asaidas
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Post by asaidas on Jan 3, 2015 23:31:42 GMT
So I've been DMing a campaign in a custom world for some time now. For almost as long, I've been wanting to make a world map so my players can visualize the geography.
That said: Any suggestions on how to make one?
So far I've considered using Gimp (for a map designed on computer), or getting a roll of paper to draw on (this would actually allow for expansion as players explore).
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Xalian
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Post by Xalian on Jan 4, 2015 0:02:49 GMT
So I've been DMing a campaign in a custom world for some time now. For almost as long, I've been wanting to make a world map so my players can visualize the geography. That said: Any suggestions on how to make one? So far I've considered using Gimp (for a map designed on computer), or getting a roll of paper to draw on (this would actually allow for expansion as players explore). I'm not sure if it's for large scale map creation or if it's for battle maps and such (or both), but you could check out MapTool and see if that fits the bill.
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Post by Sheena on Jan 4, 2015 4:28:16 GMT
For my custom world which I've been working on for YEARS now, I used nine sheets of graph paper where each square was 30 sq miles. I started with the map, so I was able to draw random shapes for the continents, but it should be sorta maybe easy to do it with a world already created. I'm a sucker for literal pen-and-paper (even though I used pencil).
The nine sheets were used to create a very large square.
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Pascal
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Post by Pascal on Jan 4, 2015 4:47:03 GMT
Here's a neat little world map generator site I found. It takes about a minute to generate a huge image. It has a few options, like how much water vs land you want, and you can always download the image and edit it if you want to.
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Post by Winterbourne on Jan 4, 2015 8:47:46 GMT
Maybe somebody could help me out? I need a fantasy city map. I've got a general layout that's worked for the few sessions I've ran with it, but I'd really like a program or app or site or something that I can get more particular with. Any suggestions?
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Post by Sheena on Jan 4, 2015 17:22:50 GMT
I've also used graph paper to do city maps, and I'd say physical maps are your best bet if you aren't playing online. If you are though, it's very possible to make maps using programs like GIMP! It'd be kind of difficult, but for a city it shouldn't be too hard. The choice to use square or hex paper lies with you, but you should absolutely use graph paper of some sort to measure distance.
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stlaughter
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Post by stlaughter on Jan 4, 2015 19:36:34 GMT
Oh my. Maps. One of my pet obsessions. I am delighted to help! Ok. I can't offer any particular suggestions for how to go about the practical aspect- the actual making of maps, for me at least, involves drawing on paper (not even graph paper, just doodling on lined paper), much like our fair Administrator above. However, as a student of history, geography, and science all in one, I can make suggestions for how to build the world. FOR ASAIDAS: GENERAL WORLD-BUILDING IN THE MOST LITERAL POSSIBLE SENSEThe most common tropes are obviously to be avoided- the Left-Justified Fantasy Map, for example, wherein there is an ocean on the left, European cultures in the middle, and vaguely Not-White cultures farther east- but beyond that there's a few general rules for geography. 1.) People put cities where they'll grow. Near where they can get a drink, primarily; it's all about water. Unless your setting has magic that can ignore that- such as everyone having access to water-creation spells- people will put their stuff near water. Major rivers are the obvious places, as they also provide floodplains that can be used for crops, but lakes, springs, and aquifers will also have settlements near them. A settlement that isn't near water can be explained in two ways- 1.) it used to be near water (this is useful for ruins, since it explains where the original settlers went), or 2.) it receives shipments of water and food in return for some rare, precious material. 1a.) As a corollary, people put cities where food is. If there's water, but the land is bad for growing, that place will not be as big as a city placed where food and water are both plentiful. Think of it like a game of Civilization. 2.) Rivers tend to flow towards oceans, and away from mountains- water goes downhill, after all. It's amazing how many people get this wrong. This also gives you an excuse for DRAMATIC WATERFALLS as your characters head up towards the river! 3.) Where Rivers meet the Ocean, expect massive trading cities. These will be your capitals and biggest money-makers; if they aren't the capital of whatever nation they sit in, expect huge friction between these economic juggernauts and the "real" capital. Their populations will be generally considered as less moral by the common folk of their kingdom, because the city-dwellers in these coastal merchant populations will be mixed with outsiders due to trade, and most human morality boils down to "I don't like people who aren't like me." A fantasy setting might have eased off on that, especially if there's a lot of peaceful racial intermixing- if you know like five Half-Orcs who aren't rape products, it's hard to give too much of a shit about a black human- but it's a good rule of thumb. More mixed, more accepting = less moral in most people's eyes in earlier ages of history. 4.) Forests will have a multitude of smaller rivers through them; there has to be water to feed those trees. 5.) Deserts tend to crop up where there is a mountain range blocking rainfall on them. Not always true but a good rule of thumb. Hope this helps! If you need more specific advice, feel free to ask!
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Post by Winterbourne on Jan 6, 2015 5:29:59 GMT
I've wanted to stay away from square graph paper because that just doesn't feel natural enough. Hex paper might help, so I'll give that a try when I have some time and space to do it. I've got it situated next to a major river, but not at the ocean as it's more a military hub than a trading one.
I think my main problem is one of composition, and my mind balks at doing the research. How many square miles per hundred or thousand people? The center of the city is taken up by the military ruling class (it's a mercenary city), but how much more space is needed for the support classes (merchants, craftsmen, po' folks, etc.), percentage-wise? I'm not looking for exact numbers, just an approximation so I can adjust my rough layout into something that I can actually show my players and say "You are here".
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stlaughter
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Post by stlaughter on Jan 6, 2015 13:20:02 GMT
The donjon website linked above has a rough "medieval demographics" calculator, that might help! And if you want to roughly guesstimate it, because we're playing a tabletop game and not Dungeons & Demographics, just fudge it by saying that the military core is a third of the population and assume the other two-thirds are support. So long as you keep the military core below 50% it should be fine.
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asaidas
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Post by asaidas on Jan 6, 2015 19:10:18 GMT
Thanks stlaughter! That's actually extremely helpful.
And thanks for the links to the other tools. I think I've looked at MapTool before, but I don't remember if I ever did much with it.
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imnvs
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Post by imnvs on Jan 6, 2015 22:03:09 GMT
A city with a ruling/military core of 50% of the population will necessitate the remaining 50% are nearly entirely focused on supplying 100% of the population without massive trading. With even a 33% core, the demands on the remaining populace will be strong. With 50% it would be pretty brutal.
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Post by Winterbourne on Jan 7, 2015 1:59:49 GMT
Awesome, very useful, thanks! I didn't see the demographics link when I was looking at the website before, it's pretty much exactly what I needed, and the info on how much military would be too much is good to know.
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Post by Sheena on Jan 7, 2015 16:43:07 GMT
That demographics calculator is based off of this AWESOME article: here.
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stlaughter
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Post by stlaughter on Jan 7, 2015 23:10:13 GMT
No problem, Asaidas! It's what the Saint's here for. Imnvs is correct- I was being lax with my "below 50%" rule. Even 33% is a hell of a lot of soldiers.
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