DnDungeon

Imperial Caravanserai, Post Station, & Inn

Added 2025-03-25 14:28:29 +0000 UTC

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The free archive is attached to the bottom of this post!

An imperial post station map for your administrative & mail-moving needs. They’ve also got spare rooms for travelers, a sizable public mess hall, cooks, private rooms for officials, and a heck of a lot of official problems for an adventurous D&D party to solve (or make worse).

This map is based loosely on the real Chinese Imperial post network, which was used by generals, magistrates, and other officials to swiftly move letters between provinces to the addressee. At its peak, a large network of post stations spanned the empire, each with horses ready-to-go for messengers. For especially urgent matters, they might be ridden to exhaustion or death, replaced at each new station with a fresh horse & messenger.

This map is directly compatible with the DnDungeon Modular Japanese City Tileset pack! The left- and right-hand bottom corners line up perfectly for attaching this map to any of the other compatible location maps or street tiles.

Thoughts

It was the closest inn in town, but now the corrupt station minister wants the party dead!
A letter needs to be subtly intercepted. Or perhaps unsubtly; depends on how the Warlock is feeling today.
There’s a raven nest in the right-hand tower. In my own setting, ravens are intelligent, and are employed by most major powers to relay messages. No better way to have your say than crowpost!
The players are accosted while recovering their horses by a shape-shifting tengu that snuck in with the crowpost birds.
A murder of ravens is usually a bad omen. Maybe they’re a delegation from the mountains.
There’s an optional secret room in the minister’s office — perfect for hiding confiscated items or damning evidence, or for hiding from intruders in.

Imperial Post Station: A map that doubles as a caravanserai, stables, & inn.
Murder of Ravens/Tengu Gathering: A huge flock of crows has gathered in the station courtyard. This probably isn’t a good omen. Maybe it’s a challenge? Maybe they’re here to deliver a message.
Winter: Nothing brings the feeling of desolation to the highland plains of the Empire quite like the whole settlement being smothered under one of the sweeping blizzards that cross-cross the region from October to April.
No Horses: Just in case you feel like they’d get in the way of a fight. Squishy fleshy creatures that should be able to run away.
Sinkhole: A huge sinkhole has swallowed the fountain! It looks like there’s a river down there … where does it lead?
Fleshhole: Some kind of sickly, corrupted stream has been suddenly exposed. Is something crawling up the walls?
Fleshhole Plague: Pure vile evil radiates from this gaping wound in the earth. Either this whole town is already condemned, or it’s soon going to be.
Canopy Overlays: Built for VTT canopy usage!
Day/Night Variants: Wherever applicable!