Murderer’s Drop

Murderer’s Drop

I ran this map for a new player to my campaign as an introduction to his particular plot. His troublesome partner had gotten in over his head and needed rescuing from the infamous Murderer’s Drop.

Built inside a seaside hill near the docks, this neglected home once belonged to a corrupt Harbourmaster. This monstrous man took payments in return for help disposing bodies. Being incredibly lazy to boot, he built a chute that led into a fetid pool beneath his own home. A rear entrance, only by rowboat, also sufficed.

Even after he was found out and executed, his abandoned home remained. The worst kind of derelicts moved in and broke down the walls that separated the civilized from the depraved. And in the dead of night they would deny seeing two men carrying a drunk friend into this building… to join the mass of others.

“They were faint, but Lucius followed the trail of blood droplets to this room. He’d passed quietly by several other rooms and was met with blank stares and mindless muttering. Behind a ruined wall was a cave where men fought bare-knuckled to a roaring audience, but they did not see him. He hoped that remained true. The only thing in this room was mold, encrusted filth, and a heavy-looking trapdoor. He opened it carefully, expecting the worst, but there was only a filthy metal slide. Lacking other options, he flung himself down it and hoped he would he would find his friend one way or another. Above him, a maddening laugh became a screeching wail. A murdered body had just sent itself down the Drop.”

Fort Narin

Fort Narin

This small fort was built a few miles from the town of Narin in order to help protect the road from bandits. It was built at the top of a sheer-sided hill that overlooked the farmlands. After a brief conflict with hobgoblins a century past, the fort had been destroyed by fire. The people of Narin was disorganized, focused on their own defence, and weren’t able to properly reclaim the countryside again for another decade. By then, plans for rebuilding the fort were too expensive and dangerous to undertake.

Having fallen into ruin, only the basement is in reasonable condition. The armory is to the left of the anteroom, but is protected by a heavy steel portcullis. To the right is the brig where captured bandits were often kept until they could be tried in town. Otherwise, there is a small mortuary, a shrine to a minor god, a training room, and a newer hidden chamber that is used, perhaps, by an exiled mage who wants a bit of privacy.

This was the first dungeon I ran with a new group of players a few years ago and one the first maps I’d drawn with a pen. You might notice some corrections I made to the map to clean it up; my lines weren’t as straight as I’d like back then. The dungeon mostly contained animals; the breaks in two of the rooms indicate animal tunnels through the wall.

“The thief and the barbarian had heard there was treasure hidden away by the fort’s commander and were hoping to ‘liberate’ it. The thief noticed that a hole had been dug into the wall of the corridor adjacent to this room, so they entered cautiously. A warning hiss met their advance; a troupe of badgers had made a nest at the back of the room. The barbarian noticed the treasure chest behind the badgers and said, ‘Well, we’re in for a long fight…’”

Rynth Flat-Dagger’s Hideout

Trapper’s Fort

The main feature of this map is the extensive set of linked trap doors at the front entrance. When meddlesome adventurers come breaking down the door, they’ll find themselves dropped into a steel cage below. Once inside, the first two options for exploration offer the same fate. At the rear is a hidden exit, a supply cache, and a path down the cliffside behind the hideout.

“We had a good lead that Flat-Dagger was holded up at his manse overlooking the beaches. They told us he was paranoid… and rich too. The comically large ‘welcome mat’ was obvious and easily sidestepped. In hindsight, the two iron golems that charged towards us as soon as we opened the door must have been illusions; even he couldn’t afford the expense. Still, we ran down the first exit we saw and slid face-first down into a cage. The guard’s laughter shamed us… I hope someone pays our ransom soon…”

Blood Witches Coven

Blood Witches Coven

The cave entrance on the surface wards away intruders with the heads of men who dared challenge the coven of witches that dwell below. If the heads aren’t enough to dissuade casual visitors, the Glyph of Warding just underneath them might.

The entrance tunnel opens up into a large cavern with a babbling stream running through it. A stone bridge allows crossing, though the water isn’t really deep enough to be an effective barrier.

On the left is a windowless tower with a conical top, but a hidden door grants access. The obvious door in the center is trapped to seal when whoever opened it reaches the room on the other side. This leaves the unfortunate person in an empty courtyard, devoid of cover and surrounded by arrow slits 30′ up. Skeleton archers usually man the guard posts. A hidden exit leads to the last exterior feature, an octagonal platform with an elaborate ritual circle in its center.

Otherwise, there are small cells where the witches sleep, a small (but disorganized) library, and a temple to their bloody, goat-headed god. Only the witches’ matriarch, a swamp hag, has access to the males she keeps captive next to her rotten quarters.

“The sound of rushing water was reflected by the sound of shifting gravel as the party half-slid down the steep tunnel. Their thief had gone ahead to scout, but didn’t return after several hours. Assuming the worst, they headed down anyway to find him.

The tunnel opened up onto a high ledge in a huge cave, poorly lit by cracks in the ceiling and a brazier glowing next to a large wooden door in a cobblestone fort. Water flowed, fast and loud through the middle of the cave. The water flung itself from a stony waterfall into darkness and the sound drowned out all else. However, the elf spotted the thief’s head above the lip of a platform embedded in the fort’s walls. Oddly, the halfling thief just stood there on the edge staring at nothing. 

The Elf was about to shout to the halfling, but another figure slid from the darkness behind him. She had long, lank hair and a crone’s face. Standing behind the entranced halfling, she stroked his short hair, shot a hateful look at the party and drove her long, taloned fingers through the back of his neck.

As we rushed down the ledge, the hag pushed the halfling’s body off to thud wetly on the stone below. A bloody aura of black magic surrounded the hag and the sickening light it gave off slid behind her as she slowly moved back the way she came. The party collected themselves at the fort’s door and swore they wouldn’t rest until they had revenge for the murder of their comrade.”

Pus-lick Goblin Burrow

Puslick Goblin Burrow

I really enjoy drawing maps with multiple elevations and overlapping tunnels. I hope this one isn’t too confusing, but I think it makes a great natural goblin stronghold.

From the bottom, the first elevation is ~20’ above ground, the next elevation is ~40’ high, the next is ~50’ high, and the last is ~70’ high. You can be sure that there will be numerous goblins with shortbows raining down arrows on intruders, though there is some cover in the form of  some large boulders that they’ve been too lazy to move.

There are two major burrows where the goblins make their nests. One is near the entrance is for the lowest-ranking goblins, so the floor is likely cluttered with detritus, and the other is protected by a door and features the rare concept (among goblins) of privacy curtains.

“You can smell the goblin warren before you find it. The usual smells of unburied waste, unwashed bodies, and rotten meat is undercut by a much more putrid smell. As you approach the cliff-side, you spot more than a dozen dark vertical gaps in the rockface from which a gabbling of goblin voices echoes. Also issuing down from each hole is a dark brown stain that fades to yellow, then white, near the hole. A crude door level with the ground has a skull-and-crossbones painted on it with the same brown substance. You have a feeling you’re going to need a long bath afterwards.”

Pus-lick Goblins

Goblinoid, CE, 20’, 1-1 HD, 1d4 or by weapon (shortsword or shortbow), F1, Mo 8, xp ??

Diseased weapons:

These goblins coat their weapons and arrows in the foul pus of goblins that have been deliberately given festering infections. The smell and inherent disgust that these weapons instill in their enemies is often enough to incapacitate them.

It takes 1 round for a goblin to apply the coating to a weapon or a bundle of 4x arrows. Goblins typically carry up to three clay bottles (or 1d4-1 bottles if you wish) and are considered to be proficient in its application, so there’s no chance of accidental exposure. Those dealt damage by such weapons must make a Save vs Poison or be Nauseated for 1 round (only Move actions) and have a 50% chance of being infected with the Purple Shakes.

Symptoms start in two days and the disease causes circulation to be restricted to one’s limbs and brain.  This results in extremities turning a deep purple or blue and a feeling of intense cold, numbness, and uncontrolled shaking. Once symptoms start, movement and speech is impossible. There is a 10% chance of naturally recovering and death occurs in 1d4+CON bonus days later (min 24 hrs of symptoms).

Barrow of King Winterwolf the Cold

Barrow of King Winterwolf the Cold

Inspired somewhat by the numerous barrows featured in Skyrim, the anteroom has curved stone walls and weather-worn stone steps. Dried offerings in urns line the walls. The central room is locked and barred to prevent looting, but the north wall has crumbled somewhat where a log support has rotted through and collapsed. Stairs inside lead down to a tunnel.

South of the anteroom is where his loyal banner-men of Clan Umbra are interred and, perhaps, to guard the entrance to the rest of the barrow.

The north tunnel leads into a very large dining hall, though none no longer feast there. Below the balcony is a study table covered in fine earthenware and the dusty remains of the food that had been laid out when the barrow was sealed. Corridors on either side of the table lead to additional tombs.

To the North West, the corridors lead to trapped rooms and a hidden entrance into the barrow. It’s also the method by which the builders had left the barrow after it was sealed shut. To the East of the hall is where the King’s family and most trust guards are interred. Hidden there is a magic token that opens the hidden door into a temple of The Rivermaster, and where King Winterwolf and his second born son are interred.

Even after finding this chamber, the room is not very richly appointed. There is a final hidden door that leads to the treasure room where his enchanted armor Rimecoat and greatsword Frostblade are kept safe.

“The fat innkeeper had asked for a lot of gold for the location of Winterwolf’s Barrow; too much. He won’t be telling anyone else where we’ve gone, either. Now that we’ve found it, it doesn’t look like much, but it’s where he described. They were atop a tall, wind-swept hill of jagged rock that jutted out of the ground towards to the south, so they’d had to climb up from the north. Above the entrance was a stone wolf’s head with snarling jaws and a spiked collar and carved writing in the barbarian’s scratches was too faded to read. Snowdrifts piled against the arched entrance, but once they cleared it away, wide, icy steps went down on other side into the barrow. They split up to see if they’d meet up in the middle, but Rorge found a cave-in at the bottom and came back. Worthless offerings lined the plain walls, only a few coppers and silvers glittered in the whipping torchlight, but the handle-less door proclaimed in Runic, ‘Disturb not the resting Place of King Winterwolf the Cold and his Sons or be Cursed by the Gods.’ Rorge offered to break it down and threw his shoulder into it, but some magic thundered and threw him back to slam into the wall, crushing some old pottery. This would be a tough nut to crack, I figured, but at least we were in the right place.”

Fort Blackcove and the Forgotten Chambers – Part 2

The Forgotten Chambers

Behind Fort Blackcove, built into a huge stony hill on the shore of a salty sea, there is a tunnel that is hidden when the tide is high and protected by treacherous rocks. During low-tide, though, the narrow opening can be found and the tunnel traversed. The current can be swift, however, so if one isn’t careful, one’s boat will be dashed on the rocks further downstream. If one is sharp, one will notice the stone ladder built into a ledge (once there was a rope ladder as well, but it has since rotted away). At the top of the dank ledge is a heavy door, perfectly sealed and rusted shut.

The old lords of Fort Blackcove learned not to open that door too often, for it may let the sea in, but they used the chambers to build a secret prison. In this prison the lords kept the captives they never wanted their allies to know about, where they could torture whomever they please and let them waste away in the damp darkness. The goalers never cared that it was originally built by Naga, only that none ever escaped. The serpentine artwork and frescos are painted over or washed away.

Over the years, the salt water and underground streams have worn away the walls around some of the rooms, causing floors to collapse and flooding during high tide. One cave has been worn away so far it’s nearly washed some of the cells away.

No one can say what might be found in the dark torture chambers that have been forgotten by all living men. Perhaps what remains are only anguished souls, a monstrous goaler who never left the defunct prison, or perhaps the Naga have returned to restore their outpost.

“You’ve hit yet another impasse. Ahead of you and to your left are thick iron bars, though rusted at their base. Behind you is the hidden passages you passed through to enter this gods-forsaken dungeon. To your right you can see the other side of the thick door that keeps out the seawater at high tide. The air here is moist and smells of salt and seaweed. In fact, everything below a handspan’s height on the wall is encrusted with salt and tiny sea-creature’s shells. As you’re looking around the walls for a way to raise one or the other portcullis, you hear a high-pitched screech that echoes from all directions. You hope that whatever did that is still on the other side of those bars and doesn’t know another way around…”

Fort Blackcove and the Forgotten Chambers – Part 1

Fort Blackcove

The fort has been built into the side of a large rocky hill next to a salty sea and protected the nearby fishing village of Wainsgreen when both were still occupied by loyal subjects. Now the fort’s been restored and occupied by an organized and hostile force (perhaps hobgoblins or an outlaw militia) who know how to make the best of the arrow slits and murderholes at the front entrance.

There are several rumors that can be heard in some of the nearest villages:

• Fort Blackcove has a secret back entrance.
• Fort Blackcove once had a secret prison where prisoners the Lord despised could never see the light of day.
• Naga once lived in the sea and built a hidden outpost that is now Fort Blackcove, though the old construction had been torn down.
• During low-tide, an elderly, drunk fisherman who’d risked approaching the Fort was nearly sucked into a tunnel behind the hill.

The fort’s entrance features two 30’ tall square archer towers and several arrow slits above the reinforced door. In the hall on the other side are several murderholes for those same archers to pour boiling oil or crossbow bolts. Troops in the next room can try to keep invaders in the line of fire or trap them behind a portcullis.

The central chamber has a tall 40’ dome with a badly faded fresco of writhing serpents. The door to the north leads to the towers, the guardrooms, and a small jail. The door to the south leads to a small temple and library. The doors to the east lead to the lord’s chambers and other bedrooms, kitchens, and storage rooms.

One disused storage room, damp and moldy, has a secret door that opens into a cave of dark, still water. Flat stepping stones go across the water to a natural tunnel. From the other side, the secret door can be opened with a lever. The tunnel leads into a winding tunnel that leads to the Forgotten Chambers. (which will be posted next week)

“Your party seems to have found the old lord’s library, though you don’t expect to find much of interest here. Bookshelves line the sides of raised platforms upon which are chairs, desks, and more shelves. Most of them, however, have been smashed and their contents strewn on the floor. Most appear to be about military history and volumes on tactics. The lord’s interest in combat is further evidenced by several torn coat of arms hanging from the walls between shelves, though the crossed swords one would normally expect are missing. Your clever Thief remarks that a path through the fallen books has been cleared, so the room is almost certainly patrolled. Hopefully you can find the fort’s commander (and kill him) before being detected.”

The Granite Bank

The Granite Bank

The Granite Bank is a powerful guild of Mountain Dwarf financiers. The bank is known to be in the Cliffs of Shirdroppe, but its exact location is obscured by a series of winding caves filled with traps, cunningly hidden Dwarf-doors, and patrols of the Silent Axes, well-disciplined troops of tongueless eunuchs who cannot be coerced into revealing the location of the Granite Bank.

The entrance of the Bank is inside a huge cave and the perfectly balance granite door is set into a wall of silver-tipped spikes. The hall is well-guarded and leads to a spacious waiting area of polished granite, marble, and molten quicksilver. Several offices, manned by the Mountain Dwarves known as the Stonefaced, flank the waiting area to discuss, refuse, or fulfill the requests of the Bank’s customers.

To the south is a hall that leads to another well-appointed waiting room, though there are no guards here, as only trusted customers make it this far. When a customer wishes to make a deposit, make a large withdrawal, or to inspect his holdings, they are brought here to verify their identity. From there, they are brought to the Vault where hundreds of private storage containers hold vast fortunes. At the rear, behind an heavily fortified enchanted door, is the famed Vault of Infinite Locks, which requires two enchanted keys and brings the owner’s belongings from a pocket dimension. Time in this vault does not pass, so some have paid vast sums to lock away dragons, demons, unearthly beauty, or terrible weapons.

“Once inside, the first thing you notice are the dozens of Dwarven guards that stand at mute attention against the walls. Each carries a triangular-bladed poleaxe and tower shield bearing a gold coin on a marble-speckled field. They wear pointed helmets, ringmail coats, and tightly braided beards. The well-lit hall, nearly as bright as daylight, has a highly polished floor, seemingly rippled in silver, that reflects the light of the hanging crystal lamps hanging from the slender, sharp-edged stone pillars. The walls are rough granite, but embossed grids of polished silver plates both reflect the internal light further, but depict some of the history of the Granite Bank.”

Dalnation Pass

Dalnation Pass

I had asked a co-worker of mine for an idea for a map (as I sometimes do) and she suggested a village with a lookout tower. When I asked her for a name, we agreed on Dalnation Pass.

Dalnation Pass was somewhat inspired by some of the small towns in Skyrim. It features a Meeting Hall where the Jarl (or mayor) lives with a few retainers as part of his household. The meeting hall is well-appointed with brass, gold, and silver fixtures and Jarl Fredry Garthur wears a heavy chain of white gold and black diamonds. The There is a small inn, called The Fat Tuna Inn, with a quaint front porch and run by a man named Hurd Lidspittle, a loud and rotund man, but and happy to feed kind travelers. Across from the inn is a small stable. Next to the inn is a general store called The Riverman’s Net and is run by a gnome woman named Jailene Tangleweed, a shrewd haggler. Next to the Net is a barracks where men-at-arms and militia would stay during times of conflict. During times of peace, it’s manned only by the Thane (or Sheriff) and perhaps half a dozen militiamen who serve on a rotating schedule. Next to the barracks is a small church devoted to the local pantheon and houses an aging cleric and his naive apprentice. The last two buildings, across from the church, are a meat and produce seller (with a pen for animals behind it) and a small brewery (the tanks are behind the building). Lastly, there’s a wooden lookout tower, about 25’ tall, atop a grassy hill and accessed by a ladder that can be dropped down from inside the loft.

Dalnation Pass is located at the base of the Dalnation Foothills, near the Trickling River (though another village, Stiltwood, works the river-ways) and is the last settlement until one crosses through the Horation Mountains. The local rumor, whispered by those who aren’t in the militia, is that the Jarl and the Thane have some sort of secret arrangement with the wildmen that live in the foothills to prevent attacks on the town and have made the Jarl rich.

“As the party approaches Dalnation pass, you can see that the grassy hills the village is nestled in quickly turn into rocky bluffs that fall under the shadow of snow-topped Mount Horation. Except for the little guard tower, none of the buildings are very tall, but are largely flat and squat. The largest of them has a steeply peaked black roof and a half-dome. From the wooden guard tower atop a steep grassy hill comes a loud voice, ‘What brings you to the Pass?’ You consider your answer carefully when you notice a several arrows poking from the windows of the tower. ‘To speak to the Jarl!’ you call back. The arrowheads retreat back inside, ‘Go in peace, traveler.’”