Here’s the City area map for Weird Adventures, courtesy of the cartographic talents of Anthony Hunter.
Like all metropolises, the City grew by engulfing a myriad of hamlets, villages, and towns along the way. It spread out from a humble Dwergen fort and trading post across what is now Empire Island, then beyond. Across the Rivers Wyrd and Eldritch, the most resistant of these entities had already grown strong by gobbling up smaller settlements, themselves. These couldn’t be fully conquered, they had to be accommodated, and so they became the other four baronies.
The “barony” title is now a relic, but at one time was quite literal. All of these areas began as domain grants to prominent adventurers by the Queen of Grand Lludd or (earlier) the Syndics of Gulden. Marquesa, for example, still bears the assumed (but not granted) noble title of its original ruler. Shancks was a name bestowed by the enigmatic, master assassin (one who's head existed only partially in this plane, but that's another story) who was the area’s first fief-holder. Empire Island’s name reflects the aspirations of its audacious conqueror.
The remaining two baronies were named for local features. Lichmond was the site of a group of burial mounds of the Ancients. Rookend was named for the dens of thieves, cutthroats, and smugglers (“rookeries” in the parlance of the day), that once squatted on its shore.
11 comments:
Enticing us with more City stuff. Hmmm a map. It creeps closer to completion. I like.
Lichmond. Nice.
Very nice. More Dark Tower inspiration with Llud?
@Tim - I'm all about the tease. ;)
@Ze Bulette - Believe or not, that was actually the last of the names to come to me. In general, for some reason, writing whole posts was a whole lot easier than coming up with four of these five names (Empire Island I knew from the start).
@Prof. Pope - Thanks. No, its actually a reference to Geoffrey of Monmouth's gloss on the origin of the name "London" with the mythic King Lud(Lludd in Welsh).
But I do love the Dark Tower books. :)
Like it very much! Clear and easy to read. It might be cool - in the final book - to include something like the city geomorphs that were included in Lankhmar.
What a great map! I can't wait to see the final product!
@Matt - I thought about that, as I think that was a great book and well worth emulating. Of course, there's already going to be another urban map zoomed in a little more with neighborhoods of Empire Island, but what you suggest would be cool. I just worry about biting off too much (when I've got a mouthful) with the one book.
@John - Thanks. Neither can I. ;)
The map is awfully snazzy. Looking good.
Damn that looks great! That map looks like something out of an older Dc comic that showed what was going on where! Very cool Trey.
Thanks, Needles. The old DC Atlas by Mayfair was kind of the inspiration for this particular map.
Like the map. This is looking better all the time...
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