* * * Wizards Community Thread * * * -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Thread : Newly discovered 2nd edition continent! Started at 04-24-08 10:43 PM by Mock26 Visit at http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?t=1023187 -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- [Post 1] Author : Mock26 Date : 04-24-08 10:43 PM Thread Title : Newly discovered 2nd edition continent! This continent was recently discovered far from any known lands in the southern hemisphere on the planet of _____. It has yet to be explored in close detail so at the moment kingdoms and cities and such have not been identified. The explorers of this world would like to know what you think of it so far. Do the terrain features look OK? Does any of it look cluttered? Does it look interesting? etc. Thanks! http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v249/Mock26/TerraIncognito.jpg -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- [Post 2] Author : Rosisha Date : 04-24-08 11:28 PM Thread Title : Re: Newly discovered 2nd edition continent! ... Chivageto, the brave Halfling fighter/thief, glanced down at the document in front of him. He unrolled the aged parchment carefully, making sure to gently press the material against the table to avoid destroying it. His practiced eye noted that the map was beautifully detailed, displaying an unknown land. This is a new land, a land of adventure and oppertunity. "And where did ye find this beauty?" He murmured, his eyes never leaving the beautiful ink. "And do you think the artist is still available for hire?" Initial Reaction: Very nice. Very very nice! How did you do this? I like it! I would upload a map I've been working on, but I only made it in paint. It is nothing to write home about :D ~ Rosisha -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- [Post 3] Author : Mock26 Date : 04-25-08 03:00 AM Thread Title : Re: Newly discovered 2nd edition continent! The program that I use is Campaign Cartographer 3, and it is available at www.profantasy.com. The program is reasonably priced (if you get just that program and don't get any of the bundles) and while the learning curve is a bit steep, once you start to pick it up it becomes quite easy and fast to turn out some really good looking maps. The program can produce simple maps like you saw, but you can also use "detailed" terrain to produce some very cool looking maps, such as this: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v249/Mock26/CrownPoint.jpg (Crown Point is not part of the above continent) And sadly, I am not for hire as a cartographer. However, from time to time and as my time permits I have been known to turn out some free maps for friends and people I know online. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- [Post 4] Author : Etarnon Date : 04-25-08 03:03 AM Thread Title : Re: Newly discovered 2nd edition continent! Mock26, Good deal. Looks to me like a random fractal, with low Lacunarity and low iterations, plus some photoshop brush work, post cc3. I have cc3 also. Got a few questions: What's the scale? Settling on a scale is the hardest part for me. Usually I go with 20 miles per kingdom hex, 100 miles regional hex, and 500 miles world hex to fit a world map blank from Rich Baker's World Builder's Guide book. Any idea of the temperature bands and climate? Rotation? Altitude scale? The colors are clearly defined. Looks like your lakes are really really deep, so unless something punched a hole in the crust like a giant meteor, I'd shallow them out a bit. Definitely NW looks like a meteor crater with the rim islands of the fracture zone as surviving sea mounts. Ditto, and even more so for the lagoon to the E. I'm also interested in what direction your prevailing wind is. And your mountains have peaks, but I'm not seeing the kind of squiggliness that erosion is gonna cause over time..but that doesn't detract from it, as a map or a setting. The SE island is very interesting geologically, looks like a filled in crater, forming something like a steep walled Lost valley for dinos or something. Some of your streams don't seem to be flowing from altitude to sea level, but again, it doesn't detract form the look or feel. Overall, great job, looking to see this as it takes shape. SIDE NOTE: Rosisha, I can convert your map to CC2, or CC3 if you like. no charge. You've been more than civil to me, unlike many I can name on these forums. Take me about a week, because I'm mapping my own New Selmist Campaign this week. I've joined the forums at: http://www.thecbg.org/e107_plugins/forum/forum.php A bunch of really smart guys that map fantasy worlds there. Who mostly used to be here, but got sick of the flame wars and such...or so i understand. PM me, if interested. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- [Post 5] Author : Mock26 Date : 04-25-08 03:29 AM Thread Title : Re: Newly discovered 2nd edition continent! Mock26, Good deal. Looks to me like a random fractal, with low Lacunarity and low iterations, plus some photoshop brush work, post cc3. I have cc3 also. Got a few questions: What's the scale? Settling on a scale is the hardest part for me. Usually I go with 20 miles per kingdom hex, 100 miles regional hex, and 500 miles world hex to fit a world map blank from Rich Baker's World Builder's Guide book. Looks like you know the program a LOT more than I do! (Though there was no photoshop brushwork. It is all CC3. There was some degredation of quality when I uploaded it, though. The size of the map is 2,000 by 1,600. That is roughly the size of the area around The Sea of Fallen Stars in the Forgotten Realms, and I think that provides more than enough space for creativity. Any idea of the temperature bands and climate? Rotation? Altitude scale? I haven't worked on temperature bands and climate, except for the islands to the southwest, which are going to be like the Orkneys of Scotland, but without the snow. Cold waters from the south mingle with thermal vents from the deeps. The large island to the southeast is going to be a very high plateau area, with plenty of snow. I need to lighten the land there to reflect this. As for rotation, I'm not sure what you mean by that. I'm still working on altitude scale. The coastal areas that are seperated by hills and/or mountains will be relatively flat to gentle elevation changes. I'm thinking that the large central plain will be fairly elevated in the center and slope downward to the north and south, with a rift valley cutting around the river that heads to the southwest. I haven't worked on the elevation to the east, except the large island to the southeast. The plateau area rises higher in the south than the north and gentle slopes down. The colors are clearly defined. Looks like your lakes are really really deep, so unless something punched a hole in the crust like a giant meteor, I'd shallow them out a bit. Definitely NW looks like a meteor crater with the rim islands of the fracture zone as surviving sea mounts. Ditto, and even more so for the lagoon to the E. The lakes aren't deep, just keeping the colors for the lakes darker during the early stages so they stand out. And, you are correct about the lagoon to the east, it is a crater, with a smaller naturally formed deep area where the crust collapsed (not sure if this is possible, but it did happen here! :D ) I haven't decided yet on the very deep area to the southwest. I was thinking something magical in nature caused the crust to collapse, though as in impact crater it does give the impression that it caused the islands to rise up. I actually tried to imagine techtonic plates when doing the mountains, but I don't know enough about the topic to have been accurate about it. I'm also interested in what direction your prevailing wind is. There are strong winds out of the southeast (from the polar region), but the prevailing winds I think will be from the west. And your mountains have peaks, but I'm not seeing the kind of squiggliness that erosion is gonna cause over time..but that doesn't detract from it, as a map or a setting. Can you provide an example of what you mean? It would be greatly appreciated. The SE island is very interesting geologically, looks like a filled in crater, forming something like a steep walled Lost valley for dinos or something. As I said above that is actually a very high plateau area, I'm thinking something like the Andes. I haven't decided yet who will live there, though there is still the possibility of killing everyone in the area and replacing the plateau with a giant glacier on top of a massive mountainous area. Glaciers are always nice. Some of your streams don't seem to be flowing from altitude to sea level, but again, it doesn't detract form the look or feel. I'm still working on that. Overall, great job, looking to see this as it takes shape. Thanks! PS You world of New Selmist is the exact opposite of something I've recently started working on, and that is a world that is thermal at the poles and the equator is surrounded by a MASSIVE mountain chain that spans nearly the entire globe. There is one small area where the mountains plunge down to the sea. The mountains are covered in a giant, world spanning glacier that is miles thick and often 300-500 miles wide. The central mountain range and glaciers are much, much higher than our Everest and except for a few magically spawned species is totall incapable of supporting life. The two halves of the world are, in essence seperated. At the sea channel, though, about once every 5-10 years thermal currents shift and a tunnel melts here for 3-6 months. During this time there is a LOT of sea traffic between the two halves of the world as they hurry to trade goods and such. This is pretty much the only contact between the two halves of the world (though powerful mages and other powerful beings travel freely between the two). There is even a mage-founded community that lives beneath the glacier in an area where thermal vents have created a cavern beneath several miles of ice. I'm still plinking away at this world and I expect to have it done within a couple of decades! -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- [Post 6] Author : Etarnon Date : 04-25-08 04:01 AM Thread Title : Re: Newly discovered 2nd edition continent! I like that concept fo thermal at the poles. Do you have Rich Baker's World Builder's Guidebook? It explains nearly all of what I am talking about. By rotation, I meant rotation of the world, i.e. how long is a day. I'll be uploading my map to a server in a little bit here. I first started out mapping with Campaign Mapper the Profantasy CC Lite tool that came bundled with TSR's 2nd Ed Core Rules on CD-ROM 2.0 in 1996. I've used CC2, since it was invented, and pre-ordered cc3, last year. So I'm pretty proficient with it. I'll be uploading my map to my server in a little bit here. Probably within a few minutes. I'll post a link. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- [Post 7] Author : Etarnon Date : 04-25-08 04:55 AM Thread Title : Re: Newly discovered 2nd edition continent! Here's a map of the large scale contours of the Selmist Campaign...hills, and mountains. http://www.geocities.com/merxiless/seismic.jpg I'll do the symbols and such on a different layer, after I get the rivers in later today. The scale on this is 100 miles per (Blue) hex. I have set layers each for 20 miles per hex, (for the Kingdom Maps) 100 miles per hex (for regional overview, like this), and 500 miles per hex (for the world map sketch, not seen here). The orange lines denote geological crustal plates boundaries. The tiny orange arrows show the general direction of movement of the plates. They didn't come out too well on the resize. The overall light area is at or near sea level. The Slightly darker areas are generally hills of 2000' (if there are no mountains around) to 4000' (if they are foothills of a larger chain.) Higher elevations are 5,000 - 10,000 for the medium dark grey, and 10,000 plus for peaks or the taller ranges where plates are moving toward each other, in the darkest grey. I have done the climate bands, and the wind patterns, and moisture maps. (not seen here). I will be using those Air / Wind/ Moisture / Climate maps to do the river maps, placing them in with a small freehand brush. I haven't done rivers yet, that was my next step, over the next few hours. Nice to see others mapping / Creating campaigns for 2e. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- [Post 8] Author : Mock26 Date : 04-25-08 07:18 AM Thread Title : Re: Newly discovered 2nd edition continent! Real quickly there is no rotation. My continent is designed to be put into any world. In my game it would probably replace the large Terra Incognita continent south of the Maztica setting in the Forgotten Realms world. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- [Post 9] Author : Etarnon Date : 04-25-08 07:31 AM Thread Title : Re: Newly discovered 2nd edition continent! Okay, good deal. Too tired, after being up all night. I'll get to the rivers in the afternoon. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- [Post 10] Author : Grovel_hits_it_yes Date : 04-25-08 12:57 PM Thread Title : Re: Newly discovered 2nd edition continent! I really like you map! Quality! Can I offer a suggestion? -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- [Post 11] Author : Mock26 Date : 04-25-08 01:52 PM Thread Title : Re: Newly discovered 2nd edition continent! Offer away! That is one reason I posted it here. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- [Post 12] Author : Grovel_hits_it_yes Date : 04-25-08 07:31 PM Thread Title : Re: Newly discovered 2nd edition continent! Actually I take back my offer of a suggestion. If you went with my idea the map might not make as much sense as it does currently. I was going to suggest bringing a thin peninsula almost straight out to the deep under water pit in the lower left portion of your map and perhaps have the oceans floor comform to it, but it might look a little odd then. I scuba dive as a hobby and to see an oceanic pit miles deep next to a wall would be wicked cool. Take Hawaii for instance, if there was no water on the planet it would be atop the tallest mountain. So I guess maybe I am still offer my insight. LOL -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- [Post 13] Author : Mock26 Date : 04-25-08 08:03 PM Thread Title : Re: Newly discovered 2nd edition continent! Actually I take back my offer of a suggestion. If you went with my idea the map might not make as much sense as it does currently. I was going to suggest bringing a thin peninsula almost straight out to the deep under water pit in the lower left portion of your map and perhaps have the oceans floor comform to it, but it might look a little odd then. I scuba dive as a hobby and to see an oceanic pit miles deep next to a wall would be wicked cool. Take Hawaii for instance, if there was no water on the planet it would be atop the tallest mountain. So I guess maybe I am still offer my insight. LOL I actually thought about something similar to that, but I like the idea of the islands being isolated way out there in the middle of nowhere. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- [Post 14] Author : True_Atlantean Date : 05-01-08 06:23 AM Thread Title : Re: Newly discovered 2nd edition continent! Mock, Check out this episode of Fear the Boot where they talk to a professional gaming cartopher, Keith Curtis. The episode has tons of food for thought that has completely changed the way I approach designing areas of my game-world. They come at it from both a design and an ecological/scientific standpoint, so it makes for interesting listening. You can download the episode from http://feartheboot.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=286751 Hope this helps you out. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- [Post 15] Author : RedWizard Date : 05-01-08 01:18 PM Thread Title : Re: Newly discovered 2nd edition continent! Looks pretty good Mock. I use CC also, I did this one for my own homebrew world about a year ago. http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d111/CParish/Brevaonline2.png -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- [Post 16] Author : Escef Date : 05-03-08 03:28 AM Thread Title : Re: Newly discovered 2nd edition continent! My first impression is that all of your major rivers start at large lakes. This is unusual, but by no means a deal breaker. The deep area off the south west islands is attention grabbing, on the off chance of a underwater stint in the campaign it would likely be an interesting location. What really grabbed me was the island in the south east. I do not know, nor care, if something like that can form naturally. (Perhaps a huge, dormant volcano with a caldera.) But what I do see is a "forbidden" island. One whose interior is walled off from the rest of the world by imposing cliffs that meet the sea. What's in there? A Utopian culture? The Valley of the Dinosaurs? A brutal land where harsh warlords battle for supremacy? The famed Dragons' Graveyard? Lots of potential for cool stuff there. Also, I recommend reposting this in "D&D General" or What's a "DM to do?", opinions on the map and ideas about what to put where really aren't edition specific. It will get you more feedback. Actually, I think there's a homebrew sub-forum around, too. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Downloaded from Wizards Community (http://forums.gleemax.com) at 05-10-08 08:22 AM.