The Wasteland Map

Summary

The Wasteland Map is a rudimentary hand-drawn map discovered in Session 11 of the campaign, found in the pocket of one of the Underground Facility Guards. Created using burnt match charcoal on folded paper, the map documents systematic exploration of the wasteland surrounding New Smoke. The map reveals that the guards have been actively searching for something in the wastes, marking explored locations and identifying a specific target for future investigation.

The map's most significant feature is a circled landmark—depicted as an archway with two sticks, a thick roof, and what appears to be a lollipop sign on top—suggesting this location holds particular interest. In the corner, the letters "TYR" are written and underlined multiple times, though their meaning remains unclear. The map was found during the investigation of the underground facility guards.

Properties

The map is drawn on a folded piece of paper using burnt match charcoal, giving it a crude but functional appearance. At the bottom of the map, New Smoke is represented as a half-circle containing small buildings, serving as the reference point for the wasteland beyond.

Throughout the map, various landmarks are marked with X's, indicating locations the guards explored and found nothing of interest. These landmarks include what appears to be a dead tree, some rocks, and half a cart—natural features and debris the guards used as navigational references while searching the wastes.

One landmark stands out from the rest: an archway shape drawn with two sticks and a thick roof, topped with what looks like a lollipop sign. This particular location is circled, distinguishing it from the other X-marked sites. The circling suggests the guards identified this as a target for future exploration, implying they believe something of value or interest might be found there.

In the corner of the map, the letters "TYR" appear underlined several times, emphasizing their importance to whoever drew the map. The repetitive underlining indicates these letters hold significance, though their meaning is not immediately apparent from the map itself.

History

Session 11

The Wasteland Map was discovered when Sucks and Kat searched one of the Underground Facility Guards they encountered in the underground facility beneath New Smoke. Shawn described it as "a really rudimentary map" found in the guard's pocket alongside Burnt Matches.

When examined, the map revealed its basic construction—drawn with burnt match charcoal on folded paper. Shawn explained the map's layout: "At the very bottom, it has like a half circle that sort of is enclosed on, like, the bottom of the map," representing New Smoke with small buildings marked inside the half-circle boundary.

The map showed multiple landmarks marked with X's throughout the wasteland. Shawn clarified the marking system: "It looks like they're just using whatever landmarks they think of while they're out there to mark where they've been." These X-marked locations—including a dead tree, some rocks, and half a cart—indicated places the guards had already explored without finding anything noteworthy.

One landmark stood apart from the others: an archway with two sticks, a thick roof, and what looked like a lollipop sign on top. This location was circled rather than marked with an X, suggesting the guards had not yet visited it or considered it worthy of special attention. Abdul noted the map's purpose, observing "It looks like it's. It's definitely not like, close enough or Rex Tree is not close enough for that to be what this map is about," indicating the circled landmark was something different from known local features.

The discovery of the letters "TYR" added another layer of mystery. Shawn described them: "so you see, scrawled in the. In the corner of the map, underlined a few times, is these letters." The multiple underlines emphasized their importance to whoever created the map, though their meaning remained unexplained.

The map served as crucial intelligence, revealing that the Underground Facility Guards had been conducting organized wasteland expeditions, methodically documenting their explorations while searching for something specific in the wastes beyond New Smoke.