The beginnings of a new world...
Okay, unless I have commented on someone else's work in the past and forgotten about it, this is my first post ever here. I know it is my first ever map to upload. I make tons of them, but feel so unworthy compared to what gets posted on this site!
The main reason I post this is because I have seen the numerous threads for WIP maps in which the forum here helps the author to make their map better than it would have been. And I would love any input anyone has.
So far, I have a small region of my home campaign mapped out, just what the players have discovered thus far. I have vague ideas for more, but nothing really set in stone; other than everything south of this map is uncharted (but not deserted) wastelands. Thus, no existing maps for it and its myriad of small villages, hovels, lairs, and whatnot (of course, this is where the players are about to go!)
Otherwise, this world is a blank slate. I have looked with an envious eye at many of the world maps on this site, thinking perhaps to borrow one and modify it to fit this parcel into it, but guilt and picky-ness have both prevented me from doing so. I haven't yet found one that conforms to what I have, with room for uncharted wastelands, and that I like the overall appearance of, and which is unlabeled. Plus I would never steal a map without the author's permission, if I did encounter one such.
Anyway, ramblings over for now, here is my mediocre objet d'arte
[edit] I know there is no scale on the map - the players have not yet learned of any distances in miles or kilometers or leagues or whatnot. On horse's back, typical 8-10 hour traveling days, on a decently maintained road, from Kerrowyn to the Lonely Lass roadside inn is about 2 weeks. Roughly 1 week more on to Bumbleberry Blossom, and another week to the Silver Mines. Off-road, from the Lonely Lass to the Druid's Grove is about a week and a half, and from there to Abeyr's Lair is just under 3 weeks. So the actual physical distance can be extrapolated from that; but I haven't created an exact scale as of yet.
Wow, even my edit is long-winded today!
Last edited by karossii; 04-27-2009 at 03:00 PM.
Looks like good start. What program are you using to make the map?
A note on distances (because I looked it up recently):
A healthy horse can travel an average of 30 miles in a day on a good road. Depending on the road conditions, I could see 20-30 miles/day being reasonable. That make your scale quite large with 280-420 miles between Kerrowyn and the Lonely Lass.
Where did you look this up? I'd be interested to see some information on things like that.Originally Posted by ElfSpeaker
I would say though that 20-30 miles for a horse on a good road does not sound much. Somewhere in my mind is the number that the average walking speed for a man is 3-4 miles per hour on even ground. This would mean that it is certainly possible for a person to cover the same distance that you suggest a horse can. I would just assume that a horse could travel further than a man.
Probably wrong though. As I say, I'd be interested to see some information on this.
Put a pack on your back and try and walk 20-30 miles in a day. 3-4 miles per hour is certainly not to bad a pace, but keeping it up for that long is tough.
Dean
\"Nonsense, your only saying that because no-one ever has!\"
To the map:
The river in the mountain is a bit too broad from my point of view. Should be narrower at the source (unless there is a lake or something like that. It just doesn't look like a lake). Generally it looks quiet good.
To the distance: I think a horse can't go much further than a man can go (especially with the backpack) it just moves faster (but needs a brake every now and then). I have to talk with my sister in law about this, she's riding horses since she was 7 so she should know.
Avatar by courtesy of Castaras from the GiantitP-Forums
http://wwwestra.com/horses/history_travel.htm
As the website states, horse can go much faster than this but they can't keep it up for long.
Well, in the game we play, the overland speed of a horse is considered to be 35 miles a day on average, assuming 10-12 hours on the road and any rests needed, etc.; so by that figure I suppose the map would be roughly 1250 miles wide (and tall since it square) - but this is meant to be a vast area which is only mildly civilized...that was intentional. There are small unmarked homesteads, farms, etc. to be found pretty much randomly between the noted area on the map.
As to the river; well it was initially going to be one of a pair of rivers that came from the mountains, which joined quickly on lower land at a lake, and then continued on the course you see. However lack f time (I was working on this in the final hour before we started the game) and lack of a steady hand with my mouse led to what you now see. I suppose I could revise it; it was intended to be representative of the pooled knowledge of the 7 members of the group when they met an sat down to figure out where they were going - it could easily be said that one or more remembered things incorrectly, and fix it on an 'actual' map. I would welcome any advice on making it better!
Thanks for all the input so far!
At this scale the river would be way too fat for a realistic-type map. It has a great shape, though, and would like very fine on a regional or city scale map. A map of this scale (more in line with a nation scale rather than regional) would have a lot more variation in the geography...more hills, more rivers, more towns, etc. The small size of the image itself makes too much detail a problem. If you choose not to represent those things then it will look a bit odd so I would suggest a different style - something more along the lines of a line-art or hand-drawn map might be better and simpler. If you want to pursue the more realistic style then you're going to need more rivers as a minimum. My guess is that this is done in Gimp so look through the Tutorial subforum for tuts that have the word GIMP in the title. Forgoing that, just give us a name of or link to a map that you like and we'll help ya from there.
If the radiance of a thousand suns was to burst at once into the sky, that would be like the splendor of the Mighty One...I am become Death, the Shatterer of worlds.
-J. Robert Oppenheimer (father of the atom bomb) alluding to The Bhagavad Gita (Chapter 11, Verse 32)
My Maps ~ My Brushes ~ My Tutorials ~ My Challenge Maps
Actually I use Photoshop (CS3 - haven't upgraded to CS4 yet). I have heard so much about Gimp, but never even tried it. I know it is free, but I have photoshop and I know how to use it. 12 years of experience and all...hard to just switch over.
I wouldn't mind another river or two, and getting the one done more realistically. As I said, this map was made in the 11th hour and so isn't that great, even by my standards...which are quite a bit below a lot of the posters here.
I have perused quite a few tutes, and while they have certainly helped me over the past few years, I just don't think I have it in me to be a master like some do...no matter how patient I am, how much I labor over the details, how much time and effort I spend, I just can't pull off anything spectacular. Which I am okay with...
As to maps I like, well; pretty much everything in the showcase, lol. My favorite of late has been the Bretoria; and he even posted it unlabeled. I thought long and hard about borrowing that land, but I had already textually/verbally described the area in this map, and planned some games based upon its layout; and I couldn't place it on his map without a lot of modification.
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