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Antariuk
Acolyte
Germany
10 Posts |
 Posted - 14 Nov 2013 : 14:08:06
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Greetings!
Since I was unsatisfied with the original map from RHoD (the resolution of any version I could find online was terrible), I created my own variant, follwing the original map as closely as I could.
http://abload.de/image.php?img=elsir-vale-kopiegucae.jpg
Now, since I already was in the process, and I assumed some people out there would be interested to maybe run this adventure in its "original" place on the Faerūn map, I started to adapt names:
http://abload.de/image.php?img=elsir-vale-fr-versio-40dw0.jpg
I know the geography doesn't match 100% with the FR map, but I don't think the differences will be that important. Since the name Elsir is gone, I changed the name to Cannath Vale. What I'm struggling with right now is River Talar. Obviously, the authors took the river's name and used it for a village further to the east. I was thinking to switch Drellin's Ferry and Talar with each other, to justify River Talar. Any ideas or comments?
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"No matter how subtle the wizard, a knife between the shoulder blades will seriously cramp his style." Steven Brust
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Edited by - Antariuk on 14 Nov 2013 14:08:19
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 14 Nov 2013 : 14:39:29
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Kinda like THIS PROJECT I started awhile back, and never bothered to finished, because no-one seemed to give a crap about it.
I actually have way more to the south - that particular WIP was to show someone how I had laid-out Sespech. The finished map was going to show about half of Halruaa, and not so much to the north (so Elsir/Channath Vale would be centralized). I also added-in Nentir Vale just for poops & giggles.
I'm glad to see someone else is still into mapping parts of FR, because I've noted a big lack of interest in the setting itself of late (I can tell by the number of hits my site gets). There was a spike when 5e was announced, but its fallen-off again.
Looks good so far. 
EDIT:
I attributed the differences in names to time (between editions), and folks using older maps, when the names have since changed in the past century. That works for the settlements; for the geography, I just say there have always been 'local names' for the same features.
Adapting the lore was the hard part - they have Orcish hordes' coming from the direction of the Border Kingdoms, which is a bit ridiculous (because that empty area has Sharran tribes in it).
Edit2:
I was going to keep all the names the same - you can see how I worked-out the rivers there. They get a bit wonky from edition to edition, and then there was a river that appeared on the 3e Shining South map of Dambrath that appears nowhere else. It doesn't even have a name - it just cuts through The Swagdar from Rethmar.
My favorite part is that every bit of lore I have read about The Misty Vale says the Elves are HIGHLY xenophobic and kill any intruders (even other elves) on site. It even says this in the 3e SS book - which also show a MAJOR ROAD passing right through the forest!!! The 3e map changes really screwed things up. |
"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
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Edited by - Markustay on 14 Nov 2013 14:49:41 |
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Antariuk
Acolyte
Germany
10 Posts |
Posted - 14 Nov 2013 : 15:14:07
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Wow, that is an amazing project, thanks for providing the link!
I have to admit, when I'm playing in the Realms, I'm playing it fast and loose when it comes to canon. I also don't have that many sourcebooks at, hand, only the 3rd edition FRCS, and the 3.5 Player's Guide. Everything else I try to gather from wikis and such.
Where did you read about the Misty Vale elves? The only thing I found seems to be about a different region, so I'm not sure. Because that sounds like a very cool add-on to the adventure.
Regarding River Talar, I was thinking to put ruins of the first settlement named Talar somewhere in the west. It got burned down by goblin hordes from the Wyrmbone mountains, and the survivors settled down way east, building a town with the same name. This way, you can introduce a bit more story into RHoD, when the players interact with the town people, or explore the ruins themselves. |
"No matter how subtle the wizard, a knife between the shoulder blades will seriously cramp his style." Steven Brust
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 14 Nov 2013 : 16:12:33
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Its in the 3e Shining South source, which you should really get, because there is a TON of lore about the region, including all the surrounding regions, and history (which helps to tie the RHoD fluff to FR better).
All the Border Kingdom locales come from Power of Faerūn, and that tome details nearly all of them as well (lots of cool stuff to work with there - another one I highly recommend you get your hands on).
Homebrew:
As for the orcs and Overlook.. oh boy. In the written part of that project (which I didn't get very far with), I had it where there are still large numbers of Orcs in the Cairngorm Peaks (that bit is from the Nentir Vale material), and like most groups of Orcs, every decade or so they form into a horde and sweep south. However, they come up against some major resistance just to their south in the past century or two - Shaarmid is ruled by an ex-Halruaan archmage, who doesn't take too kindly to orcs. He also runs the college of magic there, so all of his students (at least a hundred) are ready to take up the fight as well. That, and they have a very effective army as well (originally built to keep the Sharran tribes at bay, but now used against the orcs more often then not).
The orcs do not sweep north, for much the same reasons - too much 'civilization' up that way (Innarlith is also insanely well-defended, and keeps a potent fighting force stationed at Firesteap Citadel - that part is canon, BTW - which is a natural bottle-neck). Think 300.
So, the easiest route for the orcs to go in is SW, and sweep through the Sharran tribes - who basically just get out of the way when this occurs (they are nomads, after all). Occasionally they head SE, into nentir Vale as well. The first real settlements that the orcs traveling SW arrive at, then, are the southern-most Border Kingdoms, and they are easy-pickings, for the most part. They try to stay away from the better-defended places - like Overlook itself - but sometimes a leader arises who is too stupid and full of himself to care (they are orcs, after all). The usually just spread-out east, and hit on the peripheral settlements in lightening-raids. There have even been a few smaller 'hordes' that the Sharran tribes have simply handled themselves, and the civilized regions never even noticed, for the most part.
The dwarves at Overlook are associated with the dwarves of The Great Rift - the dwarves once maintained a very large surface kingdom in this region, centuries ago, and Overlook is one of the few steadings they haven't abandoned. Although at least one human kingdom has sprung-up and ruled this region (Elsir/Channath Vale), the dwarves have always maintained their 'control' through the fortresses they still command throughout the area, and if anything gets too amiss, the dwarves of The Great Rift will get involved.
The problem is, no-one can predict when the orcs will swarm, and by the time the dwarves realize whats going on, the locals have usually handled it themselves... including whatever dwarven holdings are nearby, like those in Hammerfast (Nentir Vale) and the Hammerfist Holds (never noticed the similarity in names before LOL). So the dwarves are like the 'caretakers' of the Vale, or at least, thats how they see themselves, but the Great Rift is still far enough away that many 'Valers' don't look at it that way, and fend for themselves.
Thats how I pictures political working of that area functioning, tying together all the stray bits. the capital of the 'fallen' (abandoned, really) dwarven surface kingdom was Pelevaran, BTW (also homebrew, but Pelveria itself is canon). After the dwarves left it, that fortress-city was occupied by a short-lived human kingdom (thats what usually happens - dwarves leave everything to humans, and the humans screw it all up).
Hope you can use some of that. |
"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
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Edited by - Markustay on 14 Nov 2013 16:20:37 |
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 15 Nov 2013 : 17:08:53
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You've inspired me to move forward with this. I threw some labels on all the settlements (shown).
Another WIP
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"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
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Mapolq
Senior Scribe
Brazil
466 Posts |
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The Arcanamach
Master of Realmslore
1842 Posts |
Posted - 15 Nov 2013 : 17:54:12
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quote:
I'm glad to see someone else is still into mapping parts of FR, because I've noted a big lack of interest in the setting itself of late (I can tell by the number of hits my site gets). There was a spike when 5e was announced, but its fallen-off again.
Heh, I'm just waiting on updates for your Misbegotten Realms.  |
I have a dream that one day, all game worlds will exist as one. |
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Antariuk
Acolyte
Germany
10 Posts |
Posted - 15 Nov 2013 : 19:45:27
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Looking good, Markustay! People should be able to run RHoD in the Realms by that map alone.
I have a new version for my map available as well, most likely the final advancement, with a resolution of 1800x1200px. There is a GM version and a Player version. I cleaned up a few details, shifted Drellin's Ferry and Witchcross closer to the respective streams, and gave the latter the missing cultured land.
RHoD Original - GM Version (all locations)
Link 1 - Link 2
RHoD Original - Player Version (Ghostlords Lair, Vraath Keep, Fane of Tiamat removed)
Link 1 - Link 2
The adaption for the Realms has all the names replaces with the ones found on the map from 3rd edition FRCS. The town of Kormul is now on the map (easy to implement in RHoD, have refugees from there alert the players, so they investigate Skull Gorge), and the ruins of Old Talar, a custom addition of my own to justify the name of River Talar. I imagines it being an old village that got destroyed some 100 years ago, by hobgoblins of course. The survivors resettled further east and rebuilt their town as best as they could (might be an interesting addition to RHoD, as you can have guerilla fighters appear to help the players, since the people of Talar have an ancient grudge against the horde).
Realms - GM Version (all locations)
Link 1 - Link 2
Realms - Player Version (Ghostlords Lair, Vraath Keep, Fane of Tiamat removed)
Link 1 - Link 2
Enjoy! |
"No matter how subtle the wizard, a knife between the shoulder blades will seriously cramp his style." Steven Brust
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 16 Nov 2013 : 15:41:42
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quote:
Originally posted by The Arcanamach
Heh, I'm just waiting on updates for your Misbegotten Realms.
I was going to use that as a stepping-stone to segway my way into becoming a 'Golarion guru' (which is bound to happen, just like it did in FR, by me re-reading every bit of geographic text I can get my hands on). I figure it would have been of some interest to both fanbases (many of whom I think are former FR fans). I'm pretty sure the next map I begin whole-cloth will be Golarion-specific. Steven Schend did some terrific work on extending those realms beyond the eastern border (Iobaria), and I'd like to run with it.
I WILL be getting back to the Misbegotten Realms, because I have a selfish personal interest in it (several, actual - I really want to run a game there), but I have so many 'almost done' maps lying around, I really want to finish them. I am hoping for an 'FR Renaissance', and by having lots of free RPG maps out there, it will give gamers a plethora of choices for settings (all of which will lead them back to The Realms... I'm a sneaky git).
Maybe I'll post a WIP of the southern continent of Garund (a mash-up of Garund and Chult, amongst other things). Thats the last part I was working on - I wasn't happy with earlier versions so I ditched it and started from scratch again (and got about 90% done and went onto something else... damn my ADD). |
"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
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Edited by - Markustay on 16 Nov 2013 15:48:29 |
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Antariuk
Acolyte
Germany
10 Posts |
Posted - 24 Nov 2014 : 13:42:40
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Hey everyone,
It's been over a year, but I have some updates I'd like to share with you. Nothing fancy, just getting rid of errors (I totally forgot that Witchwood is actually Shaareach Forest) and making some visual improvements. Like before, I have versions with the RHoD's original names, and a Forgotten Realms adaption. Enjoy!
Realms - GM Version (all locations)
Link 1
Realms - Player Version (no Ghostlords Lair, Vraath Keep, Fane of Tiamat)
Link 1
Original - GM Version (all locations)
Link 1
Original - Player Version (no Ghostlords Lair, Vraath Keep, Fane of Tiamat)
Link 1
Enjoy! |
"No matter how subtle the wizard, a knife between the shoulder blades will seriously cramp his style." Steven Brust
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Edited by - Antariuk on 24 Nov 2014 13:43:38 |
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 24 Nov 2014 : 13:51:23
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Very nice maps, Antariuk.
I decided to merge Scales of War/Red Hand/Elsir Vale with the Mirarbar region in The North now, to bring those two AP's closer to my home campaign. I left the original Shaareach region alone (for now). That meant changing the topography, so that the two regions wouldn't look so similar (for example, Lake Lhespen became the Ice Lakes), but now I won't have to worry about the lore conflicts between the canon Realms and those modules.
Besides, having a bunch of half-dragons running around just north of the Nverwinter region sound like it fits with the 5e premise of 'never enough encounters'.  |
"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
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Matrix Sorcica
Seeker
Denmark
89 Posts |
Posted - 08 Apr 2015 : 20:34:04
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I'm making my first forum post a vile piece of thread necromancy to try and catch Markustay and hear if you can be persuaded to post your latest versions of your Misbegotten Realms map(s)? I'm a big fan of your mapmaking and your world is absolutely perfect for me! So please?
And I love your maps, Antariuk! |
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 08 Apr 2015 : 20:52:29
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I've actually been thinking about going back to it. I've taken a break from the mapping - I was getting burnt-out.
I need to get away from the canon Realms for awhile, and the 'Misbegotten Realms' is the basis for my home campaign (which has been on hiatus the past two months). It still bothers me I had to shrink Varisia down to 2/3 the size (which means all those AP's that take place there have to take that into account). It could cause continuity problems with some of them (for instance, how fast 'help can arrive', etc). I keep wanting to delve back in and fix that... but that means over-hauling quite a bit.
I know once I start playing with it I won't stop for a long while, which I suppose is precisely what folks want. Let me see what I can do by this weekend (so long as I leave Varisia the way it is, and not let my OCD control me). |
"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
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Matrix Sorcica
Seeker
Denmark
89 Posts |
Posted - 08 Apr 2015 : 21:20:59
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Very much appreciated. Even if you find yourself still sorta burnt out, I would be grateful for what you've got so far. Especially the world map as it looks since your 18 month old snapshot at deviant art.
Edit: and the campaign area. |
Edited by - Matrix Sorcica on 08 Apr 2015 21:30:27 |
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 08 Apr 2015 : 22:06:10
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LOL - I got really tied-down when I did the southern 'Africa-esque' region, which I did and had nearly completed, and then decided I hated it, and then began it from scratch again... and then decided I still didn't like it. My last decision with it was that I would just ignore it for now, since I doubt anyone (IMG) is getting down that way anyway. i just wanted it for 'completeness', which was stupid, because it held up everything else.
The northern and central stuff just 'flowed' naturally, so I should have just kept going with that. I truly doubt anyone will make it south of Halruaa (which is a chain of very large islands now - its merged with the Five kingdoms of Eberron... and Mystara's Alphatia).
And now that I've had a lot of time to sit and think about things I didn't care for, I have some new ideas and tweaks, which is how all this began in the first place. I just have to learn to NOT do things 'just because I can'; I have to stop and think about each add, and ask myself, "is this really improving the setting?" I was winding up with THREE different versions of 'fantasy Egypt', and I had to take a step back and tell myself NO - we barely need one. Mulhorand is more like how Ed intended it - an ANCIENT, decadent empire, like the ones from the Fafhrd & the Gray Mouser stories. Picture it like Alexander's Empire in size and make-up, with all the internal logistics problems and mixed bag of cultures, but surviving for thousands of years! My 'NOT Egypt' is Osirion from PF, with bits of other stuff tacked on (like the Tomb Kings from WH).
Thats what I want - every flavor possible, but with no redundancy. If something is too similar to something else, it just gets merged. I was losing sight of that with the 'dark continent' - I was trying to keep Nyambe, Garund (PF), and Chult wholly intact, and that wasn't working, and wasn't what I had set out to do. |
"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
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Edited by - Markustay on 08 Apr 2015 22:14:36 |
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Matrix Sorcica
Seeker
Denmark
89 Posts |
Posted - 17 Apr 2015 : 21:01:49
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| Did you burn out? |
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[Red Hand of Doom] Adpating the map for the Realms
