Drawing a Map

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MichaelTumey
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Re: Drawing a Map

Post by MichaelTumey »

Here's my latest map for a contest at the Cartographers' Guild - August Mapping Challenge, create a mountain theme map.

So I created a Tengu village for use in my Kaidan Japan-horror setting - all hand-drawn work, then scanned with vector beveled shapes stacked and textured with dropshadows and transparency.

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Re: Drawing a Map

Post by lostboy »

:lucas: Really, really good work! Have you got a link to a larger version?
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Re: Drawing a Map

Post by MichaelTumey »

Here: Akayama Tengu Village

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Re: Drawing a Map

Post by alhoon »

Very nice!
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Re: Drawing a Map

Post by MichaelTumey »

Thanks, guys. I thought I'd throw in some explanation to help you better understand the legend on the map.

1. Oten-jo mentioned on bullet #1 is a castle town and capital of the province these mountains are located.
2. Tengu hierarchy of status in a clan places the least important (or least sacred) at the bottom of the mountain (farmers), with the Daitengu (king tengu) at the mountain's summit. Thus villagers sit above farmers, but below all others.
3. Tengu of Kaidan believe they are descendants of the kami of the mountain (mother) and of the wind (father), thus all tengu villages have a kami shrine located somewhere near the base of their mountain homes, and a shrine near the summit.
4. Dire Boar District - in my In the Company of Tengu PC Race supplement, for the Cavalier class archetype, I have (tenguhatamoto) or Dire Boar Tengu Cavalry, and dire boars are raised as mounts on this hilltop - boar riding tengu is a concept from Japanese folklore.
5. Kensei, is Kaidan's version of the Magus (gish class) from Ultimate Magic - basically a sword wielding spellcaster. The familiar term 'kensai' is actually a misspelling/mis-pronounced word meaning 'sword saint'. The correct term and pronounciation for that word is 'kensei' (ken-say).
6. The Daitengu were believed to be martial arts masters/tengu spiritual leader filling the familiar role of the wise man at the top of the mountain in oriental trope. In Japanese legend, Minamoto Yoshitsune - brother and general of the first Shogun of Japan, hero of the Genpei War received his martial training from a mountain top daitengu. So such is a common trope in Japanese folklore and included in my setting.

While Kaidan seeks to be an Asian horror setting, I try to bring in as much Japanese culture/folklore distinct from past iterations of Oriental Adventures as authentic content, while correcting misconceptions captured those earlier editions (such as 'kensei' instead of 'kensai'). So while its a fun jaunt into an Japanese 'Ravenloft-like' setting, it's also intended to be somewhat educational. I use some made-up words (using existing Japanese words) to describe concepts, but only a few, the rest of the Japanese terminology in the setting is authentic Japanese.
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Re: Drawing a Map

Post by MichaelTumey »

Here, I thought I'd provide you a map that better fits most Ravenloft settings. This too was a contest entry, for the 2010 One Page Dungeon Contest, I called the Necromancer's Lair. Llessadrak is my priestly lich from my old home-brew. This is his crypt dungeon. I thought you might like it.

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This is a link to the larger file, but its a PDF (as required for the original contest): Necromancers Lair

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Re: Drawing a Map

Post by Jester of the FoS »

Here's the current draft of the map:

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Re: Drawing a Map

Post by Rudolf Weathermay »

Impresive :-)
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Re: Drawing a Map

Post by Strahdsbuddy »

Very well done, Jester. Much sharper than some of our older maps. I particularly like the lighter color you use for Mists. While atmospheric, the dark gray we are accustomed to really darkens the entire map, while this one seems bright and easy to read. Perhaps the cartographer who made it is an optimist!
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Re: Drawing a Map

Post by Jester of the FoS »

Strahdsbuddy wrote:Very well done, Jester. Much sharper than some of our older maps. I particularly like the lighter color you use for Mists. While atmospheric, the dark gray we are accustomed to really darkens the entire map, while this one seems bright and easy to read. Perhaps the cartographer who made it is an optimist!
Not an optimist, just an optiMist. ;) And the Mists are always described as pale-grey or white, so it makes sense to make the Mists on the map lighter. It does make the map a tad less oppressive, but it's easy to lighten/darken the map as a whole after the fact.

Right now I'm beginning the labourious task of cities and such before moving on to geographic features. That'll be a massive undertaking because I always want to rummage through the Gazetteers for places and names that seem important that have been missed previously.
(I also need to add the under construction road that bypasses Necropolis in Darkon, mentioned in Gaz II).
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Re: Drawing a Map

Post by Jester of the FoS »

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Re: Drawing a Map

Post by Gonzoron of the FoS »

I do love your map, Jester, but I have one quibble. The domain borders are a bit thick for my liking, and since they are the same color as the mists, they reinforce the old misconception that there are mists between every domain. Did you make them that thick for a reason?
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Re: Drawing a Map

Post by Jester of the FoS »

Gonzoron of the FoS wrote:I do love your map, Jester, but I have one quibble. The domain borders are a bit thick for my liking, and since they are the same color as the mists, they reinforce the old misconception that there are mists between every domain. Did you make them that thick for a reason?
Mostly stylistic. I really enjoyed the map from the inside of Domains of Dread, with its image of Mists separating the lands rather than normal lines.
They're thick because, well, that was the brush size I grabbed, and I blurred them a little to make them, well, misty, so they spread out a little.

But since I use layers, there's no reason I couldn't also have an alternate map with thin red lines separating domains. Compare the two. Or provide both for people wanting alternates.
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Re: Drawing a Map

Post by Ryan Naylor »

You also probably shouldn't have the domain borders around the islands of Todstein and Graben. I know that's how they were in Domains of Dread, but it was an error then and still is now. Meredoth controls both islands and all of the sea (except for a little around the other islands). Even going with the Nocturnal Sea gazetteer, Meredoth still controls everything above the surface of the Nocturnal Sea doesn't he?

But it does look amazing.
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Re: Drawing a Map

Post by Jester of the FoS »

Today's been my day to really work on the map. Been in a creative mood, as you can see by the plethora of new names and locales added. I've been scowering the Gazetteers for new locations and place names to fill in a few gaps, mostly rivers and forests but also a few extra villages.

If you want to download a larger copy and help me check for typos or mistakes, feel free:
http://www.box.net/shared/hb1l1j266lfmqo6e7mqx

I still need to add some small extra terrain details in a few places, punch-up a couple mountains, and name a few forests and rivers that got missed (mostly in Darkon, Falkovnia, and Vechor). I think there's a couple extra locations I can add as well.

--edit--
Map link updated to newest version. PNG format for better colour clarity. It's a big'un, so be warned.
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