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Death Roll – rolling boulder dungeon trap

Here’s an idea of a classic rolling boulder trap (like in Raiders of the Lost Ark) with a little twist. It should fit into any Dungeons & Dragons or other fantasy tabletop roleplaying game adventure.

Trap description

The rope ladder is attached to a chock keeping the boulder in place. When weight is applied to the ladder (as in trying to climb it) the chock is yanked and the boulder starts rolling. The dungeon master should describe how the ladder comes loose and that the player characters can hear a rumbling sound from above.

Since the boulder is only half as wide as the corridor, there should be a 50% chance it misses each character in its path. the DM could also allow for a relevant save (depending on which gaming system you use) to avoid damage.

The stone hand is a powerful artifact construct. It can cast a potent telekinesis/levitation spell to slow down the boulder as it rolls towards it. The hand will then animate and pick up the boulder. If properly instructed, the stone hand can use its spell to aid in resetting the trap. It can also use telekinesis to open the secret door behind the rope ladder. This does however require that the player characters figure out that there is a secret door and how to operate the stone hand – perhaps it requires a magic rod that can be found in a different location in the dungeon.

I’ll leave it to the dungeon master to decide what riches are hidden in the secret chamber.

Download this trap

Click the link below to download a high-resolution image file. Please note that this is free for personal use only and may not be published elsewhere without my written consent.

Death Roll Dungeon TrapDownload

Behind the scenes

Here are a few work-in-progress shots of my work on this trap. 95% of my work is done with traditional media, mainly ink fineliners. The last few steps is done digitally where I remove guides and add shading and text. This is a good tutorial on how to remove blue lines from a scanned drawing.

Support my art – buy me a beer

I don’t believe in paywalls but if you would like to support my art, please consider leaving a small tip on my Ko-Fi account.

Expedition Log – a journey through strange lands of myth and legend

I made a book! Expedition Log is a fictional travel journal based on the works of an adventuring cartographer and explorer. It recounts the fortunes and misfortunes of a mysterious voyage in search of the legendary lost library.

The book is designed to function as an in-game artefact: a dusty old tome that the characters themselves might unearth hidden in an obscure library or remote dungeon. It can also be used as a GM tool to spark the imagination with tons of intriguing locations and adventure hooks. Or it can simply be read as a novel.

A5 dressed hardback encased in an embroidered cloth binding, 86 pages, high-quality print and paper, black & silver.

American customers can get Expedition Log at Exalted Funeral.

European customers can get Expedition Log at Games Omnivorous.

Wolfhowl – fantasy island map

I originally drew this map of Wolfhowl Island for my own campaign world, but realised that it might be of use to other dungeon masters as well. The map is drawn with ink fineliners, and coloured with colour pencils.

Feel free to download and colour the black and white version. If you do, please share it and tag me in your social media – I would love to see what you make of it!

Both maps are free for personal use. Commercial use is not permitted without my written consent. Please do not use the maps in combination with any kind of ai-generated content. Please do not remove the credits from the maps.

Download the map

Black and white versionDownload
Colour versionDownload

Like this map? Perhaps you would like to support my work?

I don’t believe in paywalls, but if you would like to support my art please consider a small tip to my ko-fi account 🙂

Space Marines colouring book

I usually don’t do much fan art, but when I do I tend to draw stuff from the Warhammer 40,000 lore. I made these guys some time ago and posted them in social media. There were a lot followers asking me to make a space marine colouring book which, while being a really cool idea, would be a too large undertaking for me.

To meet the requests half-way I decided to put together a two-page space marine colouring sheet as a free download. I hope you will enjoy it! See below for pdf download.

space_marine_colouring_sheetDownload

Feel free to print this out and colour it with markers, pencils or any other medium you might prefer. I’d love to see what you make of it, so please tag me in social media if you post your results!

For inspiration, here are some examples of my own marines coloured with pencils:

Malum Caedo, Ultramarines sternguard veteran.
Malum Caedo, Ultramarines sternguard veteran.
Iron Warrior traitor marine with meltagun.
Iron Warrior traitor marine with meltagun.
Death Guard plague marine.
Death Guard plague marine.

Would you like to support my work?

I don’t make a living from my art, but a small tip is always appreciated!

Murmuron – the City of Whispers

“In daylight dozing, in starlight susurrant.
The whispering city softly sings,
a rustling choir of scarab wings:
’Murmuron, Murmuron’ – in voices aberrant.”

Clinging to the leeside of mount Akhet is the whispering city of Murmuron, its terracing architecture reaching almost the citrine-studded summit of the mountain. Old and strange as the desert wind, ancient Murmuron’s wonders tug gently at adventurers and explorers from lands far beyond the shimmering horizon.

Isometric drawing of a fantasy desert city

It is a hushed city. Under the fiery heat of the sun it lies dormant and desolate in daytime, its inhabitants seeking refuge in clay and sandstone buildings and catacombs carved into the mountain side. As the sun sets the streets awake with a yawn of incense and the mellow murmur of a hundred languages. The ruby-coloured lights of the city come to glowing life in the stillness of the warm desert night as its nocturnal population and many visitors go about their everynight lives.

It is a city of life and unlife both. In Murmuron’s ancient tombs and mausoleal libraries the mummified corpses of long dead priests and adepts endlessly mutter curses and blessings, or share long forgotten knowledge with those deemed worthy of carrying such secrets. Yet there is life here as water pulses up from deep underground through the labyrinthine veins of the great mountain. This Murmuron’s most prized treasure sustains a population much larger than would normally be possible in such an arid landscape.

The temple of Meretseger isometric illustration. Old temple with a snake man statue in front.

It is a city of spirits and spirituality. Old and minor gods, djinni and daemons of the desert are worshipped here, and there are many small temples and shrines – each dedicated to different entities of the sprawling desert pantheon. Murmuron is the last lifeline for many gods that would otherwise risk deicide through dwindling worship. These spirits, however obscure, calm the tempestuous wind of Furfur, stay the blight of Nergal and keep Pazuzu from ascending the mountain.  

Ancient Murmuron, 
mirage-like and wondrous,
a slumbering chimera.
City of singing scarabs,
and two-tailed scorpions,
and three-headed serpents.

Expedition Log – a journey through strange lands of myth and legend

Expedition Log is a fictional travel journal based on the works of an adventuring cartographer and explorer. It recounts the fortunes and misfortunes of a mysterious voyage in search of the legendary lost library.

The book is designed to function as an in-game artefact: a dusty old tome that the characters themselves might unearth hidden in an obscure library or remote dungeon. It can also be used as a GM tool to spark the imagination with tons of intriguing locations and adventure hooks. Or it can simply be read as a novel.

A5 dressed hardback encased in an embroidered cloth binding, 86 pages, high-quality print and paper, black & silver.

American customers can get Expedition Log at Exalted Funeral.

European customers can get Expedition Log at Games Omnivorous.

Hand-drawn scrolls and banners for fantasy map-makers

Here’s a set of hand-drawn scrolls and banners you can use as decoration on maps and other roleplaying game handouts. These assets look great on hand-drawn maps (check out my tutorials for tips on how to get started with that).

The scrolls and banners are free for personal use and non-commercial assets. They may not be used in combination with ai-generated content.

Downloads

Would you like to support my work?

I don’t make a living from my art, but a small tip is always appreciated!

Free dungeon map – the Malign Marathon

In the mood for a classic dungeon crawl but don’t have a map? Please feel free to use this old-school style top-down dungeon map to get started. Fill it whatever monsters, treasure and traps you like and throw your players in there! I call it the Malign Marathon but that’s just a working title – call it whatever you want.

The map is completely free for personal use, I just ask that you do not publish it elsewhere without my consent. The resolution is 300 dpi so it will look good if you want to print it even in large size.

Download link (300 dpi .png file)

marathon_dungeon_map_webDownload

How to populate the dungeon – example rooms

It’s really up to you how you want to populate the dungeon. Use your imagination. If you want a little help to start here are a few ideas to get you going. Use them as inspiration or come up with somtehing completely different.

Room 1 of the Marathon dungeon - the Lobby.
Room 2 of the Marathon dungeon.
Room 3 of the Marathon dungeon - skeletal guards.
Rooms 4 and 5 of the Marathon dungeon.
Rooms 6 and 7 of the Marathon dungeon.
Room 9 - the mimic mimic.

Support my work?

I don’t make a living from my art, but a small tip is always appreciated! If you would like to support me you can either buy me a beer through Ko-fi, or buy an art print here.

Angel’s spit inn and alehouse

The sturdily built and fortress-like Angel’s Spit inn and alehouse is located on the edge of the borderlands. It is the last homely house before the vast and wild frozen tundra and is frequented by trappers, adventurers, couriers and outdoorsmen.

While the name of the inn might sound peculiar, even off-putting, it was originally meant as a compliment as many years ago an overly-refreshed patron cried out “This ale tastes like the spit of angels!”. The expression stuck, and nowadays few can remember the original name of the establishment.

The Angel’s spit is built like a fort to provide protection against the many dangers that haunt the tundra; raiding orcs, swarms of undead lemmings, giga-mammoths, nekrocapra and more. Still, for all the horrors lurking outside its walls the Angel’s Spit has stood intact for three hundred years and among its patrons many believe this unyielding inn will still be serving ale at the end of times.

Download this map

Feel free to download the Angel’s spit ainn and alehouse map for use in your own campaign. Like everything on this website it’s free for personal use, but I ask you not to publish it without my written permission (I would really like for my content to be exclusive for my own channels).

Angels spit inn and alehouseDownload

Support my work

I don’t make a living from my art, but a small tip is always appreciated! If you would like to support me you can either buy me a beer through Ko-fi, or buy an art print here.

Isometric hex map – the ruins at Boulderwood Crags

A potential client asked me if I could draw an isometric hex map, and I realized I don’t know! I’ve drawn plenty of isometric maps, and plenty of hex maps – but never a map with isometric hexagons. So naturally I had to try it out While it started out as an experiment, I decided that I might as well finish it and write something up for you to use in your game. I hope you find it useful!

Boulderwood Crags

The Boulderwood crags is a remote area with few inhabitants. There are both old and truly ancient ruins in the area. Monsters are not uncommon.

Map locations

1. The village of Juniper glade

Juniper glade was likely a nice place in the past, however it is nowadays somewhat glooomy – inhabited only by a handful of very old people. While friendly, the folks of the village know they will be the last to live here and so there is an air of melancholy to the settlement.

2. The tomb of Gulan Tharr

This ancient tomb holds the remains of the barbarian lord Gulan Tharr and his twelve most powerful lieutenants. They died a thousand years ago, but are somtimes up and runing anyway.

3. The tower ruin

This ruined tower was once a prison. Most notable of the previous prisoners was the family of duke Embalan Bredbane. While the duke was hanged for his crimes, his wife and seven children spent the rest of their lives in the tower. There’s still a warden stone golem roaming this area, mistaking innocent passer-throughs for escaped convicts.

4. The ravine

The ravine that runs deep through this area is the nesting grounds for giant centipedes. Super creepy and dangerous bugs. A wise old woman lived in the cabin. She knows how to fend off the centipedes.

5. The dormant portal

The portal used to grant access to several different dimensions, however have been inactive for five hundred years or so. There are still interdimensional things lurking here that was trapped when the portal went bust. They do not get along well with the denizens of the material plane.

Would you like to use this map?

The isometric hex map is available as a download for you to print and use at your gaming table, but please note that commercial use or publishing elsewhere without my consent is prohibited.

Use the link below to download a high-resolution image file.

hexmap_isometric_boulderwood_crags_webDownload

Would you like to support me?

I don’t put my work behind paywalls, as I like the thought of as many people as possible using it to play games with their friends. That said, if you want to support me please consider a small tip through my Ko-Fi account.

The Bogpike Tower – isometric fantasy tower map

The Bogpike Tower settlement is build in and around the remains of an ancient bridge abutment. To get away from the horrors of the swamp, the inhabitants of the village have added walkways, huts and houses to the sturdy stone structure.

In my own campaign environment of Fourtower Bridge/Western Thistlemoor, the Bogpike Tower settlement is located in western Greenbottle Morass and is a point of light in an otherwise bleak part of the moor. Here are some other examples of how you can use it in your own campaign:

  • A pirate and/or smuggler’s lair
  • A wizards tower
  • A trading post
  • A large inn
  • A fishing village
  • A rebel camp

In any case, I hope you enjoy the tower!

Would you like to support me?

I don’t put my work behind paywalls, as I like the thought of as many people as possible using it to play games with their friends. That said, if you want to support me please consider a small tip through my Ko-Fi account.

Download this map for free!

This map is available as a download for you to print and use at your gaming table, but please note that commercial use or publishing elsewhere without my consent is prohibited.

Use the link below to download a high-resolution image file.

bogpike_tower_webDownload

Stick around for a while

Like my work? There’s lot’s of it available on the website. Here are some of the most recent posts:

The Temple of Rot – isometric dungeon map

Oh man, this map took a loooong time to draw, so I really hope you enjoy it. There’s no written story to this dungeon, but perhaps you find the visual storytelling inspiring enough to come up with your own adventure? If you do, please tell me about it in the comments!

Like many of my adventure site maps, this has a dark fantasy streak to it. I like to mix up fantasy and horror elements both in my art and when I run Dungeons & Dragons adventures. I just love it when the players gets a little bit freaked out by the environment.

Would you mind supporting my work?

I don’t like the idea of hiding my work behind paywalls like Patreon and such, and I probably never will. I’m truly inspired by the thought of people around the world enjoying my art, using it when playing games and having fun with their friends. That said, this piece took a lot of effort and time, and if you find it valuable please consider a small tip through my Ko-Fi account.

Download this map for free!

Wether you tipped or not, the map is available as a download for you to print and use at your gaming table! (but please note that commercial use or publishing elsewhere without my consent is not ok)

Use the link below to download a high-resolution image file.

temple_of_rot_webDownload

Like my work – why don’t you stick around for a while?

There are loads and loads of tabletop rpg and D&D content on this website, so if you enjoy browsing like it’s the nineties, here are a few links to my latest posts! 🙂