Here's That Hi-Res Sword Coast Map

WotC hit their $100K Extra Life charity funding goal, and have released the high resolution labeled map of the northwest portion of Faerün, from Amn to Icewind Dale, and the Moonshae Isles to the Dalelands. It's pretty enormous - 10,200 by 6,600 pixels! That's 141 x 91 inches. There's a smaller version of it below, but hit the image to jump to the full size giant version. The map was created by Mike Schley.

Click on this for the enormous hi-res version​

 

[Marandahir]

Honestly, I only just donated now. But charity is about giving, not about making a purchase.

If the map was going to be hidden behind a wall like a kickstarter or patreon reward, WOTC would have used that format for the charity. But that's not what WotC's trying to do: they want to encourage donations to reach those goals (and now I wonder if they'll add a new stretch goal), but giving to charities is all about free will and doing what you want. If you're giving only to receive something, then it's more like a transaction, a purchase. And honestly, most people who are are going to give will give more than the $10 it costs to buy this map. In fact, the most common donor level is 50 USD. All the other rewards are part of the SCAG, which is 40 USD. Combined, you might have just bought the book and the map and had everything you'd get from the rewards of the charity. But giving isn't about getting the rewards; those are just ways of making the milestones in the charity fund more fun for the people at home ("come on people, if we can get it donated, we'll all get to see stuff in this book a few weeks earlier!"). If you're going to give, great. But don't guilt the people who aren't/can't. Maybe consider giving more, since you know someone isn't and you may have the ability to do so that they don't.

But yeah, the charity is good and important. I just disagree with the guy who said, "you're doing it wrong" since that felt less like an encouragement and more like a sneer. Doesn't justify counter sneers, though.

 

[smiteworks]

If that resource wasn't also available for sale directly from the artist, I think it would be different. Not only are the people who support the charity giving a donation, Mike Schley is also giving a donation by making it free for this specific cause. I don't think it has anything to do with what people can afford or not. Is anyone at home surfing on their high-speed Internet connection capable of downloading a large file like that seriously unable to afford a donation?

My goal wasn't to try to make people look bad, but to remind them that the whole point was to raise money for a specific charity. The wording evidently came off wrong and I should have said something more like, "If you like the map, please consider making a donation to the Miracle Network Hospital." Even if you only donated $1, how many fans does D&D have around the world?

 

[Barantor]

I make very specific donations to very specific charities that I have vetted and researched so that I know that the money I donate isn't going to something that the intent is for it to go to. I donate a specific amount each year and that is it, because between all the bills I have in life, it is what I have allotted.

I was once cursed at by an elderly lady who came to my door to ask for donations to her church because I told her the above statement. I downloaded the map because it was put out for everyone to download. I watched the extra life charity event on twitch to boost their viewership and get them up in rankings on twitch.

Don't make others feel like they have to donate for something when it is given freely. If it wasn't free then I would decide if it was worth my time, but putting a 'guilt trip' on others isn't a good move... especially when you are representing a company....

In other news, extra life is a pretty good charity and I will see if I can figure out a way to donate to them in the next year. Mike is an excellent artist and even though this isn't my preferred setting it is really well done.

 

[EthanSental]

wow - another thin skinned, lets all be politically so we don't offend anyone on a forum board....jeez these are getting on my nerves and I'm not on that much.

I donated to WoTC extra life event and got the cool T-shirt out of it as well as buying the map from Mike. I'm with Smiteworks as far as donating for a good cause and I also see Barantor's side and applaud him or setting aside funds to donate yearly but I don't see anyone trying to guilt trip people into donating (from my view obviously). I almost replied to the snide remark about the USA's health care system but Ill let it slide since it's not worth keeping the thread going just for that discussion.

 

[Eltab]

What's really sad is that this charity needs to exist at all, another side effect of America's still disgusting excuse for a healthcare system that hosiptals have to go begging.

Get out of your Monday-morning-quarterbacking armchair and open up your wallet, then, to the greatest extent possible. Lead by example !

 

[JohnLynch]

If you buy it from Mike you also get a nice PDF of the map. I'll be honest, when I first read this news I was annoyed but, in hindsight, the purchase is still worthwhile.

Included in the PDF is a nice big copy that doesn't have all the labels. This has allowed me to make a "Player Friendly" version of the map of Cormyr and the Stonelands and then create a DM copy of the map. Here's a copy of my current WIP.

 

[Ricochet]

JohnLynch (or others who might know): Are all those places in your Cormyr map etc. already annotated in the PDF?

On the topic of the full map: This map is simply amazing!

 

[pukunui]

JohnLynch (or others who might know): Are all those places in your Cormyr map etc. already annotated in the PDF?

No, they are not. There's nothing extra on the map tiles provided in the pdf. It looks like [MENTION=6749563]JohnLynch[/MENTION] has been adding all that stuff on to the map himself.

 

[JohnLynch]

JohnLynch (or others who might know): Are all those places in your Cormyr map etc. already annotated in the PDF?

Nope. But with a blank map (and considerable amount of time) you can add whatever you like to it.

 

[CapnZapp]

Really, then I guess this statement on the ExtraLife page doesn't mean anything to you.



... and then it is listed as one of the rewards.

I don't know who did or didn't donate. My comment wasn't directed at anyone in particular, but just as a general statement that if you want the reward, you should really donate to the charity. You don't have to, but then you are missing the whole point of the exercise.

They're giving away the map for free, to everybody. End of story.