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Thursday, April 12, 2012

Making a map: The old fashioned method


I found this while cleaning out my closet. This is a map of a world I created for use with Savage Worlds. The world is called Dontunderstan. (And this is a terrible collage job- but it gets the point across.) The game was meant to be comedic, hence names of places such as "Nebraska" and "If bears were in this world, they wouldn't live here."

I put together the map as a basis for a fantasy game in which everything would be improv- save for the copious notes on the map itself, there would be no pre-written adventure or plotpoints. The only thing I'd have on hand besides dice would be a few basic representatives of the species of this world pregenerated.
Unfortunately, the weekend we were supposed to game is when one of my grandmothers died.
It's been six years, so maybe it's time again to try to get the gang together and see if they're ready to have a go at Dontuderstan?



The map is roughly 4 1/2 feet long. I had a fountain pen (cheapish Sheaffer pen), some watercolors, a big sheet of butcher paper, and a couple free evenings.

10 comments:

  1. That's a work of art. Are you going to post information on the inhabitants of Dontunderstan?

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  2. Not much info on the cultures/society. Dontunderstan's inhabitants include pacifist minotaurs, pirate goblins, centaurs, tiny blue goblins who are all essentially paladins, and an ambiguous race called the Marpelites who are the jerks of the land.

    Most everything about the land is written on the map itself (with the idea that the big holes would be filled in during the improv gaming.)

    Here's a taste: According to one of the descriptions written on the map, there are the grand Motus (Mo-toos) who are the leaders of each nation; they gather in one place every seven years in a grand and gaudy ceremony to decide what the national dish of Dontunderstan will be for the next seven years. (And that's also how you reference time in the land: "Oh, I was born during Lemon Chicken with Broccoli."

    Maybe I'll throw all the map info together in a nice readable fashion(?) It would be complete random nonsense- but fun:)

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for the reply! It sounds like an entertaining blend of AD&D and contemporary cultural references. Some of my best RPG experiences where improvised sessions with just a loose idea of what I wanted to happen coupled with a lively imagination, quick thinking, good set of character roleplayers.

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    2. This comment written during the hour of "Spew diet coke onto keyboard from laughter"

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    3. Ah yes, I remember taking a voyage into the Other Norther Ocean during Diet Coke with fries and a cheeseburger :)

      Glad you enjoy!

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  3. Great map, i've made dozens of similar maps mostly based on the map style from the original LOTR books but this is brilliant. Id like to see the descriptions on here too.

    Blitz

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  4. That's fun. It looks a little like the "Bored of the Rings" parody book.

    Why "Rockport?" I used to live in Rockport, Massachusetts. It's a port on the ocean. Yours is landlocked.

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  5. I chose Rockport, Missouri, because it's southeast of Nebraska:)
    (I have family in Nebraska, and I usually cross the Missouri River at Rockport.)

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    1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_Port,_Missouri

      "99.35% White" Yep! That's Rockport, Mass. as well.

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  6. Lovely looking map, and hopefully it will see use in a game sometime.

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