Pie & Mash Shop Battle Map - Launch

Hello Adventurers, I’ve been working hard this week to finish off the Pie & Mash Shop for the end of the month. I love working on these quirky-themed maps and looking into the history behind them. A Pie & Mash shop is one of the earlier types of cheap fast-food restaurants, at least in the UK. It’s just the place to end a night out on the town, brawling with some local ruffians! I’ve written some flavour text and ideas below to help out with making the location come to life.

Patreon also had a small glitch this month that broke all the map list thumbnails, so I had to re-upload them all! Everything should be working as normal again.

Next Maps

I’m moving straight onto the Watermill map next week, with a Roadside Shrine later in the month.

• Watermill (with Millpond)
  I love Water Mills! They look cool, have all this funky machinery inside and work in a rural setting in most campaigns. There are a few folktales and some folklore around Watermills I’ll be including in the text.
• Roadside Shrine
  This will be a travel encounter map, a simple roadside shrine where people leave offerings to a local god or spirit. Leave some coins on it to tempt your players ;) That kind of thing.

Thanks so much for your support, researching and creating these maps is so much fun and it's down to you I get to continue to create them for this wonderful community! If you have ideas for new maps I’m always open to suggestions! Honestly, I need them :D I hope your weekend goes well and remember not to believe anything you see on the internet tomorrow, it's April 1st. Now let's go have a slap-up meal at this dodgy-looking pie shop. Just don’t ask what's in the pies, best not to know!

Find the downloads for this and all my previous maps on the Map List Page. Patrons can download all old maps for free! Remember you need to be signed in and sign up to one of the Tiers for the download links to work.

Map Descriptions

The outside of the shop is fronted by dirty brickwork and large windows, their frames painted dark green. The sign above the door proclaims ‘Traditional Pie & Mash with Liquor and Eels’, its lettering peeling in places. Through the windows, you can see rows of pies on baking trays, jars of pickled eggs, vegetables and grey-looking meat you assume to be the aforementioned eels.

As you push open the door, a bell rings above your head. The first thing you notice is the smell - a mix of baking pies, vinegar, and a cloying fishy aroma. The walls and floor are covered with grimy white tiles, originally this place would have looked crisp and bright, but with hay and sawdust on the floor and years of grime and soot on the walls, it’s seen better days.

Along the walls are open booths, each with a table and simple wooden benches. To the right is a kitchen area with a counter separating it from the dining area. Pots and pans, plates and cutlery are staked haphazardly on every surface. Behind the counter, three large vats bubble and steam away. A ruddy-faced woman serves creamy mash, grey chunks of eel and huge ladles of watery green gravy over steaming hot pies.

Notes and Tips

• 30x36 Grid Map
• Franchise! Come up with a franchise name and have them dotted around your towns and cities. Maybe a local village is proud to get its first ‘Miggins Pie shop’.
• Think about local produce! Often local dishes are popular simply because the ingredients are abundant locally. The river Thames was full of eels, so Londoners ate eel pies. Think about where your town or city is located and give it some flavour with its own regional delicacies.
• Pie & Mash, cheap fast food: Think of this as an early fast food restaurant. A place to get some cheap food after a night on the town or a place to chat with the locals and get some information. You really only get a few options, the pies, mash and something called Liquor, which is actually eel gravy with parsley, it is green and has a ‘unique’ aesthetic.
• Thug Hangout: A local gang hangs out at this restaurant. Maybe the party needs to shake them down for information or maybe the proprietors want them removed and the party is hired for the job.
• Health and Safety: The shop is well known for its terrible pies, but now they are super popular for some reason. They are adding a new ingredient, which is probably illegal. Maybe it’s poached from somewhere, maybe it's a prohibited spice added to the meat. Once eaten the pies have dangerous effects that are creating havoc around town. Maybe it gives people lots of energy but also makes them violent. Maybe it makes them stronger but is addictive.
• It’s people: Because of cause it's people, it’s always people. People are going missing and these pies are suddenly getting really good quality meat in them. Suspicious much?
• Out on the Town: Many adventuring parties end up getting drunk at some point or another. This is a great place for them to end up late at night, jonesing for a dirty pie of questionable quality. The locals just don’t like adventurers much.

Variants

Day/Night and Lit versions for all

Want something down by the docks? How about a Fish & Chip shop? With fish suppers and a fryer!

Or maybe you are on the carnivore diet and want to go all meat! Well, try Monsterous Meats Steakhouse, a speciality shop selling the rarest of cuts. With displays of meat and a kabab rack.