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Lushaani — CoA - World Map - Full
Published: 2014-01-03 03:13:00 +0000 UTC; Views: 4311; Favourites: 21; Downloads: 145
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Description
The "work in progress" of the world map for Alternomica!The world map is very flexible and likely to be changed a lot in the future! Keep that in mind, but it's nice having a world map!
Each "region" is marked by the mountain ranges, but doesn't necessarily represent a united civilization, each one is likely to be full of numerous societies and nations. Each Region is the "homeland" for the various ethnicities of the humans.
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Defined Areas:
West Reach- the heavily forested and mildly cold homeland of the First Nations esque race of humans. Current play region of the game!
Isle of Beasts- a mysterious and dangerous large island to the south. It is rumoured to be home to a slumbering dragon. The flora, fauna, and (believed but not confirmed) people of the island are colossal, reaching towards the heavens.
Ice Gate- the frozen "wastelands" of Alternomica. Frozen forests, open tundra, and sheets of ice. Homeland of the Caucasian/European esque race of humans. Ice Age MegaFauna common. Prominent non human race- Giant Subrace- the Jotun. Three "major" white ethnic groups. Yagadi (Amazon-esque) Nordic, and Fenfrisans (Black Haired)
Beast Kingdoms- **Prone to retcons** These islands are home to the largest collections of Beastkin. Possibly ground zero of where the Dragon of Beasts perished. As such- beastkin are common and civilized, having formed large societies of their own. Nothing of note on human population yet or specifics to beastkin culture. Falls in the Arctic circle with the warmest areas being colder forests.
???- Unnamed "hot" nation. Falls right on the equator, is full of tropic jungles, open savannah, and desert. Being right on the coast and having the deep bays and rivers means the people here are dominantly mercantile. Likely with the best sea faring vessels. The people here are the darkest yet, taking appearance from Carribean, Central America, and Africa.
East Dawn- Also falling on the equator is "East Dawn" it's another heavily forested and jungle-d region, home to the Asian-like ethnicity. It's common for them to develop notable tans or be rather dark, but those living further south and north take on lighter skin tone. Home to one of the largest "nations" in Alternomica, due to the Great Wall surrounding it. A massive structure built from muscle and magic protecting and banishing the beasts of the wild.
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Open to suggestions to fill out the rest of the regions! Each one home to a different ethnicity of humans and many other things. A few things to keep in mind~
This is the only continent on Alternomica. It's *possible* there are others, but if there are there are no known ways to reach them. No sunken continents, no lost worlds, no "mysterious lands across the ocean."
UPDATE: Jan 3, 2013 - Added colours light blue (Ice Gate), Yellow (Beast Kingdoms), Orange (???), and Light Yellow (EastDawn) Added sections for them in description.
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Comments: 54
Out of most places, for some reason I think America has the hardest time fitting into a "fantasy" world. Or at least modern America, and I have "Native America" as Westreach.
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Well, to make a modern America analogue, you would first need a Europe analogue with powerful enough nations to colonize other lands. And I feel that if you go with old-timey American folklore, it's actually a lot easier to cram it into a fantasy setting. ^^
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Well, technically I don't think a colonization would be necessary... but the old-timey folklore definitely! I'll give it more serious thought. ^_^
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So if I wanted to try and make a character have a Pacific Islander feel would reccomend the Isle of beasts or somewhere else?
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Pacific Islander.... I'd need pics for reference, but it's negotiable~!
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Very well I'll get some sketches done!
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Well, going by the precedent of "three Races per region," modeling two of the East Dawn groups after early China and Japan seems obvious... Wikipedia has a nice at the top of History of China , showing that early China/Han tended to stay out of the mountainous region to the east and stick near the river networks and coastal areas, as well as plains and forests, obviously. So maybe that race's location on the map could reflect this?
On the other hand, Japanese culture basically grew up with the choice of "mountains or coastline?," so it makes sense that any group inspired by them would be in those areas, the foothills, or on the islands nearby... Though using "Japan" as a source of inspiration still presents you with a few ethnic/cultural choices to consider.
As for inspiration for the third group... I'm going to recommend that you look into Thailand. To be honest, Korea probably had a bigger influence on East Asia overall, but they tended to have a fair amount of cultural diffusion with China, and I get the feeling you'd prefer it the RPG races were more distinct. Besides, the area also seems to fit East Dawn's general description of "lots of jungle and darkly tanned natives," which should make some of the cultural borrowing go more seamlessly.
If you need any more ideas, feel free to send a note--I did take a few college courses about this sort of thing, and I like to find a use for that knowledge every now and then!
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So far, the "basic" template has been the Japanese, Chinese, and the Huns.
I'll take your thoughts and keep doing more research!
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Huns, huh..?
*does a quick check*
... I have to admit, I thought adding a more nomadic group to the setting might be a good idea, but I don't think they'd fit into the East Dawn setting very well, for a number of reasons... The biggest of which is that a huge portion of their lives was based around nomadic pastoralism (ie, herding livestock from place to place so as to keep them fed). This tends happen in areas that are mostly arid grasslands, savannahs, and/or scrublands... In other words, places where there aren't many food sources besides livestock and game animals, but lots of animal feed, and where it's relatively easy to move a herd. East Dawn's jungle/forest setting is kind of the antithesis of this, so it would be difficult to fit a "Hun-like culture" into that environment.
Also, the Huns were historically based out of Central Asia and Eastern Europe, rather than East Asia... The Mongolians where North-East Asia, though it seems they may not be completely unrelated to the Huns. That part is relatively minor since this is an RPG, but you're still looking at different cultural influences are interactions, so it's something to keep in mind.
Personally, I'd suggest placing a Hun (or Mongolian) themed ethnic group in the currently unnamed country between Ice Gate and East Dawn, or possibly between West Reach and "???". You already seem to have plans for "???" as a big trade country, but placing the "Huns" nearby would give them access to land trade routes of the other territories, which makes it easier for them play up the angle of being caravan escorts and/or raiders, maybe making the occasional foray across the border.
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Hm, stuff to think about! Thank you!
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hmmmm.... looks a little like Tamriel from the Elder Scrolls games... *starts pondering*
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It does? (Goes to look up map of Tamriel)
I see it a little~ With the big river/bay thingy~ But I think they're different enough. ^_^;;;
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Meh, it would hardly be the first time there was a giant, mostly landlocked body of water that opens to the ocean on a world map. The Gulf of Mexico, the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea, the Black Sea, the Mediterranean Sea... the list goes on for a bit.
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True~ Not to even get started on fantasy continents!
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Could there be a inhospitable volcanic region?
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Hm~ I don't think the "entire" region.... but maybe the "entire" region. Definitely volcanoes!
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Yep yep. Not everything will be accepted, but all will be considered.
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I clearly know real-world geography too well...
West Reach = South America rotated ~150 degrees
Isle of Beasts = pretty sure you just made this one up
Ice Gate = ...perhaps Northweast Canada? Seeing how the next one is...
Beast Kingdoms = North/northeast Canada
??? = Northeast Europe
East Dawn = horizontally-mirrored Europe (without Scandinavia) and Turkey
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When I drew the map I didn't think of anything in particular, I crumpled a piece of paper and started imagining random shapes then smooshed them all together. And then laying out the "region" divisions was again as random as I could make it. Cultures and climate were dropped in based on what made the tiniest lick of sense- despite that patterns did emerge! Funny how that always happens.
West Reach- Alaska- bigger and a bit more south.
Isle of Beasts- Ink Stain.
Ice Gate- Nothing- no inspiration/resemblance I can see.
Beast Kingdoms- yes north Canada's collection of islands.
???- Nothing particular- but sort of an inverse of central America or the Mediterranean.
East Dawn- Nothing particular- just a large peninsula.
Making it up as I go, patterns will emerge whether I like it or not!.
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I'm surprised West Reach wasn't geographically based off of South America, because I saw that one instantly.
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THAT LACK OF EDIT, even YouTube of all things supports that now!
Anyway, that's supposed to say "perhaps Northwest Canada?"
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An idea for Beast Kingdoms and/or Isle of Beasts:
A lion-like beast race is warring against a crocodile beast race. Lions, who inhabit large open fields/savannahs while crocs are more home at large rivers and lakes. No idea why they could be at each others' throats, though. Maybe a generic dispute over territories or something.
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Is west reach a feudal land? You know knights and the like? What if the land east of it and south of ice gate but west of the orange one could be a mix of like feudal France and Germany but have a Native American look or an African sub Saharan look to them. The land would be swamp and desert like with ancient castles and towns all over. Life would be easier here than in west reach but less than to the east. Call it skyrock. Maybe not human, maybe high elf elite ruleing over human and half elf peasants or slaves like in the carribean. Elven plataion owners ruling from impossible castles.
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I've been feeling Westreach's people are more Clan and "basic" democracy based. Kind of Oligarchy maybe. Spring's Grace made itself a monarchy when the Northstar's left their home and founded it.
And I like that a lot! A feudal society hasn't been added yet, or one with such an interesting combination of elements.
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Thanks. This is a high fantasy world so some where with knights is a must. But make the nobility not Albion like where they are honorable all the time. It should be more realistic where they thought of themselves as better than the others. It would also be interesting if they were elves ruling humans and half elves.
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Right~ That makes a lot of sense.
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I'd picture the central region being the most seafaring and fishing-oriented place. You know, trade by sea. It kinda reminds me of the Mediterranean Sea, so the cultures could resemble that region (middle european in the northern areas and savannah-like terrain in the southern parts). That or make it completely european-like from the middle ages or the early Renaissance era. ^^
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Updated! Need a name though.
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The first thing that comes to mind is Khale'yra. I like fancy names.
I suppose the region could be commonly known as Tradelands everywhere else. You know...coz of the active trading...
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Yeah, I see a lot of dark skinned sea faring traders. Very central american/ mediterranean, and other stuff!
Definitely works I think. Right on the equator.
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It kinda looks like a huge pangea, I think It needs more oceans separating land masses.
And yeah it does remind of europe and africa
This might look like cheating, but there's this thing over gamejolt, check it out!
gamejolt.com/games/other/unwor…
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Very nice! It's great to see your world-buildign coming together! I like the idea of these different regions and planning out where the sorts of humans come from.
I am greatly intrigued in the Isle of Beasts; anything with possibly giant or just big girls gets me interested!
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The north central one, it would be perfect for a Caucasian racial homeland. A land where if unprotected in winter you would freeze to death. The people would be like Proto Norsemen where they have a high martial philosophy yet not the high naval and navigational prowess in the interior. The fauna would be ice age megafauna and predators. A large kingdom dominates the land in a semi feudal system ruled by a race of giants called jotuns (yo-tun) who rule from utgarde. The people are tough rugged and stubborn. Now I don't say that all Caucasians would come from here, but these would be your North and Central European. The mortality rate would be even higher than west reach with much less transformations. There would be three sub types of humans here: Yagadi, Nords, and Fenrisians.
Yagadi: Slavic, matrilineal and with an innate magical ability in females. The females are said to be very beautiful and forceful
Nords: see elder scrolls or Vikings
Fenrisians: dark haired, medium eye colored, with a feral look to them. Said to have blood of the most feared hunters in there land, dire wolves.
The land would be called ice gate. There would be many mountains and forests in the south. A central plain. And northern fjords.
There would be one city that exists there, utgarde built near the eastern bay on the north side.
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Ooooooh, this is a nice set up! Though I don't like the idea of a region having a single "city" unless you mean more like a metropolis compared to numerous small villages.
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I mean like there aren't many people here. Most large settlements may measure in a few thousand. The city would have 10,000 on a good day. It is meant to be very hard to survive.
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I would like to suggest a region for people of Asian ethnicity like my character Yoko. It would be on the east coast and it would be farther south than West Reach.
Therefore, the climate would be warmer, there would be bamboo forests and there may be a giant stone wall like the Great Wall of China that people built to protect themselves from monsters. I think that the region would be called East Dawn since Japan has been called "the land of the rising sun", but if you have something better to call the region then you're free to choose what the region's name would be.
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Wow, then your family was VERY far from home! So it'd be in the tropic zone?
Yeah, the great wall makes a lot of sense! East Dawn is a nice name. :3
Still going to give it thought though!
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I think I have an idea for the archipelago of islands over in the northeast. Perhaps some sort of civilization where beastkin are more predominant, living alongside humans?
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That's be interesting! Beastkin Kingdoms are definitely on the list~ Island nations make more sense too!
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