I’ve been posting the individual Caves of Chaos redrawn in my style (Caves A-F) (Caves G-K) – so this was pretty much inevitable. Here they are all collected into a single massive map. This was done at 1200 dpi at ledger size (11 x 17 inches) so you can print it out, fold it in half, and slip it into your module (probably between the cover and the module proper).

Each of these files is roughly 6 megs, far larger than most of the maps posted to the blog. Click on them to get to the full-sized 1200 dpi version.

The Caves of Chaos – Assembled

Originally I made this just as an accessory to go with the original map and adventure. Something a little more clear to my eyes without the contour lines, trees, numbers, and in black instead of blue because I’m an old man and my eyes just don’t like the low-contrast blue. I also didn’t include pit traps, so the maps could be used by those who want them on the table.

The Caves of Chaos – Numbered

But for ease of use, I realized that the room numbers could come in handy. So I made a numbered version to help those DMs who want it. And then, because I know I’m in the minority in my hatred of the blue maps… I finally broke down and made a blue one for y’all.

The Caves of Chaos – Blue

So enjoy your adventures through the Caves of Chaos. I’ve been going there regularly since 1979.

The maps on Dyson’s Dodecahedron are released for free personal use thanks to the support of awesome patrons like you over on Patreon. Every month 400 patrons come together to make these releases possible. You can help too in order to keep the flow of maps coming and to improve their quality – and even get a map of your own!

It is time, once again, to delve into the back catalog of maps here on the Dodecahedron and pull out two more to be re-released under the free commercial use license thanks to the amazing support of our Patreon backers. Mad Fenrick’s Manor and Basement were released in April and May of 2014 and are back!

Mad Fenrick’s Manor

A few miles from the nearest outposts of civilization, just over those hills to the west of here, are the old estates of the Trent family. Sitting almost smugly on a hill in the midst of overgrown hedge mazes and fallow fields is the manor of “Mad” Fenrick Trent. Sure the first parts of the structure were initially built by his grandfather, and the last Trents to live in it were his great-grandchildren, but Mad Fenrick is the Trent who put the most work into the half-fortified squat monstrosity.

Of course, a massive cobbled together and defensively structured manor like Mad Fenrick’s Manor doesn’t stop with just the main level and a few towers. In the main courtyard of the manor is a set of stairs that originally lead to the Trent family crypt, but that now connects to a small dungeon (as well as Mad Fenrick’s Root Cellar, Mad Fenrick’s Family Crypt, Mad Fenrick’s U-Store-It, and Mad Fenrick’s Large Rodent Repository, of course).

Mad Fenrick’s Basement

With the manor grounds now abandoned, who knows the sorts of things that crawl about beneath the old manor house. Whatever they are, they are probably very lonely and would love to play with any visitors.

And to be true to the originals, I’ve included versions without a grid:

Mad Fenrick’s Manor (no grid)

Mad Fenrick’s Basement (no grid)

It would, of course, be absolute foolishness to claim that these maps weren’t in turn inspired by the classic Tegel Manor adventure which I first encountered as a player and that has haunted my games ever since.

This map is made available to you under a free license for personal or commercial use under the “RELEASE THE KRAKEN” initiative thanks to the awesome supporters of my Patreon Campaign. Over 400 awesome patrons have come together to fund the site and these maps, making them free for your use.

Because of the incredible generosity of my patrons, I’m able to make this map free for commercial use also. Each month while funding is over the $400 mark, we choose a map from the blog’s extensive back catalog to retroactively release under this free commercial license. You can use, reuse, remix and/or modify the maps that are being published under the commercial license on a royalty-free basis as long as they include attribution (“Cartography by Dyson Logos” or “Maps by Dyson Logos”). For those that want/need a Creative Commons license, it would look something like this:

Cartography by Dyson Logos is licensed
under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

It was the way of the Etturan Dynasty to show the might and connection to the earth of the rulers to dig out underground complexes to serve as tombs. Some tombs were fairly simple affairs, dug down as far as they could manage before the ruler’s death. Others were more massive undertakings – complexes of tombs, crypts, temples and shrines dug into the native stone of the land.

Prince Delan’s Shaft Tomb

Prince Delan’s Tomb is one of the Etturan Dynasty’s “lost tombs” – roughly 40 tombs who’s locations were lost with the burning of the Tarek Archives. The tomb itself is a style that was made popular by a much earlier Etturan King, with various structures built off a central shaft. During construction wooden scaffolding was assembled in the shaft in order to climb from one level to another. Once Prince Delan was entombed the wooden structure was burned away leaving the central shaft with no easy means of accessing the other portions of the complex.

Much to the chagrin of anyone exploring the site now, sections of the tombs have collapsed, and foul beasts have moved into the bottom of the shaft and live in the walls down there making anything that dangles down to the bottom a danger.

This map is made available to you under a free license for personal or commercial use thanks to the awesome supporters of my Patreon Campaign. Over 400 amazingly generous people have come together to fund the site and these maps, making them free for your use.

Because of the incredible generosity of my patrons, I’m able to make these maps free for commercial use also. Each month while funding is over the $300 mark, each map that achieves the $300+ funding level will be released under this free commercial license. You can use, reuse, remix and/or modify the maps that are being published under this commercial license on a royalty-free basis as long as they include attribution (“Cartography by Dyson Logos” or “Maps by Dyson Logos”). For those that want/need a Creative Commons license, it would look something like this:

Cartography by Dyson Logos is licensed
under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

So, these two little doodlemaps are kind of a big deal for me. It is the first time in over four years that I attempted to draw a map digitally instead of using traditional ink and paper.

It is significantly better than I expected this experiment to turn out.

Digital Doodlemaps

Few (sane) adventurers are aware of the frightening alien intelligences that live on the other planets. Even those that doe are generally unaware that some of these creatures have access to planar travel as well as interplanetary travel. The maddening brain-stealing fungi from Yuggoth are the perfect example of something no adventurer expects to run into on the Astral.

So, what better place to experiment on captive brains?

This free-floating structure is controlled by a massive collection of brains that the Mi-Go have assembled into some sort of brain cluster. A few Mi-Go may be present at any time, as well as a few orderlies (typically strong creatures like ogres who have had Mi-Go brains grafted into their heads). The rest of the population are a mix of kidnapped people lucky enough to still have their own brains; kidnapped bodies used as a chassis for other kidnapped brains; and a few classic “brains in a jar” to round out the mix – all subject to horrifying and bizarre experiments testing the limits of the standard human / elven / halfling / dwarven brains.

This map is made available to you under a free license for personal or commercial use thanks to the awesome supporters of my Patreon Campaign. Over 400 amazingly generous people have come together to fund the site and these maps, making them free for your use.

Because of the incredible generosity of my patrons, I’m able to make these maps free for commercial use also. Each month while funding is over the $300 mark, each map that achieves the $300+ funding level will be released under this free commercial license. You can use, reuse, remix and/or modify the maps that are being published under this commercial license on a royalty-free basis as long as they include attribution (“Cartography by Dyson Logos” or “Maps by Dyson Logos”). For those that want/need a Creative Commons license, it would look something like this:

Cartography by Dyson Logos is licensed
under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

While a number of the old shaft tombs of the Etturan Dynasty have been found and explored, there is one that remains a well-kept secret amongst sages, masters of dark arts, and the few adventurers who have been there. Possibly the original shaft tomb of the dynasty, or perhaps a strange discovery that became the inspiration for the ones to come – the Bottomless Tombs seem to have earned their name.

The central part of these tombs is a 15 foot x 15 foot shaft that seems to go down forever. Determining the actual depth has proven to be beyond the abilities of scrying and simple engineering, and areas of both permanent magical darkness as well as areas of anti-magic (as well as a host of hostile inhabitants) make exploring the depths of the shaft an unwelcoming idea.

But this map concentrates on the tombs around the upper portion of the shaft. A total of seven tomb structures have been cut into the shaft at this area, including the Vault of Kezamdomnus which is accessed via the basement of the long-ruined Temple of Shol-Gath. These tombs and crypts are in turn protected by the inherent danger of the central shaft, as well as their own traps, magical guardians, and sometimes even the undead remnants of their inhabitants.

This map is made available to you under a free license for personal or commercial use thanks to the awesome supporters of my Patreon Campaign. Over 400 amazingly generous people have come together to fund the site and these maps, making them free for your use.

Because of the incredible generosity of my patrons, I’m able to make these maps free for commercial use also. Each month while funding is over the $300 mark, each map that achieves the $300+ funding level will be released under this free commercial license. You can use, reuse, remix and/or modify the maps that are being published under this commercial license on a royalty-free basis as long as they include attribution (“Cartography by Dyson Logos” or “Maps by Dyson Logos”). For those that want/need a Creative Commons license, it would look something like this:

Cartography by Dyson Logos is licensed
under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

The Bronze Vault is a small, multi-level complex cut into the Jappa Slopes and connected to one of the small cavers that dot the hillsides. Once connected to a small watchtower that was built too close to the edge, getting into the complex typically means climbing to the ruins as the door between the cave and the complex is locked, barred, and now rusted shut.

The Bronze Vault

In-game, the complex fills the role of any classic “dungeon in the wilderness” setting – a place where civilization once held sway but is now home to monsters hiding in the roots of our achievements. In the grand tradition of the Moldvay Basic D&D set, this is where hobgoblins would hide their prisoners captured from the nearby town; perhaps home to a small cult that cannot worship publicly in civilized areas; or the destination for a treasure map that the party found in a previous adventure.

The Bronze Vault (no grid)

Personally, I like the treasure map angle – making the secret chamber in section B right by the entrance the treasure room, but with the map showing how to get there from the cave entrance instead of the upper entrance.

This map is made available to you under a free license for personal or commercial use thanks to the awesome supporters of my Patreon Campaign. Over 400 amazingly generous people have come together to fund the site and these maps, making them free for your use.

Because of the incredible generosity of my patrons, I’m able to make these maps free for commercial use also. Each month while funding is over the $300 mark, each map that achieves the $300+ funding level will be released under this free commercial license. You can use, reuse, remix and/or modify the maps that are being published under this commercial license on a royalty-free basis as long as they include attribution (“Cartography by Dyson Logos” or “Maps by Dyson Logos”). For those that want/need a Creative Commons license, it would look something like this:

Cartography by Dyson Logos is licensed
under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

One of the most classic tropes of fantasy RPGs in my experience is delving into the tombs of the dead (on purpose or by accident) where their grave-goods prove to be helpful and often the accounts of their deaths somewhat… premature.

Barrow Mounds of the Lich & Famous III

Today we have nine more crypts, barrows, and tombs for exploration and plundering, ranging from simple single-roomed barrows to small complexes. Combined with the offerings in the previous two “Barrow Mounds” offerings, this brings us to a total of 24 mounds and crypts to explore. A perfect excuse to crack out that d24 from your collection!

• Barrow Mounds of the Lich & Famous
• More Barrow Mounds of the Lich & Famous
• Barrow Mounds of the Lich & Famous III

The maps on Dyson’s Dodecahedron are released for free personal use thanks to the support of awesome patrons like you over on Patreon. Every month 400 patrons come together to make these releases possible. You can help too in order to keep the flow of maps coming and to improve their quality – and even get a map of your own!

Once you are past the wards and sigils that guard the entranceway and have triggered the teleporter, you finally are brought to the archmage’s private sanctum.

The Archmage’s Chambers

The Archmage’s Chambers are hidden away deep underground, below the “comfortable” levels of the underdark to an area where the stone walls seem to press in with relentless gravity and heat. Once a small node broken open by opposing forces of elemental earth and air, the cracked tunnels were then shaped, smoothed and reinforced magically to withstand the incredible pressures down here.

The chambers are hot and oppressive, and without the small nexus of elemental air present, there wouldn’t be a cool breeze to make it survivable (and there would be no fresh air to breathe either).

And down here, the archmage keeps their secrets, their spells cut into crystal decanters instead of spellbooks, their twisted homonculi that carry wisps of ancient knowledge, and the six pillars where they store their favourite emotions and moments, safe for all time from the whimsy of human memory.

Originally drawn by David Brawley who runs Tower of the Archmage, I couldn’t resist sticking the design through the custom “Dysonizer” I have sitting at my desk.

The maps on Dyson’s Dodecahedron are released for free personal use thanks to the support of awesome patrons like you over on Patreon. Every month 400 patrons come together to make these releases possible. You can help too in order to keep the flow of maps coming and to improve their quality – and even get a map of your own!

A warren of small chambers, passages, and natural caves, the Dark Caverns of Turr were once a set of dwarven mines of the famously unstable Darkshoe clan. But then one day the Darkshoe dwarves picked up and left, locking most of the doors behind them. In the years since, creatures have crawled up from the darker caves below and others have moved in from the surface, and the caverns now contain a veritable Gygaxian collection of creatures that try to live together.

The Dark Caverns of Turr

There are three entrances into the warrens.

• The “front door” over to the far right of the map that leads into the original Darkshoe clan hall.
• The “back door” over to the left that leads into the deeper caves.
• The “stone stairs” very near the back door that lead down into the “glittering gallery” that come down from a secret cleft in the back of a small cave overhead.

This map is actually one I drew back in 2010 when running either my Labyrinth Lord or B/X D&D campaign that year. This photo doesn’t do it justice, but it is drawn in VERY light pencil on thin typewriter paper, and was nearly impossible to scan and keep the details looking at all good. But now that I’ve figured out how to get these old maps scanned, I’ll see if I can get the last of the old “Lost Maps” finally scanned and on the blog.

The maps on Dyson’s Dodecahedron are released for free personal use thanks to the support of awesome patrons like you over on Patreon. Every month 400 patrons come together to make these releases possible. You can help too in order to keep the flow of maps coming and to improve their quality – and even get a map of your own!

Somewhere in these crypts, there is still the undead remnants an adventurer-archaeologist searching for the obvious secret door into the central circle.

Circle Crypts of the Ophidian Emperor

The crypts of the Ophidian Emperor were built around a double-circle motif, designed to feel like a snake curling around the tombs and crypts. To further accent the motif, the circular halls are set about three feet lower than the other chambers and crypts. The various chambers are tombs, crypts, and “treasure rooms” stacked with fake grave goods to accompany the Ophidian Emperor into the afterlife.

All doors within the crypts are fairly thin single-piece stone blocks mounted on metal hinges. All doors and most walls are decorated with frescoes and bas-relief carvings of idealized images of the reign of the Ophidian Emperor, often showing off his mighty golden snake staff and the black Orb of Empire.

This map is made available to you under a free license for personal or commercial use thanks to the awesome supporters of my Patreon Campaign. Over 400 amazingly generous people have come together to fund the site and these maps, making them free for your use.

Because of the incredible generosity of my patrons, I’m able to make these maps free for commercial use also. Each month while funding is over the $300 mark, each map that achieves the $300+ funding level will be released under this free commercial license. You can use, reuse, remix and/or modify the maps that are being published under this commercial license on a royalty-free basis as long as they include attribution (“Cartography by Dyson Logos” or “Maps by Dyson Logos”). For those that want/need a Creative Commons license, it would look something like this:

Cartography by Dyson Logos is licensed
under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

The Holy City has a slight necropolis issue. For most of the history of the city, old mines and caverns beneath the hills of the city have been used as crypts and tombs. Some areas were expanded by churches specifically to inter the deceased, others just adapted as the small silver mines that helped found the city were worn out.

Catacombs Beneath the Holy City

The reason it has become a problem is there can be no proper sewer system built beneath the city as long as the churches and temples regard the catacombs as sacred reliquaries. Further, the thieves that used the massive interconnected structures of tunnels and chambers to get around the city have been known to bury their own (and possibly their victims) down here without proper rites and rituals – leading to a small but steady growth of undead prowling the catacombs. The upside of this is few thieves use the catacombs anymore, but the churches have had to start setting guards to watch over their sacred tombs and crypts to keep prowling ghouls away…

Like the Dark Caverns of Turr that I posted last month, this map is one from my history books. I drew this map in December of 2014 while researching the catacombs under Paris and Rome. I really got into it and crammed all this material onto a single letter-sized page. And then never posted it. I did, however, send a scan of it to Mike Monaco and Paolo Greco for use in Burgs & Bailiffs: Trinity. So here we are, 4 years later, and I finally dug the original out of my old folders while organizing my office and have scanned it for your own games and mine.

The maps on Dyson’s Dodecahedron are released for free personal use thanks to the support of awesome patrons like you over on Patreon. Every month 400 patrons come together to make these releases possible. You can help too in order to keep the flow of maps coming and to improve their quality – and even get a map of your own!