Town Map

[Gnal]

I have tried to make maps in the past, and this is just not something that I am good at.... In fact I really stink at it.

I am looking to find a map with the following statistics.

My Town (village): Non-standard Power Center (AL NG), 200gp limit, Assests 8700, Population 870, human 688, rest mixed.

There is a Central Inn, and a church. Probably many adventurer stores. Some of the Important Characters are, midwife, clothes maker, cobbler, leather worker, captain of the guard, minstrel, a "respectable" crime boss (rogue 3), and some retired adventurers (mostly shop owners).

The land surrounding the town is a harsh environment (steppe), and the town is *very* adventurer friendly.

Can someone help me with this, thanks

-- david

 

[edemaitre]

Town map

Without drawing one for you, here are some guidelines for town creation:

-Start with the terrain. You said it's rugged, but it must also be reasonably accessible to be "adventurer-friendly." Perhaps it's near a political border, in which case the town might be fortified. Or, it's near a holy shrine, in which case the local temple would be prominent. Or, if it's on a wilderness frontier, it could have started out as a trading post, with an Old West-style saloon, general store, and house of ill repute...

Is your town perhaps on the border of different terrains? Say, the foothills between Elven forests and Dwarven mountains? Or near caves and wastelands dominated by humanoids? Or a bustling seaport, surrounded by dense jungle, or near desert tombs?

-Place roads and water features. Even a remote farming outpost has occasional visitors or merchants, and people need fresh water above all else. A stream, river, lake, oasis or well should suffice. The location should also be somewhat defensible, often on higher ground.

-Define power structures. As mentioned earlier, the prominence of divine, arcane, military, trade, and other factions is reflected in each town's architecture. Is the temple an elaborately decorated church, or a more modest shrine? Do Rogues and Bards congregate at the inn, or do they conduct refined intrigue at the local court? What's the town's overall alignment? Racial composition? What's the relationship between this town and the larger realm it's in or near?

-Go ahead and place the larger buildings, leaving room for roads, surrounding homes (of varying social classes), and farms, if any. Some temples or barracks might be on the outskirts of town, while others are on the main drag/market square. Adventurers' needs, such as stables, libraries/laboratories, training/sparring areas, and places to meet mentors and potential party members should also exist. Start small--you can always expand the number and scale of such organizations as the party brings wealth into the town in the form of booty to spend.

-Define one or two Non-Player Characters for each relevant faction and/or location that the Player Characters are likely to meet. By now, motivations should be simpler. Perhaps the knight sent to rule here resents his assignment, even if he is Lawful Good. Perhaps the local tavern feels more demihumans will bring more gold, but the farmers distrust foreigners.

-For maps, also try the Wizards of the Coast Web site or do a Google search for random town or map generators. Start off simple, with an outline, and after you run one or two parties through your town, you'll see N.P.C.s and locations develop almost on their own! Good luck, happy gaming, and happy holidays!

 

[Gnal]

Sorry, I did not explain what I needed well enough.

I have that type of information already. What I am looking for is a layout of the town, ie. where the church is, where the major inn is, etc.

-- david

Oh, and I searched wotc, none of the maps there look like they will work.

 

[Max]

I would suggest asking in the Cartography forum, here on ENWorld. You could also ask on the Dundjinni Forums. There are lots of maps already there, however if you don't see what you like there are many creative people over there who love to make maps that might help you out.

Max

 

[Gnal]

Never mind... Found it.... *sigh* I really do need new glasses...

 

[rathlighthands]

Try this

Head over to Google Earth. There you can get ariel pics of anyplace in the world. Now point it towards Europe and then just check out a lot of the old castles and such from above. Then you can take a screen shot and edit it all you want. I have had some very good results from this technique.

A friend of mine and I formed the original map for a campaign setting from a sattelite photo of Australia and the Great Barrier Reef. Check these things out, they can really do some cool things for you.