# Mapmaking Discussion & Philosophy (WIP/Critique) > Town/City Mapping >  The Capital of Barradesh

## SteffenBrand

Hey guys! 

It has been a while, but one of my projects I was working on is about to get off the ground, so... I have to do this beside full-time work. 

This project is settled in a fictional 15.-16. century india (a fantasy version) I'm currently trying to get the capital done. This RPG won't have a world map - some reasons for that are: [1] You should be able to enhance the background and it won't stifle your creativity [2] It becomes the key point everyone comes to anyway [3] A few plot reasons unimportant to the actual map [4] etc. The fact that there will be only this city map, I need to get this exactly right.

What I need is this: I planned fields, ports, where the districts will be, ... but I need you for any further Ideas. I am really unsure about roads and since I usually do anything else before getting buildings in (just because cities follow natural shapes) and what features I can give this city. What I have so far is this:
 - City on the ground, richer districts, slum, workers, a sacred island which only priests can enter with temples and libraries, etc.
 - The high courts: Floating rock-stuff with a lot of politicians, courtiers, etc. you can reach via bridges
 - I planned to have some details on the left side, not sure what this will be ;)
 - A ton of fields in the north-east

I hope you have any suggestions. Feel free to download the image and just draw in, I'd love to see ideas and I'd be very glad if some did help with this. If you need any further information, feel free to ask. The game itself is in English, this is planned for the English market later. =)





By the way: I was at SPIEL in Essen with our company (Germany; the largest gaming convention in the world) last weekend and actually met a cartographer who knew my name who came all the way from Croatia. It blew my mind! You guys are actually real... ;) Man, I love how connected this community can be! 

Best wishes,
Steffen

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## Eld

Hey Steffen,

great attempt, hope you get this finished.  :Smile: 
You've got a "hill with wetland" east of Lakash. A wetland upon a hill? I'd expected it to be somewhere downhill near the river, for water flowing down and not lying around on top of a hill?
The shape of the land looks good already and you have all the vital things in it, that such a city would need.
Maybe you could think about the history of the city. It seems to be a city that developed randomly and was not founded by a city planner. So city growth was widely natural and uncontrolled. Maybe you could think of the times when there wasn't a city in that place yet. Why would people want to settle down here back then? Where would they start? What would be the natural (easiest and best) place? If you find that spot, you've got the nucleus of the city and you will know where the eldest roads have to go through.
If I start on a big city (as I did with Serain) I first start with the big roads that lead far away as they are usually there before the city is founded. Then I add the roads to local sites, as nearby towns and special places, as river bridges, castles upon hills and stuff like that. Done with that I have the main roads that will be the axes of city development and growth. Then I add further streets, that connect those big roads with each other and so I build up a web of streets and roads. While doing this I keep in mind the overall history of the city, not every detail but the main timeline. Also geography plays its part. The rich will settle where the weather is best (fresh air, water supply, short ways to important places, enough space to show their wealth) and the poor will take what's left.

I think there could be some connection between the city itself and the Shinsu-Enclave, some road and on the road newcomers will settle down. If your city is walled, think about the walls. Where were the first walls and how many times have new walls been built? Walls are essential to city shape and identity. Newly arrived settlers usually are divided into those who can afford a home inside the walls and those too poor for that who have to stay outside. For outside the walls the land for buildings is much cheaper as it's less safe. And if someone has to build his new home somewhere, he usually does this on an empty spot on a main road to be easily connected with everything. If there is no such free space, they will start radiating out with the next central point in the center (city gates, great place, market etc.)

Hope that helps at planning.  :Smile:

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## SteffenBrand

> great attempt, hope you get this finished.


I have to, at some point =)




> You've got a "hill with wetland" east of Lakash. A wetland upon a hill? I'd expected it to be somewhere downhill near the river, for water flowing down and not lying around on top of a hill?


I was thinking about rice fields on steps on the hillside. Yes, water would run downhill, but I thought that a lot of rain can make this work provided that it can hold the water. 

The stuff you wrote about roads is very good, thank you for it! I think I will create the city step by step. Make this a town, skip 300 years or so and renew and expand, make the impact the gods had, skip 300 years and expand, skip 300 etc. Seems like a good way and helps to give this a more natural feel. 

There is a waterway to an Entrepôt (ein Umschlagshafen) from the Shinsu-Enclave to the city (near the Bazar), I think an additional road would make sense. The city itself was founded (or at least get great importance) just because the gods inspired the first mortals there and gave them faith. The city therefore is also a pilgrimage destination for many.

Thanks again, this helps very much! This isn't my first city, but it helps to hear other opinions! =)
Best wishes, Steffen

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## SteffenBrand

I reworked some of the field structure I want to go with (mostly focusing on the one that floods regularly), removed 2 of the 3 hills (a 1-of is OK, the others looked weird to have fields around them), dotted paths and double-lined the streets and I hatched the beginnings of the city before anything of significance happened there. I left in where I imagine ATM the districts would be later. It looked like the spot this could most likely be the spot where a settlement would be build / defended, where could be fished and traded and the river allows also would allow to get corn and stuff from the fields to the town. Well, here you go... =)



Remember, nothing is final and I also put in the Typefaces I use for the game (the reason why I made the border this way, to have similar styles). 
Best wishes, Steffen

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## mat_r

Hey Steffen, 

this looks promising. I am curious to finally follow your process.  :Smile: 
Did you already define the scale for this map? I am asking because I was thinking about the distances and which rivers would be suitable for shipping and which ones would be too small for larger ships, but I couldn't really decide.

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## SteffenBrand

Hey mat_r! 

Yes, I'll include it in my next version after this - but I'm also thinking about don't including one in any version, to be honest. We all know why it is important, but I am seriously considering leaving it out intentionally with this one... You just don't need it and when you have blocks of houses and fields for reference (in my experience on a gaming table). Some of you might scream inside, but I'm happy to try this and see if it works. If not, it is included easily. =)

I updated the post above to include the bottomland / alluvial land, too (green).

Thanks for your Input! I'll keep you guys posted as often as I can. =)
EDIT: Just realized it's you, Matthias! Hey! XD

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## Mouse

I love that you 'scribble' stuff on your early drafts the same way I do.  Until now I thought I was the only one who did this.

I also really like the watercolour wash look of the sea, and the detail of your fieldwork.

Looking forward to seeing more  :Smile:

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## SteffenBrand

Hey Mouse! =)



> I love that you 'scribble' stuff on your early drafts the same way I do. Until now I thought I was the only one who did this.


I found many advantages to this. Sure, it takes a bit more time but you can map out shapes, arrange it as interesting as it can be and plan everything ahead of time (and probably even safe time at this point). You are definately not alone with this  :Very Happy: 

Thanks on your other comments =)
Best wishes, Steffen

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## mat_r

Yes, it's me in disguise  :Very Happy: 

You know I think leaving out the scale alltogether might be fine, if that is your choice. On the map of a kingdom/continent/world I might object but on a city map I feel like it is not really needed, since hardly anyone actually measures distance or calculates traveling times on those.

The exact thought behind my question was that I was wondering if the west-east river between the enclave and the bazaar would play a role in trade/transportation, or if it would be too small for that. (and subsequently: if it would be of any interest to the citizens of that city to build a channel or something at the thinnest chokepoint around the bazaar)

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## DanielHasenbos

Finally I get to see you do a work in progress! It looking great so far, I especially like the landshapes. I will surely keep an eye on this one!

-Dan

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## SteffenBrand

> The exact thought behind my question was that I was wondering if the west-east river between the enclave and the bazaar would play a role in trade/transportation, or if it would be too small for that. (and subsequently: if it would be of any interest to the citizens of that city to build a channel or something at the thinnest chokepoint around the bazaar)


Yes, I thought it isn't deep and wide enough for seafaring ships, but for transporting boats it is fine. This is one of the reasons why I thought the best point for a settlement would be there, you can reach far into the land from this point. Having a little lake there to have the place to shift wares is also a big bonus. =)




> Finally I get to see you do a work in progress! It looking great so far, I especially like the landshapes. I will surely keep an eye on this one!


Thanks Daniël! I really am excited where this goes, too  :Very Happy:

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## Ilanthar

Interesting start, I love the coastline and rivers. Already picturing Bombay or Dakah in ancient times  :Smile: .

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## SteffenBrand

@Ilanthar: Perfect, than we are on the right track! =)

Sorry this takes so long, but I have to work on a lot of maps on my full-time job, meaning this has to be made in my rare free time. Anyway, I won't leave you hanging and at least post a small incremental step I had to make three times to get right (keyword: Line Weight!) and I had decided to do something which seems more organic. I blocked in the mask for the fields, too. Since I decided on a dark gray for the titles of the RPG this will be in, I use the same on the border here, too. All titles / words in there are still WIP of cause. The next step will be advancing the city itself from a small village to a port metropolis. Here we go =)

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## Mouse

Now I'm really looking forward to the further development  :Smile: 

You said in your first post that you were hoping for ideas about the infrastructure.  Well I don't know all that much about city infrastructure, but it struck me that if I was doing a city like this I'd start by sketching in the relief - particularly the steeper slopes, since settlements seem to start out their earlier life right at the lowest bridging point of the major river, and flow in both directions away from it along the coast and up into the valleys before climbing up the slopes when the better (flatter) ground is all taken up, either by farms or suburbs.  There are always the odd exceptions, of course, like when someone wealthy/famous/important suddenly decides that it would be cool to build a house into the side of a thousand foot precipice overlooking everyone else, and then you suddenly get a whole row of them in the same cliff face as everyone who considers themselves to be a somebody tries to follow the new and briefly fashionable trend.

Railways and canals are also dictated by the relief, although roads are less limited that way, so its good to know from the start where the hills are.

Having decided the extent of the settlement and relief-sensitive routes of communication I'd add any large areas of forest that might exist, and decide at that point whether they were managed or not (and therefore how mixed/homogenous/squared off they would look).  

I'm getting a bit lost with this explanation, I think, so I'll leave that as my hopefully helpful contribution for now.

Of course, you've probably already considered all of these things  :Wink:

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## SteffenBrand

> Of course, you've probably already considered all of these things.


(_kidding_) I think it will surprise you when I say: No, not everything. ;) And therefore I thank you! Yes, cities and their shape are most often a result of surroundings and necessity, but you provided some really helpful thought-provoking impulses. Except for the railway (we will be in a fictional 15.-16. century ;))...

Again, thank you so much! I rudimentary had thought about terrain (and I indicated at least where on of the hills will be), but I should do a lot more. Well, I try to include a bit more of this in my next sketching-in. 

Best wishes,
Steffen

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## Straf

The trade routes to India were so hotly contested in the 15th century that some sought an alternative way and headed west across the Atlantic. 

I'd imagine anywhere near the sea in 15th and 16th century India would be very heavily defended to protect the current administration's interests. Cannons on the cliffs would blast any would-be usurper's fleet into the briny. Harbours would have been heavily fortified. Spices were the height of luxury and envy among one's peers back then. It was a very lucrative trade and one worth preserving by any means.

Should you follow the 'real life' for this setting then covert and subterfuge would be powerful strategies rather than brute force. Although the latter, between two or more sufficiently powerful forces, could make for battles of epic proportions.

I'd like to see how you decide to proceed on this.

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## SteffenBrand

Here we go with baby steps:
 - I included a preliminary key
 - Indicated steps of the city in growth from A to D
I'm happy to answer any questions you might have. I'm not 100% sure what is self-explanatory and what is not - don't hesitate to ask. :D



Best wishes, Steffen

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## Mouse

You've tagged so much detail in this map already.  Its going to be magnificent when you're done with it.

So much _tiny_ detail!  I take my hat of to you  :Smile:

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## SteffenBrand

@Straf: I decided that they made use of defense strategies after the city outgrew Urukpur (Old City), leading attackers through the highest amount of defense mechanisms and bottlenecks as possible. If you come from the north, you have to cross several walls go along i4 (Boulevard of Honor) and only after that you reach i3 (Abode of the Hegemony). This is probably the richest part in town - you can't even enter the island if you weren't invited or live there. It's one of the parts most heavily defended (well... as much as it can be, look at the messy city-layout) ;)

@Mouse: Ahw... thank you! I hope very much not to disappoint!

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## Straf

> @Straf: I decided that they made use of defense strategies after the city outgrew Urukpur (Old City), leading attackers through the highest amount of defense mechanisms and bottlenecks as possible. If you come from the north, you have to cross several walls go along i4 (Boulevard of Honor) and only after that you reach i3 (Abode of the Hegemony). This is probably the richest part in town -* you can't even enter the island if you weren't invited or live there.* It's one of the parts most heavily defended (well... as much as it can be, look at the messy city-layout) 
> 
> @Mouse: Ahw... thank you! I hope very much not to disappoint!


Oh? We'll see about that!

/me searches ebay for fake resident IDs.

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## SteffenBrand

Many try, and yet - none is able to tell a success-story ;)

Here we go with more baby steps. I outlined the rest of the city and fill in some more stuff and some minor changes with the shape of the land. Some of the stuff is on the key, too. I also included some notes and relocated the long bridge. Here it makes much more sense! Again, all questions (including infos on a particular story) and help is welcome! I made the exported file larger so you can read everything.



Best wishes, Steffen =)

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## Ilanthar

Those "baby steps" are nice and interesting. The bridge is in rightful place, I suppose. If there are recurrent floods caused by the river, the lands may be very fertile (if it's the sea, it's gonna be the opposite), with maybe crops near the city?.
And I'm curious about the "Gyre"...

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## SteffenBrand

Thank you, Ilanthar! =) The two streams are very large and are freshwater, the sea is saltwater. The streams are slightly elevated, seawater doesn't carry up the streams. At the time the river floods the surroundings the land gets very fertile, you are absolutely correct. Actually the cream-sepia colored patches are farmland.

As for 'The Gyre': A dangerous area where multiple times a year a typhoon forms. This drives monsoon-winds inlands and draws out other winds in a specific way during other times. If forms naturally and getting near this area is generally avoided. Sometimes it is said, that Koryos (the Horned Lion of War, Forces of Nature (including Floods!) / Thunderstorms, the Protector of Mortals, the breaker of both mental and physical restrictions; commonly shown with the markings of a zebra he doesn‘t speak, but only beliefs in deeds) is deciding if the mortals are deserving of his protection - in this critical times, the streams bloom with offers and sacrifices.

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## snodsy

Nice landform and development so far. I'm never really a fan of keys, since you have to constently look back and forth, but that's a personal decision.  

I think the text could use a little spacing between letters (when you add the stroke the letters touch, especially the bold face)

Looking forward to seeing this progress.

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## SteffenBrand

Thank you, snodsy! Yeah, the key is preliminary, it's neither finished nor am I sure if I keep it in when I can manage to do it otherwise in the document I will use the map in. Next baby-step should come this week (currently I'm reviewing a lot of the texts) =)

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## J.Edward

Oh my... I have been missing out  :Surprised: 
I like how this is developing Steffen. Very nice.
I have to say... really nice flow. The waters look so good   :Smile:

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## SteffenBrand

Thank you, J.Edward! Luckily this is a forum where you can always look to the past stuff =)

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## DanielHasenbos

It's looking great Steffen! It's nice to watch your baby steps and see this map slowly develop. 

-Dan

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## SteffenBrand

First, I only wanted to describe this city, show what is important there and don't provide a world map at all - I would just describe and get more and more fantastic the more I describe the lands far away. I didn't want to make a world map for myself, but after beginning again and again to make something up I at least saw the need to have a sketch for myself. This is the sketch:



Since I don't need to work it out (it won't bee included in the book), I just indicated the most important things, some mountains, some main winds, some cities, rivers, etc. to be at least consistent about that. Yes, the south is colder since this is in the southern hemisphere. 

Why am I posting this? Well, I'd love to have some input or suggestions:
- Is there a way you would see that would make masses / facts more interesting?
- How would other mountains have to be positioned for the monsoon winds to be correct? Are they? Climatic theory has been a while... :D
- Any ideas you want to just bring in?

Thank you all!
-Steffen

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## Mouse

LOL! Oh heck Steffen - you want me to know all the answers?

I don't, as I'm not very good at remembering all the stuff I was taught at school, but I have this little thing in my head right now that keeps trying to tell me that really wet monsoon winds travel some way across a major ocean to pick up all that water before they hit the land.

I'm probably wrong.  You need someone like Azelor, or Pixie, or one of the world-builders to have a look at it  :Wink: 

Aesthetically speaking, though, its a great looking shape.  Is there any need to make it even more interesting?

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## SteffenBrand

Haha, no problem, Mouse!  :Very Happy:  I only build two worlds completely in the past, but it has been so long I don't remember all the stuff from the top of my head... that's where I just wanted to let others more often dealing with this have a look. Technically, I don't NEED to have anything added to make it more interesting, but I always have this nagging voice in the back of my head demanding more stuff  :Very Happy: 

For the monsoon: I thought, the main wind carrying the water could come from the south and join with some other winds from the east to blow it inland and to cause it to rise at the mountains (the black wiggles where the darts end).

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## Mouse

Then you have a rare problem called _too much_ imagination  :Smile: 

Lovely to see you taking this up again, and I'm sorry I really can't be any help with that monsoon thing.

I'm very much looking forward to the further development, though  :Smile:

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## SteffenBrand

Ahw, thanks Mouse and don't worry. =)
Edit: File updated below.

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## SteffenBrand

I decided to make the stuff a bit more clear and provide basics, the climate question especially regarding monsoons still stands. Monsoons are hard to grasp for me somehow, I have difficulties wrapping my head around them... :/

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## SteffenBrand

I took out the old stuff and quickly worked out the climate as it should be, but I'm not 100% on everything.
If you see any glaring mistakes, please point them out - it doesn't need to be perfect, but I appreciate if a world is not nonsensical =)

Best wishes, Steffen

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## tilt

wow. huge work you got going here  :Smile:  ... I was at Essen last year and coming back this year as well. Are you going to be there again Steffen?  :Smile:

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## kacey

Really great! I can't comment on the climate, but the coast lines are really interesting and very appealing.

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## SteffenBrand

@tilt: Thanks! Sadly, I'm not at Essen for SPIEL this year, but I think I will be there again next year. 

@kacey: Thank you! Yes, I'm quite happy how it turned out - actually so much I'm considering to include the map at some point. We'll see if it would make sense when all the flufftext is written out.

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## SteffenBrand

I made some last changes in the northwest, changed the climate accordingly there and included a size-reference. 
The question about the monsoon still stands though... :/

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## SteffenBrand

I decided to show the region. To describe it takes at least the same space and is more unclear, and seeing how happy I am with the shapes it would seem to be unwise and unpractical for everyone. I'm still not showing the whole world, but only this part which is the necessary concession to focus on what matters to the game. I've been unwilling to include this a long time but seeing how much more practical it would be to just show it seems the way to go, especially since the lore grew so much. Thank you all here and elsewhere (and offline) for the encouragement, it was just what was necessary. =)

That also means it can't stay like this. Still figuring things out on how to make it final, but the basic step is done to keep this in the same style as the other one will be. Still WIP obviously.

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## kacey

I would love to see the rest of the world that goes with this!

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## SteffenBrand

Thanks! Maybe someday, for now I'll focus on this part and the texts that go along with it. =)

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## Azélor

I took a look at your map and here's what I think. 
To start, I think the geography looks very interesting, it offers a good potential. 

The map I made is an layer on top of your map at a lower opacity.
It shows the direction of the winds and some numbers for reference.

Summer


  1 and the area below

  The tropical convergence zone doesnt bring much moisture from the south and since I dont know whats north of here, I dont know how the climate should be.
  If you dont have an ocean not to far north or east, its going to be pretty dry all year around. 

  The area is closer to a desert than a steppe for the most part

  1.5 is a transition area, assuming 1 is really dry. 

  2- The Mediterranean area on the coast seems plausible

  3- Is pretty cold and not very hospitable, a bit like Siberia or Northern Canada.
  4- Deleted
  5- That city doesnt seem plausible. At 75 degrees I dont see how a city is possible, unless magic. 

  6- I dont think this area would be that dry. 

  7 Much like point 1, it could be a jungle or a steppe depending on what lies north and west. 

  8 Winds converge to the tropical zone from south to north. I think there would be no Mediterranean climate here. It's not dry enough. 

  9 Manchurian climate probably should be a Laurentian too.

  10 Could be relatively wet since the monsoon can travel far inland. On Earth, the Asian monsoon can be felt as far as Mongolia, Russia, and some parts of Kazakhstan. 

  So it is plausible that the area is not a desert especially since you added the water body in the west. 

  11 not sure this is a steppe.  As I pointed above. 

Winter:



  10 Is much drier this time of the year
  11 Is somewhat in the transition between the dry north and the humid south. 
  6 I think we would still see some rain in the peninsula but not as much as in the summer
  The south looks ok
  7 The convergence zone move north and bring more precipitation in the area.
  How much exactly, I have no idea.


For those curious (I was wondering too), this whole analysis took me about 2 hours. 
So when people ask help for climates, that's why it can take a few days to get an answer.  
Sometimes I start writing one but don't manage to finish it.

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## Mouse

I know this isn't my map or my thread, but I love it when you do an analysis, Azelor.  If I can get beyond being bedazzled by it all, its totally fascinating  :Smile:

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## SteffenBrand

> Sometimes I start writing one but don't manage to finish it.


The more I mean it then when I say: THANK YOU SO MUCH! Seriously, I can't thank you enough, this kind of comment is the reason I like being here so much =)

I'll look at the comments in depth later when I have a few hours. From what I see directly it seems to play into my cards what I would have liked to be there a lot but I went along without emotions when doing climate and just did what I thought correct, worrying about what I would have liked to see later (if that makes sense). Again, I'll update the map a last time with this data. When anything is unclear or just open and could be both your suggestion or mine (or if it is unsure and I don't have answers) I'll go along with what I like to see there. Again, thank you so much, you deserve some rep! =)

@Mouse: IKR!?  :Very Happy: 

Best wishes, Steffen

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## SteffenBrand

I made the corrections for Summer. I think I'll leave it that way, making the equatorial region rather wet than dry for the most part, except in the east. The updated version is in this post. Again, thank you so much for the corrections you saw fit! The one city on 75° was removed btw and moved north - normal maps trick the eye so much with the distortions they have to make this correct intuitively... 

Best wishes, Steffen

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## SteffenBrand

Sorry, only baby-steps again, but the meteor-craters are in there now along with the unravelling of the world to the west. The islands in the south are also in now.
Parallel to this, I'm working on a few cities bound to their location in text-form. Hope you enjoy, I'm really happy with how it turned out =)
Best wishes, Steffen

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## mat_r

That. Is insane. Steffen... I hope your future readers/players will be able to appreciate this. - can't have enough maps in a book! (btw. when will this be in stores?  :Very Happy: )

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## SteffenBrand

Haha, thanks mat_r! I think when all is done and playtesting ended it will have a kickstart at some point. I hope this will be the case in 2018, I want all the texts finished (hopefully) by the end of this year. The rules are already complete, just fleshing out flufftexts.

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## Pixie

What a golden thread to read through, congrats on all the work done so far, SteffenBrand, it's clearly professional work!

I (we) want more!  :Very Happy:

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## SteffenBrand

There will be more, don't worry  :Very Happy:  
Thank you so much, Pixie!

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## Ilanthar

So, we're gonna have a city map _AND_ a regional map for this? Great!
I'm gonna take some popcorn and watch  :Wink: .

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## SteffenBrand

Yeah, seems so  :Wink:  Wasn't planned that way, but now they are both in the Town/City-Mapping section. In the days to come I'll also include some shorter description / moods for some minor cities if you want to, since I have some already finished and you all seem interested. Thanks, Ilanthar! =)


Let's start with a ruin and another one:

*Suleymar, the Veiled Ghost City*
‚Until the tar swallowed the stars, Suleymar outshowned even the brightest among them.‘
 • Population: Unknown (probably under 200)
What once was an island-spanning trade city on its peak far off in the ocean had become a ruinous necropole after an unknown catastrophe during a revelry. The few remnants are inhabiting a dying city slowly engulfed by smoking tar, dimming the lights of the last soon-to-be-forgotten souls forever. Since it has no commercial worth any longer and it is hard to reach now, what had happened is hiding behind murmours.

*Nagara, the Meandering Serpent*
‚The longer you dwell in its many delights, the more poisenous they become.‘
 • Population: 14,000
The city winding along the riversides lost its origins in times past in the deep of the steaming jungles of the Naga Swamps. Its secrets seem to hide beneath the steps of the pyramids of cultists best avoided. It is a last stop for those who want to venture into the dense covert in the north, if they are able to bestir themselves to leave again into the harsh reality outside their drug-induced stupor: If you are willing to drown your senses, it gives back its many delirious enjoyments graciously with both hands. As long as you can pay the price.


Best wishes,
Steffen

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## SteffenBrand

And the first draft of the blurb for the Game:




> Barradesh is in turmoil.
>  The continent tumbles with mortals forgetting their destiny and opt for free will into a profane future. You must unite and collectively, with the Gods on your side, stem against the tides of what is to come. They ripped apart reality and an inexorable tide of beings strange to the world gushed into the realms of mortals. But the lines are blurred in this morally gray world. In the midst of struggle and intrigue, you are challenged to find and stay on your own path to reach salvation; or you fail and pass the torch to those who come after you.
>  Even though this game borrows heavily from historic India, no deeper knowledge about the culture or the local past is presupposed on the players part. This book contains a comprehensive fictional world with the blank spaces to write your deeds into history.
> 
> The Role-Playing-Game *Bodhisattva* is made for about 4-6 Players to slip into the roles of fallable mortals who were reincarnated so often, they will soon reach salvation and became the  eponymous  *Bodhisattvas*. During these last times, you try to change what suffering you previously caused, guide mortals into a better tomorrow, and safe all from collective downfall. 
>  Heed your Destiny. Safe Barradesh, a life at a time.
> 
> This game features and supports a more cineastic play style, with easy to learn rules that dont loose their complexity and uniqueness over time. Brave deeds, clever machinations, and being more-than-mortal are core aspects of this game, without uplifting the characters to loose touch with regular inhabitants in this world. Working together is key to achieve your goals, each character growing with his deeds and choices along the way.

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## SteffenBrand

Next little step: The main rivers are done, I don't think I will go more in-depth with them. Maybe one or two will get in additionally, but not a lot more. This will end up to be a more schematic map anyway, the smaller things don't matter on here. I also included the main water currents and included one that warms the island chain on the southeast with warmer water to make it a bit more hospitable and still keep the lands beyond somewhat unchanged and with continental tundra climate. =)

Best wishes, Steffen

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## SteffenBrand

Another little step, but I'm always having a hard time figuring out fictive names without sounding like a child ;) 
I also toned down the rest. I have a few word-parts left that I can use that sound somewhat like Indian, if need be. If you have suggestions, I'm open to it =)

Best wishes, Steffen

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## Mouse

Wow!  Those rivers are certainly pretty huge, going by the size of Germany in the previous map!  Lots of room for swampiness  :Very Happy: 

Incredibly complicated map, Steffen.  You've put so much work into getting it right.  Its going to be spectacular when its done  :Smile:

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## SteffenBrand

Thank you! Well, it is mostly schematic. Of cause this isn't the correct breadth of the rivers, but the art-style limits it to be this way. I wanted the same look for both the city map and the world map, so I had to make concessions. Buuuuuut that also meant that I had to focus on the main features, leaving smaller things out and having the space to explore as players in a gaming world. That was the thought process behind that.

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## Mouse

But fantasy rivers are always longer, wider, faster, and generally all over 10 times better than real ones  :Wink: 

Fictitious names...

Have you tried using any of the usual fictitious names generators?

I tend to draw inspiration from the typical historical names of my own country, in the sense that place names are usually suffixed with a little tell-tale ending, like 'ham', 'mouth', 'bray', 'ton', and 'hide'.  I don't always use those exact names, but I do tend to invent just a handful of suffixes to add to simple one or two syllable made up words to unify the names in some logical way.  For instance I might decide that any town or city built on a river mouth should have the suffix 'mar', like Dolmar, or Inismar - or that all the towns built up around the lowest bridging point of a river should have 'walk', like Abbeywalk, or Grimswalk.

I expect if you look at the names of places that are built in certain situations in Germany you might see similar patterns, and I'm hoping I've just given you a few workable ideas  :Smile:

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## mat_r

Interesting ..  :Smile: 
I dont think your names sound childish.
Can you tell us more about the naming concepts you are applying here? Are you trying to establish a feel of different cultural influences in different corners of your world or are you envisioning it more like one big cultural sphere?

I think the names around the center region have a nice indian sound. (at least to european ears) I am curious how "Dawncrag" fits in there, though. That's the first thing  that caught my eye... However I just realize that's probably more of a descriptive term than a name, so forget about that  :Very Happy: 

From the area around the Sea of Voss I am getting more of a "Viking" vibe. "Isbreen", "Skovis", "Sjoedland", "Retland" somehow sound Skandinavian to me. Is that your intention?

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## rdanhenry

An interesting landscape is developing here.

However, being me, I bring word of spelling errors. Well, error. "unvavells" is surely meant to be "unravels".

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## Azélor

There are some issues with the rivers.

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## SteffenBrand

@Mouse: True, I may have to overthink that.  :Wink:  Yeah, in German this is somewhat similar in some ways, the thing is: I have to shy away from doing the obvious. Even if two cities seem to lie together, there are still way apart. Also, I have the approach from the German side, translate it to English and look for what is doable in English to sound Indian. It's weird. Thank you! =)

@mat_r: Thank you! Basically, I use a mixture of phonetical patterns based on pre- & suffixes from the Indian languages, combine them with a mixture of what you can actually use for a game and foreign sounding parts and look for an overall similar sounding word to what I want to have. In this game I have two cultural spheres, the bigger one being the overall Indian sounding one and the other one is somewhat of a mixture of early Chinese (with a bit of Japanese) in a Scandinavian viking/art-decor (the floral patterns mix very well) region with a focus on the spirits of the land. In this case, yeah, you were correct =) Dawncrag was a play on words, as with Sea of Voss I'm unsure if I leave this part in.

@rdanhenry: Thanks, not an English native here!  :Very Happy:  

@Azelor: You mean the bifurcation downstream or what do you refer to?

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## Azélor

Yes one bifurcation is problematic east of Neragup. 

Also, some rivers flow parallel to the sea for long distances. It's not impossible, just not very likely to have so many. 
I assume the land must be pretty low and mostly flat. With the difference in elevation between Ijen and Bahrayar of just a few meters. Just a guess.

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## Falconius

> @rdanhenry: Thanks, not an English native here!  
> 
> @Azelor: You mean the bifurcation downstream or what do you refer to?


I'm not sure, but there appear to be rivers going from ocean to ocean and one going from up coast to down coast.  They both start at Bahrayar, one goes to the gulf of Ghuptvedi, the other goes to Nagara.  I'm not sure if these are supposed to be rivers but the way the branches are arranged leads me to believe they are.

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## SteffenBrand

More and more gets finished, I love it! =) 

@Azelor & Falconius:
The land is in many places relatively low. The thing is, that there are broader and narrower networks of rivers. When I leave out the smaller ones due to the problems I have to face with the visual style I chose, it seems much more weird from the perspective of a mapmaker. There sadly is no real applicable solution I can think of to fix it. As for the coast-to-coast rivers: There are none. The river flows from area around Nagara in the direction of Bahradyar, but the area around Nagara and to the west of it are actually 'just' giant seas build up by the northern streams.

I'm currently writing up the gods (finished that part) and the rest of the cities, here is another one:


*Undra, the Zenith of Iniquity*
‚He seems to think that we won‘t remember him responsible living so reclused, but evermore of the city grows to be a reflection of his ego.‘
 • Population: 25,000; quickly expanding
With a sleight, Vyash — a Raksha — seized control and functions as the de-facto ruler of the city, oddly turning it productive and into a thriving destination of trade, with pillaged goods from all over the world. The discord however grew. Surrounded by sycophants and servants, he and the nouveau riches rule from their opulent palaces over thousands driven in debt servitude; nearly a third of its citizens. He also didn‘t manage to quell the previous rumours that Undra is haunted: Giant stone-carved faces seem to devour the dead in forbidding overgrown necropoles just outside the city walls, since Vyash forbade the practice of cremation. 


Thank you all for your continued interest! =)
Best wishes and have a beautiful Sunday, Steffen

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## SteffenBrand

Quick up-to-date Sunday! =)

Visually, the last two weeks not much has happened. I decided to include a doubled coastline on both maps to make them more classy and enhance the contrast to the land. I mainly made the next few descriptions of the cities and finalized most notations I used to give it just the right feel (even though this is highly subjective, there is a more right and a more wrong way to do this IMO). Some minor rules-changes happened to streamline gameplay (mostly in the area of combat), but nothing relevant to mapmaking.

The resonance to the city-descriptions didn't seem that large, if you don't say otherwise I'll discontinue them. If there are just silent readers here interested, I'll continue. I just don't want to spam you here, after all: This is a mapmaking forum, not a writers' exchange platform. =)

More and more, the things in the setting come together. I won't lie - I think it is hard to come up with enough diverse and interesting things out of nowhere to have material for years to come. Nevertheless, a great opportunity to learn; something I appreciate. 

Best wishes, Steffen =)

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## ThomasR

I'm always in awe when I see you, dedicated people, tackle worldbuilding this way. That's very impressive !

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## SteffenBrand

Thank you! 

Happy new year, everyone! The vacation was needed and fruitful, all the rules are now made for this game and we'll start a party to playtest the beta this weekend. I also managed to include the most important mountain ranges (again, baby-steps), but I still feel there have to be some more. If you have ideas, let me know =)

Best wishes, Steffen

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## Azélor

I like the style you used for the mountains. It's elegant.

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## ThomasR

It's nice to see your mountains at such an early stage. It'll gave us all an opportunity to study it  :Smile:

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## SteffenBrand

Thank you two! =) I know I'm slow with this one, focusing on writing a lot recently.

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## fol2dol

Nice map  :Smile: 
The thing that caught my eyes was the name Barradesh, i named a legendary wizard Barradesh in my home world for D&D and there's actually a tower with his name  :Smile: 
It's not the first time I see a name I was sure I invented elsewhere. It shows that we all have mutual culture and sources of inspiration  :Smile: 
And for your map, amazing work!

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## SteffenBrand

Well, there is only so much options and it is likely that somewhere in the world nearly every word you make up already someone has used at some point.  :Very Happy:  
Especially the ending of -desh (from actual hindi roughly meaning 'lands / continent') you'll see at some points. Not only because it actually sounds cool. 

Thank you, fol2dol!

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## SteffenBrand

I decided for some more mountains and had them at least placed already, but I still have to work on them obviously. 

I also decided to give Shinsu (Southeast) a more interesting landscape with more waters befitting a culture of hunters and seafarers that lived semi-nomadic in the past. Since it is counterintuitive to think of south as being cold, I decided to indicate frozen ice on the southern parts of the waters to indicate the cold a bit more. It makes for a more interesting stylistic choice IMO. 

I also included some first brown tones where I want vegetation to be dominant; very WIP.

Baby-steps again, I know, but I don't have that much time I can put in it at hand at the moment. I'm sorry :/

To make up for it a bit, I'll include a description of the capital of Shinsu here; Isbreen.


*Isbreen, the First Bivouac*
_The first land claimed. And after weeks at sea the best destination to make landfall._
  Population: 92,000
From what it once was, Isbreen outgrew itself into the largest Shinsu metropole, even though it never lost the tents now located on its outskirts. Under the protruding graven gables, several storeyed houses frame the seaside along the busy docks. From here, Shinsu dominates the oceans. As commerce terminates here for the Amber Straits, the city is host to many mortals and a distributer of trade goods at the doorstep to the vast Sjoedland. Fortunate to the whole trade network, the best beerbrewers and reindeer-breeders are said to live here. Not only this, the best mapmakers and navigators study at the academy in a district dedicated to scholars; home to many moonfolk families enjoying the campus atmosphere.

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## Mouse

Wow!  That's a lot of area to be covering in such detail - down to the climatic variations!

I really love the coastline.  It looks a lot more realistic than most of mine  :Wink: 

I'm really sorry, but I still can't be any help with the climate plan...

EDIT: oh look at me!  I'm still stuck on the previous page and didn't realise you were already doing the vegetation and cultures!

Looks like its going to be a rich and interesting world, Steffen  :Smile:

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## SteffenBrand

Haha, thank you Mouse! :D Yeah, sadly this has to lie there for a bit until I find time again. Three weddings this year, many other appointments, and a heap of work on my desk in addition to some other things tend to devour the time I can spare. I actually continued a bit, but not much. Look here:



I nearly also got all cities descriptions, just point me to one of them and I'll post it. The three not completely done are Priyashen, Rewen and Bahradyar.

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