Map for tabletop campaign: NC-290b

[Thijs]

-- Thank you all for looking at this, I've found my artist! --


Hi all!

I'm looking to commission a cartographer to produce a map of the starting area of our tabletop RPG campaign.

Commission:

I can provide payment via PayPal, we can discuss the fee via email.

Subject:

The NC-290 solar system has a small red star at its center, referred to as NC-290a. Estimated at about 4 billion years old it is on par with Sol, except much smaller and expected to live much longer. Around it are 4 planets. Three gas giants further out, and a small rocky planet closer to the star.

The small rocky planet NC-290b is small and tidally locked. This means it rotates just as fast around it's axis as it does around the star, just like earths moon. One half of the planet always faces the sun and is hot as hell. Huge stretches of desert, volcano's and bare mountains cover the surface. The back half of the planet is a dark, icy wasteland. However, between these areas stretches a thin green band, specked with small bodies of water. The planet slightly wobbles as it rotates, giving the band a slight day/night cycle, but it is never fully dark or light. It has no moons, but under the right angles the reflection of the gas planets can be seen. Never any stars though, it never gets dark enough. Only people who have travelled far into the ice have glimpsed something from the wondrous world beyond.

Included down below is a map I hex'ed up just to get us going. The scale is 25px to 1km, so fairly small scale.


A full res png with all the hexes can be shared too (70MB) or the HexKit map file if need be. The labels on the named map refer to:
A Trindar, a small village. Has a wooden palisade and about 17 wooden longhouses. Has fields of a type of grain and fruit orchards surrounding it.
B Trindari lake
C The Trindrish woods
D The crash site
E Mallons keep, also called the river keep by the local people. Guards the bridge over the Zanton river. Surrounded by a small town.
F Mallons tower. Not really used anymore and has fallen into disrepair.
G Herders rest. Large amount of cattle roam the nameless grasslands. The herders often take refuge in this old keep.
H Tarricks watchtower
I Tarricks sea
J The Ferrish Reef, a dangerous area for sailors
K Zandor, medium sized village
L Zandors Peaks, the high peaks at the edge of a mountain range extending from the icy lands behind it.
M Kazars Glory, beautiful spiraling marble tower complex
N Iontis Refuge
O Nienni, plateau village
P Nienne’s Gate, forms the guarded way up to the Nienni plateau village
Q Niennitan Lake
R Kazaritan plane, saltplains
S Sintorps Village
T Sintarisiti River
You're free to add other terrain features and names of places if you feel like it. The theme I'm going for is that most things are named after people from local history.

Style:
The problem with the hex map is that it is visually very busy. Combined with all the black hex lines makes for an uncomfortable "viewing experience". I adore the style of these maps here on the cartographers guild: https://cartographersguild.com/album...chmentid=80295 so something in that direction, although a black-and-white version would be okay too. Since this campaign is not over anytime soon there will almost certainly be another commission to expand the map into new areas left and right, but I have no reference material for that yet.

Quality and Size:

The map will mostly be used digitally but I'll probably print one out on A3 as well for quick reference. I'm willing to work with both new and seasoned artists. If vector graphics are your thing I would be happy to have those, but it is not a requirement.

Time:
I don't have a hard deadline but it would be nice to have this map by the second week of May.

Copyright:
The map will be on my own site in lower resolution, with watermark if you want. The full version will be shared with my group of players. The artist can retain copyright and use the image for commercial and non-commercial purposes.

Cheers! If you have any questions, please ask!

Thijs