Mountain help?

[Dmitri]

Hey all,

I'm currently drawing a map that I hope to one day post on this site (if I can ever get the scanner to work...haha). I have the basic coastline figured out, and now I'm working on mountain ranges. I have some general ideas about where the mountains will be, however I'm not sure its enough.

Would anyone know of a good tutorial or maybe even a map that is a great example of realistic mountain locations? Sometimes I'm not sure if my regions have too many mountains or not enough.

If anyone could point me in the direction of some help, I would greatly appreciate it.

[Ascension]

If you really want to get anal about the tectonics then there are some tuts and numerous WIPs that go into the subject. But for me, plausibility is good enough. First, I don't make mtn ranges that go in circles or squares or funky shapes...true it can be fun but I just don't do it. Second, I don't make them go all over the place...they follow a clear line and may have a few small branches. Third, I make at least one long mtn chain and a few other smaller mtn chains for "flavor". Fourth, I never put them directly in the middle of the landmass, it looks artificial, but by the same token I don't put them all by the coast either as not all places are fjords. Lastly, I know what other terrain is going in and roughly where I want that and make the mtn placement fit that...ie I'm not running mtns straight across a desert or swamp. In the end, you just sort of develop a feel for it after having done it many times.

[tilt]

I agree with Ascension... mountains arises where the tectonic plates come together and therefor happen in ranges... so concidering the size of your map you'll have a single range or more - and then a few to spice up the map here and there

[Gidde]

I read somewhere (I can't remember where, so take it with a grain of salt) that mountains cover roughly 10% of a given landmass ... I usually try to gauge this as my ballpark of whether I've added enough.

[Midgardsormr]

Take a look at Expeditious Retreat Press' "A Magical Society: Guide to Mapping." It's a free chapter from their book A Magical Society: Ecology and Culture.