04-Thursday – Maps, layout, Extras

Thursdays we will focus on the extra details such as maps, additional information or details and the layout of the adventure that the party will go through.

The Treetop Town of Newtbranch

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Ahh Thursday is here and as predicted I had little time to fully draw a map. But I had time to sketch what I thought part of the town of Newtbranch would look like. This is enough, in my view, for a DM/GM to orientate themselves and use that to describe what the players see, to give enough detail to temp players to explore and explore and look at the town through their theatre of the mind.

So exploring more on that story telling aspect let’s give that a shot whilst looking through the eyes of a NPC Corben, the merchant that occasions visits the town, and his run in with Alza.

Newtbranch

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Inspiration for todays writeup.. Sometimes a rough sketch is all you need if you are the only one who will see it.

Corben entered the outskirts of Newtbranch just before dusk, the cold autumn light causing the fallen leaves to glow like embers at the base of the ancient swamp trees.

Nodding to the men and women he knew were hidden in the leaf covered branches mid way up one of these massive evergreen trees it took a few tense moments before he heard the telltale crank of a massive dwarven leaver hidden out of sight.
Corben being a regular merchant to Newtbranch tied his single ox light cart to a nearby stump, worn with the use of rope over many years, and unsheathed his scimitar and a small buckler was taken from the tack and harness from his beast of burden.
A few minutes passed and a large platform was lowered to past the treeline. It was large enough for a few carts and the beasts that pulled them but only a fool would assume it safe to bring that much cargo on these roads with that amount of livestock carrying it into this Marsh.
As the platform touched the loamy ground a few fitful shrieks rang forth as mud and leaf covered goblins rushed towards their ticket into the hidden tree town.
Corben, without hesitation, strode forward to meet the handful of goblins and separated one unwary curr from its body as it rushed past the large man. Several other goblins rushed past him but were met by the flashing blades of eleven Guardsman that were defending the platform as Corben’s ox, Rugfurt, was coaxed onto the platform. Corben, noting the dead Goblins and one or two who fled back into the shrub, turned and walked back towards the platform. He was an old hand at this. The Goblins never make it to the platform. As he took a third step towards the hardwood and rope bound lift he noticed a sudden shift in the guards, turning and raising a shield he caught the bite or a large goblinoid creature as the launched itself through the air, gliding on leathery membranes towards him.
Pushed onto his back he felt the mud and ooze instantly penetrate his cloak and fur vest. Pushing back with his strength he realised he was quickly losing the contest of might as a blast of inky smoke struck the beast in the side. A high pitched yelping burst forth from the beast as it whirled towards its attacker, bristly fur located along the.. ridge?.. of its arm standing on end as it launched itself skyward beating small green tinged leathering wings gaining vertical feet with every heartbeat. The sane inky smoke struck it again, this time the tails of smoke wove back to the ground as the magical force wrapped and engulfed the goblinoid-thing and pulled it into the muck. The cracking of bone and wheezing of air could be heard from where Corben lay as the mass seemed to heave and shudder as it shrank. As it shrank the tendrils of dark energy slithered into the mud revealing a goblin with leathery membranes receding into its arms and the remnants of fur and hair falling off over its body revealing green skin.


“A were-bat if I am not misstaken” a voice akin to a snake stated next to him, a hand outstretched belonging to a man in a long dark coat, “Alza, pleased to meet you. Buy me an ale and we will call the bat even” the tall slender man said as he helped Corben up.
“got yerself a deal. Thanks for the assist” Corben replied, checking himself quickly for any bites or scratches that would need investigation.
After giving himself a quick once over himself, his cart and the newcomer, Alza, jumped onto the platform and it was slowly winched through the tree canopy and into Newtbranch.

The platform was gradually winched adjacent to the trunk of the tree where little blue tree newts, the town’s namesake, chased flies and midges across the bark. As the platform came to rest Corben took in the sight of tree trunks cut short to form anchor points for walkways that weaved from tree to tree where buildings were built into the tree or surrounding the living behemoths of the forest.
As his Ox was taken into a hollow in the tree which managed as stables for the very limited amount of large livestock that was allowed in the town Corben led his cart and a few willing townsfolk up a gradual sloping ramp that would take him and his wares to the town hub.
Taking a moment to admire the Autumn colours among the trees he looked across the town in true. To the left against two trees that were wider than he was tall was two houses. People were walking along the rope bridges between the trunk he was standing on and the two houses that were at the end. Across and ahead of him was his destination, Henry’s emporium, where he was to deliver some wares. The building was propped up by several branches that had grown outwards from the wooden beams that formed a platform for the general store. The tree continued up through the natural roof of the building and he could see Henry absent mindedly cleaning dirt and grime from the shop. Opposite it was the Jolly Fandangle. The largest and newest building in the town. This building was a masterwork. Rumour was that Sally had bought wizards and Dwarven and Elven builders in to ensure the Tavern would last for many generations and would be able to support and maintain the towns people within.
At the other end of the rope bridges and walkways was the largest tree in this part of the forest. A large set of stairs wrapped around this tree and houses are built onto the branches all the way up the tree. Some rope lifts were bringing down men and women of the town, most of whom were moving towards the tavern to celebrate, or commiserate a long day in the mines.
Smiling as his cart was taken to Henry’s Emporium he clasped Alza on the shoulder.


“How bout’ that Ale?” Corben asked as he started leading the tall man across a rope bridge
“Yess, what can you tell me about this town..?” Alza said.
“Well.. the people aren’t where the riches are. That lies beneath. The town…” Corben started, opening the door to Jolly Fandangles; he didn’t see the blood chilling grin that the newcomer had on his face as he walked towards a booth, casting glances at Sally from behind the collar of his coat.

Well that’s it for the night. Do come back for some stat blocks for what we know of already and some in others that we should keep in mind just in case the party explore the marshes and get lost.

Thanks for those who have been reading for the past 9 weeks and to those joining recently I have many more adventures to come so keep coming back if you like what I’m putting out there.

If you like anything you see feel free to use it but do let me know how it goes, I’d love to hear stories from my readers!

And as always don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

The Hollow Desert

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Thursday is here and with it comes a few maps. Utilising Azgaars Fantasy map generator again with exploring what we can do with adding a few options on the layers and even importing symbols and labels to customise what was generated. You can also alter some of the boundaries that were spawned for lakes, rivers and oceans.

As with the rest of this week I am trying to keep it rather simple. So I have a overworld map for the continent we have available to us to reference for the players that talks about empires in play – the current main focus is for Biome so we can see where the hot desert is (The Hollow Desert) but you can adjust it to suit your needs. Without talking too much about the tool of the week let’s get into it.

Continent Map

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Continent map – The Hollow Desert is positioned to the south of the Continent and touches the coast and the lake within the Khizdumese Theocracy.

The Hollow Desert

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The three marked or last known camps where Kelsei may be at any one point. The idea behind these three camps is that the party needs to visit all three camps before they find the right one. This has an opportunity for a day of travel across the desert and encounters as they are travelling from place to place. I would have One encounter during travel and one at night the day after when the party are getting ready to rest for the night.

Encounter map – dried river bed

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One of the reason that the gypsies would have left this camp would have been that the water had dried up. The other is what attacks them at night. The inspiration for this map (will link credits to artist below as always!) is a bunch of desert dwelling creatures that attack in the middle of the night – drawn to the food and supplies that the party brings.

Credits to image go to g0dxmode which you can find some of their content here on redit

That’s all we have for tonight. If you do like the maps that have been used have a look at Azgaars Fantasy Map Generator. If you like the maps found online have a look at the artists and do support them if you can, a lot of these maps are free use but the artists skills in producing these can not be contested.

Come back tomorrow night to have a look at the creatures that live within the sands. Bonus points to the people who know the movie scene where I get one of the encounters from.

Don’t forget to come back tomorrow to have a look at what we have for the close of the week and as always don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

Map, map whos got the map…

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Well it looks like my upload of this failed yesterday. So today you are getting two uploads!

Thursday here and probably something that touches the most time consuming part of the role, map creation. Now if you are like me and can describe a room or setting so that people know exactly what lays before them then maps may not be used all the time. But there is nothing like pulling back a curtain, turning on that second webcam or removing the fog of war from a map with your players tokens or miniatures ready to go. The look of awe and excitement is something I still can’t get enough of and what drives me to draw, create and craft terrain and maps for my adventures. As reusable and modular a possible – I’m not a masochist.

So for this week I will have two maps from online phenomenal artists that are just about right for what I envision for the primary encounter, the rest of the journey is up to you the DM/GM and I will update tomorrow with a third map I will create and upload tomorrow (pc isn’t happy with me today…)

The mining village, Mildover

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Image credit to be Miska from Miakasmaps, Please check them out!

Between to mountains the town of Mildover lies in ruins. Recent rain storms have left the only way into the mountainous town flooded with the bridge collapsing long ago. The town lies quiet in ruins, vacant except for the webs. Spiders of all shapes and sizes can be found crawling throughout this valley and the rains only have seemed to being them out more, their long pale threads of silk blanketing the trees on the approach to the town.

A shrine to the dark

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Credit goes to artist Fantasikdod, can be found at on Tumblr here fantasikdod

Deep in the banshee woods lies an ancient elven shrine and at its centre an altar to the gods. Although not as travelled as it used to be the shrine and the surrounding woods are bursting with life during the day, but at night nothing that breathes dare to prance or prowl amongst the moonlight as a different god is worshipped in the dark.

Between pillars elven maidens can be seen to be carved into the stonework and at day they seem peaceful and even jovial. At night one might swear that the pillars sneer and watch those who cross their gaze, a predatory aura of dread washing those who seek solace from the horrors that stalk the woods

Map3

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So to do this map justice I will need my computer and a few hours. I ran this a hybrid of tabletop and theatre of the mind but the setting is such.

Before the party is a well travelled road through the woods. A sign up at the crest of the slight incline reads “Welcome to Starfall; Population 42”. Greeting the party as they reach the top of the incline is a break from the forest they have travelled through for the past two days and the beginning of open fields. Ahead is a small collection of homes and buildings that give Starfall a rustic homely vibe. The open fields continue as far as the eye can see to the right of the dirt road and past the houses a d straight ahead the tall buildings and smoke of a larger town or city can be seen. To the right of the road lays a hastily constructed barrier, rocks and beams of lumber primarily which seems to separate the fields and houses from what used to be fields and a house. Large patches of corn and wheat crops lay decimated so that no stalk of plant can be visible above the ground. Large stones lay at the end or amongst these barren patches and one even is nestled in what remains of a farmhouse. Past this ruined field (300 feet) a living barricade of ancient trees rise from the ground to stand defiantly against civilisation.

Thats it for today, sadly I seemed to have a fe computer issues and this failed to post yesterday, apologies everyone!

Using and creating maps add a certain element to our adventures and can really add something extra for our players. So don’t forget to have a look out there for maps to use, support the artist’s you use maps from or have a go at making your own maps!

As always don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

A room with a view…

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Thursday already, since beginning this blogging journey I can honestly say that the weeks go even quicker – hard to imagine that in a world with COVID and the longest lockdown.. worldwide now I think (as I am in Australia) but there you go.

Today we are looking at a few hand drawn maps that we can send out players to spend a comfortable night in filled with food, beer (or wine), and maybe a bar fight or two. Without too much more chatter let’s roll it up.

Two story Inn

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The concept of rooms for rent upstairs and a bar downstairs is a staple for most inns that are described to our players. This one here proudly sports 7 rooms with a combined total of 15 beds (2 queen sized beds) for any adventuring parties plteasure. Upstairs some rooms are furnished with a table or chairs or both with a centralised stairway going downstaris to the entrance of the inn.

Downstairs, the inn has 2 booths with a table and 4 tables with chairs while at the long bar there is 5 seats available. To the left of the stairs there is a bench where the patrons would checkin to get their room keys, maybe pay any fees or pickup some gear for the followign day. This area has a suitable amount of shelving and tablespace and to the right of this bench space (behind the stairs) there is a storage room where ‘fresh’ cooked food would be kept, perhaps a small hearth under shelving to cook small amounts of food for patrons. Outside there would be a small balcony to support the largest of rooms and to provide some shelter for patrons from the elements.

For a relaxed quite inn this would suit well enough – there is no facilities in here however so that could be a separate room elsewhere for bathing / cleaning purposes. Or perhaps an external room that leads to a cellar where the food is also cooked.

‘Traditional Tavern’

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This Tavern is semi-inspired by some of the artwork found in several D&D publications and has a second layer dedicated to drinking and eating. The ground floor has a lot of communal seating where people could share in platters of food, games of chance or other meriment and along the left wall there are some booths for quiter more private dealings. A large long bar demonstrates that this inn is for drinking and also services a rope basket system for perhaps pulling a smaller bartender (mayhaps a goblin..?) to the second story to service the patrons up there. Behind the bar is a dedicated food and beverage storage room with a double hearth cooks station in the room over.

Upstairs is several smaller tables for more intimate gatherings but the tables could be pushed together at a moments request to get the same vibe as down stairs. A small balcony hovers over the bar underneath so that food and beverages (and perhaps bartenders themselves) could be sent upwards to the second story as to not interupt the flow of drinks and enjoyment on the tavern floor.

There is no place for sleeping here but by increasing the landing along the right hand side of the building and removing the tables and chairs small, perhaps uncomfortably small, lodgings could be provided. Reminds me of times I have stayed in backpackers accomodation actually…

I looked at using some free web based applications to create tonights inns but felt like a personal touch was warranted to get my vision across. Hand drawn on grid paper; which I am almost sorry for – it was a long day at work…, both maps probably took around fifteen minutes to think of, measure and draw (half way through the second map I found my ruler! oops!) but it gave the full flexibility of size and design (and ease of use) that I couldn’t get using software such as inkarnate or one of the several generator applications out there.

Hopefully the maps will give a bit of undersanding into what the layout is for this weeks adventure and I am looking forward to trying to work out the potential encounters tomorrow night that utilise the maps and possible adventures planned.

As always don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

What’s hidden under our feet…

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Thursday already and with it comes maps. Today following the theme of the week we have a look at random generated dungeons, crypts or cellars. Both of these maps were generated using web browser applications and have pros and cons to them.

Without talking too much more let’s have a look at what we are working with today.

The temple of the forgotten

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Perhaps high up in the mountains, or maybe underneath an new building lies a maze of old masonry and mystery. The Temple of the forgotten was generated in donjon and tailored (traps, complexity, etc.) with 4 level 3 party members in mind. However the layout and theme could also be used quite easily as any dungeon or crypt and the ability to download it as a friendly self contained HTML file OR as a PDF is a big win.

Generated in https://donjon.bin.sh/5e/dungeon/

Files for download

temple-of-the-forgotten-PDF fullDownload
temple-of-the-forgotten-player-packDownload

Den of the Cabal

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A hidden trap door, or secret passage way can hide a lot of things. Whether the crafted corridors and rooms are host to dark and vile acts or they are used by the innocent to seek shelter from the dangers above ground, hidden structures like this provide adventure and exploration for a dungeon master and their players.

Created in DunGen this doesn’t come with all the bells and whistles but does produce visually simple yet appealing maps for those wanting to add something a bit more to their game sessions.

Den of the Cabal – Top level. Created in https://dungen.app/dungen/
Den of the Cabal – Lower level. Created in https://dungen.app/dungen/

Files for download

dungen_seed(24953281)_top-level-1Download
dungen_Seed(86896314)_lower-levels-1Download

Both the Dungen app and Donjon are useful tools for those who want a quick nofuss map for their adveture. There are other generators out there and some of which can provide you with encounters as well as a plot hook for the adventure ahead however if I had to pick a favourite used today I can’t look past DonJon. I have used them for reference materials for a number of years and looking at their dungeon creator it’s really a wonderful tool that could save hours of drawing and calculating.

Or use either of these generators and add things in yourself. Treat the as a shell to hold your creative yolk inside until it’s ready to hatch. What ever the tool a map, on the table, or hidden behind the fog of war on the virtual tabletop can really bring a spark of joy and enjoyment to your players.

Don’t forget the weekend is approaching and with it comes, for most of us, the best times to sit down infront of a screen or a table and to play tabletop games. Have fun out there and as always..

Don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

The wooded path and the cracked earth…

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Today we are doing something a bit different. Much like most DMs I started to run games early on with having notes on what is in the room, keep, crypt, etc. and describing it. So today is a bit of an ode to those times where we have a rough idea of what is there, what we want in there and how we want it to play out

Today’s artwork was created in artbreeder, apparently they don’t just provide character portraits but have a, somewhat limited, selection of scenery or landscape art that you can tinker around with.

Wyrdwood Forest

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The light flitters through the thick canopy creating a dark mottling on the uneven forest ground. Moss, fungi and lychen cover the fallen branches and trees that create natural dense walls in the forest. A sudden burst of movement startles the party as something darted through a bush making some trees shake as it passed by with haste. The poor lighting, uneven slippery ground and natural walls of greenery make stalking prey feel more like being stalked.

It will be night time soon, the group should find a place to rest for the night where they can easily defend. Little do they know that the wyrdwood is home to not just game and the beast they stalk. Fouler and dark things have picked up their scent and they best be quick in finding a safe place to rest their weary bodies.

The players should feel uneasy when descibing this part of the forest, no straight line of sight, bushes and trunks of trees make it nearly impossible to see more than 30 feet in any direction unless they have made it to a clearing. But, clearings normally attract predators who know prey can be found in such places.

I would use the forest map at night, a dark place, low visibility, something perhaps stalking the party (or being stalked) can lead to some tough but exciting encounters where it’s not about how hard you can swing a sword, or just casting fireball – parties have to be smart and resourceful to survive a night in these woods.

The cave

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The party after surving the night make their way to a platue where they have tracked the beast to several rocky outcrops that burst from the ground like the earths claws digging it’s way out from its eternal prison. The creature having left a trail of things it has feasted on appears to be in a cave at the base of one of these stony spires, the found stench of decay evident that this cave was home to something once before before it’s new resident evicted them.

The cave system is wider than most, about 10ft across and moving deeper than abotu 50ft the party find themselves cut off from the outside light. There is a presence here, cunning and calculating which the party are aware of. A bead of moisture hits the flickering torch that the party carry causing it to hiss too loudly for the enclosed space. As the party continue down the rough hewn walls of this cave fresher body parts of animals and what appears to be men and women can be found hung from spikes on the roof – the creature having a taste for softer meat once it has greened for some time it seems. A burst of wind from somewhere causes the torch to threaten to go out, and it’s then that the party hear the clack clack of talons approaching from the next bend.

Caves are hard to do without maps, I generally follow a formular for mine. A winding trail in, a larger cavern that could fit a few people comfortably and then a few branches from that room that go into smaller ‘rooms’ where the party would find grissly discoveries or perhaps the last will and testiment of an adventurer who knew they time amongst the sun and clouds was coming to an end.

Not having a map to refer to can cause the party members to become very aware of the surroundings. Instead of moving to a position on the map they now have to look for such a position by asking the DM. The DM needs to think on their feat, say yes or no and remember what they have said. Having a rough drawn map of what they plan to describe can help – or even a few dot points for each “room” or place you want the party to go to can make things easier, but improvisation breeds immersion – and it’s a muscle on the DMs character sheet where they get better with using it the more you use it.

I won’t keep people any longer today, I just wanted to say thank to those who use these thoughts or things I create here – if you like something you see, or don’t drop a comment and let me know about it.

Don’t forget that tabletop games are meant to be fun, if you are not having fun doing it then switch it up. Dont bring out the dwarven forge tiles (I wish!) or the grided dry erase board, describe what the paty see, explain it and work that creative muscle. Don’t forget to look for your spark this week and don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

What lies above and below

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Thursday has come, and gone for me by time I am getting around to typing this up. This week we look at the map of the keep which was sketched on paper then hand crafted on Inkscape.

Inkscape is a useful tool for creating a bunch of artwork and it’s free. Check it out.

Sparrows Rest Keep

Just a single map this week.

Had a bit of fun messing around in Inkscape. It’s free software for creating images. By some simple tweaks you can get it in isometric grid mode which is what I played around this week with. It’s by no means the best but with practice and some dedicated time the outcome could be a staple in your GM toolbelt.

The idea here is that the trap door (right of the map) is hard to find. It should be revealed when the encounter happens and the party find the thugs or humanoids coming out from hiding.

A worn ladder lead down to a small 5ft room where stairs descend into the darkness beyond. With a door to the left that leads to a small room that may have been an office.

The rooms below ground (with exception to the secret room and passages) all look like they would have had storage for food or the like. Now its pretty barren.. or not.. a decision to make when using the map.

The secret room is the one that leads to the stairs that go down to the altar room. This shouldn’t be hard to spot as the keeps been in ruins for years and the creatures that inhabit it now likely could have found it.

The altar is 5ft x 5ft and appeared to have a deity on it at one point. Its ruined remains litter the room.

The very right (south) rooms look to be cells, and something has burrowed into the very back one which leads into the warrens to the east (bottom left) of the map

The warren passage ways are big enough for people to crawl through single file. Should create some tense situations but nothing too frightening.

Files for download 🙂

large-isometric-view-of-the-keep-1Download
focused-isometric-view-of-the-keep-onlyDownload
focused-isometric-view-of-the-under-keep-onlyDownload

I’ll see if I can upload a better copy of the image since the grid also didn’t upload. Otherwise It’ll be there for this weekend’s adventure so look for it then.

Update: – added the Isometric grid version, and some files to download if you choose to use them for your own adventure!

As with every post, use what you want, comment below your thoughts on whats there and let me know how it’s going. Staying connected in times like these is important.

What else is important is catching up with friends and family, so don’t forget to check in with them and see how they are going.

Don’t forget to check out the other posts for this week, or the last and as always don’t forget to roll with advantage!
The Brazen Wolfe

When you can, always take the high road

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Thursday has come around Quickly this week.

This week I went way back to basics.. This was really triggered by finding a binder that I used many many years ago early in my DMing.

No fancy tools this week, hand drawn maps that could be tweaked for fantasy or sci-fi but easily usable for modern settings.

Timings Street

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Once a bustling street when it was first created the thriving merchant street in a retail distrit suffered several collapses to the road which saw the street and eventually section of the city blocked from traffic or use until it could be repaired.
That was many, many years ago now.

This may would be suitable for any adventure where you want the paty to search for items, people or a way around another obstacle. There are a few places to hide and more than one way through the street. There is also several places to be ambushed so party members beware.

The starting ‘zone’ for the party is on the left of the image, to the north and south (assuming they enter from the west) is a 15ft wide street that passes several long abandoned buildings. Some have unstable areas or areas that have fully collapsed to perhaps a lost mine, the cities sewer, or deeper.
There is one obvious way through, the street to the north (top of the page), but a less obvious way is down the stairs just south of this exit, along the rift on the right of the page.

There is a walkway down the south (bottom) of the map that can be accesed by jumping the 10ft railing or by taking the stairs to the north immediately as the party enter this area. This will however require the party to jump a 10ft rift, failure will be dire.

To the north of the road is a “food court” or a place where maybe merchants would set up their shops to display and sell their wares, complete with storage areas where some goods may still be present and useable. Maybe.

The Alley

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Yeah is pretty hard to have a good name for an Alley, so for this purpose its just any alley that you want to include in you game.

The alley is home to the forgotten, several fortified doors litter the sides of the street where crates and boxes covered in linen or Tarps. Thugs and the misfortunate have made makeshift dwellings in the forgotten roof spaces of buildings either side of the narrow walkway (10 ft) and the party are sure that the person they are looking for has entered into this area.. now just where did they go.

The easiest way is encountering a thief, bandit, pickpocket or hunting one out for a bounty (02MoSt1). Or when the party is on the run from someone or something.

There are a few hiding holes available for the player or their target, on the left is a locked door with stairs down into the underground passage ways – getting through that door wont be easy though. On the right of the entrance (bottom of the map) there is an unlocked door (4ft wide) that leads to a room with just a bed. I would imagine that it would hold a sleeping person who wouldn’t be fond of being woken up.

The crates in the middle are covered (and create a bit of a rain cover/shade cloth effect) by a tarp/linen but can be climbed. Once at this height the party should be able to jump to the tarp covered enclove to the right, where people could be hiding, or valueables may be hidden amongst some hidden boxes, barrels or crates.

On the left opposite this enclove is another place where the party could climb up, Each box I would make it between 3 and 4 feet tall so the party members have to climb on these boxes to get to where they want to go – the aim is to give them or who they are after options where they want to hide.

To the north behind a series of boxes covered by a tarp or shade cloth there is a hidden hole or door in the wall.. a perfect place for an stash of goods or someone avoiding the party that was chasing them.

I had a look at a few Isometric drawing programs today, all of which I was unfamiliar with, as I wanted to try something new that I could suggest for peoples toolbelt. I started to toy around with Inkscape but ran out of time (untimely windows update that locked up my PC for the day… )

The purpose of the two maps are to be able to fit into almost any encounter, adhoc or planned, for the party to experience. They can easily be tweaked in style, description or setting to fit any RPG theme; not just the gritty semi-future/modern hybrid world that inspired me today, so that they can be used for future encounters or adventures. Perhaps re-used again if the party wasnt equipt to take on whats down in the sewers or under-world that the maps have the opportunity for.

Sometimes the best way to convey and idea is to just get a mechanical pencil (or non-mechanical), some plain paper or grid/graph paper like I had in that long-forgotten folder and just put pencil to paper. Having a look, or remembering what maps, action or chase scenes from your favourite movie or show can help create a map that your party will enjoy just as much as you enjoyed thinking it up.

Dont forget to have fun with it, if you think something is cool on a map or mindscape then your players should too, and as always don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

Welcome to Mantford

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Creative Commons credit: Medieval Fantasy City by David Revoy

Thursday – Map day. A overview of the land around the town of Mantford as well as a few maps that could be used for encounters (if you use maps for encounters). These are merely suggestions that align (mostly) to the plot, key twist locations (maybe) that have been explored already and to tie in with encounters.

The town of Mantford

The town of Manford is really a small settlement situated a short ride from the forest of the same namesake, Mant. The people of the town are a close knit but energetic bunch of farmers and merchants of varying trade where the merchants drive the main prosperity of the town, much to some of the farmers’ chagrin

(Suggested) description of the city.

The town of Mantford is a welcome sight for those who have travelled along the roads near and through the forest of Mant. It’s high walls, friendly citizens and generous king are well known almost as much as the goods it sells at the market that dominates the space within the walls. The walls are well repaired but speak of terrible battles that were once fought, patches of earth appear to have become rancid and regular visitors note that these barren fields have never seen growth in the many years that they have visited. The king walks through the town itself and sees to the needs of his people personally, as such he is much loved and rarely walks with guard – but none would dare face off against Drake Gravebane, slayer of the black dragon.

– Places travelled near and far – A guide to travelling; The travelling bard
The Lands around Mantford – self created in Inkarnate

Yooligo river in Mant forest

Note: Yooligo river – The idea with this image is that it can be used during a few of the plots, or twists, that we have thought of already.

Suggested description.

The last of the day’s light drifts lazily through the canopy of trees creating shifting shadows that dance across the grass and bushes around you. Whilst far enough from the rivers edge to not be bombarded by the offensive smell, the infrequent breeze still sends wafts of the aroma through the camp. The beasts of this forest are all very different from what you have encountered before, mostly their size appears to be between one and three times that of what you have encountered elsewhere. There truly is something magical about this forest that you can’t quite put your finger on. Nightfall will be here soon and a faint glow resonates from the waters edge across the clearing where you are camping. Strange, the forest is truly a peaceful and remarkable place but in scouting the area you found several humanoid skeletons by the waters edge. Never the matter – I will ponder this more after I check for the source of the light by the river.

– The last excerpt found in the journal of Reginald Hufflepants, ‘adventurer extraordinaire’.
Map of a camp on the banks on the edge of the river Yooligo – self created in Inkarnate.

‘Witches’ hut

A hut in the woods…. What else were you expecting?

Suggested Description

The uneven path, if you can even call it that, leads further into the woods. Gods I hope that I find this blasted house that drunk was rambling about so I can get out of this forest. Ah there it is nestled amongst the trees.. Wait, did that one move, it’s so hard to tell with that cursed glow from the waters edge. Bah you’re being daft Jet, just get in, steal the magic potions, or herbs, or whatever that drunk said, and get out. Selling them to the people of Mantford will make you a rich man. Ah, there’s the hut, I knew stealing the map from that cursed merchant would pay off – he practically let me have it with how he kept it hanging out of his pocket! What an idiot.  It’s relatively well looked after, that’s a surprise, the steps aren’t rotted, there is smoke coming from the chimney, best scope it out before going inside. Ah, this window is filthy though. Yup that does the trick, a quick bit of elbow grease and I can see again. Crap, there is someone in.. oh never mind.. Trick of the hearth light.. Oh look – on the table. Potions and herbs and glowing.. Rocks? What ever it is I’m Rich!
Wait.. I swear I heard something that time.. Was that bush alway… No, No I’m sorry. I won’t come back! Dont hurt me!

– Last thoughts of Jet, the retriever of things.. for the right price.
A map of the witches hut in the Mant forest near the Yooligo river – self created in Inkarnate

Thanks for exploring some maps with me tonight.

Maps are not essential, I almost prefer to not use them and rely on descriptions to give the players a view of the surroundings. Maps however can increase the players, and our own – the DMs, immersion into the session and gives us a great excuse to use miniatures!

The only map that wasn’t included, which is sometimes the only map you need, is a roughly drawn road with trees/rocks/grass or sometimes nothing by the sides of it. Encounters, social or combative, happen randomly at times and its useful to have a map for just that situation.

These are just suggestions – feel free to create clones of the maps through inkarnate and modify them to suite your adventure – I found using incarnate a great tool for just getting the scene, or words, into a picture that you can give to your players.

Oh, and don’t forget to roll with advantage!
The Brazen Wolfe