Month: November 2019

Hello Adventurers! It’s the end of November and with Black Friday and Cyber Monday upon us it’s fitting that the last map of the month is a bank vault. I like the idea of setting an encounter in a Bank, running a bank heist with your players or foiling one sounds like a whole bunch of fun!

I went with a Victorian style layout with brass bars and cages all over the place for the cashiers and workers. The hall is open enough to have a standoff with some robbers, and I’ve made sure to keep the two level vault spacious enough for a range of encounters.

Have a wonderful rest of the weekend and as always happy adventuring! Now let’s get onto the map notes.

Introduction

The Bank is full, the queue for deposits is long. You get in line and glare at people ahead of you holding long complicated looking forms, an old woman directly in front of you is carrying a bucket of copper coins. You swear under your breath.

The Cashiers sit behind their counters in brass barred cubicles, behind them notaries and clerks work at long desks counting money and tallying up figures. The huge metal vault door glints at the back of the hall, locked tight by intricate gnomish engineering and secured by magic.

With a sudden shout a scruffy looking man throws back his robes to reveal a silver rod in each hand. “Nobody move this is a robbery!” he shouts. Two hulking half orcs step in front of the doors, preventing anyone from leaving. A guard jumps to his feet, in an instant the robber points a rod his way and a flash of light erupts from its end. The guard drops to his knees and falls face first to the ground, his body smoking slightly.

“You heard me! I said nobody move!… Now everyone on the floor!”. The crowd of frightened bank customers collectively hesitate, unsure if they should move or not. “Floor! Now!” The robber screams, pointing his wands at random people. The crowd drops, leaving you and your companions standing amongst a sea of cowering civilians. A bucket of copper coins spills across the tiled floor, you sigh and draw your weapons.

Notes and tips

• 30×30 grid map
• When your players next need to deposit coin have them role-play the encounter and drop a few bank robbers into the crowd to mix it up a little.
• Banks need security, especially if they are temporarily protecting something unique. Have your party camp inside the vault to protect said item. Obviously someone will break in and find the party there.
• The party could try to perform a bank heist themselves. This will need much planning and some high explosives, or some explody magic!
• The Bank could be a cover for some kind of organised crime. Everyone working there turns out to be cutthroats and ninjas in disguise!
• You know bank managers are almost always evil, it’s a universal constant. They could be a devil and be trying to buy souls for money loans.

Variants

We have a day/night version of the Bank vault.

We also have a strange ‘cult’ variant with secret meeting hall under the public vault. This also comes in day/night variants.

Hello Adventurers! The Lumber Mill battle map is here! It’s a big one at 30×45 as I wanted to fit in a proper Mill pond as well as a full length building and lumber yard. I like the idea of fighting on the floating logs, or using the log and lumber piles for cover or elevation.

As with many of my maps I did some research into Lumber Mills to get a reasonably realistic layout and as always learnt a lot about the subject. So although the map may not be 100% practical it at least has all the elements you’d need to cut that lumber!

As always thank you so much for your support, none of these maps would be created without your help! Have a wonderful week and happy adventuring!

Introduction

The Lumber Mill is silent, abandoned for at least a week now. The open sides of the building offer a panoramic view of the surrounding trees. Sawdust covers the floor helping to dampen your footfalls as you pace back and forth, weapon in hand. The smell of resin and freshly cut wood lingers in the air, mingling with the damp, natural scents of the dense forest that looms at the edge of the camp. 

Something lurks within these trees, something dangerous. The Lumberjacks working here will not return until the creature is dispatched, not willing to lose anymore of their number. They tell stories of it prowling the borders of the camp at night, picking off anyone foolish enough to enter the forest alone, or even in small groups. You assume it’s some rogue bear, or big cat, maybe even a rabid Owlbear, although you haven’t seen one in these parts for years. Whatever it turns out to be you’re sure you can handle it, after all this land is far from the wilderness it used to be, civilisation has tamed its savage nature.

A noise catches your attention, a rustle of leaves and then a loud crack of a branch. You freeze, listening intently hearing more noise, this time from a slightly different direction. The sounds continue for a few minutes, slowly circling the camp. This creature doesn’t seem to care if you know its there, you get the impression it wants you to investigate, to step into the tree line. And for some reason you know, deep down, that would be a terrible choice. You stand stock still listening intently, focusing your senses on the circling creature. Then you hear it, a soft pad, a scuff of sawdust on wood, close and directly behind you. Your blood runs cold as once again a loud crack of wood can be heard off within the forest. ‘Clever’ you think to yourself as animal musk invades your nostrils and rotten breath warms the back of your neck.

Notes and Tips

• 30×45 Grid
• The log and lumber piles can be used for cover and elevation.
• The mill pond is a great place to have a fight, horrible for your players, really fun for you!
• Fire is bad here! Sawdust catches fire easily.
• The interior of the building is open on all sides, making for a poorly defensible location.
• Ents or other plant based creatures don’t take kindly to Lumberjacks cutting down their friends!
• The Mill could be illegally cutting down some kind of magical trees which incurs the wrath of scary forest spirits.
• Have the party come across this place already abandoned, whatever has driven the loggers away finds the party at rest and isn’t happy.

Variants

We have a night time version as well as a night time lit version.

I’ve also created a Feywilds variant which could also be used as a more exotic woodland location, say elvish or magical forest.

Hello Adventurers! I’ve been busy this week getting the Jungle Wilderness Pack ready to launch. This one is completely free to patrons as a major thank you for supporting me on my map making journey. I couldn’t do this without you all, thanks from the bottom of my DnD loving nerdy heart!

I’ve put together three maps in this Pack, a simple Jungle Path, a River Crossing and an ancient Ziggurat/Alter/Shrine. Hopefully they will help with the more tropical locations you travel to in your adventures.

Thanks again for your support, have a wonderful weekend and as always happy adventuring!

All maps come in day/night variants. The  Ziggurat also has a touch lit version.

A quick tip for the Ziggurat. The top of the stairs could be an entrance to the inside, or simply the way to the top platform, DMs choice.