I’ve
been creating fantasy world for over 35 years, and I have made EVERY mistake
that can be made… many have been made repeatedly... and, I hope I have learned from the pain I caused myself.
This entry is dedicated to help those who are interested know just how easy it
CAN be... if you LET it be easy.
I
started with a Google map of a town in the middle of almost nowhere… Republic,
Missouri. (https://www.google.com/maps/@37.1196114,-93.4711027,14.08z) I start with a new name... and welcome you all to Morlic (twisting the actual
name around, "Mo" from the state abbreviation, "Lic" from "Republic," and throw in an "R" in the middle to make the name roll off your tongue)!
I
then get a screen shot of the map version of the town, and decide which
direction the local port is, and which direction the next major town is in –
PURELY to orient the map in a different manner. Arbitrarily, I decided that
Wassarfount (liberally twisted from HORRID German and imagination, it means,
"Springfield". Pan out a bit on the map linky above… Springfield is
just to the east of Republic), is to the north and the port is to the south -
so I will rotate the map 90 degrees to the left, like this – all done to make
it less identifiable to those that may know Republic.
Then,
using a simple drawing program (Paint, GIMP, Photoshop, whatever), I create a
simple line drawing of the town, with roads, river, walls (if any) and
land-borders (if any), like this.
Then
I white out everything other than what I drew, like this.
My
last step in mapping is to add some major landmarks and a legend... like this.
Now,
I have an entire village - with a keep, one major temple (complete with
cemetery across the river), two market places (arbitrarily, the one to the
north has more food, the one to the south has more wares/goods), a wizard's
tower, and a place for herd animals to be stored and auctioned. The village
would be surrounded by farmers’ fields. Since I said that the major port in the
area is to the south, we know that the river flows from top to bottom on the
map, and Wassarfount is upriver. PLEASE keep in mind that the pics are drawn in at VERY low quality - totally crap quality - because this is for quick development!!
Now
all I need to do is to populate the place with the various people that are sure
to be met/known. Note that their names are twisted variations of the actors
that portray the characters. You can do the same thing with relatives, teachers
and others... just twist the names enough to make them unrecognizable.
1.
Ruler: Easton Shine – Fighter/warrior, old, speaks in a raspy, throaty voice
that sounds VERY menacing when he wants it to - and it's still menacing when he doesn't want it to be. White hair, very slender (he's
Clint Eastwood!!).
2.
High Priest: Rickala Alman – Cleric/Priest (duh!), speaks VERY condescendingly
and seems aloof. Black, greasy hair and wears long robes (Professor Snape).
He's got ONE acolyte (named Wenham Dav) that has tonsured hair and seems
forever bumbling (priest/monk from Van Helsing). (all these guys need is a
deity, and the temple is done!)
3.
Smith: Duncan Clarke - A HUGE man, bronzed by the heat of the forges. Speaks
very slowly and it's obvious that he has little formal education. Will NEVER
take action to harm another. Makes armor better than weapons (John Coffey from
The Green Mile).
4.
General Merchant: Siyra'ah Billay - Middle-aged man, long hair and "soul
patch" beard. He seems simple but has a big heart. Always wants to
entertain visitors with a song about lost love. He'll never be rich because he
just can't take advantage of people like rich merchants do. Has very pretty
daughter of marriageable age (Billy Ray Cyrus - from Hannah Montana).
5.
Wizard: Rappala Sint - Red haired wizard that looks WAY too young for the
title. He's capable but his successes seem almost "accidental".
Speaks of a beautiful goddess of a sorcerer that he wants to marry one day...
if he can work up the courage to tell her his feelings. (Ron Weasley from Harry
Potter).
6.
Captain of the Guard: Davis Orusa - Older man with reddish blond hair. Speaks
haltingly as if he's searching for exactly the right words. Continuously plays
with his helmet visor (Horatio from CSI:Miami).
This
has taken me just over 30 minutes - and that includes finding the map, and
typing all this up... I could do it in less than 20 minutes without writing
this out – and could have been done in about 10 minutes had I printed the map, traced
it with markers, and then scanned it instead of using GiMP/Paint.
Keep
on playing!!
