zachmoeller

Insect Ships Vol. II

Added 2022-08-31 18:00:03 +0000 UTC

I'm incredibly excited to release these maps in collaboration with Borough Bound, Cze and Peku, Limithron, Venatus Maps and Tabletop RPG Music! As you all know, I've been really enjoying building a collection of fantasy ships, and when I found out Borough Bound was releasing a flying city map and were looking for cartographers making flying ships, I couldn't help but throw my name in the hat. It's been humbling working in the company of such prolific creators.

Now my friends at Borough Bound likely need no introduction, but for those of you who haven't yet checked them out yet, they make maps, music, and setting guides that flesh out entire settlements. They are making some of the coolest and most useful TTRPG content out there right now, so please check them out at their Patreon.

Without further ado, I'm happy to present:

Borough Bound's Gruuk Jit'Jit 07 - Staying Afloat

There must be some way to control this thing…

Welcome back to Gruuk Jit’Jit, everybody! This week, we’re looking at the Skunkworks in the corner of town. This release is all about weird technology, cool airships, and the folks who keep the city afloat. We’ve also got a ton of collaborators who helped us out with this one (4 mapmakers, and 1 composer!), so you’re going to want to set aside some time to dig through all of this content!

Borough Guide

This guide introduces you to the GJ Improvement Guild, a team of volunteers who help install the infrastructure that keeps Gruuk Jit’Jit afloat. There’s more to these benevolent engineers than it might seem; a faithful goblin is pulling strings behind the scenes, and not all of the volunteers have the purest of intentions. We also learn about the massive and mysterious airship docked in the Skunkworks. This ship holds a secret that may just spell the doom of Gruuk Jit’Jit. Finally, our plot hook is all about repelling a fleet of strange aircraft, each of which was designed by one of our awesome collaborators.

Maps

This map is all about weird engineering. This is the dock where the guild disassembles stolen mechanisms and then crafts them into useful machinery. Please note that we also have a version of this map that does not include the big airship. This is perfect for those of you GMing parties with their own big ship who might need space to dock. As always, we have a bevy of variants for you to use in non-Gruuk Jit’Jit campaigns. The sea variant is likely to be extremely popular, I suspect!

Our interior map shows the inside of The Waxen Independence, the massive airship. This ship has been mostly disassembled by the guild, but its mysterious engine still sits dormant in the bottom floor.

We have five additional maps contributed by our collaborators included as well, so even if you’re just here for the maps, make sure to keep reading to find out about all of the goodies contained within.

Music

Our track this week has a sort of tinkering vibe. “In the Skunkworks” is perfect for scoring kooky engineers, magical factory floors, and cheery steampunk environs. There’s something just a little off about this music… which is pretty par for the course for these sorts of wacky scientist vibes you’re looking for. Our variant track (“Casual Rock”) has a more gritty texture that focuses on guitar and percussion, better for dirty mechanics and the hard work of actually crafting this machinery.

The Engines of Aether | Collaboration with Tabletop RPG Music

It’s about time we did a collab that includes some more music, right? Well we’ve got a great track for you today. Tabletop RPG Music is one of the best composers in the RPG space right now, and his track “The Engines of Aether” is a friggin’ achievement. It evokes awe-inspiring sci-fi moods while still sitting squarely in the realm of fantasy. It’s big, vast, atmospheric, and yet still somehow amps you up? Tabletop RPG Music makes a ton of music, looping track, variants, Foundry modules, you name it. Go check him out on Patreon!

The Crystal Veil | Collaboration with Cze and Peku

We always love it when BB team members Cze and Peku can contribute one of their maps for a release of ours. They’ve contributed a starry crystalline ship for this collab, perfect for Spelljammer... er, Gruuk Jit’Jit adventures. As always, Cze and Peku have an absolutely insane number of variants available for this map on their Patreon.

Spark of the Woken Bones | Collaboration with Venatus Maps

Our buddy Venatus Maps has put together a very strange map for us indeed this time around: a dragon / hot air balloon / glider hybrid sort of thing. This airship is crazy, perfect for dark fantasy campaigns filled with sword and sorcery. Venatus Maps also made a sick side view that really helps bring this map to life. Please check out Venatus Maps on Patreon for a huge range of battle maps, region maps, map assets, tokens, and more.

The Juggernaut | Collaboration with Limithron

The BB team has a simple rule: if we’re doing a collab that involves ships, we have to get help from Limithron. He’s the king of naval cartography, with an unrivaled collection of boats, airships, islands, and ocean maps. His airship for us today is an over-the-top pirate ship created in collaboration with Swordfish Islands for their Kickstarter Marlo’s Mire and Hot Spring Island.If you need any naval content for your RPG campaigns, please do check out Limithron on Patreon!