Wednesday, March 6, 2013

A Player's Map for Averoigne

Here is a map I've been working on. It is a four hex Player's Map for an Averoigne campaign centered on the village of Pergament and The Chateau des Faussesflammes (which lies only a few miles to the west of the map). Enjoy:

  • The Ancient Stones: These flat stones once formed a pattern of some kind, though no one is really sure what that pattern is. It is rumored that strange things happen in the area on various days of the year or phases of the moon, depending upon the source.
  • The Singing Trees: Travelers through this part of the Westwood have reported hearing strange songs that seem to come from the trees themselves. Some have reported being able to discern voices. Others even claim to have heard prophecies that have proven true over time.
  • St. Ursas: This is the name of the local monastery. It is run by White Monks.
  • Farms: There are about sixty farms that service Pergament. They are generally referred to in two groups: The North Farms and The South Farms. There is a rivalry between the two, due mostly to the fact that most of the farmers to the north are Salians and most to the south are Averni.
  • Westwood: Pergament and its environs sit at the eastern edge of Westwood, a large forest that dominates western Averoigne. The most common tree is the Sassafras. Wild raspberries are common and various melons are not unheard of. Hunters come to Westwood for its elk.
  • The Stone Tree: At the center of a field of solid stone is a large petrified tree. No one knows how or why this happened, but there are rumors that the whole field radiates of magic.
  • The Stone Guardians: This series of rune-encrusted stones serve to keep unwanted guests away from the Tower of the Blue Wizard. Anyone who approaches without an invitation gets a kind of motion sickness. For the stubborn, this usually ends up with uncontrollable vomiting. Both disappear when unwanted guests retreat from the area.
  • The Tower of the Blue Wizard: This is the home of the head of the local Wizard’s Guild. Not much is known about him, because he is rather reclusive; however, it is widely known that he is good friends with the abbot of St. Ursas.
  • The Phasing Gardens: No one knows who planted these gardens, which are full of strange and exotic plants. Most locals avoid them completely, however, due to the strange way they appear and disappear. These correspond with sunrise, sunset and the phases of the moon. The only time all three gardens appear at the same time is during the full moon.
  • The Bearded Trees: The trees in this part of the Westwood are covered in moss. Rumors say that many of these trees might actually be dormant treants. Local hunters avoid this area when hunting.
  • The Izole Ferry: This is the main route of trade with Ximera, the major city in southern Averoigne.

2 comments:

Porky said...

That's a moody map for sure. The lines for Westwood have just the kind of thing I like in location descriptions. A lot can flow later from an impression of something known in the real world. A whole living forest ready to go in a few words.

Roger G-S said...

Lots of character in those descriptions and illustrations!