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A yeti lair deep in the bowels of a frozen mountain. To raise their young, yetis of this land will line the walls of their cave nest with their shed fur, and the excrement they use as mortar is a potent deterrent to intruders…

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My latest cave battle map is based on an encounter I built for my players where, being faced with a mountain range and blocked by winter snows, their only way forward was through an abandoned mining tunnel. Unfortunately, this tunnel had been claimed by a troop of yeti, and their journey soon got hairy. 

The mud-slinging brutes blended in with the furry walls and awoke as the party passed by, and much violence ensued.

This map depicts the snowy opening to the cave somewhere of an icy cliff. Inside, the tunnels worm and open up a few flanking routes, then dip down into the furry nest. A few offshoot tunnels act as opportune beds for irritated yeti and, should the party survive, they can continue on left and off to their goals. 

As you can see below, the map variants also include desert, forest, and lava flavors of cave. What, if not yeti, do you imagine living here? Leave a comment and let us know!

The Baboons of Coldcrest Mountain

A mountain lodge has received multiple complaints of belongings going missing. They believe it to be the work of local monkeys, but where could they be taking the trinkets?

The beauty of the Coldcrest Mountain Lodge and its many views tends to attract affluent patronage. Travelers of all kinds pass through and spend their time in its warm halls and cozy rooms, but the true market is in traveling lordship. And it has always done well for itself.

This began to change after a string of supposed robberies. Small but valuable trinkets went missing from unattended bags and windowsills, quickly sparking the ire of already irritable customers. It was quickly discovered that local wildlife, monkeys in particular, was to blame. They blend in with the snow, quickly snatching anything in reach before disappearing toward a mountain cave.

The proprietor of Coldcrest needs the monkeys gone. Fortunately for him, a certain band of adventurers is passing through and is in need of a place to stay. If they can find and remove the monkeys’ home, their rooms and food will be provided free-of-charge.

Describing the Lair

The shadow of a cave entrance is visible in the snow, the dark stone contrasting with the mountain’s blinding white. Moving closer, you see that it descends in a gentle slope. Light and slush pour into the opening chamber. The tunnel then divides into two paths, which appear to loop back on each other but then wind around more corners and out of sight.

Your boots crunch and sink into the snow as you step inside. The air is frigid, biting at what small areas of skin it can, but you are thankfully out of the mountain wind. It is still and silent. You take a breath, cautiously relieved, and are immediately met by a foul stench. Drifting from further in the cave to stain your mouth and nostrils is a putrid mix of refuse and decay.

The smell only grows stronger as you continue through the cave. You can feel it seeping into your clothes and skin and every unshielded breath sickens your stomach. It is not long before you find the source. The texture of the walls around you changes. Patches of clumped, matted fur slowly overtake the stone as you progress. It appears to have once been white, but whatever adheres it to the walls and floor has left it dirty and darkened.

As you investigate, still fighting against the stench, a noise catches your ears. It is faint but distinct in the quiet of the cave. A scratching or shuffling is followed by a much larger shift. You wait several seconds, listening to the sounds continue. Footsteps. And they are approaching. As you take up positions, a large, hulking humanoid silhouette steps out from deeper in the tunnels. Sections of the furred walls rustle around it. Smaller primates crawl out, clawing and gnashing at their master’s command.

Click to zoom in…

Foul Baboons

The primates react symbiotically with their much larger master, and likewise seem to physically resemble it. Their fur is white, though stained with the same excrement that lines the walls. This camouflage, with their quick and erratic movement, makes them difficult to count and track. When you do manage to focus on one, you see a set of long teeth extending from gaunt, sickly faces. A rabid madness clouds their eyes and fills them with rage.

The foul baboons were built from the regular baboon, though they can be flavored as any other primate. They act as underlings to the creature whose lair they inhabit, stealing trophies and food to earn its favor. The unique makeup of their environment has coated them in a powerful Stench, akin to a ghast, as well as poisoning their bite.

They are individually weak, but a single master might be accompanied by a dozen of the smaller primates, who can all make use of their Camouflage and Pack Tactics.

– by Troy McConnell
More content by Troy

Download the Yeti Lair Battle Map

We will deliver the download links to your email address, which include printable PDFs and digital files. You can choose which pack you would like below:

Here are a few more that you might also like:

Check out our complete gallery of maps & assets here →

Here is a quick break down of all the map variants and where you can find them…

The free Yeti Lair Battle Maps

The $5 Yeti Lair Pack with variants & assets

The free map bundle above is also included in this Pack.

Get even more on Patreon

Alternatively, you might support us on Patreon. With a pledge of $2/map you can download the assets, and a pledge of $5/map grants you access to the map variants (that’s 8 maps in total)!

The Base Yeti Lair Battle Map is free to download thanks to Patrons such as:

For exclusive map variants and even the PSD files, consider joining the amazing community that makes these maps possible:

About the author

Ross McConnell

DM, aspiring artist, and founder of 2-Minute Tabletop! I love drawing, writing, and worldbuilding, and this is the website where all of it comes together.

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  1. Thanks for this map of a this map of a yeti cave. I used it in Storm King's Thunder, in the Berg of the Frost Giants, instead of the boring small cave given in the default map. My players were captured by the frost giants, stripped of their gear, and thrown into the yeti lair as food for the yeti at the end of a session, so I had a week to prepare to make it a more exciting event.

    I gave them 1hr to escape and get back somewhere warm before suffering effects of the cold.

    Map was brilliant. The frost giants bowled the players in across the icy surface, each went 1d12 x 10' in a random direction from the cave entrance. It meant they were all spread out, and had to fight their way back together. As they had no equipment, I scattered various pieces of bone, and even a few weapons around in the cave, (remnants of previous yeti victims). Worked brilliantly. A challenging fight for lvl 9 PCs, for whom a group of 8 yeti would normally have been a minor encounter. Without their stuff, no time to plan, and a countdown clock, it was a fun evening. They just made it out. Excitement on finding a large bone club were more like the celebrations reserved for a major magic item. Context is everything!

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