Mapping your Realm

[RavenSinger]

Well, I sent the link to Emiricol, but why should we have all the fun! The link to the map I found is:

http://www.hknot.com/gallery/ba.html

This is a topographic relief map of the Greater San Francisco Bay Area. I simply put the image into a graphics editor to enlarge it somewhat, and lighten it. Then I printed it out and took the colored pencils to it. The end result is nowhere near what I would call pretty, but it is servicable.

I have not found site that does topographic maps with no names etc., though I would love to find one. There is a site that has topo maps with names, which is:

www.topozone.com

I have also found there is software available for purchase from National Geographic that has topo maps (with names) for entire states, and/or national parks, etc. They have a product that covers much of my campaign area. But at $50-70, I can't justify it to myself or (more importantly) my wife. But birthdays come once a year, and I'm due within a month. We'll see.

Hope this helps those who are interested.
--RavenSinger

 

[annadobritt]

I use CC2 for all my maps. I scan in my hand-drawn ones, then insert them as a bitmap in CC2 and trace over them. Much easier than trying to redraw with a mouse what I did by hand. I also use City Designer 2, Dungeon Designer 2 and Fractal Terrains for making random worlds.

For those of you who have CC2, there is a CC2 email list available to get help, tips and advice.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/cc2-l/

Anna M. Dobritt
Freelance Cartographer
http://rpgmaps.mortality.net

 

[Nellisir]

But when it comes down to it, I just draw them by hand, scan them and run them through photoshop to add the text.

I've got CC, and Campaign Mapper (with the old Core Rules stuff); I've used that for quick & dirty maps. Mostly, its' pen & paper. I've started using the computer & photoshop to add different feature names -- historical, geographic, etc.

When I draw, its' whatever "feels right". I usually have an idea of what's included (forest, ocean, swamplands) and I try to vary the terrain somewhat. The empty Sahara might be fun in real life, but it's a boring sheet of paper as a D&D map.

Any coastline goes first, then mountain ranges and hills, followed by forests, swamps, and rivers. Towns & cities come last.

Cheers
Nell.

 

[Azure Trance]

Re: Maps

I use CC2 for all of my home brews.

This is gonna sound very weird, but I am a geology buff, so I think of what kind of place I want to design and then think about plate tectonics, and crustal movement... add mountains here... plains there...

I also take into view mountians and seas, has to do with weather patterns... Oh well! I go overboard with my worlds anyway!

I can't remember who did it, but in the Birthright Campaign setting, judging by the regional geography and climate they deduced that to the (south?) east of Khinasi was an unknown uncontinent which made Khinasi a desert.

Khinasi is a race though, not a country, isn't it ...

Anyway. I'd be more interested in learning how mountains and continents affects the weather, or plate tectonics, etc for my own CC2 map

 

[annadobritt]

Your best bet is going to the library or searching on the internet for information on how the terrain affects the climate of a region and for plate tectonics as well.

There was a brief discussion concerning plate tectonics at the Mortality Net forums as well.

 

[Kichwas]

My campaign uses the geography of Northern and Central California

Do you use the climate as well or just the shape?

An interesting fact about California is that a little over 100 years ago the Central Valley was the largest swamp in North America. They drained the entire thing and filled it in with farmland.

Presented in it's swamp stage could make for a very interesting setting location.


I used CC2 for my world. But I've been very under impressed with the program.

When you get into complex maps it bogs down quite a bit as it has to redraw every existing object over again in the order it was created on any screen refresh. Screen refreshes happen anytime you move the view at all, select any object, alter anything, add anything, delete anything, and on simply going to a variety of the menus.

When I was building a city with a few hundred buildings this got very annoying.

I'm considering getting Fractal Mapper. It has better looking objects and only costs around $30.

 

[Crothian]

The last homemade map that was made was of europe shifted 90 degrees, then hand drawn with some little differences to keep it from being obvious. None of the PCs realised it until the DM told us what he had done.

 

[Azure Trance]

My old DMs map looked startingly similar to North America. Alaska, Hudson Bay, the East coast ... he denied it vehemently though.

 

[RavenSinger]

Do you use the climate as well or just the shape?

I use the climate as well. Essentially, I use everything that is naturally there, and then have redone all the man-made bits. Though, I have retained some of the key cities locations. For example, the capital is where San Francisco would be. There are also smaller cities where Oakland, and San Jose are. Most of the rest is my own. I hope to have a website up in the coming months, but there are only so many hours in the day. And I usually only truly create an area once it is needed for the campaign. I mean, I have a general idea of where things are, but specifics I wait until towards the last minute.

--RavenSinger

 

[RavenSinger]

Oh yes, as for your other question/comment, in my campaign the central valley is essentially temparate desert. And swarming with orcs--but the PC's don't know that yet. <heh!>