Saturday, December 8, 2018

Gamer ADD: Map for B1B2T1

So, my brain won't let go of the idea to place those great introductory TSR modules B1, B2 and T1 all on the same map. Despite the fact that Gygax gives a very detailed description for the location of the Village of Hommlet, placing it in Greyhawk, I have no real desire to use TSR's first flagship campaign world. For one, while the location works great for T1, there really is no place to put the locations of B1 and B2 to my satisfaction. Secondly, I am far more of a Judges Guild kinda guy, and the freedom I have to mess with the Wilderlands is exactly the sorta thing one needs for a project like this.

Thus, I ended up using about 20 or so hexes from Campaign Map Two, aka Barbarian Altanis. BTW if you haven't picked up Rob Conley's colored maps of the Wilderlands, do yourself a favor and get them.

There are several reasons I chose this location:

  • Rogahn and Zelligar (see B1) fought off a barbarian horde, which can now be understood to be Altanians.
  • There is an unnamed castle up the coast (and off the map below) that is led by a 7th level Lawful Good Cleric. Since we need a place from whence the followers of St. Cuthbert led a crusade against the ToEE, this castle makes a nice stand-in for Verbobonc. 
  • There is a Dwarven village (Kolda) at the foot of the Ered Perack Mountains that can nicely serve as the warning sign that humanoid activity in the Cave of Chaos has come to a head. The town has been overrun and Dwarven refugees will be a source of information both in the Village of Hommlet and the Keep.
  • There is both a keep and a village in close proximity on the map that lend themselves very nicely to be the location of Hommlet and the Keep.
  • There is a swampy patch of land with lends itself to the Mound of the Lizard Men from B2 as well as a place to locate the Moathouse from T1.
  • South of the map below, there is a lair of Owlbears, justifying the inclusion of the Owlbear in Cave G.
  • The name Fogbound Forest just seems a great place to put Quasqueton.
  • Finally, there are a bunch of hills at the foot of the Ered Perack Mountains which allow for the Caves of Chaos to be spread out in a more realistic manner.

Here is the map:

Key:
1 = The Mound of the Lizardmen (B2)
2 = The Spider's Lair (B2)
3 = The Bandit Camp (B2): These would be a rival gang that was not willing to work for the evil cleric Lareth from the Moathouse in T1
4 = The Mad Hermit (B2)
5 = The Cave of the Unknown (B2): Meant to be utilized by a newbie DM to create their own dungeon, this Cave is intended to serve the same purpose with one twist — the Dwarves of Kolda knew of and began to explore this place before abandoning the project due to what was down there.
A = Cave A: Kobolds
B = Cave B: Orcs
C = Cave C: Orcs
D = Cave D: Goblins
E = Cave E: Ogre
F = Cave F: Hobgoblins
G = Cave G: Shunned Cavern
H = Cave H: Bugbears
I = Cave I: Minotaur
J = Cave J: Knolls
K = Cave K: Shrine of Evil Chaos
Q = Quasqueton (B1)
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2 comments:

  1. JBDecember 9, 2018 at 1:05 AM

    Hmm...something seems a bit off to me. I don’t like Hommlet’s location (between the Caves and the Keep)...and shouldn’t it (T1) be closer to the Moathouse?

    That’s a REALLY big swamp.

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    Replies
    1. FrDaveDecember 9, 2018 at 7:17 AM

      I did fail to mention the scale, which might help alleviate your spidey senses. Each small hex is only 1 mile.

      Thus, the swamp is about 5x10 miles, the Moathouse is only 2 miles closer to the Keep than the Village by ground, and the Village has easier access to the River than the Keep, making a boat ride to the Moathouse from the Village faster than walking from the Keep.

      I was initially tempted to switch the locations of the Keep and the Village, but kept them the way they are because the humanoid threat is relatively new compared to the barbarian threat from the south (remember, this is an important piece of history from B1).

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