Recently, Wayne told us about Chris West’s latest Maps of Mastery Kickstarter, the epic Halls of Legend. While I was at GNC 5, I picked up some smaller packages that each included a double-sided map and/or map tiles, taking advantage of the Buy 2/Get 1 free con deal. Like all of his products, the maps and tiles are lightly gridded for games. The poster maps are 22″ x 34″, on glossy poster stock, while tiles are light cardstock.
My attention was first attracted by the lovely and realistic coral reef in the corner of the Sunken Ruins map included in Forsaken Lands III (US$13.99 poster/$4.99 PDF download), which reminded me of reefs I’ve seen diving in the Florida Keys (minus the map’s ruins). The more I looked at the display poster, the more I saw that I liked. “It’s beautiful and I can use this for adventure ideas!” I thought excitedly. Chris told me later that by chance, my copy was the only one of Forsaken Lands III that he had brought along. The map includes various man (?) made and natural features–the reef, hydrothermal vents, statues, drowned temple and watchtower, and more. I may have to get the PDF of this one.
The reverse map is Mountain Tombs, an ancient complex carved into living rock, to my eyes. Tempting to tomb robbers, the devout, and serious archaeologists/anthropologists, alike. The structure is a mix of built and natural chambers where the dead are laid to hopefully rest. There’s a lot of detailing, from wall texturing to a monolith to bones to fungi. One side of the complex is bordered by a deep river with a rainbow waterfall, crossed by two bridges, sturdy and not-so-sturdy. The reverse of the cover sheet is a terrain card that can be placed over the river to hide the bridge. (There are no cards you can’t use for gaming in a Maps of Mastery pack.)
My second choice was Dangerous Seas, part IV of the Deck Space series, bought as a gift for my husband who loves history and historical gaming as well as RPGs. ($13.99 poster/$4.99 PDF) The main map is the upper and lower decks of an historical Age of Sail brig, the Niagara. Yes, you could probably do a naval wargaming (or pirate!) miniatures scenario with a couple sets of this, if you have the appropriate scale minis, or tokens. But I hope there are more ship maps in the future, for these types of scenes.
Meanwhile, your crew of adventurers can deal with a number of encounters. The three terrain cards, which you can cut apart, include tentacles, rowboat, flotsam and jetsam, and an islet (the reverse of the cover card). You can combine with other maps to depict a raid on–or escape from–a seaside small town or fort, if the group is very ambitious–or desperate.
Finally, so gamers can easily get from one genre/time to another, is the Dimensional Timeship Tiles ($11.99. No PDF). Or you can play out Dr. Who- or Legends of Tomorrow- inspired games. Since the ship parts are on separate 5″ x 8″ reversible cards, rather than a poster, you can make an ever-mutable ship for more options. In this set, the 2 cover cards even pair up to make an entirely different control room. The web page helpfully suggests buying two sets, so your group can have 2 ships, or one larger ship, to play with at the same time.
And if time travel isn’t your thing, nobody said the ship has to be a dimension hopper or a TARDIS. Use it for a unique spaceship or two. Or a space station. Maybe it’s a high-tech research facility…or superhero/villain HQ…heck, maybe it’s a futuristic resort–there are pool and garden cards in the set, after all. I think this is a really versatile set.
So, if you haven’t already, check out the Maps of Mastery site. I am going to be going there more often. Even if you don’t need the physical maps, there are the PDF downloads, which can be used in online games, as (print your own) handouts, and so on. As I mentioned above, I’m picking up the PDF for Forsaken Lands III.
Linda Whitson
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