World of Diandel

[Denis von Strausburg]

I've been working on this world for many years now. recently it's been used in a Pathfinder campaign I ran since a friend convinced me to about four years ago. Recently though I took a break from running tabletop games, and I really want to bring my world back to it's original roots as I always intended to try to write out some stories from it and never intended to run it as a game; Although it did help push me into building out many aspects that I wouldn't have otherwise.

Below is the map of the most populated part of the world. While there are area's further out with civilizations, this portion contains somewhere between 70-90% of the population.

I have a version with the west lands borders laid out, but my main computer is dead and this is the one saved on my old laptop. So you will have to just take my word for it when I say it's mapped out over there. Which is also why this one doesn't have the country names.

It was originally a low fantasy setting, but as said before I ran a Pathfinder game for such a long time it elevated into a far more high fantasy setting. Not that it bothers me, I don't intend to revert it. But it had the effect of being a world that is very human centric, although that isn't unusual in many settings. The original writing was human only with fantasy type monsters and magic, but now it's got many fantasy races. But regardless of what I was using the setting for, the central theme has remained the same, it is a decaying and fragile world which at the surface appears perfectly fine. Civilizations seem to be prospering, and very few seem to know that things beneath the surface are rotten, and even fewer understand why. The central continent is the cradle of civilization, with the countries further out being seen as less civilized, with some exceptions.

The gods in this world are a more tangible kind, they almost all appear human at a glance but hold extraordinary power. A few reside side by side with men, but others exist in a more mystical fashion, some rarely seen by men and some said to never seen. They are as follows:
Delgon, God of Earth
Siarnel, Goddess of Water
Ardian, God of Fire
Falton, God of Air
Miolin, The Sun God
Pendilum, God of Time
Diya, Goddess of Life
Tormor, The Dead God
Wilton, God of Growth
Femdros, The Hunter God
Bundell, God of Pain
Magnel, God of Magic
Coris, Goddess of Civilization
Zerinal, The Undergod
Irimir, God of Knowledge
Bander, God of Lies
Tarius, God of Murder
Bember, God of Madness
Gladium, Goddess of Order
Rotun, God of Rightful Thievery
Jotun, God of Wrongful Thievery
Zyrus, God of Gambling
Firmur, God of History
Aiya, Goddess of Death

The most important location in the world being the landmass in the center where the central continent cuts in half, the country's of Middenhelm, along with it's capital city of Middenhelm. It being the most wealthy of all countries due to it's location, any profitable trade from east to west needs to pass through there, and the bridged going north and south are one of the most developed and secure making them the center of all trade. Overall the main continent is a fairly tame place. With a few exceptions there isn't much in the way of conflict or natural danger. The eastern lands however, are filled with some of the most dangerous creatures in the world, and the civilizations over there developed differently as they needed to adapt to the harsh creatures which reside as their neighbors; But it was also historically where humanity and all other humanoid races originated from so the land is filled with deep history. The north is a frozen wasteland which holds it's share of civilizations, but not many are able to withstand the weather. And the west is a new frontier for civilization, the people out there all come from the main continent, people wanting to create their own slice of the world. Because of that it is a very dangerous place due to little central organization and many competing psudo-countries and city states fighting for power.
I have a few stories in my head that take place in various places in the world, a few great hero's, a few dastardly villains, and a few men and woman who are simply struggling to overcome the hardships they were given, trying to forge their own in the world. But none that I have properly written about. I personally struggle to ever write and post anything, personal issue on that one which I will attempt to overcome.

Anyway feel free to share your thoughts, but be warned if I am criticized in any way I will go after you (that is a joke.)

 

[Queshire]

*cough* Well it looks like your map isn't working. Unfortunately I'm not quite sure what you would have to do to fix it. As for the write up itself I love the theme of a prosperous world that's rotting beneath the surface. What aspects of the world support that?

 

[Denis von Strausburg]

*cough* Well it looks like your map isn't working. Unfortunately I'm not quite sure what you would have to do to fix it. As for the write up itself I love the theme of a prosperous world that's rotting beneath the surface. What aspects of the world support that?

Hopefully it works now. If not I will figure it out later as I have just woken up.

As for the theme, there are a few things which do both in a mundane and supernatural fashion. In some some of the major countries there is a good deal of corruption within the governments. Not a full on dystopia, but the early stages where its still very important for the corrupt to mask what they are doing as most people still have faith they are being lead in the right direction, and don't have any easy to spot clues about the state of those in charge.

There are some supernatural aspects of decay, such as the force known as Blight. Blight was created when the god Tormor died, and is the only known god to have ever perished; It is something that inflicts the soul and causes those in it's grasp to change, first mentally, then physically, and always eventually results in death, but not before turning the victim into a monster and in many case causing the deaths of others around them. The phenomenon is publicly known but in the current era it is believed to be at a low stage, reports of people inflicted with it are few and far between. However it is anything but slowed down, which is it's own post all topic all together so I will save that for later.

Ontop of the death of one of the gods, a few others are suffering in their own ways. The circumstances all go back into ancient times, which causes most people to believe how they are now is natural. But the effects of their circumstances has large impacts on the world, and are only getting worse with each passing day.

And there is the situation with a place known as the Abyss. That one is hard to summarize in a short paragraph, but in short without giving away all of it's secrets so soon, it is it's own realm which is filled with creatures more dangerous than any others. It is largely unknown, most of it's effects on the world are usually misinterpreted as something else by anyone but the few who specialize in the Abyss. One facet of its influence which is known by some, is the creation of creatures that are to almost all who have heard of it just scary stories you tell around camp fires and nothing more, the eight Apocalypse Beings who are said to bring the end of the world. No one really believes they exist, but they very much do and are in a semi-dormant state.

Also as I said I just woke up so forgive me if I rambled or had some typos in there.

 

[ThinkerX]

the 'rot beneath the surface' and 'dangerous creatures just out of sight' bits remind me of Lovecraft.

The map, I assume, runs from the north polar region to the equatorial zone. If so, you have some longitudinal distortion issues. Longitudinal distance shrinks with increasing latitude. For example, if one degree of longitude equals 60 miles at the equator, then that one degree will equal 40 miles at Latitude +30 and 20 miles at +60. (If not corrected, this is how you end up with maps depicting Greenland the size of South America.) Hence, the northern landmasses on your map are likely much smaller (east/west axis) than depicted.

 

[Denis von Strausburg]

the 'rot beneath the surface' and 'dangerous creatures just out of sight' bits remind me of Lovecraft.

The map, I assume, runs from the north polar region to the equatorial zone. If so, you have some longitudinal distortion issues. Longitudinal distance shrinks with increasing latitude. For example, if one degree of longitude equals 60 miles at the equator, then that one degree will equal 40 miles at Latitude +30 and 20 miles at +60. (If not corrected, this is how you end up with maps depicting Greenland the size of South America.) Hence, the northern landmasses on your map are likely much smaller (east/west axis) than depicted.

I made the base map like 6 years ago, and I am certain I never took any of that into account. But I might revisit it, I am sure anything I might do to fix it won't effect the cities or make the overall geography unreasonable. So I appreciate this information. I will look into that more when I have time.

And I don't know anything about Lovecrafts writing other than spooky fish people and Cthulu. So I can't confirm nor deny if it is similar to it.

 

[Righmath]

Nice map! Where did you create it? I've been looking for a place to draw mine in some good detail (other than by hand).

The world is good also, when will you start writing something? With my world, I haven't done any 'pathfinder' things, but I created some anthology stories (the Witcher vibe) which is helping me create it further. Perhaps that could help you to begin with?

If there's anything else to mention I guess there's an overload of gods? Could be hard to keep up with which one is which. But other than that, very cool

 

[Denis von Strausburg]

Nice map! Where did you create it? I've been looking for a place to draw mine in some good detail (other than by hand).

The world is good also, when will you start writing something? With my world, I haven't done any 'pathfinder' things, but I created some anthology stories (the Witcher vibe) which is helping me create it further. Perhaps that could help you to begin with?

If there's anything else to mention I guess there's an overload of gods? Could be hard to keep up with which one is which. But other than that, very cool

I took a picture of ice and recolored it, then made some minor tweaks. Basically using a natural formation to try to emulate a natural landmass rather than artificially sclupt out what I think would work.

And I see what you mean with an overload. But I can't remove any without having to rewrite massive chunks of the world. I do take into consideration that there are so many when writing, if they are relevant I only focus on a select few and when I do get something actually written intend to have subtle reminders to point out what the god in question is about. I certainly won't throw down a situation where you need to know all of them and just assume the reader is an expert on my lore.

I've already "started" writing, but I struggle to get things on paper. Not to say I can't plan or struggle to form stories. I could verbally tell tales with ease, and I could easily dump paragraphs of random deep lore. But when it comes to putting into proper writing and into a finished state my mind struggles. In reality, I'm bad at the act of writing, up until college writing was always my weakest subject. So while the story and world building aspects of writing come easy to me, the physical forming of sentances in a good flow is not.

I have many half written stories saved on my computer that I need to power through and get over my writing weakness.

 

[Righmath]

My advice from some personal experience is to not start something new until it is finished. That being said, I do make exceptions for my anthologies. When I have a writers block or when I'm commuting to work, I use that time to create these short stories.

I wouldn't say my writing is strong either, but if there's a story to tell (which there is, because there's a whole world you've created) then tell it. If you don't think it's good enough, then just start something fresh, some thing big.

If you're struggling to complete something, drawing a timeline could also help. But I also find that if I'm struggling to write, its because what I'm writing isn't exciting. So switch it up; insert some fairytale which your protagonist stumbles upon which takes up a few chapters, and doesn't even necessary link to the end of your story. Or just keep writing, even if you know it's not great. That's what editing is for!

 

[pmmg]

Nice map! Where did you create it? I've been looking for a place to draw mine in some good detail (other than by hand).

Inkarnate is both good and easy to use.

Inkarnate - Create Fantasy Maps Online

 

[Righmath]

Inkarnate is both good and easy to use.

Inkarnate - Create Fantasy Maps Online

Thank you! It's actually funny because this is where I've created my only digital map. Costs money though, which I'm not prepared to pay until I'm absolutely certain how everything is positioned.

 

[ThinkerX]

Nice map! Where did you create it? I've been looking for a place to draw mine in some good detail (other than by hand).

The world is good also, when will you start writing something? With my world, I haven't done any 'pathfinder' things, but I created some anthology stories (the Witcher vibe) which is helping me create it further. Perhaps that could help you to begin with?

If there's anything else to mention I guess there's an overload of gods? Could be hard to keep up with which one is which. But other than that, very cool

I used MS Paint to create my maps. The grid function was useful.

Facebook.

 

[Nighty_Knight]

Inkarnate is both good and easy to use.

Inkarnate - Create Fantasy Maps Online

It’s where I made some of mine. They have some impressive ones there if you look at the inkarnaye Reddit.

 

[Nighty_Knight]

I took a picture of ice and recolored it, then made some minor tweaks. Basically using a natural formation to try to emulate a natural landmass rather than artificially sclupt out what I think would work.

And I see what you mean with an overload. But I can't remove any without having to rewrite massive chunks of the world. I do take into consideration that there are so many when writing, if they are relevant I only focus on a select few and when I do get something actually written intend to have subtle reminders to point out what the god in question is about. I certainly won't throw down a situation where you need to know all of them and just assume the reader is an expert on my lore.

I've already "started" writing, but I struggle to get things on paper. Not to say I can't plan or struggle to form stories. I could verbally tell tales with ease, and I could easily dump paragraphs of random deep lore. But when it comes to putting into proper writing and into a finished state my mind struggles. In reality, I'm bad at the act of writing, up until college writing was always my weakest subject. So while the story and world building aspects of writing come easy to me, the physical forming of sentances in a good flow is not.

I have many half written stories saved on my computer that I need to power through and get over my writing weakness.

The landmass does look really natural. Would love to get some of mine to that point. What program did you use?

 

[pmmg]

Costs money though, which I'm not prepared to pay until I'm absolutely certain how everything is positioned.

Not gonna say you should buy it, but $25/year, is pretty cheap for what it does. I spend more than its monthly fee ($2.00) everyday just driving to work.

Once the tool is present, you may find the creative part opens up.

 

[Denis von Strausburg]

The landmass does look really natural. Would love to get some of mine to that point. What program did you use?

I want to say I made it in Clip Studio. But I can't recall if that is what I was using when I made the map, it's what I use now for drawing. Either way I made it with a drawing program, all I really need for it is the ability to adjust hue and a brush to clean things up.