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HandsomeRob
Seeker
68 Posts |
 Posted - 23 Apr 2016 : 18:38:52
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Hey everyone, I made a map of Thay.
First of all, a few warnings:
1. It's a really big map! 3600 x 3900 pixels, 8 MB. Really big.
2. It includes a ridiculous amount of non-canon material.
Why does it contain so much non-canon stuff? Well, for one, it really bothers me when designers will say "Such-and-such is a heavily settled land with many small villages," and then the map looks empty. Don't get me wrong, I completely understand why they do it, but I want to know a) where all those villages are and b) what their names are.
So I've added them to my Thay map.
Thanks should go out to this page here: Kismet's Thayan Name Generator, which was invaluable in the compilation of all of these village names.
And so without further ado, here is the map:
Thay Map
Tap the "Full Resolution" button at the bottom to see it at full size.
If it's useful to anyone, I hope you enjoy it.
Thanks,
-Rob
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Seethyr
Master of Realmslore
USA
1151 Posts |
Posted - 23 Apr 2016 : 21:20:06
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I don't even know how to comment on a map that good. I mean...WOW!
I may have to take a trip to Thay. |
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Irennan
Great Reader
Italy
3802 Posts |
Posted - 23 Apr 2016 : 21:23:12
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| It's impressive, thanks for sharing. |
Mathematics is the art of giving the same name to different things. |
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Gary Dallison
Great Reader
United Kingdom
6353 Posts |
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Adhriva
Learned Scribe
USA
147 Posts |
Posted - 23 Apr 2016 : 22:58:52
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Very nice map. I love how clean and clear it looks in general. It's well done (and I'm a difficult person to impress visually). You should post this to the Cartographer's guild forums as well for more constructive feedback on map making.
Any plans for the map? Or any plans to continue further building this part of the world? |
Professional illustrator and comic book artist.
Portfolio |
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Seethyr
Master of Realmslore
USA
1151 Posts |
Posted - 23 Apr 2016 : 23:41:29
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I''d suggest posting this on DMs Guild to be honest. I think it's the kind of thing that would get snatched up and actually made canon. I believe they claimed they are planning on doing that once in a while.
You could also reach a lot of fans that might not otherwise get to see it. |
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George Krashos
Master of Realmslore
Australia
6648 Posts |
Posted - 24 Apr 2016 : 03:12:57
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Awesome. I'd love you to give Impiltur the Thay treatment.
-- George Krashos |
"Because only we, contrary to the barbarians, never count the enemy in battle." -- Aeschylus |
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Artemas Entreri
Great Reader
USA
3131 Posts |
Posted - 24 Apr 2016 : 03:21:08
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| Excellent work. |
Some people have a way with words, and other people...oh, uh, not have way. -Steve Martin
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deserk
Learned Scribe
Norway
237 Posts |
Posted - 24 Apr 2016 : 10:59:18
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| Insanely good. I feel like I'm looking at some modern-day realistic map. |
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tmcvicar2
Acolyte
USA
29 Posts |
Posted - 24 Apr 2016 : 12:10:56
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That map is a thing of beauty. What software was used to create it?
Creations like this reactivate my love for The Realms! |
Ancestors could hear
What is happening now
They would turn in their graves
They would all be ashamed
That the land of the free
Has been written in chains
And I know what I want
When the timing is right
Then I'll take what is mine
I am the clansman
Iron Maiden "The Clansman" |
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Farrel
Learned Scribe
United Kingdom
239 Posts |
Posted - 24 Apr 2016 : 12:37:16
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| Amazing map - I think I want to visit Thay |
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist
USA
11701 Posts |
Posted - 24 Apr 2016 : 15:24:49
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Wow, Rob, I can't tell you how much I love this. I would also express... yes, please put it up on DMs Guild. The only caveat is that they need to be the only distributor. I was wanting to do some work on Thay myself , but lack of a good map (and real life work more than anything else) kind of sidetracked me. I'm actually now wondering if I want to work on current Thay or develop an alternative that visits some classical elements that I think would work in other areas. Anyway, if it were on DMs Guild then we can actually use it to develop supplements (whether it be myself or someone else like George).
By the way, the Shaar has been kind of filled in again. I'd |
Alavairthae, may your skill prevail
Phillip aka Sleyvas |
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HandsomeRob
Seeker
68 Posts |
Posted - 24 Apr 2016 : 16:12:48
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Thanks all.
To answer some questions:
quote:
Originally posted by Adhriva
Any plans for the map? Or any plans to continue further building this part of the world?
Not really. I wanted to try out some new techniques I had developed at work, and Thay set up real well for the things I wanted to try: escarpments, mountains, mesas, settled lands. No deserts -- not really sure how to handle those in this style yet, so I'd have to come up with something new before tackling Calimshan. I spent quite a bit of time on this over the last few weeks when I should have been finishing up some of my other projects, so I'm gonna take a break from mapmaking for a bit :)
quote:
Originally posted by tmcvicar2
What software was used to create it?
The raster background was created in Photoshop, making liberal use of the Pattern Stamp tool and the Bevel/Emboss layer style. Roads and structures were drawn in Illustrator and brought over to photoshop later to rasterize and blend in. All the labels are set in Illustrator. It's exported here as a jpg but the file was constructed with PDF export in mind.
quote:
Originally posted by lots of people
Put it on DM's Guild
What's the deal with DM's Guild? What does that mean/how does it work? I've seen the website but I can't quite figure out what it's supposed to do. Anyone care to enlighten me?
Thanks, everyone
--Rob |
Visit Sorol today: http://sorol.wikispaces.com |
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Gary Dallison
Great Reader
United Kingdom
6353 Posts |
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hashimashadoo
Master of Realmslore
United Kingdom
1150 Posts |
Posted - 24 Apr 2016 : 18:05:01
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| I've always loved your work Rob. Really glad to see you're still creating new content. |
When life turns it's back on you...sneak attack for extra damage.
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HandsomeRob
Seeker
68 Posts |
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist
USA
11701 Posts |
Posted - 24 Apr 2016 : 22:27:31
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quote:
Originally posted by HandsomeRob
Okay, I think I did this right.
The map should now be available at DM's Guild here:
http://www.dmsguild.com/product/181402/Map-of-Thay
Hopefully that gets it to those who might find it useful!
Thank you Rob. I'm downloading it now. BTW, it sounds like you haven't been checking out DM's Guild. I know you did pay what you want, so you're probably not looking to make a lot of cash off this either (I'm the same way with my stuff). However, I figured I'd share this. Whenever you're checking out, you can use any stored credit you have from people buying your stuff to buy other people's stuff. You'll probably have 20-30 people downloading your stuff for free for every one who pays, but still this can help cover you giving people 25 cents or so to check out something that sounds interesting to you (the Maztica stuff I've been seeing so far looks kind of interesting).
Honestly, I know you have a lot of old maps, and I'm betting you could put some updates to them and upload them for sale and they'd sell well for people interested in making their own updates to portions of Faerun (or those wanting to make modules in said areas). By making the updates, you'd be uploading a version that's not available anywhere else on the web. |
Alavairthae, may your skill prevail
Phillip aka Sleyvas |
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist
USA
11701 Posts |
Posted - 25 Apr 2016 : 17:15:28
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Oh, hey, I was comparing this map to that provided in the 3e Unapproachable East and Spellbound, because I was wondering if the actual battlefield for the battle of Thazalhar had ever been placed (it hasn't, though I'd expect it to be near the River of the Dawn). I love that the escarpments and the mountains form a somewhat narrow pathway leading into Thay from Mulhorand. Any chance you can place this battlefield?
Anyway, in looking, I noticed that Pyarados is misspelled as Pyardos in two spots. I hadn't caught it initially. Also, Lapendrar is misspelled as Laprendar. |
Alavairthae, may your skill prevail
Phillip aka Sleyvas |
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HandsomeRob
Seeker
68 Posts |
Posted - 25 Apr 2016 : 17:57:30
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quote:
Originally posted by sleyvas
I noticed that Pyarados is misspelled as Pyardos in two spots. I hadn't caught it initially. Also, Lapendrar is misspelled as Laprendar.
Ha. You know, you read a certain word or two one way for years and years and then someone kindly points out that it's actually not spelled that way at all. They will always be "Pyardos" and "Laprendar" to me, I guess, but I'll correct those labels later tonight and reupload. Thanks.
quote:
Originally posted by sleyvas
...Battle of Thazalhar...near the River of the Dawn...a somewhat narrow pathway leading into Thay from Mulhorand. Any chance you can place this battlefield?
Do we know which side of the River of the Dawn? North or South? If so, I'll jam it in there somewhere while I'm at it.
-Rob |
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Gary Dallison
Great Reader
United Kingdom
6353 Posts |
Posted - 25 Apr 2016 : 20:11:03
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Been a while since ive done any researching so excuse my rustiness but here goes.
quote:
This is a relatively new city, The City of the East, built by Thay and nestled under the shadow of the Sunrise Mountains and controlling the upper reaches of River Thazarim and the guardian of the Thazalhar Battle Plain. Adventurers getting ready to explore the Sunrise Mountains (and who can obtain official permission) outfit here at exorbitant prices.
This quote is about the city Pyarados
quote:
The eastern bank of the Thazarim River, once a prosperous farming region, is now considered nothing more than a vast graveyard. Thousands died here in the struggles between Thay and Mulhorand.
quote:
This once-rich farmland is now a buffer zone between Thay and Mulhorand. It was devastated in the war between the Mulhorand and the rebels who founded Thay. Now the land is called “one vast graveyard”. Farmers no longer till its enriched soil and it lies fallow and barren.
This devastated barren buffer zone between Thay and Mulhorand is bordered by the River Thazarim to the west and north and the River of the Dawn to the south. The Sunrise Mountains are its eastern border.
quote:
Mulhorand roused itself from its stupor long enough to hire an immense mercenary army from Chessenta and send it into the land now called Thay by its new masters. The Red Wizards met this army on the farming plains of Thazalhar.
quote:
The two forces met in the Battle of Thazalhar. Though grossly outnumbered, the Red Wizards smashed the godkings’ troops with the assistance of an enormously powerful, mysterious extradimensional creature (Eltab).
Given all of the above I'd say that we can be pretty certain the battle for Thazalhar took place between the River of Dawn and the River Thazalhar (so north of the River of Dawn).
It describes a massive army of mercenaries hired by Mulhorand which were routed by the Red Wizards (backed by Eltab) and that the battlefield is now a barren wasteland. Of course all of Thazalhar is a barren wasteland so its entirely possible that the Battle of Thazalhar took place across the entirety of Battle Plain (which will probably be all the flat land from the Sunrise Mountains to the River/coast.
I can easily imagine Eltab smashing through the mercenary lines and surrounding the Mulhorandi before systematically exterminating them and turning the hundreds of square miles of Thazalhar into a barren wasteland filled with undead (not sure why undead but that's demon lords for you). |
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist
USA
11701 Posts |
Posted - 26 Apr 2016 : 00:28:43
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Dazzler nailed it in that it would have been somewhere north of the river of dawn, north and west of the river Thazarim, with the sunrise mountains to the east. So, it would best fit in that area between Brulta, Krenlith, Zunthra, and Dyphur (and those might actually be small forts to guard against the roaming undead in the area). If you could darken up this area a little, that would be really fitting. Sulriana and Cidas would appear to be pirate cities, based on the below from spellbound as well
"A few small pirate settlements dot Thazalhar'#146;s coastline, home to corsairs who prey on seaborne trade. The tharchion of Thazalhar sends his forces on occasional raids against the pirates, but these are invariably gone by the time the Thayans arrive." |
Alavairthae, may your skill prevail
Phillip aka Sleyvas |
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Gary Dallison
Great Reader
United Kingdom
6353 Posts |
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist
USA
11701 Posts |
Posted - 26 Apr 2016 : 13:10:12
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quote:
Originally posted by dazzlerdal
North of dawn, south and east of thazarim, west of sunrise mountains.
Good spot on the pirate coves.
Yeah, so maybe in between the 4 I mentioned before and even extending a little further south. |
Alavairthae, may your skill prevail
Phillip aka Sleyvas |
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Gary Dallison
Great Reader
United Kingdom
6353 Posts |
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HandsomeRob
Seeker
68 Posts |
Posted - 27 Apr 2016 : 02:01:32
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Thanks for all the input, everyone! I've updated the file on DM's Guild to include the Thazalhar Battle Plain and correct the spellings of Pyarados and Lapendrar.
I'm impressed with the ability to update... If anyone thinks of any other additions or changes that should be made to this map, let me know and I will do my best to incorporate them into a new edition. Also, if I choose to map a different area, it's good to know that I can improve the product by responding to feedback.
Enjoy!
-Rob |
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist
USA
11701 Posts |
Posted - 28 Apr 2016 : 00:23:07
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| That's awesome looking. Thanks Rob. This is just serendipitous, because my home DM recently (like 3 weeks ago) asked me if I could start DM'ing (it was a nice 2 year stretch where I got to be a player again). I told him sure, but it would have to be the realms starting in 1347.... and I said I'd really like to run it in Thay with me showing Thay from a Thayan's viewpoint (not necessarily evil, but religious and magical study tolerance... plentiful resources... harsh laws for criminals, so people obey... that sort of thing). |
Alavairthae, may your skill prevail
Phillip aka Sleyvas |
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KismetRose
Acolyte
USA
39 Posts |
Posted - 28 Apr 2016 : 22:02:30
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quote:
Originally posted by HandsomeRob
Hey everyone, I made a map of Thay.
Why does it contain so much non-canon stuff? Well, for one, it really bothers me when designers will say "Such-and-such is a heavily settled land with many small villages," and then the map looks empty. Don't get me wrong, I completely understand why they do it, but I want to know a) where all those villages are and b) what their names are.
So I've added them to my Thay map.
Thanks should go out to this page here: Kismet's Thayan Name Generator, which was invaluable in the compilation of all of these village names.
Rob, I just saw your map and got very excited - and then saw that my name generator helped you and got even more revved!
Your map is gorgeous! I am so glad to see some real love and attention given to Thay, and a willingness to go beyond canon to develop it as it deserves to be developed.
I've been in the process of fleshing out Thay more over the years but have had to defer my project from full production due to Real LifeTM nonsense. This inspires me to go back to it.
I can't wait to see what you do in the future! |
Kismet's Dungeons & Dragons * World of Darkness * Gamer Gathering |
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist
USA
11701 Posts |
Posted - 29 Apr 2016 : 00:55:01
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quote:
Originally posted by KismetRose
quote:
Originally posted by HandsomeRob
Hey everyone, I made a map of Thay.
Why does it contain so much non-canon stuff? Well, for one, it really bothers me when designers will say "Such-and-such is a heavily settled land with many small villages," and then the map looks empty. Don't get me wrong, I completely understand why they do it, but I want to know a) where all those villages are and b) what their names are.
So I've added them to my Thay map.
Thanks should go out to this page here: Kismet's Thayan Name Generator, which was invaluable in the compilation of all of these village names.
Rob, I just saw your map and got very excited - and then saw that my name generator helped you and got even more revved!
Your map is gorgeous! I am so glad to see some real love and attention given to Thay, and a willingness to go beyond canon to develop it as it deserves to be developed.
I've been in the process of fleshing out Thay more over the years but have had to defer my project from full production due to Real LifeTM nonsense. This inspires me to go back to it.
I can't wait to see what you do in the future!
I gotta say, I saw your site. You've done some things that I always said I wanted to do (such as making a listing of noble families in Thay). I'm going to steal that list, but add more interests for each family (probably 3 or 4, and with more families with different farming interests). I also like the concept you used for your name generator. |
Alavairthae, may your skill prevail
Phillip aka Sleyvas |
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The Arcanamach
Master of Realmslore
1842 Posts |
Posted - 29 Apr 2016 : 04:56:24
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| I've hardly been on the past few months and I come back to this. Absolutely stunning work! If I only had the time to learn these skills. |
I have a dream that one day, all game worlds will exist as one. |
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HandsomeRob
Seeker
68 Posts |
Posted - 29 Apr 2016 : 17:18:16
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quote:
Originally posted by KismetRose
Rob, I just saw your map and got very excited - and then saw that my name generator helped you and got even more revved!
You can imagine my pleasant surprise when I typed "Thayan Name Generator" into google on a whim and actually found one, and a really marvelous one at that. I set up an Excel sheet to generate like 5000 random names using your generator and selected the good ones for my map.
It was such a relief to not have to come up with names for hundreds of villages. I've done it before on other projects, and it's exhausting and the results just get worse and worse as I go. So thank you, really, a great deal for your help on this project. I hope that, in return, my work is helpful for you as well.
-Rob |
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KismetRose
Acolyte
USA
39 Posts |
Posted - 29 Apr 2016 : 17:35:34
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quote:
I gotta say, I saw your site. You've done some things that I always said I wanted to do (such as making a listing of noble families in Thay). I'm going to steal that list, but add more interests for each family (probably 3 or 4, and with more families with different farming interests). I also like the concept you used for your name generator.
When I saw the book they put out for Waterdeep and saw that it had like 90 noble families, while Thay had basically none, I knew that had to change. I figured 90 was a good place to start and that some basics would at least give a better idea of what nobles are up to in Thay. I did want to leave it open for folks to adjust it for their own ends. Since I also envisioned the noble families as spread across the country, there's definitely room for some variety. I figured there would be differences depending on location, so I didn't try to fully mimic the Waterdeep noble spreadsheet with alignments, deities, and so forth. I hope you have fun with it! If you're up to share your changes, I'd be interested to see them.
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Kismet's Dungeons & Dragons * World of Darkness * Gamer Gathering |
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Map of Thay
