Building a 'better' FR
Printed from: Candlekeep Forum
Topic URL: http://candlekeep.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=13713
Printed on: 24 May 2024
Topic:
Topic author: Markustay
Subject: Building a 'better' FR Sorry about the title - don't mean to ruffle feathers.
Replies:
Posted on: 02 Jun 2010 06:56:39
Message:
I've been playing with the maps as usual, and I'm kinda putting together my version of a 'dream setting'. I've been posting stuff in other folks' threads and decided that wasn't very nice, so if anyone is interested in my 'mad scientist' mapping you'll find them here now.
From the last WIP I posted in the Osse thread, I have reduced the size of the Greyhawk part of the map. Two very good reasons for that - first, I thought it was a shame that I had to lose Maztica (I know, I know, its already gone...), when the idea was to build onto the Realms, NOT lose stuff. Then, while trying to figure out how to get it back without compromising the Amalgam, I realized I never bother to check scales! I only fit things together however they looked good.
So, after checking the scale of Greyhawk (no easy task - you find a frigging Oerth map with a damn scale on it!), I matched the continents as near as I could so the scales should be the same no matter what settings maps are used. I also decided the new Anchorome had grown too large, and needed to shrink it down, and here is what I have so far -
A brave new World
Note that I went ahead and corrected the Faerūnian continent as well - the rather ugly silhouette from the FRCS was getting on my nerves. It is still a work-in-progress, so all that stuff you see below that new continent is subject to change. I'm not thrilled with the weird new sub-continent of Hepmozticaland, but it works - all of the known parts of Maztica are there, as well as the small bit of Hepmonaland that shows on the Greyhawk maps.
This is how I arrived at that continents shape -
New continent with campaign overlays
That's the entirety of the Iron Kingdoms setting (Immoren) right there - I like the way the mountains trailing off one map lead to the mts on the other. 
Buuuut... the scale for that part is still wrong, plus I'm really not thrilled with how it looks. I corrected the rotation I did on the earlier version - the idea is to be able to use the campaign maps from each setting WITHOUT any alterations. IK is way smaller then I thought - not even as wide as the distance from the Swordcoast to the eastern tip of the lake of Steam.
Now that I fixed the angle, I will work on the size (matching these scales is a pain). I really think the continent will look better for it anyway - its too 'squarish' looking on that end. Plus I still need to pull that setting a bit more north, so I don't have to fuss with Osse as much when I paste Mystara onto it.
I still have to squeeze Xendrik in there, and Nyambe below the new Anchoerik continent. 
Reply author: Cleric Generic
Replied on: 02 Jun 2010 07:08:48
Message:
oooooo... That's quite pretty as is, really! I was never a huge fan of the Americas shaped bit of Toril, or the East Asia shaped bit, for that matter...
There's another multi-setting mega-mash-up map floating around out there somewhere (and on my HD, I think), but this is looking much more artistic. Looking forward to the next bits!
Reply author: BlackAce
Replied on: 02 Jun 2010 07:16:01
Message:
Nice work, Mark. I'm doing a very similar thing with shoehorning Golarion onto "Anchorome", just with Maztica tacked onto the bottom of Quadira and the eastern coast resembling the one on Toril.
I'll be happy to see how your experimentation goes and steal any good ideas for myself. :)
Reply author: Brimstone
Replied on: 02 Jun 2010 07:23:44
Message:
Looks good.
Reply author: Darkmeer
Replied on: 02 Jun 2010 07:59:29
Message:
Consider me watching with interest.
I like all the work you've put into your stuff over the years, and I'll be glad to help if I can, even if it's just thrown pottery :P
/d
Reply author: Jakk
Replied on: 02 Jun 2010 08:29:19
Message:
Thanks for starting your own scroll, Mark. I'll be following this one with interest too, never fear, but for the present my creative energies are focused on CK's Osse project. On which note: we're trying to use as much as possible of what you and Dagnirion/LK put together in the Osse thread on those other boards, and if you could let us know in the "Project Isle" scroll which of those ideas you're particularly fond of, we'll try to work them in if we haven't already done so. We've had a pile of great ideas there, but we'd still be interested in hearing your thoughts on "fleshing out" Osse as it stands with canon geography (and yes, I know that's just coastlines and mountains, the latter thanks to the FRIA globe).
Thanks! If I have any ideas for you, I'll be sure to speak up, as I'm sure you know. 
Actually, one idea just occurred to me... if you're using eastern Oerik there, were you planning to make it the actual eastern Oerik, or just using the geography? Because melding Oerth and Toril would be a heck of a Spellplague event... I know you've already dropped the city of GH into your Realms as it is now, but this could be very interesting with a storyline similar to my original Oerth/Toril Spellplague script... which is posted somewhere here at the 'Keep... I'll try to find the scroll for you...
Edit: found it: here... and I erased Evermeet in my original take on things as well. Maybe it's a sign... 
or just a coincidence. 
Edit: Of course, your version would be significantly different, in that Oerth and Toril would do what Abeir and Toril did in the canon Spellplague... if you take that explanation, anyway; the old Anchorome continent would end up where eastern Oerik was in Oerth, and all of the gods of the Flanaess would follow eastern Oerik into Realmspace. Why reduce the size of the pantheon when you can double it? More gods = more interesting.
Reply author: Cleric Generic
Replied on: 02 Jun 2010 10:33:18
Message:
In addition to additions, there are a few minor alterations to the Faerun and Zakhara map I might make.
- For Zakhara, the big square mass of regularly spaced islands fitting together like puzzle pieces looks a bit odd to me, I'd either fan them out a bit or add some to break up the shape (or both).
- Heretical though it may be to suggest as much, the coastlines of Faerun, especially those of the Shining and Great seas seem a bit on the flat side. I'd exaggerate their contours a bit; the Sword Coast a bit more bowed, Calimshan and Dragon's Head/Velen a bit more pronounced, etc, etc.
- Also, I'm not sure what, if anything, there is on those bits above northern Faerun and the Ama Basin, or if they're ice sheets.
Reply author: GRYPHON
Replied on: 02 Jun 2010 10:50:57
Message:
Great job...
Reply author: Brace Cormaeril
Replied on: 02 Jun 2010 12:21:49
Message:
So, *why*, exactly, is eastern Oerik fused with Toril? What are the over-arching effects on cannon?
I want a Dramidj stone. Correction, I want a company of War Wizards with Dramidj stones...
Reply author: Markustay
Replied on: 02 Jun 2010 17:46:14
Message:
Well, if I were to run this abomination , I would say THAT was the effect of the Spellplague. That Oerth was the other half of Toril (what? You don't think the inhabitants of 'Abeir' would be calling it something different 30,000 years later?)
In fact, all these changes could be said have been caused by the Spellplague. The REAL secret was that the split didn't just happen once - over the course of countless millennia several events (like the Sundering, or tearfalls) have caused pieces of Toril to shift to other worlds. The magical chaos of the Spellplague was causing the world to break apart, so Ao had to pull a 'cold reboot' on the whole shebang.
That means you could say that the inhabitants are aware of the changes, or you could say history itself has been re-written to accommodate the new continuity; personally, I think it would be much less of a headache to say most everyone knows about it. IN FACT, saying people are aware of all the new geography gives rise to a whole new set of adventures - exploration, new trade routes, opening up diplomatic relations with other countries, etc.
I really wish I could fit Khorvaire and Ansalon - I could if I decided the planet was about twice the diameter of earth, and put all that in the southern hemisphere (which would shift the equater south), but I would have to flip those continents upside-down in order to keep the climates correct, and I'm striving for being able to use the various campaign world maps as-is. Also, it really would be overly redundant - I'm already having a problem with multiples of the same cultures.
Although I thought about how cool it would be to make a whole new planet, with no axial tilt and a 'ring of fire' around the equator, where the temperature reaches 200° and there is literally a wall of mist and then scalding steam dividing the north and the south. Thats getting a bit 'SciFi' though. It also would no longer be FR 'with things tacked-on' - Faerūn would get lost in all of that.
Reply author: Cleric Generic
Replied on: 02 Jun 2010 17:58:10
Message:
Depending on how much 4e lore you want want to use, you could have two maps. One of Toril with Faerun and friends, and then Abeir with Shyr, whatever took Laerakond's place (Maztica, presumably) and whatever stuff you couldn't quite fit onto your new Toril map. I'm often tempted to ignore the bit where Abeir re-separates from Faerun after the Plague, and having it at least somewhat accessible via high end portal magic.
Reply author: Thauramarth
Replied on: 02 Jun 2010 18:04:06
Message:
[quote]Originally posted by Markustay
I really wish I could fit Khorvaire and Ansalon - I could if I decided the planet was about twice the diameter of earth, and put all that in the southern hemisphere (which would shift the equater south), but I would have to flip those continents upside-down in order to keep the climates correct, and I'm striving for being able to use the various campaign world maps as-is. Also, it really would be overly redundant - I'm already having a problem with multiples of the same cultures.
[quote]
Well... Strictly speaking, you would not have to flip Ansalon - it's already in the southern hemisphere .
Reply author: Markustay
Replied on: 02 Jun 2010 18:15:14
Message:
quote:
Originally posted by Cleric Generic
There's another multi-setting mega-mash-up map floating around out there somewhere (and on my HD, I think), but this is looking much more artistic. Looking forward to the next bits!
I have seen that, and although I was very impressed by it, I thought it looked WAY too busy, and some of the settings used were so esoteric I didn't even recognize the maps!
My goal is to create something not only wholly usable (no-one would go to 90% of that other map), but also be able to use the other settings wholesale, with few changes.
quote:I may do a series with Ansalon, Khorvaire, and Golarion all taking the place of Achorome. The layering I'm using now will allow me to drop the various continental silhouettes onto any map.
Originally posted by BlackAce
Nice work, Mark. I'm doing a very similar thing with shoehorning Golarion onto "Anchorome", just with Maztica tacked onto the bottom of Quadira and the eastern coast resembling the one on Toril.
quote:I would use the campaign entire, which is why I'm striving to keep the geography 'sensical' (climatically), keeping the scales as accurate as possible, and keeping the various cultures where they would make the most sense (hence my blending of Hepmonaland and Maztica). HOWEVER, anyone can do whatever the heck they like with these - I'm just playing around right now, and if folks just want to use the geography and NONE of the campaign material more power to them.
Originally posted by Jakk
Actually, one idea just occurred to me... if you're using eastern Oerik there, were you planning to make it the actual eastern Oerik, or just using the geography? Because melding Oerth and Toril would be a heck of a Spellplague event... I know you've already dropped the city of GH into your Realms as it is now, but this could be very interesting with a storyline similar to my original Oerth/Toril Spellplague script...
quote:My next project will be my 'dream version' of FR, which will bring me back to my roots of mapping. I had shrunk Zakhara down and tacked it onto the end of Calimshan, but now I find it would be better just to move Calimshan over where Var the Golden is (all I need do is mirror it - flip it so east is west - and it should work perfectly). I also moved Thay down into The Shaar in my own FR campaigns, which really didn't efect the history over-much, and allowed me to add a nice Aboral Centaur kingdom in the ancient forest where Thay use to be. I have lots of other changes in mind, and when I get around to changing Faerūn itself, I will be taking any and all suggestions into consideration. I like the idea of 'exploding' the isles below Zakhara into a more realistic pattern.
Originally posted by Cleric Generic
In addition to additions, there are a few minor alterations to the Faerun and Zakhara map I might make.<snip>
quote:As I have explained above, this is just an exercise for me - anyone can do whatever they like with these, including ignore them.
Originally posted by Brace Cormaeril
So, *why*, exactly, is eastern Oerik fused with Toril? What are the over-arching effects on cannon?
Use just the geography, or use the other settings complete - you can blame it all on the Spellplague, some other event, or just re-write history so it was always this way. Seriously, this is just a good way for me to ease myself back into mapping.
Reply author: Markustay
Replied on: 02 Jun 2010 18:19:52
Message:
quote:Ack! Now you have me considering creating two worlds in the same orbital plane on opposite sides of the sun! The planets Dopple and Ganger... errr... I mean Toril and Abeir.
Originally posted by Cleric Generic
Depending on how much 4e lore you want want to use, you could have two maps. One of Toril with Faerun and friends, and then Abeir with Shyr, whatever took Laerakond's place (Maztica, presumably) and whatever stuff you couldn't quite fit onto your new Toril map. I'm often tempted to ignore the bit where Abeir re-separates from Faerun after the Plague, and having it at least somewhat accessible via high end portal magic.
quote:Now you've gone and done it... got me thinking about that nifty continent again... it is kinda the same shape as Osse....
Originally posted by Thauramarth
Well... Strictly speaking, you would not have to flip Ansalon - it's already in the southern hemisphere.
Reply author: Cleric Generic
Replied on: 02 Jun 2010 20:55:47
Message:
quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
Ack! Now you have me considering creating two worlds in the same orbital plane on opposite sides of the sun! The planets Dopple and Ganger... errr... I mean Toril and Abeir.
Two maps? Come on, if you're going to do Abeir and Toril, you'll have to also do their Shadow and Faerie counterparts... And the Underdark for each of the above, obviously...
Reply author: Elfinblade
Replied on: 02 Jun 2010 21:15:10
Message:
Good work so far Mark. Looking forward to more!
Reply author: Markustay
Replied on: 02 Jun 2010 23:43:40
Message:
Damn damn damn damn....
I had a nice long post here, but I hit 'c' instead of cntrl 'C', and erased the whole thing.
I hate when that happens.
Anyway, this is for you Cleric Generic: an example of one of the changes I would have made -
New Calimshan
Most of what I had written concerned how easy it was to transfer the fluff over - it practically writes itself (Valashar becomes Veldorn, Mir becomes Var, Memnonnar becomes Estagund, etc...)
Reply author: Jakk
Replied on: 02 Jun 2010 23:58:45
Message:
quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
Well, if I were to run this abomination
In fact, all these changes could be said have been caused by the Spellplague. The REAL secret was that the split didn't just happen once - over the course of countless millennia several events (like the Sundering, or tearfalls) have caused pieces of Toril to shift to other worlds. The magical chaos of the Spellplague was causing the world to break apart, so Ao had to pull a 'cold reboot' on the whole shebang.
BRILLIANT! This is what I was leaning toward in my post regarding inserting eastern Oerik into Toril... I don't recall which scroll that went into now, however... originally it was in my "Spellplague Revisited" scroll from last year sometime; link forthcoming.quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
That means you could say that the inhabitants are aware of the changes, or you could say history itself has been re-written to accommodate the new continuity; personally, I think it would be much less of a headache to say most everyone knows about it. IN FACT, saying people are aware of all the new geography gives rise to a whole new set of adventures - exploration, new trade routes, opening up diplomatic relations with other countries, etc.
I agree on all counts here; that was my view when I was looking at inserting Laerakond into the otherwise-untouched pre-Spellplague Realms. I still think dropping it on Evermeet is the best idea.
quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
I really wish I could fit Khorvaire and Ansalon - I could if I decided the planet was about twice the diameter of earth, and put all that in the southern hemisphere (which would shift the equater south), but I would have to flip those continents upside-down in order to keep the climates correct, and I'm striving for being able to use the various campaign world maps as-is. Also, it really would be overly redundant - I'm already having a problem with multiples of the same cultures.
Ansalon is a rather small southern-hemisphere near-polar continent... are you sure there isn't room? Check this link... But I agree with you on the redundancy thing. What I don't like about Tesar (see link) is that you lose the continuity of the Realms, being able to travel by land from Rashemen through the Endless Wastes to Kara-Tur... instead, you go from Rashemen through the Endless Wastes to the Dry Steppes to Eastern Oerik. While cool, it doesn't have the same feel. And I can't find Kara-Tur at all on the map, although it does have Golarion turned on its head attached to the Antarctic ice sheet near Ansalon.
quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
Although I thought about how cool it would be to make a whole new planet, with no axial tilt and a 'ring of fire' around the equator, where the temperature reaches 200° and there is literally a wall of mist and then scalding steam dividing the north and the south. Thats getting a bit 'SciFi' though. It also would no longer be FR 'with things tacked-on' - Faerūn would get lost in all of that.
I agree on all counts here. That might make a cool idea for another world in the shaken-up Realmspace crystal sphere, however...
Reply author: Markustay
Replied on: 03 Jun 2010 00:43:43
Message:
Okay, I managed to match the scale of the IK map with that of the other two.
WIP4 - scale corrected
I also filled-in the missing top left corner with the corner of the real Anchorome, and managed to get back both the islands as well. I'm especially proud of those - not only are they still the same size, but they are still at the same exact latitude.
Reply author: Wooly Rupert
Replied on: 03 Jun 2010 00:44:06
Message:
quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
Damn damn damn damn....
I had a nice long post here, but I hit 'c' instead of cntrl 'C', and erased the whole thing.
I hate when that happens.
That's when you resort to control Z.
Reply author: The Sage
Replied on: 03 Jun 2010 01:14:25
Message:
quote:Well, Ansalon's size has fluctuated [somewhat severely at times] in the past. Originally, Ansalon was somewhere around 1,200 miles across. The Fifth Age tripled this by making it 3,600 miles across. Now, 'tis largely the standard offered in the 3e DLCS.
Originally posted by Jakk
Ansalon is a rather small southern-hemisphere near-polar continent... are you sure there isn't room? Check this link...
-- The Sage, avowed DRAGONLANCE fact-holder
Reply author: Markustay
Replied on: 03 Jun 2010 02:05:54
Message:
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
That's when you resort to control Z.
I always forget about that.
quote:So, would you say the version used on that other guy's mega-amalgam map was the original?
Originally posted by The Sage
Well, Ansalon's size has fluctuated [somewhat severely at times] in the past. Originally, Ansalon was somewhere around 1,200 miles across. The Fifth Age tripled this by making it 3,600 miles across. Now, 'tis largely the standard offered in the 3e DLCS.
It looks a bit small, and the 1200 miles you stated would make it less then half the size of FR's main campaign area (and still a little bigger then Iron kingdom's 1164 miles across).
I was considering using it anyway - those dragon-riding knights could be fun - but I would rather stick to canon sizes for this, and the larger version may be a bit too big after all.
Oh... wait... Ummmm... Toril grew during the Spellplague...
yeah... thats the ticket
Yeah, I know I said this was 3e, but maybe this is 1385DR in alternate reality, and the only thing that happened was the two planets swapped some mass, and Toril came out with more. Hmmmm... I like that... perhaps Abeir could be a new moon in Amalgam-Toril's sky...
LOL! Then with a good telescope Faerūnians could still see Maztica!
Reply author: The Sage
Replied on: 03 Jun 2010 02:40:24
Message:
quote:Pretty much. There looks to be some "cosmetic size" differences, but, then, the older DRAGONLANCE maps were notorious for that anyway, so...
Originally posted by Markustay
So, would you say the version used on that other guy's mega-amalgam map the original?
It looks a bit small, and the 1200 miles you stated would make it less then half the size of FR's main campaign area (and still a little bigger then Iron kingdom's 1164 miles across).
Reply author: Jakk
Replied on: 03 Jun 2010 05:45:36
Message:
quote:
Originally posted by Markustayquote:Ack! Now you have me considering creating two worlds in the same orbital plane on opposite sides of the sun! The planets Dopple and Ganger... errr... I mean Toril and Abeir.
Originally posted by Cleric Generic
Depending on how much 4e lore you want want to use, you could have two maps. One of Toril with Faerun and friends, and then Abeir with Shyr, whatever took Laerakond's place (Maztica, presumably) and whatever stuff you couldn't quite fit onto your new Toril map. I'm often tempted to ignore the bit where Abeir re-separates from Faerun after the Plague, and having it at least somewhat accessible via high end portal magic.
<chop>
Erm... I've already considered that... and it's the option I'm going with in my Realms. Link here... sorry that took so long; CK's search was timing out and Google Advanced Search gave me too many choices. I missed this post on my last visit to this scroll... oops.
Reply author: Jakk
Replied on: 03 Jun 2010 06:15:49
Message:
quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
Okay, I managed to match the scale of the IK map with that of the other two.
WIP4 - scale corrected
I also filled-in the missing top left corner with the corner of the real Anchorome, and managed to get back both the islands as well. I'm especially proud of those - not only are they still the same size, but they are still at the same exact latitude.
I like it... very much, as I have plans for those northern islands, and if I use your map as my post-Spellplague Toril, I'd like them to still be around.
So... where's Osse? And I like the idea of using the outline of Katashaka with the terrain of Nyambe, as previously mentioned...
Looking forward to WIP 5...
Reply author: Jakk
Replied on: 03 Jun 2010 06:35:16
Message:
quote:
Originally posted by Markustayquote:I would use the campaign entire, which is why I'm striving to keep the geography 'sensical' (climatically), keeping the scales as accurate as possible, and keeping the various cultures where they would make the most sense (hence my blending of Hepmonaland and Maztica). HOWEVER, anyone can do whatever the heck they like with these - I'm just playing around right now, and if folks just want to use the geography and NONE of the campaign material more power to them.
Originally posted by Jakk
Actually, one idea just occurred to me... if you're using eastern Oerik there, were you planning to make it the actual eastern Oerik, or just using the geography? Because melding Oerth and Toril would be a heck of a Spellplague event... I know you've already dropped the city of GH into your Realms as it is now, but this could be very interesting with a storyline similar to my original Oerth/Toril Spellplague script...
I like it... a lot... as I've already mentioned. I had already been toying with a way to merge Toril and Oerth, and then I got involved with Project Osse and promptly forgot about my Spellplague revision... but this is exactly (in concept) what I had in mind for my Spellplague rewrite. The execution part... I never really got that far, but in my original idea, Oerth in its entirety was lost; only the City of Greyhawk, the dungeons beneath it, the deities, and their worshippers were saved (with the exception of Stern Alia) and the latter were deposited in Osse (because I had nothing there at the time whatsoever).This is very, very good. I'm getting sidetracked from Osse now and contemplating the Spellplague all over again.
Looking forward to seeing Katashaka/Nyambe and Osse, Mark! (Oh, and the big reason I'm attached to Katashaka's geography is simply because it's prominent in the maps of ancient Toril in the GHotR as adjacent to the old sarrukh empire of Mhairshaulk... which has given me evil ideas for certain long-dormant gates on the continent...
(This, too, has been touched on elsewhere.)
Reply author: Cleric Generic
Replied on: 03 Jun 2010 07:30:19
Message:
quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
Damn damn damn damn....
I had a nice long post here, but I hit 'c' instead of cntrl 'C', and erased the whole thing.
I hate when that happens.
Anyway, this is for you Cleric Generic: an example of one of the changes I would have made -
New Calimshan
Most of what I had written concerned how easy it was to transfer the fluff over - it practically writes itself (Valashar becomes Veldorn, Mir becomes Var, Memnonnar becomes Estagund, etc...)
hahaha! looked at the link before reading the whole post and couldn't work out what was different... Good stuff!
Reply author: Markustay
Replied on: 03 Jun 2010 08:57:36
Message:
Well, like I said, I actually had a bunch of fluff to go with the new locale for Calimshan - it is indeed a good fit there.
Luiren becomes the realm formerly known as Meiritan, Durpar can take the place of Jhaamdath in Calimshan's history, etc... I would just swap Illithids for the Beholders and Drow in Calimshan's past - they are a better fit here. The Golden waters easily takes the place of the Lake of Steam, and you still have the Shaar nearby, etc...
I would just lose the stuff about Tashalar and Lapiliiya - instead have the 'Imperium' be the new nation that takes Calimshan's place on the west coast - the Holy Amnethryian Empire. They are know for being very imperialistic - just look at what they did in the name of their god, Ramaunhander, to the poor Mazticans (after the Tri-Faced Sun slew Helm, of course).
Oh, and lest I forget....
WIP5 - added Xendrik in place of katashaka
Reply author: Alisttair
Replied on: 03 Jun 2010 12:34:18
Message:
You are a master mapper Markus. Amazing!
Reply author: Kno
Replied on: 03 Jun 2010 14:43:27
Message:
quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
WIP5 - added Xendrik in place of katashaka
Poor Mazticans, now that the Brotherhood joins the church of Helm .
Reply author: Markustay
Replied on: 03 Jun 2010 22:00:30
Message:
Ansalon -
Pre-cataclysm, or post? Post seems more appropriate to me.
Having a bit of trouble finding any two maps that agree on scale - as far as I can tell, the continent actually SHRUNK by about 360 miles by 3rd edition. I think I see the problem - in the Fonstad maps it says the continent is 960 miles... North to south. On the newer maps that came with 3rd edition it is 960 miles east to west... I think someone made a boo-boo (otherwise, thats a helluva coincidence).
The atlas also goes on to give the E/W measurements at 1320 miles, but anyone looking at it quickly, and not reading through the whole paragraph (as I did the first time) is liable to make that mistake.
Anyhow, either way the continent is so small it fits, as a second southern continent connected to the south polar Ice cap (along with Xendrik).
I'm thinking about using Cerilia (Birthright) for Myrmidune, and tacking-on that small campaign area of Mystara to the east end of it (which actually works, culturally).
Or I might just shift Myrmidune further west (which I have to do regardless) and just paste the known World (Mystara) onto the eastern tip of that.
I'd like to just lose Osse, as I have katashaka - without the fan-based projects those continents were empty and boring anyway.
We'll see... this is starting to morph into my next project, wherein I rebuild Faerūn itself. If people choose to use the campaign material attached to these settings, I'm starting to see too much redundancy and I'm winding up with the same problem I have with the published Realms - similar cultures spread out too far apart, and looking very... pasted together.
NOTE: I said published Realms - I do not blame Ed for any of the weirdness attached to the redundancy, or the obvious outright copying of earth cultures (K-T, Mulhorand, etc).
BTW, I think many of you will be surprised by my version of FR - K-T will be mirrored and attached to the west end of Oerik (where I had it before I ever ran FR). I may just put Rokugon to Faerūn's east (Gasp!). If I keep the two continents fairly close I think it could work without causing unnatural redundancy.
Rokugon can be more like medieval Japan, and K-T more like Imperial China.
I'll finally put an end to this disgusting western habit of smooshing all eastern cultures together.
Reply author: Dark Wizard
Replied on: 04 Jun 2010 03:59:25
Message:
quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
I'll finally put an end to this disgusting western habit of smooshing all eastern cultures together.
By Helm, man, have you gone mad! You would cruelly inconvenience people who want a neat, singular place to draw their stereotypes from.
Reply author: Markustay
Replied on: 04 Jun 2010 09:19:18
Message:
I think I may have to give up on the idea of adding Ansalon - it looks ridiculous next to the others.
WIP6
Added the two southern 'islands' (sub-continents, really) to the map, and shifted Xendrk a bit south. I had it placed before so that Stormreach was on the equator, just like in Eberron, so now either it is just below the equator, or FR's equator shifted a bit south (which works).
I like the way Mystara fits there, although I will shift it a bit east. That island in the bottom right corner (if it stays) will then wind-up on the other side of the map, below Immoren/Oerik.
Once again, everything is precisely sized so all existing campaign maps will work (weather you use the setting, or just the geography).
I'm going to add that Island of Ebil Elves (Aerenal) from Eberron in somewhere - maybe lose that big island just west of Xendrik to do it. I'd like to lose Nibral as well, and put Melinbone' there.
Reply author: Brimstone
Replied on: 04 Jun 2010 12:17:53
Message:
So where at will you be shoehorning Castlemourn?
Reply author: Cleric Generic
Replied on: 04 Jun 2010 20:17:30
Message:
Funky stuff, an epic mega setting of great justice in the making, to be sure...
One question, if I may briefly go OT: What's that bit of land on Faerun above Icewind Dale, Hartsvale, Pelvuria, etc? The one with the island vaguely above the Reghed Glacier. I've seen it a couple of times but know approximately nil about it.
Reply author: Markustay
Replied on: 04 Jun 2010 20:50:44
Message:
I wish I could, but I have no maps or knowledge of Castlemourne. 
But seriously, folks, I need some advice on Ansalon (Dragonlance) in that last WIP - should I do it? If it was about twice the size, or even larger it would work nicely under Zakhara, but as it is it looks ridiculous.
I might just stick it in that empty crook below Mystara , where you can see a bit of the southern continent poking up (below and between the two peninsulas to the south).
Reply author: Cleric Generic
Replied on: 04 Jun 2010 21:59:28
Message:
I'd keep it where it is and inflate it, myself. The biggest concern I have is that the map might get a bit cluttered.
Reply author: The Sage
Replied on: 05 Jun 2010 00:56:45
Message:
quote:To be honest, I actually like the geographical set up the way that it is. It tends to compliment the other set of continents rather well, in fact. But that's just me. I like world maps with plenty of "meat" to sink my "adventuring teeth" into.
Originally posted by Markustay
I wish I could, but I have no maps or knowledge of Castlemourne.
But seriously, folks, I need some advice on Ansalon (Dragonlance) in that last WIP - should I do it? If it was about twice the size, or even larger it would work nicely under Zakhara, but as it is it looks ridiculous.
Reply author: Markustay
Replied on: 05 Jun 2010 03:33:28
Message:
I will be playing with the maps some more latter tonight - seems I do my best work in the wee hours of the morn - I must be on Sage time.
Hopefully I can find a look I like - maybe after I boil it down to just an outline I will like Ansalon's placement better. And I agree with sage, which is part of the reason for this experiment - I like a world with LOTS of places to go to, or at least have some lore about (like when I use a Kender, or Delkyr, or a giant friggin WarMachine, I will at least have some notion of where it came from).
I'm going to quote something from the other thread I posted in, because my response is better suited here -
quote:Yes, after some play, I've come to much the same conclusion - I can't really count all that planetary surface we don't see to the North and South, simply because on a globe that area is actually getting smaller and smaller until it disappears to a 'zero point' at the poles.
Originally posted by Cleric Generic
The scale and equatorial placements are pretty rough, but otherwise accurate, I think. Bits of jungle, desert, temperate and ice all seem to line up at least vaguely.
Also, all the realms maps I've seen are flat and un-stretched, (flat) maps of earth get all warped the closer to the poles you go, which I don't see in the realms (a good thing), which might make accurately estimating the surface area of Toril's land-masses a bit of a pain in the bum...
The planet, to scale
Okay, obviously I should have used a normal-looking Toril for this, but you get the idea. The real map of FR would actually be much smaller (my K-T is a bit longer, forcing me to move Osse over a few hundred miles), and my 'Oerik-as-Anchorome' is certainly MUCH bigger. Regardless, you can still see I have a tremendous amount of room left on the planet.
But don't be mislead as I was - the top and bottom of the map should really be a dot, not a line 27,883 Miles long. I have to see if there is some tool I can use to give me a reasonable facsimile of what Toril really looks like. I found a 'Polar projection' tool in PS awhile back, so maybe I'll get lucky. If I had Campaign Cartographer, I would use that nifty projection that Brian James used on his map in the last CandleKeep Compendium - that was SWEET.
Reply author: Darkmeer
Replied on: 05 Jun 2010 06:01:56
Message:
Loving the full world map there Markustay!
Still lurking about, trying to keep track of everything you're doing, but it's looking pretty darn awesome so far!
Reply author: Kno
Replied on: 05 Jun 2010 21:30:37
Message:
Kick out Oceania in the Known World for Ansalon
Reply author: Cleric Generic
Replied on: 07 Jun 2010 12:24:12
Message:
MarkusTay, I think you mentioned swapping out Osse for a map of Harn you found in the Project Isle thread? I had a go, and it looks really good if you ask me!
http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/5404/torilbw2mod2.png
I also stuck in some bits of this goody box ( http://ragir.deviantart.com/art/Blank-Fantasy-Map-60508185 ) I quite like the new Zakhara and the extra island next to Aurune, but the rest of the stuff where Anchorome, etc, used to be is a bit iffy, to say the least...
Reply author: Markustay
Replied on: 07 Jun 2010 23:32:27
Message:
Nice job CG.
quote:That position hasn't been finalized for Mystara, nor anything around it - I haven't even traced it's outline yet. I will be moving it around later, and try your position suggestion as well.
Originally posted by Kno
Kick out Oceania in the Known World for Ansalon
I wanted Aerenal (from Eberron), but I don't like how it looks -
Faerūn w/Aerenal
Thats where I got stuck, and why I haven't progressed any further; I can't get past how Nimbral is stuck in Aerenal's Island chain. I might just have to lose 'Nuberia' in exchange for Aerenal (which works). I also tried to place it so that it had the same relative position it did to Xendrik in Eberron, but that had a couple of islands over-lapping Chult. I could have shifted Faerūn further east to allow for that, but I kinda like how everything else is falling out. Besides, if I do that I'd be tempted to paste Larakond in between GH and FR, and that would mess up how nicely the situation with the Northmen worked out.
Reply author: Kno
Replied on: 08 Jun 2010 08:03:30
Message:
Either decrease the size, or move it into the Feywild like Evermeet, or there's space southeast of Zakhara.
I like how you sliced up Zakhara Cleric, the map looks more natural.
Reply author: Cleric Generic
Replied on: 08 Jun 2010 08:34:02
Message:
You could stick Nimbral 'behind the veil' a bit like Evermeet and get it out of the way. Also, as much as I like Laerakond, something about it doesn't look quite right next to the larger, more detailed and natural looking land masses. I found a couple of vaguely Laerakond (that is, half eaten doughnut) alternatives, but nothing that wasn't a bit 'meh'.
Reply author: Markustay
Replied on: 08 Jun 2010 21:43:06
Message:
Well, its not that Nimbral is all that important - I actually liked the way its outline fit into the Aerenal chain - I just think things are looking a bit 'cluttered' there. I think the large Island I named 'Nuberia' (Numibia on some of my early ones, until I discovered there really was such a place!) is not necessary - I wanted to keep canon FR intact on this map, but I'm thinking more and more that I can replace those regions NEVER covered with other, similar regions from other settings (hence, why Xendrik has now replaced Katashaka).
I'm leaning toward replacing the more southern BIG island with Jakandor as well. That placement might be a bit too far south though - I'm thinking that is a more tropical environment. I also think that it would be a very cool juxtaposition to the nearby Aerenal (replacing that other huge island). Both are tropical, and both cultures are connected with 'the dead'. Also, Sahu, 'The Island of the Necromancer Kings' (tCBoN) is also fairly close to those two, being just on the other side of Zakhara, so we got us a whole 'death thing' going on in the southern hemisphere.
quote:Agreed - I will try to 'explode' the islands on my next version as well.
Originally posted by Kno
I like how you sliced up Zakhara Cleric, the map looks more natural.
Reply author: Markustay
Replied on: 08 Jun 2010 22:48:37
Message:
Was just playing around - I did the outline of Ansalon hoping it would look better - it doesn't.
New WIP
Why does that setting have to be so damn small? I may just say screw it and double it's size, but that would go against the whole purpose of this project - to get each setting to work cohesively with the others (and maintain the integrity of each campaign's scale).
Anyhow, I also played with Mystara's placement, and I really LOVE the way it looks there, wrapping around Osse. It looks very 'natural'. Unfortunately that doesn't work, because 'The Known World' (main campaign area) is now in a polar region, and the land that is supposedly eternally frozen falls out on the equator. As pretty as that looks I'm going to have to try something different - I refuse to blame climactic geography on 'magic' and 'the gods'.
The only thing I am very happy with is the new position for Aerenal - I will probably now drop the equator down so it goes through Stormreach again, which changes it slightly in regards to the Realms, but that's a minor point. Having the equator more centralized to the desert lands of Zakhara seems like a good idea anyway.
quote:Reminds me too much of The Belgariad map. As much as I love those stories, I really, REALLY disliked the continental map. However, using that Belgariad map (probably the prettiest version I've seen of it) gives me an idea of how else to fit it into pre-4e FR campaigns.
Originally posted by Cleric Generic
I found a couple of vaguely Laerakond (that is, half eaten doughnut) alternatives, but nothing that wasn't a bit 'meh'.
Reply author: Cleric Generic
Replied on: 08 Jun 2010 23:23:21
Message:
Cheers Kno! Also, Markus, if you want to use my fiddled Zakhara, whole or in part, please feel free to do so. Shifting those islands around can be a long and fiddly job.
What you could do is shift Osse up a bit into the giant bay of Kara Tur and move some parts of this uber-setting with the red text under it, possibly with those big islands currently between Xen'Drik and Zakhara. That might do something about their awkwardness and add a pleasing symmetry to the map. Cool though it looks, Red Text Land is pretty huge...
EDIT for reading comprehension: Red Text land is Mystara, got it... you could perhaps move Osse up a bit and possibly rotate most if not all of Mystara clock-wise to fit under it?
Reply author: Markustay
Replied on: 08 Jun 2010 23:37:03
Message:
I was actually considering dropping Osse down; especially since I'm shifting the Equator down a bit. If I keep Osse as is (I still like Harn as Osse - Osse is one ugly landmass), I will probably put it SE of Dweepam (the southern portion of the K-T continent, below Malatra).
I wasn't planning on using the whole of Mystara - just the main campaign area - not sure how much of 'red text land' I will be keeping. I always hated that huge peninsula (Arm of the gods), but I like the way it looks so far to the south... oh well. I need that continet more centralized to allow Alphatia to double for our Orgoth invaders in the IK part of the map. If I put it wholly in the northern hemisphere it would make more sense geographically, but I always imagined Orgoth being to the SW of Immoren (although AFAIK, it has never clearly been stated where it is, other then "across the sea").
Must do real work now - be back later.
Reply author: Cleric Generic
Replied on: 08 Jun 2010 23:53:42
Message:
Cool, middle of the night here, so I'm off to map the land of Nod. The new day shall bring new geekings!
Reply author: Cleric Generic
Replied on: 13 Jun 2010 13:41:55
Message:
Anyway...
I faffed about with shifting Osse and Mystara around, but this is as close as I could get to what I was suggesting. I don't really know anything about Mystara, so I've no idea which bits are the important bits or what the climate is like...
http://img808.imageshack.us/img808/8773/bodgjob1.jpg
Some of the bits I've removed could easily fit under Malatra there as well, of course.
Reply author: Jakk
Replied on: 15 Jun 2010 05:09:38
Message:
I fall offline for two weeks and all kinds of stuff happens...
To be honest, while I found the "Candlekeep is no longer edition neutral" scroll entertaining, it also irritated me in places... not the places I don't like to scratch in public, but I did experience more than one stabbing pain behind the eyes.
Anyway, the world-building looks great, MT! I'll be getting back to "Project Isle" shortly myself... hopefully it hasn't withered away and died in my absence.
Reply author: Markustay
Replied on: 15 Jun 2010 08:09:58
Message:
We got side-tracked when the circus came to town.
quote:I hadn't noticed this earlier - that looks really cool.
Originally posted by Cleric Generic
<snip> Some of the bits I've removed could easily fit under Malatra there as well, of course.
The Mystaran climates almost work - that dark patch is ever-frost - but now Osse has gotten a bit chilly.
It does look really cool like that though. Now that I know people still have some interest, I'll work on this again tomorrow. I actually started my 'Dream Faerūn' project since this thread.
Reply author: Cleric Generic
Replied on: 15 Jun 2010 08:15:27
Message:
quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
I hadn't noticed this early - that looks really cool.
The Mystaran climates almost work - that dark patch is ever-frost - but now Osse has gotten a bit chilly.
It does look really cool like that though. Now that I know people still have some interest, I'll work on this again tomorrow. I actually started my 'Dream Faerūn' project since this thread.
Cheers!
Also, of course people have interest in your work! And what's this 'Dream Faerun' thingy, then?
Good stuff.
Reply author: Talwyn
Replied on: 15 Jun 2010 09:33:37
Message:
Just had a gander at the link and was very impressed
Reply author: Markustay
Replied on: 16 Jun 2010 06:10:47
Message:
Newest WIP
Blue lines indicate the Arctic & Antarctic circles (And yes, I realize they should be called something else).
I shifted Mystara into a spot where all the canon climate works. In fact, the Equator and arctic circles are nearly in the exact spots. If the continent were a little bigger it would have lined up perfectly... which makes sense, because Mystara is the size of Earth, and Toril is a little bigger.
Not as pretty as other layouts I might have done, but the Known World (main campaign area) falls out at the same latitude as Cormyr, which is perfect. I had a grid on this thing and it was surprising to see how nicely everything falls out.
I did lower the Equator just a tad from canon Toril, but now it works out perfectly for both Mystara and Xendrik, and still makes plenty of sense Faerūn-wise.
I really need something to finish off that big landmass under Mystara - I was even thinking about flipping Eberron on its head. I will be adding Taladas to the NE of Ansalon, as I've seen on other maps, and probably put Argonnessen (Eberron's dragon-continent) below Kara-Tur.
Still, I'm starting to have a problem finding another southern hemisphere continent for this thing. Anyone know of a good one? Why are so many damn fantasy campaigns set on northern continents? I think this project has made me reconsider my own homebrew - I may just invert the whole thing just to be unique (aside from Ansalon).
I could always use a novel setting instead, but I like that it has been all RPG thus far and that all the maps still work canonically. I think Alphatia is placed well to be the Orgoth for the IK setting there. I may get rid of more of those other islands around there though; I only kept Oceania because the way it wraps around onto the other side gives us a point of reference.
Reply author: Darkmeer
Replied on: 16 Jun 2010 06:59:50
Message:
Perhaps the Midnight campaign setting? Although this would also have to be inverted to work.
There were a few others that might work, some conversions from Dragon Magazine a while back. I'll see if I can find the maps, but Shannara and Westeros were both on that list (and also meet the Novel world criteria as well).
/d
Reply author: Cleric Generic
Replied on: 16 Jun 2010 08:55:06
Message:
Damn double-post gremlins...
Reply author: Cleric Generic
Replied on: 16 Jun 2010 08:56:07
Message:
Wouldn't the northern reaches of Faerun be a tad warm that far from the Arctic circle?
Anyway, found something that could be stitched fairly neatly onto the bottom of Mystara there. Place is called Gaia and goes with the Anima RPG/setting. Do you just want pretty maps or are you importing entire settings wholesale?
http://img31.imageshack.us/img31/577/wip7bodgejob.jpg
EDIT: also, found a more complete map of Mystara: http://blackmoor.mystara.us/img/mystara_continents.jpg
Reply author: Markustay
Replied on: 16 Jun 2010 10:24:24
Message:
Cleric - technically, I have LOWERED the arctic circle, becuase I had to lower the Equator bu a few hundred miles. It should be about a 1/4 inch higher on that map (approx.).
That was all calculated scientifically - I went to lts of science sites about latitudes and what-not, and use the most accurate data available to calculate toril's size PERFECTLY.
That map represents the entire (flattened) surface area of the planet TO SCALE. You just need imagine that the top and bottom edge of the map is actually a point, rather then a line 15" long.
I'm going to try it with the polar-projection tool I found tomorrow - should be interesting to see how close together those northern regions REALLY are.
Edit: Polar projection
Edit2: I've seen the Mystara map, but I can't seem to find the other one anywhere (although I tracked down the game its from). Care to send me the original? I won't use it simply because i am unfamiliar with the world - I won't risk loosing 'realism' and setting continuity by sticking ridiculous things next to each other.
I'm also trying to avoid Novel settings - authors get pissy when you use their intellectual properties, MUCH more so then game companies. Some novels have RPG settings retroactively attached to them, like Hyboria and the Young kingdoms, so I've considered those (Hyboria is dull as dirt).
I have found an interesting 'world map' of Rokugan showing more then the usual amount of territory, and it appears to be in the southern hemisphere... a distinct possibility. I would definitely use it if I knew how canon that world map was - I've only seen the ones that show the usual campaign area.
The idea of this exercise is not to just use the maps, but also to be able to use all the settings involved and leave the continuity primarily intact.
Reply author: Cleric Generic
Replied on: 16 Jun 2010 10:37:02
Message:
aha! Yeah, that polar projection looks about right. My brain must have gotten stuck somewhere with that line...
Reply author: Markustay
Replied on: 16 Jun 2010 10:58:06
Message:
Yeah, when it gets flattened like that everything gets warped, so it's hard to picture. I will try one of those amalgam maps like what was done earlier, matching the latitudes more precisely so we can get an idea of what kind of weather we are talking about in the different climes.
In the real world, Iceland falls out below the arctic circle, and its still pretty damn cold. So does most of Alaska.
You can also assume slightly less axial tilt (although someone in Ed's thread figured it had greater axial tilt, which makes no sense to me, but I'm no scientist). The less tilt, the less variation to the angle of the sun's rays - it makes the equator hotter and the cold zones colder. A planet with no tilt would have unbearable extremes at the poles and the Equator. Air currents, water currents, and orbit all play into climate as well.
You think making maps is all drawing pretty pictures, eh?
Reply author: Cleric Generic
Replied on: 16 Jun 2010 11:31:31
Message:
haha! I had no idea... I've just been mashing random bits together until they're all purdy like!
Reply author: Cleric Generic
Replied on: 16 Jun 2010 18:08:24
Message:
Here's Gaia from Anima (just saw the edit). I've no clue about the setting, really, I just know it's main artist's work, and thereby the setting, from DeviantArt.
http://phildeb.files.wordpress.com/2007/12/world-of-gaia.jpg
Reply author: Jakk
Replied on: 16 Jun 2010 18:25:03
Message:
quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
Newest WIP
Blue lines indicate the Arctic & Antarctic circles (And yes, I realize they should be called something else).
I shifted Mystara into a spot where all the canon climate works. In fact, the Equator and arctic circles are nearly in the exact spots. If the continent were a little bigger it would have lined up perfectly... which makes sense, because Mystara is the size of Earth, and Toril is a little bigger.
Not as pretty as other layouts I might have done, but the Known World (main campaign area) falls out at the same latitude as Cormyr, which is perfect. I had a grid on this thing and it was surprising to see how nicely everything falls out.
I did lower the Equator just a tad from canon Toril, but now it works out perfectly for both Mystara and Xendrik, and still makes plenty of sense Faerūn-wise.
I really need something to finish off that big landmass under Mystara - I was even thinking about flipping Eberron on its head. I will be adding Taladas to the NE of Ansalon, as I've seen on other maps, and probably put Argonnessen (Eberron's dragon-continent) below Kara-Tur.
Still, I'm starting to have a problem finding another southern hemisphere continent for this thing. Anyone know of a good one? Why are so many damn fantasy campaigns set on northern continents? I think this project has made me reconsider my own homebrew - I may just invert the whole thing just to be unique (aside from Ansalon).
I could always use a novel setting instead, but I like that it has been all RPG thus far and that all the maps still work canonically. I think Alphatia is placed well to be the Orgoth for the IK setting there. I may get rid of more of those other islands around there though; I only kept Oceania because the way it wraps around onto the other side gives us a point of reference.
First, it looks very interesting so far.
Second, if you ended up stretching the world to put in Mystara anyway, then that kind of eliminates the motive behind chopping off the western two-thirds of Oerik, doesn't it? Or is the goal here to integrate as many cool published settings as realistically possible?
Third, regardless of the intent as speculated above, this is one heck of a Spellplague event. Similar to, but far larger-scale than, what I had envisioned doing with my Spellplague in this scroll. I may end up just using your map in the end... but the Spellplague as a cataclysm of this magnitude in my Realms is a long way off. Besides, there's too much cool stuff going on with the formerly undeveloped areas of Toril here for me to want to blow it all up right now...
Edit: Added links.
Reply author: Markustay
Replied on: 16 Jun 2010 21:44:32
Message:
I did NOT stretch the world - that is an ACCURATE, TO SCALE rendering of the entire planet (as per it's official size). We had 10,000 + miles of 'unseen world' to the east of Kara-Tur that is not evident on that map in the 3e FRCS, nor the 'world view' in the old Interactive Atlas. All I did was fill-in all that empty terrain.
And the purpose is to fill in the world with as many settings as possible, that all worked together, with a minimal amount of redundancy - not only wasn't anything to the east of the Flaeness ever detailed, but what little information we have on it shows things like Egyptians, Chinese, Steppe Nomads, Japanese, etc... we have those in Faerun. The only way that would have worked (and I will probably do this on another thread) is to use kara-Tur (mirrored) to the West of Oerik, and use Rokugan in eastern faerun... although i think that won't please anyone but myself. perhaps do it the other way around - less fiddling that way.
Anyhow, do that, and make the planet smaller (or the continents MUCH longer) and have the two across from each other in the east (the way Greyhawk and Faerun are in the current version), so we would only have the two continents in the northern hemisphere (which is fine for an RPG - no-one is ever going to use all that terrain).
I don't want to make the same mistake they did with the published realms with all the Middle-Eastern flavored cultures all over the damn place. I want to keep the Oriental cultures clustered together in order to make some sense.
quote:I think I may have to touch myself - very cool outline - wish there was some terrain filled-in though.
Originally posted by Cleric Generic
Here's Gaia from Anima (just saw the edit). I've no clue about the setting, really, I just know it's main artist's work, and thereby the setting, from DeviantArt.
http://phildeb.files.wordpress.com/2007/12/world-of-gaia.jpg
Cartographer's name/Deviant handle?
Reply author: Cleric Generic
Replied on: 16 Jun 2010 22:24:33
Message:
hahaha! 'tis a dead sexy map...
No idea who the cartographer is. The DeviantArtist I was referring to did a bunch of non-map related art ( http://wen-m.deviantart.com/gallery/ ). The RPG website is http://www.animarpg.com/ but I couldn't see any cartographer's credits there... There's a copy of Anima RPG in my local geek shop, I think; if I remember I'll take a look and see who did the map.
As for the climate, all the art I've seen seems to imply a generic temperate climate, and vague though the map is, I don't see anything to indicate deserts or ice sheets, so I can't imagine it's much bigger than Laerakond. Again, I'll check the scale when I take a cheeky peek at the geek shop.
Finally, no epic mega setting of great justice would be complete without THIS!!! http://www.bkworld.hk/images/bk-bears-island.jpg
Reply author: Jakk
Replied on: 17 Jun 2010 06:25:39
Message:
quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
I did NOT stretch the world - thatis an ACCURATE, TO SCALE rendering of the entire planet (as per it's official size). We had 10,000 + miles of 'unseen world' to the east of kara-Tur that is not evident on that map in the 3e FRCS, nor the 'world view' in the old Interactive Atlas. All I did was fill-in all that empty terrain.
My apologies; from what you'd said earlier in this scroll, I thought that space considerations were what had prevented you from inserting all of Oerik originally... and then it looked as if the extension of the map was sufficient to allow room for all of Oerik. Could you do an outline-superimposition for us to show how all of Oerik would look on Toril, as you did for the size comparison of Faerun and Osse?quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
And the purpose is to fill in the world with as many settings as possible, that all worked together, with a minimal amount of redundancy - not only wasn't anything to the east of the Flaeness ever detailed, but what little information we have on it shows things like Egyptians, Chinese, Steppe Nomads, Japanese, etc... we have those in Faerun. The only way that would have worked (and I will probably do this on another thread) is to use kara-Tur (mirrored) to the west of Oerik, and use Rokugan in eastern faerun... although i think that won't please anyone but myself. perhaps do it the other way around - less fiddling that way.
I do agree with you on the "derivative Earth cultures" note... I just like the physical geography of western Oerik (see my correction in your quote above... given that to the east of Oerik is ocean, then Faerun). <edit>But I also understand your desire to use more than just the physical geography of the sources being used. My argument for using western Oerik's physical geography is simply that it fits nicely with the Flanaess (that's how it was originally drawn, after all) and, since all we have are obviously horribly derivative names for lands to the west, I see no problem with tossing out the names as the rantings of deluded explorers and filling the geography with whatever cultures you deem appropriate from other sources.</edit>
However, I also like the idea of using Rokugan (mirrored) for western Oerik... I agree, less fiddling, and it works better storyline-wise, too... you don't have to explain why the two halves of the Faerun-Kara-Tur supercontinent have more or less exchanged places.
quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
Anyhow, do that, and make the planet smaller (or the continents MUCH longer) and have the two across from each other in the east (the way Greyhawk and Faerun are in the current version), so we would only have the two continents in the northern hemisphere (which is fine for an RPG - no-one is ever going to use all that terrain).
I don't want to make the same mistake they did with the published realms with all the Middle-Eastern flavored cultures all over the damn place. I want to keep the Oriental cultures clustered together in order to make some sense.
<snip>
On this, I whole-heartedly and unreservedly agree with you. In my Realms, Calimshan is conquered by Tethyr (after a number of unfortunate twists involving the wars against the tlincalli of Maztica and the forces of Sothillis, among other little things like another plague nearly wiping Calimport off the map as a notable city), who now also rules Amn as a nominally independent protectorate; it was only with Tethyr's (and the PCs') aid that Amn was able to defeat Sothillis and his forces, and Calimshan was almost accidental in all of this.
As for Anauroch, the Bedine have been retconned by me into something more resembling the Fremen of Dune (and of course renamed; I'll save this for when/if I ever get around to cleaning up the full write-up for posting)... true, it's no less derivative, but at least it's derivative from a fictional source, and a high-quality one at that.
Again, if you would be using a modified Spellplague to introduce these changes to Toril, I'm loving it. But I would definitely miss Katashaka now, with the plans I have in store for it in my Realms... any chance of saving it?
Reply author: Markustay
Replied on: 17 Jun 2010 20:09:28
Message:
Stay tuned for the 'Return of katashaka'
Was fiddling with my last (naked) version of the FR map. That was SOME project - I was correcting all the terrain one last time, to bring it back in-line with the older 1e/2e terrain (something I was doing little-by-little all along). The trick to that was to use the actual 3e map bits for all the older terrain, so it still looked like the official FR map, but with everything placed more accurately (in regards to the original maps). basically, the idea is to create the map the 3e cartographer would have created, had he an infinite amount of time to do research and nudge stuff around.
Unfortunately, my comp crashed as I was saving all the changes I made yesterday, and I'm afraid to open up PS today to see if it saved, or corrupted.
Thats the map that I was going to use for the layered PDF eventually. I will open it up in a bit and work on a few things - hopefully I will have something to share later.
Thanks for the directional correction in that quote - I do that all the time.
Reply author: Markustay
Replied on: 18 Jun 2010 04:01:13
Message:
Okay, started out adding Argonessan, and wound-up playing with Sarlona instead - too tired to do more outlining tonight.
Planet Mark
Obviously I haven't placed Argonnesen or Katashaka yet, just playing with possible layouts. Katashaka is actually way too far south, but Argonessan ended up placed perfectly with the equator.
I doubled Ansalon in size. It's still small, but it no longer looks ridiculous; I've decided to wave accuracy in favor of aesthetics... I'm running out of options. At least the lore works with Argonessen nearby - I wanted to keep areas with similar themes in close proximity.
Oh yeah, and I turned Sarlona on it's head. The setting is still usable as-is, you just got to turn your maps upside down. I made sure the climates worked - campaign usability is still a key concern for me. Also redundancy - Sarlona is very different then the typical medieval RPG setting (which is why I didn't use one of the many other choices and invert it).
Katashaka is so friggin' ugly it makes Osse look good - why is it FR has the ugliest continents?
Except for Anchorome... too bad I lost that...
I'm tempted to just yank Osse right outta there and replace it with Khorvaire (it would fit), or possibly Harn. If I do that, then I might as well lose katashaka in place of the real Nyambe map (and I have two different 'official' versions to choose from). Obviously I just wanna get this done at this point and move onto funner stuff.
Edit: One last thing - Osse got bumped North, if you hadn't noticed. I didn't want to do it, but it just looks RIGHT there - kinda encircled by those other continents.
Reply author: Jakk
Replied on: 18 Jun 2010 04:50:29
Message:
Cool... I'm very intrigued by the possibilities... you say you haven't determined final placement for Argonessen, but you also talk about it being perfectly placed relative to the equator and logically close to Ansalon (I agree on both counts).
Re: Osse and Katashaka: I would keep the Katashaka outline, with Nyambe geography as done by our friend HandsomeRob... I'm just not a big fan of the shape of Nyambe. Keeping in mind the pre-Sundering maps from GHotR, there's a reason for Katashaka's shape; it used to be attached to Chult and Tashalar. This is what my whole post-Spellplague evil plan involving the Sarrukh rests on... As far as Osse is concerned, it would be a shame to lose it post-Spellplague now that we're fleshing it out so nicely, but Khorvaire would be a good fit... and it's *your* ideal FR, after all...
However, after looking at the latest version, I have a new question:
Laerakond?
Edit: If it would fit, I suppose the best place for Laerakond would be near Ansalon and Argonessen...
Reply author: Markustay
Replied on: 18 Jun 2010 05:45:04
Message:
Re-reading that, I see how it sounds confusing. What I meant is I haven't even done the outlines of those continents - I just pasted the images in there to see how they'd look. Technically, nothing is EVER final.
I might even pull Osse a bit more north... not sure yet... it looks pretty good. Also seems a little too conveniently 'uncrowded' at the edges of the map (probably gonna replace Oceania with Myrmidune, and have that wrap-around to the other side). I might chop that map at a different point when this is finalized just to see how it looks from other perspectives - the space between Mystara/Brun and Eastern Oerik/Iron Kingdoms may be quite large compared to the rest - its a very land-heavy map.
I like how the current map has lots of straights between continents. If I did replace Osse with Khorvaire we'd have the whole of Eberron here... and then what world would this be? It would then be Eberron with bits of others attached....
I have several world maps all sized the same now, with outlines of each continent: another idea I had today was to release each world (in outline form) scaled the same on my DeviantART site, so others can play with all the different worlds and make their own. I will probably do Golarion next that way (but I'll let others futz with it). Might as well get some extra mileage out of this exercise.
Reply author: Cleric Generic
Replied on: 18 Jun 2010 08:28:52
Message:
Swapping Osse for Harn should work, especially if you rotate it 90 degrees clock-wise and stuff it into the Celestial Sea (or whatever it's called). See: http://img130.imageshack.us/img130/2/torilbw2mod2txt.png for details. I'm pretty sure Harn there is hugely inflated, but I've no idea what it's original scale was...
Also, YES! Get your outlines on DA! That would be awesome.
Reply author: Markustay
Replied on: 18 Jun 2010 21:36:26
Message:
I really like that map CG, I like it A LOT.
The only change I would make is putting Oerik back the way its supposed to be - I find it too disconcerting on its side. The rest looks awesome though!
Reply author: Jakk
Replied on: 19 Jun 2010 02:21:24
Message:
CG, I agree with MT on both counts... I really had to look to find Oerik. But then, it was mirror-flipped and then rotated 90 degrees counterclockwise, so I guess I can be forgiven for that.
I like the Harn coastlines... I just don't know if I like it as much as the canon coastlines of Katashaka and Osse... 
Edit: And YES, I want to see Myrmidune in there, having seen you mention the place recently. It fits too well with our other dragon-related realms (as discussed earlier)... on which note... Laerakond?
Reply author: Markustay
Replied on: 19 Jun 2010 03:43:22
Message:
Laerakond fits into my 'no redundancy' clause - there is nothing there that doesn't already exist somewhere else. The lore I don't mind so much, but I really dislike the shape of the continent.
Someone mentioned earlier that they saw a map somewhere with an alternate shape for Laerakond - I wouldn't mind seeing THAT. maybe someday I will give that a go as well - see if I can't tinker-it into something more sensible, but that would be after I finish the other 97 projects I'm in the middle of.
Reply author: Cleric Generic
Replied on: 19 Jun 2010 10:07:49
Message:
Cheers!
Yeah, I pretty much threw consistency and logic to the wind and rotated, resized and fiddled everything on the basis of what looked pretty. In the event that my PCs ever leave Faerun, the foreign shored will likely be a matter of homebrew. And do feel free to nick it in whole or in part!
I've never seen an alternate Laerakond map, but there are plenty of roughly horse-shoe shaped maps floating around out there that might be more pleasing to the eye. Or, as has been pointed out, the more interesting bits of the places lore can easily be transplanted elsewhere... You could even just dump them on Myrmidune, actually...
EDIT: Speaking of Laerakond and other alternative maps, here's some good stuff from DA.
Kinda cool, dunno where or what for though: http://sozokureed.deviantart.com/art/Map-of-Nevermore-146784189?q=1&qo=1
Strange looking crater peninsula: http://iririv.deviantart.com/art/Map-166721244?q=1&qo=1 (slight tangent; this artist is awesome in general, his stuff frequently gets trotted out in my game as illustrations).
Reply author: Jakk
Replied on: 20 Jun 2010 01:24:29
Message:
Funny... I actually like the shape of Laerakond now, after initially looking at it and going ... I think it was your map that made it look good, MT.
As for the redundancy aspect, this is true... but Laerakond is more Realms than Argonnessen or Ansalon; it was developed by Ed, after all. I'm reluctant to lose something of Ed's in the Realms (even if not Ed's original Realms) for something from another world. My preference would be to ditch Ansalon; I admit, partly because I've never liked kender. In the one and only Dragonlance campaign I played in, I played a 1E Barbarian (1E Unearthed Arcana rules) whose favourite dish was "Braised Thief Kenderloin"... yes, my fondness for punnery began early, but thankfully has improved (slightly) in taste over the years.
Reply author: Markustay
Replied on: 20 Jun 2010 02:50:37
Message:
I may just try something.... sneaky... tonight.
You guys sort-of gave me a good idea, and those DeviantARTists are a great find CG!
Reply author: Jakk
Replied on: 22 Jun 2010 04:25:13
Message:
I really hope this sneaky good idea doesn't have anything to do with "braised kenderloin", Mark...
Reply author: Knight of the Gate
Replied on: 22 Jun 2010 04:47:05
Message:
You know,if you're looking for another setting to toss into the hat, there's always GRRM's A Song of Ice and Fire. The Isle of Westeros is roughly the size of the UK, and the 'main continent' of Osse is really only Europe-sized....
Reply author: Markustay
Replied on: 22 Jun 2010 21:40:30
Message:
Time for something new
Looks like Anchorome? Guess again
The top half is taken from that Anchorome map floating around on the web (because Rob's map is down right now). The rest is pasted together from several others (mostly from the FRIA), and all pasted onto my sized 'map of Toril' (really just the crappy map from the FRCS blown-up huge). I then colored-in the outline so you guys can see it better, and shrunk it down so it fits onto a standard piece of printer paper. The original is the same scale as the official 3e Faerūn Map.
Anyhow, didn't bother with mountains or anything yet - really just wanted the outline to get started. I also need to dig-up my file on Ed's original Anchorome, so that all of his islands are in their proper places. Also haven't bother to add-in my own Island chain down around Maztica and Katashaka, because I'm not sure how far south I'm going to take this yet.
This will be something very different then what I usually do - similar to what I was going to do with Katashaka, but Rob took care of that 'blend' so I will fiddle with this instead.
Reply author: HandsomeRob
Replied on: 23 Jun 2010 16:28:51
Message:
Since the zoomify map is down I've decided to upload these two here so that you can use them for your project.
Anchorome: http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/2118/anchorome.jpg
Katashaka: http://img685.imageshack.us/img685/8118/katashakaw.jpg
-Rob
Reply author: HandsomeRob
Replied on: 23 Jun 2010 16:34:14
Message:
Since the zoomify map is down I've decided to upload these two here so that you can use them for your project.
Anchorome: http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/2118/anchorome.jpg
Katashaka: http://img685.imageshack.us/img685/8118/katashakaw.jpg
-Rob
Reply author: Quale
Replied on: 23 Jun 2010 17:36:39
Message:
That plateau in Anchorome is interesting, do you think that meteors made those lakes?
Reply author: Cleric Generic
Replied on: 23 Jun 2010 18:19:37
Message:
That massive ring of mountains above the 'A' in Anchorome certainly looks like a crater. Are there any major meteorite impacts recorded in Realmslore?
Anyway, if the main issue with including Anchorome and Katashaka in the mega-map is that they look odd, perhaps exaggerating their features a bit would make them more interesting? e.g. make the three protrusions along Anchorome's north coast larger and reach further out to sea, perhaps ending in an island or two, make various bays and gulfs deeper and more pronounced, and so forth.
I can't think of a non-fiddly and labour intensive way to do that though...
Reply author: Markustay
Replied on: 23 Jun 2010 18:56:40
Message:
quote:Thanx Rob!
Originally posted by HandsomeRob
Since the zoomify map is down I've decided to upload these two here so that you can use them for your project.
Anchorome: http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/2118/anchorome.jpg
Katashaka: http://img685.imageshack.us/img685/8118/katashakaw.jpg
-Rob
The original outlines I had for the world map were outlines I did from the map in the FRCS, and they weren't all that accurate. I've since gotten a hold of a copy of the FRIA and have been using those (which is why the north coast of Katashaka changed a bit from my old one with the Islands.
I will be putting those islands back, but I first want to place all of Ed's originals.
Also, this latest project has nothing to do with the 'Dream campaign' - thats a done deal, except for posting all those outlines as I promised. This will be a conversion for folks wanting to use the Laerakond info in a 3e campaign, while leaving the canon map intact.
I just got to figure-out exactly where I will be taking a bite out of Anchorome.
Reply author: Cleric Generic
Replied on: 23 Jun 2010 19:17:07
Message:
You could just move Anchorome and Katashaka west a bit and bow the whole things out west as well, then stick Laerakond in the resultant big dent.
Reply author: Markustay
Replied on: 23 Jun 2010 22:16:44
Message:
Nope... too easy.
I want it to fit into the existing, known terrain. After manipulating my Laerakond map a bit (bending, twisting, and smooshing it), I think I can get a layout very similar to the original, but with the Anchorome terrain pretty-much intact. One of the existing lakes even works as the Crescent lake with a bit of fudging.
The 'bite' actually becomes a bay, and the internal parts of that sea become a series of three inland lakes along a very long and wide river. I wasn't sure if I was really going to do this, but what I have so-far (just a buncha pasted stuff) looks so promising I think I'm going to go for it.
I have to say, as botched-together as it currently is, I'm actually liking this layout for Laerakond MUCH better then the original - more intriguing, and more possibilities me thinks. I have more room in the East (which Ed mentioned it was supposed to have anyway), and I can even keep some of the western islands (which blend into that Anchorome chain).
I will be losing the entire northern coast, but thats okay - northern Anchorome was filled with vast mountains anyway, so that giant region (Fimbrul) just becomes all the more huge. The West Coast also goes under some heavy modifications, but it works and, I think, even adds to the feel of the place.
Also, the climates look good when compared to other places at the same latitudes (the official placement actually made little sense). With Evermeet not far off the coast, its small wonder Faerunian explorers never discovered this region before - no one could sail straight across from the Moonshaes.
I even have a rather unique back-story, for folks wanting to use the 4e rules with the 3e setting (as many do, I've heard).
So this isn't an 'anti-Hasbro' project - it actually allows people using the older setting (with any edition of rules) to use the material in the 4e FRCG, thereby making it more appealing to folks who didn't purchase that tome before. And like I said, its rules-neutral - I'm just making everything work within the context of an 'unchanged' world.
I figure with Katashaka being filled-in with Nyambe, and Osse getting fleshed-out in another thread, why not glue returned Abeir into Anchorome? Now just the islands off the coast go back to being Anchorome (as it should be), and the mainland becomes Laerakond.
I'm going to try-out some new techniques with this as well, so don't expect the '3e look' anymore - i need to practice my own style and that's what these little exercises are really all about.
Reply author: Markustay
Replied on: 25 Jun 2010 04:20:56
Message:
I'm not sure if anyone is paying attention anymore, or if anyone even cares about this one, but since I'm into it and having fun doing it I'll post a WIP just for posterity -
Anchorome/Laerakond Conversion
I think I have all the inland Seas finalized, but of course everything may get nudged around as I add in the mountains and forests. I tried to keep as much of Anchorome's terrain 'canon' as I could, while squeezing in the other stuff, so its sort-of a blend of the two right now (and I had to shift some of Anchorome's waterways around a bit as well).
Reply author: The Sage
Replied on: 25 Jun 2010 04:48:50
Message:
quote:I'm still "into it." I just haven't had the time to really go over the last few "WIPs" that you've posted.
Originally posted by Markustay
I'm not sure if anyone is paying attention anymore, or if anyone even cares about this one, but since I'm into it and having fun doing it I'll post a WIP just for posterity -
Sorry for the inattentiveness, Markus.
Reply author: Cleric Generic
Replied on: 25 Jun 2010 07:53:33
Message:
Looks pretty awesome, as usual!
Is Fimbrul (or whatever the northern bit of RA's called) going in with (what looks like) that massive crater?
Reply author: Quale
Replied on: 25 Jun 2010 18:35:28
Message:
The shape of Laerakond is too weird, this would be much better.
Reply author: Jakk
Replied on: 26 Jun 2010 20:24:56
Message:
I've been busy with work the last few days, not to mention finally getting my D&D books unboxed and shelved almost a month after moving... this is looking very interesting, Mark. Do you have another WIP update for us?
Rob: Thanks for the Anchorome and Katashaka maps!
I'm currently bouncing ideas for Osse off one another to see what sticks together... see the "Project Isle" scroll for more on those musings.
[edit]
Why does nobody like the shape of Laerakond? After some initial I think it's really rather interesting, in a good way.
[/edit]
Reply author: Markustay
Replied on: 26 Jun 2010 22:20:51
Message:
Jakk - it is rather interesting, but not very realistic, 'as is'. I could have done more to 'fix it', as it were, by making it less roundish and more 'bumpy'. I did that a little, but I should have taken it further. I assume the map in the FRCG to be just a very 'basic' map created by Faerunians - the equivalent of some of those (highly innacurate) World maps created by early RW explorers.
For instance, I would have done something like THIS or THIS - see what I mean? A more 'natural' looking landmass.
Those are just really quick examples I made - all I did was detach Scandinavia, and flip and modify (slightly) the British Isles. I just wanted to show you what I meant - I would have done my own continental outline. There were at least a dozen other places on Earth I could have used as a model.
As for a WIP - hopefully later. I'm trying out some new mountain techniques.
Reply author: Cleric Generic
Replied on: 26 Jun 2010 22:22:29
Message:
It (Laerakond)is pretty cool, I think the issue is less that it's not pretty enough and more that it's a bit unnatural looking, at least compared with the rest of Toril... Which of course has lead me to dreaming up all sorts of other weird and wonderful shapes for the rest of Abeir...
Reply author: Markustay
Replied on: 26 Jun 2010 22:29:07
Message:
When I think of Abeir, I picture This map by Clercon over on the Cartographer's Guild boards.
Its so 'exotic looking' that it really works for me.
I wish I had 1/10 that guys talent.
Reply author: Jakk
Replied on: 26 Jun 2010 23:06:23
Message:
Mark: I'll agree that Laerakond is a bit "unnatural" in appearance, but my quickly-developed theory (coming from your map of the place) was that the inner bay was scooped out by a big and fast-moving meteorite, and this same impact separated Laerakond from whatever other landmass(es) it may have been attached to, resulting in its artificial shape. I have a few other ideas, but I'm trying to stimulate my thought processes on something sahuaginish for Osse right now...
I also really like Clercon's map, but it looks more Mystaran than Realmsian to me... certain coastline types automatically associate with certain worlds, and for me, gently curving coastlines ending in relatively sharp points scream "MYSTARA!" Yes, I know Katashaka is built of similar contours, and I had the same initial response when I first saw the continental outline in the 3E FRCS. That being said, thanks to BRJ's historical geography in the GHotR, Katashaka is now essential to some very evil plots involving the Sarrukh that begin to come to fruition as a result of my Spellplague... which is why in my Realms, any Spellplague-induced changes in geography must retain Katashaka.
Mark: Looking forward to seeing your new map experiments.
Reply author: Dark Wizard
Replied on: 26 Jun 2010 23:12:38
Message:
quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
When I think of Abeir, I picture This map by Clercon over on the Cartographer's Guild boards.
Its so 'exotic looking' that it really works for me.
I wish I had 1/10 that guys talent.
That's awesome. I wished I had 1/100th of his talent.
Reply author: Markustay
Replied on: 29 Jun 2010 00:56:40
Message:
Just a WIp of the new Laerakond/Returned Abeir map I'm working on - a close-up shot.
Anchorakond WIP
Reply author: Darkmeer
Replied on: 29 Jun 2010 16:01:58
Message:
Nicely done sir!
Reply author: Cleric Generic
Replied on: 29 Jun 2010 22:26:55
Message:
Nice one. Diggin' the new style as well.
Reply author: Jakk
Replied on: 29 Jun 2010 22:56:32
Message:
quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
Just a WIp of the new Laerakond/Returned Abeir map I'm working on - a close-up shot.
Anchorakond WIP
Looks very nice so far... I'm definitely liking the new mountains. Do they take noticeably longer than the 3.5 style of mountains, or can you make such comparisons yet?
Reply author: Markustay
Replied on: 30 Jun 2010 07:58:41
Message:
I think once I get used to doing them that way, it will be much quicker. Right now its about the same.
I did more today, but I'll post another WIP when I have a significant amount done. I'm using this project as practice for when I start on my own world - it needs to look professional if I'm going to be building an entire site around it.
I used the 'Wasteland' and 'Swamp' terrains exactly as I had them in the 'official looking' FR maps I did, and I'm not thrilled with them. The badlands aren't too bad (once I switched from the standard Badlands texture to that of Anauroch, which is a mush better color for it). I may just use the swamp color and not the little reedy-looking things - I need to find something that goes with the mountains and trees better, but I want to at least keep the color palette consistent with FR.
Reply author: Dalor Darden
Replied on: 14 Aug 2013 11:01:43
Message:
Ever finish this plan?
Reply author: Dalor Darden
Replied on: 14 Aug 2013 11:55:26
Message:
Would you consider this:
placing Newhon on the western coast of Oerik? The Mingol would be really close to the Paynim...just a thought instead of the Iron Kingdoms...
Reply author: Markustay
Replied on: 14 Aug 2013 13:21:20
Message:
Nope, never finished. Those maps burned, along with all my cool new textures.
I've never considered Newhon - don't know much about it. I've only read one of the books. Since I've decided to merge parts of Mystara with Faerūn (including Thyatis and Alphatia), I no longer have a need for those empires off the west coast of Oerik, so now IK doesn't make as much sense (the Alphatians were supposed to be the IK Orgoth).
I will look into this option - I haven't gone to the other continents yet with my new layout.
EDIT: Middle Earth would also fit.
Reply author: The Arcanamach
Replied on: 14 Aug 2013 13:58:25
Message:
Perhaps creating your own sub-continent to add places like Newhon would do the trick.
Heh, now that I'm thinking about it, Hyborea (Conan) would be a cool addition to, but hey, I'm just a greedy bloke.
Reply author: Markustay
Replied on: 14 Aug 2013 14:03:32
Message:
You read my mind - I was just considering this (after looking at some other west-coast based fantasy settings, like Hyboria).
However, we have all the flavors already (with my Amalagam hodgepodge central), so I can't really think of anything else I need.
WoT would also work, but thats just more of what we already have in Faerūn and Oerik. I like the Aeil wastes, though, and it would line-up with the GH maps nicely.
Reply author: The Arcanamach
Replied on: 14 Aug 2013 14:19:33
Message:
Hmm, Nehwon and Hyboria are very low-magic campaigns too, though a DM could come up with a reason why those regions are stagnant magically. I guess that would also give whatever 'flavor' they have a bit of a twist from the standard magic levels of Faerun.
I know on DeviantArt you made a comment that it was your goal to allow for the most published adventures to be available in one world...but that would be a never-ending task methinks. Enterprising DMs should probably just place those purchased adventures wherever they best fit and just tweak them as needed.
Candlekeep Forum : http://candlekeep.com/forum/
© 1999-2024 Candlekeep.com