Fortress of the Ur-Mage

Hail cartophiles!

I wanted to spread the word about a great new tournament module for use with Dungeon World published by SVD Press.

Written by Dungeon Oracle, the same guy that wrote such fourthcore classics as Murder of the Maelstrom Queen, Vault of the Wyrm Prince and Tower of the Ascendants, this adventure features maps and art by your favourite Crypt Thing!

Fortress of the Ur-Mage

It is said that the gods tasked Death with keeping the secrets of magic locked behind his Black Gates. And so the fallen races remained blind to the ways of magic, until one man challenged and defeated Death in a battle of wits.

In victory he claimed Death's wand and became the first mortal to perceive the mysteries of the black art, only to be driven mad by the revelations. These half-remembered legends tell too of his sundering of the world and his construction of a dread fortress.

The Ur-Mage opens the doors of his fortress once each decade, allowing the heroes and demigods of the realm to enter. Legend has it that a great prize waits within the fortress, the Wand of Death itself, and a crusader bearing the wand could command the dead, shatter the planes, and slay gods.
Today, the games begin. Today, the gates open. 

Fortress of the Ur-Mage is the first SVD Press adventure to feature a competitive head-to-head mode, where multiple parties delve the dungeon at the same time. Competing bands of crusaders can hinder each other by stealing relics, laying traps, freeing monsters, and manipulating the dungeon environment itself.

Check it out and help spread the word!

Old School Dungeons: Volume 1

Hey everyone, the Crypt Thing stirs again!

I've recently put a pack of dungeon maps up for sale over at DrivethruRPG.com

Old School Dungeons: Volume 1

The pack contains 3 multi-level dungeon maps:

• Kobold Hall: a killer dungeon filled with twisting halls and deadly traps

• Caves of the Under Dwellers: a system of natural caves and subterranean ponds

• Fane of the Twin Godlings: a mysterious temple devoted to twin deities

If you are in need of some quick dungeon maps for your games, go check it out!

Kingdom of Auctoria

I've been spending a lot of time world-building of late. After quite the hiatus, I'm going to start Dungeon Mastering again, running a monthly D&D Next campaign set in my homebrew world of Serantum.

 

It's been 20 years since the great wizard-kings of Glindor set their continent afloat and disappeared from the world below. In the wake of this great ascension the great Demon Rift was created, an enormous scar left upon the surface of the world and a gateway to the Underworld beneath. The demons of the Underworld have surged forth in unending numbers and savaged the surface world. The world of Serantum is now a grim and dangerous place, a ruined reflection of past glories.

 

To the west of the Rift Sea lies the kingdom of Auctoria, a lone bastion of civilization in an otherwise ruined world. This is where our story will begin. 

 

I'm pretty pleased with how this map came out and look forward to mapping the rest of my world and getting back into the DM seat. I hope you enjoy!

Cheers,

Crypt Thing

Tower of the Storm Lord

The Crypt Thing still stirs.

I recently submitted my work to a cartography contest over at Kobold Press. The challenge was to create a map of a flying tower; a difficult mapping challenge for sure!

Unfortunately, the contest received few submissions, so instead of putting it to a vote, they went ahead and selected a winner. Sadly, it was not my day.

Instead of letting my efforts go for naught, I present to you my submission for your viewing pleasure, The Tower of the Storm Lord!

Game on friends,

Rob

Pit of the Void Locust

 

 

Greetings Cartophiles,

I've recently had the pleasure of working on the mapping and illustration for an upcoming fourthcore dungeon, Pit of the Void Locust. Designed by Anthony Franchini (@DeuceDM), this tournament module promises to be over-the-top, evocative, and ludicrously difficult -- everything a good fourthcore dungeon should be!

The first playtest will be held at Albany Game Day on June 8th; if you're in the area I strongly suggest you go check it out.

When the Void Locust rises, all mortal life will be lost; look upon its majesty and despair!


Cheers,

Crypt Thing

Iddy the Lich - Contest Entry

I recently entered an art contest over at the Id DM. The contest called on artists to send in their incarnation of the site's beloved mascot, Iddy the Lich. Here is my entry:

I call on you, oh wretched cartophiles of the unfathomable depths! Cast your vote for the Crypt Thing's entry or let the cowardess of your disloyalty forever curse your fetid soul!

Go forth my children and KILL Vote!

p.s. - I also command you to have a happy Canadian thanksgiving! 

The Three Little Pigs

Today I'm sharing with you something that isn't game or map related.

Recently, Sorcerer_Blob was waxing nostalgic on twitter about drawing comics growing up; it got me thinking about my own childhood as an aspiring comic book artist. Going through my portfolio of old work, I stumbled upon this absurd little gem:

The Three Little Pigs

Flatt_World and I co-wrote this comic for a media class back in highschool. Although the art was crude and rushed (I was 15 at the time and we only had a week to turn it around), I'm still very proud of it.

I hope you enjoy!

Tower of the Blood Mage - Level 1

13 nights ago, when the winds fell silent and the moon turned blood red, a mysterious tower emerged amongst the sandy dunes of the Cindersand Desert. What mysteries lie in waiting behind the doors of this ominous structure?

Who among you has the courage to brave the Tower of the Blood Mage?

Fane of the Heresiarch - a Fourthcore PbP

I have recently begun to participate in a play by post game of Fane of the Heresiarch, the last fourthcore adventure produced by the illustrious Save Versus Death.

Run by the unrivalled dungeon master, C Steven Ross of DMG 42, this game promises to be a grisly, deadly, deathtrap of the highest caliber. I couldn't be more thrilled to be participating.

I am a huge fan of fourthcore, and this will be my first chance to run through one of the modules as a player. It was challenging not devouring the product on release like usual, but it was well worth it.

You can follow the action thus far in the following threads:

OOC
The Watchtower
The Bleak Seminary

In our valiant attempt to take down the being known as the Heresiarch, I will be playing the shadar-kai ranger and cleric of the Storm Lord, Talon. Check out my character illustration and character sheet.

And above all else, wish us luck...are we ever going to need it!

Brother Talon

Talon grew to manhood in the slave pits of Talia. Toiling day and night for his draconic masters, the young shadar-kai knew only the back-breaking hardship of the mines and the savage cruelty of the whip. Talon's prayers were finally answered the day the sky opend up and Talia was obliterated by the great meteor. Spared the celestial energies that destroyed the surface, the slaves of the residuum mines took the opportunity to make their escape. In the battle that ensued between slaves and guards, Talon strangled the guard watching him with his shackles. The newly freed slave made his way to the surface and promptly fled the Fallen Lands.

Travelling across unknown kingdoms, Talon has found the same cruelty and savagery of his upbringing everywhere he has gone. Revering the capricious and powerful Storm Lord, he has learned that the only thing one can rely on is power; strike your enemies down before they have a chance to raise a hand against you.

Talon has now risen to put a stop to the being known as the Heresiarch. Never again will Talon bow down and live a life in chains. He would sooner die.

Character Sheet

Silenus - Vrock Lich

Well, sadly I haven't been very active on this blog lately. My backlog of maps (ones that are composed entirely of my own work and that are of sufficient quality to share) has been exhausted, and all the work I've been doing recently has been for projects that I can't share (yet).

So here is a sneak peak at one of the illustrations for a 4e dungeon I've been writing. I've altered and expanded upon the Saw-themed dungeon I talked about in an earlier post. I plan on sharing the finalized adventure here on Crypt Thing. It's been a painstakingly slow process, but I wanted to share something with you. So here is my illustration of the Vrock Lich, Silenus.

Even if you can't wait until I complete my adventure, I hope you can get some use out of this guy.

Game on,

Rob

FTDM Preview - Vault of the Spider Queen

Here is a sneak peek at my upcoming Fourthcore Team Deathmatch map I've been working on recently.

FTDM Toronto 2: Hell on Earth

Fourthcore TeamDeath Match is returning to Toronto!

Conan the Destroyer by Frank Frazetta

While the first Toronto Tournament may have suffered a low turnout, it did manage to stoke the flames of interest. Those flames have now grown into a blazing inferno that cannot be stopped. As such, another FTDM tournament is headed north of the border.

Toronto FTDM Tournament: Retrospective

The first-ever Canadian Fourthcore Team Deathmatch (FTDM) tournament took place this past Saturday. While it suffered from a lackluster turnout, it was a great time!

Flatt World

BFlat, one of my D&D players and long-time friends is launching a new RPG blog, Flatt World. With well over a decade of experience as a D&D player, BFlat will now be taking the arduous journey to DMhood. Flatt World will act as a stage for his ideas as he builds out his campaign world. Please take the time to go check it out and let him know what you think.


Coinciding with the inaugural launch of his own blog, BFlat has written a guest post here at Crypt Thing wherein he gives us his impressions of the D&D Next playtest from a player's perspective: 

The Caves of Chaos - a D&D Next Play Report

I recently had the pleasure of taking the D&D Next playtest out for a spin.

I won’t go into any kind of analysis of this new system, but I will tell you this: We had a freakin’ blast!

The players chose their characters and I created a brief set-up involving the capture of a merchant caravan and a Macguffin magical item (the Chalice of Light) that the characters were tasked with retrieving. I then gave them a player-friendly map of the ravine and we were off.

Cavern of the Shard

This was the capstone encounter of the first adventure in my old Shadows of Asteron campaign.

The Lord of Rot

It's May of the Dead! For my part in this unholy madness, I've created an undead fourthcore monster: the infamous death knight, The Lord of Rot.

Who among you is foolhardy enough to brave his throne room?


Spoiler Alert: I will eventually be expanding this villain into a full-fledged fourthcore dungeon. So if you have ambitions of playing in my upcoming module, read no further!

Fourthcore Team Deathmatch - Toronto Tournament

Fourthcore Team Deathmatch is coming north of the border! If you'll be in the Toronto Area on June 9th, come on out to the intense bloodbath that is FTDM. Show off your skill with D&D 4e and claim victory!

To secure your spot please go to the event page.

Dunderhelm

Another map from my Shadows of Asteron campaign. The players had debated whether to travel to this dwarven city. Ultimately they decided against it and made their way to Basillon. This cosmoploitan dwarven city acts as a point of trade among the humans of Caliga Valley and the mountain dwarves of the Stoneholds.

Crypt of the Forgotten Lord - Room 1

It's May of the Dead! I wasn't set to participate in this very cool blog carnival until the 17th, but I've been really inspired by all the zombilicous goodness being posted recently. As such I whipped up this little number: the first room in a dank crypt of a forgotten lord. What undead horrors await?

Go check out the other participating blogs; you won't regret it!           


Hope you enjoy!