May | 2013 | Drunken Nerdery

Made this map for the April/May 2013 Lite Challenge at the Cartographer’s Guild. It depicts a cavern that is situated beneath an inn on the outskirts of a small coastal fishing village. The cavern serves as an entry point for a smuggling operation and is protected by a small tribe of Troglodytes.

There are actually 3 entry/exit points – The first is through a well on the surface which drops about 50 feet into a larger pool of water (top right of the map). The second is a small dock (bottom left of the map) where you would sail into an alcove on the side of the cliff. The 3rd is a secret stairwell that runs from the basement of the inn to the top right of the map (not sure how to actually depict that yet).

Backstory – The cavern is an entry and storage point for a smuggling operation run by the Inn Keeper. He has found a way to manipulate the Trogs into protecting it and often disposes of meddling adventurers in the well (If all goes as planned – PCs would be drugged by the Inn Keeper and wake up falling into the dark cavern – they will need to fight/sneak their way through the lair to the safety of the dock).

The Traps (depicted on the right pane) disperse Troglodyte “Musk” whose scent alerts others than enemies are about. The Step traps can be found throughout, while the Chest trap is situated with other cargo in the map and is used to alert the Trogs when smugglers besmirch their otherwise impeccable reputation for integrity by trying to steal loot…if you can’t trust a smuggler who can you trust?