Evolution of a Map

I was recently talking to a friend of mine, who is writing a fantasy novel, and we started chatting about maps. I explained that I'd used Inkarnate to create my initial sketch, but commissioned Eli Kurtz of The Mythic Gazetteer to produce the final map - partially because it wasn't clear what the terms of use were for Inkarnate, but also because I felt the results didn't quite capture the look I was hoping to achieve.

While hunting around for some examples to show my friend, I came across my early sketches, and I thought it would be interesting to show the different stages the map went through as it evolved from a rough initial sketch into a polished final product.

When I first started working on Saga of the Goblin Horde, I envisioned an area of land that extended into the ocean, with mountains and a great river to the north, and a forest to the south, with the main human lands to the east. Some of these ideas can also be seen in the early One Sheets, but when I tried to turn the concept into a map, it felt extremely barren.

I started thinking up new terrain ideas while working on the setting fluff, and also divided the territory into the different regions controlled by the major tribes. This required carefully going over the One Sheets, making sure the geography fit with the earlier adventures. For example, Bone of Contention takes place in an old abbey which needed to be on the edge of the Redfang territory, but also needed to be close to the Bonedigger territory, so I decided to make them neighbouring tribes.

It was also at this point that Eli Kurtz started giving me advice on the geography, helping me to reshape the rivers, and expand the terrain to include swamps, plateaus, and more forests.

At this point I felt I had a pretty interesting region of world for the campaign to place, so I decided to commission a custom map. Eli already had a good idea of what I wanted, and I felt that his artistic style was a good fit for the book, so he started working on a new map.

Eli then added detail to the swamps, forests and mountains, and changed the lake to turn it into more of a teardrop shape (to better fit with its description in the gazetteer).

Eli continued fleshing out the terrain, finalizing the initial black and white version of the map.

Next came the color, starting with the ocean and forests. This actually required quite a bit of discussion, and we looked at other maps to see what sort of colors looked good and contrasted well together.

The rest of the map was then colored, using shades that contrasted well with the forest and ocean.

Finally, the swamps were darkened, while some highlighting and shadows were added to the mountains, and icons were added for the Dome of Shadows and Spire of Flame. The Obsidian Valley was also moved slightly so that it would better align with the hex grid I wanted to use.

At this point we asked a few other people for feedback, and someone pointed out that map was too dark, so we tried experimenting with different levels of brightness and contrast.

Some last adjustments were made to the colors, and Eli added some small tent and building icons, along with the compass and logo.

With the map itself complete, we then started discussing the labels for the different regions. I wanted to use the same font I'd used in the setting book, but it took quite a lot of experimentation to find a color that contrasted nicely with the background.

Of course I also wanted to include a hex grid, as the map had a functional purpose. Once again it took some effort to find a color that was easily visible against the background without overwhelming the map or labels (the usual black wouldn't work here, as the map itself was originally drawn in black, but brighter colors clashed with the text labels). In the end we settled on a semi-transparent white, with the hex grid drawn on a separate layer where it could be easily switched on and off.

I also wanted to use the map to indicate the territory of the different tribes. This involved quite a lot of discussion, and in the end Eli came up with a very cool "fog of war" effect, which he placed on a separate layer. This allowed me to include a separate version of the map within the book, showing which region each tribe controlled.

If you've not yet checked out the Saga of the Goblin Horde Player's Guide, you can grab it from here, and look at pages 9 and 38 to see how I ended up using Eli's map within the book. If you read through the gazetteer in the last chapter, you'll also see I made sure there was a section for each location marked on the map.

Saga of the Goblin Horde: Hex-Based Plot Point Campaign

This is the final post in a three-part series about the geography of the Saga of the Goblin Horde setting, referencing the map created by Eli Kurtz of the Mythic Gazetteer.

In the first post I described the natural borders surrounding the goblin lands, while in the second post I discussed the organization and territorial borders of the goblin tribes. This time I'd like to take a short look at the mechanism for grid-based travel, and Savage Tales triggered by points of interest.

Click to enlarge (to 25% of the full size map).

I've previously blogged about overland travel, and even designed a hex-crawl system for the Heroes of Drakonheim adventure, but the approach I'm using in Saga of the Goblin Horde is intentionally simpler, as the goal of the system is somewhat different.

Each hex represents an area 8 miles across, and characters can move a number of hexes per day equal to half their Pace - so most people can move 3 hexes per day. When moving through swamps and mountains, you move half a hex at a time (either moving from the center of a hex to the line between two hexes, or from the line to the center of an adjacent hex).

Moving across the plain and into Darkmire Swamp.

Each time the characters enter a hex, the GM draws a card to check for a random encounter (if multiple characters are traveling together they only draw one card in total, not one card each). The chance and type of encounter depends on the terrain and other factors, and the card mechanism means that the further you travel, the more likely you are to encounter something. The GM can also simply choose to trigger an adventure at an appropriate point in the journey, of course.

The adventure will depend on the terrain, although some locations automatically trigger a specific Savage Tale, much like the approach used for the Plot Point Campaign in 50 Fathoms. For example there are several possible adventures that are available within any part of Shadowglade Forest, but visiting the Bone Quarry hex for the first time will trigger a specific adventure.

In this way, the players are free to roam the land as they see fit, triggering a combination of Savage Tales tailored to their current location, and random adventures created through the adventure generator. This should give the world more of a sandbox feel, which is something I really liked about the 50 Fathoms Plot Point Campaign.

The actual Plot Point Episodes are triggered in response to the players' overall progress, rather than their current location, although the GM can obviously speed up or slow down the rate at which the main storyline develops. But the idea here is that the overarching plot shouldn't freeze just because the players decide to wander off and do their own thing for a few weeks - the bad guys will continue to follow their own agendas at their own pace.

Thus while the Savage Tales are designed to encourage a sandbox feel, the Plot Point Episodes are designed to feel like an ongoing story that continues to play out at its own pace. The players should still have enough time to explore and do their own thing, but the Plot Point Episodes add an element of pressure that pushes the campaign forward and keeps the overall storyline on track.

Saga of the Goblin Horde: Bands, Tribes, and Territorial Borders

This is the second in a three-part series of posts about the geography of the Saga of the Goblin Horde setting, referencing the map created by Eli Kurtz of the Mythic Gazetteer.

In my previous post I discussed the natural borders surrounding the goblin lands, so this time I'd like to talk about the organization and territorial borders of the goblin tribes.

An extended family of goblins is called a "band", and these bands operate as independent social units of around 50-100 individuals. Several bands will sometimes merge together to form a "tribe", with the strongest family head declaring themselves chieftain, and the leaders of the other bands forming the council of elders.

There are many smaller tribes, but the region is dominated by six major tribes: Redfang, Icerunner, Nightsworn, Bonedigger, Longknife and Stonefist. These six tribes have divided up the entire territory between them, and usually try to eliminate or absorb any smaller tribes they encounter on "their" turf.

Click to enlarge (to 25% of the full size map).

It's worth noting that all six territories border on the Obsidian Valley. This 30-mile dale is considered a holy place, a neutral meeting point for the tribes, where they gather for their yearly moot.

Players in Saga of the Goblin Horde take on the role of gang bosses belonging to the Redfang tribe, the secrets of the other tribes gradually revealed throughout the campaign, but here is a very brief overview of the major goblin factions:

Redfang: With upward of 25,000 members, this is the largest of the tribes, and also the most varied and inclusive. Redfang will recruit anyone, regardless of breed, gender, competence, or even willingness to join the tribe.

Icerunner: This tribe first appeared only a few years ago, on the peaks of the Longtooth Mountains, sporting an unusual new mutation. It is assumed that these "snow goblins" are a recent development, but those familiar with my fan supplements might recognize the crossover potential ;)

Nightsworn: The leaders of this tribe are devout worshipers of the Shadow Queen, and Nightsworn goblins can frequently be encountered on pilgrimages, walking from their home in Darkmire Swamp to the Dome of Shadows at the north-west end of the Obsidian Valley.

Bonedigger: At around 6,000 members, this is the smallest of the main tribes. However it is led by a cadre of vicious necromancers, who fill out the ranks with animated skeletons and zombies. These undead fodder allow the tribe to punch above its weight.

Longknife: Particularly sneaky even for goblins, most of the tribe lives in a vast network of caves under Westside Plateau. Longknife goblins are particularly well known for their fondness for dirty tricks, favoring ambushes and assassinations over direct battle.

Stonefist: Despite their apparent proximity to the Icerunner goblins, there is practically no interaction between the two tribes, because the Icerunners live on the mountain peaks while the Stonefist tribe lives in extensive cavern networks deep under the mountains.

In the next and final part in this series of blog posts, I'll give an overview of the hexcrawl system, and talk about how it ties in to the Plot Point Campaign.

Saga of the Goblin Horde: Final Map

Eli Kurtz (of the Mythic Gazetteer) has completed the map I commissioned for my upcoming setting in record time, and I'm extremely pleased with the way it turned out, so I thought I'd show it off and talk a little about it.

Click to enlarge (to 25% of the full size map).

The Plot Point Campaign in Saga of the Goblin Horde takes place in a relatively small geographical area, which means you can slot the entire setting into an existing fantasy world if you wish. However one of the main reasons for restricting the goblin lands to a small area is that I want to tie Plot Point Episodes and Savage Tales to specific points of interest (a la 50 Fathoms).

Therefore in order to confine the players to the area and prevent them just wandering off into the world, I added some natural barriers.

The Endless Ocean is the main barrier; teeming with feral sea goblins who attack anyone passing through their territory (including ships), the ocean is effectively impassable. There is one island, but it's a tidal island, and can be safely reached during low tide.

The Great Forest serves as another barrier to the south. This is the territory of the vicious forest humans (you know, the long-lived "humans" with pointed ears and an archery fetish), and they're extremely hostile, so the area is effectively off limits unless you've got an army.

The Longtooth Mountains serve as a soft barrier, this time to the north. In theory you could keep heading north over the mountains, but the going gets tougher and colder, and there's nothing to see or do there.

That leaves east as the only viable exit, and the goblins do indeed launch occasional raids across Hightree Ridge into the human lands, but they don't push too deep. Attacking small towns and outposts near the border is one thing, but you'd need a huge army to assault the cities and fortresses in the settled lands, and the goblins simply aren't that organized (although it would make a great sequel, so who knows what the future will bring).

And that leaves us with the regions described in the map, which is where the Plot Point Campaign takes place. The gazetteer provides a brief overview of each point of interest, and the GM chapter explores their secrets, but most of the details will be expanded in Plot Point Episodes, Savage Tales, and One Sheets.

If you've previously downloaded the archetypes, the map should give you a better frame of reference for some of the locations mentioned in the character backgrounds.

I would also like to discuss the division of goblin territory, and give an overview of the hexcrawl system, but this post is already rather long, so I will save those subjects for future posts.