The Hill
by RobinBased this map on the research of the B5 map,
First the 1 mile wide River is named in the adventure Shrill, while B1-9 continues to use this name, while its placement in the adventure according B1-9 dictates another canon name as according the canon Karameikos maps; Shuttergal in Traladaran Language and Hillfollow in Thyatian Language. B1-9 luckily also gave a reason for the weird name as the PC's leave Haven Palace of the Silver Princess by river from that Realm (Suggested Dreamlands) towards the Known World, entering a few miles north of Guido's Fort and taking so much water they have to land there. The name Shrill is thus the name of the River before entering the Known World (and thus the fairy name), and descriptions in B5 as well as B1-9 do not suggest the Shrill name is used in Guido's Fort (otherwise than noted on the DM map),so further giving proof to the name Shrill being used only in the Dreamlands/Haven
Second the river Shutterga/Hillfollow is not straight N to S flowing, but has a slight bend where the B1-9 placed the adventure. This is the red line on the map here in the river as correction. Beside the river flows North to south while the map givces it as a single altitude. There must be a difference, even if minute.
Thirdly; The map makes one major beginners flaw. The hill on itself does not seem to be a problem, yet the elevations are. Further away from the river the land should be significantly higher from the river, while this map is more a flat space next to a river, with a hill dropped on location, with restricting swamps south and west. (which btw are indistinguisdhable from forest on the B5 map)
Fourth; The textual description places a swamp (not moor) in the west, and south going for miles of the map. This contradicts more detailed canon, and my earlier researh of the region gav this are as forested hills instead. This however, does not remove the B5 information. And the indistinguishability between swamp and forest on the map, enables a solution. So to the south I had to continue placing Hills, Mixed Deciduous/Evergreen Forested Hills to be precise, and place a swamp in between. The West 'Swamp' clashes with the other canon forest here, so all I could do is mix these, place the forest and swmps in between, as if water was caught behind the hills, accumulates and caight in the canon/fanon stream west, emptying firther south in the Shutterga/Hillfollow River.
Fifth; The Monastery as given in the B5 and B1-9 sources has a ckear and defined scale and size (540 feet by 660 feet. Following the same scale ratio as in the B5 map, the structure should be significantly larger. I did this here by copying and rescaleing exactly and placing the location on the way too small original location.
Sixth; I added the Description of the location #13; the Cottage, with known trails(paths here) and cottage on the location This something, like most other locations requiring more detailing according the visual descriptions of the areas. more on this later. and #12 the Hobgoblin camp with its 5 large tents, and 3 domed branch/leaf huts.
Seventh; Waterfalls are placed infromt of elevtions, while erosion laws/patterns decree these exist after the elevations, so these have to shifted slightly upstream in the color version I make
As this is a study, you understand I will use all textual teritory descriptions of the B5 adventure to add more detail to the map I am making of this. This will be a 100 feet hex scale map...100feet I did say? yes, I know I must be insane, it is indeed 100 feet per hex. This can literally place the PC's on the map. A DM coul post this map on a softboartd and with needle pins with color or small label indicate where the PC's literally are at that moment.
I used the altitude of Guido's Fort as a reference. all altitudes are calculated at -8 from 1250' altitude from sealevel Karameikos
and textual descriptions of the areas, as well as B1-9 which more clearly clarifies its position, as well as Karameikos canon maps, my canon/fanon compilation 1 mile hexmap of Central Karameikos.
This is a replica of the D&D BECMI Adventure B5 Horror on the Hill, also in B1-9 In Search of Adventure (both owned by TSR/WOC)
Used here to research the difficulties pasting in according canon in the map.
As such I removed all unnescesarry detailing (like inside buildings) B1-9 did not use the terrain descriptions and map of the Hill, yet relied upon the internal adventure only,. Yet due its continuated timelime of order of advntures (aftr Haven The Silver Princess) it gave more details where in Karamikos this is placed. One major difference between B5 and B1-9 is that Guido's fort is not at the end of a trail, but more along a trail in a more desolate area of Karameikos.
More differences I had to work with;
Textual details from the adventure visible almost directly are given below.
The Hill is covered with a thick and tangled hardwood forest, broken occasionally by clearings, cliffs, ponds, streams, and trails (see the map). The forest comprises oak and hickory-type trees; dense and thorny underbrush chokes the ground between the trunks. All the trees are 60 to 80 feet tall, so even if a thief climbs to the top of one, he sees only neighboring branches. Climbing a tree on a slope, however, is 50% likely to yield a view to the downhill side.
Movement on the surface of The Hill
This I seriously readjusted to Normal terrain modified movement rates as pr BECMI RC
Calculate movement around The Hill at 75% normal movement of the slowest (N)PC(do not forget to include encumbrance). when the party is following a trail or crossing a clearing.
Calculate cross-country travel (i.e., off the trails or clearings) at 25% normal movement of the slowest (N)PC(do not forget to include encumbrance). After travelling 10 hexes cross-country, a group must spend two full rounds resting or suffer fatigue rules.
Trails are easily detectable. The party must travel trails in single file if characters want to move at normal trail speed (cut speed in half if they move two abreast), but two characters can fight side by side if combat occurs on a trail: the bushes alongside the trail are a nuisance when one is trying to walk through them, but they can easily be pushed aside if it’s a matter of life and death!
Climbing; Only a thief who successfully rolls to climb sheer surfaces may climb or traverse a cliff. The thief must make a successful roll once for each cliff. If the thief trails a rope, he or she may use the rope to belay other characters, who may then move up or along the cliff safely. Calculate movement up or along cliff terrain at the cross-country movement rate. If a thief should be so unfortunate as to fall, the fall begins at the middle of the climb or traverse. The thief may try to stop his fall by grabbing onto a bush or rock outcrop. He may try to do so after each 10 feet of fall by rolling a ld20. If he rolls his dexterity score or less, he has made a successful grab and stops falling. The thief takes normal falling damage as per standard rules.
A party may use a rope to descend a cliff, but the rope must be tied to a solid object at the top; if an entire party descends in this fashion, the rope must be left behind. The first character to descend a cliff by rope must be a thief or a nonarmored character, and he or she may do so in one turn. Once this first character has descended, and presumably found easy passage, all other characters may follow, at a rate of 50 feet per round.
Stream Crossing--(There are no bridges) 6 Rounds are required for each (N)PC to cross a stream, but the streams are so shallow there is no danger of drowning or being swept away. The ponds must be circled, since their bottoms are too soft for wading.
Shutterga, Hillfollow (or Shrill)
The river crossing takes six turns. As the party’s boat nears the west bank of the river, they see two clearings on the shore at the base of The Hill. The underbrush in the forest is dense enough to make disembarking and moving difficul t, but the characters can elect to land at any point. The waterfall in clearing #1 is visible from halfway across the river.
1 CLEARING AND WATERFALL
This pleasant expanse of grass and flowers surrounds a 15-foot high waterfall. The water in the stream looks cool and refreshing; The entire Scene is lovely.
2. NARROW CLEARING
This clearing stretches for a long distance along the riverbank. The ground is low, flat, and muddy. Most of the grass has been choked off by hardier marsh plants, and the buzz of mosquitoes is constant.
3. SHADED CLEARING
Many wildflowers grow among the lush grasses in this shady glen. The clearing is quiet and peaceful.
4. KILLER BEEHIVE
This large clearing is pleasant and flowery, and tall grasses wave in the faintest breeze.
5. DRIVER ANTHILL
The air is this clearing is moist and smells of the swamp, which is visible to the south and extends to the far horizon. The grass in the clearing is thick but shorter and lesh Lush than that by the riverbank. The driver anthill is a huge pile of dirt located in a niche in the edge of the clearing’s southern side. The anthill is 50 feet in diameter and rises 10 feet into the air.
6. GLADE OF THE MAGICAL BERRIES
This pleasant meadow borders a crystalclear pond of cool, fresh water. Many colored pebbles can be seen on the bottom, and hundreds of harmless gold and silver fish swim through the waters. At the border between the glade and the forest, three unusual bushes grow. They resemble raspberry bushes, but the berries on the plants are much larger than ordinary raspberries.
7. ANCIENT STATUE
At the top of this steep, rocky hillside is a hideous idol, carved from granite by some forgotten race. The statue is a fat, squatting, vaguely humanoid figure, whose face is twisted into a hideous leer.
8.CAVERN OF THE BATS
The cave-mouth is easily visible to any character entering the clearing from either of the two trails near it. Because of boulders, however, the cave cannot be seen from any other place on the hillside. Thick bushes choke the entrance to a height of about two feet, suggesting that the cave has not been used recently by any earth-bound creature.
9. NARROW RIDGE
This escarpment is rocky on the sides and only about 20 feet wide on top. Because the sides rise quickly for 80 feet, you can look over the trees below. Most of the vista from the ridge is treetops, but some terrain features are visible, including clearings #4 and #11; the pond, waterfall, and stream immediately below the ridge; the lower ridge beyond the pond; and-through a notch between two other ridges-a portion of clearing #17
10. FIRST WARM CAVERN.
The air in this cave feels noist and warm.The walls and floor are smooth, free of rubble, and visibly damp. This cave’s smooth interior is due to occasional high-pressure bursts of steam from the geothermal pressure cooker below. The Hill, blasting from the vent in the backof the cave and rushing through the chamber to the atmosphere outside. The entire cave is wet, and five large pools of water have collected inside. The water is drinkable, though somewhat warm.
11. PLEASANT GLADE
This small clearing is tucked into a narrow valley on the edge of a small pond. At the north end of the clearing, a stream falls away in a 30-foot waterfall. Several different varieties of flowers grow in this idyllic spot, and the waters of the pond and stream are clear.
12 Hogoblin Camp Clearing
This clearing rests on the edge of a large pond. The shoreline of the pond has been churned into a muddy mess. An odor of carrion hangs in the air. The grass in the clearing has been trampled flat, and five shoddy animal-hide tents and three brushy dome-shaped huts made of twigs and leaves are visible at the far end.
13 Clearing of the Mysterious cottage
In the center of this clearing is a whitewashed cottage lined with bright green shutters. Gravel walkways connect the cottage to each of three trails into the forest, and pleasant gardens of bright flowers surround the home. White curtains, delicately embroidered, hang over each of the four windows.
14. CAVERN OF THE OGRES
The mouth to the ogres’ cave lies at the bottom of a rocky cliff. The cave mouth is invisible from above because of an overhang. This preci[ice is 120 fwet tall and contains no vegetation. Most of the rock is solid, but occasional crumbly patches give the cliff a broken appearance.
15. SECOND Warm CAVERN
This cave sits at the bottom of a 100-foot high cliff, which runs along most of the western slope of a high hill. The cave mouth is visible halfway down the cliff, as is another cave (area #16). This cave is another natural vent for the steam that occasionally bursts from deep underneath The Hill. There is a 5% chance per turn that pressure forces a blast of steam through the cave while the characters are inside.
16. CAVERN OF THE NEANDERTHALS
This cave is also visible halfway down the cliff.
17. LARGE CLEARING
This clearing is one of the largest and most desolate on The Hill. Clumps of grass growing here are brown and scraggly. Most of the ground is simply bare, cracked dirt, and the forest surrounding it seems especially dark and foreboding.
18. GRAVEYARD
Part of this ancient burial site lies on the north end of clearing #17; the rest extends into the woods. Bushes of thornbushes have started to grow along the north end of the clearing. You see many smooth, roughly square white stones lying among the thorns.
19. DRAGON’S ESCAPE TUNNEL
This large, vegetation-choked cave is used by a red dragon as an entrance/exit point from his dungeon lair deep under The Hill. He avoids the vegetation by flying out of the cave. The cave mouth is 30 feet wide and 20 feet high. The characters have no chance to discover this cave from the outside.
20 The Monastery on the Hill
The characters notice nothing unusual about this place until they cross the broken down wall at the western perimeter of the old courtyard. It then becomes obvious that, though heavily overgrown, the large rectangle was human-built, but destroyed; what wall still stands is obscured by vines. Several squarish buildings and the grounds inside the monastery walls are overgrown with bushes and trees, though not as extensively as is the forest outside. Trees are marked on the map of the monastery; it may be assumed the rest of the ground is passable, except for the tangled garden, where human-sized characters find it impossible to walk. The buildings and columns of the monastery are made of granite, but characters cannot discern the stone unless they remove the covering vines, moss, and fungus.
21 The Wet Forest
This is a forest partially inundated by the many hills around downflow of water and accumulayed due the almost horizontal level in this valley. Eventually it passes south into the Shuttrga/Hillfollow River. The swamp areas to the south and west of The Hill extend for miles beyond the map. Calculate movement through the swamps at the cross-country rate, though the party probably avoids these stagnant bogs (unless they happen to be running for their lives, and no other escape is available!).
Fort Guido's Fort
I could only find one fanon source, so I used that. dndshack.20m.com/fort.html
The Scale was difficult to calculate, as it was not mentioned anywhere, yet deciding the Lion's Inn being 5' squares, I could calculate the Inn is 115' long, which is 7 squares on the Guido's Fort map. With that I could rescale Guido's fort to fit the chosen 100 feet hex scale I used. and fit it on the map a mile (5280 feet) from the oposite side of the river, using my 1 mile hexmap to determine the precise location as this is based on all found canon as well as fanon.
I hope you like this insane 100feet hex map, yes 100 feet!!!!
This map is thus large if printed, you could use pins to mark each PC if the map was placed on a softboard. Digitally you can simply zoom in and view only the hexes the PC's see, There are even gadgets for this I heard.
So have fun and tell me how you like this map, or even used it.