Why Hand Draw Maps?

The short answer is: to be more authentic.

Because of our design background we’re well aware graphic style is all about what’s appropriate for the audience. Being proficient with software on the computer used to produce slick, high quality digital graphics doesn’t mean that’s the right solution for our adventure materials. For us, producing graphics that look like they’re hand drawn is a conscious style choice. Our view is that maps and other materials the players use should look as much as possible like they were drawn or written by a medieval cartographer, artist or scribe. To us that translates to a more realistic game experience. If we’re telling people that the game setting is medieval fantasy, then the graphics they see should look true to the period.

The size, scale and proportion of everything included in our maps is very important to us. We believe having elements in a realistic scale not only helps the game master but the players as well. When distances between towns, the size of a castle, or even the size of a wooden chest is accurate it supports the believability of the entire experience. To make sure the scale of things is just right we’re constantly measuring rooms and furniture, looking at old castle and house plans, and double checking distances and travel times.

We’re always looking for old maps to use for ideas and sometimes use actual places as references for maps. The process of creating maps and illustrations to include in them is constantly evolving as we collect more reference and experiment with styles.

Included with this post is a map that we created for tavern. You can download the full resolution versions on our Facebook page. The floor plan includes the first floor and basement. Our thought is that the building would also have a second floor (not shown) that would be primarily living quarters.

About Our Adventures

On September first OneBookShelf, the parent company of DriveThruRPG, whom we sell our adventures through released a new offensive content policy. In light of that policy we thought it would be a good idea to let our audience know a little more about what our values and goals are when we create content.

Our adventures take place in a campaign setting of our own design, a continent we call the Lands of Arvum. The continent is home to diverse landscapes, countries with rich histories, people of varied races and many fantastic creatures. And for those with a stout heart, it’s a place that promises to be a land of adventure.

The time period is loosely based on the middle ages and is crafted around traditional European architecture and culture. In fact one of our goals is to expose our audience to many aspects of medieval life including, architecture, occupations, clothing styles, weapons, etc. We also assume that influences from other regions during the same time period are within the realm of possibility.

We strive to write our adventures with a kind of “PG” filter so they’re appropriate for all ages. Some of the players that we test our adventures with are as young as nine years old, so there is no “adult” language or situations other than routine role-playing combat. We don't even typically use the language "kill" in our adventures, even when fighting evil monsters or characters, but use the word “defeat” instead. This leaves adding adult language and situations up to the discretion of the game master if the age level and maturity of the group is appropriate.

In the adventures we write you’ll also find that good is good and bad is bad, meaning that we don’t glorify evil but like our adventures have a neutral goal or good mission of some sort. At times we even try to include opportunities for the adventurers to do good deeds and be rewarded for them. We also plan that adventurers will generally have a good reason to attack and not "defeat" monsters, animals, or characters that do not attack them, ask for mercy, or do not continue to attack (say if they became unconscious), unless they’re playing to their character’s flaws or bonds. We also assume those who play our adventures will be playing characters who don’t have an evil alignment.

We sincerely hope that you enjoy playing our adventures and welcome any comments, criticism or feedback. If at any time you have any questions or need clarification about something please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Adventure Shorts Volume 2 is Out!

R&D Adventures has launched Adventure Shorts Volume Two! This volume of adventure shorts is available at DriveThru RPG for $1.95. Any adventuring group from levels two through five can test their luck against the cult of Myrkul. Good luck to you adventurers!

- Rowan and Doug

Adventure Shorts Volume 2 – Coming Soon

We're just about ready to release our second installment of Adventure Shorts. They should be available on DriveThruRPG in less than two weeks.

Here's a little bit about what we're planning:

What if while planning a route to their next objective your player characters discover another route that they’re told will save them a day’s travel time? Would they take it? They might have a pleasant walk through a little-traveled area of the woods, or they might discover the Cult of Myrkul waiting for them.

Adventure shorts volume two contains two encounters, written for fifth edition of the world's most popular roleplaying game. The first encounter, Shortcut, can be played as a stand-alone or as a lead-in to the second more detailed encounter, Obsidian Temple. We’re trying something new this time by providing balanced encounters and treasure for a party of five characters from levels two through five. If played together the encounters are expected to last for about a two or three-hour gaming session.

Adventure Secrets

There are always a few things in our adventures that are taken from the real world, maybe even someplace we’ve been, and then modified slightly to be used as the basis for a town, castle, etc. Our thought in doing this was to add realism and another layer of interest to our work. We also thought it would make a fun game. We’re wondering if anyone can figure out what place we used as the basis for the Fort of Fire and Ice in the Blackstone Tomb adventure?

Blackstone Tomb is Here

The day has finally come; we've launched our first full-length adventure, Blackstone Tomb.

In the depths of Black Mountain there’s a secret. Hidden for a generation Castle Blackstone’s Tomb lies waiting for redemption.

Years ago a dark wizard used the tomb to practice his evil magic. He desecrated the resting place of Castle Blackstone’s heroes and used their bodies, practicing spells to reanimate the dead. When his crimes were discovered, Southern Realm soldiers captured him, but not before many of them died. The few who survived worked to seal the tomb and keep it a secret.

It’s up to your adventurers to discover the secret, bring the tomb back to light and restore the honor of those who still rest there.

To purchase the adventure follow the link on the right to visit DriveThruRPG.

Happy adventuring!

Welcome, and Thank You

If you’re landing here because you’ve downloaded one of our titles from DrivethruRPG we want to sincerely thank you for choosing our adventures. Our goal is to constantly improve and to create rich and interesting adventures that are fun to play. We would welcome and comments or feedback that would help us to this end.

Thanks again and we hope to see you back soon.