Mike Schley's MASSIVE Forgotten Realms Map From SCAG!

Cartographer Mike Schley has posted the enormous map of Northwest Faerûn from the Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide. It's poster sized (10,200 x 6,600 pixels, or a 34-page PDF) or you can get the Artists Print version shipped to you in the form of a poster map. "This new absolutely massive map of D&D's Sword Coast and Northwestern Faerûn was commissioned by Wizards of the Coast to accompany their 5th Edition D&D game supplement Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide. lead your adventures through his exhaustive map of The Forgotten Realms' most Iconic lands and make sure to let it inspire some truly fantastic storytelling."
The print version ($10-$54, depending on size) is here, and the digital version ($10) is here.

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[pukunui]

Right, but I had read that the Sundering was supposed to reverse the changes created by the Spellplague and the merging of Abeir and Toril, that the map was returning to the state it was in before 4e. So, are there other non-Spellplague-related changes that have occurred to the geography that would still be present after the Sundering?

Only WotC knows.

That being said, as I mentioned before, Mike Schley's new map bears a closer resemblance to the 1e/2e maps of old than it does to the 3e/4e maps.

 

[Demetrios1453]

Right, but I had read that the Sundering was supposed to reverse the changes created by the Spellplague and the merging of Abeir and Toril, that the map was returning to the state it was in before 4e. So, are there other non-Spellplague-related changes that have occurred to the geography that would still be present after the Sundering?

For the most part, everything is back to 3e more or less, with a few minor changes and left-overs from 4e. Elturgard still covers a good section of the Western Heartlands; Tymanther, the dragonborn nation which replaced Unther, has, in turn, been mostly been replaced by Unther's return, but a remnant of Tymanther still remains along the Alamber Sea; and the serpent kingdom of Najara (which is actually of late 3e vintage) is still there to the northeast of the Boarskyr Bridge...

 

[carlbobo]

Distances have changed as well. Toril has gotten a lot bigger.

 

[pukunui]

Distances have changed as well. Toril has gotten a lot bigger.

Or smaller. Depending on which map you're looking at. So far, none of the 5e maps have been consistent, scale-wise, despite Mike's efforts at making them all overlap so beautifully.

 

[carlbobo]

Not smaller, bigger. A few of the AL mods post distances and they are way over as far as 3 & 4 FR maps are concerned. So definitely not smaller.

 

[Baumi]

I don't quite get the purpose of the PDF. Are there any more details (roads, cities, etc.) in it or are there layeres to switch off certain landmarks?

 

[pukunui]

[MENTION=16702]carlbobo[/MENTION]: I meant that it's either bigger or smaller depending on what map you're looking at. There's been no real consistency when it comes to the scale, which Chris Perkins brushed off with his "scale drift" comment.

[MENTION=2569]Baumi[/MENTION]: The purpose of the pdf is to allow you to just use certain sections of the map at high resolution. There's nothing to toggle on or off, unfortunately.

 

[gyor]

For the most part, everything is back to 3e more or less, with a few minor changes and left-overs from 4e. Elturgard still covers a good section of the Western Heartlands; Tymanther, the dragonborn nation which replaced Unther, has, in turn, been mostly been replaced by Unther's return, but a remnant of Tymanther still remains along the Alamber Sea; and the serpent kingdom of Najara (which is actually of late 3e vintage) is still there to the northeast of the Boarskyr Bridge...

Also Dambrath is still ruled by Werecreatures (and I assume still has shifters).

And Mulhorand and Unther are closer to being like 1e then 3e, but with unique 5e twists, like an end to slavery, and a very different geopolitical situation.

 

[designbot]

That being said, as I mentioned before, Mike Schley's new map bears a closer resemblance to the 1e/2e maps of old than it does to the 3e/4e maps.

All of Mike Schley's maps have been internally consistent (other than the WotC-mandated scale issues), and now it's clear why. The overview map in SCAG is unquestionably based on the 1e or 2e map—probably traced over, in fact.

1e vs. 5e:

View attachment 71615

2e vs. 5e:

View attachment 71616

3e vs. 5e:

View attachment 71617

4e vs. 5e:

View attachment 71618

I think the small variance from the 1/2e map is probably mostly due to distortion in the scans that I'm using. The 3/4e coastline goes off at a completely different angle.

 

[designbot]

@Baumi: The purpose of the pdf is to allow you to just use certain sections of the map at high resolution. There's nothing to toggle on or off, unfortunately.

Not completely accurate—the PDF does include a version with and without labels.