Corpse Road Battle Map - Launch

Hello adventurers! I’ve been working hard this week and finished the Forgotten Graveyard, now renamed the Corpse Road map for the end of the month. I imagine this would work for a travel encounter map, maybe Zombies, Ghouls, or even a more powerful undead. Honestly, you just can’t have enough travel maps for the odd quick encounter, so I hope this comes in handy.

Next Maps

I’ll be moving straight onto the Forest Spirits Realm next, lots of huge trees, roots and moss with some very Ghibli-looking elements.

• Forest Spirits Realm
  I want to create a deep forest map reminiscent of the location from the Ghibli Film Princess Mononoke. It will be a mystical place full of pools, and moss-covered rocks, with a central feature like a shrine or tree.
• Abandoned Camp
  Finding an abandoned camp in the wilderness is not uncommon in a game, so I want to make a simple map with an abruptly abandoned campsite. I’ll probably set it in a small ruin of some type to add a little interest.
• Hells Keep
  I have an idea for a strange ‘reverse’ Keep inspired by a real castle in Czechia (Czech Republic). The Houska Castle was built on the site of a gateway to hell, preventing hellspawn from escaping, or so the folklore goes. It's a cool idea, so I’m going to make a Keep battle map with its fortifications pointing inward, including stakes, fortified walls and some kind of pit with a rusty metal elevator that can be lowered into the darkness below. Should have some Army of Darkness vibes :D

Thanks so much for your support this month. I hope you all stay warm and cosy as the darker months set in (at least for those in the northern hemisphere). Let me know if you have any map ideas, it's quite helpful to get suggestions from you wonderful people.

Now let's get going, the sun already set and we still have miles to go. Oh, look, an old graveyard, how quaint and a little spooky. Is that someone up ahead on the road? They seem to be shuffling around aimlessly, maybe even shambling. We should probably ask if they need help…

Downloads (Map List page)

You can find all the downloads for this and other releases on the Map List page. Remember you need to be logged in and be a Patron to access the files.

Descriptions

As you make your way along the country lane you notice an old rusty gate to your right, beyond is an overgrown and seemingly long-forgotten graveyard. The grass is long and unkempt, the gravestones jut from the ground at odd angles, their inscriptions worn by time and the elements. Towards the back of the graveyard is a hill with a small crypt entrance at its base. The Crypt is surrounded by trees and shrubs, its roof has partially collapsed. At the crest of the hill are a few lonely graves, their stones silhouetted against the evening sky.

As you watch, mist begins to roll across the surrounding fields, covering the ground and obscuring the graves. High above, you hear a hollow cry, a guttural howl that pierces the cold evening air and chills you to the bone.

Notes and Tips

• 30x30 Grid Map
• In the past, remote communities would not have their own burial sites. When someone died they would be transported to the nearest graveyard along lonely roads called Corpse Roads, Burial Roads, Coffin Roads, Lych Ways and Lyke Ways. Add a little spice to your setting by referring to the road as one of these.
• I’ve added a hill at the back of the map for a little extra interest in combat. Have a larger monster watch from a distance as its minions attack first. Or have the party make their way to the crest of the hill for some reason and then watch as the graveyard comes ‘alive’ with the undead.
• Have the weather change drastically when the encounter starts. Mist or fog rolling in is a fantastic way to add another element to combat. Line of sight can be essential to your player's combat strategies. Heavy rain can also work well.
• The Corpse Road - The locals warn you not to travel along this road, but it will take hours off your journey. As your party reach the graveyard they hear a howl from the hill above, a lone figure stands in the road ahead of them. As the sun sets they hear movement in the graveyard and more figures stumble onto the road.
• The Shadow on the Hill - The graveyard has been abandoned since the lord's disgraced son was buried on the hill above the family crypt. There were rumours he was dabbling with dark magics and now the graveyard is somehow cursed. It is said he was buried with an evil artefact that has corrupted the ground. Dig up the grave and remove the artefact, no matter what may try to stop you!
• Grave Robbing - Locals have complained their relatives are being dug up and their bodies removed. This is odd as grave robbers normally want fresh corpses. It turns out some local warlock needs bones for some dark ritual and the bones (and souls) of the local's relatives will do just nicely. He can be found in the graveyard at dusk (or night), digging up graves with a few zombies or other minions in tow.

Variant

Day/Night versions of all the variants.

Snow versions of all variants.

There are Moorland variants for a Hounds of the Baskervilles vibe.

And a simple road (no graveyard) with fields on either side.