Written by: Annie S.
Venturing into the Underdark is certainly not for the faint of heart!
This vast, subterranean world beneath the surface of Faerun is teeming with ancient secrets, untold dangers, and uncharted territories. From the elegant cities of the drow to the eerie silence of forgotten ravines, the Underdark is a treacherous and gorgeous land that offers mystery and peril you’d be hard-pressed to find in any surface setting.
In this series, we’ll showcase our best Underdark battlemaps, each hand-drawn and designed to bring the shadowy depths of this dark realm to life at your table.
Divvying The Depths
To make sure you’re covering all the bases, we’ll be splitting this topic into three articles.
The Upperdark
That’s this article! Closest to the surface, the Upperdark introduces adventurers and surfacers to their first taste of the Underdark’s dangers. Here, you’ll find maps suited for early encounters with the friendlier subterranean denizens and introductory encounters with the Underdark’s unique flora and fauna.
The Middledark
Deeper and more perilous than its upper counterpart, the Middledark is rich with ancient cities, dark enclaves, and mysterious caverns. Maps for this layer will hook your players into engaging with the extent of the Underdark’s natural dangers, as well as several of its more hostile denizens. For mid-level adventures, explore our collection of Middledark maps!
The Lowerdark
The most dangerous of them all, the Lowerdark is a realm of unimaginable horror and ancient secrets. Our maps for this layer are about creating terrifying encounters with eldritch horrors and abyssal landscapes—to make for a nightmare your party will never forget. Discover our collection of Lowerdark maps and prepare your players for the ultimate challenge here!
1. Blingdenstone City Center
Starting us off strong is the Underdark variant of our Gnome City Center map series—where mushroom cottages, vibrant flora, whimsical pavilions, and glittering gemstones come together to offer an inviting respite amidst the dangers of the Underdark.
This map is great for representing a svirfneblin (also known as deep gnome) settlement, such as Blingdenstone—highlighting their ingenuity and resilience in transforming a subterranean environment into a bustling haven.
Taking a page from the Underdark adventure, Out of the Abyss, your party might find themselves assisting the deep gnomes in reclaiming their city from marauding oozes or investigating mysterious disappearances among the gem-laden caverns.
2. Darklake Shore
The shores of the Darklake span nearly across the entire Upperdark, and this Underdark variant of the Harpy Cove map perfectly encapsulates the eerie, captivating shoreline.
Pitch-black waters lap against jagged rocks on this hauntingly beautiful ebony beach, and the area is aglow with bioluminescent algae and spores. A ruined shipwreck lays dashed against the rocks, and a large nest perched on one of the stone outcrops hints at something formidable in the shadows.
This map is ideal for any manner of encounters as your players traverse the shores of the Darklake, with the ruined ship and ominous nest laying the groundwork for tons of possible story hooks for your players—whether they’re investigating the wreck or on course to become the next one.
This map also includes a “Scene”— a beautifully rendered illustration, perfect for immersing your players in the eerie subterranean shoreline and bringing your adventure to life. Take a look!
3. Myconid Caverns
We know, we know—we’ve already recommended this map before for adventures like Lost Mines of Phandelver. What can we say? It’s just that versatile and stunning.
This Mushroom Infested Mines map, with its winding stone tunnels and caverns filled with the glow of bioluminescent fungi, is excellent for setting the scene for a mesmerizing and otherworldly subterranean adventure.
The winding pathways all eventually lead to a vast cavern with a massive hole in the center, leading to a myconid grove of giant mushrooms deep below—making it ideal for encounters with myconids, the sentient fungi creatures that inhabit the Underdark. Players might find themselves fending off invasive species, acquiring supplies from these strange creatures, or seeking counsel from their elders.
4. Lush Caverns
Featuring a series of verdant, plant-filled caves and tunnels, this Blacksmith’s Secret Grotto map makes for an excellent mini-dungeon you can “plug-and-play” in any subterranean adventure.
This cozy underground setting features a small camp, glowing crystals, mysterious magic altars, and a climatic final room where statues surround an ethereal pool brimming with radiant crystals.
The map offers any Underdark DM a variety of creative possibilities, from the hidden sanctuary of a reclusive druid to the secret hideout of some ferocious creature. The magical undertones also make it suitable for quests involving ancient relics or artifacts.
5. Drow Outpost Dungeon
Few have adapted to the shadows of the Underdark like the drow, so we’d be remiss if we didn’t touch on a few gorgeous drow maps in this series.
This Cavern of the Venom Queen is a huge Underdark dungeon battlemap depicting a network of tunnels and caverns overrun with dense spiderwebs that hang ominously from the walls. Scattered throughout the network are storerooms, ruins of old structures, and pipes and waterways.
This map is great for introducing a conflict between your players and the drow of the Underdark. Commonly associated with arachnids due to their connection to the Spider Queen, Lolth, the drow may have taken captives or been conducting a ritual that the players need to stop. The map’s open structure and versatility also allow for various quests, from stealthy reconnaissance to intense combat.
6. Darklake Grotto
The Ancient Tech Treasury map depicts a subterranean mythical artifact of ancient technology, but for the purpose of this list, we’ll be using this Underdark Entrance variant of it, which removes all the fancy tech. (Don’t worry; the ruins will make an appearance in the Lowerdark article!)
The winding caverns of this Underdark Entrance map are lined with mosaic ruins that suggest a long-gone civilization—eventually opening up to a small stone dock overlooking the vast expanse of the Darklake. This map is the perfect transition between the surface and the depths of the Underdark, making for a great Underdark entrance or exit.
Encounters here could range from peaceful interactions with other travelers to dangerous confrontations with the party’s first taste of subterranean ecology.
7. Society of Brilliance Outpost
Focusing on a smaller, intricate map this time, this Experimental Surgery Theatre makes for a perfect backdrop for your player’s first encounter with the scholars of the Underdark.
This map features a network of tunnels that ultimately lead into a large cavern filled with everything you might expect to find in a laboratory. Though this could function as any mad scientist’s subterranean lab, it’s also a great opportunity to introduce your players to the Society of Brilliance, a group of diverse scholars dedicated to better understanding life in the Underdark.
This outpost could serve as a hub for gaining knowledge, learning about the society's research, or even a site of confrontation for a rogue scientist. The machinery in the cavern could also lead to lots of puzzles and roleplaying opportunities.
8. Zurkhwood Canopy
This Fairy Treetop Village — Underdark map transforms the bright, sunny canopy of the original into a dark fungal wood forest.
Platforms stretch between the towering zurkhwood fungi, connected by winding wooden bridges, and cozy glowing huts surround a large village center—forming a bustling community nestled in the cavernous expanse of the Underdark.
This map, unique and visually stunning as it is, is perfect for creating a distinctive Underdark village that’s sure to stick in your players’ minds for ages. This could serve as a home base for a particular tribe of svirfneblin, or even a group of peaceful drow. If a fight does end up breaking out, the elevated platforms and bridges also provide tons of opportunities for interesting, dynamic combat.
9. Subterranean Sewerscape
This is another possible entrance to the Underdark—though certainly a little less pleasant than the Darklake entrance mentioned above!
This “Sewer Tunnels — Night” map showcases a series of dark and winding tunnels connected to an expansive cavernous system. Featuring various rooms filled with illicit cargo and criminal operations, this mini-dungeon’s eerie, damp corridors and flickering lights are sure to be the perfect atmosphere for an adventure that takes your party deep beneath the surface.
Ideal as either an entrance to the Underdark or the sewer system of an Underdark city, this map serves as a hideout for outlaws, a smuggler’s den, or even a secret base for some rough-and-tumble faction plotting in the shadows. The various rooms and interconnected tunnels provide tons of opportunities for encounters, traps, and environmental storytelling while your players forge through the muck to challenge the bandits and monsters of the sewers.
This map also includes a “Scene” – a beautifully rendered illustration, perfect for immersing your players in these damp, secluded tunnels and bringing your adventure to life. Take a look!
10. Underdark Passageways
Ending our list last but definitely not least is the Underdark Cave Maps set—a modular collection of over a whopping 130 maps, each one showcasing a unique theme and design.
This extensive underground map set includes icy caverns, overgrown fungal forests, subterranean forges, dungeons, and crypts, as well as a myriad of tunnels, intersections, and passageways to connect them all. Armed with such a diverse and comprehensive set of maps, any GM will find themselves with the flexibility to create intricate and expansive adventures with a vast array of environments for their players to explore.
We think these maps would be perfect for a hexcrawl or open-world adventure set in the depths of the Underdark, providing the perfect backdrop for your players to battle, explore, and uncover the secrets in the depths.
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