Fantasy maps and mapmaking tutorials by Jonathan Roberts
So a pretty hefty snow-dump just landed on NE and I’m inside looking out the window at a very white NYC. We were out last night and a friend was talking about his upcoming travels, to much warmer climes. So today I thought I’d buck the trend of all the snow pictures, and post a map set in the savannah:
Through December I’m releasing the remaining map packs from the Breaking of Forstor Nagar.
Today it’s the turn of the Amphitheatre. This stands as a testament to better days in the city, when people would come to watch performances, or stroll amongst the statues. But now that the city lies besieged and ruined it acts as the scene for a desperate encounter where the PCs must make difficult choices that will determine the future of a number of hapless souls. Continue reading “The Amphitheatre”
It’s a new month, and that means a new map pack. Once again we venture to cold and wintery climes – unlike the current balmy weather we’re enjoying on the Eastern Seaboard. Today’s map pack takes us deep into the heart of a besieged city of ice, with the armies of the attackers camped outside the central compound. A moat, crenelated walls and sturdy gates bat the final assault. In the stalemate, the attackers have built a robust barricade of carts and wagons to fend off any counter assault. Buildings are shattered from artillery fire but calm reigns before the inevitable storm of the final assault. (map preview after the jump) Continue reading “Barricades and Bonfires – the Siege of the Inner City”
It’s the first of the month – and that means a new map pack! This month we’re starting off with the opening scene from the Breaking of Forstor Nagar. This is a chasm of icy water leading to the front gate of a city carved from a glacier. A great arching bridge spans the channel and a longship full of cold eyed killers and explosives hoves into view, heading for the frozen defences.
Here’s the map from the opening encounter as it appears in the adventure:
Of course the map pack does not assume you’re playing Breaking of Forstor Nagar. This could be the entrance to a Frost Giant stronghold, a white dragon lair or a viking clanhold. The pack is separated into pieces that allow you to use it in as many different ways as possible (lots more after the jump). Continue reading “New Map Pack – The Ice Bridge”
The latest installment in the Fantastic Maps series takes us to the high seas with pirate ships! I’ve always enjoyed sailing and the tales of dashing captains and dastardly pirates, and when running my home game I decided it was time to get them onto a heaving deck. As Ben McFarland once said to me ‘nothing good ever comes from getting on a ship’. That turned out to be true, and the ship in question ended up on the floor of the bring deep (in this shipwreck map).
Now you too can have your players adventure on the high seas. This map pack has two ships. The first is a modest 35′ two masted pinnace (25′ without the bowsprit) suitable for green adventurers starting out island hopping in an archipelago, or for sneaking up on a larger vessel silent-like: Continue reading “Pirates off the Starboard Bow!”
Any self respecting bandit needs a lair. This month’s Fantastic Maps release, in partnership with Kobold Quarterly, presents a cavern lair that any Bandit prince would be proud of. The cave system was carved from the rock by the waterfall that still run through the middle, cascading between the two levels. Continue reading “The Bandit’s Lair”
It’s the first of the month, and that means a new Fantastic Maps map pack, in partnership with Kobold Quarterly! This month we go dark and dungeon-y with a Necromancer’s Lair. The map shows a large underground room with spiked pits, rubble, raised platforms, gargoyle statues and magic circles. Continue reading “New Map Pack – Necromancer’s Lair”
March 4th is GM’s Day and RPGNow is running a GM’s day sale until the 7th. For this time Fantastic Maps are (almost) all $0.99. Dropping your players in lava has never been so cheap! Check them out here.
In the US the Friday after Thanksgiving (that’s today) is traditionally the day for the biggest sale of the year. Now we can open up that sale to the whole world! Today only all maps in the Fantastic Maps Store will be 30% off! Continue reading “Black Friday Sale”
Two new map packs on sale this week – Glass Ships and Icebergs and the Arena of Fire. These are both from the Coliseum Morpheuon project by Rite Publishing and form the backdrop for different contests in the adventure. In you own campaign these could be the terrain for an arctic exploration with ice breakers, or the entrance to a frozen underwater lair. The Arena of Fire could be an alien vault with a river of lava or the central square of a city, shaken by an erupting volcano. Continue reading “New Map Packs – The Ice Ships and the Arena of Fire”