Would like a stylish map of Nexus City for a homegrown RPG setting
I'm hoping this is an interesting enough project that someone is willing to take it on for the love of the idea, and for the opportunity to provide their own creative direction in its development. In return I'm willing to forgo almost all of the rights on it (though I need to be able to post it on a password-protected Posterous site for my players). Perhaps at some point in the distant future I might want to purchase limited rights to it for commercial purposes (like if I use the setting to write a book or something), but that's purely hypothetical at this point. I'd grant access to the Posterous site to anyone who takes the job to get an idea of the setting, background and view some of the images I've posted there for an idea of 'flavor'. Ideally, the person who takes this on would be open to working on future projects, as new locations will likely come to mind and maintaining a similar artistic style would help bring the whole thing together.
This is a labor of love for me, so ideally there wouldn't be a cost involved but I'm open to discussing a modest payment if the scope seems too large.
Time Constraint: There really isn't one. This is a personal project, and as the GM I'm doing this for the love of the game. I have a generalized idea of where things are, and can make do with sketches or in character descriptions for the time being, but being able to shock and awe my players with a professional quality map would certainly add a whole new dimension to the game. So I'm flexible there. How about: Can you do it in under a month?
Style: I'm flexible here as well, but in my mind it would be a color city map, and the limited surrounding environs, perhaps done as a 3/4 view rather than overhead style (though that's permissible as well). The reason for the 3/4 view is that the setting (described below in significant detail) is a city that comprises millions of inhabitants, and a smattering of different architectures. Adding some buildings rising up in certain areas of the map to convey a sense of the architecture of each ward of the city would be a nice touch. Or some blue waves for the bay/dock areas of the city, etc. Ideally there'd be a legend to explain some of the different wards of the city.
Description: Nexus City is part of a GURPS campaign I'm running. The basic premise is similar to Planescape's Sigil, the City of Doors or Cynosure of GrimJack fame. It's a city that comprises individuals from worlds, tech levels, magic, races, etc. from all over known (and unknown) time and space. The city was designed to keep them separate from one another (to prevent friction), while also allowing for public areas where they can intermix, conduct trade, etc. As such, there are /hundreds/ of wards in Nexus, and there's no possible way I can have thought of everything at this point. The setting was designed to be the 'everyworld' and stop having my players relearn a new setting or game system, to allow each game session to have variety (this session you're headed to NYC, the next you're headed to a high tech future dystopia, and the setting after that you're headed to Yrth to slay a dragon). I have ideas for some of the wards, and a general geography of where everything is laid out, but I'd love for some creative artist to really take the bull by the horns on this and add extra details that come directly from their own imaginings. I mean, anyone and anything can reside in Nexus City, so there are no limits, and there weren't intended to be.
Map/Geography Description: Nexus City is laid out like a wheel. There are broad avenues that run through it like the spokes of a wheel, and these are public areas. These adjoin to the wards of Nexus, which are crosscut with other streets so that the whole thing somewhat resembles the gaps in between a spider web. Not necessarily uniform at all, but irregular. Some wards are larger than others. At the very center is the Citadel Ward, which is the heart of power in Nexus City, and an enormous structure rears above every other in the city. I've used this image for inspiration: http://getfile2.posterous.com/getfil...scaled1000.jpg minus the aquatic moat/river surrounding it. Security into and out of this area is very tight, and passes through walls into the first ring surrounding it, which houses the Grand Bazaar/Market and the Traveler's Union. Outside of this the wards really begin, with main streets radiating out from the center and the wards (also walled in) nestling between these main streets, crosscut with smaller sub-streets. There is the Sanguinis District, a ward dedicated to vampires. There are seven grubby wards dedicated to the ogrish/goblinoid races (Warrens, Shacktown, Ogrestan, Lowtown, Shallows, Gungrave, and Spitfoam Park), two wards for the Sylvan races (Sylvan Grove and the Faerie Grotto), a ward for the more far-eastern-minded types (Lotus), a ward for fun and masquerade (Carnivale), a high-tech ward (Cyberia), the Nightshade District, which is the most lawless and criminal of all the wards, and on and on. The possibilities are endless. The artist is free to sketch in a few other ward concepts and give them names, and I'll use them in play. After all: It's all here.The wards which don't yet have names could simply be represented without all of the embellishment and prevailing architecture. Even empty squares, if it comes right down to it. (Kind of like how unexplored areas on a map often lack definition).
In addition to the city proper, the Nexus itself is a small pocket dimension. Outside of the walls is a lot of water, except in one direction, adjoining to the Sylvan Grove at the outer wall, is the Labyrinth, a maze of dark and twisting undergrowth leading into a forbidding forest. The outer boundaries of Nexus itself are curious waterfalls, which pour UP into the sky.
And then there's the Nexus Core. The Core is subterranean, with 100 levels existing below the Citadel itself. Each level is immense (like the scale of Nexus itself). This contains the majority of the doors leading out of Nexus into other worlds, under heavy security. This map could be in a different style entirely, even black and white. Most of them are uniformly the same, but certain levels are significant enough to mention. The second level is the Control Room, which handles all communication throughout Nexus and even into other worlds. The World Forge exists on level 49, directly above the Engine Room, the heart of all power in Nexus, on level 50. A recent incursion forced the powers that be to divide level 50 from 51 with a barrier, limiting access to the lower levels.
I realize this is rather ambitious, but hopefully it's also fun.
Dimensions: Nexus is big, so I imagine this would be pretty big as well. It would be displayed primarily on the web, minimized and then clicked (lightbox style) to maximize the image. The size is basically "Whatever it takes to get the job done".
Copyright: The artist would retain all rights to the image, save for my ability to reproduce it (for the players in the group) and host it on a password-protected website. They could even sign their work, putting their name on the image with their email address if they want.
This is a setting for world travelers, and in the future I will be detailing other worlds that characters might come to visit in the course of the campaign. In that case, expect to hear from me again.
This is my first request, so hopefully this at least gets the ball rolling. I invite any feedback or requests for clarification.
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Oh well. I guess I'll just leave this up and see if anyone is interested. If anyone is interested, but money is the issue, let me know and I'll see what I can do.
