Next is the indoor shop where fruit that is to be protected from the elements is kept, as well as where most business is handled during inclement weather.

In the back half of the building, we have a bit of storage for excess stock to be moved up front during the day, the small apartment of the owner, and a tiny garderobe with a chamber pot that gets emptied in the street every morning before business starts.

Finally, in the back of the shop, we have a storage yard that often reeks of rotten fruit, where local urchins know they can pinch a few bites when needed and won’t get chased off as long as they don’t overdo it.

The 1200 dpi versions of the map were drawn at a scale of 300 pixels per square and are 9,600 x 3,600 pixels (32 x 12 squares). To use this with a VTT you would need to resize the squares to 70 pixels (for 5′ squares) – so resizing the image to 2,240 x 840 pixels.

Loving the shops! You need someplace to duck into to lose a tail!

Hammerhead Loans

Back to the shops along the intersection of Market & Random. Based on a Patreon request from Mark Clover, I’m drawing up individual floor plans for a number of shops, stores, vendors, and businesses along a single market block. As I draw these, I also have the overhead views drawn out on a map of the city block as I go, so when the series is complete you can use them on their own, or as a fully mapped out block of shops.

This is our fifth shop on the street, sitting on the west side of Market Street just south of the Golden Fish Market. Hammerhead Loans is a stout, flat-roofed, stone structure with heavy security features and a basement vault for storing valuables.

While the name of the establishment focuses on loans, the primary business here is money changing – converting gems to cash and dealing with converting coins from one denomination to another (at a 7% fee, of course). Hammerhead Loans will also keep a person’s wealth stored safely (no guarantees explicit or implied) at no charge if left for at least two months, otherwise at a 10% fee. Of course, this is to fund their loans business (at a 10% monthly interest rate) – loans of up to 10gp can be obtained without a security deposit (if the clerk feels the client is up for it), and larger loans require collateral valued at twice the loan amount.

There are two entrances into the building. The back door is barred and locked at all times and is used exclusively by staff – and even then it is preferred that they use the front door. All doors within the structure’s ground and basement levels are locked at all times. The front door leads to a security vestibule where a cleric is on guard behind a window who can unlock the door into the main antechamber. The main room is where clients interact with the obese and ancient clerk (a retired wizard with some reasonably useful magics for dealing with frauds and fakers).

The basement contains the vaults – a few larger vaults as well as a number of smaller locked coffers containing coins, gems, and other valuables. There may or may not be a few skeletons buried in the walls here…

The 1200 dpi versions of the map were drawn at a scale of 300 pixels per square and are 6,600 x 7,800 pixels (22 x 26 squares). To use this with a VTT you would need to resize the squares to 70 pixels (for 5′ squares) – so resizing the image to 1,540 x 1,820 pixels.

Iseldec’s Drop – Levels 13-16

We are beyond the halfway point in Iseldec’s drop – several hundreds of feet below the ruins above – the sun doesn’t ever reach down this far and is never directly overhead of the shaft – on the brightest days the only sign that there is an end to the shaft is the small circle of light far above.

These levels have stairs up to level 12, and thus are accessible to those creatures that come in via the doorway on that level. The four levels here are connected by stairs and caves as well as the central shaft, but there are no connectors except for the shaft from level 16 to level 17.

The stream of water that entered the dungeon on level 8 continues to pour down the shaft through these levels until it is caught on a lower level coming next month.

Level 15 on this map is the first level that exceeds the 160 foot x 160 foot area of the other levels, with a cave reaching east past those arbitrary limits. These levels are a mix of partially ruined and collapsed dungeons of otherwise remarkable stone work, and natural caves that have evidently had their floors smoothed to make them more traversable (much like classic TV show caves with their smooth sandy floors with the occasional “natural” steps up and down between sections).

Many of the “dungeon” sections here are badly damaged, with collapsed walls and ceilings, including the central shaft itself on levels 13-14-15.

Of particular note on these levels we have a collapsed section of level 13 that is only accessible from level 14; a shattered pool that still has a trickle of liquid in it on that same level; a collapsed semi-circular hallway on level 14 that is overlooked by a row of statues of forgotten persons all dressed in near-identical uniforms of unknown origin; and on level 16 there is a very heavy hemp rope attached to a ring in the wall that then descends into the shaft to unknown depths. This rope feels extremely heavy if pulled upon (as it descends all the way down to the bottom of the shaft on level 23).

The 1200 dpi versions of the map were drawn at a scale of 300 pixels per square and are 9,600 x 9,600 pixels (32 x 32 squares). To use this with a VTT you would need to resize the squares to either 70 pixels (for 5′ squares) or 140 pixels (for the recommended 10‘ squares that make sense with the design) – so resizing the image to 2,240 x 2,240 pixels or 4,480 x 4,480 pixels, respectively.

Graxworm Map 8 – Spinal Mine

The Graxworm is a massive dead dragon of mythic scale, several miles long and large enough to contain a town in the mouth. Creatures have set up here to “mine” the massive corpse for its valuable materials – leather, scales, ichor, tendons, and more. Practically every bit has some value to someone, and in the long term the expectation is that nothing will remain, not even the massive bones. Just to drive home the scale of the Graxworm, today we are examining one of the spines along the fell beast’s back where mining operations have been set up.

Atop the Graxworm corpse are these massive spines along the dorsal vertebrae. These served the great worm as defensive spikes as well as seeming to gather magical and elemental energies in life. As such, they seem to be separate from the typical bones of the corpse and are of a harder material still imbued with residual elemental energies (when storms come through these mountains, lightning will repeatedly strike the dorsal spines and they can seem to glow during these events).

Not all the spines have been mined, but a few have. The material of the spine is softer on the inside than the outer edge, and the core seems to hold the most “energy” so mining operations initially focus on this part of the spine before gradually breaking down the entire spine leaving a gaping hole in the vertebrae below. This is an example of one such mine that cuts up from one of the beast’s cervical vertebrae into the spine above and breaks through the hard outer shell of the spine in three places (providing an impromptu watch platform as well as allowing for fresh air to circulate into the structure.)

The stairs and platforms are made from bone also, with leather ropes to raise and lower loads to the vertebrae below and then down to the main passage in the throat.

The Graxworm Megadungeon was proposed to me by Gallant Knight Games – a dungeon set within the corpse of a dragon some seven miles in length. If I were to map out the whole thing we’d be looking at a good 100+ maps, so instead we’ll be focusing on points of interest as a sort of “point crawl” megadungeon setting. We’ll be posting a few maps in the set every month for… well… quite some time!

The 1200 dpi versions of the map were drawn at a scale of 300 pixels per square and are 10,200 x 13,200 pixels in size (34 x 44 squares). To use this with a VTT you would need to resize the squares to either 70 pixels (for 5′ squares) or 140 pixels (for the recommended 10′ squares) – so resizing it to either 2,380 x 3,080 or 4,760 x 6,160 pixels, respectively.

Graxworm Map 9 – Watch Tower Base

The Graxworm is a massive dead dragon of mythic scale, several miles long and large enough to contain a town in the mouth. Creatures have set up here to “mine” the massive corpse for its valuable materials – leather, scales, ichor, tendons, and more. Practically every bit has some value to someone, and in the long term the expectation is that nothing will remain, not even the massive bones. We’re returning to the head of the beast for the next two maps – exploring a watch tower built into one of the horns atop its head.

A pair of horns on the head of the Graxworm have been converted into watch towers to provide an eagle’s eye from the highest point in the region. As the enclave within the Graxworm has grown larger and more organized, the towers have added aeries for flying mounts, with quarters for their riders separate from the barracks of regular watch troops that maintain the tower. The riders look down on the barracked troops because they don’t ride their great winged mounts, and the troops generally laugh it off since the riders have taken over most of their work, making this posting a quiet opportunity to play dice and cards and to occasionally make the long trek up the stairs to the watch above.

Getting up to the watch involves climbing up the long stairs through the skull of the Graxworm. Two sets of stairs meet in the upper recesses of the skull and then climb further into the horn – one comes up from the eye socket and the other from the council chambers. There’s a small chamber where the two stairs meet, but it is empty and unguarded (and not on this map). Getting from horn to horn involves either climbing down to the council chambers (the long route), or walking across the top of the skull from one tower to the next.

The Graxworm Megadungeon was proposed to me by Gallant Knight Games – a dungeon set within the corpse of a dragon some seven miles in length. If I were to map out the whole thing we’d be looking at a good 100+ maps, so instead we’ll be focusing on points of interest as a sort of “point crawl” megadungeon setting. We’ll be posting a few maps in the set every month for… well… quite some time!

The 1200 dpi versions of the map were drawn at a scale of 300 pixels per square and are 10,200 x 13,200 pixels in size (34 x 44 squares). To use this with a VTT you would need to resize the squares to either 70 pixels (for 5′ squares) or 140 pixels (for the recommended 10′ squares) – so resizing it to either 2,380 x 3,080 or 4,760 x 6,160 pixels, respectively.

Graxworm Map 10 – Watch Tower Upper Levels

The Graxworm is a massive dead dragon of mythic scale, several miles long and large enough to contain a town in the mouth. Creatures have set up here to “mine” the massive corpse for its valuable materials – leather, scales, ichor, tendons, and more. Practically every bit has some value to someone, and in the long term the expectation is that nothing will remain, not even the massive bones. We’ve returned to the head of the beast for these next two maps – exploring a watch tower built into one of the horns atop its head.

A pair of horns on the head of the Graxworm have been converted into watch towers to provide an eagle’s eye from the highest point in the region. These upper levels were cut into the horn before the aeries were added to the base of the structure. As such, these levels are rarely used by the troops below, as the flying mounts of the new patrols allow them to see from higher above, or just fly up to the top level of the horn to watch over the area without climbing the seemingly interminable stairs.

However, a few of the troops from below took this posting specifically because it is a quiet one that leaves them time to do what they please. Thus a few have set up for themselves in the watch level where they only come down once or twice a week to acquire rations and water (when they can’t convince the riders to carry up a snack or two for them). They spend their days in quiet personal time – one working on a map of the Graxworm from memory and time spent in the tunnels (and a lot of conjecture as they’ve spent no real time in the depths of the corpse); the other reading whatever books and scrolls they can get their hands on. They rarely go up to the nest level except on exceptionally nice days, leaving it to the rider patrols as a place to rest their mounts.

The Graxworm Megadungeon was proposed to me by Gallant Knight Games – a dungeon set within the corpse of a dragon some seven miles in length. If I were to map out the whole thing we’d be looking at a good 100+ maps, so instead we’ll be focusing on points of interest as a sort of “point crawl” megadungeon setting. We’ll be posting a few maps in the set every month for… well… quite some time!

The 1200 dpi versions of the map were drawn at a scale of 300 pixels per square and are 10,200 x 13,200 pixels in size (34 x 44 squares). To use this with a VTT you would need to resize the squares to either 70 pixels (for 5′ squares) or 140 pixels (for the recommended 10′ squares) – so resizing it to either 2,380 x 3,080 or 4,760 x 6,160 pixels, respectively.

Longboat Mountain – Red Eagle Tower

Perched on the rugged cliffs on the east face of Longboat Mountain, Red Eagle Tower overlooks the lands below and in turn is overlooked by the goblins in the caves above. Constructed from the deep red rock quarried from the mountain proper, the tower’s hue provides a striking contrast to the trees and moss-covered weathered rock that surrounds it. Built by the Order of the Aerie Sentinels ages past, the tower was constructed under the guidance of the mage-architect Thalorien Redfeather as a strategic defence point over the lands while also securing one of the ways into the Silver Stair that climbs the heart of Longboat Mountain (the secret door on the main level walls that leads into the mountain – which remains unknown to the current residents).

Today Red Eagle Tower is “ruled” by “Lord” Galru the Sly. Once a lowly bandit on the run from the trading community of Hillen’s Mills, Garrick’s cunning and ruthlessness saw them collect enough other outlaws and thieves in their entourage to become a lord among bandits. Not a large human, Galru is still imposing due to their sharp eyes and the air of confidence they cloak themselves in. Galru’s attire is a mix of finery stolen from nobles and practical gear suited for battle. A red cloak, a nod to the tower’s name, drapes over their leather armour and they are rarely seen without their signature blade – a long knife with a pommel shaped like an eagle’s head.

Under Lord Galru’s rule, the Red Eagle Tower has become a bandit stronghold. The fort at the base of the tower has been repurposed as a training ground and to store ill-gotten gains (although no training is done in the courtyard at night, as the goblins above are known to throw stones, garbage, and even weapons down the hillside to attempt to hit any bandits). While a base bandit, Galru thinks of themself as a lord by right of conquest, and plans to expand well beyond the tower and mountain and make claim to the towns that once chased them out.

There is no postern gate into the small fort at the base of the tower (the secret passage to the Silver Stair served as such for the Order of the Aerie Sentinels). The ground level of the tower is not accessible from here, and instead one must enter it via the upper level of the fort and climb back down from there. The walls on the main level are always patrolled by a few bandits (although they stick to the east side at night to avoid goblin surprises from above). Spiral stairs along the centre of the tower climb from the base to the parapets above. Another curved staircase leads to the tower basement and dungeons (to be detailed in our next map).

The 1200 dpi versions of the map were drawn at a scale of 300 pixels per square and are 10,200 x 13,200 pixels in size (34 x 44 squares). To use this with a VTT you would need to resize the squares to either 70 pixels (for 5′ squares) or 140 pixels (for the recommended 10′ squares) – so resizing it to either 2,380 x 3,080 or 4,760 x 6,160 pixels, respectively.

Longboat Mountain – Red Eagle Dungeons

Beneath Red Eagle Tower on the face of Longboat Mountain are the necessary dungeons for such a structure. These dungeons again show off the red stone of the mountain as the tower above (except the caves where the stone has darkened with age and exposure).

There are three levels to these dungeons, but the bottom level is not known to Galru the Sly, the resident bandit lord and their retinue.

The upper level is the dungeons – starting with the basement of the tower proper that is used for storage of ill-gotten goods and sometimes foodstuffs when they have enough. Stairs lead down a lower basement here, and a passage leads to the dungeons. The dungeons are four “secure” cells cut into the rock, as well as three cage cells with metal bars separating them into individual spaces. If anyone in these cells gets too annoying or loud, they get moves to the stone cells, and if anyone in there really gets on the guards’ nerves, they get moved to the level below.

The middle level is the Oubliettes. A small secondary guardroom sits under the dungeons guard room here, and is connected to five small, rough, stone cells where prisoners can be forgotten and left to rot, fed on occasion when someone remembers to. Down here on the oubliette level is a secret guard room (looted and abandoned) with stairs down to a locked door that is rusted shut on the level below…

The lowest level is a set of caves that open up to a ledge about forty feet above the mountain path that leads up to Red Eagle Tower. While a few of the bandits have tried exploring the small cave outlet, they stopped when they got to the end of the passage that is choked with fallen stone – it takes some dedicated crawling and squirming to get to the damp caves beyond… and anyways, there’s obviously the den of some large animal right before the collapse, and you probably don’t want to be in here when it comes home.

The 1200 dpi versions of the map were drawn at a scale of 300 pixels per square and are 9,000 x 13,200 pixels in size (30 x 44 squares). To use this with a VTT you would need to resize the squares to either 70 pixels (for 5′ squares) or 140 pixels (for the recommended 10′ squares) – so resizing it to either 2,100 x 3,080 or 4,200 x 6,160 pixels, respectively.

Scavengers’ Deep – Map 8

The Scavengers’ Deep is a reminder of the amount of work that went into underground structures during the great war. Generally, the elves only built underground when hiding their breeding and research facilities, whereas the forces of the kingdoms, assisted by the dwarves, were constantly building underground as the elves were unrelenting and would completely raze any surface defences that they defeated.

But the structures now known as the Scavengers’ Deep are atypical, an elven complex mixing some (ruined) surface structures, natural caves, and significant sprawling underground complexes dedicated to research, training, and breeding their slave species.

This is the eighth map in the Scavengers’ Deep series – sitting east of Map 4 and south of last month’s Map 7, and is significantly more connected to the rest of the Deep compared to map 7. This region of the deep is a mix of caves and elven structures that twine around and over said.

Connections between this map and the other portions of the Deep are few – the complex here is reached via the two passages from the small complex at the south end of Map 7 or via the cave on the west side that leads to Map 4 – in effect both of these lead to the same cave that crosses between Maps 3 & 4 before splitting off into these two routes to this complex. The main point of access for the complex will be detailed in a later map, as the complex leads off to the east side of this map to an area that will be drawn out in the coming months.

The complex proper was used by one of the elven factions in their arcane experiments. The sublevels on the west side include a shaft that has a massive deep red magical crystal harvested from one of the scarlet hells that is “tapped” at the base by a pair of conduits that don’t seem to draw or feed anything to or from the crystal anymore. Evidently there was a similar crystal in the second shaft, but there are just a small number of shards there now (nowhere near enough to be the remains of such a crystal, mind you).

The upper level of the western side of the complex here had some sort of guard animal in it (evidenced by a massive chain with a broken collar on the floor) and a number of pits / shafts leading back down to the main level below. A secret room off to the south was some sort of magical laboratory, with a much smaller piece of the deep red crystal smoothed into a near-perfect egg shape hovering in the air over a lighter red stone platform covered in sigils of the scarlet hells.

Twisting around and beneath the structures are a number of narrow caves and a small underground stream (coming from the west side) that fills a shallow pool before extending off the south side of the map towards Map 9 (and eventually to the waterfall into the pool in Map 6).

The 1200 dpi versions of the map were drawn at a scale of 300 pixels per square and are 14,400 x 14,400 pixels (48 x 48 squares) in size. To use this with a VTT you would need to resize the squares to either 70 pixels (for 5′ squares) or 140 pixels (for the suggested 10′ squares that this is designed around) – so resizing it to either 3,360 x 3,360 or 6,720 x 6720 pixels in size, respectively.