Skip to the content
YoreYore
Martin Ralya's blog about RPGs, miniatures, &c.
  • Tabletop RPGs
    • B/X D&D
    • Bleakstone
    • D&D
    • DCC RPG
    • Free RPGs
    • Godsbarrow
    • Godsbarrow handbook
    • GURPS
    • Labyrinth Lord
    • OD&D
    • Old school
    • Old School Essentials
    • PbtA
    • Planescape
    • RPG community
    • Solo RPGs
    • Story games
    • Swords & Wizardry
    • Traveller
    • Zines
  • Miniatures
    • Adeptus Custodes
    • BattleTech
    • Blood Angels Space Marines
    • Deathskulls Orks
    • Finished miniatures
    • Frostgrave
    • Kill Team
    • Leagues of Votann
    • Lightbox photos
    • Miniature painting
    • My BattleTech Long Nights mercenary company and color guide
    • My Warhammer 40k Adeptus Custodes army
    • My Warhammer 40k Blood Angels army
    • My Warhammer 40k Deathskulls Ork army
    • My Warhammer 40k Leagues of Votann army
    • My Warhammer 40k terrain
    • Painting tools
    • Space Hulk
    • Terrain
    • Tyranids
    • Warhammer 40k
    • WIP it good
  • Godsbarrow
  • Halfbeard Press
  • About me
    • Published work
    • Quotes that resonate with me
    • My completed Marvel and DC runs
    • Crock pot chili à la Ralya
  • Contact me
  • Tabletop RPGs
    • B/X D&D
    • Bleakstone
    • D&D
    • DCC RPG
    • Free RPGs
    • Godsbarrow
    • Godsbarrow handbook
    • GURPS
    • Labyrinth Lord
    • OD&D
    • Old school
    • Old School Essentials
    • PbtA
    • Planescape
    • RPG community
    • Solo RPGs
    • Story games
    • Swords & Wizardry
    • Traveller
    • Zines
  • Miniatures
    • Adeptus Custodes
    • BattleTech
    • Blood Angels Space Marines
    • Deathskulls Orks
    • Finished miniatures
    • Frostgrave
    • Kill Team
    • Leagues of Votann
    • Lightbox photos
    • Miniature painting
    • My BattleTech Long Nights mercenary company and color guide
    • My Warhammer 40k Adeptus Custodes army
    • My Warhammer 40k Blood Angels army
    • My Warhammer 40k Deathskulls Ork army
    • My Warhammer 40k Leagues of Votann army
    • My Warhammer 40k terrain
    • Painting tools
    • Space Hulk
    • Terrain
    • Tyranids
    • Warhammer 40k
    • WIP it good
  • Godsbarrow
  • Halfbeard Press
  • About me
    • Published work
    • Quotes that resonate with me
    • My completed Marvel and DC runs
    • Crock pot chili à la Ralya
  • Contact me
Categories
Old school Tabletop RPGs

Glorious old-school maps: the Dodecahedron 2015 Cartographic Review

  • Post author By Martin Ralya
  • Post date March 28, 2016
  • 2 Comments on Glorious old-school maps: the Dodecahedron 2015 Cartographic Review

I love Dyson Logos’ cartography and coil-bound gaming books, so the Dodecahedron 2015 Cartographic Review is right up my apple cart. It more than earns its starred entry on my big list of Lulu RPG recommendations.

The Cartographic Review is a big book of maps, running close to 90 pages with a map per page. Some maps span multiple pages; most are fantasy, but there’s some sci-fi (and otherwise repurposeable) stuff in there as well.

If you’re familiar with Dyson’s blog, Dyson’s Dodecahedron, you already know what his work looks like. But if not, you’re in for a treat. Here’s one of my favorite maps from the book:

Most pages look something like that one, featuring a map and a few paragraphs of text related to the dungeon/environment. Some include exterior views, like this spread:

And some are isometric:

Alongside a host of dungeons and buildings, there are also a set of hex maps that make me wish I had a whole book of these. Here’s my favorite:

Flipping through it, I didn’t come across a single map I couldn’t see myself using at some point. Crypts, caverns, weird towers, sprawling dungeons, crumbling manors, temples, settlements — these are the bread and butter of fantasy gaming, and the Review is packed with them.

As a physical artifact, the book is fantastically useful. Being coil-bound means it will lay flat at the table, and being printed on non-glossy paper means you can key these maps in pencil (or pen, etc.) on the fly, as you need them. Of course, you can also prep them in advance, but I hate prep and love improv, so doing it during play appeals to me.

The Dodecahedron 2015 Cartographic Review is a steal at $16 (remember to always check for Lulu coupons before ordering — those discounts come out of Lulu’s end, not the creator’s). I look forward to the 2016 edition!

Out now: The Unlucky Isles

The Unlucky Isles [affiliate link], the first system-neutral guidebook for my Godsbarrow fantasy campaign setting, is now on DriveThruRPG.
  • Tags Dodecahedron 2015 Cartographic Review, Dyson Logo, Dyson's Dodecahedron, fantasy, maps, old school, roleplaying games, RPGs, science fiction

← Pathfinder Pawns for Frostgrave: soldiers of the Inner Sea → War Torn Worlds prepainted terrain for Frostgrave

2 replies on “Glorious old-school maps: the Dodecahedron 2015 Cartographic Review”

Exploring the 2015 Cartographic Review | Dyson's Dodecahedronsays:
March 31, 2016 at 8:13 am

[…] But the whole thing is better reading, and goes into his love for spiral-bound books at the gaming table – read all about it here. […]

Reply
Exploring the 2015 Cartographic Review – D&D Legacysays:
March 31, 2016 at 8:56 am

[…] But the whole thing is better reading, and goes into his love for spiral-bound books at the gaming table – read all about it here. […]

Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

View posts by category

Posts by tag

Want to see a big list of every tag I’ve used on Yore? You’re in luck!

Affiliate links

Affiliate links are denoted by [affiliate link] or [paid link], and I earn a small commission from purchases made using those links (at no cost to you).

Colophon

MartinRalya.com has been online since March 10, 2009. My Yore blog has been running since August 28, 2012, with 513 posts. You can read more about the site or about me, if you like.

Bleakstone, Cape Reckless, Dormiir, Godsbarrow, Hexmancer, Unlucky Isles, the Godsbarrow logo, and the Halfbeard Press logo are trademarks of Martin Ralya.

Copyright © 2009 - 2023 Martin Ralya. All rights reserved.

To the top ↑ Up ↑