Ruined Village •

Map Description Variants

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F
rom the edge of the village, you see a number
of tumble-down buildings long since abandoned.
Most of the roofs have collapsed, leaving wooden
and earthenware tiles shattered across the ground,
mixed with rafters, and bricks from the crumbling
walls. The odd building remains surprisingly intact,
their entrances resembling dark cave openings.

As you make your way through the buildings towards the small
square at the village center, odd furtive sounds break the unnatural
silence:

• A loose pebble bounces down a rubble mound

• A crow is startled into flight, cawing angrily at something unseen
within a building
• A wall shifts as if a weight has been pressed against its other side
• Shuffling, always just beyond sight around the next corner

The village square is only a few dozen feet wide, a well, half-col-
lapsed, sits to one side. The buildings around its edge have rem-
nants of gardens at their fronts, now overgrown with spiky weeds,
completely reclaimed by nature. The whole place seems to have
been slowly absorbed back into the ruggedness of the surrounding
wilderness.

Notes and Tips

• 30x30 map grid
• Line of sight on these types of maps is very important. Make
it clear to the players they can not see through many of the
structures, or give them a chance to see through walls due to the
condition of the structures around them.
• Creatures can and should use elevation to create fun combat
dynamics. Have monsters climb onto walls and jump from one
building to another.
• Walls can collapse when disturbed. Loud noises, concussive
explosions, and monsters intentionally pushing walls over can all
be a hazard to player characters and other monsters alike.
• Zombies! A place like this has probably been abandoned for a
reason. The walking dead is as good a reason as any. The zombies
hang around in the buildings that used to be their homes, only
coming out when they sense food nearby. Theme your zombies!
Blacksmiths, tavern wenches, farmers with hay hats, it adds so
much to a zombie encounter!
• The village was abandoned without explanation and the players
have been tasked to find the reason as another settlement is
planned for the local area. Whatever it was should have hap-
pened quickly to not leave anyone alive to ‘tell the tale’. It could
be as simple as an Orc raiding party or as complex as the whole
village being trapped in a pocket dimension created by a local hag
coven (which has now taken up residence in the ruins).
• Have someone still be living in one of the houses, they could be
extremely skittish and have vital information for the party. Im-
agine Newt from Aliens ‘They mostly come at night… mostly’.
Ruined Village
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