Re: Completed Ytarria Hex map with terrain added
 

Thanks Julian.

I have not read that supplement yet. But I did review the geography as you indicated.

The glaciers in Zarak have been expanded. They are situated on high mountainous plateaus, which, along with anomalies of unknown origin, cause a far lower temperature than might otherwise occur.

The map is updated to reflect the island as it is described. At 24 miles per hex there is only so much I can do. I do have a blank 6 mile hex template map of Ytarria. But mapping a whole continent at that level would take me ages to do properly at that granular level.

Re: Completed Ytarria Hex map with terrain added
 

An easily accessible quarry could explain its location.

Re: Completed Ytarria Hex map with terrain added
 

Indeed. At 500 square miles per hex a quarry is certainly possible.

Many castles and keeps in Europe were made of wood. It is conceivable that the "castle" was a mere encampment with a wooden stockade, or it could have been a ruin which pre-dated humanity to begin with.

Each DM can flavor these types of things to their own taste. For me, just giving a name to a thing/region can be enough to get ideas flowing, without the need for complicated and often unimportant histories/backstories for said thing.

Zarak still needs some work. Fortunately, it did give me a good area to create an arctic area to adventure in. I am considering expanding this region to the left bank of the major river in northern Zarak, adding another 25-30K square miles to that area, making it slightly bigger than the Emperor's Forest. There are no dwarven cities in this northern area so it changes very little, canon-wise.

"Sitting upon a large plateau, the Hellfrost region is a vast sheet of ice, broken by periodic areas of jagged mountain outcroppings. The frozen surface is populated by arctic beasts of varying size and non-human ice folk who do not welcome intrusion.

In some areas, visible just below the icy surface, explorers have spoken of frozen jungles and buried cities. Occasionally one can find the top of their structures piercing the icy surface. Some tales speak of tunnels which lead down to those buried cities beyond. Some of these tunnels are said to begin far to the south, in southern Zarak. In these depths are said to dwell primitive humanoid cannibals and ice-beasts who prey on each other and those who intrude on their domain. Stories of vast gem-rich underground caverns and artifact rich ruins continue to circulate, along with the expeditions to recover those said treasures. As to the nature of the civilization which lies buried, no scholar can (or will) say."

The Djinn Lands needs some work next after Zarak. Pursiviant had some good ideas which resonate with me, specifically an African culture, based on the Black Kingdoms from the Hyborian Age.

I am envisioning a vast Savanna, specifically a tree savanna which you might find in Tanzania, slowly changing into a South African grass savanna the further one travels north. A larger jungle or two, centered along a major river or lake could also easily be present. A few rivers would need to be added, along with some minor lakes.

At some point I will have to go through my notes and post a mini-gazetteer on my blog for these homebrew locations and points of interest that I have been placing.

Re: Completed Ytarria Hex map with terrain added
 

Please do this! It's like having a new Banestorm supplement. Really enjoying this! Thanks for sharing it!

Re: Completed Ytarria Hex map with terrain added
 

I will see what I can do. The continent is huge; I could spend months just detailing one region like northern Megalos, or Cardiel (its the size of France...i've been to France and it never felt small to me). Do you have a particular area that you prefer to play in Julian (anyone else can chime in if they wish too)? My guess is most folks dont bother with many areas: southern and northern Megalos, Sahud, most of the Bronze mountains, much of the Djinn Lands. As a DM I tend to create areas/encounter locations/ect which are canted towards dangerous and enigmatic places. The bucolic regions of Ytarria typically are not in need of too many of those exciting features (although the occasional cattle-stealing dragon is a welcome addition).

Now, on to the map.
Asthetically-wise, I am considering reducing the number of "mountain" icons on the map.

Hills and mountain icons are drawn on top of different colored contour lines, to delineate the difficulty (i.e ruggedness) of the terrain. Originally I was only going to use mountain icons sporadically, similar to the way they are used throughout the rest of the map (hills, forest, ect).

For whatever reason I ended up putting an icon in each hex that I wanted to represent a mountain. This is a habit from my map drawing in the 1980s.

Anyway, I am curious what other folks think: does it look too cluttered in those regions or not? I am going to work on an alternative version today for peer review.

MAP UPDATED. Number of icons reduced for map clarity.

3/10 EDIT - corrected and updated the Fence of God and al-Haz mountains. Easy access to the Djinn Lands eliminated. Firuz wastelands adjusted. The Gate of Allah and adjoining castle added per the main book. Some areas removed (those layers hidden) due to a feeling that they just don't work (the small deserts in the Arab lands, Ivywood and the glowing hills). I can post another map with those features if folks want them. There is a semi-civilized land west of the Fence of God; independent small city states along the coast, the largest being Caldeia. The interior regions is a wooded savanna, transitioning to a grass savanna beyond the larger lake. Slave soldiers, rare timbers, spices, sugar cane, fruit and poppies are exported infrequently across the Fence of God and by sea when the Maelstrom permits.

I am also in the process of adding the Wadis to the Djinn Lands and canyons and gorges to the mountain regions (finally found a method I like). Cacti forest icons are also a new feature in the Djinn Lands.

Re: Completed Ytarria Hex map with terrain added
 

My initial idea for a Sub-Saharan African setting was more pastoralists than village-based culture. Think a mash-up of Masai, Somalis, and various Sudanese tribes. Maybe add some !Kung style pure nomads (wrong end of the African continent from the forgoing groups, but iconic survivors). Nominal TL is TL0, but that belies some serious magical knowledge necessary to survive on the fringes of Djinn territory.

The presence of the Djinn makes anything more than temporary encampments or seasonal kraals impossible and the natives have learned to be very suspicious of anything that looks like Djinni on the hunt for slaves. At the first sign of trouble, they move away fast, blending into the landscape (sometimes literally) until it's safe to come out again.

Alternately, at the risk of indulging stereotypes, you can go completely the other way. The massive power of the Djinni allows the GM to indulge all the Pulp Fiction- or Steampunk-style "Lost Worlds" tropes, with idiosyncratic civilizations which can't or won't expand beyond the Djinn ruler's area of control. Ancient Egyptian-inspired city states with mystic energies focused using rubies the size of your head. Massive fungus-lit caverns populated by dinosaurs & cavemen. Roman legions with steam cannons ruled by nigh-immortal god-queens. Aztec-style city states with blood-drenched temples powering a network of Ley lines.

Lots of weird and cool stuff, but limited to a small area due to Djinn politics, odd mana effects, or the whims of the local ruler. And, of course, it all goes belly-up if the Djinni that created the culture perishes, loses a war, or just gets bored with it all. Trigger massive landslide that seals the cavern to the Land Beyond Time or the hidden pass to the Elephants' Graveyard.

Re: Completed Ytarria Hex map with terrain added
 

Thanks for the suggestions Pursuivant.

When I started this project my intention was to just to map the basic continent, adding only the features which were mentioned in the various GURPS supplements. That has changed somewhat over the last couple of weeks, mainly due to the positive comments here.

The goals are now split:
1) To finish the map, focusing on only the canonical information presented. Ytarria remains a conservative fantasy sandbox world.

2) The full realization of an alternate version of Ytarria, which incorporates the Pulp Fantasy/Sci Fi that you mentioned, along with tidbits from other genres. Mixing Fantasy & Sci fi together has never been an issue for me.

Over the years I have been influenced by countless RPG products and settings. Yrth is becoming somewhat of a mix of the tidbits that are my personal favorites, along with my own ideas. Using the Djinn Lands as a canvass for those is a very good suggestion. Reality Quakes are a perfect explanation for placing just about anything. The 11 Djinn Towers do not necessarily have to be occupied by all of the same types of folks. The "Djinn" could be a colloquial term for any powerful magical being which resides in this area. I would consider those towers simply Points of Interest, where strange things reside, some of which may create pocket civilizations like you described.

I will mention that I had already planned to use the old D&D Hollow World setting (with the history modified of course) on Yrth to allow lost world adventures in the style of Edgar Rice Burroughs. The Maelstrom is one possible portal to this world.

Re: Completed Ytarria Hex map with terrain added
 

This is great! The perfect way to drop a piece of pharaonic Egypt, mythic India, or any pocket world into Ytarria, effectively closed off from the rest of the continent. Some could be actively maintained by Djinn (who'd take an interest in PCs' meddling); others might be long ignored by their Djinn. No need to worry over how anything fits in with surrounding lands and politics, or whether a pocket world even follows normal laws of physics.

(I was wondering where's the best place on Ytarria to drop a mythic Greek land, free from outside influence. Now I know. : )

Re: Completed Ytarria Hex map with terrain added
 

All very good ideas, and they fit in quite easily.

Quite often I have to go back to the original map with the overlay of the USA on it to remind myself just how big Ytarria is and how much space there is to play with. You could fit ancient Egypt in the small area just west of the 2nd Djinn Lands mountain chain and not impact anything else.

Re: Completed Ytarria Hex map with terrain added
 

When we finish Ytarria, it would be really fun to crowd-build a new continent or two as well!