January 2011 Challenge: To Ravenkhor

[Jaxilon]

This is what happens when you merge a trip to Alaska, Anasazi ruins, the Burmuda triangle, a Cartographer's Guild challenge and a lunatic:

I have an absolute ton to do for this but I hope to pull it off. I haven't yet finished with the endpoint and what exactly it will be but I'm working on it.

The idea is a series of Way points that will take you to the heart of a powerful long dead(?) civilization (that's the part I'm still trying to work out, maybe it'll be dragons at the end). The end point needs enough of a reward to make it worth the risky journey. A GM could place anything they wanted there but I'll have to come up with something. (I'm currently thinking along the lines of a quest to bond with a young Dragon or gain some epic mount, maybe a fountain of youth or some other incredible power item. Possibly the wisdom available from this vanished race.) Just arriving gains safe harbor until the test or audience, etc.) The journey is fraught with peril however. It is a harsh landscape of eternal near dark. The moon and stars move around the sky but the sun never comes. Terrible storms, and a plethora of vile creatures inhabit the land. While it is never safe to journey therein it is especially deadly during the night cycles (a time when all the worst beasties come out to hunt). Few survive a night cycle out of doors and none survive it unscathed. Thus, the way stations. I have one of these sketched out in my sketchbook but need to "draft it up". These stations are more than just safe havens they are the only sure way to navigate through the landscape. More on that once I get the drawings done and have time to write it up. These stations are spaced appropriately so a party can make it from one to the next during a single day cycle. Providing of course they know the direction to take and don't get too caught up in any pitched battles along the way.

The canyons are filled with bones of those who failed. Entire parties are strewn across canyon floors, their bones picked clean or charred black. I may also have tombs of Kings and Heroes buried in the mountain sides. More powerful or loved ones will be deeper into the range as it would take a strong army to hold off any attacks while the burial took place.

For now here is the map I am working on. I'm curious as to how the mountains come across as they are another new experiment. This is a regional area a couple thousand miles wide. It consists of marshy swamp areas and jagged mountain peaks that surge up from the earth. There are hundreds of trails through these mountains and hills, it would be very easy to get lost.

### Latest WIP ###

[tilt]

looks good, nice colors ... I like the bigger mountains, not completely sure about the small ones but I get the idea with them

[Jaxilon]

looks good, nice colors ... I like the bigger mountains, not completely sure about the small ones but I get the idea with them

LOL, figures because those big ones are the ones I've worked over pretty good by hand. I'm probably just going to have to do all the rest in order to get it to the next level.

[Gidde]

Looks like a strong base and a great concept you've got, looking forward to seeing more

[Jaxilon]

A good point you make Imm. Thanks for the comment. I'll do some more research and see if I can find anything similar to what I'm after. I may end up ripping most of that out of there and just making what I want by hand anyway. More work but probably worth it in the end. Film at 11...

Edit: I thought I would have to go to Mars or something but lookie here. I'll still have to do some work on the plasticism. Of course, if you are bringing plastic miniatures... I think working a more natural erosion might help. I may need to change how large an area it is as well. It's fantasy so I'm not going to burn too much energy. Someday when I am confident that I can finish my maps because I know everything about what I'm doing I may start working on being more like su-liam and some of you others who go for all the real stuff.

[Immolate]

Couple of comments Jax: the smaller mountains look metallic, or perhaps plastic is the word used in the light rending facility. Also, this enormous, stippled field of uniformly-sized mountains doesn't feel quite right. I'm no geologist mind you, but if I came up with something like that I'd crank up Google Earth and start looking for guidance from Artist #1.

[Ascension]

I like the blue, very impressionistic. The green might stand to be just a tad lighter, not too much, and the rusts could stand to be a lot lighter, more towards a medium where these are dark. Maybe you just need to lighten the rusts and then the greens would be fine, shrug. That would give the whole thing an impressionist painting feel - which you might not be going for so use at your own risk.

[Jaxilon]

Ever look at something so long you just want to toss it in the garbage? I feel like I spent hours getting nowhere with this tonight. Grrrrr.

I reduced the amount of the base hills. Made one tweak to change the coloring and it might be better than what I had before?

About the only thing that came out pretty much the way I desired was my foray into Sketchup to make the pedestal that goes inside the way stations (second illustration). This is the pedestal that if you have the Gem-key you will be able to know the correct direction to the next station. I still have to draft up the building but this is at the center of it. I plan to have the illustrations integrated somehow, probably as inserts around the border.

That's of course, if I don't chuck the whole thing before I get to that point. I probably just need a break from it.

[Ascension]

Well, on the plus side, the mountains look better. Looks like you lost most of your land color but the rusties.

[Jaxilon]

Actually I didn't mess with the rust much but here is a version with the land colors and most of the "rusties" removed just for comparison. **I would have been out of here but I was updating the Lite challenge and saw your post**

last update for the night: