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Esothil’s Sanctum

Old ruins of a prior civilization in cut yellow stone, it is believed that this is where the lich-prince Esothil emerged from when his madness consumed him and lead him into a swath of destruction across the Principalities of Black Sphinx Bay.

Standing over the scree and debris of the half-collapsed ruins, a walkway and...

Late October Kraken Poll!

I went to check on the October Kraken poll, and discovered there were no responses yet.... probably because I forgot to send it out!

D'oh.

So!

For those of you new to the Patreon, every month I post a list of older ...

Marpenoth River City

Built over the Yuan-ti ruins of Vrael Othloon at the outlet of the otherwise unremarkable Marpenoth river, Marpenoth River City has exhausted several alternate names since it was built and is now named and known for its physical location and gambling.

The city began as a small monastery-fortress built as a safe base of ...

Temple of the Seven Children

The temple of the Seven Children celebrates the faith and the faithful of a small pantheon of gods who rose up to slay their parents and protect and guide their followers.

The temple itself is built around a massive central dome. The north end of this temple is dedicated to the five main deities of the pantheon, while t...

The Shadow Crypts

Today’s map is another experiment after the sharpie dungeon posted earlier this week. This time I’m trying out a heavy black outline and “splatter” effect around it. I also went with a black half-tone pattern for the shadows instead of the usual grey smooth tone.

The shadow crypts are perpetually swathed in dark...

Sanctum of the Blind Protean

This dungeon began as a small set of mines cut into the hill where an underground stream was bringing gold to the surface. The mine quickly played out and was repurposed by the cult of Garathon as both a small shrine and sacred crypts.

Then something crawled forth from the main tomb of the Seven Martyrs from Iesta. It s...

Heart of Darkling: Bloodmarket Cave

The Darkling River works its way through the underdark beneath the grey hills to depths unknown. This is the eleventh location that I've explored along the Darkling River and the Darkling Lake beyond.

At a confluence of a tributary of the Darkling River and a tunnel through deep gnome territory, Bloodmarket Cave is used...

First half of the October Backstage Pass

Here's the first chunk of October's maps. Including the high res of the city map that is so hot on social media right now. :)

Last Home of the Three Heretics of Xaeen

The Qune Heresy was an offshoot of the church of Xaeen led by three grand clerics of the church who were quickly exiled and denounced. It holds that Xaeen ascended to immortality from the Mithril Throne of Qune in the years leading up to the creation of the great Zorisz Empire. The three heretics built their own churches in t...

Bitterchains Tombs

Those who served Illhan the Binder in life are rewarded with uneasy deaths. The binder has little power over the dead, but refuses to let go of those who have become bound to her. The priesthood entomb her servants in various crypts and tombs under old worship sites or attached to “dungeons” where they hide their cult. 2020-10-07 00:45:37 +0000 UTC View Post

The September Map Pack

Here's all the maps that were released in September. I am indeed catching back up and have 5 of the 10 maps ready for release this month with a 6th almost finished. Once I've got the sixth one done I'll release a partial backstage pa...

Release the Kraken on the Barrow Mounds of the Lich & Famous

Every month we go through our back catalogue of maps and you vote on which two should be re-released in the "Release the Kraken" releases. The second release for September is the first set of “Barrow Mounds of the Lich & Famous”, originally published two years ago.

Burial mounds are a staple of ...

Release the Kraken on the Lair of the Golden Wolf

Every month we go through our back catalogue of maps and you vote on which two should be re-released under the free commercial use license. The first such release this month is The Lair of the Golden Wolf, originally published two years ago.

Pushing out of the cliff face like a partially exposed egg,...

Infested Hangar

The complex was abandoned early in the war when it was discovered by enemy bombers and thoroughly trashed. A few of the structures are mostly intact, but with the destruction of the active countermeasures and absence of tenants, the local wildlife has moved in.

And of course, old data has been dug up indicating that the...

Blue Marked Caves

Caves and mines (both new and old) present themselves frequently in the ancient mountains on each side of the Kanayugára River. The Blue Marked Caves are in the foothills of the Chayéngar range in an area that has a number of small colonies of the diminutive flying Hláka.

The Hláka ignore these particular caves, per...

Temple of the Communion of Zeviax

Saint Zeviax still walks the hall of this temple. At one time it was a church to a higher power – an ideal that almost everyone could get behind. But the long-term tenancy by Saint Zeviax has taken over and the temple is dedicated to their strange communion and seeming eternal resistance against death.

You see, Saint ...

Ichors of the Green Lords

A bright green ichor seeps and flows along the halls of this place. It moves slowly and ripples even when there is no breeze or outside disturbance. The effects of the ichor upon living creatures is unpleasant and best not described here…

Finding the source of the ichor in the caverns beneath makes things no clearer. ...

Shunned Gateway of the Ochre Sigils

The massive bars that keep out intruders are orange with rust – somehow appropriate for a place named after the yellow and orange sigils drawn on every wall. The ochre sigils extend out also, almost like they were trying to escape – stragglers cut and painted into the stone face outside.

Once a gateway through which...

Simon’s Inn

A pleasant inn offering decent ales and beers, clean guest rooms, and of course a hidden secret in the basement, Simon’s Inn is the classic environment to start an adventure in. The ground floor features not one, but TWO privies outside (near some pleasant-smelling bushes), a full-service kitchen, and enough seating for mos...

Foxtail Grotto

A great flying beast has moved into Foxtail Grotto! While it is hard to get much out of the previous tenants (being bandits and all, they aren’t keen on being interrogated or even admitting that they were set up in the old waterfront cave), the beast appears to be some sort of massive two-headed sphinx.

The beast ramp...

Dread Shrine of the Magi in Sapphire

The Magi in Sapphire was a small self-serving order of psychically potent arcanists and anarchists. They waged petty wars against those who wouldn’t share their magics with the order, and yet hoarded their knowledge and secrets from all outsiders. Eventually, they went their separate ways in an incredibly spiteful and explo...

Pentagon Cove

Pentagon cove obviously predates the current tenants – a motley crew of humans and grippli who occasionally plunder coastal shipping from their collection of small boats and organize night raids on coastal towns.

At the entrance to the cove is a watch “tower” cut into the rocky cliff face which is also home to a n...

The Goatherd's Shrine

In the gentle hills and scrubland a day’s travel east of the city is an old shrine to a pastoral deity that serves double-duty as storage for the local goatherds and farmers. The shrine is not officially tended by any priests or clerics of the faith – but on special occasions, the locals come dressed in plain brown robes ...

Release the Kraken on the Tombs of the Steel Makers

Every month we go through our back catalogue of maps and my patrons vote on which two should be re-released. I screwed up last month and didn't get the poll up, so I grabbed two of the top ranked choices that didn't quite make the cut in previous months.

Up on a steep face, by the northern fire mountain, we fou...

Release the Kraken, school at home edition!

We might not have a September backstage pass ready to launch, but we can get ahead on the Release the Kraken front!

For the new patrons who've joined us this month: Every month I try to post a list of 8-12 maps from the archive...

[Patreon Exclusive] The InstaDyson Collection Update 1

This is the first update to that most demanded Patreon-Exclusive release- The InstaDyson. At heart this is "just" a set of 14 different perfectly tiling hand-drawn hatching and floor patterns like the ones I use in all my hand-drawn ...

The Beholder Pit Isometric Map

Why make things easy? Beholders have the ability to truly craft their own environments to take advantage of their abilities. This beholder lair is specifically not extra-difficult to navigate – implying that the beholder has allies who cannot levitate or fly. But the various sections of this lair are mostly separated by lon...

August Backstage Pass - Late!

Finally out! This zip file includes all the maps released on the blog this month (and the one coming out on Monday) along with some blue versions of Sanvild's Delve.

Please enjoy!

Release the Kraken on Crowspine Labyrinth!

Every month we go through our back catalog of maps and the many amazing supporters of the blog over on Patreon vote on which two should be re-released under the free commercial use license. With the recent batch of isometric maps I’ve been drawing lately, it seems appropriate that we’re pulling up an older isometric d...