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

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Iseldec’s Drop (Levels 9-12)

We are now deep into Iseldec’s Drop – these levels are hundreds of feet below the ruins above, and those found down here only know of the surface because the twenty-foot wide shaft at the centre of the dungeons pierces to the sky above. Those things that inhabit these depths have no easy way back up as there are no stairs or ladders between levels 8 and 9 – the only way down here are the two small shafts in the southwest corner of level 8, or the central shaft that descends much further down…

In fact, this section of the drop is connected to larger dungeon ruins on level 10, and anything living here now likely came from there, not from the surface…

These four levels of “Iseldec’s Drop” again repeat the tightness of the design of the upper levels – each level fitting into a 160 x 160 foot area. While level 9 is natural caves around the shaft, the three next levels appear to be something very different – indications that this shaft was once part of something beyond the ken of the societies and cultures that exist around here now. The walls of these levels are an ancient glazed ceramic and there is a repeating circular shaft motif that repeats around the central shaft.

The falling waters that enter the dungeons on level 8 splash down along the central shaft to deeper levels below, but also are partially diverted by the edge of the shaft on level 9, producing a small stream that pours down into the ancient structures. At some point these lower levels were badly damaged and partially caved in – but only partially blocking access from level 12 to the dungeons beyond (just about any dungeon can be inserted here – none is provided as part of this map set so pick one that works for you).

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.

Iseldec’s Drop (Levels 9-12)

Iseldec’s Drop (Levels 9-12) (300 dpi promo – no commercial license) We are now deep into Iseldec’s Drop – these levels are hundreds of feet below the ruins above, and those found…

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Longboat Mountain: The Silver Deeps

Today we explore the lower level of the old silver mine that lends its name to Silver Vale (location A on the Longboat Mountain overview – posted last month). The silver mine links to one of the “secrets” of Longboat Mountain – the Silver Stair.

This section of old mines and caves sits beneath Silver Vale Cave and connects via the large cavernous shaft on the upper right of that map that descends to the similarly shaped chamber on the upper level map here. There used to be wooden stairs that led further down into the mines proper, but with the end of mining operations, those stairs are long gone. Now access to the lower level is via the caves that predate the mines.

The upper level of these two maps is mostly partially flooded natural caves – a section that was mined out here has been converted into storage and staging rooms for the mining, and is now used by the Dark Creepers as the main home of their colony as they work to chase off the goblins above.

At the north end of the caves is “The Silver Stair”, a set of 20-foot wide stairs that lead up through the mountain to various points above. The stone of the stairs and the walls shine with traces of silver ore. The base of the stairs is guarded by the master of the Dark Creepers, who will try to prevent any from climbing them – but will allow those from above to pass if they speak the passphrase when reaching the bottom of the stairs (or when challenged).

The lowest level of this map is the old silver mines themselves – now partially flooded and home to a number of foul slimes and similar. At the very back of the mines is a small cave containing a cache of silver and other minor treasures hidden here years ago.

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 (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 that make sense with the design) – so resizing the image to 2,380 x 3,080 pixels or 4,760 x 6,160 pixels, respectively.

Longboat Mountain: The Silver Deeps

Today we explore the lower level of the old silver mine that lends its name to Silver Vale (location A on the Longboat Mountain overview – posted last month). The silver mine links to one of …

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[Dyson Logos]

Longboat Mountain: Longboat Valley

Here’s the map that started the whole Longboat Mountain set (location G on the Longboat Mountain overview – posted last month). I drew this based on a dream I had just as I was waking up one morning, and liked it enough to expand the whole thing into a whole set of maps. We won’t be tackling the points of interest in the Valley quite yet, as we’ll continue going through the other points of interest on the mountain proper before we detail the key locations up here, but since this map was the one that started it all, I wanted to show it off now instead of hanging on to it for months.

Longboat Valley contains the remains of a boat of Brobdingnagian proportions – a titanic craft from another era or world where trees grow to a size where you can cut them into almost mile-long ribs for the ship’s construction. At some point in the prehistory of this world, the boat got stuck (some say tossed) upon the heights of what is now Longboat Mountain. The structure of the boat is roughly four miles long and takes up almost the entirety of the valley that may have grown up around it, depending on the story.

The floor of the valley is broken up into sections by the massive ribs of the ancient craft, with small forests and pasturage taking up some of these. At the centre of the valley is a lake (F) and a collection of massive stones that were evidently a stone circle that had fallen as the waters washed away their support. The cold pond here comes from a stream (G) from further up the mountain before flowing down the valley and the rest of the mountain. Along the side of this lake are the pastures of the farm at H.

The path up the mountain follows the stream as it descends (A) and leads through the eastern portions of the skeletal craft. The great ribs of the ship act as a wall behind the farmstead, and beyond it are the “bones” of the old aft castle – spars still pushing hundreds of feet in the air. A path leads through the hills, past the building and standing stones (I) and then to the back of the valley (J).

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 (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 that make sense with the design) – so resizing the image to 2,380 x 3,080 pixels or 4,760 x 6,160 pixels, respectively.

Longboat Mountain: Longboat Valley

Here’s the map that started the whole Longboat Mountain set (location G on the Longboat Mountain overview – posted last month). I drew this based on a dream I had just as I was waking u…

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[Baron Opal II]

Very cool! The first thing that came to mind is "where is their sextant? Their compass or sunstone? Their navigational tools might be quite interesting indeed."

 

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Eclipse Ravine

Caves and chimneys along Eclipse Ravine are home to a dragon and an abandoned fire temple of a faith imported from the distant City of Brass. The narrow ravine cuts through the badlands of Zorisz with a small stream that in time reaches to Black Sphinx Bay.

The main ravine and the two “chimneys” are open to the rough stony terrain above – cut by waters that flowed through these lands before the disapproval of the gods and the coming of the deserts that became the foundation for ancient Zorisz. The smaller chimney is used by a dragon as its primary lair where it has a nest with an egg – and can escape either into the caves that lead to the temple, or straight up via the chimney to the skies above.

The large cavern space has been worked and expanded (and the floor smoothed in many places) and connects the dragon’s lair to the Brass Temple. Deeper in the cave is a small pool that is fed by an underground spring that slowly bubbles up and then overflows, joining the stream in the ravine below.

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) 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 2,240 x 2,240 or 4,480 x 4,480 pixels in size, respectively.

Eclipse Ravine

Eclipse Ravine (300 dpi promo) Caves and chimneys along Eclipse Ravine are home to a dragon and an abandoned fire temple of a faith imported from the distant City of Brass. The narrow ravine cuts t…

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[Dyson Logos]

Scavengers’ Deep – Map 7

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 seventh map in the Scavengers’ Deep series – sitting east of Map 3, but almost unconnected to much of the rest of the Deep. The main focus of this map is a small fortress built into the north face of the stony hillside that contains the Deep.

Connecting this map to Map 3 to the west are a stream and a small cavern. The stream runs through a brass grate into the rock face just south of the fortress and is the small fortress’s primary water source – a room in the south side of the fortress allows for the collection of water from the stream, and further along the fortress’s latrines dump into a small body of water before the stream heads west where it joins the outdoor pond on Map 3 before heading back underground.

The southern caverns and structures link back into the caves and structures south and west of this map. Following the caves brings one through the caves and a small fortification in Map 3 before spilling out over one of the ponds along the stream on Map 1 (a continuation of the stream here).

Being essentially disconnected from the rest of the Scavengers’ Deep makes this fortress into a prime piece of real estate for those seeking some amount of security – in the past it has been used as a secure base camp by those planning to explore the Deep. Currently, however, it is home to a well-organized group of “bandit / mercenaries” led by a half-elf who is a descendent of one of the servants who worked here when Scavengers’ Deep was still an elven fortification. Having inherited the keys to the front doors of the structure, the team is now well set up here and offer their services to those who know how to ask politely while also occasionally making their own expeditions in the structures around them.

I've also attached a low-resolution compilation of the seven existing maps of the Scavengers’ Deep set. If printed at miniature play scale (where 1 inch equals 5 feet), each of the individual maps making up the Deep would be 8 feet by 8 feet in size (so once we have the next two maps to complete the column the Deep will be 24 feet wide by 24 feet long). Expect more maps of the Scavengers’ Deep over the coming months, probably at a rate of one map per month.

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.

Scavengers’ Deep – Map 7

Scavengers’ Deep – Map 7 (300 dpi promo) 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 u…

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[Dyson Logos]

Graxworm – Map 6 – Throat Region Overview

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 started our explorations of the Graxworm at the top – the head of the deceased creature – today we have started moving down into the neck and chest of the great beast as we explore the massive passage that is the Graxworm’s throat.

The throat is a major byway of the Graxworm corpse dungeon. Most of the barracks and industrial activity occurs much deeper within the bowels of the creature and military excursions are launched from the hind legs – but Graxtown is the “seat” of governance here (and provides a view over the entire region) and thus a lot of traffic works its way up and down the corpse via the internal passages of the throat and spine.

The throat has its own industrial uses also, with mining of the bones and spines occurring throughout, as well as the harvesting of the thin fireproof skin that still lines much of the throat – leaving whole patches of the area exposed to the air and slowly rotting away. The thin throat lining is used to produce fire-resistant garments (particularly cloaks) that are particularly useful for armies that use a lot of pitch or fire magics in their assaults.

The spine has been hollowed out of spinal cord & fluid (used in a variety of magical applications) and is used as its own traffic route as it leads up to brain and skull as opposed to the throat that leads to Graxtown in the mouth of the worm. There are some homes along the spine, as well as access to the mines working through the massive bony spines that protrude along the Graxworm’s back. Passages cut into the throat wall in several places lead up and down between the spine and throat proper.

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 6 – Throat Region Overview

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 it…

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