I am Topdecker. I was an active DM from 1976 to 1988 and have made a new years resolution for 2016 to return to roleplaying as a gamemaster. I will probably go the Fantasy Grounds route and will get it bought before the holidays sale prices disappear .

As far as mapping is concerned, I am map collector of sorts, having a sizable collection of digital USGS 15-minute maps. I use GPS software called Oziexplorer to calibrate a given map (say from 1910) to real-world coordinates and then go treasure hunting. I metal detect and it is good fun to find an old home site and recover silver thimbles, coins, axe-heads, and all the metal stuff of yesteryear. I love exploring maps and appreciate how much you can learn about man and his endeavors just by studying the same map - but years apart in creation.

In terms of making maps, it has been a long, long time since I have created a fantasy map, however I have invested a lot of time and energy into art (more physical than digital) over the last decade and I am hopeful that this will be reflected in any maps that I create. I am using a Surface Pro 4 with stylus to drive Sketchbook 6 or Art Rage 4 which will be my primary tools. I refuse to give into Adobe's subscription empire.

Right now I am still in the brainstorming / plotting portion of creating a campaign. My initial idea was to have a cross-planar invasion going in which the occupants were getting roundly beaten by the invaders - so they invested their magic into creating tidal wave generators that would prevent the enemy from building and using a fleet to advance the war. However, research on tidal waves seemed to indicate that boats are not in any particular danger once they are in deeper waters, so I trashed a bit of work and am back to the brainstorming stage.

Raadsel - The Isles of Spinnan.jpg
The island chain that would have been a tidal wave generator...

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