Map Folio & map resources.

[Dreaddisease]

I have been fascinated by maps recently. My world (still on graph paper) is over 20,000 miles long (East-West) and about 10,000 miles long. I have been getting most of my ideas for cities from this site:
http://odur.let.rug.nl/~welling/maps/maps.html (First link is the best).

Now I am moving on to floor plans of temples and guilds and houses and building structures. I am fascinated with maps that have come from WOTC and from other sources such as:
http://www.enworld.org/forums/showthread.php?t=73423

What I am missing is why I would want to buy this map folio? I come from a group that draws all the maps out on the board and usually the DMs have their maps behind the screen. So the Free stuff and downloadable PDFs are great for us. So why would I want to buy this book that contains the same material as what is already presented?

Can someone convince me? Also, what else is out there. I am now looking at buying Inns & Taverns pretty soon in order to get more of an authentic Medieval feel to my buildings. (Right now I seem to be wanting to add a garage to all structures).

Am I wrong to shun a product because i can get the content for free? More of an ethical question but should I buy books like this because I have such a love of blueprints and maps, and should be supporting these products.

By the way, anyone creating a town should definetly look at the Dutch cartographers site. Though the towns are based around one religion (Catholic) with single churches and very few guilds, libraries or other similar structures the layout of the streets and buildings can help your town feel a bit less modern. (Like towns that feel like glorified modern subdivisions or the New York city GRID).

 

[Emirikol]

Am I wrong to shun a product because i can get the content for free? More of an ethical question but should I buy books like this because I have such a love of blueprints and maps, and should be supporting these products.

You bring up a topic that is epidemic nowadays, but one that needs to be realized by people who produce things.

Unless you present a good or service that people cannot live without (i.e. value), your service is worthless, even if it is for the good of mankind.

jh

 

[MerricB]

What I am missing is why I would want to buy this map folio? I come from a group that draws all the maps out on the board and usually the DMs have their maps behind the screen. So the Free stuff and downloadable PDFs are great for us. So why would I want to buy this book that contains the same material as what is already presented?

I'm sorry - are you asking why you should buy something you don't want, or why other people would want to buy it?

If the former: Support Wizards! Buy three copies of everything they put out!

If the latter: Not everyone has access to a good colour printer, or even the 'net.

Cheers!

 

[johnsemlak]

If the latter: Not everyone has access to a good colour printer, or even the 'net.

I'm not sure if it's so much a lack of access (though that's true sometimes) as a lack of use of the net for D&D purposes. It's easy to forget the vast majority of people, and also gamers, don't surf the net extensively and don't use the net to get D&D stuff.