09-18-2020, 07:08 PM | #1 |
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Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Southeast NC
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The Map
I thought I'd share the work-in-progress map for my fantasy world.
Available here. Map created in Wonderdraft. I am terrible at coming up with names, so if anyone would like to help replace the rather generic placeholders, I wouldn't be insulted. The only things I'm fairly decided on is that the northernmost of the Nine Kingdoms is Norwold and the northern branch of the mountain range is commonly called The Spine of the Dragon.
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RyanW - Actually one normal sized guy in three tiny trenchcoats. |
09-19-2020, 04:51 AM | #2 |
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Gothenburg, Sweden
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Re: The Map
I love coming up with names! What feel are you going for? Do you want them in plain English or some other language?
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When you arise in the morning think of what a privilege it is to be alive, to think, to enjoy, to love ... Marcus Aurelius |
09-19-2020, 10:25 AM | #3 | |
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Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Southeast NC
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Re: The Map
Quote:
The Nine Kingdoms have a vague Anglo-Saxon feel in my mind. The old empire is the rump of a once much larger empire with a distinctly Roman tone.
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RyanW - Actually one normal sized guy in three tiny trenchcoats. |
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09-19-2020, 12:18 PM | #4 |
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Gothenburg, Sweden
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Re: The Map
Burning Island - Fyrenholm ("On-fire island")
Dark Lands - Deorcrice ("dark realm") Golden Isle - Gyldenholm ("golden island") Nomad Lands - Graesmolde ("the greensward") Nine Kingdoms - Nigonrice ("nine realms") Old Imperial Land - Aergenrice ("Realm of old") Please don't show this to someone who actually knows Old English, because I probably mangled the grammar all to hell and back. :o)
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When you arise in the morning think of what a privilege it is to be alive, to think, to enjoy, to love ... Marcus Aurelius |
09-19-2020, 06:15 PM | #5 |
Icelandic - Approach With Caution
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Reykjavķk, Iceland
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Re: The Map
I'd try to fit something like Nesoddtangen in there. The name is a triple tautology , all the words there mean cape (as in the geological feature), so it translates to The Cape Cape Cape
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09-20-2020, 11:41 AM | #6 |
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Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Southeast NC
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Re: The Map
Fell back on an old habit and tried Estonian for a few. Polevsaar (Burning Island) and Kuldsaared (Golden Islands). Don't know why, but I find Estonian to be a good go-to language when I'm looking for "words that sound like words but are still exotic"
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RyanW - Actually one normal sized guy in three tiny trenchcoats. |
09-20-2020, 11:47 AM | #7 |
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Gothenburg, Sweden
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Re: The Map
You could also buy Vulgar and make your own language.
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When you arise in the morning think of what a privilege it is to be alive, to think, to enjoy, to love ... Marcus Aurelius |
09-21-2020, 06:45 AM | #8 |
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Lawrence, KS
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Re: The Map
In my current fantasy setting, there are seven sapient races, each with several distinct culture areas, and each culture area with multiple dialects and usually multiple languages. There was no way I was going to try to invent a couple of dozen languages, not even simply as naming languages. So I adopted an odd convention: Naming everything in Latin, by analogy to the way Lunar and Martian geographical features are named. It didn't sound as prosaic as Tolkien naming things the Misty Mountains or the River Running; Montes Nubili and Portus Argenti and Dumetum Furtum convey a sense of distance.
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Bill Stoddard I don't think we're in Oz any more. |
09-21-2020, 09:28 AM | #9 | |
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Portland, Oregon
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Re: The Map
Quote:
River Running is kind of awkward being a bit far east. The best explanation is that Bilbo translated it to Hobbit-Westron.
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"The navy could probably win a war without coffee but would prefer not to try"-Samuel Eliot Morrison |
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09-22-2020, 04:03 AM | #10 |
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Shropshire, uk
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Re: The Map
As the others have said prosaic names, with translation into some placeholder language are a good idea.
Personally I like to push things a bit further and use a mixture of languages, for my last couple of fantasy campaigns I have used Latin, Lithuanian, Scots Gaelic and sometimes a little Greek (sadly all provided by Google translate). The other thing I find helps to give things a bit of authenticity is, mostly for settlements but it works anywhere, is to reference human(oid) history and geography. |
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