| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Markustay |
Posted - 27 Jun 2012 : 18:28:18
I've found some pretty bad JPEGs of the map from this game - only one was decent enough to read..... partially.
Anyone have this product? I can't make out some of the names. And what is that thing in the middle? A volcano?  And is it called "Isle Broddick"?
I can't make out the name of the orange area above Graubunden. I think the yellow area next to it is 'Bolgor', but I am also having trouble with the purple region after that. Except for that central isle, the rest I think I can make out.
And whats with the compass rose? I think thats an 'N' for north and a 'W' for west (and they make sense that way, relative to each other), but what are the other two? A squiggle and an 'R'? I had to spin this map to get North correct, so i am hoping I was right about the directions, and it isn't some crazy (considering the source) Whamite convention. |
| 30 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Dalor Darden |
Posted - 19 Jul 2012 : 03:37:17
Wow...MT is going epic on the loon-toon side!  |
| xaeyruudh |
Posted - 19 Jul 2012 : 01:58:18
quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
which unfortunately all turned into carrionettes and had to be recalled.
 |
| Markustay |
Posted - 03 Jul 2012 : 14:26:52
Also, briefly before their self-destruction, the inhabitants started a successful toy company called 'Wham-O'. They were the makers of such fine products as the Amazonian Death-disc, "Cadderly's Yo-yo of doom", and the 'Goatee-sack' (a leather bag filled with beans that one bounces from foot to foot, made from a Goat's... you get the idea..), inspired by the Goliaths 'Goat Ball'.
They also manufactured a line of Toy Soldiers, which unfortunately all turned into carrionettes and had to be recalled. 
Damn... I don't know if its my silly GH DM side showing, or these silly Islands really are infectious. |
| xaeyruudh |
Posted - 02 Jul 2012 : 16:57:11
quote:
Originally posted by Barastir
As long as Whamite Islands are not the place in the Realms where you find bards that sound and dance like George Michael in the beginning of his career...
It probably is |
| xaeyruudh |
Posted - 02 Jul 2012 : 16:53:39
Thankya for the source info! I assume the Germanic-sounding names would be leftover from the original (or at least pre-involuntary-invasion) culture. Parts of it sound brilliant and parts of make me want to rewrite the whole thing, which isn't meant as a jab at all... what I'm saying is that is sounds better than a lot of WotC's lore fixes. I usually immediately want to rewrite all of history when I read their fixes. |
| Barastir |
Posted - 02 Jul 2012 : 12:42:48
As long as Whamite Islands are not the place in the Realms where you find bards that sound and dance like George Michael in the beginning of his career... |
| Markustay |
Posted - 01 Jul 2012 : 00:27:25
'Smeegull Isle' started out as a joke, but Dalor liked it so I left it. "Florin and Guilder" (now also slightly renamed) were also place-holders, but he took to them as well. Since the entire theme of the map is non-canon - a cross-setting conversion - I wasn't as anal about the officialness of things.
Gnomoria* was my own creation - don't know why I did it... just like the sound of it. Traitor's isle is canon - pg.11, Sea of Fallen Stars, under 'Prespur'.
Edit: Ahhhh... "The Dolphins". Hmmm... kinda embarrassed about that one. Because of the extremely low resolution I had to reduce the already-bad map-pic to in order to trace it, I couldn't tell what I was looking at. The Dolphins (on the map) got traced, and I almost traced the compass rose and mermaid as well. After I realized what I had done, I left them because I thought they looked pretty good there. Later when I was naming stuff, I thought it would be pretty funny to continue it forward and name them precisely what they were. I don't know... maybe the ridiculousness of that game affected my mind at the time.
I have since placed the two (canon) towns on Prespur, along with one non-canon one I plan to use in the Netbook. ALL non-canon locales will be pointed out in the Netbook (I'm thinking of going with a color-coding thing for the geographic entries - I will have to discuss that with Dalor Darden). I plan to also give page and source references for every single (obscure) canon locale placed (like I just did for Traitor's Isle). The more well known ones I won't bother with (like Hlondeth, etc) - people can easily find those on their own.
I'm also planning a brief history of the Realm of Andlath as a part of the Five Shires project - I realized as I researched stuff their was some continuity wrinkles I'd like to iron-out (and the odd reference to the 'Nation of Galconda' mentioned in Swords of the Iron legion). There are three separate products/articles that deal with that geographic area, all with timelines, and none of them reference each other (so it needs to be tied together). And thats not including the gawd-awful lore in SotIL (which is partially fixed by some of my Whamite stuff above).
So no comments about my above 'lore fix' for everything? Or was it so long no-one bothered to read it?
*I just recalled, on my very first homebrew world, I had an ancient empire I named 'Algon-Nômoria', which is probably why I went with Gnomoria (I was trying to think of an island name that would imply Gnomes live there). So if you guys think Lennahc Hsilgne was bad, say the name of my 'ancient empire' s-l-o-w-l-y... Hey... I was just 14 at the time!
EDIT2: If and when I ever do an 'official' map of this region (all canon), I will turn the whamites back around. For now, I'm just going to let them stand - I'm already taking way too long to polish this one off (and my ADD is kicking-in epically). |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 30 Jun 2012 : 05:42:04
quote:
Originally posted by The Sage
quote:
Originally posted by xaeyruudh
I'm also surprised that you're okay with Smeegull Isle but not the Lennahc Hsilgne. :P
I don't really have a problem with the second option. Really. In a world known to have forgotten portal connections back to Earth, and a British-Isles-themed locale like the Moonshae region, having a locale named Lennahc Hsilgne in the Realms, isn't stretching the bounds of believability all that much.
Though, I would've tweaked the name just a little, I suppose, and give it something of a more appropriate Realms-feel.
It does stretch the bounds, for me... They could have kept a British feel by going with something derived from Britain but not so painfully obvious -- like maybe the Albean Sea or the Anglas Strait. |
| The Sage |
Posted - 30 Jun 2012 : 01:57:43
quote:
Originally posted by xaeyruudh
I'm also surprised that you're okay with Smeegull Isle but not the Lennahc Hsilgne. :P
I don't really have a problem with the second option. Really. In a world known to have forgotten portal connections back to Earth, and a British-Isles-themed locale like the Moonshae region, having a locale named Lennahc Hsilgne in the Realms, isn't stretching the bounds of believability all that much.
Though, I would've tweaked the name just a little, I suppose, and give it something of a more appropriate Realms-feel. |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 29 Jun 2012 : 22:56:12
quote:
Originally posted by xaeyruudh
I'm also surprised that you're okay with Smeegull Isle but not the Lennahc Hsilgne. :P
Smeegull, at least, derives from something with at least a touch of obscurity (I'd forgotten that name between my first and second re-readings of the Lord of the Rings trilogy). Lennahc Hsilgne is just too obvious, and not at all obscure. |
| Brian R. James |
Posted - 29 Jun 2012 : 21:27:28
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by Brian R. James
I'm pretty sure the main volcano of the Whamite Isles erupted in Mel Odom's novels, devistating the area. So honestly, the geography could be totally different now.
Wasn't that the Ship of the Gods that exploded?
Lol! You're absolutely correct, it was the Ship of the Gods that exploded. And as Markus pointed out, I (as Iakhovas) should know better. |
| xaeyruudh |
Posted - 29 Jun 2012 : 19:33:07
I'm also surprised that you're okay with Smeegull Isle but not the Lennahc Hsilgne. :P |
| xaeyruudh |
Posted - 29 Jun 2012 : 19:31:47
Aw, I was hoping you hadn't already done the islands upside down before Jeremy's response.
Do you have sources for the names of Traitor's Isle, Smeegull Isle, Phlorin, Gilldur, and Gnômoria? And did you really just make the dolphins on the Great Khan Game map into the ninth island, and call it "The Dolphins"? Or does that come from something else? |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 29 Jun 2012 : 19:05:44
quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
Both isles exploded - it was an ancient (Creator?) portal Iakhovas activated (shouldn't Brian James be an expert on this subject?)
Well done!
|
| Markustay |
Posted - 29 Jun 2012 : 17:45:00
Yeah - they traveled from the Lake of Steam to the Ship of the Gods - I have no recollection of the Whamites being mentioned (and no way of checking now).
Both isles exploded - it was an ancient (Creator?) portal Iakhovas activated (shouldn't Brian James be an expert on this subject?)
I edited my above post to include a map of what I have done with the place.
EDIT: LOL - I just realized I forgot to label the entire chain "Whamite Isles". |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 29 Jun 2012 : 17:20:49
quote:
Originally posted by Brian R. James
I'm pretty sure the main volcano of the Whamite Isles erupted in Mel Odom's novels, devistating the area. So honestly, the geography could be totally different now.
Wasn't that the Ship of the Gods that exploded? |
| Markustay |
Posted - 29 Jun 2012 : 16:49:07
Crap... another long post no-one seems to want to read. 
Anyhow, I just now noticed Jeremy's description of the compass rose - the letter I thought was an 'N' for north was apparently not. I already did the entire thing taking that into account. 
So here's some new lore - in Whamite (a debased form of Tuigan mixed with Chondathan), the letter ºZº stands for North. I'm not changing them again.
I also borrowed the names of two of the 'lesser' Realms (Bolgor and Penbroc) - I figure that were so insane by the end they didn't even know precisely where the other islands were anymore. Tom Wham can keep the rest.
If nothing else, at least folks have a place in the Realms they can customize now.
EDIT: Might as well throw up a WIP of this area. |
| Markustay |
Posted - 29 Jun 2012 : 04:31:33
Well, my idea was that the Imaskari imprisoned an Elder Evil (they seemed to have a penchant for doing that). Since they were having trouble with the one they imprisoned at home (Pandorym), they decided to start keeping them further away from their homeland, as a safety precaution.
The managed to keep several behind Eldritch Seals in the Utter East (see the VG Blood & Magic), but that also proved to be a bad idea - keeping them contained in close proximity to mortals (and each other) allowed a certain amount of 'corruption' to seep out (see the novel Faces of Deception). Even sealed away, they could still influence the outside and possibly break-free.
So they imprisoned the last few in remote places that were barren of sentient beings - one locale being the then deserted Whamite Isles (some say another was locked-away in the Moonshaes).
Unfortunately, they didn't think things through, or rather, hadn't counted on not being around at some point. All of these bizarre entities the Imaskari were bringing to Toril was part of their 'doomsday plan', in case they pissed-off the wrong uber-beings (which they eventually did, and through a quirk of irony their paranoia and actions are what caused it). The way it worked was thus - if enough power was unleashed in one place at one time within the Imaskari lands, by non-Imaskari hands, a portal would open up and take them directly to an imprisoned Elder Evil. This would also trigger the breaking of the seal, releasing the enraged evil power.
It seemed like a good idea at the time, but like these things go, you can't think of every scenario. When the Mulan gods struck, their power was spread thin amongst mortal manifestations, and it wasn't enough to trigger their trap. And so it went.
Sometime in the early 1300's a Taangan (Tuigan) Horde emerged and began attacking all the folk around them, including the Raumvari, dwarves, and Elves of the wastes. The Elves (Lythari) asked their totem (archfey) Hro'nyewachu for aid, and she sent an elemental storm (Skriaxit) to stop the Horde of raiding nomads. When the storm met the nomads, the combined power of the Horde and the storm was just enough to trigger the still-active Imaskari trap, and the participants were whisked away.
The magic is not sentient - it relies on cold logic to determine when the conditions are met. Unfortunately, it was only meant to gate a handful of beings at the most, not an entire Horde. The nomads were dispersed; a few were transferred directly to the central isle of the Whamite chain where the Elder Evil was imprisoned. Many landed on the three small Islands in the chain, others were spread thin on the other islands, and still others (it was a VERY large group) were sent to a secondary location near the Deepwash, where a lesser-bound evil was also unleashed (see the events of Swords of the Iron legion).
Over the intervening centuries, groups of Dathites (Chondathans) had settled most of the Whamite islands. When the barbarians arrived (still on their horses!) via the portal-trap, they quickly took-over the smaller islands (which they renamed), and then forced the locals to ferry them to the larger islands, where they wreaked havoc. The Horde was dispersed as Hro'nyewachu intended, but now the various Khans were setting-up their own little kingdoms in the islands. They dreamed of uniting once-again and raiding all over Faerun, but their 'High Khan' had gone with the other group (on the mainland), and they could not agree on who would lead Them. That, and the truth be told, they were frightened to death of sailing out of sight of land. So they stayed, and they bickered, and they took to attacking each-other every chance they got, and soon the native Dathites were absorbed into a new Whamite people.
But the trap was still triggered - the effect of splitting-apart the arriving group of antagonists had a delaying effect on the Eldritch Magic, and it wasn't until nearly two decades later when the magic finally degraded enough to release the Evil trapped beneath. In a sudden (and unbelievably violent) explosion, the central island blew-apart, spewing rock and ash for a hundred miles in all directions... debris tainted with the corruption of the Far-Realmsian horror that lurked below. The creature was set free, but it could not leave. Such was its nature that it could not travel over water. In fact, it could not move at all - its slimy form had atrophied into a single, pulsating mass of wretched putrification. It still had its power, but could not effect anything beyond a few dozen miles. So there it sat, and waited...
As for the Islanders - they were driven mad by the falling ash of corruption, and their old hatreds became whipped into a ravening frenzy. It was only a matter of time before they all destroyed one another. A few years later the druids of Ilighon became aware of the taint - some of the corruption had made its way to other islands, including theirs. Once they became aware of what they were up against, they called for the most powerful druids in Faerûn to come help them restore the Eldritch Seal. At least one Chosen was involved as well (and some say she was also a druid!)
As of 1375 DR, the druids had successfully re-imprisoned the Elder Evil, and lay claim to the Whamite chain of isles. The maintain only a token presence, however - they do not want to generate enough psychic energy to empower the trapped being (and cause what happened in the Utter East). They keep all others away, for their own protection (as well as to keep the seal unbroken). When the Spellplague hit in 1385 DR, the Emerald Enclave lost contact with their druids on the island. Others sent to investigate were similarly lost. As of 1479 DR, the Whamite Isles are considered cursed, and no-one steps foot on them, or even sails within site of them. The lowering of the water in the Inner sea has caused the outer islands to join together and form a ring around the inner island. The Caldera has been seen to still smoke and spew ash from time to time. |
| Steven Schend |
Posted - 29 Jun 2012 : 03:19:30
quote:
Originally posted by The Sage
quote:
Originally posted by Jeremy Grenemyer
Could have swore I read about them somewhere, but I can't remember one way or the other.
The Whamite Isles were detailed briefly in several other sourcebooks, and were a featured locale in the Sea Devil's Eye novel by Mel Odom.
I believe we also placed them within Sea of Fallen Stars and did some hand-waving to reconcile the silliness with FR canon as much as we could in the space we had.
Steven |
| Bakra |
Posted - 28 Jun 2012 : 21:51:50
quote:
Originally posted by The Sage
quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
I've found some pretty bad JPEGs of the map from this game - only one was decent enough to read..... partially.
Assuming you found these maps online... do you have a link handy?
http://boardgamegeek.com/image/9970/the-great-khan-game |
| Brian R. James |
Posted - 28 Jun 2012 : 16:48:40
I'm pretty sure the main volcano of the Whamite Isles erupted in Mel Odom's novels, devistating the area. So honestly, the geography could be totally different now. |
| Jeremy Grenemyer |
Posted - 28 Jun 2012 : 16:17:40
Cool. Thanks Sage.  |
| The Sage |
Posted - 28 Jun 2012 : 15:19:37
quote:
Originally posted by Jeremy Grenemyer
Could have swore I read about them somewhere, but I can't remember one way or the other.
The Whamite Isles were detailed briefly in several other sourcebooks, and were a featured locale in the Sea Devil's Eye novel by Mel Odom. |
| The Sage |
Posted - 28 Jun 2012 : 15:19:20
quote:
Originally posted by ericlboyd
The game was great, the FR label less so.
Personally I would include the islands on a map and then "accidentally" cover them with a sailing ship or sea serpent, like maps of old. And no label other than "Whamite Isles".
That was always a cool feature on the old RPG maps you'd find for other worlds.
Too bad it's not revisited much on the current cartographic offerings from Wizards. |
| ericlboyd |
Posted - 28 Jun 2012 : 11:03:55
The game was great, the FR label less so.
Personally I would include the islands on a map and then "accidentally" cover them with a sailing ship or sea serpent, like maps of old. And no label other than "Whamite Isles". |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 28 Jun 2012 : 10:49:57
quote:
Originally posted by Jeremy Grenemyer
Ok so...the Whamite Isles...are/were these in the Realms for real? I mean, before the Great Khan Game came along?
Could have swore I read about them somewhere, but I can't remember one way or the other.
Pretty sure they were created for the Great Khan Game, by the game's creator, Tom Wham. |
| Jeremy Grenemyer |
Posted - 28 Jun 2012 : 06:28:44
quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
Thanks Jeremy.
You're welcome.
quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
I'm not putting in "Lennach Hsilgne". I finally found a locale I didn't want to place. 
D'oh! I would be the guy to help make that come to pass, eh?
Ok so...the Whamite Isles...are/were these in the Realms for real? I mean, before the Great Khan Game came along?
Could have swore I read about them somewhere, but I can't remember one way or the other. |
| The Sage |
Posted - 28 Jun 2012 : 06:07:28
quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
I've found some pretty bad JPEGs of the map from this game - only one was decent enough to read..... partially.
Assuming you found these maps online... do you have a link handy?
|
| Markustay |
Posted - 28 Jun 2012 : 05:13:33
Thanks Jeremy.
I'm not putting in "Lennach Hsilgne". I finally found a locale I didn't want to place.
Wasn't sure about the volcano... that gives me a decent lore idea (and fix). I can spin the Oriental-sounding mini-islands into something else, along with the whole 'Khan' premise, and even tie it into Iron Legion (sort of). You see, there was this malfunctioning Imaskari portal, and a imprisoned Elder Evil... 
Thanks for the city names - I had no idea what those hexes were. |
| Jeremy Grenemyer |
Posted - 27 Jun 2012 : 20:02:55
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
Really? Lennahc Hsilgne? That's bad...
Yeah it is.
If you say it with your best Scottish Brogue on the "ach" part of Lennahc (so that you sound like you're reciting part of the Arabic alphabet) then the fun comes out.
This game is so silly. |
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