[paid/unpaid] Map for Sargossa a Lovecraftian Pirate Setting

[vgunn]

This unpaid venture will turn into a paid project. First is the foundation stage for development of the setting. I am just now really bringing the idea together for my next fantasy novel. Chris "Ascension" did an excellent job (paid) for my novel IN THE SHADOW OF SWORDS due out in February and I would like to see if anyone here is interested in taking on this new project of mine.

Here is some background.

The world unique, but draws heavily from historical 16th and 17th Century European and Oriental cultures. Each country in the world can be compared to a real historical kingdom but is a simplified representation.

Pieces of Eight (dominant world cultures after A HUNDRED YEARS OF WAR):

Guilders (Gulden)
Livres (Livre)
Sterlings (Sterling)
Reales (Real)
Yen (Yuan)
Dinars (Dinar)
Rupees (Rupee)
Kronur (Krona)

There is one indigenous culture called Maroons (Arará). They are based off of the Garinagu, a mix of Taino/Carib/African people.

This is similar to the world of Theah for the 7th Sea RPG and CCG from Alderac Entertainment. This is a map of Theah:



These kingdoms provide the background to the setting, but the focus is clearly on Sargosso.

Sargosso influenced from the 1968 film The Lost Continent which was in turn adapted from Dennis Wheatley's 1938 novel Uncharted Seas. Along Stephen King's The Mist. Within Sargasso are clusters of archipelagos surrounded by a never-ending fog. Hidden within these mists are patches of carnivorous seaweed, horrific creatures, and ghost ships crewed by the undead.

Each of the foreign cultures has homeland that can be reached through a safe-passage which opens when the 'tides are just right'.

The islands within Sargasso are ripe with natural resources, which are being plundered by the foreigners. Pirates of course prey on the loaded ships.

Vudu (Voodoo) and Kulu (Cthulhu) are two divine beliefs of Sargasso. Vudu represents the sky, while Kulu is from the sea (it is said limbo lies within the surrounding mists) and the two are opposed to each other.

Magic in Sargasso is almost always dark and corrupting. Much like the sorcery from Howard's Conan stories. Also influence drawn from Tim Power's On Stranger Tides.

Foreigners will also attempt to convert the native Maroons to their own religion so that they may pass 'the veil' and their souls not lost to limbo in the fog.

Technology level is set at the tail end of the Golden Age of Piracy with resource levels tapped from the earth 16th century (Spanish conquest of Aztec Empire).

Sargosso lies within the eye wall of a supernatural, stable, and stationary [anti]cyclonic storm. Something similar to the Great Red Spot on Jupiter. The size of Sargosso is slightly smaller than China, running some 2400 nautical miles both N/S and E/W to the edge of fog. The fog is an additional 600 nautical miles in width.

So imagine a permanent [anti]cyclone roughly the size of this:



I need a cartographer who can shape the world based on these ideas and my input. Once the foundation is complete, the final map will become a paid project.

Please let me know if you are interested.

Thanks in advance!

[vgunn]

Taken.

Thanks everyone!