I just noticed that the last post I made was the 150th post in this thread. Yay!

I forgot to include the link but I thought it best to start a new page anyway, so here is today's map.

Wow. I always thought Sind was much larger. Interesting.

I just had a go at making Ethengar's depressions less hexagonal. Have a look and tell me what you think!



Compare this with the original Ethengar map a few threads back. I made the plateaus look a little less hexagonal,
but I kept the basic shape of the depression, and thus some "hexiness" remains. It would also be possible to
change the shape of the depression quite drastically.

Another option would be to go with the smoother versions from the Wrath of the Immortals 24 mile per hex map, but
I view the 8 mile per hex GAZ12 map as a better source, so I'd rather stick to it as much as possible.

Edit: Since I have now decided to make smooth plateaus the standard in my maps, I have now replaced the original Ethengar map with the new curved plateau version. To save space on my site, I won't be posting the hexagonal plateau versions. If you want a hexagonal plateau version of a map, please ask me.

Remember that this map is 24 miles per hex scale. Consider that since Sind stretches from the level of central Glantri in the north to northern Ierendi in the south, on the normal 8 mile per hex scale it would cover a rather huge area.

True. But for some reason I always thought it also stretches much further to the west.

Still, I'd love to see an 8-mile hex map of Sind

:-) Jesper

You can actually see an 8 mile per hex map of Sind on Thibault Sarlat's site already. He made one back in 2000, it seems. It's a nice map.

My own 8 mile per hex Sind map will be coming before too long too. When I get to it, I'll probably ask for help from those who've already worked on it - Andrew, Thibault, and anyone else.

For now I still have a lot of official maps still to cover, which I intend to go through before I start on conversions and such. On the other hand, there actually aren't that many official maps in total, and I've probably already covered a good portion of them - perhaps even as much as half. So it shouldn't be that long.

Edit: I've started work on the Champions of Mystara Great Waste map, and I'm finding some interesting stuff. It seems to be based on the original X4 and X5 maps, as well as the Dragon 169 map. It develops on all those sources, even the Dragon map which was already pretty well developed. It sorts out problems and discrepancies that had been created by past maps. Overall, it's a really nice map.

If I have the time to work on it tomorrow, it'll be tomorrow's map.

I'm with Spellweaver on this one! I think Heldann and Wendar would be nice to see in 8-mile hexes as well. Of course, seeing the Isle of Dawn in 8 mile hexes would be very impressive.


Wow!!!

(I came home for lunch today and just couldn't stay off the boards - this just as bad as wanting my coffee - but I like tea very much too, Thorf, so send some this way )

Oh ya, I personally like the less hexagonal depressions in the Ethengar map; looks good! (Gotta get back to work)

I too prefer the less "hexagonal" contour lines ...

(are you using the contour-line brush I made for you? Looks like it.)

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Obligatory non sequitur goes here.

I am indeed. Makes drawing the contours just as easy as drawing rivers!

I'm glad the smoother contour lines seem to be going down well. Next I'll have a go at Ylaruam.

One of the benefits of using Illustrator for all this is that scaling can be done with precision. This means that when I am making my 24 mile per hex map, some parts I can simply copy out of small scale maps, shrink them down to the right size, and paste in. Not only does this save drawing those elements again at the larger scale, but more importantly it ensures absolute accuracy between the scales.

In other words, my upcoming 24 mile per hex Known World map will be the first ever to be totally accurate to the 8 mile per hex maps.

Time for a cup of tea before bed. Anyone want a cuppa?

Myself, I just get home from work and I have the kettle on already. Thanks anyhow though.

Glad to hear you're going to do the Ylaruam contours as well; keeps the maps "professionally consistant"!

Extending West and South from Sind and Hule, why not the Gulf of Hule (and nearby Pampa Rica)? Granted, no official hex maps unless you use the VotPA, alternating 8 and 24 mile scales.
For personal reasons, I'm most interested in seeing a map of the Gulf of Hule with just terrain, so that I can easily throw some maps together of the history of the Baronies.

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Mystara in 3D VRML <-- Updated with screenshots. Thanks Shawn!

Alphatia!

It is a very good map- the only problem I have ever noticed on it stems from the whole Atruaghin Plateau mess. You wind up with certain eastern regions (such as Chandbali, namely) being far too close to Darokin- *in* Darokin, actually, which doesn't fit with other 8 mile hex maps of the region. I think parts of Peshmir were off, too. Again, it stems from the Atruaghin plateau mixup, so if you discount the easternmost regions, the rest of the map fits really well with the expanded scale.

I've got a lot of the Isle of Dawn mapped out at that scale myself, though only a few "finished" maps, all based on some things I've done with certain regions. If you want to take a look, check out http://www.geocities.com/isledawn , in the maps section.

Heldann has been mapped out at 8 mi/hex, initially by Geoff Gander and can be seen at the Vaults here. It would be nice to see done with Thorf's hexes, though. They really look good.

Thanks for all the input on what to do next.

I spent the evening tonight getting the Champions of Mystara Great Waste map done.



This map is rather interesting. I can tell that a lot of work went into making it, because it brings together elements
from lots of previous maps neatly, sorting out some of the inconsistencies that had cropped up.

Right after posting, I noticed a few errors. So I have just posted the corrected version.

My palette is rather different from the one originally used on this map, and as a result it looks a little funny. Particularly, the badlands in the middle of the desert are somewhat glaring. The hills also seem to clash slightly, a problem that I noticed on the Shadow Elves map too. Then of course there's the savannah and swamp colours which practically glow...

As a result, I'm considering adapting my palette a bit. Most likely I will make the brighter colours look a little more "washed out". I've been considering changing my plains green colour to more of a pastel shade too.

On the other hand, I do like that green. Does anyone have any thoughts on this? Tweaking the palette is actually a pretty hard job...

Edit: Here's a quick test I threw together with an example of a washed out palette.

Wow Thorf, even more great maps! The continent of Iciria is just an awesome work..

I've noticed two little imperfections in the maps. In the Wendar&Denagoth you wrote Bengarian's Hermitage, but it's in fact BenSarian's Hermitage.

In the last one, Sind & Great Waste, I think the right spelling for the small village near the northern border of the Serpent Peninsula is not Kladanovit but KladanoviC.

Also, I think you should integrate the Wendar map from X11 with that presented in PWA1, which showed at least 3 other towns (Sylvair, Oakwall and Woodgate).

Sorry for the long silence, but I fell ill...

Anyway, keep us updated with your daily life too!

Konnichiwa!

Hi Marco, nice to hear from you again. I hope you're feeling better! I've been struggling with a cold here but I'm better now.


Thanks! It's one of my favourites so far, though it won't be properly complete until the southern half is done too. Doing all the names on those two maps is awful, though, because the maps are so dark that the text is often near unreadable.

Anyway, I'll be doing the second part soon.



Good catch on both of those! In my defence, in both cases I copied the mistake from the official maps. I should really have realised about Bensarian, though. And Kladanovic seems much more likely than Kladanovit. Oh well...

(On that subject, believe it or not the other Champions of Mystara map, the Serpent Peninsula, has the correct Kladanovic. )



Yep, this is coming in the near future. Wrath of the Immortals also showed those towns, so I'm probably going to be working from the Wrath map, with the original X11 map just for reference.

Also, I've begun researching X11's text for extra labels and stuff to add to the map too.

While we're on this topic, I noticed an interesting little issue with the Naga River. Later maps all have the river running into a cave in the Mengul Mountains of Denagoth and coming out closer to Heldann. But actually in X11 the Naga River was supposed to be just a normal river! The map does feature the break in the river's progress, but only because of the "Mengul Mountains" caption, which blanks out the terrain in the area - Naga River included.

Of course, the river flowing underground is cool, so it's a nice misunderstanding. But it's nonetheless amusing to know how it came about.

On the subject of the Poor Wizard's Almanac maps, I have indeed been starting to use those as sources too. Unfortunately they don't have hexes, but they do help when it comes to placing towns and general terrain features.


Will do and same to you, Marco.

For now, I've decided to change the savannah and badlands colours, but leave the rest as is. I'd like to change the hills and maybe mountains too, but I haven't found good colours for them yet. Otherwise, I'm going to keep the palette the same for now, I think.

However, I'm still open to suggestions.

Still are a few errors. The Silt River and the rivers running into Lake Hast are red?


Liked it better before

Keep up the good work!

:-) Jesper

I think those are meant to indicate a seasonal riverbed; one that dries up completely during the summer/dry season. We'll find out for sure once Thorf wakes up

What's PWA1? I can't find it on the "complete product list" at the Vaults, and every Google hit for it is people mentioning it without a full title.

PWA1 is Poor Wizard's Almanac Vol. 1. It covers the year AC1010 (I think).

You think correctly!

Ah, I have that filed as "AC1010". Is PWA1 an official abbrev (like GAZ3 or X4) or is it just a convenient shorthand?

Yeah, they're rivers of blood.


Not blood then?

Yes, those are indeed dry/seasonal rivers. Not a very common feature on Mystara's maps; I think the Champions of Mystara map map may well be the only example.

Today I'm kinda busy with work, so it's going to be hard to get a map up since I have none in reserve. But I'll do my best.

Hi!

Thorf, do you by any chance intend to make a map of the city states area on Davania? My current campaign is in that area...

__________________
"They need a 20 to hit me, i'm invincible!!!" - Famous last words

"...the reader should understand that AD&D is designed to be an amusing and diverting pastime, something which can fill a few hours or consume endless days, as the participants desire, but in no case something to be taken too seriously. For fun, excitement, and captivating fantasy, AD&D is unsurpassed. As a realistic simulation of things from the realm of make-believe, or even as a reflection of medieval or ancient warfare or culture or society, it can be deemed only a dismal failure. Readers who seek the latter must search elsewhere. Those who desire to create and populate imaginary worlds with larger-than-life heroes and villains, who seek relaxation with a fascinating game, and who generally believe games should be fun, not work, will hopefully find this system to their taste."

E. Gary Gygax, 1e DMG, p. 9


Keep Mystara Alive:
Mystara
Mystara 3e

My races (3.5):
Rakasta
Felian

On the Orc's Head Peninsula, isn't the Forbidden River south of Risilvar a Billabong?
Edit; Maybe I should research _before_ I post. There are billabongs in Wallara country, but the Forbidden River isn't one, and the billabongs aren't on the map.

Just convenient shorthand