Undercroft & Basement Battle Map - Launch

Hello Adventurers! I wanted to create a utility map for the end of the month that you could use in conjunction with my other building maps or by themselves. So I’ve created a Basement and Undercroft map combo for when you’d like to expand your encounter to the lower levels of a building. An Undercroft is a large storeroom under a stone building like a church, abbey or castle. I’ve filled this one full of casks, wine bottles and other containers. I’ve even added some seating if you fancied making it a drinking hall of some kind. The cellar is perfect for any number of encounters, every beginner adventurer takes on a rats-in-cellar job at some point ;P

Next Maps

I’ll be right onto the Boneyard tomorrow with the Into the Wilds coming towards the end of the month.

• Boneyard
  An ancient place of death, once the place where long-extinct creatures came to die, much like an elephant's graveyard. The bones will be massive, some making up the landscape.
• Into the Wilds
  It's been pointed out I’ve not made many true wilderness maps with no paths or trails, which is very true. So I’m going to make a couple of generic forest/grassland maps which can be used when your party goes completely off-trail.

Welcome to the new Patrons and thank you to the wonderful people who have continued to support my map-making endeavours. I hope you have a great end of the week and as always happy adventuring!

Now let's go clean out those rats for this kindly old lady. How hard can it be? OK, sure the cat has gone missing… and the Handyman hasn’t been seen in days… but seriously, how big can rats really get?

Find all the downloads on the Map List page here. Remember you need to be part of the Patreon and signed up to the correct tier to get access to the files.

Map Descriptions

Undercroft

Making your way down the worn stone steps you find yourself in a shadowy room. Stone pillars stretch into darkness, holding up an ancient vaulted ceiling. Huge barrels are built into the walls, and between them, lined up in rows, are casks and shelves of bottles in every shape and size. The musty dry air carries the faint aroma of aged spirits and wine-infused oak barrels.

Basement/Cellar

The old wooden steps creak as you make your way down into the shadowy basement (cellar). The flickering candlelight only illuminates a few feet around you, casting exaggerated shadows onto the cluttered interior. The walls are lined with ancient shelves filled with boxes, broken tools and empty bottles. A thick layer of dust covers everything, its depth indicating how long one item or another has been forgotten here. The floor is earth and slightly damp, the air cold and musty.

Notes and Tips

• 30x30 Grid Map
• These are two separate locations created in a style that could sit below residential buildings, taverns, castles or mostly any building.
• If a map does not have an entrance for a cellar, basement or undercroft have it be hidden behind a wardrobe or painting, below a rug or under a table. And remember not every detail needs to be displayed on a map for it to exist. Your descriptions can add to the details on any map you use in an encounter.
• Boxes can be filled with more than just junk. Have smaller monsters hide in boxes and barrels, maybe they are nesting in them.
• Just some Rats: An old lady with bad eyesight has asked the party to clear out her cellar as she has a terrible rat infestation. Mention to the players she has trouble making out basic details about them. Obviously, the ‘rats’ turn out to be more than simple vermin. They could be mutated by the chemicals leaching through the walls of the apothecary next door. Or maybe they aren’t even rats. They could be small demons who have escaped a ritual performed by a local cult. This encounter is perfect for introducing a larger threat.
• Spirit in the Casks: The local monastery has an undercroft they use for wine and spirit storage, unfortunately, it has become the home of an unruly spirit. This could be some obscure Elemental, take a water elemental and alter it to be a Wine or Brandy variant with altered and themed attacks (Intoxicate!). Or it could be a ghost of a recently deceased Brewmaster, killed for the secrets of his trade. His notebook is hidden somewhere in the undercroft and the corrupt Abbot wishes to have it for himself. He will accompany the party and be exposed as a cultist (and powerful dark magic user) at some point.
• Dwarves of Two Houses: The Undercroft is used as a drinking establishment for dwarves. Unfortunately, two rival gangs of dwarves have decided to take this location as part of their territory and the proprietor needs someone to keep the piece. The place is tense and suspiciously quiet (dwarves never drink in silence). Even the slightest ‘slight’ will trigger a barroom brawl which the players must end in any way they see fit.

Variants

Lit and Unlit versions of relevant maps.

Tunnel versions for both maps. I imagine Smugglers using the Undercroft, while some sort of monsterous vermin has invaded the Basement.

A Flooded version of both maps, because wading around a basement waist deep in water is just a joy, stepping on a 'danger log' (Alligator) is even more fun :)

Someone has been trying their hand at growing mushrooms in the basement, however, they got the spores from a dodgy-looking fellow with suspiciously dark blue skin. It's Underdark mushrooms and that can't be good!