Ok. I admit it. I absolutely stink at drawing world maps. The outline seems to be decent but filling in the details - rivers, plains, etc. - seems to be my problem area. It makes me wonder how much realism in world map layout and detail is needed. Is there a program that will assist in filling out the details? Is there a set of guidelines somewhere? Is this unnecessary concern? Any thoughts?
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Tools-wise, you can always check out RPTools, if you haven't already. They have a map tool that people I know have enjoyed using.
ReplyDeleteAs far as detail, I personally like terrain info, rivers, forests - that type of jazz; the more generic stuff.
I like Hexographer, which produces hex maps, and has a couple of tools to help you draw things freehand if you'd prefer.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the recommendations. I will check out both of these resources.
ReplyDeleteYour question seems to be one about the level of detail. There are two things to keep in mind. Are you wanting NPC drawn maps, or GM maps. What I mean is that maps, until very recently, were drawn by hand. Explorers made notes, then drew them up. These were then taken by cartographers and put together with other maps to generate "better" maps. My point is that these often lack details and contain inaccuracies.
ReplyDeleteGM maps, on the other hand, would be ones that give you exact and detailed information about everything to aid the GM in running games. (This is not to say you cannot use NPC maps for this as well.)
The second thing to keep in mind is that maps contain less detail the bigger they are. A world map show less than a continent maps, which shows less than a country, or a small area.
For me, and I think most others, what matters is distance and relationship between objects, not so much the level of detail. I would put the detail maps in adventures, not a world design project. In an adventure, you will need to know where the rive is, the caves are, towns, fields, monster dens, etc. You are also detailing on a few miles.
For a world project, make bigger and less detailed maps that show what the major borders are. Put in your mountains, forests, main roads, large rivers, political allegiances, etc.
For my latest project, that I am just 50% done with the layout on, I did a map for using Campaign Cartographer. I drew the area of the world. There are 2 mountain rages, one big river, and one small river. The coast is green, the desert is sand colored. I used a different color for a savannah. I then made a big forest. Other than that, it was simply plopping down city symbols for the major towns.
I didn't draw railroads, put in monster dens, place small rivers or lakes. In my review of things, what I did is pretty much all that there is to a world map.
Darius, once again you give an answer that covers a lot of details and shows just how much you know about the subject. You bring up many good points and considerations. I always enjoy your answers because they make you think of so many other things related to the subject at hand. Very sound advice, realistic, and practical. I will definitely keep this in mind the next time I attempt a map,
DeleteStart inside out. Doing a whole world is a recipe for burnout and failure. I was in a group called Colabore many years ago and with an entire group we all burnt out. Start with one small land and then branch out from there. Shelve really good ideas for other counties and lands to use later.
ReplyDeleteI like the way you think, Eldrad. That is a great approach and makes sense to do it a bit at a time.
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