Any Cartographers in the Playground?

[Lappy9000]

Despite my misgivings about posting individual pieces of a campaign setting, I'd really like some feedback on my current world (mostly) map.

Just geography/topography (http://webzoom.freewebs.com/lego12340/Dolsaren_Map.jpg)

Geography, topography, and national boundaries (http://webzoom.freewebs.com/lego12340/Dolsaren_Map2.jpg)

And in case you couldn't read the horridly clustered nations, they are:

Baantí
Corrath
Dungar
Enarem
Frostknell
Morander
Nourem
Táneli Fields
Varzerí
Zan Eldor

And the Count's Peace.

Basically, I'd like to know if anything looks glaringly off. Does the placement of mountains, etc seem logical? Do the rivers appear to bend "naturally"? If you don't want to get in-depth, a simple "It looks good" or "It looks terrible, fix ...." would suffice. Much obliged!

[MMad]

Looks pretty good to me. Although if the width of those rivers are to scale, it's either a very small island or very large rivers.
Also, I'm not sure what the story of this place is, but the arrangement of nations seem somewhat unlikely. Meaning that if this place had a long history, I would have expected some of them to be gobbled up in earlier wars. Assuming typical real-world nation-state mentality, this place looks like a Great War waiting to happen. :)

[Lappy9000]

Looks pretty good to me. Although if the width of those rivers are to scale, it's either a very small island or very large rivers.

The scaling problems are likely because I'm still getting used to AutoRealm. I totally forgot to add in a scale, thanks for that I'll get right on that :)


Also, I'm not sure what the story of this place is, but the arrangement of nations seem somewhat unlikely. Meaning that if this place had a long history, I would have expected some of them to be gobbled up in earlier wars. Assuming typical real-world nation-state mentality, this place looks like a Great War waiting to happen. :)

That's exactly why I don't like posting individual pieces of a campaign world, 'cause that question is worth several posts right there. Alright, very very very brief overview:

After a powerful human organization asserts its massive arcane power to organize the scattered kingdoms of the human race into one encompassing nation (humans aren't the dominant race), they are joined by several gnome and dwarf governments and loosely supported by the elven capital. However, as in all uber-nations it is eventually weakened due to internal corruption and conflict but is untimately destroyed by a dissident movement which eventually formed its own nation (Varzerí).

Noone realized exactly how much this organization had kept the continent in order, and upon their fall, chaos ensued leading to roughly 200 years of massive conflict and small skirmishes. Eventually, a powerful former noble of considerable power affirms his control by essentially drawing a circle on a map and saying, "This is my realm now, stop fighting" forming the Count's Peace. Although noone took him seriously at first, he was validated his authority through massive military might, allowing him to annihiliate those who opposed him (Yes, it's based off GG 'cause I'm an untalented hack).

A few years follow, and several nations (namely Corrath, the Táneli Fields, and Nourem) are granted with sovereignty, while the militant Varzerí refuses his rule and manages to succeed after the Táneli Fields is formed, effectively creating a barrier between them and the powerful Count's Peace.

Yup. Besides, political instability on the brink of a large-scale continent engulfing war makes sure that the PC's are never left bored (Eberron? What's Eberron? Never heard of it).

[black dragoon]

Hehe That sounds about like what happened in Girl genius. GAH! I wish I had a map editior all I've got is good pen and paper and I have NO since of scale! Man I wish I had a computer that did'nt Die with every download.

[Flickerdart]

If you'd make the background light green instead of white, and maybe add in a mountain range for the hell of it, it would be easier to read and more interesting. Unless the brown things are mountains already. Either way, one defining feature that could also be the go-to place for a handy ancient prophecy is always useful.

[black dragoon]

The white is kinda hard on the eyes but It's able to dealt with. In truth it's very nice compared to so many maps I've seen brewed up.

[Lappy9000]

If you'd make the background light green instead of white, and maybe add in a mountain range for the hell of it, it would be easier to read and more interesting.

Yeah, the brown-thingdiddlies are mountain ranges (and the gray thingdiddly is a crag that got cut into the continent which is full of even more backstory). The only reason that it's white is that it's gonna be black and white anyway in the final copy due to expenses, so figured why waste an extra two days filling in the continent when it's only gonna look white anyway?

Thanks again for everyone's feedback.
Yo, black dragoon, the map-maker is just AutoRealm (http://autorealm.sourceforge.net/index.php). It's free to download and it only took me about 2 1/2 days to get the hang of it.

[Caros]

Two complaints. The first is purely personal. I dislike single continent worlds, moreover it keeps jumping out looking like australia.

Second, and far more importantly. The national boundries are a major issue when drawing a map. The first thing I tend to do when worldbuilding is draw the geography, Landmass, major rivers and major mountain ranges (Impassible)

From there, its all about logical steps. Looking at your map, some of the borders don't make sense. The inland sea bordering Nourem for example. Countries very rarely claim water since it is impossible to hold. (Man thats deep.)

The taneli fields is another that seems odd, the semi circle of a border that doesn't seem to contact any specific landmass. Seems arbitrary.

I dunno, just suggestions =)

[Gwyn chan 'r Gwyll]

Gah! Australia?

Ok, other than really looking A LOT like Down Under, I have 2 major concerns with this.

The position of the mountains doesn't make sense. When I'm positioning mountains, I first think of the geographical history of the landmass in question, then place mountains wherever the continent collided with another. Most mountainranges are long, positioned along the sea.

[Storm Bringer]

A few things:

1) I'd move the border of the Táneli Fields slightly, so that it's south-western end is on the mountain/lake/river line just beyound the current line. The Counts Peace can only really be access that area by boat, sailing up the river, or by fording the river, both of which are vunable points. the salient east of the river would be hard to hold with supply lines like that, and require inordinate numbers of troops, so it'd make more sense to hold the river line. Same with the area just north of the Táneli Fields, where the Counts Peace hold a long, compativly thin corridor of land that can only be suppiled across a major river. Unless it's vunablitiy is to become a plot point, I'd hand that to Morander.

2) you have a desert, surround by forest on three sides and low hills on the other. Deserts form due to lack of rain, which means that the rain carrying winds are not reaching that area. Now, the prevailing winds could be any way you like them, but something needs to sit between the desert and the winds, but not between the forest just next to the deserts and the winds.

I'd either move the forests, or insert something that would drive the rain carrying winds away form the area, like a mountain range between it and the prevailing winds.

3) the Baantí/Enarem border goes cross a mountain range in a straight line, with both sides holding as much on the coastal side as the inland side. the mountain range basically cuts that border in half, and creates two seperate fronts. victories on one side of the range would lead to gains on that side, but not on the other. Assuming that these are borders that have been fought over, you'd expect them to be different, with one side being futher north/south on the coast side than on the inland side.

4) does this large rift valley in the north actaully extend to the sea? is the land thier high enough for this valley to be quite deep and still be above sea level? or is it one huge fjord, with a thin, deep lake at the bottom of it?

5) the inland sea appears to drain both into the rift valley and the sea. water will only take the path of least resistance, so that needs altering into to rivers.

In general, I think the national boarders could be changed a bit, particularlly if their has been a major war recently that was ended due to ceasefire rather than victory. The current borders do look like they were drawn without regard to the terrian. In general, I'd draw the boarders to lie along clear features, where possible, which tend to deliniate nations anyway ("okay, you tax that side of the river, I'll tax this side, and if you can get those crazy hill guys in the mountains to pay taxes, you're welcome to them.")