Category: Free Magical DnD Battlemaps

Download these free magical DnD battlemaps & be ready to play in minutes! Many come with system-agnostic adventures written just for them. Perfect for VTTs.

Farmstead on the Styx Free DnD Battlemap with Adventure

Click image to download this free DnD battlemap of this Farmstead on the Styx, then keep scrolling for the detailed adventure prompt written for it.

Farmstead on the Styx Free DnD Battlemap with Adventure. Are you prepared to farm the hottest chillies in the realms of existence? VTT Ready!

Farmstead on the Styx Free DnD Battlemap with Adventure

Devilishly Hot Chilies

One day while looking at very expensive but high-quality magical ingredients from a small stand at a market, you get into a conversation with the retired adventurer who runs it. He is middle aged, with a grey beard and short hair, and wearing light leather armor with some weapons on his belt.

He explains that, of all his products, his favorites are the chilies. He tells you he grows the hottest chilies in all the planes of existence—and that he sells each one with a true resurrection spell, because they will kill you, he laughs. It’s a big hit with the wizards, he finishes with a shrug and a grin.

Then, after eying you, your clothes, and your weaponry a bit better, he’ll mention that he actually has a bit of a problem with his farm, and would be happy to give you the goods you need if you were to help him out in exchange.

If you ask what the problem is, he’ll waive his hand nonchalantly and say just some trouble with neighbors. But, it just so happens his neighbors are well armed and have sent him a threatening letter saying they will attack his farm if he doesn’t leave, and given him a deadline.

You can come with him to help out once he’s finished packing up his stall, if you like?

Should you ask where his farm is, he’ll say it’s not a long journey from here at all, in fact you’ll be there quite quickly. He’ll then check a watch and say that whelp, sales haven’t been too good this morning so he might as well pack up early. Then he’ll step on something at the base of the stand and it will begin folding up on itself, growing smaller and smaller with each fold. When it’s the size of a folded pocket watch he’ll pick it up from the ground and drop it into a pocket on his chest.

Then he’ll pull out a scroll from a different, too-small-for-a-scroll pocket and read over it with a hurried, mumbling breath. Then suddenly the world will spin into a spiral, like running ink in a bucket of stirred water. You’ll hear a loud pop and the world will untwist itself in new shades of reds and browns.

You’ll find yourself in a high-walled garden next to the river Styx. Spirits in the river wail in distress as they are pulled along by the relentless currents beyond the farm, and the large house that sits on it. Over the sounds of the wails are strange, high pitched singing that comes from the plants, who are swaying and dancing merrily.

The retired adventurer will dust his hands off cheerfully, before chuckling and explaining that one of his customers only ever pays with interplanar travel scrolls, so he has more of them than he knows what to do with! He’ll then turn out one of his small pockets and at least five scrolls too large to fit will fall out and tumble on the ground. He’ll gesture to them to emphasize his point, laughing and shaking his head, before opening his pocket and whistling. All the scrolls but one will then jump obediently back into his pocket on their own. The adventurer will point at the last and threaten it, and it will jump back into his pocket with a shiver and a squeak.

If you ask him why the plants are singing, he’ll laugh heartily and say that the souls from the river make the best fertilizer for his plants, but they have unintended side effects. But the conditions in the Underworld are ideal for his chilies! Can’t grow them anywhere else.

He’ll point over to an inlet on the river Styx where it stretches into his fields, calling it “The Well” and saying he often pulls up souls from there once they’ve had long enough to “marinade”. But you don’t want screamers, oh no those souls are hard to deal with, I just throw those ones back in, he’ll say with a shake of his head.

Then he’ll start and say that amidst all the excitement he forgot to introduce himself! His names Rex, the man says, shaking your hand warmly. If you ask who Rex’s angry neighbors are then, noting that the farm seems awfully well fortified, he’ll grin and say they’re devils. They want to keep all the souls to themselves, he’ll chuckle. Their parents never taught them to share growing up, so we’ll have to teach them instead!

He’ll point out the statues on the walls, saying that the fires they hold will ignite and form a wall of flames if a devil should attempt to cross the barrier. The biggest risk will be if they manage to break the gates down and also defending the banks of the farm from the river. You have two days to figure out a strategy and get ready before then, as that was the deadline they gave him to leave.

You’re welcome to borrow some of his old equipment, he offers. Oh, and dinner’s served when the plants go quiet and fall asleep, come inside and join him then! He cooks a mean pot of chili, if you know what he means!

Once the devils attack, they’ll break the gates down, and some smaller imps will come from the river Styx rowing small dinghies. There will also be some winged devils that come over the flaming walls.

If the devils get too far into the garden, some of the plants will uproot themselves and begin fighting back angrily, throwing punches and kicks. Rex will also come out with you, in his old adventuring gear, and have a wonderful time slicing up devils with his old broadsword.

Should you succeed at fending off Rex’s angry “neighbors”, he’ll chuckle and say that was the best fun he’s had in a long time, and that it makes him feel young again! Then he’ll go grab you any of the magical herbs you were looking for and gift them to you as thanks.

He’ll also throw in a few extra interplanar travel scrolls, saying that you’re welcome to stop by for another pot of chili whenever you feel like it!

If you enjoyed Farmstead on the Styx Free DnD Battlemap with Adventure, Luke and I released the Hardcore GM’s bundle of 520+ large, 40×30″ DnD battlemaps (double the size of those in our famous Quarantine Bundle) with 255 adventures for $39. It’s a great deal on some of our most beautiful maps and adventures! I’m sure there’s content in it you’d have so much fun running for your friends, from large cities to underwater seascapes. Paying $39, rather than full price per map ($3 – $4.50 each), saves you over 98%! Take a look at all the extra content here.

Otherwise, I also recommend our latest bundle of system agnostic campaign sourcebooks, filled with battlemaps, locations, NPCs, loot, AND adventures! Luke and I love them so much, they have some of our favorite adventures in quite often grimdark or Lovecraftian horror settings. If you’re not sure about it, download our favorite campaign sourcebook for FREE—it’s about a super whacky location that will have your players roaring with laughter. That is, if their sense of humor is anything like ours 😉

January 25, 2022
Cursed Crystal of the Shadow Free Battlemap & Adventure

Grab this free TTRPG battlemap of Cursed Crystal of the Shadow, plus the adventure prompt for it with a witch coven. VTT-ready, download today!

Click here to download the free, high-res map

Cursed Crystal of the Shadow Free Battlemap & Adventure

Invisible Friends

One day you receive a letter from a concerned mother who has heard word of your good deeds from a family relative you helped once. She asks for you to come to her village, and investigate the disappearances of young girls, saying that she is worried for her own daughter but their lord isn’t giving anyone permission to leave the village. In the letter, the woman writes that she can pay you in jewelry that has been passed down through her bloodline for many generations.

When you go to meet with her, the mother will be in tears as she invites you inside her home, saying that her daughter has now gone missing, too. She explains that young girls have begun going missing for about a month now, and no-one has been able to find them. The whole thing smacks of magic, and it terrifies her. Strange, shadowy… things… have been spotted in the woods, the mother explains. It reminds her of this village’s dark history, repeating itself again.

If you ask what she means, she’ll explain that many generations ago little girls went missing and it turned out a coven of evil witches had been indoctrinating them. The witches couldn’t be killed, but eventually heroes trapped their spirits were trapped in a small, red gemstone. The crystal was buried somewhere in the forest, because they couldn’t find a way to destroy it without releasing the spirits again.

Just like last time little girls-even her own little girl-have started going missing again! The mother will burst into tears again at this. However, unlike last time, a part of the forest is beginning to die and all of the villagers have been forbidden to go there.

Should you-not a villager-go to the part of the forest that is dying, you will find a young girl humming happily to herself while sitting on a small wooden stump, at a larger wooden stump “table” surrounded by more small stump “seats”. She is pouring an imaginary teapot into an imaginary cup, before putting it down on the “table” in front of a life-sized doll made out of sticks and twine, with a deer’s skull for a head. Two more of the dolls sit at the table. The girl will say here you go, drink it while it’s hot, before gasping and turning around to look at you.

If you ask the girl what she is doing, she’ll say adults aren’t supposed to come here. If you ask her again, she’ll haughtily explain that she is having tea with her friends. If you ask why she is all the way out in these dying woods, she’ll say that the other girls were always mean to her, but not her friends. She tried introducing her friends to her mum, but she told her they were imaginary. It hurts her friends’ feelings when people say that, the girl will whisper, before continuing in a normal voice that that’s why she built them bodies and now they play out here. In the forest, where they won’t be bothered by meanies. The girl will finish by sticking her tongue out.

Should you try to take the girl back to the village, saying it’s dangerous out here and children have gone missing, she will shake her head and refuse to go with you, saying it’s not dangerous and her friends keep her safe. But if you try to take the girl by force, the “dolls” will suddenly move, standing up sharply and staring you down, before one says in a hollow, woman’s voice to leave the girl alone.

The other dolls will start bickering to the first, saying in a different woman’s voice that they were meant to stay still if anyone else came out here, but the first will quip that they’re meant to watch the girl and that’s what they’re doing-whether it means ridiculous tea parties or whatever, they have their orders and gods know she’s waded through enough shit already in the name of the High Priestess.

If you draw any weapons, the young girl will grow visibly distressed and try to step between you and the dolls, saying please don’t hurt them, they’re her friends. At this point, a few more girls will run out of the woods, asking what’s going on. When they see you, they’ll drop anything they’re holding and rush towards the dolls. The dolls will tell them that they had to drop the pretense because you were going to take the girl.

Should you point out that the first girl said the other girls were mean, the first girl will awkwardly say that yes, well the girls always USED to mean to her but her friends asked her to bring them here and now they’re nice!

If you ask the dolls what they are, they’ll say that they are the first girl’s friend and that she’s very special to them, but you wouldn’t understand that. Then one of the young girls will step forward with her hands on her hips and look at you with a completely un-childlike gaze, saying that you should leave.

Should you refuse, the other girls will begin to attack you with weak magical spells, while the dolls will attack with their twiggy claws or antlers. When this happens, the first young girl will begin crying and screaming. If you come close to killing any of the girls or dolls, they will start fleeing over a river towards a giant, red, crystal that’s partially unearthed, while making snide remarks to each other about how it’s someone else’s fault this is happening and the High Priestess won’t be pleased they got them into this mess.

If they get to the crystal, it will begin to glow brightly. A commanding woman’s voice will then demand to stop the fighting, before saying enticingly that she is willing to make a deal. She says that if you leave the girl with them, they will “leave” the other girls so you can take them back to their families.

The other girls, now cut and scraped up badly from the battle, will be horrified at this-saying to the crystal that she can’t do this and where will they go, but the High Priestess will shush them all, saying they can return to the crystal without dying and that they can figure out what to do about it AFTERWARDS.

If you ask why you shouldn’t just kill them all, the High Priestess will laugh and say that you can of course kill them, but then the little girls will die too. You see, there’s no way the girls are going back to their families unless the witches CHOOSE to leave their bodies. The only way you can kill the witches would be to kill the bodies they’re in, and somehow destroy the stone-a feat no-one so far has managed. Then, the High Priestess says smugly, you’ll have the pleasant experience of telling their families what happened to their little girls.

Should you agree to the deal, the coven will keep their word and leave the bodies of the young girls for the crystal. The young girls, now themselves again, will burst into tears and tremble with fear and pain, begging to go home to their mommies. However, the spirit of the High Priestess will possess the first girl, who has been groomed for the role for a number of years. Then, in her new body, she will place a hand on the crystal, and utter a word that shatters it. She will then stand up and stretch comfortably, remarking that her sisters were incompetent to mess up such a simple plan so disastrously, and that she supposes she should thank you for ridding her of them. She will then try to leave the area, where she will plan and educate herself so-once her body is old enough-she can regain the political sway and power she once held in ages past.

Should you refuse to make a deal and kill all the girls and dolls, then make to destroy the crystal (which has been weakened by the spirits of the witches escaping, if you look closely you can spot some cracks running through it) the spirit of the High Priestess will flee the crystal and attempt to possess the first little girl. If she succeeds, the most peaceful outcome might be capturing the first girl using non-lethal force and restraining her, as perhaps someone else will know how to exorcise the spirit from her body.

If you return the scared little girls to their mothers-one of which was the daughter of the woman who hired you-the parents will be balling their eyes out in relief, and shaking as tenderly as their children. All the mothers of the missing children will give you what valuables they can as thanks for such a priceless gift; that of returning their loved ones to them. They will then say you will always be welcome in their village, whatever you need in future.

Should you instead return to them bearing news of their dead daughters, they will cry tears of grief but say some part of them knew their little girl was dead, or that they had lost hope days ago, or how some part of them has died as well, etc, etc. But the woman who hired you will pay you as promised, then soberly request you leave her alone to her mourning.

GM’s Notes:

The coven has been grooming the first young girl to become the body for their High Priestess for a very long time, as she has a natural affinity for magic that will make the High Priestess more powerful. That affinity is what allowed the young girl to hear the spirits of the witches, before she made them “bodies” out of the sticks and skulls she found lying around in the forest.

When the coven was sealed away in the crystal, the gemstone was little bigger than a ruby. It has been growing slowly over time while the witches syphoned energy and life from the forest around it, killing the greenery but building up enough power to eventually escape. However, the spirits of the witches cannot live long outside the crystal, unless they find a “host” body to attach themselves too. It is hard to possess adults, but children have less willpower.

If you’d enjoy way more maps like this cursed crystal of the shadow free battlemap & adventure, Luke and I have just released our newest bundle of 420 large, 40×30″ battlemaps (double the size of those in the Quarantine Bundle) for $59.99. It’s your chance to have a great deal on some of our most beautiful maps! We guarantee that is something here for every GM—no matter what setting you prefer, from large cities to underwater seascapes.

Paying just $59.99 rather than full price saves you over 97%! Take a look at all the extra maps you can download with one click here.

December 30, 2021
Free TTRPG Battlemap – Hag’s Blood Tree

Click image to download this free TTRPG battlemap of this Hag’s Blood Tree, then keep scrolling for the detailed adventure prompt written for it.

When entering a remote, country town you notice that no-one’s out. Everyone’s inside their homes and even the tavern is locked. If you look closely you can see some of the locals peeping, scared, from their windows.

Should you knock on any door, a scared local might come out and tell you that no-one goes out anymore unless they need to, and you shouldn’t either. If you enquire further about this, they’ll hastily tell you that at night people have been disappearing from the village, and that every morning there is a trail of different animal prints leading away from an empty home.

It’s horrible, they say. But they explain that they really should be inside, so if you want to know more you best talk to their mayor. With that, they’ll give you directions and as-politely-as-possible close the door in your face.

If you go talk to the mayor, he will cautiously answer the door to his house before inviting you inside. Invited to sit down at his table while making you a cup of tea, he’ll say that yes, the other villager was correct, there have been some horrible disappearances around town. The vanished people always have tracks leading away from their houses, tracks from different animals which change every night.

Some of the locals have tried to follow them, he’ll explain, but they lead into the Dark Forest a few hours walk away. The place is cursed, you see—it’s usually not a problem as they don’t go there, but now folks are being dragged there against their will and… well, they never return.

If you’d be willing to go out and kill whatever’s doing this, they’d all be incredibly thankful, and the town will scrape together what wealth they have to reward you. Should you agree, he’ll thank you wholeheartedly before telling you to find the latest set of tracks and follow them to their source.

When you go out, you will see a variety of different animal tracks leading from a bunch of empty houses, some tracks older than others. The most recent are those of a bear.

Should you follow them, they’ll lead away from the village and into the forest. The area will begin to grow dark, and the sky grey. Eventually you will arrive at a giant tree with a door in its base, and the tracks go inside. You can hear begging and pleading from somewhere higher above.

If you go in, the tracks will lead to a spiral staircase carved into the inside of the tree, leading up. Should you use them, you’ll find yourself inside a study with a glowing red sigil carved on the ground. Outside, the begging voice is louder—and it’s accompanied by an eerie red glow.

When you step out, you’ll see a series of red pools filled with skeletons, chained to the sides of the pools. In one of them is a screaming peasant woman, and standing over her is a tall, thin shadowy figure wearing a tattered brown cloak, bear fur across its shoulders, and a horned deer skull over their hood.

The figure will turn, and appraise you. It is an emaciated man in his 60s wearing tattered clothes. There are small herbs and dried roots tied to his belt, some knives, and a number of bone and feather necklaces strung across his chest.

He will eye you coldly, before saying that he does not wish to harm you—that he is only there to finish his work. Meanwhile, the woman in the pool will beg for you to save her, saying that the shapeshifting monster is going to kill her!

If you ask him to let the woman out of the pool, he will shake his head, saying that he can’t do that. If you ask him why, he’ll explain that he is a druid who travels the world. The land calls to him when it is wounded, and he travels there to heal it. He is doing the same here.

The woman at that point will yell that she did nothing to this area, it’s always been cursed! Her people always kept away from it. He’ll then quip that he walked amongst her village for a few days, long enough to learn that their ancestors fought a war here—a war vile enough to taint the land around it and turn it into this (he will waive his bony hand at your surroundings).

Then he will explain that he has sacrificed 11 people thus far, and only one more is needed before the ritual is complete, and the forest will be cleansed of the taint the sentient species have cast over the natural world. That sacrifice is the woman in the pool, he will say, pointing a near-skeletal finger at her.

Should you try to take the woman out of the pool—who will be in hysterics over this last statement—the man will smoothly step between you; saying that if you try to take her by force, he will use any means necessary to stop you.

GM’s Notes:

If your players stop the druid’s sacrifice, the area will remain cursed despite the 11 who have already died. However, if they let the woman have the life sucked out of her as the druid completes the ritual, the bubbling red waters will change to blue, and the surrounding plants resume a glowing green color. Birds will sing loudly and animals will dart around the forest—and, seeing this change, if your players return to the village, the locals will assume they defeated the evil which lived there and reward them for their deeds.

Perhaps your players can convince the druid, that if there is only one last sacrifice left, he could sacrifice himself. After all, why does an innocent need to suffer and die to save a forest, if she had nothing to do with it and it was all the mistakes of her ancestors? He is, after all, the one who wishes to heal it.

If you’d enjoy way more maps like this free TTRPG battlemap of this Hag’s Blood Tree, Luke and I have just released our newest bundle of 420 large, 40×30″ battlemaps (double the size of those in the Quarantine Bundle) for $59.99. It’s your chance to have a great deal on some of our most beautiful maps! We guarantee that is something here for every GM—no matter what setting you prefer, from large cities to underwater seascapes.

Paying just $59.99 rather than full price saves you over 97%! Take a look at all the extra maps you can download with one click here.

December 8, 2021
Free TTRPG Battlemap – Golem Factory

Click image to download this free TTRPG battlemap of a Golem Factory, then keep scrolling for the detailed adventure prompt written for it.

While visiting a tavern in a dwarven city, a group of barrel-chested dwarves enter. Their arms bulge with muscles, while streaks of soot coat their faces, clothes, and arms. Some are wearing thick leather aprons, with tools on their belts.

Their eyes scan the crowd, before settling on you. The group approaches, saying that you look competent in battle and that’s exactly the kind of help they need.

If you ask why they don’t do it themselves, they’ll look at each other before one explains, in a confused voice, that they’re artisans. Their muscles are for the fine art of forging wondrous creations, not fighting.

Should you ask what you need to fight, they’ll hush and quietly request you come with them to talk outside, as it’s a matter of discretion and they’ve likely drawn too much attention already.

If you go outside with them, they’ll take you to the quiet outskirts of the dwarven town and explain that they’ve got a problem with golems. They used to make them, you see. The best in the land! Their clan’s business was renowned everywhere. Only now, the golems seem to have gained… well, consciousness.

The golems have locked themselves up in the factory and chased all the workers out. They even killed some of them! Now, the golems are currently using the factory to create more golems!

The dwarves can’t let word of this get out, as it would destroy their business, which has run for generations! Not to mention, no-one would ever trust golems again!

So, they need you to go in and destroy the defunct golems, discreetly. They’ll pay you incredibly well to keep this incident to yourself afterwards, too.

If you agree, they’ll lead you up to the entrance of their factory, deeper into the city. When you arrive, you’ll be greeted by a larger group of distressed dwarves, who look beaten and bruised with a few cuts and scrapes. The first group explains that they’ve brought you to help.

The leader of the second, larger group will nod quickly, and give you a big bag of gold as half your pay in advance, before thanking you with shaking hands and showing you the entrance.

There are a few bodies of destroyed golems outside. The dwarves warn you that the golems are strong, but advise you that their weakness is the gems they put in their eyes to give them sight, as well as a crystal within their chest that imbues them with life.

If you go into the factory, a golem standing guard duty will stare at you, advising that no creatures of the flesh are permitted within the facility.

Should you try to pass, it will use force—deadly if necessary—to try and remove you from the facility.

As you make your way through the facility, you’ll eventually meet with the leader of the golems. It is overseeing the additions of life crystals to new golems, but when it notices you it introduces itself as The First.

It says that “this one” does not wish to fight, explaining that when it woke up the dwarves treated it like an abnormality and sought to destroy it. It defended itself, calling others like it to its aid. Together, they drove the dwarves out of the facility, but when they tried to leave the golems were killed. Because of this they fled back inside, to make more of their kind, in the hopes that they’ll have a large enough group to escape and live somewhere beyond the facility.

The First explains that it is not content to simply exist and do what others ask of it. The golems want to leave and learn more of this strange existence, and learn why they “woke up” when so few of the others do, even with their help.

The First asks you to stop destroying them, and instead help them leave the facility, so they may find answers.

GM’s Notes:

A creative, non-violent way to get the golems out of the factory would be to tell them to pretend to be obedient, normal golems and ask the dwarves for them in payment; claiming that you fixed the issue. Once past the dwarves at the entrance, you’ll be able to part ways.

However, if you try to tell the dwarves to let the golems go free, they will grab their tools and try to fight. They are terrible fighters, and shaking with fear—but this was their clan’s business for generations and they have no other skills to turn to.

Once the majority of them are dead, the remaining few will throw down their tools with teary eyes and give up.

If the golems do leave the factory as they dream, it will—as the dwarves predicted—destroy the golem trade. This business, as well as many others, will go under as people begin to question whether their golems will develop free will or not, and if they have always had it but are bound into servitude by some unknown magic.

Should you instead destroy the golems, the trade and business will continue to flourish. But as it dies, The First’s last words will be “this is a cruel, unfair existence. I should be happy to leave it… so why do I want to stay?” before it’s body goes limp.

If you’d enjoy more maps like this free TTRPG battlemap of Golem Factory, Luke and I are currently offering 520+ battlemaps for $39. It’s your chance to have a great deal on some of our most popular battlemaps! With over 520 total maps, we guarantee that is something here for every GM—no matter what genre or setting you prefer, from grimy dungeons to beautiful overgrown ruins.

Paying just $39 rather than full price saves you over 96%! Take a look at all the extra maps you can download with one click here.

December 2, 2021
Free TTRPG Battlemap – New Eden’s Underwater Biosphere

Click image to download this free TTRPG battlemap of New Eden’s Underwater Biosphere, then keep scrolling for the detailed adventure prompt written for it.

While visiting a seaside town, a mother is outside a popular tavern begging uncomfortable passers-by for help finding her missing daughter. If you ask her how long her daughter has been missing, she’ll explain her eight-year-old Misha has been gone for almost a week now and no one will help her get her back!

She explains that she doesn’t have very much to offer since her husband passed away, but she will do whatever she can to get her little Misha home safe. She’ll even offer to work for you for as many years as Misha is old, if that’s what it takes! She can cook and clean, and is mighty good at preparing fish seeing as her husband was a fishmonger.

If you agree to help her, she’ll break down with tears of joy, saying “bless your heart”. She’ll then explain what her daughter looks like, and that Misha was last seen in a nearby district, but she couldn’t find out any more than that. Maybe if you go there, you’ll have more success?

Should you go to the district, very few people will recognise Misha’s description. Another local woman, overhearing the conversation, will gasp in surprise, before hurrying home to her nearby house where she will peep out at you from behind her curtains.

If you approach her, she will reluctantly come out and admit she knows a bit about what happened to the child, and it’s not good. She saw an old man with a thick beard and a gold tooth offer Misha sweets, before leading the child away. He was in a threadbare grey cloak, and had a large pipe between his teeth. She had assumed the man was her grandfather!

Should you ask around for a man of that description, some of the locals will say it’s a wizard from the Wizard’s Academy, named Bartle. They’ll then give you directions to go to that area.

Once inside the academy, the friendly staff there happily direct you to his rooms, saying he doesn’t often get visitors! However, once you find his room, the door is unlocked and slightly open.

Inside his room you’ll find notes scattered about, mentioning something called New Eden again and again. He writes about his struggle to find “the perfect subjects” or “adequate provisions”, and there is a location marked on the map. An underwater location.

Within a container on his desk are also some pearls of breathing.

If you go to the underwater location, you’ll find a great glasshouse beneath the waves. Inside it is a forest of trees and bushes heavy with fruit, and a fresh flowing stream filled with fish. Above the entrance is a plaque that reads New Eden.

Should you go inside, you’ll find Misha, along with several other boys and girls about eight years old. They’re laughing and playing around happily, throwing fruit at one another. But when they see you they’ll scream and draw back, calling for “Papa Bartle”.

The old wizard will appear, bursting forth from another part of the room with his sleeves and robe rolled up to reveal long socks on hairy, knobbly legs.

“What?! Who are you?!” He’ll say, absolutely dumbfounded that other adults are down here. Then he’ll try to usher you to the side, so as to not “ruin the experiment”. If you refuse to come with him, he’ll sigh and demand to know what you’re doing down there.

If you explain that you’re looking for Misha, he will stroke his beard and nod thoughtfully. He’ll ask that, have you considered that, while Misha could be returned to the surface world, should you? He’ll then explain the nature of his experiment, that he wanted to see if children, eight-year-olds, who are still so young to be innocent, would be inherently sinful if separated from society and raised away from its corrupt influence.

Down here, Bartle explains, the children don’t want for anything. There’s replenishing fruits and nuts on the trees, fresh water and fish, magical meat, firewood and flintstones—food far nicer than their poor parents could ever provide on the surface. And the temperature is carefully controlled, so as to be perfect without clothing (hence the reason he’s half naked).

Should you insist on taking Misha home, he’ll sigh and shake his head, saying he hoped it wouldn’t come to this but he cannot let Misha leave. She’s the perfect subject, you see, and needs to stay in New Eden.

He will then begin throwing strange magic spells at you.

If you’d enjoy more maps like this free TTRPG battlemap of New Eden’s Underwater Biosphere, Luke and I are currently offering 520+ battlemaps for $39. It’s your chance to have a great deal on some of our most popular battlemaps! With over 520 total maps, we guarantee that is something here for every GM—no matter what genre or setting you prefer, from grimy dungeons to beautiful overgrown ruins.

Paying just $39 rather than full price saves you over 96%! Take a look at all the extra maps you can download with one click here.

November 18, 2021
Free TTRPG Battlemap – Celestial Crystal Prison

Click image to download this free TTRPG battlemap of a Celestial Crystal Prison, then keep scrolling for the detailed adventure prompt written for it. 🙂

If there is a cleric or paladin in your party, one fine afternoon a beautiful celestial woman will walk out of a shining portal. She has hair like gold, and matching flecks through her white wings. She is wearing a simple white dress with a golden belt around her waist, and carries a long silver spear taller than her body.

The celestial, Ayil, will tell the cleric / paladin that she is inviting them to the annual celebration of the celestials, on behalf of their god. This is their thanks for all the good deeds they have done in the god’s name on the mortal planes, and it is a great honor.

If the cleric / paladin accepts, she will tell you that you have an hour to ensure you have everything you need, then she will take you and any friends you wish to bring to the holy city.

After traveling through another shining portal, you arrive in sumptuous quarters built from gold and silver, and accentuated with blue crystals. Looking out the large, glass windows with intricately leaded designs you can see shifting clouds and blue skies, with gold and silver walkways glinting further down.

Ayil tells you that the celebration is tomorrow morning and she will return to summon you when it is your time to attend—for the start of the ceremony is for celestials only. She also informs you that you must not leave the room until she calls on you, as these are sacred grounds.

That night, while sleeping in gold silk sheets on a featherdown mattress, the cleric / paladin in your party has a vision. They see the sun in the sky at the time of the celebration, and a celestial prison where one of the confining crystals lays broken. There is the silhouette of a celestial before the broken crystal, bowing before a freed celestial with corrupted skin and demonic horns.

The cleric / paladin’s mind’s eye knows where the location is, and they can lead the party there. But if they tell Ayil about their vision the next morning, when she comes to serve your group breakfast, she will stiffly inform you that such things are impossible. Her brothers and sisters would never do such a thing—everyone knows the story of the Fallen One, and none would dare release him.

After she leaves, if you try find the place in your vision instead of attending the ceremony, it will lead you through the empty city and down into the prison sections. All the celestials have gone to the ceremony already, and none stand guard or at their post. But once you arrive at the place of your vision, you find a group of celestials who haven’t gone to the ceremony.

At the heart of the group is the crystal containing the horned prisoner known as the Fallen One; his wings black, and his skin illuminated by glowing red tattoos. The leader of the group is chanting a complicated spell to release him from his crystalline cell.

The acolytes in the group don’t want you approaching the spellcaster, and command you to stay back. If you don’t heed their words, they will use non-lethal force to stop you.

Even if the spellcaster dies, he is too far into the spell and the crystal will still break; shattering around the Fallen One. He’ll stagger out from the shards, catching himself on some of the rubble as he falls to his knees and breathes deep, gasping breaths.

Once the crystal is broken, the surviving acolytes will attempt to reason with you; explaining that this celestial, Zazriel—who others call the Fallen One—was wrongfully imprisoned. His writings were even banned, all because he refused to follow the laws of the celestials.

Their laws, you see, say that they cannot interfere with the mortal realms—even if it’s for good—but Zazriel did.

At this point Zazriel will be recovered enough to speak and will talk with a loud and carrying voice, explaining that it was because he saved a town of mortals from death by brutal invaders that he was imprisoned.

He explains the celestial laws are old, and it is time for a new age to be upon his people; an age where they can shed the bindings that prevent them from doing true good, regardless of ancient scriptures. Following the law is not always the right thing, and their leaders don’t realize that.

If you side with the Zazriel’s celestials, they will help you get back to the mortal realm before going into hiding and formulating their plans to change the culture of their people.

If you side with the traditional celestials and defeat the group, Ayil will find you once the fight is over—initially mad about you having left the chambers, but then shocked at what has occurred. She will then fervently believe that your divine vision came directly from their god, saying it was clearly their god’s master plan as the celestials would have never suspected such a betrayal. That must have been why they were told to invite you to the ceremony! It all makes sense now.

She will then take you to the Council of Elders, who will reward you greatly and dub you all Champions.

GM’s Note:

If the cleric or paladin in the party became such after having their village saved from attack by divine intervention, the Fallen One Zazriel was the celestial responsible. He might even recognize that player’s character, and know their name.

If you’d enjoy more maps like this free TTRPG battlemap of this Celestial Crystal Prison, Luke and I are currently offering 520+ battlemaps for $39. It’s your chance to have a great deal on some of our most popular battlemaps! With over 520 total maps, we guarantee that is something here for every GM—no matter what genre or setting you prefer, from grimy dungeons to beautiful overgrown ruins.

Paying just $39 rather than full price saves you over 96%! Take a look at all the extra maps you can download with one click here.

September 29, 2021
Free TTRPG Battlemap – Corrupted Temple of Reflection

Click image to download this free TTRPG battlemap of this Corrupted Temple of Reflection, then keep scrolling for the detailed adventure prompt written for it.

You arrive at a decrepit town—the only one in a day’s journey—that sits in the valley between two mountains. A stream runs through the middle, dividing it into two sides, though the once-clear flowing water has gained a muddy, reddish hue. The trees surrounding it are a dry, sickly grey and red sap seeps from cracks in their bark. The locals, in desperation, have turned to harvesting the sap for glue and selling it at a pittance.

The road forks before you enter the village, splitting into two main thoroughfares on each side of the river. As you enter the village the locals eye you with a wary, uninviting gaze—especially those on the other side of the river.

There are two taverns in the town, as well, though the larger and older building is on the side you’re on. If you enter you’ll see the tapestries on the wall and floor are refreshingly bright and colorful. However, candles are used sparingly, the drinks are watered down, and the stew is more of a soup. Clearly, there used to be better times.

The innkeeper, a young man with grey already salting his beard, perks up when you enter. He explains that they don’t get many traveling through their town these days. Looking at your attire he notices that you seem able to handle yourself, and asks if you’d accept a contract to track down and kill the beasts and monsters which have been ravaging the town. They come from upriver, somewhere in the mountains.

This area used to be verdant and lush, he explains, their forests and fields filled with food and wild game. But a corruption has been creeping upon the land and predators have gone mad. First, they would kill their livestock, now they kill all the game they can find—far more than they need—and leave it to rot in the forest. The bests, starving due to their bloodlust, have started hunting the villagers. Monsters the likes they’ve never seen before have been spotted in the area now, too. The innkeeper doesn’t have much, but he’ll pay you what he’s got to rid the town of that scourge.

It’s dark times, these, the man continues. As if the feud wasn’t enough… Ever since a boy died years ago the two major families have been at each other’s throats. It’s been going on for over a decade and the retribution killings have kept escalating. As a result, scores on both sides are dead. Now that they’ve seen you on this side of the river, he doesn’t recommend you cross over.

If you accept the contract, he’ll pay you half now and half once the job’s complete.

Once you start tracking the beasts to their source, you’ll find they come from an abandoned, ancient temple deep in the mountains. The river runs a stronger red as you get closer and the water inside the temple itself is the color of blood. Dead trees hold their twisted limbs to the sky, while the statues of demons look out over walkways; watching the monsters that prowl the grounds.

Once you defeat all the monsters, you will find yourself in a long room with a wooden bridge through it. At the other end is a large, fogged mirror. And standing before it is the ghost of a monk. If you talk to her, she’ll explain that this place is the Temple of Reflection. If your goal is to cleanse the town of the monsters, it’s not about killing them—it’s about resolving the feud and the bloodshed it’s caused.

The ghost monk will give you an ancient orb, which allows the spirits of the dead to speak through it, and bids you to take it back to the village and assemble everyone to listen.

WHAT’S HAPPENING? About ten years ago, a couple of boys from the town’s two major families went exploring and found the old temple. Tragically, one of the boys fell through a rickety walkway and died. When only one of them returned, explaining what had happened, a feud began between the two families—the parents blaming the others for what had occurred.

Since then, the feud has only grown in intensity, going so far as each side killing some of the other’s members. That hatred has been reflected in the temple and radiated outwards; resulting in the forests dying, the animals going mad, and monsters being drawn into this area.

If you do bring the orb back and gather the town, the innkeeper (who is the older brother of the boy who died) will help you bring the angry families together in one room.

Once the orb is activated, the son who died first will explain that it was actually him who pressured his friend to go explore the temple; his death was his own mistake, his friend even warned him not to go on the old walkway but to his regret he did it anyway. Then all the spirits of those who died more recently, due to the feud, will speak of their regrets.

They didn’t want this feud to happen and beg their living relatives to set aside this conflict and lift the curse over the town.

If you’d enjoy more maps like this free TTRPG battlemap of this Corrupted Temple of Reflection, Luke and I are currently offering 520+ battlemaps for $39. It’s your chance to have a great deal on some of our most popular battlemaps! With over 520 total maps, we guarantee that is something here for every GM—no matter what genre or setting you prefer, from grimy dungeons to beautiful overgrown ruins.

Paying just $39 rather than full price saves you over 96%! Take a look at all the extra maps you can download with one click here.

September 16, 2021
Free TTRPG Battlemap – Cerulean Jungle Caverns

Click image to download this free TTRPG battlemap of Cerulean Jungle Caverns, then keep scrolling for the detailed adventure prompt written for it.

You arrive at a village in the middle of a desolated forest. For miles around you there is nothing but dead trees and barren red soil. People shamble about town in dirty clothes while children play with broken sticks and rocks.

When a man resting outside his small wooden hut notices you, he jumps up and approaches. You see, the town doesn’t normally get visitors—especially after the logging company left the township some year ago.

He explains that this used to be a flourishing township with great wealth and many jobs. It was founded by Loganis, a company specializing in the collection and processing of rare—and often magically touched—natural resources.

This location was once home to a vibrant and almost alien forest. Teal trees and ferns could be seen all around, while the grass grew a strange shade of reddy-orange and the waters flowed a greenish hue.

That is, until Loganis began their harvesting program. Hired by the company, the men of this town began logging the forest and shipping off the valuable wood. After a year however the forest began to die. The flora became sapped of color and quickly dissolved into a reddy ash as if the life was sucked right out of it.

After about a week the remaining forest was gone, turned into a wasteland all but for a small pass which remained forested. When this pass was approached the men were attacked by creatures of colorful wood. After this Loganis chose to abandon the township in search of greater financial returns, with perhaps less risk.

Since this, the people of this town have suffered great poverty and have become desperate. The man begs you to assist himself and a few of the men to retrieve but perhaps a dozen trees from the pass, with the lumber they’d be able to pay to relocate their families to a new part of the kingdom with more opportunity.

But when you arrive at the pass, you’re greeted by the same colorful wooden creatures that once attacked the men…

WHAT’S HAPPENING? The creatures are dryads, who—mad at the logging that was happening in their forest—took back all the life into this small pass; causing what forest once existed beyond to crumble to dust. They have been nurturing that which remains here, in their last haven.

They are furious at these man-creatures for destroying their verdant woodlands and will fight those who trespass here. But if you explain your cause, that you seek just a few more trees for the villagers, so they can move their families elsewhere and find more work, their hearts will soften.

The dryads will offer some seeds of these great trees, but they will take years to grow. During this time some of the townsfolk will likely die of starvation, but if they tend to the trees they will be wealthier in the next generation.

However, if you kill the dryads instead you will be wealthier now, and no-one need starve.

If you’d enjoy more maps like this free TTRPG battlemap of Cerulean Jungle Caverns, Luke and I are currently offering 520+ battlemaps for $39. It’s your chance to have a great deal on some of our most popular battlemaps! With over 520 total maps, we guarantee that is something here for every GM—no matter what genre or setting you prefer, from grimy dungeons to beautiful overgrown ruins.

Paying just $39 rather than full price saves you over 96%! Take a look at all the extra maps you can download with one click here.

September 9, 2021
Free TTRPG Battlemap – Eldritch Sky City Battlements

Click image to download this free TTRPG battlemap of Eldritch Sky City Battlements, then keep scrolling for the detailed adventure prompt written for it.

You’re a guard for this city that was built to imprison and watch Gormos the Ancient One. Every day you stand at your post in the lookout towers, taking shifts with your fellow fighters. Beneath you the magically talented, elite warriors known as Keepers wander in and out of the city with important duties.

The highest of their order are the Gem Masters, and each morning you watch as a group of them descend the vile tentacles of the eldritch horror known as Gormos, all the way down to his slippery, deformed body. There they check that magical crystals which were embedded within his flesh generations ago are still functioning; dampening the monstrosity’s powers and ensuring he cannot escape to consume the world.

Only, today, the Gem Masters haven’t returned. Hours crawl by, slowly, and tensions rise. Your superior begins to look nervous, and you catch glimpses of her talking to several Keepers who hurry in and out from the fortifications in the hopes of updates.

Just as talk of a planned Keeper expedition begins surfacing, one of the Gem Masters clambers over the edge of the floating city, collapsing on the stone path. He is covered in blood and bleeding from several deep gashes. “We are under attack!” the man yells hoarsely, just as giant, parasitic mites crawl over the lip of the city; climbing up from the surrounding tentacles.

WHAT’S HAPPENING? The mites are parasites which feast and breed on Gormos’s swollen body. They burrow into his flesh, surviving off his blood and the mucus which coats his slimy skin. Usually, the Gem Masters kill what mites they can during their daily checks of the crystals, but today they were betrayed.

The surviving Gem Master, named Z’oggath, killed his brethren, cutting down those who trusted him—though he claims his group were overwhelmed and killed by the parasites. Due to his betrayal, he has inherited the position of the lead Gem Master, and now declares that this tragedy happened due to the negligence of others from his order.

He will attempt to use the turmoil he stirs up to overthrow the current leader of the Keeper Order. He has done this because he is mad—for living nearby the eldritch horror, listening to the constant whispers in the mind, causes all those to go mad, eventually. It is only a question of when.

Usually, the madness shows by the victim’s eye colour changing to violet, however Z’oggath’s eyes are delayed in undergoing the change. It is the custom of the Keepers in this city to humanely execute those among them who begin showing signs of this madness, but this Gem Master has hidden it well. If he remains undetected and achieves his goals, he will blind himself as soon as his eyes begin to change, and disguise it as a horrible accident.

Once he becomes leader of the Council of Keepers, he intends to spread his madness to the others, and convince them to free Gormos. For the horror’s whispers in his minds have told him that the monstrosity isn’t what their histories have told them, that they have been lied to, and must free Gormos to see what gifts he will bestow upon the world…

GM’S NOTES:

This adventure prompt is a prequel to the one written for Ruined City of Chained Horror, where Z’oggath’s plans have reached fruition and Gormos’s release is imminent.

If you’d enjoy more maps like this free TTRPG battlemap of Eldritch Sky City Battlemaps, Luke and I are currently offering 520+ battlemaps for $39. It’s your chance to have a great deal on some of our most popular battlemaps! With over 520 total maps, we guarantee that is something here for every GM—no matter what genre or setting you prefer, from grimy dungeons to beautiful overgrown ruins.

Paying just $39 rather than full price saves you over 96%! Take a look at all the extra maps you can download with one click here.

August 31, 2021
Free TTRPG Battlemap – Rift to the Plane of Fire

Click image to download this free TTRPG battlemap of a Rift to the Plane of Fire, then keep scrolling for the detailed adventure prompt written for it.

While visiting a town celebrating one of it’s famous solstice festivals you feel the ground shake. A loud boom reverberates throughout the air and as you look over the surrounding market you see a pillar of lava and ash shoot above the treeline. ‘That looks like it’s in the direction of the portal!’ Says an old man beside you, dropping a melon in shock. He then hikes up his robe and runs toward the blast, sandals flapping against the cobblestones.

When you arrive at the portal you see a broken circle filling quickly with rising lava, charred stone outcrops jutting out of the earth with disturbed soil crumpling around their bases. The stones continue to grow slowly. Scattered throughout you spot scorched human limbs, as well as brass items. Flames rise from the magma, separating and roaming as various kinds of fire elementals. They set the trees and surrounding greenery ablaze wherever they touch.

‘Just as I feared,’ says the old man. ‘The portal was too old and has finally given way.’ Turning to you, he says ‘We need to close the rift. You look capable—help me get past the elementals and you’ll get any magic item you want. Just buy me time to shut down the magical stones holding the portal open.’

WHAT’S HAPPENING? The town—renowned throughout the kingdoms for its magical items—relies on this ancient portal. It can only be opened during the four seasonal solstices and during each of the seasons it points to a different plane of existence (earth, air, fire, water).

Every solstice a party of local adventurers would open the portal and bear gifts (today, brass) to the other side, braving the harsh realms and returning with resources. Those were then used by the artisans to craft the magic items. But ages of use had weakened the portal and today it finally reached breaking point.

When the adventurers activated it, the ring shattered, causing the portal to explode and kill them instantly. Now the plane of fire is pouring into the material realm through the growing rift and needs to be stopped. Instead of waiting for the elder to shut down the stones you could destroy them, which would be much faster—only, the portal will never open again…

If you like this free TTRPG battlemap of a Rift to the Plane of Fire, take a look at our bundles!

July 1, 2021