Mappa Mundi - Canson's Crossing

Hopefully this becomes a regular series here at the old blog. I am not the most constant and timely fellow on the planet so we will see how this goes, but recently folks have seemed to be a little more interested in my maps than they were previously so here is my attempt to satisfy those interests.

My plan, such as it is, is to release a map a week or so and provide a short set up, background or flavor text on each location. The intent is not to provide a complete adventure but instead to offer something I always enjoyed when I was a young fella just starting out in the gaming world. I used to troll everything when I GMed: books, movies, magazines, novels, modules, game books....anything and pick a piece here, a bit there and mix it all together to create something. My hope is that this will provide a little bit of a boost of creative juices to  inspire GMs out there.

If you use the map, or just like reading the notes or looking at the map, let me know.

Canson's Crossing
Decades ago, when the goblin hordes still roamed the land in droves and the civilized races were just beginning to eek out an existence on the frontier, a hardy dwarf named Canson battled his way across a rickety wooden bridge that stretched over a gorge. He lost dear friends and resolved to not let this happen to others. Finding a safer path was difficult and Canson moved to familiar ground to ensure others' safety: the Land Below.

Moving underground meant he could defend the travelers but that he could also charge a small fee for the use of his safe bridge. It also lined his pockets well. Years later, as age finally crept into his bones, others took advantage of Canson and swindled the bridge out from under him. After a series of owners, bad management and too many double crossings to count, the crossing fell out of use. Soon the vile creatures who hide in the shadows moved in to ensure the safe passage never opened again.

Today the trail leading to the underground entrance is clear but dangerous, the actual tunnels even more so. A nasty ogre name Ssela has moved in with a few friends. Afraid of the even worse creatures across the bridge they refuse to cross and mount raids on the surrounding countryside. They secure the strong, stone doors (area 2) and sleep safely at night.

Across the bridge a pair of trolls have made the open rooms their lair (areas 7 and 8). The dominate troll, Gn'aursh, is terribly afraid of heights and refuses to cross the bridge for fear of what might lie below. His friend, Jurragh, has been swayed by his friend's talk of the evils below and refuses to cross the bridge despite seeing yummy ogres on the other side. Both have been doing their best to open the stone doors (areas 6 and 9) but so far have not been able to do so.

Unbeknownst to either party, a storm of Stirges have have made the nest on the bottom side of the bridge. They hunt up and down the gorge, even passing out of the caverns and into the cool night air to hunt. Anything crossing the bridge and making the slightest noise will awaken the storm. Cautious characters may be able to cross the bridge without awakening the storm but large armored tanks will not be able to move silently across the stone bridge. If awoken, the stirges will emerge and attempt to render anything on the bridge into food for their brood in the nests below.

I drew this map using my trusty Sharpie Pens, both Fine and Medium, on plain white copy paper. I make the map and adventure seed available here for personal use. If you write an alternate adventure or use the map in your game, on your blog, or what have you, please let me know. I would love to know! You cannot use it in any commercial or non-commercial product without my prior approval.