I know there are tons of roadside ambush battlemaps out there if you look for them, but particularly I wanted one in a sparse forest location that was much bigger than most of what I was finding. I also like playing with different elevation levels to make combat more interesting, so I added several tiers within the map where players or foes can get the jump on their victims below.

I’m currently running Hoard of the Dragon Queen for 5e, and specifically I created this map to be used with the Stranded event from Episode 4: On the Road. Though of course, it’s generic enough to be used for any encounter along a forested dirt road.

Map was created with Dungeondraft, utilizing the following asset packs:

• Krager’s Shadow & Light Pack
• Tych - Dirt & Grime

You can find the source file here, though it needs the above asset packs to open correctly.

Map is 100px grid, and is 35x30. Link contains additional versions with and without grid and cart, in case you want to use this map for an encounter that doesn’t include helping an unlucky merchant or luring players into a trap.

Edit: Added link to source file.