Aldëgobi
1685ème Jour ;
Ma dernière rencontre n’avait pas menti, le village d’Aldëgobi vaut le détour. Protégé derrière une haute palissade de bois, le petit hameau s’est construit autour d’un monticule de terre. La petite communauté qui vit dans cette enceinte est pacifique. Ils vénèrent Kaouck, une divinité qui m’était inconnue jusqu’à aujourd’hui. Kaouck serait le dieu de la Vie, de la Bienveillance et du Bonheur. J’ai eu la chance d’assister à une de leurs étonnantes cérémonies. Les villageois ont construit un monument pour le moins étrange. Une sphère de cristal rouge posée au sommet d’une pyramide de pierre. Le tout repose sur une grande dalle ronde bordée de sept colonnes triangulaires. Les danses rituelles étaient magnifiques. Elles avaient pour but de réclamer l’aide du grand Kaouck, car une étrange infection touche les habitants du village. La maladie a commencé par toucher les animaux et maintenant elle se répand parmi les hommes. Elle provoque de violentes éruptions de boutons purulents, et une forte fièvre. Une vieille dame tenait absolument à me montrer son jeune fils atteint par cette infection. J’ai comme à mon habitude trouvé une bonne excuse pour ne pas l’accompagner et j’en ai profité pour partir rapidement de ce village contaminé.
Extrait de « Périple fantastique » de Khendash le Fourbe, mage vagabond.
The most important thing a map like this needs is some sort of a scale, Such as (I______I=50 ft.). I guess we can assume the top of the map is North. The size of the settlement should be considered a town. Rather then a hamlet or a village. For defensive purposes, the trees are far to close. Besides, the initial building of the palisade and the structures in the town would of used the closest trees, which size that is shown. Would be 10 x as big as any normal sized ones One should also consider how much firewood a place like that would use on a daily basis. It is a general rule of thumb that any society will use the closest resources to where it is at. first. Unless they are fruit or edible nut bearing trees. Which anyone with any forethought would spare for the future harvest they would provide. The small # field could no way provide enough food for those who lived in the town. Neither is no fields for the grazing of livestock. Nor is there any sign of there being any wells or any other source of water. Don’t feel bad. Much the same can be said for most Fantasy Settlement Maps. I guess most fantasy map makers have not studied how actual real world settlements were established and the infrastructure such a place would need to have, to function properly.
Hey, hi and thank you for your comment. But don’t get me wrong, I know all about this. But I think you’re the one who’s forgetting something: Fantasy. Under no circumstances do I intend to draw maps that could look like what we find on earth or that we could create with our references.
Just for fun, you talk to me about firewood, I tell you it’s hot as hell on this planet, and that the inhabitants are very happy to have alchemist wizards to create gigantic blocks of ice to help them stay cool (moreover, the water from the melting of these blocks could very well serve as drinking water) and this is only one example that came out of my crazy brain in less than 30 seconds, I am sure I could find lots of others, and even some that would respect our human « reference ».
And this could be appli to all your remarks.
If you are looking for realistic maps according to the conventions of our human civilization, look at the historical maps. I think it will meet your expectations more than fantastic maps.
Well, after a good night’s sleep and a few hours of reflection on your remarks, I must admit that this has aroused my curiosity. What would it be like if I tried to make a fantastic map while respecting our real life constraints? But above all, how to integrate the typical signs of fantastic maps into it without damaging the realism and credibility of the said map. Why not a next personal challenge, let me think a little bit more about that. 😉
I would be delighted to discuss about this with you if you want.