Viorp
Minstrel
I've already played around with making fantasy maps and even though they were basic I never had many problems with them.
But latelly I came up with an idea which made me unable to make a map. And it is hard to worldbuild if you can't visualize the stuff.
I usually did flat maps and never experimented with the polar regions.
This time I did and failed miserably.
The idea for the world is still very basic it evolved from an alternate history idea "what if the inuit had mommoths"
But from there it chnaged so much I decided to make it an alternate/ fantasy world in it's own right.
For now the world has only 7 regions, but more will be added later. (temporary names)
1. Europe-Substitute (ES)
2. Cold India (CI)
3. Maori Islands (MI)
4. Middle East Substitute (MES)
5. Midland Stepps (MS)
6. New World (NW)
7. Trading Cities (TC)
1. Is a region which is culturarly very much like europe around the 17th-18th century. For now they are historically and culturally equivalent to Europe.
3. Islands which were originally inhabited by a peoples group exactly like the Maori. Now they jave chnaged a lot due to CI and MES influence and more recently ES influence too.
4. Nothing known except that in the past the ES had crusades aginst them. I'd like to make them distinct from the middle east of the 18th century though.
5. Steppe Hordes which remain after the Great Horde fell apart. They are technologically behind the ES and TC and thus most of the hordes are puppet states. They are known for renting out their superb cavalry as mercenaries.
6. Same role as america had for Europe it had for ES. It is located between ES and MI. Culturarly a mix of africa and native american cultures.
7. Culturarly the are somewhat like ancient Greece mixed with Venice. Meanwhile they look like ancient Thailand or Laos. Their culture is centered around trade. While not advanced in terms of technology they are the richest group of people. They are the only place in the world where democracy is a thing.
4. I left it at the end because it is the root of the idea and the most devlopped region. The people living here look exactly the same as the people of ES. The region is united under one somewhat theocratic nation. The subcontinent borders ES in the southeast (westerh hemisphere) trough a massive mountainrange which is basically untraversable. Meanwhile in the the south they are seperated by a very rowdy sea which is so dangerous that ships can't really pass trough. It is full of wirlwinds and has constant storms.
The relligion of CL is pagan they have many different dieties, but the main two are
a) The Mammoth God of war, trade and civilisation
b) The Fire/Vulcano God of farming, hot baths and destruction/natural disasters.
There are many more Gods which are given different value accoriding to the region. Like gods responssible for fishing or hunting or caves.
The subcontinent has itself many regions.
A) South-West Coastline
One of two only parts of the region in which the temperature ever rises above 0C. Thus there exist massive massive farms. The region was a lot of times in recent history invaded by the people of ES which while succesful in the summer were always pushed out in the winter. The region is one of the more denslly poppulated ones. Their main source of food is fishing especially whale-hunting which has big cultural importance.
B) The Holy River
The holy river is an unusual sight it is a very long river which goes on for 500km. It is unique because most boiling rivers or hot sources of water are poisoned with sulphur and can't be used for farming.
The Holy river originated from the Holy Lake which is boiling at 300C. The holy river flows in a very rowdy way and is very wide. When it reaches the Sea at the South-West Coastline the water is only lukewarm. Due to how hot the water is it needs to be branched out a lot, to coll down enough to be used for farming. It offers a massive agricultural output even though it starts at the poles. It is the most densly poppulated region.
C) The North-West Coastline
That's the area north of the South-West Coastline. This are has no farms and is less poppulated. They specialize in hunting whales. The region has a few bigger cities which were built around iron and salt mines.
D) The Western Icy Desert
It is one of the least poppulated regions. The area is mostly flat and the temperatures range from -20C to -70C torughout the year. The area is very flat except the massive vulcanos which pop out of the ground every now and then. The most active vulcanos have cities around them. No village could surive as there is no way to farm or hunt there.
Instead the most active vulcanos errupt every 10-20 years. Leaving behind a lot of vulcanic dust. Which is great fertiliser, source of cement or sulphur. Thus this region is in a lot of ways like the wild west. The cities sustain themselves from trade. Women and children usually are responssible for collecting and processing the dust while the men take their Mammoths and Arctic Donkeys to travel and sell those goods around the subcontinent.
There are also a few cities wihich are just built around mines of gold or something there. The houses are like massive flats which house 500-2000 people. They are made out of very solid rock and to survive constant Pompei level vulcanic explosions.
E) The Holy Lake
A very weird Lake. Located on top a massive suparvulcano, much larger than Yellowstone. About the size of lake Victoria in Africa. The water there is boiling at about 300C which gives the place the nickname of Mist Lake. The Holy City (Capital) is located at the waterfall which starts the Holy River. The Lake itself has many smaller Vulcanos popping out of it. They are always covered in snow and very tall. Most of the water in the lake comes from the constant avelanches from those mountains. At the top of every mountain there is a temple dedicated to praising the Vulcano God. There are about 700 of those mountains. (the number might change)
F) The Great Cave
A weird place nearly wt the very Pole. All you can see there is an endless desert of ice. Except one massive city. It is the part of the world which is the furthest to the north. The source of food the people have there is very weird. Underneeds the city there is a massive cave. Which goes so deep that it somehow connects to the deep ocean. The people who stumbled uppon it noticed that there are a lot of weird fish in those waters. The water is lukewarm. But when you go as deep as the water or into the water you get sick. So you need to go down gradually over weeks and it takes months before you can freely swim and hunt in that water. (high pressure very deep)
People who hunt in that water are considered heroes because of how dangerous it is. But it is very rewarding because you can find not only meat but sometimes very valuable materials when diving there.
The city also sustains itself from trade which can only go on during summer, because not even Mammoths can survive the cold in winter. It is the only viable connection between the Eastern and Western Icy Deserts and any other road would be to long to travel.
G) The Eastern Ice Desert
There are not that many vulcanos there so less goes one than in the Western Icy Desert. But the region is more like rocky icelands which are cold and very windy. It's to windy for glaciers to form. But because those are highlands with mountains and stuff many nesting bird species come in the summer to raise their young and later return to the Southern continents.
The people living there are traditional nomadic people. They use thick fur tents when traveling and follow the birds and hunt them. They are known for their endurance and tracking ability.
There are no merchants among them perse. But the tribes travel constantly trading with each other and even visiting the Great Cave from time to time.
E) The North-East Coastline
A poorer verssion of the North-West Coastline. Except that they are basically the same, except that many of them live in igloos. Of which some are massive and an over 100 years old.
F) The South-East Coastline
It's the potentially warmest region of the subcontinent. The tip is as warm as Northern Denmark. People there are farmers. They are also the only people of the Subcontinent which build big ships and engage in naval trade with the MI. This region is somewhat rich and seperated from the rest. They have leanings and interest in ES culture and relligion. They enage some modern science and even established collonies in the MI.
They are considered weird and thus disliked by the rest of the continent. Most also refuse to engage in canibalism.
G) The South-West Eastern Mountainchain
It's the massive moountainchain at the border with the ES.
Part of it and some surrounding areas were conquered by "ES" knights during something like a crussade.
A kingdom was established. The ES was beaten back, but not by the Pagans of the region.
A kind of new rellgion formed. Something like Sikhism from Islam and Hinduism.
The relligion is based on the code of the knights and is dualistic like Zoroastrianism. They believe there is a good God of Order and an Evil God of Chaos. That region is their holy land, and they specilize in mountain combat. As the only people on the subcontinent. They are fierce honorable fighters, though some claim they are looking for a fight.
-----------------------------
Sorry for making this so long. The original question is how I can make a map of this very... very confusing subcontinent. I'm really very angry at my unability to do so.
But latelly I came up with an idea which made me unable to make a map. And it is hard to worldbuild if you can't visualize the stuff.
I usually did flat maps and never experimented with the polar regions.
This time I did and failed miserably.
The idea for the world is still very basic it evolved from an alternate history idea "what if the inuit had mommoths"
But from there it chnaged so much I decided to make it an alternate/ fantasy world in it's own right.
For now the world has only 7 regions, but more will be added later. (temporary names)
1. Europe-Substitute (ES)
2. Cold India (CI)
3. Maori Islands (MI)
4. Middle East Substitute (MES)
5. Midland Stepps (MS)
6. New World (NW)
7. Trading Cities (TC)
1. Is a region which is culturarly very much like europe around the 17th-18th century. For now they are historically and culturally equivalent to Europe.
3. Islands which were originally inhabited by a peoples group exactly like the Maori. Now they jave chnaged a lot due to CI and MES influence and more recently ES influence too.
4. Nothing known except that in the past the ES had crusades aginst them. I'd like to make them distinct from the middle east of the 18th century though.
5. Steppe Hordes which remain after the Great Horde fell apart. They are technologically behind the ES and TC and thus most of the hordes are puppet states. They are known for renting out their superb cavalry as mercenaries.
6. Same role as america had for Europe it had for ES. It is located between ES and MI. Culturarly a mix of africa and native american cultures.
7. Culturarly the are somewhat like ancient Greece mixed with Venice. Meanwhile they look like ancient Thailand or Laos. Their culture is centered around trade. While not advanced in terms of technology they are the richest group of people. They are the only place in the world where democracy is a thing.
4. I left it at the end because it is the root of the idea and the most devlopped region. The people living here look exactly the same as the people of ES. The region is united under one somewhat theocratic nation. The subcontinent borders ES in the southeast (westerh hemisphere) trough a massive mountainrange which is basically untraversable. Meanwhile in the the south they are seperated by a very rowdy sea which is so dangerous that ships can't really pass trough. It is full of wirlwinds and has constant storms.
The relligion of CL is pagan they have many different dieties, but the main two are
a) The Mammoth God of war, trade and civilisation
b) The Fire/Vulcano God of farming, hot baths and destruction/natural disasters.
There are many more Gods which are given different value accoriding to the region. Like gods responssible for fishing or hunting or caves.
The subcontinent has itself many regions.
A) South-West Coastline
One of two only parts of the region in which the temperature ever rises above 0C. Thus there exist massive massive farms. The region was a lot of times in recent history invaded by the people of ES which while succesful in the summer were always pushed out in the winter. The region is one of the more denslly poppulated ones. Their main source of food is fishing especially whale-hunting which has big cultural importance.
B) The Holy River
The holy river is an unusual sight it is a very long river which goes on for 500km. It is unique because most boiling rivers or hot sources of water are poisoned with sulphur and can't be used for farming.
The Holy river originated from the Holy Lake which is boiling at 300C. The holy river flows in a very rowdy way and is very wide. When it reaches the Sea at the South-West Coastline the water is only lukewarm. Due to how hot the water is it needs to be branched out a lot, to coll down enough to be used for farming. It offers a massive agricultural output even though it starts at the poles. It is the most densly poppulated region.
C) The North-West Coastline
That's the area north of the South-West Coastline. This are has no farms and is less poppulated. They specialize in hunting whales. The region has a few bigger cities which were built around iron and salt mines.
D) The Western Icy Desert
It is one of the least poppulated regions. The area is mostly flat and the temperatures range from -20C to -70C torughout the year. The area is very flat except the massive vulcanos which pop out of the ground every now and then. The most active vulcanos have cities around them. No village could surive as there is no way to farm or hunt there.
Instead the most active vulcanos errupt every 10-20 years. Leaving behind a lot of vulcanic dust. Which is great fertiliser, source of cement or sulphur. Thus this region is in a lot of ways like the wild west. The cities sustain themselves from trade. Women and children usually are responssible for collecting and processing the dust while the men take their Mammoths and Arctic Donkeys to travel and sell those goods around the subcontinent.
There are also a few cities wihich are just built around mines of gold or something there. The houses are like massive flats which house 500-2000 people. They are made out of very solid rock and to survive constant Pompei level vulcanic explosions.
E) The Holy Lake
A very weird Lake. Located on top a massive suparvulcano, much larger than Yellowstone. About the size of lake Victoria in Africa. The water there is boiling at about 300C which gives the place the nickname of Mist Lake. The Holy City (Capital) is located at the waterfall which starts the Holy River. The Lake itself has many smaller Vulcanos popping out of it. They are always covered in snow and very tall. Most of the water in the lake comes from the constant avelanches from those mountains. At the top of every mountain there is a temple dedicated to praising the Vulcano God. There are about 700 of those mountains. (the number might change)
F) The Great Cave
A weird place nearly wt the very Pole. All you can see there is an endless desert of ice. Except one massive city. It is the part of the world which is the furthest to the north. The source of food the people have there is very weird. Underneeds the city there is a massive cave. Which goes so deep that it somehow connects to the deep ocean. The people who stumbled uppon it noticed that there are a lot of weird fish in those waters. The water is lukewarm. But when you go as deep as the water or into the water you get sick. So you need to go down gradually over weeks and it takes months before you can freely swim and hunt in that water. (high pressure very deep)
People who hunt in that water are considered heroes because of how dangerous it is. But it is very rewarding because you can find not only meat but sometimes very valuable materials when diving there.
The city also sustains itself from trade which can only go on during summer, because not even Mammoths can survive the cold in winter. It is the only viable connection between the Eastern and Western Icy Deserts and any other road would be to long to travel.
G) The Eastern Ice Desert
There are not that many vulcanos there so less goes one than in the Western Icy Desert. But the region is more like rocky icelands which are cold and very windy. It's to windy for glaciers to form. But because those are highlands with mountains and stuff many nesting bird species come in the summer to raise their young and later return to the Southern continents.
The people living there are traditional nomadic people. They use thick fur tents when traveling and follow the birds and hunt them. They are known for their endurance and tracking ability.
There are no merchants among them perse. But the tribes travel constantly trading with each other and even visiting the Great Cave from time to time.
E) The North-East Coastline
A poorer verssion of the North-West Coastline. Except that they are basically the same, except that many of them live in igloos. Of which some are massive and an over 100 years old.
F) The South-East Coastline
It's the potentially warmest region of the subcontinent. The tip is as warm as Northern Denmark. People there are farmers. They are also the only people of the Subcontinent which build big ships and engage in naval trade with the MI. This region is somewhat rich and seperated from the rest. They have leanings and interest in ES culture and relligion. They enage some modern science and even established collonies in the MI.
They are considered weird and thus disliked by the rest of the continent. Most also refuse to engage in canibalism.
G) The South-West Eastern Mountainchain
It's the massive moountainchain at the border with the ES.
Part of it and some surrounding areas were conquered by "ES" knights during something like a crussade.
A kingdom was established. The ES was beaten back, but not by the Pagans of the region.
A kind of new rellgion formed. Something like Sikhism from Islam and Hinduism.
The relligion is based on the code of the knights and is dualistic like Zoroastrianism. They believe there is a good God of Order and an Evil God of Chaos. That region is their holy land, and they specilize in mountain combat. As the only people on the subcontinent. They are fierce honorable fighters, though some claim they are looking for a fight.
-----------------------------
Sorry for making this so long. The original question is how I can make a map of this very... very confusing subcontinent. I'm really very angry at my unability to do so.
Maester
Myth Weaver
