Map-a-Week: Deciduous Forest

Yes, it's another Map-a-Week day, which means I'm not posting the next Sword and Fist installment; that will be later. This month, the Dragon magazine theme is elves, so naturally we get trees in our maps this month. This week's installment is Deciduous Forest, with a treehouse for elves to frolic in while they're bored out of their minds. It also comes with a Legend, which looks suitably elvish as well:

So, the treehouse looks interesting; most of it is already labeled, so it's easy to stock it. One thing that's missing: Stairs. There doesn't appear to be any obvious means of getting from one part of the treehouse to the others. How are the elves getting around? Maybe elves in this mapper's campaign are half-squirrels. Let's see what we can stock here.

1. Upper Lookout. There's always an elf on duty here, checking the skies for potential aerial assault from dragons and the like.

2. Upper Quarters, Level Two. I lied; there is a ladder leading down here. But not to the upper lookout, so my question still stands, at least partly. Anyway, this would be quarters for the elves who spend time in the upper lookout; it's big enough to hold at least four elves.

3. Upper Quarters. So, there's a ladder here...but there's no door to get into the rooms on this level. Did they not proof-read these maps before publishing them? This room will be a common area for the guards above.

4. Armory. Weapons and armor are kept here; plenty of bows and arrows are stocked in case of attack from either above or below.

5. Storage. Foodstuffs and other non-combat items are kept here.

6. Lookout Post. Another elf is stationed here to watch for possible ground attack.

7. Common Area. This serves the elves on the lower level.

8. Lower Quarters. The elves who work on this level are quartered here; there's enough room for four of them as well.

9. Library. Well-stocked and useful for magical research as well as Knowledge checks.

10. Guard Captain/Wizard's Quarters. The leader of the elves of this miniature stronghold is an elven fighter/wizard. He is in charge of all the elves in here.

Okay, it's not much, but I'll go with it. This little outpost is probably on the edge of an elven community, and its inhabitants are tasked with keeping an eye out for potential enemies from any direction. They are rather xenophobic; it doesn't matter if the group approaching is made up of orcs or humans, they're ready to shoot first and not bother with questions if they sense a threat.

So, that's it for today's entry. Tomorrow there's another online piece, then back to the Sword and Fist review.

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