Written by: Zachary Velcoff
This blog post will highlight Czepeku's 10 best maps to use with Tomb of Annihilation (released on September 8th, 2017)–to supplement the maps from the module and to empower Dungeon Masters who are running the campaign with visual aids for locations the book describes but does not explicitly depict.
Across the world of Abeir-Toril, all those who have been brought back from the dead feel the pull of the grave once more. Unbound from the whims of their vengeful yuan-ti general, hordes of hungry undead roam the dense jungles of the Chultan Peninsula. The natives of Port Nyanzaru take refuge behind the fortified walls of their city, while the colonial mercenaries of Fort Beluarian and the pirates of Jahaka Anchorage seek to plunder the region’s wealth. In a forbidden city lost to the rainforest, the lich Acererak fashions a grim masterpiece several lifetimes in the making: an undead atrocity on the verge of apotheosis, fed the souls of the planet’s dead by a monstrous machine of the infamous lich’s own design.
Needless to say, this post contains big spoilers for Tomb of Annihilation. Players, proceed at your own peril!
1. Colosseum of Challenges
The adventure begins in Port Nyanzaru, the last city on Chult. Its ruling consortium, the Merchant Princes, flaunt their power with extravagant displays of wealth, sponsoring showy events, circuses, and gladiatorial bloodsport in the city’s Grand Coliseum. Here the party can compete for fame, coin, and the favor of the city’s elite, notably Ekene-Afa, who first made her fortune from investing her own Grand Coliseum winnings.
2. Temple of the Couatl Exterior
The ziggurat of Saja N'baza is the last remnant of the city of Orolunga; the rest has been claimed by the jungle and the passing of the centuries. If the players–seeking the location of Omu–wish to consult the ancient guardian naga at the shrine atop the ziggurat, they must climb up its steps and around the tropical vegetation that grows across it. Use the Jungle variant to highlight Orolunga’s steady return to nature.
3. Hanging Gardens
Over one hundred years ago, the city of Mezro was purportedly destroyed by the Spellplague. In reality, however, the city's divine protectors–the barae–spirited Mezro away to a demiplane to escape the depredations of the fallen paladin Ras Nsi, who brought an undead horde to besiege the city in revenge for his banishment. While Ras Nsi, now a yuan-ti malison, still threatens Chult, Mezro appears as a city abandoned to the jungle; use the Jungle Palace variant to showcase it in this state. If the party defeats the yuan-ti and Mezro returns to the Prime Material Plane, you can swap to the Original variant for the finale and the heartfelt reunion of Artus Cimber and Alisanda.
4. Beachside Cliff
This map works for several locations in Chult. You could use its Original variant for Snapping Turtle Bay, where the party might encounter King Toba or one of the cyclops who wander the beaches. The Fog variant is perfect for Jahaka Bay, where the pirates of Jahaka Anchorage hide their headquarters in the ever-present mists. Lastly, the Guardian Landfall variant is great for the Bay of Chult, where the dragon turtle Aremag extorts passing ships for treasure, sinking those who dare refuse to pay.
5. Birdfolk Village
If the death curse claims one of the party members, a guide might direct them to the mostly abandoned village of Mbala on a steep plateau overlooking the Aldani Basin. There the green hag, Nanny Pu’pu, can restore the dead–not to life, quite, but to an undeath in which they’ll retain much of their old memories and selfhood. Of course, such services come at a price, and the green hag has hungers of her own to satiate. Use the Massacre variant to demonstrate that something went terribly wrong in Mbala, and to get the players thinking about what might have happened to its former inhabitants.
6. Megalith Gate
Two of the gateless variants of this map are excellent for Chult’s rugged, volcanic badlands. For Ataaz Yklwazi, I’d suggest the Desert variant, with its sharp basalt outcroppings protruding from the volcanic canyon. If the party attempts to cross the hunting ground of the young red dragon Tzindelor, this map will make a fitting backdrop for their battle. The party might also encounter Tzindelor east-southeast of Ataaz Yklwazi, in the Land of Ash and Smoke. Here, where streams of lava run freely through the valley, you can use the Lava Plains variant for an even more dramatic showdown.
7. Impending Waterfall
Numerous rivers run through the jungles of Chult, spilling over waterfalls on their way from the uplands to the sea. Whether the party is rowing down the River Olung from the volcanic Lake Luo or taking the River Soshentar from the Aldani Basin to the Bay of Chult, they’re sure to encounter waterfalls. This is equally true if they're following the River Tath through Ataaz Kahakla into Jahaka Bay or daring the rapids of the River Tiryki, whose banks are patrolled by grung, pterafolk, and undead alike. This map is perfect for a high-stakes canoe chase on any of the rivers of Chult!
8. Jungle Temple Entrance
At the western foot of the Sky Lizard Mountains, beneath the Crown volcano, lies the ruins of the half-buried yuan-ti city of Hisari. Potent magic wards banished the snakefolk from their former home many years ago, and untold riches may lie within its vast underground chambers. Should the party trace the yuan-ti of Omu back to Hisari and opt to investigate the abandoned city, you can use this map for their arrival. If the party stumbles across Hisari in the company of Salida, they might learn that their guide is not what she seems when the yuan-ti spy is unable to pass through the city gates. In that context, this map is an excellent place to foreshadow Salida’s sudden but inevitable betrayal.
9. The Stranded Casino
If your party had an electrum piece for every time they found a sailing ship in the middle of the Chultan jungle, they would have two electrum, which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird that it happened twice. While the Wreck of the Star Goddess comes with a map, the Wreck of the Narwhal does not. Although the Narwhal is an upside-down galleon in the module, not a rightside-up casino, exerting your creative license as a DM here enables you to stage your party’s meeting with the weretiger Bwayes O’tamu and his vegepygmy friends on this fun, unique battlemap!
10. Dead Angel Reef
Ataaz Kahakla is a river gorge home to a dead–but still vibrantly colorful–coral reef. With the skeletons of immense prehistoric sea predators strewn about the coral and the abundance of undead on Chult, you could stage an exciting encounter here. I recommend the Original No Angel variant for just that purpose.
Honorable Mentions
The following maps didn’t make the cut for the Top 10 but are still likely to prove useful for your Tomb of Annihilation campaign:
Beachside Bazaar. Port Castigliar, an abandoned seaside ruin with a graveyard haunted by ghouls, is a great match for the Darkness from Below variant of this map. If your players pass through Kitcher's Inlet on their way up the River Olung toward Mezro, Ataaz Muhahah, or Nangalore, they are likely to row past Port Castigliar and perhaps provoke the rage of the dead who haunt its beach.
Beached Kraken. One of the few safe landings on Chult, the wide, sandy shore of Refuge Bay is a great fit for the Beach Day variant of this map.
Open Ocean. If your players book berths aboard the Brazen Pegasus or receive a sailing ship from the Lords' Alliance agent, Lerek Dashlynd, in exchange for a detailed map of the peninsula, they’re likely to explore the seas around Chult. Many variants of this map will work well for their seafaring, and if they choose to explore the sunken settlement of Ishau, the Atlantis variant is perfect.
Ropebridge Chasm. The High Tide variant is a great fit for the Snout of Omgar, a strait formed in Chult’s southeast when the peninsula was struck by the Spellplague cataclysm.
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