This accomplishes most of Thrace... and demonstrates a critical shortcoming of this kind of mapmaking. Much of the world, even at a level of 6.67 miles per hex, is very much like any other. Often we get this mix of type 5, 6 and 7 hexes with the occasional village, scored by a few hills and big towns. The result is "fly-over" country, which the players would probably never care about, which only sit as a unimportant, non-dangerous obstacle between them and their goals.
Part of The Lantern's charm is to take an area like this and give it life... not through the invention of staggering goals and hidden great dungeons, but through those elements that first or second level characters might appreciate: a hidden crowd of goblins, a rampaging wolf, some minor dispute in a village or hamlet that the players stumble upon. The very real, the very ordinary, the unquestionably difficult aspects of a world that in our real life personal experience are never easily managed, even when they don't require swords and risk of life.
But of course, it's not "heriosm," or "superheroism" for that matter, given the recent penchant for "gaming" where death is essentially impossible. Which I am stupid enough to think diminishes the value of the setting altogether. I mean, why worry about the distance between two places, when essentially the DM can fly you where you want to go, at a finger-snap, ignoring all this dull... everything?
Part of The Lantern's charm is to take an area like this and give it life... not through the invention of staggering goals and hidden great dungeons, but through those elements that first or second level characters might appreciate: a hidden crowd of goblins, a rampaging wolf, some minor dispute in a village or hamlet that the players stumble upon. The very real, the very ordinary, the unquestionably difficult aspects of a world that in our real life personal experience are never easily managed, even when they don't require swords and risk of life.
But of course, it's not "heriosm," or "superheroism" for that matter, given the recent penchant for "gaming" where death is essentially impossible. Which I am stupid enough to think diminishes the value of the setting altogether. I mean, why worry about the distance between two places, when essentially the DM can fly you where you want to go, at a finger-snap, ignoring all this dull... everything?
I'm reading World Without End right now, the sequel to Pillars of the Earth, by Ken Follett. At times I feel he could have used a more brutal editor, but what keeps me coming back is 1) his level of researched detail (though I'm sure a medieval historian would find plenty to criticize) and therefore 2) the richness of the world of the novels. There is no such thing as flyover country if you know what you're talking about. Small, tiny disputes in a village of 24 people that spiral into decades long grudges. That type of thing.
ReplyDeleteYour maps show that life (and the Lantern puts breath into the bones). I don't look at this map and see flyover country.
ReplyDeleteUzonkupru, for example. Type 5 hex, not a particularly huge place (not sure how much population you've assigned), but yet a massively important artery, located as it is in the north of Turkey and (according to wiki) featuring the world's longest stone bridge. Minor disruption to bridge traffic here could have pretty wide-ranging effects, so everyone with power in the area has a vested interest in making sure that they either control this town or benefit from its operation.
Not sure yet how I'd put that into practice in a game. But just to know there's something to it rather than nothing is enough to encourage my thinking.
Thank you Shelby. I was sure you were holding back the first time, so... second post, much appreciated.
ReplyDeleteWith the last couple of posts, I've been hyperconscious about how ancient all this countryside is, reaching back thousands of years of continuous human habitation.