Planescape: D&D Battlemaps For The Outlands

Written by: Zachary Velcoff

This post is the third in a four-part series about the best battlemaps for the Planescape setting. In this article, we’ll review the Top 10 battlemaps for the Outlands.

In case you missed them, be sure to check out the first articles in this series: Planescape: Top 10 Battlemaps for Turn of Fortune’s Wheel, and Planescape: Top 10 Battlemaps for the City of Sigil. After this article, the series will conclude with the best battlemaps for the Gate-Towns of the Outlands.

Far beneath the city of Sigil, at the base of the Spire, a disc-shaped plane extends outwards. This is the Outlands, a place of wild and incongruous landscapes. Here, the domains of demigods can be found amidst thorny badlands and teeming seas, windswept crystalline deserts, and forests of enormous mushrooms. Along its edge lie the sixteen Gate-Towns, each a portal to–and a reflection of–a different Outer Plane.

If your campaign takes place in the Outlands, you’re going to want battlemaps for its bizarre and vibrant regions. This article has you covered.

Without further ado, here are the Top 10 Battlemaps for the Outlands!

Elder Brain Lair

Ilsensine, the Great Brain, patron god of mind flayers, has its domain in the Caverns of Thought. Here, the hateful and inscrutable Tentacled Lord plots the illithid conquest of the multiverse. Should your players seek an audience with Ilsensine or are foolhardy enough to seek the God-Brain's destruction, use the Green variant of Czepeku's Elder Brain Lair for the Caverns of Thought. If you want a dungeon crawl, the Green variants of Czepeku’s Elder Brain Spine Mine and Elder Brain Sacrum Shrine can turn this visit into a longer adventure.

Rebel Camp

Between the Gate-Towns of Ribcage and Rigus, the Great Pass cuts across a jagged range of volcanoes, home to devils and defectors who fled the conflict on the Infinite Battlefield of Acheron. The Ashfall variant of Czepeku’s Rebel Camp works well for a deserter camp in the Great Pass–perhaps your heroes must sneak, bluff, or fight their way across it to reach the next Gate-Town.

Tomb of Sand Interior

The Mausoleum of Chronepsis, domain of the Guardian of the Lost, is a ruined city. Beneath it the sands of time spill through hundreds of hourglasses, each marking the lifespan of a dragon. Should the players seek counsel with the god of time and fate, or should Chronepsis have a mission for them, the Undamaged Hourglass Day variant of Czepeku's Tomb of Sand Interior will be perfect for their meeting. If foes challenge the party's approach to the Mausoleum, you might stage that combat outside, in Czepeku's Tomb of Sand map.

Underground Dwarven City Center

Beneath the icy mountains near the Gate-Town of Glorium, three dwarven gods make their divine realm in the mining city of Moradin's Anvil. Here, mortal smiths live among their deities, forging arms and armor of unparalleled quality. If your party needs good dwarven steel or seeks an audience with Dugmaren Brightmantle, Dumathoin, or Vergadain, set their visit to Moradin's Anvil in the Frozen Mountain variant of Czepeku’s Underground Dwarven City Center.

Jungle Temple Entrance

Czepeku’s Jungle Temple Entrance works well for two locations in the Outlands: Semuanya’s Bog, home to the god of lizardfolk, and the Labyrinth of Life, home to Ubtao, the patron deity of Chult. If the party is passing through the jungle of the Father of Dinosaurs or navigating the deadly bog of the Survivor, the Watcher, and the Breeder, you can set the encounters with these deities–or their followers–in the Original Day variants of this map.

Hidden Witch’s Hut

In the shadow of a colossal spinning wheel lies the Realm of the Norns, home to hermits and seers, fortune-tellers, and astronomers. If your party seeks to have their fortunes told, you can set their encounter with a seer–or even with the Norns themselves–on the Original Day variant of Czepeku's Hidden Witch's Hut.

Great Library

Between a desert canyon and a marsh lies the walled city of Thebestys, home to the Great Library of Thebestys. In previous editions of Dungeons & Dragons, this was the divine domain and personal scroll collection of the ancient Egyptian god Thoth. While the god of learning’s identity is kept vague in 5e’s Planescape: Sigil and the Outlands–perhaps out of a burgeoning and rightful hesitancy on the part of game designers to use real historical religions in fantasy roleplaying games–the Great Library of Thebestys remains. Should your players seek ancient knowledge here, let them pick up a library card at Czepeku’s Great Library.

Annis Hag Lair

The bones of a long-dead titan make up the Vale of the Spine, a barren mountain valley strewn with the scraps of ancient battles and drenched by hot acid rain. Should your party have the misfortune to traverse this valley on their way to Ribcage, Torch, or the River Ma'at, stage their journey on the Rain variant of Czepeku’s Annis Hag Lair.

Djinn Gardens

Nestled deep within the poisonous thorns of the Loom lies the Court of Light, divine domain of the Naga Queen, Shekinester. Here, naga pay homage to the Three-Faced Queen and gather around the Arching Flame, an ever-burning fire of great power and ancient knowledge. If your party braves the brambly maze to reach the Court of Light, let them meet Shekinester and consult the Arching Flame on the Overgrown Yellow Green variant of Czepeku’s Djinn Gardens.

Warforged City Centre

In Wonderhome, the divine realm of Gond, intelligent constructs operate the marvelous machinery of the Lord of All Smiths. If your players come to Wonderhome seeking an audience with the Gearsmith or wish to commission an innovative invention for use in their adventures, use the Autumn variant of Czepeku's Wonderhome to set the scene.

Honorable Mentions

The following maps didn’t make the cut for the Top 10 but are still likely to prove useful for your party’s visits to the Outlands:

Tutelary Turtle Island. Many walking castles trek across the Outlands. There are numerous forms of these mobile fortresses (such as Iedcaru, which your players are likely to find in Turn of Fortune's Wheel), but one that Planescape: Sigil and the Outlands calls out explicitly is found on the shell of a grumpy dragon turtle. Czepeku's Tutelary Turtle Island doesn't look particularly grumpy, so your players may find a pleasant ride on the Beach variant of this map.
Badger Hill. Divine realm of Sheela Peryroyl, halfling goddess of nature, Flowering Hill is an idyllic place of hill homes and gardens, orchards and wildflowers. A harvest feast in this peaceful paradise would make a welcome break from the pain and peril of adventuring. Use the Autumn variant of Czepeku's Badger Hill for Flowering Hill.
Cave Temple. Atop a mountain in the Outlands, in a crystal tower invisible to even the strongest divination magic, Annam the All-Father waits. From his Hidden Realm, the patron deity of all giantkind hopes for his children to restore the ancient empire of Ostoria, reclaim rulership of the realms of mortals, and earn their place in the shattered Ordning once again. Should your players visit the Father of Giants, perhaps in an epilogue to Storm King's Thunder, you might set their meeting in the Frozen variant of Czepeku's Cave Temple.
Impending Waterfall. The River Ma'at wends its way past several Gate-Towns of the Outlands. Its marshes and caves are home to a variety of creatures; paddle steamers and boathouses ply its rapids and brave its waterfalls. If your players travel across the Outlands by river, you can set a tense scene on the Original Day variant of Czepeku’s Impending Waterfall.

For more Planescape content, please check out the other articles in this series:

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