Okay, here it is the custom made battle map that I am using to run my Keep On The Borderlands – more specifically the Caves of Chaos.  It measures 55 inches by 73 inches, which is why my excel version of the Caves of Chaos map is a bit different from the original.

I’ll walk you through how I put it together, and then give a room by room tour (at least for some of the rooms).

Ok, let’s get started.

I started off with some upholstery fabric that I picked up at JoAnn’s Fabric and craft store. They were running a sale and I got it dirt cheap. Usually this stuff sells for $25.00 a yard and I got it for $3.00 a yard. 2 yards = 6 bucks for the base.

The material used for the walls I got a similar deal on, but I only need half as much (actually less than that, but half is a good starting point.

If you should attempt an insane project like this yourself, I recommend very much that you choose a fabric that has a pattern that lends itself to making the 1” grid. If possible, get fabric that already has a 1” grid on it, like a checkerboard or plaid. The lines on this particular fabric are spaced at ¼” so it was pretty simple to make my grid.

Okay, for the next step I started marking my grid and gluing down my walls. If I had it to do over again (which of course I do), I would recommend drawing out the grid in its entirety first. I used a green permanent fabric marker. They are machine washable and really do a very nice job. A word of warning here, though. You have to let the marker dry for a couple of hours before you expose it to steam.

Why is this important? Well mostly because I used a lot of steam.

In order to attach the walls I used fabric glue, which comes in little rolls. The rolls come in a variety of widths from 1/8” up to 2”. I chose the 1” width, but the 7/8” would work just as good, if not better. In order to stick the walls to the base you cut a strip of wall and a strip of glue and then place the wall on the base with the clue in between. Then put a damp cloth over the wall and apply a hot iron (set to wool) for about 20 seconds. The instructions on the glue say to keep it there for 10 seconds, but I found that keeping it there longer really helped, especially with some other types of fabric, like denim, which I used for the pool in area G.

Here we can see what the whole thing looked like with all the walls done but no trees, water, or furniture. At this point I was experimenting a bit with the fabric markers to see how they would look for drawing in furniture and stuff. I decided to go ahead and cut out shapes for most of the furniture like tables and chairs later on because they added more dimension to the dungeon. After finishing the walls I went ahead and glued down the trees, water, and major furniture elements like tables, chairs and altars.

After finishing all of the gluing I went back with a fabric marker and drew in the rest of the elements that I wanted including furniture, fireplaces, the kobold garden, and the magic runes in the temple of chaos.

All told the project took about 50 hours of work, but it is really a wonderful little blanket to have around. My kids just love it. And as for gaming, it really does bring a whole new dimension to the game experience.

Want a close up tour of some of the rooms? Let’s get started.

Area 1: Entrance. I don’t show the pit trap, but will place it down when the PC’s discover it. The red star represents the cave entrance. There are no furnishings in this area, so it is kind of boring visually. The kobolds get to use the narrow hallway to hold back the PC’s if they turn aggressive.

Area 2: Dump. I admit that I had a hard time drawing trash, so it looks a bit like scribbles. When the PC’s go poking around they will find the rats and scorpions waiting.

Area 3: Also visible in this picture is area 3, the Storage area. Crates, barrels and bags are all drawn out. Mixing colors with the fabric markers is a bit difficult, but they are outlined with black and then colored in with yellow and bronze. The yellow doesn’t show up too well in the photos.

Area 5: This is the kobold king’s lair. If you are paying close attention you will have noticed that I switched areas 6 and 5 on my final map. Why? Well because I screwed up and glued in the king’s throne here. Not a big deal I guarantee the players will not know the difference. I tried to get a bit creative with the fireplace, the lantern, and the little playing cards on the table.

Area 6: This is the kobold main living quarters. Notice the large fireplace and exposed rug. The kobolds like to lounge here next to the fire. They also have a couple of oversized sofas.

Area 4: If you’re wondering what happened to area 4 so am I. At the time of this writing I’m just noticing that area 4 got left out. I guess I’ll stick the guards in the hall somewhere.

Obviously this continues on for the rest of the caves.  If you want to see the whole thing then you’ll just have to download the entire module.  I’ll post links for that next week, I’m just putting on the finishing touches.

Welcome back to Dungeons and Dragons Corner.

You can find Character Sheets Here.

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Ok, I’m going to put up the last post for the keep itself today.  Starting tomorrow (not Wednesday) I’m going to start posting the individual caves from the Caves of Chaos.  Also, at the end of the post I’ll show some images of the keep map that I am using, which isn’t the same as the map that I posted.

Area 16: Guild of Masons.  The guild of masons runs everything non-military in the keep.  They control taxation, commerce, public works, and anything else that Lord Drell doesn’t want to deal with.  They issue all permits, oversee general construction activities and supervise appointments of public servants.  The compromise is that they are not allowed any of their personal military within the keep.  They pay for all of their military support through Lord Drell.

For those of you familiar with Forgotten Realms, you will realize that this guild is something of my own creation.  They are a commerce and trade guild with small holdings throughout Faerun.  They deal in organized crime where it is prudent to do so, but do not consider themselves mercenary or powerful enough to challenge other major organizations.  They dabble in politics only enough to help trade.  Their hold in Drells’ keep is unusual, and therefore all the more important to the organization.  Should the keep become strong enough this will likely become their international headquarters.

Harnost is the guild master here.  His is a shrewd but friendly halfling who has risen through the ranks of the guild by careful planning and hard work.  He has plans to extend the guild’s reach into the more unseemly side of society.  Already he has quietly garnered support and controls the gambling and prostitution through the inn and tavern.  He has made arrangements to have additional women brought to the keep, and they should begin arriving within the next 10 or 15 days. Harnost likes Kavmen Drell, and enjoys the keep.  He has no desire to assume military authority here and believes that increasing trade and commerce will benefit everyone.

Harnost has access the scouting reports on the Caves of Chaos and surrounding areas.  The last patrol sent to the caves did not return, and some among them were secret members of his organization.  He will offer the PC’s 50gp for information about the partrol and an additional 50gp for each rescued survivor.  If they can secure the trade routes either by exterminating the entire caves, or by some treaty, he will award them all lifetime guild membership and an additional 100 gp.

Harnost gets along pleasantly with Chant Havelove, the supposed priest, but he has suspicions about the priest’s authenticity and purposes.  At the moment his suspicions are only a hunch and he has kept the private because he has no proof and cannot think of a reason why the priest would be this far from the rest of civilization.  He has his assisstants watch the priest, but so far has not been able to search his apartments or find any evidence, though he does know that Chant is sending messenger pigeons to someone.

Harnost has three assisstants that work and live in the guild hall.  In addition Geoff, the banker lives in the guild hall.  They have private appartments on the second floor.  Their offices are located on the bottom floor.

Trade access:  The guild can get just about any item through its trade network, provided the PC’s are willing to wait and are willing to pay.  In general it will take 10 days for every 1000gp or less of value for any object that they order.

Area 17: The Chapel. The chapel is a small affair, and is dedicated more to goodness and military might than to any particular diety.  Curtis, the chaplain is a long time friend and adventuring companion of Lord Drell.  He lives here with his young wife.  Together they administer healing and comfort to those who need it.  They perform ceremonial rights for a variety of dieties, but encourage the worship of Amaunator above others.

In addition to his adventuring gear, curtis keeps 8 gp, 15 sp on his person.  He keeps 6 healing potions ready,

The chapel has been surrounded with a magic circle (see PHB for ritual description) against shadow, and an undead ward (see PHB for ritual description).

Curtis spends most of his time working on his alchemical and ritual research.  Drell has alocated him 25 gp per month for his research duties.  Curtis hopes to surround the entire keep with magic protection.  Drell relies heavily on Curtis for decisions, particularly difficult cases of judgment.  Curtis no longer entertains thoughts of adventuring, but prefers to help build the community and add a touch of magic to the keep.

Areas 18 through 27 are the areas of the inner bailey and towers.  The guards here may be posted to the outer walls as well, depending on duty arrangements.  The captain of the watch and the captain of the guard both work closely together to coordinate efforts.

Area 18: Inner gatehouse.  The inner gatehouse has quarters for the captain of the guard and the sergeant of the guard.  Only those possessing an invitation, or accompanied by Lord Drell, Essentia Nells, Freela, Harnost, Curtis, or one of the sergeants or captains, will be allowed through.  There are no exceptions to this rule, though messages may be passed on.  The sergeant is a 3rd level fighter, the captain is a 4th level fighter.  Both are loyal to Lord Drell, and attend to thier business.  Neither of them is interested in the PC’s.  The matter of the caves pertains more to the outer bailey.

Area 19: Small Tower.  The typical tower houses 8 guards, first level fighters.

Area 20: Guard Tower: This tower would house 24 guards when full, but now only houses 8.  The corporals of the guard are here, both 2nd level fighters.

Area 21: Inner Bailey. This is the courtyard in front of the keep’s main tower.  Here the soldiers drill and train.

Area 22: Cavalry Stables.  There are 6 horses stabled here, all property of the military.  They are used by Drell and his officers as necessary.  They are not for sale.  There are 4 attendants (all commoners) on duty to attend to the horses during the day.

Area 23: Great tower.  This is identical to area 20 above.

Area 24: The Keep Fortress.  This is a tall, thick, imposing structure with only a few dark rooms inside.  It is kept clean, neat, and business runs like a clock here.  There are quarters here for the scribe, advisor, and for Lord Drell.

Area 25: Tower.  40′ high hower with battlements pierced for arrows.

Area 26: Central towers.  Here are the scribe, Freela, a Genasi Bard, and Essentia Nells, an Eladrin wizard who acts as an advisor.  Neither Freela or Essentia Nells owes Lord Drell any particular loyalty, but they both enjoy the keep and respect Drell for his leadership ability.

Freela came to the keep when she heard about Drell’s commission.  She is interested in new lands and new stories.  She spends all of her free time visiting with newcomers and listening to what they have to say.  She enjoys her job as scribe  because she gets to hear first hand all of the accounts of important events in the keep.  She respects her job, but will give out information if it seems appropriate to do so.  She is aware of the lost patrol, and will give any information to the PC’s that she thinks will help.  She knows that orcs, goblins and kobolds have all been spotted in the area of the caves of chaos.  In addition she knows that campfires have been spotted across the river and that there has been activity of some group of humanoids to the south of the keep.

Essentia Nells also came to the keep looking for stories, but stories that tell about the history of Faerun and the world at large.  She advises Lord Drell on matters of longevity and persistence of the keep.  She understands that his short life will be but a moment to the stone walls of the keep and she wishes to bring beauty and strength to the land as well as power and majesty.  She has claimed the keep as her own.  She does not wish to rule it, but will do all in her power to see that those who do rule it do so with its continued existence in mind.  She will help the PC’s in their endeavors so long as their goals match those of the keep.  She knows that a short term extinction in the caves will be temporary at best, and would rather see those creatures brought to productive service and commerce with the keep.

Essentia despises the Mason’s guild and is working quietly to gather resources to supplant them economically.  She is working to bring in other trade organizations, and will offer the PC’s discounts if they will trade through people other than the mason’s guild.  If the PC’s discover Harnost’s plans to increase prostitution and to control illegal activities in the keep and report it to her she will reward them 50 gp, and bring the matter before Lord Drell.  She will help them supplant the guild if they encourage her or indicate an interest - providing they do not wish to engage in illegal or immoral activities.

Area 27: Castellan’s chambers. This is where Lord Kavmen Drell resides.  Typically he is not here, except to hold council or to debate difficult matters.  He spends most of his time visiting his officers and advisors.  When he meets with the PC’s to issue them thier charter, he will do so at the inner bailey gate.  Requests to see him will go through a chain of command, and the PC’s will be shown to Essentia Nells first.  She will have Freela record their report and decide if the matter needs Drell’s direct attention.

Kavemen Drell wants the keep to succeed more than life itself.  He is ambitious and believes that his best work is to serve Cormyr and to bring civilization to uncivilized places.  He understands the use of mercenaries, and believes that the PC’s can be useful to his purposes.  He will try to earn their loyalty if they prove useful.

Initially he will offer the PC’s 50gp for information about a patrol that was lost 3 days ago in the area of what the people of the keep are calling the caves of chaos.  The patrol consisted of 6 members, Hamron, Aaron, Fornst, Robert, Gilpack, and Unther a corporal.  They went on foot with provisions for ten days.  If the PC’s press for more money, he will direct them to Harnost who is offering additional rewards.  Lord Drell does not believe there are any survivors and so does not offer a reward.  If they turn up any survivors, he will offer them 50 gp per survivor.

He will explain that he needs the caves cleared for mining.  He would like an accurate map of the caves as well as any indications of mining activity, recent or past.  If he can secure the mines, he offers the PC’s 10% interest in the mining profits (which will come to 50 gp per month starting a month after the caves are cleared).  If pressed for cash now, he will buy offer them a flat 500gp.

DM note:  It will probably not be possible for the PC’s to clear all of the caves.  Some of the monsters are just plain tough.  However, the monsters don’t need to be killed in order for mining to commence.  Likewise the bugbears and gnolls will be willing to negotiate with the PC’s or with the Mason’s Guild for mining rights.  In addition, the kobolds are willing to work for nearly anybody and they have already learned which crops grow well in the area.  They will be willing to negotiate with anyone offering their services.  Drell will be hesitant at first to negotiate with any of the humanoids, but if the PC’s approach Essentai Nells she will influence him to negotiate.

Okay, folks, that wraps up the description of the keep.  Please be sure to leave your feedback here so that I can make any changes.  I’ll be running some test play with it shortly, so you can expect some modifications before I get the final version up.  Again, starting tomorrow I’ll be posting cave information.

Now for the version of the map that I am using to run my game.  The file is kinda big so I’m posting a link so as to not slow everyone down.

Drells Keep

I’ll post an article, complete with photos soon describing its construction, and hope to get some shots of it in use.  It measures 38″ inches wide and 72″ long, and is constructed from cardboard.

And if you haven’t checked out the D&D Downloads page, you may want to just because I’ve made a few more updates recently.

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So the party decided to go off in a completely unexpected direction.  Is this the end of the world?  No.  Is it inconvenient?  Maybe.  Can it be solved easily?  Yes.

Remember that in a game as open ended as Dungeons and Dragons, there is no such thing as the “wrong way.”  There are unexpected directions and events.  There are unplanned and unprepared areas, but there is not a “wrong way.”

Dealing with the unexpected is an art that can really only be learned by doing, but it isn’t that difficult to get the hang of it.  Understanding the elements of an encounter can help.

Encounters have 4 essential components.

-People
-Place
-Thing

So far sounds like the elementary school definition of a noun.  But the fourth element is probably the most important.

-Purpose

Getting the people, places, and things together are the bits that make encounters difficult.  These have to be prepared ahead of time.  It takes too much game time and effort to pull together the statistics of monsters on the fly.  Players can get bored pretty quickly while they are waiting for you to pull together the stats of that big red dragon.

So prepare ahead of time.

There are some things you can prepare ahead of time and some things you can’t.  In the manufacturing world there are things that can be done while the machine is running and things that can’t – this is referred to as internal and external setup for those of you keeping tabs.  The idea is the same in a game situation.  There are things you can prepare ahead of time and some things you can’t.  Doing as much ahead of time as possible will save you headaches later.

So what can you prepare ahead of time?

-Purpose.  This is crucial.  There had better be a purpose to whatever happens, and it is up to the DM to decide this.  So figure it out ahead of time.  Without this you are just playing a mini’s battle game, not an RPG.
-Things.  The stuff that the NPC’s have.  All of the key items – the stuff relating to the purpose should also be prepared ahead of time.  In most cases things won’t alter the people they are with.  Just stick it in a trapped box and the box then can be put in any encounter you want.
-Place.  You don’t get to pick the place.  The players do.  But you do get to pick which choices the players have.  I generally divide my encounters into a couple of categories.  Either they will happen in a dungeon, outdoors, or in a town.  What do I prepare ahead of time?  The dungeon map, a couple of outdoor encounter maps, and the town.  In any given session (even a really long session) it is pretty difficult for a party to visit more than one dungeon or town and do much more than knock on a few doors.

That leaves us with people.  Some people are more key than others.  Random XP fodder can be prepared pretty easily.  Use the monster manual or download monster cards and there you have it.  Make sure that the encounter fits your purpose and you have it.

Some people need more details.  These are the key NPC’s that you spend time crafting and really want the characters to interact with.  Generally when a party goes “the wrong way” it means that they have chosen not to meet the NPC’s you wanted them to meet in the place you wanted them to meet at the time you wanted them to meet.  Get over it.

If you really want the interaction of those NPC’s, then move the people to a different place.  Keep the purpose and the things the same and the players will not know the difference.

The trick here is that the 4 elements of an encounter can all be swapped out at any time.  An encounter’s purpose can be altered simply by the actions of the NPC’s.  The people can be altered by swapping out one stack of stat cards with another.  The things can be swapped out just as easily.

Make sure that all of the elements are prepared individually, without context, and add the context during the game.  The end result will be encounters that do not lack crucial elements and that don’t take extensive time to set up during the game.

If you happen to be lucky enough to have your players right where you want them, then even better.  No changes are necessary and you get to enjoy everything just the way you planned it!

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Ok, this is the single most versatile gaming tool I have ever used.  It is not necessarily the prettiest, but it is a time saver and you can use it session after session.

The idea is very simple.

Buy a magnetic white board (recommend 24″ x 36″) and write a 1″x1″ game grid on it with a permanent marker.  That’s it. 

The advantages are tremendous.

• All you need is a dry erase marker (comes with most boards) and you can quickly draw out dungeon maps.
• Magnetic so if you apply magnets to your minis you don’t have to worry about anyone bumping the board.
• It is metal so it doesn’t break.
• The sturdy surface allows for dice rolling (and the magnets mean you don’t have to worry about the dice knocking things around).
• If you use clear plastic maps (see information here) you can simply lay them over the field, tucking one edge of the map under a corner and get the advantages of the durable magnetic surface and a pretty map.

 So, how to you get your hands on one of these things without forking out a ton of cash?

Go to your local department store or office supply store and buy:

• A magnetic white board (get a size that will fit on your gaming table)
• A couple of permanent markers (Black Sharpies)
• A couple of dry-erase markers (make sure they are dry erase, not wet erase).
• Felt backing, if desired.

 Take it home and draw your grid.

There are two basic methods.

1. Get a broom handle.  Have someone hold it flush to one edge and run your sharpie down the other side.  Move the broom handle over until the edge is flush with the line you just drew.  Now draw a line down the other side.  When you have lines all across your board, rotate it 90 degrees and do the lines the other direction.
2. Get a ruler.  Using a dry-erase marker, mark off lines 1″ apart down one edge of the board. Go to the other edge and measure/mark the same lines.  Now take a long straight edge (like broom handle) and use a permanent marker to connect the lines.  Rotate the board and repeat for the lines going the other way.

 You’ll have a product you can use for years.

Have fun gaming!

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Last time I talked about how to make a large dungeon map on standard 8 ½” x 11″ paper.  You can see that article here.  And personally I think it works pretty good.  Sometimes, however, you know that you’ll be re-using a map a lot, or you just want something sturdier.  Here are a few ideas.

• Print it on Card Stock.  You can get card stock in various off-white colors at pretty much any office supply store.  There are several specialty paper stores as well, but the office supply stores usually sell for less, though the quality of paper won’t be as nice.
• Print it on paper and then glue it to cardboard.  This is particularly useful if you are going to build a 3D dungeon.  Tape or glue (I recommend glue in this case) the map to the cardboard.  Now you have a perfect template for building your 3D dungeon, or you can use it as-is.
• Print it on clear plastic sheets.  Depending on your printer and or copy machine resources you can print (black and white generally) to clear overhead projector sheets.  Again these are available in office supply stores, though they can get expensive fast if you are using large maps.  Why would you do this?  Well, if you happen to have an overhead projector it works nicely for overland maps.  However, a more common use would be to apply them to a magnetic game grid..  Slip the map onto the grid and you get the benefit of the magnets as well as a more interesting map.
• You could also glue the paper onto even more sturdy backing, such as plywood or even sheet metal, however that is probably going to the extreme.

If you have access to a laminator then by all means laminate to your heart’s content.  Alternatively you could apply clear contact paper to the map.  

As always, have fun with your game.

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Making fun, interesting dungeons from scratch can be difficult.  Bringing them to life at the game table can be really tough unless you are spend a lot of money buying pre-printed dungeon tiles on a 1″ grid.  So how do you get your newly created dungeon onto a 1″ battle grid?

Enter Microsoft Excel.

Ok, Microsoft has a lot of bad press, but this is a trick that will save you time.

Convert your map to an electronic image.  If you don’t have a scanner, visit a friend who does.  If you are downloading free maps from Wizards of the Coast or another site then you will already have an image to use.  The sweet thing here is that it doesn’t matter the format or size of the image, though I recommend using jpg because the file size is smallest, which works well if you plan to email the finished product around.

Now open a blank workbook in Excel. 

• Change your print margins to .5″ all around (1/2″ border all around).  You can go smaller if you like.
• Click Insert | Picture | From File. 
• Browse to the image that you saved on your computer.  Select it an click insert.
• The picture should appear in your workbook.
• Move the picture to the top leftmost area of your workbook, so that the top left corner of the map is covering cell A1.
• Click on your zoom, and change it to approximately 40%.  This will show you how many pages the map will cover when printed.
• If you don’t get the dotted lines for the pages click print preview and then go back.
• However, you’ll want to go into print preview anyway, so open it now and count the number of squares of your dungeon that appear on the page.  Assuming that you are using standard 8 ½” x 11″ paper and printed portrait then you will want 7 squares to appear on the page so that you get nice 1″ squares when you print.
• If there are more than 7 then cancel print preview and adjust your image size by dragging the bottom right corner diagonally down and to the right.
• Go back to print preview and count the squares.  If the squares are too big, then go back and make the image smaller.
• When you have the right size of squares, print the pages.
• Generally speaking you will end up with several pages.  After they print, lay them all out on the table, or the floor if you have a very large map.
• Cut the bottom ½” border off the top row of pages.  This will allow you to tape or glue (I prefer clear tape applied to both sides) the second row to the top row.
• Cut the right ½” border off the left most pages.  This will allow you to glue or tape the next row of pages together.
• The idea here is to end up with a ½” border all around your nice map but still have plenty of room for assembly.

 You can do up an entire dungeon level in one evening and save yourself a ton of time explaining and drawing maps for players.  Personally I like to let my players keep the maps of the areas they have cleared.

Hope this helps and have fun!

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