The Hacienda Battle Map - Launch

Happy New Year Adventurers! Whatever time zone you are in, I hope you’re having a great New Year. I wanted to get The Hacienda map out before the end of the decade (that sounds weird) and I just managed it! Huzzah! I hope you like it.

I went with a somewhat tropical version of a Hacienda because I rather liked the vibe it gave off. I imagine this could work for a villa along a coast, a pirate hideout or a compound of some crime boss up in the mountains. Or simply a place your party comes across that can be used as a small settlement to protect or invade. I think I’ll make a desert version of this as well over the next few days, as I do remember I few of you were asking for alternative maps with that biome.

The next map on the list is The Man of War - Giant Galleon. I’m not 100% sure when that will drop, I’ll put out an update later this week with timescales and a new list of maps for January.

Have a wonderful New Year and now onto the map notes!

Introduction

The compound looks dark from the outside, but it is certainly not deserted. The gate towers loom above you, silhouettes of guards pace along the walls and stand idly in each tower. You see a new silhouette appear behind a guard, with a swift motion they are taken down, you hold your breath, waiting for an alarm to be sounded, but you hear nothing. One by one the guards are dispatched, your friend is very good at his job.

Finally you hear a faint sound, wood grating against wood and then slowly the gates crack open. You move forward beckoning the rest of your party to follow. You enter the compound, watchful for any guards your friend missed. The interior is open, covered with cobbles and terracotta tiles. All is quiet except for a fountain burbling at the centre of the courtyard. Towards the back of the compound is a large building, the targets residence according to your informants.

As you move across the courtyard a flame flickers into life within the dark archway ahead. You watch in horror as a torch is thrown towards you, illuminating your group in a pool of orange light. You look up as silhouettes appear along the roofs that surround the courtyard. In the dark archway you hear a chuckle. “Is this all they can afford to send against me? Pitiful! Guards! Dispatch our guests!”. You hear bow strings being drawn back as you dive for what little cover you can find.

Notes and Tips 

• 30x45 grid map
• There is an entrance to the main house from the roof garden.
• The flat roofs have small walls around them which can be used as half cover.
• Place enemies on the roofs to create threats which are difficult to reach.
• The red roof tiles can come loose if walked on, have your players make Dex checks.
• This could be used as a defensible location to fight off bandits.
• You could attempt to assassinate a crime boss which lives in this compound.
• I think flying creatures would work well here, the roofs can work well as perches for flying monsters such as harpies, wyverns or maybe some kind of giant insect.
• Talking of insects, how about a giant ant invasion? I love the idea of fighting off giant ants as they swarm over the walls like a scene from StarShip Troopers.

Variants

Day Outside - A roof version!

Nighttime lit and unlit versions

A set of desert variants (all of the above but with a desert theme).