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Refurbished Halfpint Pub Battle Map - Launch
🕑 Added 2024-05-31 21:32:36 +0000 UTCHello Adventurers! I’ve been looking forward to creating this for a while now. It's taken longer to complete than I’d like, but it's finally ready. Welcome to the Refurbished and rebuilt Halfpint Pub. After a terrible fire burned down the last one, this new and improved version should last for years, but let's face it, it will likely be smouldering rubble by the end of the first session.
I really wanted to lean into the Hobbit-style feel of the pub. There are drinking nooks, multilevel areas, and rustic woodwork is the order of the day! I was going to make an upper level, but in the end, I decided to make some extra rooms on the ground level as hobbits/halflings would be more comfortable there. The whole thing is half buried in the side of a hill, as all hobbit buildings should be! Every adventure needs a pub to start in, and I’m hoping this will suit that purpose.
Next Maps
Our next map will be the Snakeoil Salesman’s Camp, with the Ice Breaker coming after that.
Snakeoil Salesman’s Camp - A simple camp on the edge of a town or village. An ornate caravan with a small stage is set up here, with a place for locals to gather for a show of flimflam and exaggerated claims.
Ice Breaker - I had a suggestion for a ship frozen in ice, and I have to say it sounds like an awesome idea. Imagine a frozen ocean with a ship half crushed and locked in ice. Its hull is compromised, and its wood is frozen. What lies within? Frost-covered treasure or undead crew? It’s such an evocative image and something with a lot of real-world examples in history, which you know I’m totally into!
Bakery - It's a joke in my DnD group that modern DnD is half about baking and food. With that in mind, I feel you’d all love a Bakery setting where you can live out your fantasies of getting up at 3 am to knead dough for hours before selling your products for a few copper pieces each. The dream! Seriously though, this should make a great setting for an urban encounter.
Thanks for your support. It always amazes me that I’m doing this. As someone who doesn't really like to put myself out there, it's both anxiety-inducing and extremely fulfilling that I get to do this for you each month. Thank you all! Have a great week, and as always, happy adventuring!
Now, let's go have a drink in this awesome little pub. And yes, if you are wondering, it actually comes in pints!
I've also created a new variant from my Underground and Basement map to go with this release. It's a Pub Cellar!
Downloads
As always, the files, thumbnails, and tags can be accessed on the Map List Page. You must be logged in to Patreon and signed up to the correct tier to access them. Remember, you are only charged for map releases; you can download all the old maps at no extra cost!
Map Descriptions
Among the grassy hills lies a charming little drinking establishment. Its rustic exterior blends seamlessly into the landscape around it. Its front is lined with flower beds and neatly trimmed grass. Its round windows and doors are painted a vivid green. A wooden sign swings gently in the breeze, bearing the moniker “The Halfpint” in crisp, newly painted letters.
Stepping inside, you're greeted by the comforting smell of wood smoke mingling with the scent of freshly baked bread. The ceiling is low, barely more than six feet in height, and softly glowing lanterns hang from its dark wooden beams. The walls are adorned with an eclectic assortment of decorations: old maps, colourful banners, and shelves filled with books and curiosities. There are multiple rooms and nooks, quiet places to chat, sit and drink in peace. Stone hearths keep each room toasty warm, giving off a soft, flickering light.
The bar, crafted from rich, polished wood, stretches along one wall, its brass fittings gleaming in the firelight. The wall behind the bar is filled with kegs of beer, cider, mead and ales of every variety. Above the kegs are shelves lined with a dazzling array of wines and spirits.
Notes and Tips
30x45 Grid Map
Taverns are the classic location to start adventures. It may be a cliche, but that doesn’t mean it's a bad idea. High fantasy works through our shared understanding of the genre. We all know roughly what an elf or dwarf is. We know a wizard's staff is magical, and we know a pub or tavern is full of interesting story hooks ready to be explored. Whatever style of tavern you run, make it full of characters and seed it with adventure.
I’ve added a few different levels to the pub. Most are just a few steps up or down, but that still allows for some fun mechanics in combat. Higher elevations can be used for cover while dropping AOE in lower areas could have strategic advantages.
Maybe different groups of people use different areas of the pub, and your party doesn’t initially understand this separation, which could lead to conflict.
The pub is very flammable, being made from wood and a lot of beeswax. Setting it alight would be way too easy, which is a shame as it's just been rebuilt after the last adventuring party torched it.
Ergot, her muffins are bad! - The pub owner loves to bake, and she is handing out trays of muffins to anyone who will have one. Unfortunately, the flour the muffins are made from is contaminated with Ergot, a fungus that acts like a hallucinogen (this is a real thing, by the way). The patrons start acting strange, and some of the more dangerous adventurers get a little punchy, shouting about everyone being changelings. It would be even more fun if there really were changelings hiding in the pub.
The Pipe Smoking Man - In the corner of the room, a man sits in shadow. He puffs on a pipe and looks mysterious. It turns out he’s just trying to have a quiet smoke, and bothering him will make him really mad. He also happens to love brawling and has been trying to keep his nose clean by hanging out away from other patrons. Basically, he is going to start a bar brawl if the party interrupts his quiet night.
Big People Problems - The Halfling owners have been having issues with a group of big people who have been coming in and causing trouble. They could be simple locals or a bandit gang that thinks this is an easy place to take over as their unofficial headquarters.
Variants
Day/Night - Drinking late into the night? Or maybe your party arrives after everyone has gone to bed?
Lit/Unlit - The warm glow of the pub looks inviting from the cold, muddy road.
Frost/Snow - In the dead of winter the best place to be is drinking a warm mug of spiced wine in the cosiest pub in the kingdom!
I've also created a lit and unlit Pub Cellar, with and without frost.
Comments
Afternoon Maps
The scale of buildings is always a problem with battle maps. I'd rather have slightly improbably large buildings than be too cramped to actually have a fun fight.
Afternoon Maps
Thanks Evan! Ya maybe I can add an asset from the Basement maps for passages. I'll see if its easy to export them.
Evan TM
Oh I also wanted to say how much I appreciated the larger size! I have run a lot of combat in the original inn, and this one will surely give the players a lot more options to run/hide and make use of ranged abilities etc. The large landscape area gives the option for players to defend this place as well.
Evan TM
Amazing! It turned out great. The one-floor and the separate cozy cabins really sell the halfling vibe! Particularly like the patio and lakeside. I think I'll have to invent a secret passage or two, like you had in the other cellar rooms or one that goes behind one of those hobbit holes so that we can connect this map up to sewers, caves or some other sinister activity! I think the map will also work for a retreat/encampment for various folks! It's almost even passable for a large farmstead house in a pinch. Great work as always! Always a highlight to get a new map!
