Friday, June 28, 2013

Maps Ahoy!

As I stated in the previous post, this blog will be rich with materials for RPG adventures... and how can an adventure be considered as such if it doesn't involve a map? Good fantasy adventures DESERVE good maps, and sometimes the whole adventure revolves around a map (I'm talking dungeon delves here). However, GMs are often quite busy (school, university, and after that, a job) and while they can afford spending some time building a story and its setting, producing elaborated maps can be problematic.
In my current Pathfinder campaign, the setting is a vast ocean dotted with islands of varying size and degree of civilization. I had to provide my players with maps representing ships, small fortresses on the coast and the likes.
Here are some of those maps.

Saltwatch Keep
This old fortress was built about 100 years ago. Elves needed to keep the Sea of Tears under their heel, and constructed many strongholds on the coasts of the islands they ruled. This particular building was one of the smallest and housed a garrison of about 20 men, including an alchemist conducting studies on black powder. Nowadays, the keep is deserted, and some believe it to be haunted. If the PCs explore it, they can find some useful items in the alchemist's lab (second floor, lower right building) and discover a mysterious hole in the fortress' captain's room (first floor, the room along the diagonal wall), which leads to a network of caverns under the building. What will they find there?
(You can use this map for your games, both as I described it or as a normal fortress with soldiers by removing the hole in the floor and the bloodstained tables in the dining room on the first floor.)

Saltwatch Keep: 2nd floor.

Saltwatch Keep: 1st floor.

The Steadfast
Sometimes players need a small boat for themselves. The steadfast is perfect for this. I originally thought of it as a fishing boat, but it can be OK for short-term maritime travels.

Statistics:
Huge ship
Squares 2 (15 ft. by 40 ft.) Cost 3,000 gp
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DEFENSE:
AC 5; Hardness 5
hp 360 (sails 60)
Base Save +3
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OFFENSE:
Maximum Speed 90 ft. (wind); Acceleration 30 ft.
CMB +4; CMD 14
Ramming Damage 2d8
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STATISTICS
Propulsion wind or current
Sailing Check Profession (sailor)
Control Device steering wheel
Means of Propulsion 15 squares of sails (one mast)
Crew 2
Decks 2
Cargo/Passengers 3,000 pounds/up to 4 passengers (only four beds on the ship however; any other passengers must sleep in makeshift hammocks)

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