afternoonmaps

Bakery Battle Map - Launch

Added 2024-07-22 15:28:17 +0000 UTC

Hello Adventurers! This release is a map that sounds simple in principle, but I took my time researching so you can make your baking adventure extra authentic! I took inspiration from Victorian and medieval sources to create a good mix of fantasy and historically accurate baking accoutrement (yes, the birch whisk is historically accurate). You’ll find some details and explanations in my map notes so you can run an encounter with a little more knowledge on how old bakeries work and how one might work in a fantasy setting.

Next Maps

I’ll be working on the Pillars of the Wind map next, which should be ready by the end of the month. The Krakens Pot will follow.

Pillars of the Wind - At the end of a long mountain pass is a location of power, which can only be reached by crossing a natural wonder, the ‘Pillars of the Wind’, pillars of stone connected by rickety rope bridges. It's a natural obstacle that could be the setting for some fun encounters.
Krakens Pot
This idea is weird but could make for a unique combat encounter. Imagine a giant cage attached to sea cliffs, waves breaking against it. It's used as a massive trap for unknown sea monsters. A colossal lobster pot would be a good analogy. I’ll add walkways across it, some mechanisms to close off the entrance, and some large weapons to dispatch whatever is caught.

Thanks, as always, for your support. It means the world to me to do this kind of work, adding to the hobby I love and helping you all tell your unique stories. Please continue to suggest ideas! Have a wonderful week, and as always, happy adventuring! Now, let's get baking!

Downloads

The files, thumbnails, and tags can be accessed on the Map List Page. You must be logged in to Patreon and signed up to the correct tier to access them. Remember, you are only charged for map releases; you can download all the old maps at no extra cost!

Map Descriptions

The Bakery’s exterior is neat and well-maintained. The large glass windows that make up the shop front are immaculately clean. Behind the glass are baskets and rustic boxes overflowing with bread of every type and shape. Crispy bloomers, soft white buns, pies, flans, pastries and cakes fill the shelves and display cases.

As you open the bakery's blue-painted doors, the smell of freshly cooked bread billows out. The interior is well-lit, with windows on both walls and to the front. Towards the rear is a long counter and double doors leading into the bakery’s kitchen. The shop is split into two distinct sections. A checkered blue and white tiled lower floor is filled with every type of bread you can imagine, and up a few wooden steps is an upper floor filled with shelves of pastries and cakes.

At the rear of the Bakery is the kitchen and preparation area, which contains two large brick ovens and work surfaces filled with utensils and obscure equipment. The two bread ovens are painted white and have large wrought iron doors that radiate heat. To the left are doors leading into a store room, and to the right is a door to a corridor that leads to a rear entrance and wood store. Every surface is covered in a light dusting of flour.

Notes and Tips

30x30 Grid Map
Ancient Flour and Grain: Unlike today, wheat was not just a couple of homogeneous varieties. There were hundreds of strains, making regional bread taste quite different. Some regions would be renowned for their flour, wheat, and baking. Add this to your world with your bakery being famous for its bread's unique taste. Use your fantasy setting to make the ingredients extra special with exotic elements or growing techniques to add flavour.
For working people, bread was a mainstay for almost every meal. Most meals were bread with something else, often just butter or a piece of cheese, soup/broth, and maybe a bit of meat if you were lucky. This makes Bakers and Millers extremely important parts of any community.
Delivery Services: It was common for bakers to deliver bread to their customers. Especially in rural areas with no high street, bakers would employ juniors to deliver their bread to the locals. Incorporate this into your campaign with people delivering bread in large baskets on their backs or hand carts.
Yeast was supplied by beer-making, which was a significant cost in the process of making bread. Other trades and guilds can be worked into encounters to pay adventurers for services.
It's Elemental: A Fire elemental has taken up residence in the bakery’s oven, or maybe this is some kind of magical oven with a captured elemental keeping the oven hot. Whatever the reasons, the elemental is making its presence felt and needs to be removed.
Bake off, oh Dough!: Local bakers are competing to win a baking competition. During the competition, someone tries to cheat and adds magical or exotic yeast to their dough, creating a dough blob monster. Use a jelly or gelatinous cube for stats and go wild with the panic this creates!
The Devil Baker of Dough Street: One bakery along the famous Dough Street has become an overnight sensation. The bakers' guild wants them to join, but every representative of the guild sent to the bakery has gone missing. It turns out the baker is some kind of devil, with a portal to the Nine Hells in his oven. He’s been kidnapping customers and guild members and sending them, literally, to hell.