Category: Dungeon

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 Please note that this is free for personal use only and may not be published elsewhere without my written consent.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.

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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.

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.

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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.

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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

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Ancient and Dreadful – isometric dungeon map

There’s something about this design I find unnerving, but I can’t really put my finger on what it is. It just feels … wrong. Ah well, probably just my imagination playing me tricks while I drew it. In any case, here’s an ancient burial site that you can use as a point of interest in your campaign.

There’s probably something nasty down there for the player characters to find. Like the eerie stone carved to resemble a skull. If that thing isn’t cursed then I don’t know what is.

Here’s a download link, feel free to use it in your personal game (like always it’s free for personal use, but I ask you not to publish it elsewhere without my written consent):

ancient_and_dreadful_webDownload

More tombs to explore

You know me, I like to draw old and dusty tombs, crypts and burial sites. Here’s a few more:

The Black Tomb of the Wight Knight

The Black Tomb of the Wight Knight is a short dungeon that should be suitable for a night of D&D adventuring. I haven’t written a lot of information on the dungeon itself, other than what you see in the image so it’s up to the dungeon master to make it her own adventure!

I have a loose idea about nearby villagers sacrificing people on the big stone slab by the “entrance”, pouring blood down the shaft to keep the wight knight calm and content.

The giant skull in the chamber below could be made of stone, or even the remains of an ancient creature. Either way it should set the tone of this eerie and grim place.

Feel free to download the image and print it for your own campaign, like always my content is free for personal use. I just ask you not to publish it elsewhere without my written consent. Enjoy!

Free download (300 dpi .png file)

black_tomb_white_knight_dungeon_mapDownload

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The Vault of the Shattered Sword – isometric map for “Swordtember”

Apparently there’s this thing called #swordtember, where artists dedicate the month of September to drawing sword. Well, count me in – I love swords! I’m also a mapmaker though, so I just couldn’t resist drawing a fitting dungeon for this entry.

Standing guard over the ancient, shattered sword is a demonic statue. The room also hosts six plain stone plinths, each with a heavy stone bowl containing rusted iron residue. In the southern part of this dungeon section there’s a round room with a large half-sphere made of the darkest black obsidian, and covered in mystic symbols. What secrets can this strange vault hold?

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The Chantry of Desecration – isometric map for D&D

Here’s a simple isometric map for you to use should you need a spooky, desecrated church in any horror-themed Dungeons & Dragons adventure. I intentionally skipped drawing details in the rooms on the floor plans. Treat it as a blank canvas to fill with whatever creepy things you can come up with!

In my own campaign I plan to use the Chantry of Desecration as a non-combat encounter. A place where atrocious deeds have been committed in the past, but where remnant energies still linger.

Here’s a link to download the map!

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The infernal monolith – isometric dungeon room

”Deep in the bowels of this forsaken labyrinth stands a strange monolith adorned with blasphemous runes. The stone whispers ancient curses in maddened voices. Its language is that of the Abyss – infernal and sacrilegious.”

Just a little bit of “dungeon dressing”. I’m imagining the monolith to be somewhat sentinent, so a player character with the right knowledge can communicate with it. Initially it would be very helpful and provide sound advice, but sooner or later it would require something in return. How far will the players go to please the monolith? What would they be willing to pay?

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Rubik’s Dungeon – a cube shaped, isometric dungeon map

Created in ancient times by the great (and sadistic) dungeon master Rubik, the cube is an artifact that can alter the layout of his underground lair. To attract victims, Rubik would intentionally spread rumours about great tresure hidden in the depths of the labyrinth. As adventurers delved into the dungeon he would use the cube to constantly switch rooms and corridors around until the spelunkers lost their way. As Rubik would place food, water and other supplies in the dunegon, some adventuring parties roamed these maddening hallways for years until finally perishing.

I drew this map mostly as an experiment to see if I could pull it off. While probably not very useful for using as an in-game map, it was a lot of fun to make.

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The Lost Library Dungeon Map

The Lost Library is a dungeon map I created for my Dunkelmoor campaign environment, however it is “generic” enough to fit well into most fantasy campaigns. Feel free to download the map and print it for personal use at your gaming table.

Rumours of an ancient, subterranean library filled with long forgotten knowledge and secrets should be something that piques the curiosity of most adventuring parties.

The idea of such a place fits well into many D&D campaigns, and it provides a great opportunity for the Dungeon Master to throw out hooks for new adventures. Spending some time with the dusty tomes could let players find clues to other hidden places in the world, such as the Ghoulshaft of the Ossuan Desert.

Download high-resolution image (300 dpi):

lost_library_300DPIDownload

Support my work – buy me a beer

If you like my stuff and want to give me a tip to cheer me on, please click the button below. Please note that tipping is appreciated, but not expected. Don’t donate if you’re short on cash, I’m sharing content because I like to, not to make money.

Stay awhile, there’s a lot of content on the blog. Here’s the latest posts: