Bandit Cave, Adept

This week's map is the Bandit Camp (11x16), another tiny map I made to fit across two sheets of printer paper. Why? Because it feels like that might be handy or convenient! I've heard of some people playing at bars or coffee shops, and I know I wouldn't want to try to fit a huge map down on the table, I'd rather skip the map in that situation and do combat in our imaginations. Also, it might be nice for groups with fewer resources and time to put together a big map, like a school club, in which case something like this might be exactly what they're looking for. Also, I like the challenge of drawing small maps!

1. This time around I wanted to make some sort of cave camp, though when I started I wasn't sure what kind of vibe I'd be going with. I eventually started plan a goblin hideout, like a miniature Cragmaw Hideout from Lost Mines of Phandelver, complete with stream. The stream made the layout a little overcomplicated and cramped so it got cut, but the thought of a goblin camp stuck with me.

So, as with the previous map, I wanted to maximize the space used while keeping the layout interesting. I had to waste some space with pillars to make tunnels, but I tried to keep as much of the remaining space usable. I also wanted to ensure that the cramped spaces made sense with the grid so that movement through hallways made some sense hopping from square to square. That part was tricky and some parts of the map are still a little wonky, but overall I think movement will mostly make sense here.

2. Outlines! This was when I had to decide what exactly I was putting in these caves and who was making the camp. I tried drawing it to look 'goblin-y' but I thought it wasn't looking quite right, so instead I figured I should just make the props simple enough to fit many possible enemies and leave the small stuff up to whoever's DMing. The major choice that tripped me up was whether to leave the cage in or not. The cage implies someone or something is being held captive, which limits who might be occupying this camp. I ended up deciding that the ambiguity of what exactly is trapped inside was enough to leave it in- like maybe an outlaw is being brought to justice or an animal is being kept inside. There are enough options to explain it away, I think.

Also, do you like the way I restricted some of the hallways by drawing them as steep and uneven ledges? I really like this as it breaks up line of sight and adds some fun verticality to the map. Maybe you could push someone off of one of those ledges for a little damage or use it to sneak up on unsuspecting bandits?

3. Look at that, a tiny sliver of grass up there at the top, it's been a minute since I've had a chance to color some of that stuff. Maps with two different types of terrain always have a small degree of added difficulty just because I have to be careful that one part's lighting doesn't too heavily impact the other. Not much of an issue here of course, since the outside area is so small that it's barely part of the map, but it's always a consideration.