Maps from my "Pre" Guild Days

[arsheesh]

Hey all, I was rummaging through some old campaign notes from several years back and came across some early maps that I had done for one of my early campaigns. They are all hand drawn and of dubious quality, but they represent my first real fore into map-making prior to discovering the Cartographers Guild, or the digital world of map-making. For better or for worse, this is where I began.

Cheers,
-Arsheesh

Edit: By the way, if any of you want to show off your own "pre" Guild days maps feel free to use this thread as a platform to do so.

[Katto]

Hey Arsheesh, you don't have to apologize. These are cool maps. Too less handrawn maps here. Ahh, the Western Baronies thing, sorry, not now .

[arsheesh]

Thanks Katto. Looking back at these maps now I think I've developed a more critical eye. Yet even if I see their figure faults be bit more clearly now, these maps still hold allot of sentimental value, seeing as this where it all began for me.

[Redrobes]

Hey thats cool.

Heres mine. The world of Kiroth where we used to play in the battered & patched top left segment. The party spent a lot of time in Haemon so heres that area, city, city key and then central district. Even from an early time of D&D I did worlds in a kind of zoom fashion. I had loads of city maps like this once but I have lost all but a few of them. In any case I did 2nd edition in the Realms and other worlds so this one died with the campaign tho that lasted a few years.

Edit -- err dont know why its changed the order and one map is an attachment instead of inline... ???

[Katto]

You are right when you say that these maps have a special value, even a sentimental one. Those were your first approaches to mapping as you wrote, so you have put a lot of emotion into it and thought about it. Perhaps you have used them for roleplaying a long time. This style leaves enough space for imagination, more than any cool map made in PS or Gimp.
So, who cares about your map faults in the past? You have learned and this is what this place is for (and get even more addicted).

Redrobes, the fourth picture reminds me of Skara Brae from the Bard's Tale and the good old days. Great!

[arsheesh]

Katto, yeah we used those maps for the first couple years or so of the campaign, then my world went through it's first major revision, which included geographical alterations. At that point the maps went into retirement. But like you said, lots of great memories and emotions are wrapped up in those early maps.

Redrobes, hey those are great! I like the 4-piece Kiroth hex map allot, reminds me of the somewhat Mediterranean culture I was going for with the Logathrian Sea in my early Eriond map. Thanks for posting. It be cool if this became a thread to show off our early "velveteen-rabbit" maps.

Cheers,
-Arsheesh

[Redrobes]

It does look a bit Club Med doesn't it. I dont know if Realms was out at this stage or now. Thinking back to doing and playing this map is just so long its like another lifetime. It could just as easily be someone else map. I have some recollections of some things on here and just no inkling what I was thinking of in other areas.

Theres Obsideon Castle up in the top left and I have that mapped out. That was based on the image from Rodney Matthews from the Elric books I think. The party were about 5-7th level by then and one character (and the NPC) got married. Another left to form her monastery, one was forever harassed by a revenant for being so twisted, the ranger got turned to stone by a Cockatrice and the MU took over that castle. So there was quite a natural end to the characters at that point.

Oh and yeah Id like to see anyone elses first big campaign maps...

[tilt]

hey Arsheesh and Redrobes, those look great - and especially the hex sheets takes me back to those early days...
I think I've thrown just about everything out when we moved into our new house 7 years ago - big cleaning day ... but now I'll have to take a look on my gaming shelves to see if something is still hiding from the early 80s

[Larb]

Very nice, I'm tempted to scan in some of my non-digital maps (I have a lot). They aren't great though but I suppose people might be interested!

[arsheesh]

Do it! You know you want to.