Creator Spotlight: The Brass Bailey

Mar 4

Map Series

Meet Brass Bailey!

So what do you make?

I specialize in making old school dungeon maps, encounter maps and one-page-dungeons. I also make world maps and city/village maps, but the focus is on dungeons.

cathedal of the frozen wilds.jpg — ***How did you get started in gaming?***

I’ve been playing video games since I was a little kid. My brother and I started off on the Game Boy Color playing classics like Pokémon, Kirby, and Metroid. Like most of us, I have continued to play video games ever since. It was not until after college that I started play TTRPGs. I played my first game of D&D in 2013 with my little brother being the DM and leading us through the Lost Mines of Phandelver Campaign.
I got more and more into tabletop games as an adult because it provided me with friends, community, and fun in an era where meeting new people is very different than it was when I was growing up. Now I play with a great group of friends from my local store (Prime Time Gaming) and I get to play my wife and kids. My son’s character is a fighter comedian named Tom Wilson. He literally spends each session telling bad jokes, its amazing.

white shadow guild hall.jpg — ***What inspired you to create maps?***

Well, at first, I just looked at a dungeons map and said to myself “I bet I can do that”, so I did it. Then I got obsessed with it. I started making maps in November 2020, and I have pretty much been drawing every day since then, picking up new techniques and styles along the way.
The one-page-dungeon making came from a different perspective. As I talked to my friends, and paid attention to the community there is a prevailing belief that dungeons are not fun. That concept is crazy to me because the name of the game is DUNGEONS and Dragons, THE DUNGEONS SHOULD BE FUN. So, I set out to specifically write dungeons that are fun for both players and DMs. They are only one page because most modern players want to be able to run the dungeon and be finished in one session, limiting myself to one page helps make sure that happens. I also leave a lot of the details vague so the Dungeon Master can change things where they need to. They are designed to be a skeleton that you can add your own flavor to. This way you can easily run them as a one shot or plug them into your campaign.

A handdrawn dungeon on a purple background

paris catacomb.jpg — ***What is your next big goal for gaming-related work?***
I have two goals for the future.
1-Be the cartographer for a published OSR or D&D Zine. There are a lot of awesome writers out there and I would love
to make some maps for them.
2-Compile a collection of my one-page-dungeons into a small zine and publish it.

***What's one fun fact people should know about you?***
Well, as a professional my job is Middle School Band Director and Professional Trumpet Player. I have been teaching professionally for 7 years now and gigging for 10.
Hence the name BRASS Bailey……. please don’t throw tomatoes at me.

A handdraawn map of the Shrine of the Spheres on a blue-purple background

Follow the Brass Bailey at the various links below for maps and one-page dungeons, and if you’re considering a Zine—be sure to reach out for all your map needs!