Cursed Chapel Battle Map - Launch

Hello Adventurers! This is our next map release, I’ve called it the Cursed Chapel. I thought this could work in conjunction with my Churchyard map and in the end, decided to directly link them together. This means you get two layouts for this one, a chapel with a few gravestones around it, and a super large map with the attached churchyard. There are plenty of scenarios for encounters here, most of which involve secret cults, nasty things taking over a holy place, or just the dead coming back to life!

This week I’ll be working on Lair of the Basilisk, a beautiful oasis nestled at the end of some rocky chasm. It’s, unfortunately, home to some less than pleasant creatures. And for the end of the month, I’ll be working on a Stinking Swamps map, imagine the Dead Marshes from The Lord of the Rings. Thank you for your support and kind messages! Have a wonderful week and as always happy adventuring! Now let’s go get a blessing at this cute little chapel, ignore the ominous chanting, and people in hooded robes. And those daggers are probably just ceremonial!

Introduction

The village is empty, not a soul to be found. Investigating a few buildings you see nothing untoward. No signs of violence or anything that would indicate where the villagers have gone. Standing in the village square you look around perplexed. A bell begins to ring out, a clear sound that echoes across the pastoral landscape. A church bell, used as a call to prayer, or in times of danger a warning signal.

Following the sound, you make your way along a dirt road, past fields, and rolling hills sprinkled with copses of pine and deciduous trees. Ahead, among the trees, you catch a glimpse of a stone spire and the top of a slate-tiled roof. Moving closer a grey stone building is revealed, a chapel surrounded by grass and gravestones. Its leaded glass windows are dark and in places cracked with age. From inside you can hear a sound, an ominous chanting, the words unintelligible. Walking up the path to the chapel’s entrance you push the wooden doors open as quietly as possible and make your way inside.

The inside of the chapel is shadowy, lit by windows covered in years of grime. The small amount of light that spills through is sickly and tinted yellow. The walls are roughly hewn stone, with columns that reach up to an arched ceiling with exposed rafters. The flagstone floor is worn and filled with rows of wooden pews. The first few rows of which are filled with shadowy figures wearing dark robes, heads bowed in prayer. A priest stands in the pulpit, his head also bowed, but as you step into the chapel his head lifts slowly. His eyes are bloodshot and wild, his face gaunt. It’s then you notice the shadow standing behind him, an undefined shape of mist and darkness. Swaying unsteadily the priest lifts a hand and points towards you, letting out a wail of anguish, the shadow behind him mirrors his movements. The congregation turns as one, their sickly pale faces slack and lifeless, humanoid shadows rise up behind each one. The chapel doors slam shut, the interior continues to darken as the chanting gets louder.

Notes and Tips

• 40x30 grid map - Chapel.
• 70x30 grid map - Chapel + Graveyard.
• There are two versions of this map, just the Chapel and also the Chapel plus Graveyard.
• The interior could be played as dim light to create some fun surprises for the players
• Use the extended map as a tiered encounter. You could even add to this map with my Family Mausoleum map.
• The flagstones or carpets could be lifted up to reveal an entrance to a tomb, or maybe during a combat encounter the floor is broken revealing the entrance. My Family Mausoleum map would work for this.
• The spiral staircase could give access to some crypts or head up to a bell tower (I may create a small patch for that room but honestly it’s so small I’m not sure it’s very useful).
• This chapel has been built on ancient burial mounds, which is not going to sit well with the ancient evil spirits that reside there.
• A cult has started to take over a small village, the chapel is being used for evil rituals. The god of the chapel is not happy and sends a prophetic dream to a player character.
• The local Nobles have been feeding the local peasants to a vampire for years, it’s kind of a tradition at this point. Some villagers have got upset and collected a bounty for the vampire and maybe some of the Nobles as well :)

Variants

Day/Night and Lit versions!

Winter versions Day/Night - a nice drafty stone Chapel to keep warm in!

And a Festival of the dead - or maybe is a fey fair or something other planesey ;)