Completed Ytarria Hex map with terrain added

[darebear]

I have had ACKs since it originally came out. It is a great system, especially with the expansions. The creator of the map template that I used for Ytarria actually sent me a 6 mile hex map with the coasts of Ytarria mapped out. It is massive. I have considered using it, but the project is just too big for me at the moment. What I have been doing is using ACKS map templates to map out 24 mile hexes to 6 mile hexes. I then use the Welsh Piper method for breaking down a 6 mile hex into its component sub-hexes. One 24 mile hex has a lot of area to explore at a detailed level.

I did break out ACKs yesterday and tried to use its system to recreate the nations and their settlements. I stopped for a couple of reasons, but mainly I felt that the gain was really not worth the effort (at least for a regular gaming table...that type of thing is more for DM enjoyment than anything else). I have not seen ACKs II yet. It is on my list of wants for sure. I found the original ACKS system for kingdom generation not very well explained. However, overall its my favorite iteration of D&D.

We indeed have had quite a few discussions about population levels. Cardiel is the same size as France. Medieval France had a population of 20 million while England was around 5 million. The abundance of arable land allowed France to have a massive population for the time; they were a super power for centuries in no small part due to their population levels.

In any case, I still believe that the continent is underpopulated. However, since humanity only arrived up to 1000 years ago, in small numbers and over a considerable period of time, I think that perhaps the population levels are reasonable give that situation. I still need to type out my gazetteer for the various areas which are labeled (forests, plains, ect).

I cannot color the hexes (I think), but I can change the colors on the bands to make them more readable.

I did add the Isle of Dread and the Thanegioth Archipelago to the southern seas. They are all mapped to the same scale as the classic D&D module X1. On a personal note, I always envisioned that to the east of Ytarria, across the Meglan Ocean, lay the lands of Kanahu, from the ACKS Barbarian Conquerors of Kanahu supplement. I could foresee cross-overs from GURPS Infinite Earths, where Cosmonauts from Earth are transported to Yrth, but instead end up in Kanahu, and are forced to deal with the alien Greys and a continent of lizardmen and dinosuars. Indeed, perhaps the Reptile Men come from Kanahu???

For those folks looking for a new fantasy setting, check out my blog post for world of Kaladia. The color maps are far better than mine, detailed wise. The setting is painted in broad strokes, and relies on a GM to fill in the details. Gary Gygax was very impressed with it. Anyway, I have talked with the author many times. He is a great guy.

https://darebearsminiemporium.blogsp...gn-by.html?m=1

[TGLS]

Originally Posted by apoc527

1. This makes it sound like the numbers on Banestorm p84 may be...reasonable? I swear that we've had discussions (upthread even) that these are way too low. BUT using this technique (which is very similar to the more modern ACKS II system, though I don't know about the numbers), I think it shows that perhaps things aren't as off as is commonly believed?

Well, if you're OK with a fairly unpopulated continent. Leaving aside whether the spread of these zones makes sense, the density of civilized is a little low. For example:
-> England 1.359 million vs. 1.25-2 million (ca 1086) and 3.7-5 million (ca 1340)
-> France: 5.749 million vs. 18-20 million (ca 1340)
-> Bulgaria: 1.156 million vs. 1.1 million (ca 700) and 2.6 million (ca 1365)

I'm also not sure if the metropoli are adequately reflected by the hexes. Even if they're "merely" Florence/Venice sized, that still puts them at about a hundred thousand.

[darebear]

As far as density, this is what I usually use for my calculations. It originally came from the Wilderlands of High Fantasy by Judges Guild.

1 Family counts as 1 "Able-Bodied Man", suitable for fighting, local defense, ect.

Agricultural
• One Family = 5 people
• One sq. mile will feed 64 families (320 people)
• One sq. mile needs 30 families (150 people) to utilize at 100%
• One 24-mile hex has 320,000 acres
• One 24-mile hex has 500 sq. miles
• One 24-mile hex, with 100% utilization, can feed up to 32000 families (160,000) people.
• One 24-mile hex will require 15000 families (75000 people) to utilize at 100%
• Actual utilization is assumed to be from 25-50% depending on the climate and arability. This is a total guess on my part. You could roll 1d100 if you wanted on a hex by hex basis.

Megalos has a population of 500,000; this means, after we account for the farmers needs, we need roughly 6 map hexes to feed the urban population of the city. The city of Megalos and the five surrounding hexes are more than enough to account for this population level.

We dont have population figures for any other Meglan settlements, however each 24 mile hex at 25% utilization can easily support 40000 people. Looking at a macro level, the population of Megalos requires roughly 400 hexes to support itself, or 200,000 square miles. This is perhaps 20% of the empire's land area. Megalos has 68 towns and cities on the map. Each of these would most certainly be surrounded by a ring of farmland a few hexes in total.

The zones of civilization that I depict is mainly to give an idea of how "safe" an area is (and populated, if you so wish to dive into demographics). You are unlikely to encounter monstrous creatures in say eastern Megalos, although bandits are likely very common. Travel to central or northern Megalos though, and God knows what lurks in those cold dark woods.

Some other demographics

Nomads (Cattle, Goat, Sheep)
• One sq. mile will feed 100 families (500 people)
• One sq. mile will need 50 families (250 people) to work at 100%
• One 24 mile hex will feed 50000 families (250,000 people) at 100%

Nomads (Swine)
• One sq. mile will feed 160 families (800 people)
• One sq. mile will need 100 families (500 people) to work at 100%
• One 24 mile hex will feed 80000 families (400,000 people) at 100%

Hunter-Gatherers
• 1 square mile to feed 1 family (5 people)
• One 24 mile hex will feed 500 families (2500 people)

[ericthered]

Ugg, I just ran a segment of a game in Yrth (a march from the south coast of Cardiel to Tedroy), and I just went and looked at your map and realized just how superior using it would have been.

You seem to have added a lot, but its nice to just have that detail. Where did It all come from, I was looking in the 4e book and didn't see anything.

I think having the hexes marked as civilized, borderlands, or wilderness would be interesting.

[darebear]

Ytarria as presented, is but the barest outline of an entire continent. The original map shows only vague details. So, I did what any GM would do: I made it up.

We have 45 years of RPG history to draw on. I shamelessly steal and appropriate what I feel would be interesting, and, if I can, work it into the map. Why reinvent the wheel? There is more material out there than any of us could use in a lifetime.

The original map had no names for many towns, so, I named them. Then I added small villages to areas which I felt needed settlements for adventure purposes. Trails were added where I felt they were warranted, as were non-human lairs, settlements, ruins and famous or infamous dungeons. It would be impossible to show all the settlements in Ytarria. There would be thousands of villages and hamlets scattered across the continent. The villages that I added are only there to aid your imagination or to aid a GM who needs a quick village in an area where their players are adventuring. They are certainly not the only ones there.

The named terrain features, such as "The Howling Hills", have a writeup in my GM notes as to what is special about this area. I make use of Worlds Without Number quite a bit, using the GM tools in it to add tags and details to these areas. Sometimes just giving an area an interesting name can be a springboard for ideas/adventures.

Example: IMC, the "Landtear" in the Great Desert and the ruins around it was the epicenter of the Banestorm. The tear is like a massive canyon, leading down into the depths of Ytarria where the "real" culprits of the Banestorm reside.

Anyway, the map has a couple of versions. One is basically "canonish", as much as it can be. The others are the same, but with additions based on what I do with my Ytarria. Honestly, you could play in northern Caithness and never run out of places to explore. I usually break down about a dozen 24 mile hexes into their 6 mile component sub hexes and then break those down into their 1.2 mile sub hexes. That is more than enough area to keep a party busy with traditional adventures for a long time.

[ericthered]

Thanks, that helps a lot.

[jason taylor]

Originally Posted by darebear

Ytarria as presented, is but the barest outline of an entire continent. The original map shows only vague details. So, I did what any GM would do: I made it up.

We have 45 years of RPG history to draw on. I shamelessly steal and appropriate what I feel would be interesting, and, if I can, work it into the map. Why reinvent the wheel? There is more material out there than any of us could use in a lifetime.

The original map had no names for many towns, so, I named them. Then I added small villages to areas which I felt needed settlements for adventure purposes. Trails were added where I felt they were warranted, as were non-human lairs, settlements, ruins and famous or infamous dungeons. It would be impossible to show all the settlements in Ytarria. There would be thousands of villages and hamlets scattered across the continent. The villages that I added are only there to aid your imagination or to aid a GM who needs a quick village in an area where their players are adventuring. They are certainly not the only ones there.

The named terrain features, such as "The Howling Hills", have a writeup in my GM notes as to what is special about this area. I make use of Worlds Without Number quite a bit, using the GM tools in it to add tags and details to these areas. Sometimes just giving an area an interesting name can be a springboard for ideas/adventures.

Example: IMC, the "Landtear" in the Great Desert and the ruins around it was the epicenter of the Banestorm. The tear is like a massive canyon, leading down into the depths of Ytarria where the "real" culprits of the Banestorm reside.

Anyway, the map has a couple of versions. One is basically "canonish", as much as it can be. The others are the same, but with additions based on what I do with my Ytarria. Honestly, you could play in northern Caithness and never run out of places to explore. I usually break down about a dozen 24 mile hexes into their 6 mile component sub hexes and then break those down into their 1.2 mile sub hexes. That is more than enough area to keep a party busy with traditional adventures for a long time.

Who are the real culprits of the Banestorm?

[darebear]

Originally Posted by jason taylor

Who are the real culprits of the Banestorm?

Thats a long story. Some hints are on page 6. The Elder Races are not the first beings to inhabit Yrth, nor are they the oldest or from this dimension.

I am thinking of adding some small settlement icons that I made up to better delineate settlement patterns. I will see how it looks and if I am happy I will add them to the map. I have started adding small streams and tiny rivers/creeks where appropriate.

For today: I added some new features: some updated ruined city graphics and many additional trails and paths. Some apparently lead, well, to nowhere. Why? Well, that's for you to decide. Remember though...there is always something in a hex.

[darebear]

I added some new features as described above (small villages, trails, minor streams, lakes, ect) along with the contour lines for areas which consist of grassy rolling hills vs rugged hills.

Of course I could continue to add small features (more streams, rivers, lakes), but at this point, I feel the map is more or less complete, at least at a scale of 24 miles per hex. It is important to leave blanks on maps, so each GM can customize as to his needs. Although there are many areas with no settlements (Nomad Lands, Orclands, the Southern Djinn Lands, ect), remember that hunter/gathers can support one family of five per square mile. That means there is potentially 2500 persons/orcs/whatever, living a nomadic lifestyle per hex in these areas. That is a lot of goings on in areas which look "empty".

Also, never forget that the terrain indicated is just a "predominant" feature of that area. Hex hex contains innumerable small forests, bogs, streams, hills and other features. The detailed mapping of subhexes is a game in and of itself. I highly recommend "Filling In the Blanks", by Third Kingdom Games. It provides detailed instructions on how to add lairs and other interesting features to hexes. Also, the "Welsh Piper" has a great tutorial for mapping subhexes.

For those wishing to map further, I suggest using templates which break these hexes down into 6 mile sub-hexes. I added a template PDF to my google drive with a link on my blog.

I have updated my Google Drive with the latest PDF maps.

Links below to the maps.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/12Y1...ew?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XVE...ew?usp=sharing

https://darebearsminiemporium.blogspot.com/2023/01/gurps-banestorm-hex-map-of-ytarria.html

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1r9x...ew?usp=sharing

[acrosome]

There are boxes visible around the names of several rivers and a couple of other features on the map from your second link.

EDIT-- Hmm. I re-loaded it and they are now gone.