Cinematic Battle Maps

Time to reveal the battlegrounds that await you!

Join game designer, Sherwin Matthews for a designer’s eye view at the epic battle maps in Sanctuary of the Steelborn and Realm of the Titan. Will you choose to infiltrate the intimidating rolling fortress of the Steelborn, or take on the frozen wastes in search of the Titan?

Location, Location, Location

Even more than the miniatures that are placed on them, encounter maps are perhaps one of the most easily evocative aspects to any RPG adventure. They’re an acute visual representation of the world that until now has been forming in your head from location descriptions and backstory, creating a wider universe to inform how you understand the map.

Accordingly, I’ve never underestimated the importance of a good map—it’s a gateway into the world that's being built by the Game Master and the players, not to mention the scene or fight they’re about to undertake. Even the slightest detail can make a world of difference and leave the players with a strong impression.

With that in mind, let's dive into the maps for Sanctuary of the Steelborn and Realm of the Titan.

Sanctuary of the Steelborn – Carriage Exterior

The first map in this Epic Encounter is set as the player characters catch up with the huge Steelborn carriage they’ve been pursuing across the land, trekking across the wilds as they chase down ominous rumours and stories they’ve heard in settlements.

Unsurprisingly, the central focus of this map is the Steelborn carriage itself, a huge construct in the middle of the playing area. It’s a large and imposing vehicle, all dirty iron, steel, and brass—lending it a presence that feels at odds with the natural elements in its surroundings as it bludgeons its way through forests, and gouges deep furrows into the ground.

With this and the focus of the encounter (gaining entry to the carriage) in mind, the rest of the map has been created to complement the carriage. The devastated ground behind that was once firm soil but now reduced to muddy water and ruined tree that’s been dragged around showing the environmental impact; the treeline to the east and rock wall to the west are positioned to create tactical positions and gameplay possibilities for the player characters in approaching the carriage.

Lastly, the colour tone—I wanted this to feel a little more muted than our usual maps, accentuating the biologically lifeless mechanical nature of these foes. Whilst a cold area could have also achieved this, it felt more important to show the steelborn as a disruptive element and understand their impact to the world, rather than place the encounter somewhere remote where this would be minimised. These foes needed to feel like they were more threatening than just the immediate danger they pose in combat!

Sanctuary of the Steelborn – Carriage Interior

The second map in this encounter takes place within the walls of the carriage itself. Although we’ve taken a little artistic license to zoom in and thus make the area a little larger than it appears on the outside, this is a slighter smaller space than our other maps thanks to the border. 

That’s quite deliberate—although zoomed in, I wanted this area to have a sense of claustrophobia to it. Hence, it’s a very dark and forboding space, where the less cluttered areas are murky and feel dangerous. Typically, where we see light we find an oasis, but in this case the illumination is eerie and alien, completely unnatural; it also reveals strange piping, machinery, and most alarmingly, steelborn parts, like a sort of crypt or abattoir.  

Unlike the outside of the carriage, the elements in here are all hard unforgiving and inhospitable metal. This is an area that feels dangerous, and like the lair of a disturbed mind, once again returning to the alien and hostile exterior of the carriage. Whilst there are plenty of points of interest, none of them stand head-and-shoulders above the others by design—each of the areas feel equally weighted, to better misdirect the player characters as to what might be useful or a trap.

Realm of the Titan – Snow Cavern

Where the Sanctuary of the Steelborn maps depict the threat of the steelborn to the natural environment, and then the threat of the unnatural Steelborn environment to the player characters, Realm of the Titan removes the player characters from the world entirely and drops them into a remote void.

This space is a bleak and forsaken place. In spite of the machinery installed by the steelborn, it is unknown to wider civilization; a place where no mortal has likely stepped before. The elements have killed off any sign of vegetation or wildlife, and immense rock prevents all but tiny slithers of light from permeating the gloom.

Much like the carriage interior, greater illumination on this map is alien and lit in a way that creates an oasis of light; on this map, the player characters can gain cover from the machinery however, and use it as cover from the Titan’s attacks (until it's destroyed, at least). The one area that is resplendent with natural light actually offers a way to hinder and damage the Titan; a nod to how taking your foe from its own environment and confronting the outside world disrupts it.

Finally, we have a nod to the Sanctuary of the Steelborn—a steelborn carriage, broken down and with cables running from it to control the other elements of the forge. Player characters should approach this with caution…

Will you enter the Sanctuary of the Steelborn, or take on the Realm of the Titan? Both of these unsettling sets are available to pre-order now!

Bring Epic Encounters to the Table

Created to save experienced Game Masters time, and to give new Game Masters an easy way to add epic encounters to roleplaying campaigns, every Epic Encounters set is a complete adventure-in-a-box that includes everything from stats, story hooks, tokens, and tips to the cinematic battle maps on show here, and of course, highly detailed miniatures.

Each set offers scalable encounters to fit with any level of adventuring party or campaign. Whilst bosses (such as the huge Titan) have suggested attack patterns, with unique behaviour and special rules to keep things interesting and make for spectacular battles.

Whether you’re a time-strapped GM or a new GM still learning the ropes, these sets are the perfect addition for your game nights, that’ll take care of all that hard work for you.

Don’t forget to join us over in the Steamforged Discord.