A bit of backstory
This part of the world has been mostly uninhabited for hundreds of years except for a few nomadic tribes in the Kartak Desert. To the S/SE, there is a small peninsula of the desert and the ocean doubles back. The forest branches W to the ocean and N of the forest is the remains of a large human kingdom. North of the old kingdom are a hugh mountain chain which runs E-W for hundreds of miles. The desert continues to the E for another hundred or so miles before meeting up with another mountain chain (which meets up with the one to the north.
Tall Tree Forest was once home to a large Elven community who existed in harmony with the human kingdom of Bethral. Legend has it that the great arch-lich Kellegry found an artifact deep in the bowels of the mountains which he used to summon a great army both living and dead. His army gathered at the base of his citadel. The story goes that his army marched north toward a great battle with the Elven and human armies. As the story goes, there to was so many creatures killed that the very stones drank the blood and became stained. At the same time, 23 human and elven heroes (some say fools) entered the lich's citadel. After a great battle, the elven hero Thelasaird destroyed the artifact which destroyed the citadel, Kellegry, and of course themselves, thus forming Scar peak (well, its no longer a peak anymore...)
The eleven casualties were so high that the few remaining males along with the women and children migrated to another Elven nation across the ocean. Bethral was destroyed by a combination of goblinoid forces and a great plague which swept the nation. Now, nothing remains of the old kingdom except a few tiny villages and the walls of a few partially standing keeps. The Bloody Barrens are home to undead creatures of all kinds. Tall Tree Forest is now home to several tribes of various goblinoid races, and the Kartak Desert is home to many tiny nomad tribes. Their superstitions keep them well away from The Lich Finger Mountains.
My Finished Maps
Works in Progress(or abandoned tests)
My Tutorials:
Explanation of Layer Masks in GIMP
How to create ISO Mountains in GIMP/PS using the Smudge tool
----------------------------------------------------------
Unless otherwise stated by me in the post, all work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 United States License.