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Alterra - World Map

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The map of Alterra, wherein the Dungeons and Dragons campaign Firebird takes place.

-Al Doroch-

Second-largest and most populated of the Tricrown Kingdoms, ruled in wisdom and strength by the Senate of Dorocha. The title of king -- which comes with full military command and a moderate amount of political power -- is passed down through bloodlines until no heir is available or the king is unanimously voted out of power by the Senate, at which point a new king is elected from nominated public figures, Senators or otherwise.

Much of Al Doroch's terrain is temperate and livable, with only a few patches of mountain and desert around the western side. A vast mountain range forms its northern border, separating it from the Everplains, on which many attempts to find a natural pass or build a trail have been made. None have succeeded, and the few pioneers that return often do so without their mind -- or all their limbs -- intact.

The Dorochs have a strong alliance with the Elthani, and as a result, an unusual amount of the Doroch population has at least a small amount of elven or fey blood. Dorochan food, spices, textiles, and ships are regarded as top-quality and are often traded overseas.

-Elthanas-

The hallowed forests of Elthanas make up the smallest of the Tricrown Kingdoms, populated sparsely by the proud elves and other fey-creatures of the south. The Elthani live in relative isolation, communicating only with their immediate neighbors of Al Doroch, and by consequence, little is known about the inner political workings or dynamics of the cloistered nation. Fine Elthani salves, medicines, and magic items occasionally trickle into global traders' inventories through Doroch diplomats and the rare adventurer who gains passage into the borders.

-Al Thelsar-

The dominant military and political power of the world, and last of the Tricrown Kingdoms. Meetings of diplomats from all three member nations take place in the capitol city of Lockhearth (the player characters' starting location, denoted on the map by a star). While no northern border has ever been technically established, the nobles of Lockhearth Court have never pursued conquest of the Everplains, in order to preserve its state as a living history and reminder of past mistakes.

Lockhearth itself is unique among cities in its construction and planning. High, insurmountable walls divide the city into five districts: the Commons, the Merchants' Tier, the Fountain District, the Eastwarren, and Lockhearth Court. Each district may only be accessed by presenting a pass to the city's gatekeepers -- massive, magical sentinels that guard both the large gates into the city and smaller gates between districts. The passes, and the gates they allow entrance to, are as follows:

-Lowpass: allows access to the Commons for a period of two weeks, in which the holder may find work. Employers provide their workers with Highpasses, which allow permanent residency in the city.
-Highpass: allows access to the Commons, Eastwarren, and Fountain District. Each player character begins the game with a Highpass.
-Tradepass: allows access to all districts permitted by the Highpass, plus the Merchants' Tier.
-Lordspass: grants access to Lockhearth Court, situated in the center of the city.
-Plainspass: allows adventuring parties and pilgrims to exit the city's northern gate, which opens onto the path to the Everplains.

-Kranth-

The youngest nation of current civilization, if, indeed, it can be referred to as a civilization. Where Elthanas is the birthplace of elegance and grace, Kranth is home to the savage races, best described as a coalition of orcish, trollish, and ogre tribes held together by little more than spit and blood. Humans who come to the delightfully simple and gritty land on Selanian merchant ships often leave behind half-orc legacies after nights of drunken reverie.

-Selan-

A collection of islands nestled in the center of many popular trade routes, ruled by pure, unfettered capitalism. It is a common saying among seafarers that one cannot visit the privy without crossing a Selanian island; such is a testament to the far-reaching operation run by the Selanian mercantile cartels. Humans, gnomes, and halflings often make their homes in Selan to profit from its boundless prospects for fortune, trading Elthani medicines to Thelsari ships, Doroch textiles to the Kranthese, and so on.

-The Riftlands-

The secluded region of white, sun-blasted stone south and east of Elthanas, made inaccessible from the sea by coral reefs. Bards often tell tales of the magical rifts and portals to other planes that appear without warning on the flat expanses of rock, which then disappear just as quickly. Whether there is any credibility to these rifts' existence remains a conundrum; the only land route to the rocky region passes through Elthani lands, which are themselves notoriously difficult to traverse without angering their denizens. Regardless, the songs and stories of otherworldly exploits have given the place its permanent name.

-The Everplains-

These aptly named endless plains -- progressing into tundra as explorers push north -- are the site of a terrible and world-altering old war, strewn with ruins of cities and remains of battles long since forgotten in the sands of time. These ancient reminders often attract adventurers, using Lockhearth as a home base, for the treasure and archaic lore they hold.

At their northern "end," the plains are wholly consumed by dense, self-contained fog, a phenomenon referred to by scholars as the Mistwall. Pilgrims often take religious journeys to the Mistwall to offer the ashes of the dead to its impenetrable depths, thereby returning the deceased to peace in the mist's comforting embrace.

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My first attempt at cartography in Photoshop CS4!
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