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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire

USA
15724 Posts

Posted - 23 Dec 2012 :  23:40:14  Show Profile Send Markustay a Private Message  Reply with Quote
LOL - A soon as as I posted that I knew what you'd say; I realized I should have included the Quivering Forest first (I plan to, just haven't gotten to it yet). With these new maps I wanted to do all the terrain first before placing any locales, but I found out on the Western map that that isn't the best way to work (I found myself constantly re-tweaking terrain to get roads to work right). So now I just drop-in any settlements (and then roads) as I work on each area, as I need them (so I know plenty are still missing, especially in Cormanthor).

I also found that the 4e Hulburg site was way east of where it should have been. I could have even moved it a bit further west, but I didn't want it to disagree with the 4e lore that much (else people would wonder why it moved about a hundred miles). Unlike the Western Heartlands map, I did far more tweaking with this side, mostly because I actually found greater discrepancies (in most cases). The Unapproachable East source was one of my favorite 3e tomes, and they added quite a few new 'features' (rivers and lakes), but they really messed-up on the settlements. When I tried to put the old stuff back along side the new stuff, some weirdness occurred, so this is where you'll see the most 'artistic license' (largely in the Great Dale and Thesk). Most of that isn't even shown on this WIP; the finished map will go much further north (Sossal!), a bit further south, and up to the lake of Mists in the east.

For those of you who have watched the interview with Ed, you'll recall he had his own 'wish list' - that they'd bring back all the 'fiddly bits'. I'm a big fan of 'hidden nooks & crannies' myself.. guess its a 'DM thing'. My fondest hope is for him to see these and say, "There's MY Realms!".

"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone


Edited by - Markustay on 23 Dec 2012 23:51:54
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BARDOBARBAROS
Senior Scribe

Greece
581 Posts

Posted - 24 Dec 2012 :  00:35:27  Show Profile  Visit BARDOBARBAROS's Homepage Send BARDOBARBAROS a Private Message  Reply with Quote
thanks

BARDOBARBAROS DOES NOT KILL.
HE DECAPITATES!!!


"The city changes, but the fools within it remain always the same" (Edwin Odesseiron- Baldur's gate 2)
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Aldrick
Senior Scribe

909 Posts

Posted - 24 Dec 2012 :  00:40:15  Show Profile Send Aldrick a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I can't wait until it's finished.

I'm pretty sure someone over at WotC is taking a copy of these maps, and giving it to whoever will be designing the 5E FR Map. "Can you do a map that follows this design?"

Seriously, it's one of the most complete maps of the Realms ever done. Period.

I don't think it's possible, due to the size, but once all the regional maps are done, do you think you'll be able to stitch them together?

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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire

USA
15724 Posts

Posted - 24 Dec 2012 :  01:34:00  Show Profile Send Markustay a Private Message  Reply with Quote
They already are. I roughed in the entire continent to begin with. Its takes forever for that map to load, so I snipped it into 9 distinct sections and am working on each, one at a time (but as each is completed, it gets pasted back into the master map, so that the roads and what-not will line-up with the next one).

As for WotC giving these maps to whomever is doing the 5e maps... well... that was kinda my intent.

I wanted someone who new the lore well (and I am not saying I know more then others here... just more then the average freelance fantasy cartographer) to correct all the past wrongs (like settlements on the wrong sides of rivers, or even worse, near the wrong mountain range or river - I've seen all of that), and merge the old 1e/2e maps with the new lore from 3e and 4e in a manner that respects all previous lore (so if there is some continuity glitch, I try to puzzle-out a placement that works for everything).

The art is a bit dated nowadays (but still my favorite of the campaign maps thus-far), and I would love for someone like Mike Schley to do the 5e campaign map (or another just as talented - I can think of several). Thats not my bag - I want to be the 'get it right' guy, not the artist. I want to take as much of the thought-process out of the 5e maps as possible so that the designers can just focus on awesome lore, and the map artist can just focus on producing the most visually stunning fantasy map ever produced. Like I told Mr. Schley at Gencon, the cartographer is just as important - if not more so - then the designers, because a great-looking map will pull people in. You simply can't walk by an incredible fantasy map without stopping and saying, "what IS that?" (coupled with jaw-drop and drool). The map representing a setting is like the cover of a novel - its the thing thats going to make someone pick it up for the first time. After that, its the lore's job to hook them.

Sadly, the 4e campaign map remains the greatest disappointment (for me) of everything that happened in that edition. Anyone walking by a poster of that wouldn't want to know what it was, they would want to just keep walking. It was, IMHO, the very definition of "a hot mess". Have you ever seen the movie Pleasantville? If not, what about the first 15 minutes of The Wizard of Oz? There was a very good reason why they choose to use B&W to represent 'uninspired' and 'mundane'. They were shooting for a YES/Roger Dean look, and got Scream meets Picasso (but not in a good way).

I'll do the heavy-lifting, all they have to do is find a guy who can paint like no tomorrow.

"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone

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Aldrick
Senior Scribe

909 Posts

Posted - 24 Dec 2012 :  02:14:48  Show Profile Send Aldrick a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Mike Schley has my vote as well for the 5E Map. I think I have a copy of all the maps he did for 4E FR sitting in my Maps folder. I love them.

And you're completely right about the 4E Map and the power of a good map. Your map for the North and Western Heartlands has got me itching to run a game set in Free Port (located on the Mintarn Islands). When I saw it there... I just knew I had to do something with it. The first thing I did was to go out and learn everything I could about Mintarn.
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hedgeknight
Acolyte

USA
14 Posts

Posted - 26 Dec 2012 :  14:20:33  Show Profile Send hedgeknight a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Gorgeous map! And all I'll ever need as a DM in the Realms.
The only typo I noticed (and it's because I have this town fleshed out) is Noanar's Hold - spelled with an "ar" not an "er" - a very minor glitch IMO. And who's to say in your version of the Realms it isn't spelled correctly? :)

Thanks so much for this!

Winter is coming...
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire

USA
15724 Posts

Posted - 26 Dec 2012 :  16:10:34  Show Profile Send Markustay a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Thanks.

Updating this now - anyone notice anything else?

"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone

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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High

Australia
31701 Posts

Posted - 27 Dec 2012 :  01:13:18  Show Profile Send The Sage a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I've haven't looked over the updated maps in quite a while, but I'll try to do so before week's end.

Candlekeep Forums Moderator

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Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium -- Volume IX now available (Oct 2007)

"So Saith Ed" -- the collected Candlekeep replies of Ed Greenwood

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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire

USA
15724 Posts

Posted - 27 Dec 2012 :  17:41:49  Show Profile Send Markustay a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Hmmmmm.. Old Sage helping Markustay finish a map.

Aren't there some sort of cosmic rules in place that say our 'to do' lists can't overlap? We may break the space-time continuum.

{Just kidding - any help is always appreciated}

EDIT: Just noticed the tag for Kythiss is missing (so don't bother pointing it out) on the southern tip of the Moonshaes. How can I have forgotten Hugz and Kythiss?

Okay... that was a truly awful pun....

"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone


Edited by - Markustay on 27 Dec 2012 18:00:10
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Brian R. James
Forgotten Realms Game Designer

USA
1098 Posts

Posted - 27 Dec 2012 :  18:33:10  Show Profile  Visit Brian R. James's Homepage Send Brian R. James a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Excellent work as always Markus. I do have a few comments/suggestions about the Moonsea North and Vaasa regions.

The Bottomless Bogs appears much too large. As you have it now it’s consuming greater than 50% of Vaasa. It should be about 1/4th the size.

The Clefts of Razack, the gorge that the Beaumaris cuts through Vaasa, should be represented. Though this feature first appeared on a 4E map, the gorge was not a result of the Spellplague and (it’s assumed) has always been there.

Similarly with Lake Longreach northwest of Thar. It’s always been there, just has not shown on any maps prior to now.

Same with Vercy Wood at the eastern end of The Ride. This woodland long ago protected the western flank of the lost kingdom of Barze.

As has already been mentioned, the Quivering Forest is missing along the Stojanow River north of Phlan.

The Sea of Tears should be depicted north of Vaasa in the area of the Great Glacier. It was mentioned in the original gray boxed set, but never appeared on a map until 4E.

Brian R. James - Freelance Game Designer

Follow me on Twitter @brianrjames

Edited by - Brian R. James on 27 Dec 2012 18:35:05
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Joebing
Learned Scribe

USA
202 Posts

Posted - 27 Dec 2012 :  21:26:45  Show Profile Send Joebing a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Nice map, as usual Markustay! The collectables thing...well, that's a fight that is tough. My wife's ex lost his fight over $250K of sports-related stuff. Your word of advice is sound. Definitely get everything appraised and cataloged, even insured separately. Hope you can win this one!

Now plugging away on mass conversion to 5e, as well as my imprint J. Halk Games.

http://www.facebook.com/JHalkGames

First adventure on DM Guild: Lair of Elaacrimalicros
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire

USA
15724 Posts

Posted - 28 Dec 2012 :  01:47:12  Show Profile Send Markustay a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Thanks for the words of encouragement and thank you specifically Brian for all those great 'heads ups'.

The art style of the 3e maps (which I love, don't get me wrong) isn't the best for showing things like mountain passes and gorges, but I've been trying my best. I also dislike the size of the bogs, but those lakes are directly traced from the Vassa map beneath it. I guess I have to assume the bogs do not encompass the entire lakes region.

I've been re-tweaking the western (The North) map the past couple of days - I've changed my mind somewhat about presentation (I think far more 'features' should have been shown on what I've been calling the 'players map'). I realize that many 'dark' locales would be better known then half of those tiny hamlets. It seems kinda silly to me (in retrospect) to 'hide' adventure sites from folks when they've been available all along on other maps.

I think the second map will be just true dungeons (not just ruins), road names, temples, regional names, Monstrous locales, Underdark locales, and Undersea locales. So rather then being a 'DMs map', it will be more of a 'less used information' map (all stuff that is nice to have a reference for, but not stuff you need to know every time you look at the campaign map).

I may make it a CK exclusive as well. Still considering that.

"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone

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BlackAce
Senior Scribe

United Kingdom
358 Posts

Posted - 28 Dec 2012 :  11:48:51  Show Profile Send BlackAce a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Excellent work as always, Mark. You're tempting me to break out my old Sword Coast map and finally finish it.

PS. might be worth adding the Rose Garden to the Battle of Bones as its billed as a well known landmark.
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire

USA
15724 Posts

Posted - 28 Dec 2012 :  14:19:50  Show Profile Send Markustay a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Locales that overlap existing locales are not shown - I may include all of that stuff on the 'extra material' map.

@Brian - I reduced the bogs (although the idea is that it isn't so much a swamp/marsh, but rather a 'squishy' intermittent wetlands, with an indeterminate border), but I discovered a secondary problem which leads to the illusion my bogs are so much bigger (it is about 30 miles wider, but yours go further south - this is due to the distortion of the 3e maps). The real problem is your Vassa is smaller then mine (double entendre intended ).

My Vassa is nearly 200 miles wide (and follows the underlying 2e FR9 maps outline), whereas yours is closer to 150 miles wide. Ergo, even though my bogs are bigger, I still have far more 'non-bogland' in my Vassa. The lakes on the Shley map are significantly smaller though - I had accounted that to the glacier melting having slowed down post-plague, but perhaps I should split the difference somewhat (the canon lakes on the FR9 are pretty massive, but we could just say that map was from a time period soon after Vassa was 'released' from the northern ice, and therefor much more wet. Even though the lakes are smaller, the bogs extended all the way to the mountains; this made sense with the 3e map layout, but not so much with the 1e/2e layout.

My assumption with that is going to be that Vassa's original topography slowly increased in altitude as one went toward the mountains (which is how it usually works), and the bogs were further from them 'in the past'. During the Spellplague there was much in the way of tectonic upheaval and a large portion of the plateau between the river and mountains collapsed, causing the bogs to drain into that new lowland region. This, in turn, means the lakes would have reduced in size, which works out perfectly.

I had some questions in your thread, and to those I would like to add: Which locales/settlements on that map would have been around in 4e? I know Moortown was a ruin (and I assume it was resettled after the arrival of the Warlock Knights), but there are a couple of others (Avang? Kond?) I'm not sure about.

quote:
Originally posted by Brian R. James

The Sea of Tears should be depicted north of Vaasa in the area of the Great Glacier. It was mentioned in the original gray boxed set, but never appeared on a map until 4E.
You wouldn't happen to have a page number for this? I assumed that was a Faerûnian name for one of the already-existing large lakes on the Glacier (just like how several mountain ranges have different names).

EDIT: Nevermind, found it (pg.86). Hmmmm... that short story about Melegaunt really screwed things up. My assumption here was that the initial melting of the glacier (caused by a tearfall described in both the 2e Player's Guide to the Forgotten Realms and the Great Glacier supplement) created a temporary 'sea', which eventually became the bogs (as the melting decreased and things leveled-off). This works well if you figure it happened in a 20-year period encompassing 1350-1370 DR, but not so much since Melegaunt was traipsing about where it shouldn't have been possible (at that time). Melegaunt creating the Iron tower before Castle Perilous really messes things up.


"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone


Edited by - Markustay on 29 Dec 2012 15:18:39
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire

USA
15724 Posts

Posted - 28 Dec 2012 :  16:05:25  Show Profile Send Markustay a Private Message  Reply with Quote
This was an edit to the above post, but it got over-long...

I think I figured-out awhile ago that there must have been (at least) two tearfalls in the same region - the initial one (described in Great Glacier that happened just over a century ago... two centuries now), and a second (less profound) one that happened at the start of 1e (described in the 2e PGttFR). I figure the first one happened around 1300 DR (The Year of the Starfall) and second around 1344 (The Year of the Moonfall).*

So the first one happens, things begin to melt quickly and the bogs are formed. The enormity of the impact causes localized tectonic upheaval, which leads to on-going geothermal activity. Nar tribes begin emigrating into the region, and after 50 years Melegaunt shows up and does Shade-stuff, and then a century later another (lesser) tearfall occurs, causing another section of glacier (slightly further east) to melt, forming the Sea of Frozen Tears (which actually makes some sense, given the name). The Lich-King Zhengyi is released and begins to rebuild his power-base, and a few years later he has Castle Perilous constructed on the shores of the (temporary) sea.

By the time the official Campaign begins in 1356 DR the lake has already mostly re-frozen into a treacherous field of crusty ice and pitfalls.

When Telos landed back on Toril at the start of the Spellplague, the path of the impact came from the North (by NE), passing over the frozen slush of the old lake and forming the new Sea of Frozen Tears (because of the intense heat radiating form the object as it entered the atmosphere). This event was witness by Jamzbreon, Sage of the reclusive snow elves, and recorded in his Amazing Sites of the Great Glacier (re-published in Waterdeep under the tile, Crap, I Can't Feel My Toes!).


*One might also wonder at all these tearfalls in the same vicinity, and wonder who, what, and why this is happening. It almost seems as if someone wants the Great Glacier melted. Its a good, open-ended adventure hook.

"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone


Edited by - Markustay on 28 Dec 2012 16:08:02
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire

USA
15724 Posts

Posted - 29 Dec 2012 :  15:38:21  Show Profile Send Markustay a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I guess I made my posts so long I killed my own thread.
"Death by Boredom" LOL

Has anyone tried to print out the map of the NW? I scaled it to fit an 8½ × 11 piece of paper perfectly, but now I'm thinking that was a useless gesture. I was wondering if people can still read everything if its printed out that way? My eyes aren't what they used to be so I won't judge for myself.

The problem I am having now is that I don't like the way the next segment falls out - I loose the southern and eastern edges of Thay. I could shift everything south for this one (which would also help in the north - I have too much 'blank area' showing up there), but that still wouldn't help with the problem to the east (and it would also mean the two halves of the Heartlands won't lineup perfectly). If I increase the area covered of this map I would have to go back and increase the size of the first one, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, unless I am crossing a legibility line with people printing these out.

If its already a problem (reading the text), then its a problem I don't have to worry about creating. Weird, I know. On the bright side, more of Amn and slightly more Cormyr gets shown on the newer version. I think in the end, when all is said and done, I will cut the entire thing into perfect 8½ × 11 (portrait) pieces and have them hosted here at the keep (for folks who aren't really savvy at doing those things themselves). That would allow someone to print-out just what they needed, or the entire map and tape it all together (and it should be about the same size as the one that came in Dragon Magazine). I did something similar with my original Silver Marches map.

Decisions, decisions... {scratches head}

"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone

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rjfras
Learned Scribe

261 Posts

Posted - 29 Dec 2012 :  18:03:31  Show Profile  Visit rjfras's Homepage Send rjfras a Private Message  Reply with Quote
when you say the map of the NW, do you mean the map of the North on page one or the eastern heartlands here on page 2?

I can print one out and see, but i hardly ever print your maps out otherwise. I use them on the computer and post them in our gaming forum or directly into our virtual gaming table.

I'm wondering in this day and age, how many people actually print maps like this out for their games or use rather then using some form of electronic media to view them.
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire

USA
15724 Posts

Posted - 29 Dec 2012 :  20:37:35  Show Profile Send Markustay a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Hmmm, good point.

If I don't have to worry about keeping the proportions scaled to a typical sheet of paper, that would help. I realize that many more people are 'computer savvy' today then just five years ago, so I may be over-thinking things.

And yes, I was talking about the map of the North, which is actually a map of the Western Heartlands (and Islands). Its sister-map is simply called 'Eastern Heartlands' - I even confuse myself when I go looking for a particular file.

"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone

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rjfras
Learned Scribe

261 Posts

Posted - 29 Dec 2012 :  21:18:55  Show Profile  Visit rjfras's Homepage Send rjfras a Private Message  Reply with Quote
the names of the forests, mountains, bodies of water were easy to read as was the name of Waterdeep, but all the smaller locations with the smaller font were really hard to read on a 8 1/2 x 11 piece of paper when printed out, at least to me...
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire

USA
15724 Posts

Posted - 29 Dec 2012 :  21:22:05  Show Profile Send Markustay a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Ah, okay... so it was already too big so I won't worry about it. Thanks.

"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone

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daarkknight
Seeker

USA
66 Posts

Posted - 30 Dec 2012 :  03:30:29  Show Profile Send daarkknight a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Markus,

I just noticed on your Western Heartlands/North map that you have Espar in Cormyr as Esper. As much as I've looked at this map for fun, it took me researching caravan routes from Cormyr to Baldur's Gate to notice this.

"That's it!"
Quote attributed to Talor Stormhammer, paladin of Helm, when fighting a frost giant.
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire

USA
15724 Posts

Posted - 30 Dec 2012 :  04:07:32  Show Profile Send Markustay a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Thanks for the heads-up.
I just noticed 2 minutes ago (while working on that map) that the trail going past Darkhold turns into a regular road as it passes the swamp. Damned Zhents paving a highway to Azoun's front door!

I was going to do just a couple of quick corrections (stuff people have pointed out and a few others), but I decided to first do the extension of the map, and also add-in many of the locales I had previously hidden (as I said earlier, it really doesn't make much sense to hide them). Hopefully I will have it done in a couple of days; Amn's looking pretty sweet.

I still have a story to write before the 1st... me and my procrastination...

"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone


Edited by - Markustay on 30 Dec 2012 04:07:52
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daarkknight
Seeker

USA
66 Posts

Posted - 30 Dec 2012 :  14:02:41  Show Profile Send daarkknight a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Wow. I completely missed that road/trail thing, and I've been staring at this map hard the last couple of days.

But it does bring up a question I have, and now it's time to start a new topic.

"That's it!"
Quote attributed to Talor Stormhammer, paladin of Helm, when fighting a frost giant.
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire

USA
15724 Posts

Posted - 30 Dec 2012 :  19:00:35  Show Profile Send Markustay a Private Message  Reply with Quote
An Update of the Western Heartlands.

Not sure if I caught all the corrections yet - just tweaking the heck out of it right now. This is very basic - I haven't played with the layers at all (so everything is showing and none of the text has been faded yet).

"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone

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daarkknight
Seeker

USA
66 Posts

Posted - 03 Jan 2013 :  04:15:25  Show Profile Send daarkknight a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Question for you...

I noticed the location of Ebenfar in the south central High Moor. Now, I know that there was a kingdom of Ebenfar that was located in the Fields of the Dead. What I am wondering if a - what is your source for this location of Ebenfar, and b - are these two instances of Ebenfar associated with each other.

"That's it!"
Quote attributed to Talor Stormhammer, paladin of Helm, when fighting a frost giant.
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire

USA
15724 Posts

Posted - 03 Jan 2013 :  14:01:30  Show Profile Send Markustay a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Its the same one, and its located on the canon FRIA maps.

They didn't bury Talembar in Ebenfar, they buried him in Indoria (which became the Fields of the Dead) in a cairn, where he died fighting goblins (Crypt of the Shadowking, pgs. 159-160)

Why that author (Mark Anthony) decided to place a civilization on the 'unlivable' High Moor is beyond me. {shrugs}

EDIT: From other sources (some canon, others not-so-much) I have pieced-together a fairly large, overall area where the Talfir came from, and Ebenfar ruled over most of them at some point. My assumption here is that the Shadowking built his Fortress-city (capital) on the High Moor on-purpose, both to keep unwanted intrusions out, and his minions in. The High Moor itself was within his massive kingdom, but not the kingdom.


*Edited to include source. One of my New Years resolutions is to be more thorough with my note-taking.

"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone


Edited by - Markustay on 04 Jan 2013 14:38:03
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daarkknight
Seeker

USA
66 Posts

Posted - 04 Jan 2013 :  14:29:23  Show Profile Send daarkknight a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Guess I should dig out my old FRIA disks and load it up onto this laptop of mine...

"That's it!"
Quote attributed to Talor Stormhammer, paladin of Helm, when fighting a frost giant.
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire

USA
15724 Posts

Posted - 15 Jan 2013 :  23:48:16  Show Profile Send Markustay a Private Message  Reply with Quote
You know what I consider a good day? When I find not one, but TWO new settlements in the Realms.

Fiddler's Pass, in the Troll Hills, and Lopi, on the border of the Utter East and Zakhara. The first is insignificant (tiny village), but the second one is a Yakmen city with a navy and everything! Faerûn gets an obscure 'cameo' - The Yakmen sometimes take slaves from 'the barbarians of the north'. There was even a map! (of Yakmen territory, not the city)

Thats what the Realms needs - more Yakmen!

"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone


Edited by - Markustay on 15 Jan 2013 23:49:45
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Neil
Learned Scribe

Canada
107 Posts

Posted - 16 Jan 2013 :  05:07:21  Show Profile  Visit Neil's Homepage Send Neil a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I really liked playing in the Utter East. There were a lot of interesting places to travel to, and our GM gave it a very exotic feel. Because you don't get a lot of overland travel there (the mountains and jungles form a barrier to Kara-Tur and the civilized centre of Zakhara is far from the land connections to the rest of the continent), it felt like we were Indiana Jones in Temple of Doom, only with swords and magic and long-forgotten secrets of ancient lore.
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire

USA
15724 Posts

Posted - 09 Feb 2013 :  00:21:23  Show Profile Send Markustay a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Because he asked for it...
quote:
Originally posted by Dalor Darden

quote:
Originally posted by Markustay

Yup - if I ever get my PCs down to Sespech I will be shamelessly looting all of this.

@Dalor - wait until you see what I've done with 'your' Ixinos. Its now part of the Kingdom of Alvalon (which is based around Absalom from PF, which I shoe-horned into that part of the Inner sea... one Inner Sea is as good as any other).



Share man!
Thats very rough - I haven't even re-done the mountains in the FR style yet.

Those five islands (two taken from Golarion) make up the kingdom of Alvalon; its actually more of a republic. The main island really only controls the one above it, Ilighon and Ixinos are self-geoverned, and Wavecrest has only recently been occupied (by a fortified keep with personel fro all three of the other a main islands). The Thayans tried to establish a base there, so they had to boot them out and now fortify the place against it happening again (Wavecrest is a fairly inhospitable, barren island). This is when the other Islands formed into a republic, for mutual protection against foreign powers.

Thats the Hold of the Sea Prince NW of them there, lifted directly from Greyhawk. They recently captured Lenchford from the Impilturans and renamed it Port Toli (I moved Turmish South, so that is Impiltur on the north coast of the Vilhon reach).

The other 'odd citiies' you see on the end of the Aglarondan Peninsula is where I shoe=horned in parts of Varisia (also from Golarion). Just above Aglarond is The Sword Coast (which you can see on my other "Misbegotten Realms" maps.

I plan to do an entire campaign for the finished map over at the Piazza (since it has moved so far away from FR canon I figured that site was better for a project like this). The map was originally only a reference for myself - if it proves popular I am going to use a completely different style to do each individual region (something similar to what I did on my Anchorome WIP).

"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone


Edited by - Markustay on 09 Feb 2013 00:21:54
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