The Great Blockage Battle Map - Launch

Hello Adventurers! I’ve finally finished our next release, this one links with an older map, ‘The Rats Nest’. This is a large storm drain full of mud and detritus. I mean it’s probably mud… It was inspired by stories of ‘fatbergs’ clogging up sewers. This map could be the way you get into the sewers, or the storm drain could be the open area for a larger fight at the end of a string of encounters.

I think our next map will be the Mountain Glacier, our wilderness map for the month. Then after that’s completed we’ll finish off the month back underground with the Pit of the Spider Queen (Mini-Dungeon).

As always I want to thank you for all your support, both new and long-term patrons. You really do make this possible! I hope your games continue to be full of fun and adventure! Now, let’s go clear this blockage! Oh... I think we are going to need a bigger plunger.

Extended version

Introduction

The mud under the walkway is thick and black, with each step you risk losing a boot. The city docks loom above you, mostly grimy wooden warehouses with the odd workshop and rough-looking tavern. Checking the scribbled map the city official provided, you trudge along the shoreline towards the dark opening of a storm drain. The wide brick and mortar arch is stained with years of filth and grime, only partially washed clean by the high tide. A stream flows out of the entrance, bits of detritus floating on its surface.

Your eyes begin to water, the smell coming from the sewer is so strong you can almost taste it in the air. Behind you someone retches, you know without turning it’s the Bard. “I’m good…” he gasps. “Probably shouldn’t have eaten such a big breakfast”. For once you can’t blame him, you are having trouble too.

The walls of the storm drain are caked in layers of filth, this place is in desperate need of repair. The blockages only get worse as you move further into the storm drain. Soon the accumulated mud, fatbergs, and waste are piled so high you have no choice but to climb over sections to reach more solid ground. Moving deeper into the storm drain you arrive at a pool of murky green water, fed by two dark channels leading deeper into the sewer network. A rusty metal walkway hangs above it, leading across to the far side. The Bard, being the lightest in your party is volunteered to go first. Grumbling, he tentatively steps out onto the walkway. Halfway across he turns to look back and gives you a weak thumbs up, just as a huge alligator launches itself from the water. It bites down on his leg and drags him screaming into the pool. Cursing, you draw your dagger, take a deep breath and jump in after him.

Notes and Tips

• 60x35 grid map (30x35 cut size)
• Sewers are extremely unpleasant places to be. The smell alone can be debilitating. Have particular sections of the map be so wretched there are con saves involved.
• Sewer water is not nice either, being submerged in it may lead to illness and more con saves!
• Anything could be hiding within the filth piles. Use an Otyugh they are basically poop monsters.
• Standing water can hide a lot of things, mostly large creatures that want to eat the party.
• Smugglers are using the storm drain to unload contraband into the city. The party could come from the sewers and find them at the storm drain entrance.
• A Lizard cult is taking citizens into the sewers to feed them to the giant alligators that live in the pools at the top of the storm drain.
• Someone dropped their wedding ring down the toilet. Use detection magic to find it, how hard can it be?
• Add a society of sewer Kobolds that scavenge to survive. They could need your help to remove a monstrous threat, or they could be a nuisance the city wants removed.

Variants

Large spiders have taken up residence in the Storm Drain.

The local smugglers use this location to bring in contraband to the city.

A magic facility has been dumping waste down here for years, it's probably fine...

Each variant comes with the extended version.