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Ashe Ravenheart
Great Reader
USA
3249 Posts |
 Posted - 12 Dec 2008 : 17:12:45
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Okay, I *think* this is the link: RPGMapMaker. The Photoshop Cartography #1. I'm not sure if it's the one or not since I can't view youtube videos here at work.
I found it while going through Cartographer's Guild, which you probably know all about all ready since I see you're a member there... Ah well. |
I actually DO know everything. I just have a very poor index of my knowledge.
Ashe's Character Sheet
Alphabetized Index of Realms NPCs |
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ErskineF
Learned Scribe
USA
330 Posts |
Posted - 12 Dec 2008 : 18:20:03
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quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
I use photoshop.
<snip>
Than You for your interest.
Not at all. I find it amazing that so much can be done that way. I've never played with photoshop though. I have paintshop, but I'm a novice with it.
I've been using Campaign Cartographer for several years, and I've turned out some decent Realms maps with it. The ones I'm proudest of are my maps of Undermountain and Illefarn, both done before the FR Atlas came out. The FR Atlas made large scale CC2 mapping of the Realms mostly unnecessary, but I will sometimes copy module maps with CC2 to make them more handy. The program has a steep learning curve, but paint/photoshop seems to have one too.
I like the fact that yours come out looking like the official product maps. I can't get that look with CC2.
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Erskine Fincher
http://forgotten-realms.wandering-dwarf.com/index.php |
Edited by - ErskineF on 12 Dec 2008 18:20:58 |
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 13 Dec 2008 : 00:45:32
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Part of the idea behind them is to look 'official' - a bit of a conceit on my part, actually. 
If I had CC2 or 3, I would have used it, but I happen to have an old copy of PS that I still use, and since I'm on a tight budget these days, I made PS work for me.
The only real difference is that with CC you get all the tools you need, whereas in PS you have to build them all yourself. The downside is obvious - tons more labor, and you are always on a quest to make things 'better'. The one upside is the versatility - I can do things with PS that CC was never designed for.
I'm still learning new tricks with PS all the time - I probably know how to use less then 25% of the features.
The version I use is PS8, and it was a 'free trial' version that was good for one year, and it came with a computer I bought for my kids (I build mine). That year was 2001... I have to reset the date on my computer every time I start the damn thing up just to get it to work. 
Someday I'll go out and buy a new copy... but right now I'm doing just fine with the version I have.  |
"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
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Edited by - Markustay on 13 Dec 2008 00:48:19 |
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ErskineF
Learned Scribe
USA
330 Posts |
Posted - 13 Dec 2008 : 03:32:44
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quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
Part of the idea behind them is to look 'official' - a bit of a conceit on my part, actually.
I try with CC2 to match the colors and style, but I can only get so close. :)
quote:
The only real difference is that with CC you get all the tools you need, whereas in PS you have to build them all yourself.
Realms CC2 users benefited greatly from the FR Atlas product, which, besides giving us tons of nifty maps, also gave us tons of Realms-style symbols. They're not exact, but they work. Of course, they're also from the 2e era.
CC2 has one other great advantage of being able to zoom in on a map without losing resolution. From what you've said, you deal with that by giving the map a high resolution, but then that makes the file sizes huge. The finished look is very nice though.
quote:
I'm still learning new tricks with PS all the time - I probably know how to use less then 25% of the features.
I was working with Paintshop the other night, and fussing because I couldn't get something to work the way I thought it should. My wife, who works with computers for a living, gave me her usual "RTFM!" To which I replied, "FTFM!" 
quote:
That year was 2001... I have to reset the date on my computer every time I start the damn thing up just to get it to work.
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Erskine Fincher
http://forgotten-realms.wandering-dwarf.com/index.php |
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 13 Dec 2008 : 17:57:31
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Manual.... there's a manual?  
I prefer How-to's on websites. I can type in the exact question about how to do a certain something on Google, and I will find dozens - if not hundreds - of pages about different ways to accomplish exactly what I want.
And those Zombie Nirvana videos I recommend to everyone - even peeps who aren't working on Fantasy Maps. I probably learned more in watching just the first five of those, then I did in the past 3 years of tinkering on my own.
Also the Cartographer's Guild is a wonderful resource, even for non-mapmakers. Not only can you find How-To's using every graphical program out there (including CC2/CC3), but the quality of maps created by some of those guys leave me simultaneaously jealous and drooling for more.
I wish I could do the adventure-scale maps some of those guys create - there are cities and towns on that site that put maps in official sources to shame.
In fact, I only started hanging out there when I found out the guy who did the 4e Cormyr Map posts there - I guess that makes me a 'Map Groupie'. |
"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
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Edited by - Markustay on 13 Dec 2008 17:59:15 |
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ErskineF
Learned Scribe
USA
330 Posts |
Posted - 13 Dec 2008 : 20:58:11
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quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
Manual.... there's a manual?
lol. Apparently ours does. I didn't know we had one until my wife found it in the closet and tossed it on my desk.
I admit, though, that my manual-phobia did not extend to CC2. I had to follow the tutorials to get started with it.
quote:
I prefer How-to's on websites. I can type in the exact question about how to do a certain something on Google, and I will find dozens - if not hundreds - of pages about different ways to accomplish exactly what I want.
Neat. I've never tried that. When I started with CC, I was on the old Realms list, and got some advice from a few people there. Other than that, it's been just trial and error. Mostly error.
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And those Zombie Nirvana videos I recommend to everyone - even peeps who aren't working on Fantasy Maps.
I'll have to check those out.
quote:
Also the Cartographer's Guild is a wonderful resource, even for non-mapmakers. Not only can you find How-To's using every graphical program out there (including CC2/CC3), but the quality of maps created by some of those guys leave me simultaneaously jealous and drooling for more.
Cool place! I just registered there as El Hakim.
quote:
In fact, I only started hanging out there when I found out the guy who did the 4e Cormyr Map posts there - I guess that makes me a 'Map Groupie'.
He must be pretty awesome if even his groupies have groupies.
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Erskine Fincher
http://forgotten-realms.wandering-dwarf.com/index.php |
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UNSpacy
Seeker
France
78 Posts |
Posted - 15 Dec 2008 : 17:55:19
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Must...get...Kara-Tur...maps...dying of waitingness... |
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 15 Dec 2008 : 18:09:05
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I get my kids on weekends, so no computer time from friday to Sunday night.
I'm back to it now - should have something later. |
"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 16 Dec 2008 : 20:18:53
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Off to my kid's BD party, so once again I've been derailed for awhile.
In the meantime, I'll post what I have of the Island Region, at the new, higher resolution.
Wa, Kozakura, and Koryo
This is still pretty damn far from complete, though. I have to fix most of the hills (because I'm now using my new 'Hills terrain' texture a lot), and most of Kozakura isn't even roughed-in yet.
I have Koryo mostly complete, but not on this map - you'll note the textures there to the north are at the old (72 ppi) res, because that was completed when it was still part of the main map. I ported it over before starting the islands, so it doesn't look as good as the rest now. Unfortunately I will probably have the exact opposite occur when I shrink everything to put the islands on the main map - I just hope the Mountains don't look like utter crap shrunken down.
You can also see a WIP of Koryo at the smaller resolution on my page as well (with some of the locales - certainly not all of the them). |
"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
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Edited by - Markustay on 17 Dec 2008 04:22:11 |
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UNSpacy
Seeker
France
78 Posts |
Posted - 17 Dec 2008 : 03:56:46
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BLARGH!
MUST...HAVE...MOAR!
Markus, you've officially inspired me to seroiusly consider running a new campaign in Kara-Tur. Thanks a bunch.
Question: do you know where Shizhuma (or something of that name) is? It's mentioned in Volume II of the poorly organized epic Kara-Tur Sourcebook, and it's apparently an island of "unspeakable evil". I might actually have the Ju-On curse be that evil (watch Ju-On/The Grudge to understand), but I don't know where it is exactly :|
Question Two: Shou Lung looks done. Think you could post up a WIP of it? |
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 17 Dec 2008 : 05:13:24
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I'll try to have a finished Shou Lung up tomorrow - there were a few more locales I found that I needed to add, and I wanted to complete the Ama Basin region as well (both of which shouldn't take me very long at all.
T'u Lung will be a bit longer - I'm still not happy with the non-canon lakes region I added, so I want to fiddle with it some more, and I also ran into a major snafu concerning the locales for Kuong - since they are all described in text in relation to each other, I got them about 80% done when I ran into something that didn't work, which means I have to 'back-up' and re-do several others to make everything fit with the text descriptions again (now I know why the original cartographer left most of Kuong un-mapped).
As for that Island - Shizushima - its in the Shizushima Wan (bay) of course.
Its a small, finished island just south of unfinished Kozakura, located in a very large bay, and I have just put the name on the map to help you find it - recheck that.
P.S. - its not the Island further from Kozakura near the other large island - thats Yarujima... the way I wrote 'Shizushima' on that makes it look like it could be either - I'll fix that on the finished map. |
"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
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Edited by - Markustay on 17 Dec 2008 16:01:29 |
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eridanis
Acolyte
USA
9 Posts |
Posted - 17 Dec 2008 : 15:44:19
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| Thanks for the WIP. True craftsmanship takes time; take all the time you need to make it AWESOME. :) It's already most of the way there! |
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eridanis
Acolyte
USA
9 Posts |
Posted - 12 Jan 2009 : 22:28:51
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| Just a friendly bump to get this to the first page. I see from your deviantart page that work is still in progress; keep up the great work! |
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UNSpacy
Seeker
France
78 Posts |
Posted - 14 Jan 2009 : 17:52:09
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| Haven't checked in in a bit...how are the Kara-Tur maps goin? |
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 15 Jan 2009 : 05:13:32
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Posted a newer WIP of the Hordelands today, which I think may just be finished finally. I'll have to recheck everything - sometimes a river or two gets past me... and I know I completely missed the name of Murghōm (uh-DOH!) - but otherwise I think it just needs a scale and it's complete.
I'm thinking about cutting it in half, though - this one's kinda big, and the origianl came in two parts (north and south).
Anyhow, I've been working on the north again - a newer version of Hartsvale was in order (I wasn't too happy with the way the last one came out), and while I was at it I managed to get the entire north coast in, all the way across the top of Kara-Tur.
That forced me to expand the map eastward a lot, which lead me to finally add Osse in (just an outline for now)...
So yeah, I've been busy, but its been all over the place, with nothing really complete. However, lots of different things are all nearing completion. Thats how I usually work - nothing for long periods, and then a whole bunch of stuff all at once.
So stay tuned...
P.S. - plus I'm involved in another map for a contest, so I'm REALLY all over the place. |
"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
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Edited by - Markustay on 15 Jan 2009 05:15:52 |
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Lord Karsus
Great Reader
USA
3746 Posts |
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UNSpacy
Seeker
France
78 Posts |
Posted - 20 Jan 2009 : 19:25:52
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I feel like I'm nagging you, given what you've said in your post, but...do you at least have a WIP I could borrow for Shou Lung? I'm starting to get frustrated with the current map I got from another source (seriously, WHY is the only terrain shown is mountains and grass!?!). |
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Lord Karsus
Great Reader
USA
3746 Posts |
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UNSpacy
Seeker
France
78 Posts |
Posted - 21 Jan 2009 : 17:52:19
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Ah.
Understandable. I have no further inquiries then. |
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 21 Jan 2009 : 19:04:38
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I'm in the processing of trying to restore water to my home - I had some pipes burst when I lost heat the other night, and everything's a mess (imagine a puff-back coupled with a flood).
Anyhow, I'll try to get a WIP up later of the whole thing - I was unaware of any 'scaling' issues - it must be from when I went from JPG to BMP format. 
Right now I have to rip-out some walls, so it may be awhile... |
"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
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Lord Karsus
Great Reader
USA
3746 Posts |
Posted - 21 Jan 2009 : 20:39:09
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quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
Anyhow, I'll try to get a WIP up later of the whole thing - I was unaware of any 'scaling' issues - it must be from when I went from JPG to BMP format.
-It's fairly minute, but different sizes nonetheless. If you try it, I think you'll see what I mean. The maps didn't line up 100% because the Tabot map seemed a bit bigger than the Hordelands map. |
(A Tri-Partite Arcanist Who Has Forgotten More Than Most Will Ever Know)
Elves of Faerūn
Vol I- The Elves of Faerūn
Vol. III- Spells of the Elves
Vol. VI- Mechanical Compendium |
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Kajehase
Great Reader
Sweden
2104 Posts |
Posted - 22 Jan 2009 : 09:22:13
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quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
I'm in the processing of trying to restore water to my home - I had some pipes burst when I lost heat the other night, and everything's a mess (imagine a puff-back coupled with a flood).
Anyhow, I'll try to get a WIP up later of the whole thing - I was unaware of any 'scaling' issues - it must be from when I went from JPG to BMP format.
Right now I have to rip-out some walls, so it may be awhile...
Ouch I had a leak in my bathroom last october, and even though it wasn't very big it took until christmas before the place was dry enough to put in a new floor, so good luck, and hope you won't have to experience the same olfactory consequences I did... |
There is a rumour going around that I have found god. I think is unlikely because I have enough difficulty finding my keys, and there is empirical evidence that they exist.
Terry Pratchett |
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 22 Jan 2009 : 19:14:35
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Yes, I did...
My bathroom literally smelled like s... for four days.
But I was able to fix it all yesterday - I even got lucky. I felt a softspot in the sheetrock, and wrapped the bottom of my flashlight (one of those tough Maglites) against the spot and broke through... EXACTLY where the leak was.
and there was only one.
So I have a hole about the size of a softball to contend with, and everything is drying up, and the cleaning has begun... and I can flush my toilets again (I never thought something like that would bring me such joy!)
And I'll check out the K-T Maps later - everything (in the same image format) should be identicle size. I've modified my Hordelands Map quite a bit from the original posted here, so that might be causing problems, but ALL my maps are taken from one large one - they aren't done sepeartely, so they have to be the same size!
The only exception to this will be the islands of Wa and Kozakura, which I'm doing at a higher resolution, because of the extra detail required. However, the outlines were lifted from the larger map, and I plan on 'shrinkafying' it back down for the world map after it is complete.
Ergo, both a continental version and 'close-up' version will be available (wich is much neccessary for the islands).
I've also just started on a Higher-Res version of The North - my original was low-res, and now I have most of the locales pasted into my world map (which is the higher 72dpi res available at WotC), but I don't really care for the way it looks (too clutered - I've added quite a bit from the original, which was already incredibly cluttered). I've decided to take a 'clean' version of the map and bump-it up to something like 100-120dpi (much more and the terrain starts to get fuzzy), and then add all the locales back in.
I think that may be the best solution for any new maps - I don't want to have to re-draw my maps from scratch, and this seems like the best compromise (wherein I see myself actually finishing stuff). Also, this will just be for the smaller regional ones, and thus far there have only been two like that - the Silver Marches One, and the Erlkazar Campaign one. |
"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
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Edited by - Markustay on 22 Jan 2009 19:16:32 |
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Brimstone
Great Reader
USA
3290 Posts |
Posted - 28 Jan 2009 : 02:39:39
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-Markus is your Bathroom still stinky?
-What map are you working on now?
BRIMSTONE/ODY SERAPH OF CYRIC  |
"These things also I have observed: that knowledge of our world is
to be nurtured like a precious flower, for it is the most precious
thing we have. Wherefore guard the word written and heed
words unwritten and set them down ere they fade . . . Learn
then, well, the arts of reading, writing, and listening true, and they
will lead you to the greatest art of all: understanding."
Alaundo of Candlekeep |
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UNSpacy
Seeker
France
78 Posts |
Posted - 18 Feb 2009 : 17:50:43
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| So, how goes the Shou Lung map? |
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Jakk
Great Reader
Canada
2165 Posts |
Posted - 12 Mar 2009 : 03:08:53
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quote:
Originally posted by UNSpacy
So, how goes the Shou Lung map?
Hrm... no comment for this long? Or did this get derailed into another scroll? |
Playing in the Realms since the Old Grey Box (1987)... and *still* having fun with material published before 2008, despite the NDA'd lore.
If it's comparable in power with non-magical abilities, it's not magic. |
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 12 Mar 2009 : 06:16:18
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More like embarrassed...
I got 'burnt out' on K-T, so I'm taking a beak and going back to the areas I enjoy the most.
I haven't forgotten about this - its just on hold until I get excited about it again... and I was just talking about this project a little while ago at WotC, and we're coming up with some nifty lore for Malatra, which is sparking my enthusiasm once again.
I'll try to have something by the weekend. |
"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
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UNSpacy
Seeker
France
78 Posts |
Posted - 04 Apr 2009 : 04:31:46
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| You think...you think you could post a WIP? At this point, any map of Kara-Tur will be nice. |
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 05 Apr 2009 : 18:11:23
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I've actually been busy re-building my entire continental map.
The new resolution matches the one I started using while making Wa and Kozakura map, so when I get across to there I won't have to re-size those to paste back in.
Instead I decide to re-size the rest of the world to match that one.
Anyhow, I will post something soon - I have been VERY busy mapping, but it has all been in the west, not the east (although I did do a little-bit on the Islands map the other day... very little). |
"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
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Jakk
Great Reader
Canada
2165 Posts |
Posted - 16 May 2010 : 05:17:31
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Heh... I found this scroll while searching for the words "Osse canon map"... brings back memories.
So... MT... soon, eh? Anyway, hopefully you're still watching this scroll, now that you're coming back around occasionally... and for anyone else who might have answers... I'm looking for any lore that may exist regarding the canon geography (beyond the simple shorelines) of Osse. I've seen some very interesting renditions (do a Google Images search for "Toril map") but as far as I know, none of them are canon.
Anyway, hopefully this gets some responses, not least from Candlekeep's original master mapper.
... see this scroll for the Osse project. |
Playing in the Realms since the Old Grey Box (1987)... and *still* having fun with material published before 2008, despite the NDA'd lore.
If it's comparable in power with non-magical abilities, it's not magic. |
Edited by - Jakk on 16 May 2010 06:55:51 |
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Map of Shou Lung?
