The Drunken Stag (Dungeondraft)

As I've mentioned before, my main reason for jumping back into Dungeons and Dragons after some 30 years is my nephew -- he discovered the game at Christmas, and has been barrelling ahead with all things role-playing.  He feels like he's ready to DM his friends, so I suggested making a map for him of a location he designed.  And so, with DMG in hand, he created The Drunken Stag, a tavern and inn that harbors a secret stronghold with blacksmith equipment, weapons, a training area, and secured bunk rooms.  Some things we was very specific about: "Crystals hold down a large map on a table in the middle of the room."  "A monster skull with a sword through it rests on an anvil."  I did everything I could to bring his vision to life -- hope you like it!  Please enjoy the timelapse below, and as always, the PNG of the map, as well as the Dungeondraft file, are freely availble below.

• The Drunken Stag (26x35) Color with Title (PNG)
• The Drunken Stag (26x35) Dungeondraft File

The Tower Crucible of Tratorim (Dungeondraft)

The Tower Crucible of Tratorim is my first original work -- a test of skills and abilities for would-be adventurers. I'm still working on all the details of the story and backstory, but the nutshell idea is this: a local adventurer's guild built the tower as a test for membership in it's ranks. The five floors above the ground are each a test of different abilities -- the guild holds meetings on the first floor, and the prize of gold and membership awaits those who can make it to the end. Those that can't, they can always retreat back to the safety of the ground floor and try again another day. The floors, roughly described, are as follows:

• First Floor -- Entry and Starting Point: Think Elks Club, but with the added bonus of an equipment and weapon cache. Adventurers may choose items for their journey upward.
• Second Floor -- Labyrinth: Nothing crazy here, just a short maze with one path through. The dead ends yield traps and other surprises. A locked room with gold has hazardous spikes, and another "false treasure" lies to the SW corner. Even if they get beat up a bit, there's a bit of food awaiting them on the other side.
• Third Floor -- Fountains: Fountains, a pool, and a locked door to the next level. The key lies here where... how to find it? (Still working the details out for myself) This level is all about searching -- no clues, just have to look around well... 
• Fourth Floor -- Giant Spiders: Nothing to do here but fight some spiders to get to the other side. I'm not trying to kill anyone on this journey, so the spiders won't be able to kill, only hurt or sedate. Again, if they survive, food awaits.
• Fifth Floor -- Library: Tons of books, plus a statue and organ -- plus another locked door. The clues to this puzzle will be easy to find, but require some sleuthing to figure out how to use the clues.
• Sixth Floor -- Lava Pit: This one is all about agility, dexterity and timing to make it across to the other side. Avoid the statues shooting lava, and keep on the path, and you can sit on the throne and claim your reward. 

 As far as all the details for this adventure, I'm still working them all out, but I feel like the map on it's own can provide a ton of options -- you might have the organ unlock the door on the Fifth Floor, or the key could be hidden in the statue, or... you get the idea. I'm looking forward to putting this together into a full Dungeons and Dragons adventure for my nephew and his friends, but for now, please use and enjoy the map. I've made it available with and without the title, so if you want it to be a wizard's tower or something else, you can use it that way.

As always, my timelapse video is below, with the download links below the video and on the Download Maps page.

The Tower Crucible of Tratorim

• The Tower Crucible of Tratorim (14x14x6) Color with Title (PNG)
• The Tower Crucible of Tratorim (14x14x6) Color without Title (PNG)
• The Tower Crucible of Tratorim - Dungeondraft File

Remapping Raven's Ruin from "Assault on Raven's Ruin" (Dungeondraft)

I'm finding a ton of great material in this particular series of Dungeons and Dragons adventures set in Thunder Rift from 1990's, and this one is no exception: a great treasure room, collapsed hallways, barren terrain -- what's not to like? Assault on Raven's Ruin is another basic adventure with plenty of adaptability for today's 5E rules.

As per usual, please take the time to watch the timelapse -- I'm working on getting my channel monetized, and every minute and view helps.  As everything on the site is currently free, this is the BEST way you can help me out.  Many thanks, and find all the download links below, including the Dungeondraft file.

Raven's Ruin from "Assault on Raven's Ruin" - Color (27x19) (PNG)

Raven's Ruin from "Assault on Raven's Ruin" - B/W (27x19) (PNG)

Raven's Ruin from "Assault on Raven's Ruin" - Dungeondraft File

Remapping Barrik's Keep from "Quest for The Silver Sword" (Dungeondraft)

Continuing my pursuit to practice working in Dungeondraft and crafting maps for my nephew, I grabbed an old adventure from 1992 called "Quest for The Silver Sword" and the fabulous location of Barrik's Keep. Lots and lots of debris, lots and lots of cobwebs. Bones galore. Rats and spiders -- what's not to like? The original edition comes with two versions of the map, one a simple black-and-white version for the DM, the other a fabulous color map for players -- it certainly didn't need a facelift, but at the same time, it was a bit monotone and hard to see the details.  I had a great time working on this, and also found a few things I had difficulty doing:

• Sadly, there is no couch, so I crafted one out of wood planks and pieces... 
• Also, I had no luck finding something to use to make chains: the corpses in the cell are supposed to be chained up... I just connected them to the walls as best I could...
• I needed laboratory equipment -- also no luck. Faked it with the blacksmith and kitchen items...

I would love to control transparency for some items, especially the blood/water pools... I needed some clear liquids, so I just matched the color as best I could, but I think I would get a better result with transparency control.  In order to make the silver sword inside the ice throne, I edited this in Corel PhotoPaint.  Enjoy the timelapse -- links for all files are below the video, and as always, on the Download Maps page.

• Barrik's Keep from "Quest for the Silver Sword" - Color (27x16) (PNG)
• Barrik's Keep from "Quest for the Silver Sword" - B/W (27x16) (PNG)
• Barrik's Keep from "Quest for the Silver Sword" - Dungeondraft File

Dungeon Style Hedge Maze from "The Shining" (Dungeondraft)

When I started the project of mapping the hedge maze from "The Shining" movie into Dungeondraft, I knew I wanted to present it two ways for use in Dungeons and Dragons or other role-playing games: first, as it appears in the film, as an outdoor hedge maze; second, as a proper dungeon with stone walls and passages. It's taken me a minute to get to the second piece of the puzzle, but I'm finally there, and now all the files are available for download -- color, black-and-white, and Dungeondraft files.

• Hedge Maze from "The Shining" -- Hedge Maze (color) (41x61) (PNG)
• Hedge Maze from "The Shining" -- Hedge Maze (b/w) (41x61) (PNG)
• Hedge Maze from "The Shining" -- Hedge Maze -- Dungeondraft File
• Hedge Maze from "The Shining" -- Dungeon Style (color) (41x61) (PNG)
• Hedge Maze from "The Shining" -- Dungeon Style (b/w) (41x61) (PNG)
• Hedge Maze from "The Shining" -- Dungeon Style -- Dungeondraft File

Top Secret: New World Order -- Step-by-Step Character Creation

As my nephew explores the world of role-playing games, I'm trying to hip him to some of my favorites growing up, and when I found out that Top Secret: New World Order from the newly reformed TSR, Inc. was free during April and May, and I knew I had to dig in and learn it. I love the original version as a kid, and the new one definitely doesn't disappoint. To get my nephew going as quickly as possible creating a character, I slimmed the process down to a short video that one can follow step-by-step, pausing where necessary, and just go right down the page. A few tables from the rulebook are needed, as well as dice, but the process is quick and easy. Use this as your excuse to check out Top Secret: New World Order -- the folks at TSR liked this video so much they shared it on their social media! Enjoy!

Remapping The Shady Dragon Inn (Dungeondraft)

In need of some quick and easy settings for my nephew's burgeoning passion for all things Dungeons and Dragons, I turned to one of my favorite old accessories, AC1 -- The Shady Dragon Inn.

The original black-and-white map it came with was fine when I first bought it in 1983 -- and it's worth noting that this set included one of the first official 25mm maps from TSR -- but I wanted to bring it back to life with Dungeondraft.  I tried to include as many mentioned details as possible: white-washed walls, dark wood floors, benches in the rooms, table by the door for staff... Both the original booklet and Issue 16 of Polyhedron provided few visual descriptions, but between the two, I felt like I represented it accurately.  After getting the basics, I stocked the pantry and storage room, dressed the kitchen area as ready for the work day, added candles and lanterns, a small table on the balcony (since the owner lives up there, I thought he would have a place to hang out outside his tiny room), a rug for the owner's room, a little decor with the antlers and called it "good".  I decided to leave the tavern area empty of plates and cups -- the inn is as it would be at the start of the work day: the kitchen is getting rolling, the staff is awake, but whatever guests may be upstairs have yet to rise, and the tavern has no patrons yet.  I hope you enjoy watching the timelapse -- links to all the files, including the Dungeondraft file, are listed below the video, and will also always be available on the Download Maps page.

The Shady Dragon Inn

• The Shady Dragon Inn -- Main Floor (22x17) (PNG)
• The Shady Dragon Inn -- Top Floor (22x17) (PNG)
• The Shady Dragon Inn -- Both Floors (22x34) (PNG)
• The Shady Dragon Inn -- Dungeondraft File

Hedge Maze from "The Shining" (Dungeondraft)

I thought I would tackle something fun and big for my first big map in Dungeondraft, so I chose the hedge maze from one of my favorite movies of all time, "The Shining".  I've read the original, seen the movie dozens of times, seen every documentary about Kubrick -- I've always loved this world, and the world of "Doctor Sleep" in recent years.  The iconic hedge maze from the film is just that -- an iconic maze, perfect for use in a Dungeons and Dragons encounter.  It could be inserted into an existing adventure as something the party comes upon, or the foundation for an adventure all it's own.  I plan on adapting the entire setting into an adventure, potentially called The Inn at The Overlook, that will also include the hotel, but until then, here is just the maze.  I'm halfway finished with a dungeon version of the same map, so when that is finished, I'll post a full map pack for download.  In the meantime, enjoy the timelapse!

UPDATE: Links to all files below...

• Hedge Maze from "The Shining" -- Hedge Maze (color) (41x61) (PNG)
• Hedge Maze from "The Shining" -- Hedge Maze (b/w) (41x61) (PNG)
• Hedge Maze from "The Shining" -- Hedge Maze -- Dungeondraft File
• Hedge Maze from "The Shining" -- Dungeon Style (color) (41x61) (PNG)
• Hedge Maze from "The Shining" -- Dungeon Style (b/w) (41x61) (PNG)
• Hedge Maze from "The Shining" -- Dungeon Style -- Dungeondraft File