Publisher's blurb:
I found the architectural and logical inconsistencies of the Gralhund Villa maps provided with Dragon Heist: Forgotten Tales maddening, so I created my own full color VTT ready versions.
What Changed?
The biggest change was detaching the guard barracks, kitchen, pantry, laundry, and servant’s quarters from the house itself. This was very common in estate homes in renaissance and colonial periods of history. In the warmer months of the year, no one wants the heat and noise of the kitchen and working servants near the main house.
Another change was flipping the front and back entrances and making the back entrance a proper servants gate rather than a door into the pantry. The front entrance being off Saerdoun Street made more sense. As did creating a proper carriage entrance with guard station for both the residents and visitors. Carriages pull in and around the circle to discharge passengers and then either to the barn or back onto the street.
The ballroom was moved to the first floor and given a full two-story height meaning the ceilings should be at least 25’ high. An overlook from the second story hall at the top of steps allows the family and friends to oversee activities below. As a result of this change the library and Orond’s study were moved to the second floor to make this possible.
Finally, the staircase runs and ceiling heights proposed in the original text make absolutely no sense. The stairs were drawn with a 15’ run and the ceiling heights are supposedly 20’. That would create a veritable ships ladder. I suggest the ceiling heights in the main area of the house are more like 14’ and the staircase run there is has been re-oriented and expanded to 26 steps, meaning a 7” rise would reach the floor above (including the thickness of the floor/ceiling). Each step is a comfortable 12” deep as drawn. The guard house and servant buildings should have 8-9’ ceilings and the staircases have been sized for that.
None of these changes should affect play and all areas are marked with their area designation from the original text. The flow is just slightly better and makes more logical sense.