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Blackstone Keep Map Pack!
🕑 Added 2022-10-13 05:03:51 +0000 UTCThe download URL for the map files can be found in a following "Tier Rewards" post specific to your tier, or on the Pinned post on the front page of the Patreon.
Blackstone Keep & Surrounding Swamp [130 x 100]
"The wagon rolled to a stop. Its wheels were caked in grime and grit from the road winding through the swamp like a mud snake.
"We're here -- the Black Keep.", an old man shouted from atop the wagon, gesturing casually northward with a wave of his bony finger.
A pair of riders made their way to the front of the column, which consisted of three wagons and a handful of horses ridden by armed men and women flying a colorful gold and black banner bearing the crest of a white hawk.
One of the riders, a female officer clad in dented plate regarded the walls of the muddy keep with an expression of disdain. "Are you quite sure this is the only way?" she asked, glancing sidelong toward her companion.
The other rider, an aging knight with an elegant cloak, its fringe covered in wet chunks of mud, nodded in response. "Yes, this is the fastest way through the wetlands, lest we turn back and lose near 10 days coming south and east toward the mountain pass...", he said, then met his companion's gaze, "...which still does not offer safe passage."
The officer sucked in a deep breath and lifted her mailed hand, closing it into a fist.
The wagons lurched forward as the column continued, trundling toward the long stone bridge fording the murky swamp waters as it made its way toward the castle's gatehouse.
"Let's hope our stay is short, and our hosts...disinterested in what we carry.", the officer uttered under her breath, glancing idly over her shoulder toward the middle wagon."
--
Blackstone Keep is a large castle built in a swamp (yes, yes...the first one sank, etc...), and is patterned after real life Bodium Castle (used in Monty Python) with a few changes, mostly to the layout and contents of the interior.
This map pack includes [2] floors:
The 1st Floor includes a Barbican, West Gatehouse, Visitor's Quarters, Baths & Privies, Library, Priest's Chambers, Shrine, Dining Hall, Servant's Quarters, Buttery, Granary, Guard's Barracks, Guard's Tower, Officer's Quarters, Kitchen, Storage, and a Courtyard containing a Blacksmith, Stables and Kennel and/or Jail.
The 2nd Floor includes a VIP Guest Suite, Royal Family Quarters, Royal Quarters, Hidden Vault, War Room, Hidden Teleportation Circle, Throne/Receiving Room, Upper Kitchen, Advisor Quarters, Royal Ballroom, Guard Captain Quarters and Small Guard Barracks.
I've included legends, as well as a key in the ZIP file along with the rooftop PNG objects and concept art from Midjourney.
The map can be used for several purposes, social or combat:
- The party is traveling to another destination, and moving through the swamp saves them several days of travel. However, that requires passing through Blackstone Keep and negotiating that right of passage from the owner.
- The party has been sent to the Keep by an ally, who was called upon for aid by the owners of the keep, saying strange things are afoot in the swamp.
- Someone has been kidnapped and brought to the castle, and the party must find a way to infiltrate the grounds and escape with them.
- The castle is part of a party member's background or narrative.
I hope you guys can make all kinds of great adventures!
Comments
J. T. Rador
You do not get enough credit for the maps you make. I’ll definitely be setting this aside for a future campaign.
