Map of Laelith, the Holy City

Odhanan · May 12, 2006

Some people may remember a thread that was talking about the best maps ever made for RPG supplements. In that thread, I was talking about the map of Laelith, the Holy City.

Here's the map (click on the map for a bigger version):

Here's for the maps of the Provinces around Laelith

Thanks to BlueAce from AideDD.org for hosting the maps online.

Now, in this map thread, I was asked who was the artist who drew and painted/inked these maps (yes, people, this is hand drawn). I answered I thought this was Thierry Monter. And thanks again to BlueAce, who pointed it out, I was blatantly wrong!

The artist's name is Patrick Durand-Peyroles. He is the author of the French RPG "Empires et Dynasties". Here's his website:
http://www.empires-et-dynasties.com/

I still consider the map of Laelith to be the best RPG map I've ever seen, along with Ed Bourelle's map of Ptolus, in a very different style (I really can't even begin to compare the two, in fact).

Whizbang Dustyboots · May 12, 2006

Laelith doesn't show individual buildings -- which, honestly, isn't any sort of impediment for me -- but man, it's got style.

Odhanan · May 12, 2006

I wish there were less computer-generated maps in RPG products personally, and more hand-drawn maps. I think they generally have a far superior appeal to my imagination.

The map of Laelith suggests much more than it describes. That's indeed one of the differences with the Ptolus map. I seriously don't think one is superior to the other, but the styles will often appeal to different types of people, clearly.

The original supplement/series of magazine articles was systemless (could be used at the time with AD&D1, Rolemaster, RuneQuest and even the Call of Cthulhu or Sci-Fi games like Space Opera or Star Wars, for that matter) and still is. It presented the city, each of its districts in different articles/chapters, street by street, with some of the most picturesque, original, remarkable or important buildings and characters of the area, along with new races, new vehicles, items, sample buildings, customs, one-phrase adventure synopsis and much, much more. And all this... from a French gaming magazine (Casus Belli) in the 1980s!

Dirigible · May 12, 2006

That is a magnificent piece of cartography. Must resist urge to run a game based on Louis XVIth-style decadence!

The wigs, man! Think of the wigs!

Odhanan · May 12, 2006

I like the Renaissance-wigs style myself. That's a nice change from hardcore "Dark Ages" types of Fantasy. Eberron allows that well, to some extent at least.

Piratecat · May 12, 2006

Wow. I mean. . . wow.

Ripzerai · May 13, 2006

Whizbang Dustyboots said:
Laelith doesn't show individual buildings -- which, honestly, isn't any sort of impediment for me -- but man, it's got style.

What makes you think those aren't the individual buildings? They're bigger than you'd expect in European-style architecture, but not without precedent.

Anyway, yeah, this is one of the best fantasy cities I've seen.

Dirigible · May 13, 2006

What makes you think those aren't the individual buildings? They're bigger than you'd expect in European-style architecture, but not without precedent.

Becasue it is clearly a European style city, and the shapes are a bit unusual for single buildings.

Blueace · Jun 25, 2006

Hi,

I'm the webmaster of the site mentionned

I confirm that the map does not show individual buildings. It even does not show all the streets, but only the biggest ones. By the way, it allows DMs to fell free to adapt the city as they want.

Just to get an idea, the city map is 3 km x 2 km.

Also, as a gift, the 3D view of the city