Phoenix Isles map W.I.P.

[Pananacakes]

I'm making a big map (57600 x 30720 px; 30 px per mile) to use, I hope, in a D&D campaign. I'm pretty satisfied with the basic terrain but that's all there is so far. I've uploaded three views: a full map overview showing latitude and longitude lines one degree apart, a 50% closeup meant to look like an old paper map, and a fully zoomed in view with darker colored full relief and a 1 mile hex grid overlay.

I might do all rivers and lakes next, but I'm tempted to just fill in small amounts at a time just as they're needed for adventures.

I have a basic history in mind and ideas about cultures but am having trouble getting them written down. Not sure how to start.

[gtwucla]

First of all, the maps look great.

Second, everybody has different interests, so what gets you thinking about the cultures is going to be different from how I do it, but here's what'd I do all the same. I'd start with the parts of the continent that look the most interesting. So right away I'm looking at that wierd bay looking space with the ridglines that run right into the ocean. How would the cultures in the immediate proximity cope with that? What's the climate like? How do they get their food and water? What animals/creatures would they be seeing constantly? What dangers are they running into? Then this leads naturally into folktales and then religious beliefs, and so on. The next step is what is the neighboring culture like? How do they interract, etc. Eventually you'll cover the whole continent and I suspect a bunch of random ideas will pop into your head while you're creating one culture that don't necessarily fit, so in that, you can plug into a different spaces on the map and fill it in like a random patchwork.

[Pananacakes]

Thanks gtwucla. I came up with an idea I like for those strange formations after you brought them up.