Research Station Battle Map – Launch

Hello Adventurers, our latest map is the Research Station, an outpost in a jungle location with tall fences, guard animals, tents housing a lab, accommodation and animal pens. Likely it has some nefarious purpose, some research that would be frowned upon in polite society. And of course, it’s going to be the source of some terrible disease that’s turning people into zombies, or the epicentre of some destructive magical creation. You should be leaning heavily toward disaster/zombie fiction for this one.

Next Maps

I’ll be working on the Wishing Well Cave map for the end of the month. I’ve been struggling with some recurring health issues this month, so the Wishing Well Cave may end up coming early next month, but I’ll aim for Friday if I can.

Wishing Well Cave
Connor suggested this one. I’ll be making a Wishing Well asset which can be placed on most of my other maps. This will lead to a Wishing Well cave map with coins, water and most likely the lair of some terrible monster 😀
City Library
I’ve created a few smaller libraries as alternatives before but never a proper City Library. If you need a place for research to go wrong, or find an ancient book that deals with some long-forgotten evil, this is your place. Also, it’s good for holding cult meetings and secret societies.

As always thanks so much for the support, it’s very cool to be creating stuff for such a great community. Continue with the suggestions and I’ll try my best to add those ideas to future maps. Have a wonderful week and as always happy adventuring! Now let’s go rescue some cute little animals from the research station, ignore the biohazard warning signs, they are almost certainly fake.

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Free version

ResearchStation_free_30x45 Download

Map Description

As you cut your way deeper into the jungle the air grows humid and stiflingly hot. The dense foliage forms an impenetrable wall of life around you. The ground beneath your feet is blanketed with a thick layer of decaying leaf mould that gives off an earthy aroma, mingling with the scent of exotic flowers and freshly cut greenery.

The trail is overgrown but it seems like others have passed here before you. Tree limbs have been cut, and vines have been cleared from your path. Ahead you can make out a clearing surrounded by rugged cliffs. The clearing is protected by a roughly constructed palisade, its entrance blocked by spiked barricades. Beyond the entrance, you can make out two large tents, semi-permanent structures, with crudely fashioned wooden floors. Around them are crates and barrels, with a number of large iron cages stacked up against the cliff walls.

The first tent seems to be used for accommodation. Camping beds are set up in rows at the rear, with backpacks and bedding tucked away beneath them. Folding chairs are positioned around a large dining table next to a camping stove, its flue sticking out of the side of the canvas wall.

The second tent has a number of tables and two gurneys positioned along its walls. The tables are full of medical and experimental tools and equipment. Bottles, vials, and beakers are filled with different coloured liquids. Strangely shaped cutting implements and clamps are laid out ready for use. At the rear of the tent are a number of iron cages, their bars rusted and pitted from the constant dampness of the jungle.

Notes and Tips

30×45 Grid Map
The jungle is a place to find exotic unusual animals and plants. Go really wild with encounters here!
The Jungle is a noisy place! Find Jungle sounds and play them! The noise makes it harder to hear danger approaching. Or at some point just switch the sound off and tell your players the jungle has gone silent!
The Jungle is a dense and oppressive place. It’s hard to see more than a few feet in any direction. That means things can ambush your players more easily. Your players can also hide more easily if needed.
This outpost is protected by palisades and spiked barricades. Wild animals will likely stay clear during the day, but at night things may get ‘frisky’.
Zombie Outbreak: Some kind of new unknown disease is being researched here, maybe it’s carried by a dangerous creature only found in this region. Something has gone wrong and a researcher has been bitten. They are currently handcuffed to a bed in the accommodation tent. They are extremely violent. At some point, they escape, running to the palisade, they let out an animalistic howl… that is answered from the forest.
Eyes in the Forest: The Research Station is deserted, not a soul can be found. It looks like everyone left in a hurry as all the equipment is still there. Night falls and the jungle goes silent. Slowly one by one glowing eyes begin to blink into existence among the foliage. Your players are about to find out what happened to the researchers.
- Maybe it’s ‘Ghost Apes’. White-furred apes with huge fanged teeth, that are far too organised for comfort. You could modify a Yeti or other large primate.
- Some kind of phosphorescent carnivorous plants, that mimic eyeshine. Maybe each of its prehensile tentacles has a set of fake glowing eyes on its end, distracting its prey while other tentacles slither towards them.
- Hypno Snakes! OK ok, hear me out. Snakes that hypnotize their prey, making them walk out into the jungle to be eaten without a fuss! Make them quite large, big enough to eat a man, and throw a number of them at the encampment.
Sacred Site: Use this map in conjunction with my Temple Dig map. The temple’s magic has ‘changed’ the creatures of the jungle that live around it, creating magical monsters controlled by some ancient power. Use this and the Temple Dig map as a tiered encounter, first getting information here, with some kind of combat connected to the animals being researched. Followed by an encounter at the dig site itself, where the players must purge the location of its evil power.