Tear, City of God -- Finished Hex Map

Here is the (initial) finished version of the hex map of the City of Tear -- Seat of the Empire. The city will form the foundation of the Dying Sun campaign.

As you can see, there are still many many empty hexes. So far I've only marked on the most important features of the city, the landmarks which are known to anyone who lives there. As the campaign progresses I'll no doubt add lesser known features that the PCs come across.


Places of Note in the City of Tear

The Plateau of Radiance
The Great Hayyem Tree (1006) – The mighty tree which shades the imperial city and brings forth life from the barrenness of the desert. The holy waters of lake Jzan well around the base of the Hayyem.
The Floating Palace of Radiance (1007) – Built upon the pristine waters welling at the Hayyem's base. Here dwells Zyklor, God Emperor.
The Arch-Hierophant's Palace (0909) – On the west bank of the River of Tears, upon the imperial plateau.
The High Temple of Zyklor (1109) – Administrative centre of the Templars, on east bank of the river upon the imperial plateau.
Cliff Fortresses (0805, 1004, 1205) – An army of countless strength is maintained in these three fortresses dug into the cliffs at the north edge of the plateau of radiance.

The Military Quarter
Here lie the training centres, garrisons and military academies of the Templars.
The Garrison (1310) – This vast and forbidding fortress stands on a hill at the base of the Plateau of Radiance, looming over the city.
City Grain Stores (1211) – For use in times of famine or strife, the Templars keep a stockpile of grain in these large sandstone buildings.

The Silent Quarter
This district of Templar necropolises and libraries lies nestled between the western wall and the cliffs of the Plateau of Radiance. A few residences are also found here, of a few selected upper-class citizens who are close to the Templar administration.
The Tomb of the Faithful (0707) – A private temple where the remains of Templars for many generations past are interred.
The Inner Temple (0708) – The fortified library and records bureau of the Templars. It is rumoured that records on every citizen of Tear are kept here.

The Break
A semi-derelict city district, where the lowest of the low dwell in abject poverty.
The Chasm of Skulls (0508) – In the midst of a ruined plaza yawns a wide pit lined with skulls. The chasm is of unknown antiquity and origin, and most sane folk avoid it entirely. A spiral stairway descends into the depths, and rumours speak of a cult dwelling in these ancient catacombs who can revive the dead.

The Floating World
A district dedicated to the whims and fancies of the richest inhabitants of the city.
House of the Serpent (1608) – A walled palace where the city's elite indulge in unknown pleasures in the exotic glades, gardens, spires and halls of the mysterious Serpent Mistress.

The Flak District
Populated mostly by workers in the city's steel mines, this grim and crumbling district also has a strong military and Templar presence.
The Jade Asylum (1808) – In addition to the “treatment” of the critically insane, this forbidding, monolithic fortress is rumoured to also be used as a prison for political dissidents. The name of this awful place is presumed to be ironic.

Shale
A city quarter with wide thoroughfares and a profusion of inns, taverns and entertainments. The long desert road from the Gardens of Zinn enters the city here.
The Plaza of Silks (1912) – A busy and vibrant square, surrounded by inns on all sides, and filled with musicians, entertainers and spectacles of all sorts. A wide road leads from the plaza to the East Gate, leading into the merchants' district.

The Imperial District
The River of Tears (1008 to 1117) – The holy river cascades from the Plateau of Radiance into the upper city, eventually flowing to meet the Water Ziggurat. Hundreds of streams and canals branch off from the river, and flow into the city's subterranean water system.
The Chapel of Pristine Mercy (0912) – Located at the base of the Plateau of Radiance. Primary temple and convent of the Sisters of Mercy.
Imperial Arena (1313) – Hosts gladiatorial battles – the city's most popular form of entertainment, frequented by poor and rich alike.
The Water Ziggurat (1117) – Holiest temple in the city, central barracks of the Templars. Great prison complexes lie beneath the pyramid.
The Watching Tower (1216) – A tall windowless monolith which stands close to the Water Ziggurat (1117). Psionicists sense a strange watching presence in its impenetrable interior.
The Bridge of Thieves (1113) – An ancient, elaborate and crumbling bridge crossing the River of Tears. Condemned prisoners are hung from high pylons here to die in the scorching sun.
The Prophets' Bridge (1015) – A wide bridge on which sermons are held by zealous templars. It is said that the mortar of the bridge was made from the bones of those who died in the service of Zyklor.

The District of Sighs
A middle-class residential and entertainment quarter.
The House of Om-Li (0610) – The most famed inn of the city. Well-to-do travellers and merchants favour this sprawling complex above all others.

The Gardens District
The Sedant Glades (0812) – A large meditative garden and woodland maintained by the Sisters of Mercy.
The Pools of Pandarme (0813) – A meandering series of pools, canals, tea houses and inns, owned by a conglomerate of merchants.

The District of Wells
East of the River of Tears and the imperial district, an old quarter of the city filled with wells and fountains. This is primarily a middle-class residential district.
Emerald Baths (1415) – Public bath houses with natural hot springs.

The District of Flame
So-called because of the traditional profusion of candle and incense makers in this part of the city, as well as a large number of votary shrines. The shrines here lack the ecstatic fervour of those found in the Shrines District proper, catering instead to the refined tastes of the middle-classes.
House Amber (1614) – The headquarters of this noble house, whose main interest is in the trade of jewellery, precious stones and fabrics. The complex is extravagantly decorative, with spires, domes and high bridges around a central garden.
The Palace of Oord the Magnificent (1515) – Arguably the city's most famed sorcerer (though, as many who are in the know claim, far from its most learned), Oord the Magnificent makes his home in this opulent palace of white marble. The arch-sorcerer specialises in the breeding of new animals for their beauty, and finds custom with many upper-class individuals who desire to purchase his wondrous creations.

The Merchants' District
Headquarters of the Slavers' Guild (1511) – The slavers' fortress, formed of black basalt and carved with cathedralesque intricacy, bewildering spires and turrets.
The Slave Markets (1513) – East of the arena, and south of the slavers' guild headquarters. Slaves of all races and specialities can be bought here.

The Forge District
Where specialists in metalworking and glass-blowing live and work.
House Pharm (0514) – Seat of the powerful guild house which operates metal refineries and the steel mines to the north-east of the city.

The Guild District
The Hall of Records (0715) – An opulent building constructed of ancient violet marble. Houses the libraries and administrative offices of the Templars and the guild houses.
Guild Hall Prime (0815) – Contains the meeting space where the most powerful guild houses (called the “noble” houses) meet with the Templars to decide matters of city management.

The Enclave
Draagij's Emporium (0718) – Sells genetically tailored plants and animals to the rich for exorbitant prices. The laboratories of Draagij are staffed by the sorcerers of House Mexc.
House Mexc (0818) – Base of this powerful noble house which governs much of the agriculture surrounding the city. Many sorcerers are known to be in their employ. It is rumoured that the sorcerers of House Mexc may be dabbling in the forbidden arts of the genetic manipulation of humans.

The Oil District
A strange mixture of the rich and the destitute, this district is where the product of the oil fields to the north-west of the city comes for processing and sale.
House Merlock (0311) – The oil barons' fortified home.
Hades (0312) – Smoking towers full of oil, soot, and flame. The refineries are powered by the slave labour of House Merlock.

The Ash District
Where the filth of the oil refineries to the north and the forges to the east congeals. A highly undesirable residential area where crime is high and life is short.
The Worm Vats (0412) – A hive of tall towers and deep pits where various insects, worms and maggots are bred.

The Lanterns Quarter
This lower class district is a dangerous maze of streets, filled with taverns and entertainment of a seedy nature.
Red Square (0316) – All tastes are catered for in the brothels and pleasure taverns surrounding this notorious square.

The Mud District
Home to a variety of industrial activities, the streets and air of this quarter are filled with red dust. Many lower-class workers also live in this district.
The Dag-Orm Brickyards (0219) – Principle brick manufactury of the city.

The Silk District
A quarter dominated by luxurious trade establishments, artisanal workshops and especially silk-workers.
The Worm Glades (1616) – Gardens owned by the silk merchants. The trees here are grown as fodder for the silk worms.
The Towers of Haam-Om (1517) – Principle silk manufactury of the city, these tall towers, decorated with fluttering banners, house the worms and their precious cocoons.

The Artisans' District
The Spice Markets (1619) – Spices, exotic plants, incense, perfumes and drugs are all found here.

The Stable District
A working-class residential district interspersed with stabling facilities for a variety of beasts of burden. The stables are used primarily for the care of merchants' beasts, after their long treks through the desert.
The Ixilot Yards (1919) – A fenced series of large yards and enclosures where the greatest of domesticated animals are tended. The bellowing calls of the ixilots can be heard throughout the district.

The Bards' Quarter
One of the busiest quarters of the city, this riot of tall, archaic mud-brick buildings houses a multitude of taverns and inns. They are renowned for the quality of the musicians and story-tellers who frequent them.
The House of Scribes (1915) – A tall building of many galleries surrounding a central plaza. A small fee allows entrance to the building, where poets, sages, prophets and story-tellers gather to speak to the crowds.

The Canals District
The Walled Gardens of Phantalme (0518) – Luxurious retreat for the moneyed. The gardens are said to contain plants and animals of fabulous exoticness.
The Pagoda of Masks (0619) – Infamous and exclusive pleasure palace. Guests are required to remain masked at all times.

The Scholars' District
The Manse of Lazd the Abstruse (0419) – The streets around the great sage and sorcerer's abode have taken on something of his silent and mysterious character. Lazd's birds, arrayed with rainbow hued feathers fly freely here.

The Lizard District
On the edge of the city, this district specialises in the breeding, taming and slaughter of lizards of all kinds.
The Race Arena (0521) – Screaming crowds gather here daily to watch semi-combative races of moik and ork riders.

The Blood Quarter
The Blood Ziggurat (0522) – Where sacrifices of animals and slaves are made to the great God Zyklor.
Slaughter Square (0423) – Blood runs through the gutters of this square, where stalls sell the carcasses of freshly slaughtered animals. The establishments in the streets around the square specialise in salting, curing and smoking meats.
The Beast Markets (0524) – Located just south of the Ziggurat of Blood. In addition to sacrificial goats, a wide range of domesticated and wild lizards can be found for sale here.

The Pyre District
The Towers of Ash (0820) – The oil fires of this crematorium spew streams of smoke and ash into the sky 24 hours a day. This is the lowest-class form of death rite. Run by the mysterious Brotherhood of Ash – a sub-sect of the Templars.
The House of Ash (0721) – Alms house and hospital also run by the Brotherhood of Ash.

The Sorcerers' District
The Black Plaza (1022) – The desert road passes through the gate of the sphinxes and leads directly into this wide flag-stoned square. An unnatural shade hangs over the plaza, making it a pleasant spot for relaxation, despite its slightly unnerving atmosphere. At night the plaza is shunned by all sensible folk. Rumours tell of abductions and dark cults.
The Catacombs (1122) – This eerily named residential district contains a jumble of decaying houses built atop one another. Some do indeed dwell here in a level of subterranean habitation.
The Imperial Academy of Sorcerers (0923 & 1123) – Twin towers of staggering height and forbidding aspect, standing aside the ancient Lunar Stair.
The Lunar Stair and the Gate of the Sphinxes (1023) – The gargantuan ancient southern gate of the city. Carved from dark red stone, and weathered by millennia of sand and wind.

The Commerce District
The Grain Markets (1121) – Just north of the Gate of the Sphinxes.

The Old City
Square of the Ooms (1421) – Five ancient 30' tall stone statues of humanoids with animal heads stand in this square. They are known as the Ooms and are regarded as overseers of the city district. It is said that one day the Ooms will fall, and this will prophecy the final destruction of Tear.

The Shrines District
A run-down quarter of the city, where a proliferation of shamanistic cults, religious sects, seers and prophets gather.
The Nectar Ziggurat (1521) – Place of worship and training complex for the legendary Concubines of God.
Chal-Ni Oasis (1522) – Ecstatic cult based around a series of healing pools and springs. Run by the “Baron”Bagwan Abramah.
The Houses of Bone (1722) – Tall, twin buildings with an arched alley between them. Houses the remains of the city's wealthier dead in its crypts and vaults.
The Wall of Shadows (1423 to 1922) – Partly ringing the city's south-eastern edge, this ancient wall is made of the same stone as the Lunar Stair. Upon its surface can be seen blasted outlines of giant, spined monstrosities.

Ix: Campaign Map

To accompany my introductory material about the nature, history and factions of the world of Ix, I've worked up a large-scale campaign map.

It shows all the desert cities, the major oases and trade roads, and some ruins and wilderness areas.

Click for bigness.

New One Page Dungeon

Players in my games -- Nothing to see here, move along!

In the planning of my upcoming Dreamlands campaign, I'm intending each level of dream to be a wilderness area scattered with many interesting encounters and/or dungeons. The idea being that PCs can choose to dip into any of the dungeons they come across, exploring more deeply in any which take their fancy.

So, what I need is a lot of small dungeons, and a few larger ones. The larger ones I'm quite happy to take from published sources (Fight On!, for instance), and there are plenty of one page dungeons around which I could slot in as well. But of course, I want to create some small dungeons of my own to give the flavour I'm looking for.

With this in mind, I've conceived a new way of writing adventures -- speed dungeons! The concept is to map and fully key a dungeon (or as far as possible) in an hour or less. So, a single sheet of paper, with a quickly drawn map and loads of scrawled notes all over it.

For the interest of other DMs, I present the first fruits of this experiment -- The Caverns of the Silver Men -- a mini-dungeon which I created last night in about 50 minutes.

I'm not sure if it'll be particularly comprehensible to anyone else, or if you'll be able to decipher my hand-writing, but please check it out if you're interested!

Carcosa -- Mini campaign map

So now I've got all the chargen rules for my Carcosa game sorted, I've started having a bit of a think about an initial adventure, and whereabouts on the large campaign map it'd be set. The obvious place (I thought) is in the vicinity of hex 2005, as that has already been described in greater detail in the Fungoid Gardens of the Bone Sorcerer adventure. So I chose hex 1905, one hex to the north-west of 2005, as the starting point.

To get things going, and to kind of orient myself in the setting I've created a basic map of hex 1905 and the six surrounding hexes. For now it just shows the points of interest which are described in the Carcosa book, with some names I've made up and a road drawn in between a few of the settlements. Seems like a good start... I'll add more details as I go.

(The hex PDF was courtesy of mojobob, by the way.)

Here, have a dungeon

Spoiler warning: Players in my campaign, this is the map for a dungeon are you may explore at some point. Best not study it...

For everyone else, here's a blank map I recently drew, which I quite like and thought others may enjoy too. Do with it what you will, if you will.

A dungeon level: Part 1

Spoiler warning: Players in my campaign, this is the map for the dungeon under the old oak tree, which your characters long explored. I guess you most likely won't go back there, but still I'd suggest not looking at the map, and especially not reading the key, as I think this would spoil some of the magic, so to speak.

Inspired by a comment from Brendan on an old post of mine where I shared a dungeon map I'd drawn, I thought I'd post another map, and the accompanying key for it. The map you see is actually the first level which leads down to the map I posted previously. The latter was only partially stocked, and the party never ventured into it, so it remains unfinished and unexplored. The 1st level was however almost fully cleared out, explored over the course of probably almost a dozen play sessions -- I'm really surprised how long it lasted!

So here's the map, and the first part of the key, typed up from the notes I used to run it. The notes are very rough, so a dash of imagination is required while reading! Still, I hope it proves entertaining, interesting and / or useful for someone. I'll post the rest of the key as I find time to type it up.

The Dungeon Under the Old Oak Tree 
1. A large glade in a forest. Huge oak tree in middle, hollowed out. Shaft leads down. Sides of shaft covered with tree roots, like ladder. 1 in 10 chance to fall. Sandy floor at bottom, walls still riddled with roots. One root has "NOLLY'S KINGDOM" carved into it.

1a. Roots covered in moss, crawling with worms & insects. Old leather glove laid over root (left). From east comes whooshing sound. Faint glow and warmth from south.

2. In passageway tree roots reach out to grab items from PCs as they pass. If anyone fails a DEX check they lose an item. Can be recovered by cutting the roots -- at which an ominous rumbling is heard.

3. Muddy floor, mossy walls (glowing). Three 5' deep nooks. One has cosy cloaks & coats (in pocket of one is key to 28). One has a portrait of a gnome-like creature. One has a hat stand with red & purple felt hats.

4. Low round roof. Round cobblestoned floor. Neat wooden table & chair. Small bell and plaque "PLEASE RING". Walls still mossy & rooty.

5. Bookshelf full of nonsense. Sack of bones behind bookshelf. Two comfy upholstered chairs. Chairs attack if touched: AC 7, HD 1 (5, 6hp), Att
2 x 1d3 (clawed arms). Books fly out.

6. Cute kitchen. Sheep-headed faun called "Ramius". Acts all Mr Tumnus but tries to feed PCs sleep tea (save vs spells) and then eat them. AC 6, HD 2 (12hp), Att butt 1d6, knife 1d6.

7. Ramius' lair of horror. Skulls & bones. Chest with fresh human remains and 87gp, 192sp, 202cp, sapphire worth 400gp. Four sheep skulls which Ramius can command: AC 8, HD 1 (4hp each), Att 1d6.

8. Cobblestones. Round roof. Door carved with tree motifs. Large red patterned rug, concealing magical circle. Teleports to 32. 2 in 6 chance of stepping on rug by chance.

9. Stone walls. Small table with glass jars. Inside are tiny dead people (1" high). Two scrolls -- one of MU spell reduce, one (written in fey tongue) a page from a story about a journey to another world of micro-people.

10. Stone. Statue of two dogs and their master, a hunter. Mirrors on west & east walls, anyone looking in sees the hunter's face instead of their own, mad look in his eyes. Hear barking and a horn somewhere distant. Each turn 2 in 6 chance of being attacked. Hunter: AC 6, HD 2 (10hp), Att 1d6 + 1 (axe). 2 x dogs: AC 7, HD 1 (3, 5hp), Att 1d6 (bite). Hunter has a pouch of ancient silver coins (300sp), worth five times normal value to a collector.

11. Archway formed of serpents. Giant crab spider lurks. AC 7, HD 2 (8hp), Att 1d8 + poison, 1-4 surprise.

12. Decrepit statues of ancient kings. Old leather boot rests behind one (left foot). Chalk arrow drawn by south-east door. Rotten stench coming from 13 / 18. (There may be a troglodyte in this room.)

13. Three troglodytes. One is bigger then the others and bullies them. Fish hanging from ceiling. Piles of fish bones. Never sleep. Either here or at the river or prowling in 12. AC 5, HD 2 (12, 7, 8hp), Att 3 x 1d4, F2, 1-4 surprise, stench. Secret doors: buttons hidden in giant gawping face carvings.

14. Giant fish skeleton hanging. Pile of trash -- clothes, leather, rusted weapons. Small wooden chest (trapped, save vs poison or die in 1 turn), contains: 492gp, 1017sp, 128ep, silver bracelet (200gp).

Hex mapping

I usually just draw maps freehand, but somehow, as I sat down today to do a bit of mapping, the urge for hexes came upon me! A quick google search for hex paper later, I was disappointed to find that what I had in mind wasn't quite as easy as it at first seemed -- I couldn't find A4 size hex-gridded paper with a per-hex number anywhere!

On the way I did find some very useful websites, which I shall share for others on a similar mission:

• Some very nice pre-made PDFs of hexes and others, including grids with small hexes overlaid with larger ones: http://mojobob.com/roleplay/props/mapping.html
• An online gridded paper generator! Very cool, but unfortunately doesn't do numbered grids: http://incompetech.com/graphpaper/
• An inkscape extension for generating hex grids: http://www.lysator.liu.se/~perni/iboardgameexts/

I ended up using the latter, which is an extremely and easy to use flexible tool allowing you to generate hex grids exactly to your own specification. I'd really recommend it. One tip, for anyone who does use it: the default grids it generates include a dot in the middle of each hex (apparently some games require this). For D&D mapping this was unnecessary, but it took me a while to work out how to remove it (there's no option for that in the tool's dialogue box). The secret is that the tool actually generates four layers, one of which is the dots. So you can just delete that layer.

Here's the PDF of my hex paper anyway, so you can see what I ended up with.

Addendum: I just started filling in those hexes, probably for the first time in 20 years -- what a joy!

Old Aalia - players' map + adventuring locales

Ok so as planned I've finished off the annotations on the campaign map, and added some sites of special interest. These are represented by numbered stars on the map.

Here's what they denote:

1. The sunken palaces of Garm.
2. The dungeons of Thraal.
3. The Eld tree.
4. Fastness of the giant king.
5. Grbla -- City of the swine-folk.
6. Realm of the Ja.
7. The desolation of Orb.
8. The scintillating peak.
9. The sphere of Agk-H'ral.
10. The caverns of Jib.
11. The breachlands.
12. Feremhaal -- City of statues.
13. Shadda's dominion.
14. The pillars of prophecy.
15. The tower of death. (With thanks to Carter Soles ;)
    

More details on these, and the other locations on the map, to come!

Old Aalia - players' map

Here's an almost-finished version of a new campaign map I'm working on. The original was drawn in coloured pens, then scanned in, cleaned up in Gimp, and vectorised and text added in Inkscape.

The next step will be adding some more "sites of interest" to the map. I have a list of about 15 unusual locales (potential sites for adventures), which I'll probably add to the map simply as numbered stars or something like that.

Finally I need to write up snippets of info about each of the cities and adventuring locales to give the players some hints as to what's what.

The map I posted previously, of the Harln-Halladan region, can be seen just to the right of the text "Old Aalia" in the new larger scale map.

Dungeon map

Spoiler warning: Players, this is the next level of the dungeon you'll be playing tomorrow! Shield your eyes!

I've never posted any of the dungeon maps I've drawn before, as I have no idea if anyone's really interested in seeing that kind of thing, but I just finished drawing one today and was quite pleased with it so I thought I'd share it.

It's intended as the 2nd level of a dungeon, and is keyed with areas 53 to 123 (so, 70 encounter areas). It could of course though easily be used as the 1st or any other level of a dungeon.

The main entrance is at the top left, via a set of slippery handholds in the rocks by the waterfall. Two stairways lead down to a deeper level, one in the middle of the map, and one in the top right corner. The whirlpool in area 53 also leads down to the third level.

You may note my use ungridded paper, which I find allows for a nice free-form feeling while drawing, and the unusual red / purple colour scheme. I did this once by accident while drawing in low light, and since then have taken it up as a tradition of sorts.

If anyone wants to use this map for their own purposes feel free!

The Confederacy of Harln-Halladan - players' map

Using the powers of my newly acquired multi-function laser printer / scanner, I've just created this players' map of the mini area that my Labyrinth Lord games have been taking place in. It was originally a hand drawn map, which I scanned and then added the text and so on. I also removed a lot of features from the map, including everything inside the magical forest, as these are areas the player characters have no idea about -- the intention being that they can fill in the blanks as they explore.

The map covers all the places mentioned in the few basic rumours the PC's have heard about the region, which I posted previously.