Guarded Way Battle Map - Launch

Hello Adventurers! The holidays are here, along with the last of our map releases for the year. Thanks so much for your support, I hope you have wonderful holidays however you may celebrate. This map is called the Guarded Way and plays on the troupe of a path guarded by some ancient power. I’ll admit this was inspired by the sequence from The Neverending Story ;)

Next Maps

January’s maps will be the Smithy’s Forge and then a very useful Undercroft/Cellar which will sit quite nicely under a lot of my other building maps.

Please do post more map ideas you’d like to see next year! Many of my maps this year were created from Patron suggestions, so go ahead and let your imagination fly!

• Smithy’s Forge (Weopons/Armorer/Fletcher)
  I’d like to make a Smithy with a forge, anvil and other crafting items. More than likely I’ll add multiple tools and machines for different crafts, so it can be used as a place to get armour and weapons made.
• Cellar or Undercroft
  A wine cellar or undercroft for a tavern or larger home/mansion. This will be a fairly simple map with a few rooms filled with barrels, boxes and forgotten items. Simple but very useful for those times when you need a cellar map for a building.

Thanks again for your support this year, I’ll be taking the next week off to travel and catch up with family and friends, I hope you have the opportunity to do the same and if not I wish you well in whatever you are doing.

Just a quick note on the last release, the Foundry VTT file provided in the zips may not work for everyone (thanks to those who pointed this out!). I’ve updated that with a new one. You can download it separately from the links on the map list page.

Map List Page

As always you can find all the downloads on the Map List Page. You have to be a member to get access to the files, so remember to sign in before clicking those links!

Now let's hurry, the world isn’t going to save itself! We’ll have to take this shortcut through the Road of Doom, or as the locals call it Crushing Canyon. If you’d like to get historical it is traditionally called the Way of the Burnt Souls, or as the Kobolds say Kill Kill Splat Path.

Map Descriptions

Rocks litter the path as you make your way deeper into the canyon. Beneath your boots, loose gravel grinds with each step, its echoing sound reverberating against the towering, jagged rock walls that flank the path.

As you continue, the remnants of collapsed brick walls and a once magnificent archway emerge from the cliffs. Beyond the archway is an open paved area on either side of the path. Steps lead upwards towards two giant plinths, each adorned with a stone lion. Every muscle, tuft of fur and razor-sharp claw is rendered in the most exquisite detail. The statues are positioned on either side of the path, silently guarding the way against those who would trespass on their domain.

Notes and Tips

• 30x45 Grid Map
• The lions don’t have to get off the plinth to fight the party. Have a glowing spirit stand up, emerging from the statues. Maybe damaging the statues does something to the spirits?
• Have the lions stretch and yawn. Emphasise their powerful muscles, sharp teeth and claws.
• Have the eyes of the statues glow as the party approaches.
• Have a deafening lion roar sound as the party passes under the first archway.
• The lions could speak and ask the party why they trespassed. They could manifest all manner of tests to see if the party is worthy of passing through their domain.
• Have magical fire block the archways to prevent escape.
• The Lion Knight: As they enter the ruin a lone figure stands in the party's path. He wears ancient-looking armour, the helmet is shaped like a lion's head. He is an undead champion tasked to guard this route against some ancient enemy. Have him take his power from the lion statues in some way. Spirit lions could manifest to fight with him.
• When Lions Attack: The lions come to life and attack the party, they have several special abilities. Each lion could possess one or more of these:
  Thunder Roar blasts out in a cone of effect throwing anyone affected to the ground and deafening them for a short time, with some damage for good measure.
  Soul Purr vibrates deeply into the very soul of those close by. It could damage internal organs or the very life essence of the creatures affected. Everything seems to shimmer for affected players making it harder to hit.
  Cats Play is a charge attack where the lion's prey is charged at and pounced upon. The target is knocked to the ground and held under one paw. This reduces the number of attacks the lion can make but allows easier attacks against the target. Great for high-armour characters.
• A Champion Picked: This was the border between two warring nations. Each lion represents one of the nations. To settle disputes a champion was picked from each nation to battle at the border. The lions don’t know their nations are long since gone and pick one of the player characters to duel for each nation. Is this a fight to the death? It's hard to tell, the lions aren’t saying. The lions on each side will help their champion. Get creative with how they help and how they react. Remember they hate each other but have had to spend eons with each other.

Variants

Day/Night and Lit versions of all the maps.

Want something else on the Plinths? I got you!

I like the idea of armies of magical armour just waiting to attack, a little like the terracotta armies, so I made a variant with that.

And I created an empty variant so you can really make your own scenario up from scratch.

I also created a Lava/Nine Hells set of variants as well. Lions, Plinth and Empty.