EDITORIAL The following pages contain maps for every

region along with a short description of

each hex, a D6 table of rumours about that
Hello, dear reader! Welcome to Beyond the
region and a 2D6 table of random
Borderlands. This zine was born from my
encounters. They are all written to provide
desire to run the classic B2 module "The
ideas for gameplay, but they do not define
Keep on The Borderlands" for my close
everything that can happen at the table.
friends after hearing about it everywhere.
I started by making some dungeon maps as
Each hex starts with a description in italics; this is
a little exercise to develop my skills with
meant to give you some idea of how to describe the
digital illustration. I posted some of them on
place to your players. The remaining text covers
Twitter and many great people encouraged
hidden aspects or procedures to run the hex.
me to make this little project happen.

For a good improviser, the material is more

The initial idea was to make a single zine
than enough to put things in motion; but if
with everything needed to run a full
you like to prepare some things ahead,
campaign but, after realising how long it
I suggest you look over everything before
would take me to create it as I wanted,
and fill in some gaps for your session.
I decided to release the planned content in
three issues. This first one covers the keep
The monsters have no stats, the NPCs are
and the wilderness regions around it.
barely there and some hexes contain
You will also find a bunch of simple rules to
dungeon entrances which are not presented
run a hexcrawl but they are entirely optional;
in this issue. These will be further developed
In fact, everything is optional.
in future issues, but I won't ask you to wait
Feel free to use this material as you see fit.
for them; please, go ahead and create your
Your table, your rules!
own stuff!

So, that's it. I hope you find this material

useful for your table. Feel free to ask me
anything on twitter (@gnarledmonster).
Have a nice time with your friends and
thank you for supporting my work!

Alex Damaceno
27/10/2020

1
Located at the mouth of the Wicked Palovalley protecting the entrance to the
Western Kingdoms, this place has a self-organized military force and belongs
to no particular lord, but it's economically dependent of the bored nobility
looking for adventures in the wild. The garrison is comprised of 36 highly
capable men-at-arms equiped with decent gear. All are sworn to the
"Church of the Holy Sun" and receive it's sacred
blessings every morning for their duties.
The law is very rigid and tolerates
no transgressions, which are
readily punished with
banishment or
death!

"What is thy business

here, foreigner? The borderlands
are no place for a holiday!" - Gate Keeper

2
1) Gatehouse
Two halberdier guard the entrance at all
times during the day. They inquire about
peoples business in the keep and won't let
any armed people in aside from those who
work there. The gate is closed from sunset
to sunrise, unless you are nobility.
2) Common Stables
Every visitor is required to stable their
mounts here and record their entry with the
horse keeper. Cost: 2 CP per day.
3) Bluewine Tavern
This place is the core of the keep. Everyone
that lives in the outer bailey comes here to
have their meals and drinks. The barkeeper
is the Bailiff's older brother.
4) Bailiff's Tower
Home of the outer bailey superintendent.
The notice board outside is used for job
offers and important announcements.
5) Wornboots Inn
Run by a grumpy old lady called Karen.
Common room: 1 copper.
(6) Private Room: 1 silver (10 copper).
6) Twin's Pawn Shop
Sells adventuring gear and buys it for half of
the price list. Collects magical artifacts and
pays a good amount of gold for them but
doesn't display or sell them. They perform
illegal surgical procedures in an improvised
infirmary in the basement.
7) Blacksmith
Fixes and crafts martial equipment for the
watchers. Only sells weapons and armor to
those with the Bailiff's written permission.
Accepts requests to craft strange and
inovative things as long as it doesn't require
arcane knowledge.
8) Merchants Guild
This place is for members of the guild only.
They often leave job offers on the billboard.
May store or loan gold for affiliates.
9) Common Warehouse
Visitors are required to store heavy loads of
goods here with the inventory clerk.
10) Holy Sun Chapel
A highpriest and two acolytes perform the
holy communion rite every day at sunrise to
bless the watchers. May perform blessing
rituals to foreigners for gold.
11) Inner Bailey
The Bailiff's written permission is required
to enter this area. Recruits and veterans use
the training ground every morning. The
castle houses the Castellan and his familly,
the guard and visiting nobility.
12) Mysterious Cave
When you enter this place it looks like a
common cave. If you follow the tunnel,
you come back right where you started.
Described in future BTB issues.
3
LOOT AND STUFF I5) Wornboots Inn
Common Lodge: 1 CP / night
Thievery always has repercussions inside the
Private Lodge: 1 SP / night
keep. People become increasingly suspicious
Decent Meal: +1 CP
after each theft and is very easy to discover
Baths: 1 CP (Cold); 2 CP (Hot)
who did it. Check a box after each robbery,
* There are always D4 adventurers housed
then roll a D6. If you roll equal or under the
here, roll a D6 to know who:
box, the guard starts a full search:
1 - Chaos Priest; 2 - Arcanist Scholar;
1/6 [ ] 2/6 [ ] 3/6 [ ] 4/6 [ ] 5/6 [ ]
3 - Hedge Knight; 4 - Foreign Barbarian;
5 - Tough Dwarf; 6 - Disguised Princess;
1) Towers and Walls
Buckets filled with bolts and arrows;
6) Twin's Pawn Shop
Barrels of spears, rocks and flamable oils;
The list price for adventuring gear is created
Pallets, small tables, stools, benches: places
as your players ask for them. Determine
where the watchers usually hide some coins.
availability, then roll for the price:
D6: (1, 2, 3) Copper - (4, 5) Silver - (6) Gold.
Mundane - 2d6 CP; - Uncommon - 2d6 CP;
Another D6: the amount of coins found.
Scarce: 2d6 GP; - Unique - 2d6 x10 GP;

2) Common Stables
7) Blacksmith
Mules & light horses - 1 GP / 1 SP rent
Grindstone, Workbench, Iron Anvil;
Piles of forage and sacks of grain - 2 CP
Weapon racks filled with unfinished or
A couple of water troughs
unsharpened swords, axes and halberds.
A human skeleton hidden deep in the hay
A barrel filled with poles and a wooden bin
full of spear and arrow heads.
3) Bluewine Tavern
Displays with chainmail for repairing.
Apples, Grape, Oranges - 1 Copper
Applejack, Wine, Ale - 10 Coppers /1 Silver
8) Merchant's Guild
Bread, Cheese, Dried Meat - 5 Coppers
The place looks confortable, but austere.
The Guild Master stores goods for his
4) Bailiff's Tower
affiliates in a big vault underground. The
Full Plate Set on display
guild receives one or two new merchants
Large Shield with cross engraved
every week (D6):
Jewelled Inkpot on table - 10 Gold
1 - Jeweller; 2 - Tanner; 3 - Vintner;
Elven Ring with Bailiff
4 - Peddler; 5 - Alchemist; 6 - Poacher;
Treasure Chest: 20 Elven Arrows +1 to hit
Business: they make offers in CP to sell in
(auto-hit arrows if wearing the Elven Ring)
SP or buy in SP to sell in GP.
4
9) Common Warehouse
$ NOTICE BOARD $
Lots of wooden boxes, sacks and pottery.
1 - Merchants hiring bodyguards to cross
Nothing of much value, unless you could
perilous lands. Half payment in advance.
steal everything. The warehouse has enough
2 - The Duke is hiring arrow retrievers for
stock to resist a siege for 2 years.
the hunting games. Talk to the Bailiff.
3 - The Church of the Holy Sun is giving a
10) Holy Sun Chapel
blessed reward for stolen relic.
People drop donations in a wooden cup near
4 - Looking for fresh blue mushrooms.
the entrance; at the end of the day it usually
Bring them to the tavern!
holds 6D6 (21) copper coins.
5 - The Keep is hiring new recruits to
Behind the stone altar, you see six gold
watch the hunting groves outpost (4,4).
ornamental saint figures (20 gold each).
6 - Hiring cartographer to map the Wicked
There's also a golden cross (15 gold each) on
Palovalley. Talk to the Bailiff.
each wall of the chapel, and a big golden
7 - The Castellan is paying a generous
cup (50 gold) kept under the altar with a few
bonus for the lost cargo in the sludgy bog.
jars of sacred wine (10 gold).
8 - Merchant kidnapped by ravine
A hidden trapdoor leads to a secret
monsters. Reward if returned alive.
underground dungeon...
9 - Looking for legendary magical plant.
This dungeon will be featured in future BTB issues.
Meet me it the ruins near the dusky woods.
10 - Have you seen a fairy somewhere?
11) Inner Bailey
Catch it and bring to the pawn shop!
Here you can find a stable with 20 trained
11 - The Holy Sun festival will be held at
war horses, D6 of them with armor ready.
the fountain square. Bring your offerings!
The inner building is equiped with barracks,
12 - Tavern Boardgame Night! Small
a big armory and a banquet hall. The upper
participation fee; winner takes everything!
tower acomodates the Castellan and all the
13 - Looking for brave warriors to aid me
visiting nobles, while the lower tower leads
against forces of Chaos. Wornboots Inn.
to the dungeon under the keep, where you
14 - I wrote this and ran away, now your
can find prison cells with D6 important
treasure is far away. - Robin Woods
prisoners and a big stone vault full of riches.
15 - Don't talk to me or my son ever again!
Described in future BTB issues.
16 - You are a disgrace to the Holy Sun!
17 - Please, return it to me. I beg you.
12) Mysterious Cave
18 - What are you looking at? Be gone!
Nothing but a high pitched silence and a
19 - The scarlet night is coming. Be ready.
freezing wind coming from nowhere.
20 - HELP! (written with crimson ink)
Described in future BTB issues.
5
STARTING THE GAME
The party starts at the Stronglaw Keep (1,3)
the only known entrance to the Wicked
Palovalley. This is a good time to have
players introduce their characters. There's a
Notice Board (p.6) on the Bailiff's tower
where they can look for work. Have each
player roll once or twice on the table to see
what they find. Notices will be available for
2D6 days or until they are delt with by the
group or NPCs. If a player tries to gather
information from a NPC about a particular
region, roll a random rumour on the
respective region table.
TRAVELLING & TIME
The group starts with a blank piece of paper
for a map. They know where the keep is
located and maybe a few points of interest
given by NPCs. They can rely on cardinal
directions when the sun is in sight and they
can have a distant preview of the contents in
nearby hexes which the path is not blocked
by trees on the map. It takes 1 hour to walk
from one hex to another or 2 hours if the
path is blocked by trees. If you use a
teleportation scroll, roll 2D6 for your new
coordinates. Characters start to get tired
after 4 hours of travelling and they lose 1
HP for each new hex they enter, making all
rolls with disadvantage until they take a
1 hour rest or consume a ration to recover
their lost HP.
GETTING LOST
When the group travels at night or decides
to go throught dense forestation they have a
chance to go in the wrong direction; make a
DEVIATION ROLL to see where they go.
Do not tell them they deviated off course!
WEATHER (2D6)
2, 12 - Thunderstorm - save vs. lightning
3, 11 - Heavy Rain - very cold, ruins gear
4, 10 - Dense Fog - make a deviation roll
5, 9 - Cloudy Sky - can't rely on directions
6, 7, 8 - Sunny Day or Starry Night
RANDOM ENCOUNTERS
There's a cumulative 1-in-6 chance of
triggering a random encounter for each hex
the group visits; the chance resets to 1 after
triggering another encounter.
REACTION ROLL (2D6)
When the group encounters a person or
creature whose reaction is uncertain, roll
on the table bellow:
2, 3 - Angry / Hostile
4, 5 - Scared / Unfriendly
6, 7, 8 - Curious / Cautious
9, 10 - Confident / Friendly
11, 12 - Pleasant / Helpful
You can use both results in line or roll
twice to combine different attitudes, so you
could find someone who is ANGRY but
acts FRIENDLY towards you.
7
 2D6 Region Encounters
2 - A Young Basilisk
3 3 -A watcher turned
into stone (still alive)
4 - Wraiths searching for
watchers (anyone in chain armor)
5 - Distant shadowy figures (wraiths)
6 - Flock of crows stalking the PCs
7 - D6 watchers patrolling the area
8 - Adventurers camping/resting
9 - D6 Merchants selling stuff
10 - Watchers fighting wraiths
11 - Noble looking for directions
12 - A Mysterious hooded figure

D6 Rumours
1 - Watchers believe the windmill is
haunted and never go there (T)
2 - Dark secrets lurk underground
below the Stronglaw Keep (T)
3 - The ruins have buried treasure (F)
4 - A devil lives at the crossroads (F)
5 - There's a magical sword in the
woods near the ruins (PF)
6 - The hunting camp is hiring (PF)

8
1, 2 - Small Village
From a distance, you can see the windmill blades
slowly spining above the trees. You can't see a single
soul in any direction, just peasant huts and crop
fields completely overgrown with weeds.
* The huts have nothing valuable, just rotten
food and a few agrarian tools. If players stay
in this place for too long they start to hear
husky voices muttering about killing
everyone in the keep.
* There are 12 peasant bodies scatered
across the fields and they are found 1D6 at a
time. If players manage to give a proper
burial to everyone, the wraiths go away and
the fields can be cultivated again.
1,3 - Stronglaw Keep
Following the river you can see a great fortification
crowning the upland. An old paved road leads to the
gatehouse where you see two halberdiers guarding the
entrance. They ask you to disarm before enter.
* This hex is officially the only passage to
the Wicked Palovalley. Carriages bring
nobles to the keep every week, making it on
ideal place to set ambushes.
1,4 - Ancient Ruins
On the other side of the river, you can see the
remnants of a collapsed structure. The atmosphere
gets cooler and heavier as you get closer, your breath
becoming dense mist. Inside the structure there is a
stone firepit that looks recently used.
Who is taking shelter on this place? (D6)
1) Western bandits; 2) Rival party;
3) Peasant orphan; 4) A fugitive;
5) Couple of Watchers; 6) A merchant;
2,3 - Crossroad
A watcher is kneeling on the ground hammering
something. He is fixing the direction signs and seems
very upset. "Every fucking day." he says. "Can't
wait to figure out what jerk keeps doing this".
*After the first encounter, theres a 50%
chance the signs will be broken or getting
fixed by the same guy. When it's broken,
players have to make a succesful check to go
in the right direction.
2,4 - Lost Grove
This place is heavily forested and you can't see much
farther than a few steps. You can only see trees and
tiny rays of diffused sunshine here and there.
* An old spell of confusion affects this
place. Make a deviation roll every time
someone enters this hex.
* If players rest here, they will hear a ghostly
voice calling for their aid. They won't be able
to locate the source of the voice unless they
come from the hex (2,5), a direction where
the confusion spell doesn't work.
* The voice comes from the sword. It tries
to convince people to pull it from the rock.
Doing so will free a chaos spirit.
3,3 - Hunting Camp
You see tents everywhere. They are all occupied by
nobles or their servants. The whole place seems
heavily guarded by watchers.
* Merchants and travelers are not allowed
here unless they are hired as staff. There are
6 noble tents in total, each one has a chest
where the nobles keeps their $tuff; Make
this a high risk/reward situation.
9

D6 Rumours
1 - The big old tree is possessed by
an powerful demon (F)
2 - The mushrooms in this forest are
living inteligent creatures (T)
3 - Jackalopes hate berries (F)
4 - A divine creature protects the
groves from hunters (T)
5 - Legends speak of a plant that can
grant magical powers (PF)
6 - The watchers have trouble
protecting the groves (PF)
10
2D6 Region
Encounters
2 - The FIRE BOAR
3 - A sad wingless griffin
4 - A herd of animals grazing
5 - A couple of animals mating
6 - A distracted wild animal
7 - Servants following orders
8 - A bored noble shooting anything
9 - A noble following animal tracks
10 - Watchers patrolling the area
11 - Watchers fighting invaders
from the Scarlet Forest
12 - Nobles and watchers fighting
the FIRE BOAR (losing)
1,1 - Whispering Tree
You see a giant old tree. The entire place is covered
in dead leaves and a bittersweet smell fills the air.
As you approach the tree, you hear a slow and
incomprehensible humming, and then it stops.
* The Mad Hermit lives here. He has a
wingless griffon as a pet, which sleeps above
the tree and guards the area. 2-in-6 chance
the griffon will emerge on approach.
* The Hermit only ever leaves this tree to
gather mushrooms from the grove nearby,
which he cooks into soups, teas and pipe
materials. All recover D6 HP but get you
dizzy (disadvantage).
2,1 - Mushroom Grove
A sweet smell intensifies and then you see a grove
entirely covered with blue mushrooms. This place
looks very quiet. From here you can see the giant tree
to the southwest and a cave to the northeast.
* When someone tries to gather mushrooms
here, there's a 3-in-6 chance they become
frightened and run away to hide.
* D6 effects of consuming raw mushroom:
1 - Turns into mushroom; 2 - Gets tiny;
3 - Knockout; 4, 5 - Recover D6 HP but
become dizzy; 6 - Full HP and +1 next roll;
2,2 - Jackalope Burrows
This place is full of berry bushes. You also see tiny
holes spread all around. As you get closer, you get
the feeling of being watched by a thousand eyes.
* If someone tries to gather berries, 3d6
jackalopes jump from their burrows. This
can be either a deadly trap encounter or just
a cute false alarm, it's your call.
3,2 - Hunting Spot
You see arrows and blood stains all over the place.
* This is the noble's prefered place to hunt.
Easy to navigate and full of wild animals.
If you look for prey, roll a D6:
1,2 - Jackalope; 3,4 - Boar; 5,6 - Deer;
4,3 - Glowing Glade
You see a chromatic glowing in the distance. As you
get closer, you see an exotic white flower in blue
flames on top of a bunch of sticks, and then it
vanishes, like it never really existed.
* This plant is known to the Mad Hermit as
a firemother; It grows staves infused with
magic fire that doesn't burn wood.
* Use this encounter as a diegetic puzzle:
How can someone get closer to a target that
disappears when fully seen? The best
solution gets to steal a fire staff.
* To make it harder, you can make the plant
self-defend using fireballs.
4,4 - Watchers Outpost
You see a bunch of Watchers patrolling a wooden
barricade. There are two iron cage wagons here and
one of them looks occupied.
* The Keep sends watchers everyday to
secure this spot from the Scarlet Forest.
They take 12 hour shifts that are normally
uneventful.
* The cage may be occupied by some
creature from the Bloody Ravine (5,2) who
can be used to gain trust with their faction.
Choose or roll a D6:
1 - Kobold; 2 - Goblin; 3 - Mork;
4 - Bugboar; 5 - Hynoll; 6 - Unfae;
11
 D6 Rumours
1 - This wood has a deadly fog capable of killing
any air-breathing creatures. (F)
2 - The old demon gods live in these woods
waiting for their time to return. (T)
3 - Those who die in this place
becomes it's eternal servants. (PF)
4 - Every plant in this place wants
to either eat you or poison you! (F)
5 - Noble courts are willing to pay a small fortune
for the mandrakes who live in the woods. (T)
6 - There are giant spiders crawling all
over the place! (PF)
2D6 Region Encounters
2 - SPIDER QUEEN
3 - Giant Spider (spawn)
4 - Mosquito Swarm
5 - Wandering Mandrakes
6 - Captured Mosquitos
7 - Squeezing Vines (from 2,6)
8 - Skeleton (inanimate)
9 - Skeleton (animate)
10 - Walking Tree
11 - Mysterious Cultist Ceremony
12 - SLEEPING DEMON/GOD

12
1,5 - Trap Yard
The whole place is covered in dense blue fog that
smells like death. You can't see much farther than a
few feet and the only sounds you hear are rustling
branches and your own steps. Suddenly, you see an
odd shape. As you get closer, you see a big spiked log
on top of a crushed skeleton!
* All traps are deadly and poorly hidden, but
the fog makes it difficult to avoid requiring a
save mechanic to dodge or die.
If players come up with a solution to the fog
they will be able to see the triggers; describe
it and ask them what they do to avoid it.
* You can ignore the fog if you find it unfair
or boring and go past to trigger descriptions.
* After activating the first trap, there's 1-in-6
chance of finding a skelly reloading them.
1,6 - Old Cromlech
You see a collection of carved pillars around a big
square rock, bones and ashes scatered everywhere.
The moon looks way bigger than normal here.
* Just a cool spot to perform occult rituals,
recharge magical artifacts or take a nice rest.
2,5 - Undead Camp
The fog (1,5) seems to come from this spot. As you
follow the mist, you find an empty black cauldron
alone in the deep dark woods.
* When the group first enters this hex,
there's a 2-in-6 chance of being ambushed
by skeletons. This chance raises by 2 if the
group decides to rest here.
* The skeletons first ask intruders to leave;
If not, they charge without mercy and only
stop after being crushed or burned to ashes.
2,6 - Devourer
As you go deeper into the woods, the plants start to
seem bigger and bigger. Then you spot a giant flower,
so majestic that you don't even notice the vines
coming to hold your feet.
* This is a deadly combat encounter and also
a secret entrance to the Caves of Unknown.
The entrance is discovered by either killing
the flower or being devoured by it.
3,6 - Mandrakes
When you enter this place, the deep silence becomes
incresingly disturbed by distant weeping noises. As
the sound becomes clearer, you see chubby humanoid
figures wandering around aimlessly.
* These creatures are not hostile by default,
but they will follow anyone that crosses their
line of sight. Their crying becomes louder
and louder, making it impossible to rest. If
they become hostile their screaming is
capable of exploding eardrums and
knocking people unconscious.
4,6 - Spider Lair
You see cobwebs everywhere. The ground is sticky
and it takes a considerable effort to not lose your
boots. As you walk in, you hear the sound of many
tiny steps coming from everywhere.
* This place is a maze. It's very difficult to
recognize paths and one can be easily
ambushed by giant spiders. They like to eat
small animals and are terrified of fire.
* If the characters get caught, they can have
a final encounter with the spider queen. She
will let prisoners go if they know where her
sister is imprisoned (Kobold Lair).
13

D6 Rumours
1 - A carriage full of supplies never
arrived at the hunting camp. (T)
2 - There's a witch in the bog, she
kills everyone that goes there. (F)
3 - That place is full of demonic
fish with legs. (PF)
4 - The bog is inhabited by all sorts
of monstruous people (F)
5 - A Dragon lives in the bog! (PF)
6 - There are remains of ancient
people from before the bog (T)
14
2D6 Region
Encounters
2 - The DRAGONFLY
3 - Frogmen running away
from the nasty DRAGONFLY
4 - Tough Crab Warrior
5 - D6 Slug-Leeches
6 - D6 stupid baby DRAGONFLY
7 - D6 Angry Tetrapod Fishes
8 - D6 Frogmen chasing Tetrapods
9 - D6 Frogmen gathering riverbed
plants to make soup
10 - Frog children fooling around
11 - Sea Witch gathering plants
12 - Watcher's skeleton (loot)
3,4 - Muddy Path
Between one body of water and another, you can see
a treacherous muddy path. Your feet sink deeper and
deeper with each step, and at some point you can't
even take your legs out of the mud.
* This path is a natural barrier between the
bog and the world of men. The Watchers
never brave this region, thinking the reward
would not be worth the risk.
* If your players come up with a solution to
walk the path, they will be able to find a lost
carriage, full of loot, that never made it to
the keep.
3,5 - Shell Deposit
You see a trail of shells and hear the distant sound
of waves from the sea. The sound becomes clearer as
you follow the trail, and eventully you see a huge
house-sized shell smelling rotten fish.
* The Sea Witch lives here. She is friendly at
first, but doesn't like frequent visits. Make a
reaction roll next time you see her.
* She has a shelf full of disgusting-looking
potions, which she may trade for rare potion
materials, particularly blue mushrooms.
4,5 - Fishing Spot
You see a bunch of little green men from a distance.
They are almost motionless, holding spears in the air
and staring at the water in deep concentration. Then
THUCK! The spear hits the water very quickly and
they catch a fish as big as they are.
* Most frogman have never seen any
humans. Making a reaction roll is a good
choice, but I particularly like to see them as
ANGRY but FRIENDLY little creatures.
5,5 - Frog Village
You see lots of weeping willows atop little burrows.
Frog children are jumping around while grown-ups
perform daily duties like peeling fish, making soup,
and crafting wooden spears.
* If the group befriends the frogmen at the
Fishing Spot (4,5) they may be brought here
to fraternize and share food.
* Otherwise, everyone will grab spears and
assume defensive positions until someone
makes a sudden movement. An elder will
come to talk to the strangers, which is
difficult as he doesn't know any other
language than his own.
5,6 - The DRAGONFLY
This place smells like shit. You hear a loud buzzing
sound coming from above. The hum gets louder and
louder; suddenly a big shadow covers the land, and
the ground trembles. A nasty, cyclopean insect has
just landed in front of you.
* Make a surprise roll. If the creature has
not seen the party, it goes straight to drink
the murky waters.
* If it sees the party, it will fly away and
return very quickly to run over everyone.
* Spills acid blood when injured.
6,6 - Flooded Shrine
You see a vast ancient ruin underwater. The entrance
is the only thing that remains above water. A stone
staircase leads you downwards.
* One easy solution to exploring the shrine
is asking the Sea Witch (3,5) for a potion to
breath underwater, which she may trade for
a couple of blue mushrooms.
15
 D6 Rumours
1 - A cave at the bottom of the
range can take you directly
t to the mountain peak. (T)
2 - Ancient evils sealed in the cave
are waiting to be released. (T)
3 - An ancient dragon lives
around the hills. (PF)
4 - There are demons flying
over the peak. (PF)
5 - Legend says that if you
follow the river you will find a
magic fountain. (F)
6 - The water from the
waterfall is poisonous. (F)
2D6 Region Encounters
2 - Earth Elemental
3,4 - Basilisk hunting big geckos
5 - Starving giant geckos
6 - Giant Bats (caves), Birds of Prey (outside)
7 - Mushroom kids running around
8 - Demongoats flying over
9 - Demongoats playing rockball fall
10,11 - Demongoats grazing
12 - Fire Elemental

16
3,1 - Abandoned Mines
You see blue mushrooms spread everywhere, in many
different shapes and sizes, some grow as high as a
watchtower. A bitter-sweet smell fills the air around
you and you start to feel a little dizzy.
* This is a nice spot to put a mushroom
dungeon, but you can use it like a hazardous
barrier to the rest of the region.
If characters do not cross it quick enough,
they will fall asleep and wake in the Goblin
Caves (there's a connection between this hex
and the Goblin's Caves mushroom farm).
4,1 - Mysterious Portal
You hear a bland noise reverberating on the walls.
As you follow the noise you see a branching path,
one leading to light, the other to a trail of bat shit.
* The trail of bat shit leads to the stone
portal, which is guarded by a swarm of bats.
It's one of the entrances to the Caves of the
Unknown, a mythic underworld dungeon
that will be published in the next issue.
Meanwhile you can use your own version of
it or simply have it deactivated until you
have mine in hand.
4,2 - Basilisk Lair
Behind the Grove Trees (3,2) you see a narrow and
bumpy walkway going up the hill. The place seems
quiet and you can see the whole grove up here.
* It's a false resting spot. Looks quiet, but if
players decide to rest here, they will be
surprised by a couple of basilisks who live in
a cave nearby. If the group decides to search
the area first, they can find the cave and
even surprise the monsters.
5,1 - Demongoat Hills
From here you can see the mountain peak and
waterfall. A narrow path goes upwards to a
relatively flat grass plain where mountain goats are
grazing. As you get closer, however, you see they are
not ordinary goats; they have wings and some of
them are actually flying.
* These creatures are confident/unfriendly.
They only attack if someone gets too close
or provokes at range. They are proud and
ruthless. Cannot be turned into subservient
pets, but temporary allyship is on the table.
6,1 - River Source
A narrow path goes upwards to the mountain's
peak. Atop the mountain is a small cavern that
births the rockfall river. Inside you see a weird
goat-sized pyramid with glowing carvings.
* I just wanted to put an "alien" artifact
somewhere. Let your players conjecture the
purpose of this object and create conspiracy
theories around it. Choose their best idea,
give it a few tweaks and hand it back as if it
was planned all along.
6,2 - Waterfall Plains
You hear the constant roar of falling water. The
vegatation is bountiful in this place and the air feels
fresh and invigorating.
* A nice place to rest. Tend your wounds,
take a nice bath, cook and gather food for
the journey. Do not roll any encounters
unless your players are wandering for too
long without any trouble.
*Maybe put a cool secret behind the
waterfall, like a magic treasure or fairy pond.
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 D6 Rumours
1 - On the bottom of the rockfall range, there's a
ravine where man-eating monsters live. (T)
2 - The monsters in the scarlet forest are very
dumb and incapable of intricate
treacheries like traps & ambushes (F)
3 - The forest entrance is guarded
by an old dragon (F)
4 - Theres a secret cave behind the waterfall
that leads to the kobold lair (T)
5 - The collapsed bridge leads
to a cursed land (PT)
6 - Cursed fairies live in
this forest. Nobles consider
them very valuable. (PT)
2D6 Region Encounters
2 - Ancient Guardian
3, 4 - Orcs patrolling the area
5 - Kobolds reloading traps
6 - Goblins gathering vegetables
7 - A small herd of deer
8 - Adventurers camping
9 - Adventurers fighting goblins
10, 11 - Faerie melancholic choir
12 - Mysterious Hooded Figure

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5,2 - Bloody Ravine (Caves of Chaos)
You see a bunch of humanoid skulls stuck onto
stakes. You spot the infamous ravine and it's many
cave entrances. The place looks quiet from the
outside but smells like hell.
* The humanoid monsters are coming from
this place. The encounter rate here is 3-in-6,
creatures might be patrolling or answering
the call of mother nature.
5,3 - Treacherous Grove
The ground is entirely covered in dead leaves.
Looking carefully, you notice a big pit where
something recently fell in.
* Roll a random encounter for the pit and
determine if the creature is still alive.
* The area is full of hidden pitfalls; the
group must make three successful tests in a
row to uncover the safe path. Failure means
the group falls in a pit and must start over.
5,4 - Scarlet Path
As you walk into this forest, the trees gradually
become vibrant red. The air feels heavy in your lungs
and suddenly you start to hear a melancholic
humming. You can see a giant skull looking at you
from a distance.
* A good ear will notice that the melancholic
humming comes from the fairy hideout
(6,5). If they go there through the trees, they
might spot the fairies before they vanish.
* If the group spends some time searching
the area, they find a skeleton holding a bone
flute. (Secret: It controls giant rats and can
control any other creatures if soaked in their
blood, D6 uses per creature.)
6,3 - Waterfall Basin
You see a bunch of goblins carrying buckets of
water from one side to the other. After finishing their
task, the place becomes completely quiet.
* Behind the waterfall is a passage that leads
directly to the cave pond room (8) in the
Kobold Lair. It's also a relatively good place
to hide as the kobold never use this passage.
6,4 - Dragon Skull
The giant horned skull is covered in climbing plants
surrounded by wild flowers and mushrooms. There's
also a collapsed bridge nearby where you can see a
distant land over the horizon....
* The purpose of the bridge will be
explored in the next issues. The only thing
you need to know for now is that the Bloody
Ravine is trying to rebuild it.
* The skull may serve as a resting place.
Monster patrols will only look inside if they
see someone getting in.
* If the group ignores this place, have
another group of adventurers take a rest
here whenever they return:
The skull's eyes now emit an intense glow....
6,5 - Fairy Hideout
Melancholic humming gets louder and louder until it
stops, and the silence becomes so intense that you
can't even hear your own toughts. From distance,
you see an old ruin surrounded by water.
* This description supposes the group
comes from inside the region. If they come
from the Slugdy Bog, instead describe the
Dragon Skull (6,4).
19
WHAT COMES #3 issue is a BESTIARY containing all the

NEXT? monsters and NPC's made for this zine. I'll

illustrate every single creature and put
together a nice pack of paper miniatures to
As I said,
print and assemble.
two more zines are in the works.

UPDATE!
The next one focuses on
I'm now in partnership with Jacob Hurst of
DUNGEONS and contains all the
Swordfish Islands (@vyderac) and we are
enviroments mentioned in this issue:
planning a future hardcover once the three
issues are done. I'm considering including a
- The Bloody Ravine (5,2) containing all six
little set of the house-rules I use to play and
dungeons from the Caves of Chaos;
maybe some extra content.
- The Flooded Shrine (6,6);
Once this project is complete, you will have
- The Caves of the Unknown, a mythic
everything you need at your table for a very
underworld generated randomly;
long sandbox campaign!
- And last but not least:
The *secret* below the Keep!
Thank you everyone who encouraged me to
make this project happen. YOU ROCK!

See you later,

maze cowboy!
20
 WRITTEN AND ILLUSTRATED BY ALEX DAMACENO
EDITING BY JACOB HURST
COPYRIGHT 2020 ALEX DAMACENO

PRINTED IN USA
PUBLISHED BY JACOB HURST & SWORDFISH ISLANDS LLC
SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS