Hi there! I’m Crunkle, otherwise known as u/CunningWhaleFrom on Reddit.

I created this map with the intention of running a heist scenario for my DnD players. Due to our many commitments, it is tough for my group to come together for regular sessions. As a result, I rely on running one-shots which are still tied to my main campaign setting in order to keep the pace up and at least provide all of us with some regular entertainment. I take great joy in designing these side-adventures – they provide ample opportunity for me to take a deep dive in a certain character’s backstory, and to foreshadow world events in the main storyline.

As such, the backstory of this location is based on one of my player characters, an albino half-elf plague doctor named Neo Avorio. Neo’s birth is shrouded in mystery. He was found in a temple of Glasya alongside his unconscious mother and raised by a group of monks who taught him the ways of medicine and self-defence. Now a fully fledged monk initiate, he has decided to step out into the world and put together the mysterious pieces of his past. What better way to explore that than to turn back time, and take a look at the Avorio family back in the old days?

The adventure begins when a member of the tightly-knit Ornakin clan, Jack Solomons, insults Modrus Avorio in public. Modrus is a highly-esteemed politician and guild master of the city. He is apprehended by Modrus’ guards and taken back to the mansion to “sort out their disagreements”. Many days have passed and not a word has been spoken about Jack’s whereabouts. You, as part of the Ornakin clan, have been summoned in order to rescue your kinsman from the clutches of the Avorio family.

The task is practically a suicide mission. The team consists of 4 level 5 players, pit against all 7 of the Avorio family – Kas, Modrus, Dille, Sherri, Grisha, Lou, and Hue Avorio, as well as their guards, loyal servants, and their collection of magical items. Their target is locked away in the heart of the mansion, in a room that no one outside the family has ever seen. In order to survive and reach Jack Solomons, they must lay the groundwork and do the necessary research. Pull whatever connections they have. Plan for the most elaborate of cons. Devise the best route they can muster to penetrate the estate’s defenses. Picture an Ocean’s Eleven scenario – the Ornakin clan may not have access to some mysterious ancestral power, but they accomplish great things through kinship and close cooperation.

While the adventure has not been run yet, the story behind it has informed many parts of its design. Each bedroom of the Avorio family members tells a story of the lives they lived and the people they are. Every person living in the mansion – be it a gardener, servant, or even the steward – has a room and lifestyle accounted for in the set dressing and arrangement of the map. I hope that this gives the Dungeon Master ample resources to respond credibly to the actions of the players and provide a real challenge.

Speaking of challenges, this map is not only limited to the running of heist adventures. Reskin it into a haunted house scenario and run it dungeon-crawler style! Organize a grand ball and have the players navigate through dense layers of intrigue. Maybe use it as the party’s keep, a reward by the local leadership for a good job done. Or take up arms to help the inhabitants of the mansion defend against some fiendish threat, crawling in right from the bowels of the building. Take it apart, repurpose it, and tweak it to suit your needs.

I’d like to make a shout-out to my friend Ken, who offered his time and energy to help playtest this map right from its infancy. It started as a couple of boxes in a Google Slides presentation, and it took 2 months and support from the awesome 2-Minute Tabletop asset packs to finally bring it to fruition. After many nights just chipping away at it after work, I’m glad and grateful to call it done.

– Crunkle