Incredible walk-through maps of DnD modules!

Wizards of the Coast has been posting these for a few months, but if you haven't seen them, they're astounding. Artist Jason Thompson has rendered in fantastic detail, each encounter as it might play out along multiple adventure paths (so...spoilers!). Below are the maps posted to date.

Links will take you to more resources for each location. Click the images embiggen and enjoy!

Castle Ravenloft

Isle of Dread

Slave Pits of the Undercity

Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth

White Plume Mountain

Tomb of Horrors

Inspiration: Caves of Nottingham

Boing Boing mentions a post over at BLDGBLOG on the caves of Nottingham, which are being mapped as part of the Nottingham Caves Survey. They are, in many respects, similar to those at Cappadocia (manmade, cut into sandstone bedrock and cliffsides).

The storied history of the caves which inlcudes ties to Robin of Locksley--has long been the spark of tall tales. From the article:

Incredibly, there are more than 450 artificial caves excavated from the sandstone beneath the streets and buildings of Nottingham, England—including, legendarily, the old dungeon that once held Robin Hood—and not all of them are known even today, let alone mapped or studied. The city sits atop a labyrinth of human-carved spaces—some of them huge—and it will quite simply never be certain if archaeologists and historians have found them all.

"Even back in Saxon times, Nottingham was known for its caves," local historian Tony Waltham writes in his helpful guide Sandstone Caves of Nottingham, "though the great majority of those which survive today were cut much more recently." From malt kilns to pub cellars, "gentlemen's lounges" to jails, and wells to cisterns, these caves form an almost entirely privately-owned lacework of voids beneath the city.

Here's a look at the map they've created:

Nice inspiration for the Caves of Chaos, yes?

Images: Nottingham Cave Survey and BLDG BLOG

What maps inspired you as a kid?

The Awl has a great post Maps We Wandered Into as Kids that explores fantasy maps that inspired readers growing up. I had many, but one that totally blew my brain was the one from Time Bandits.

Part cosmic blueprint, part wormhole transit schedule--it's got to be one of the coolest movie props of all time. If only it were real. Oh wait, it IS real! Or rather you can get your own reproduction.

What about you? Have any favorite cartographs from books, comics, movies, or just plain geography (Google?) that have inspired you?


Via Boing Boing, which has links to another great map post you should check out.

Also: ever try googling directions to Mordor? ;)

Cartography in Comics

I saw this initially over at Boing Boing but it's worthy of a repost. A site called Comic Book Cartography posts wonderful, brightly colored maps and diagrams of imaginary places (and more) found in comics. Here's a few samples (click to view larger):

 Have a look at some high-res versions for yourself...