April Entry: Roan and the Sea Worg

[Gamerprinter]

Although I might post a couple of other versions with different "paper", instead of animal skin. But for all intents and purposes - this map challenge is complete! Instead of god-spirit icons, I went for runes to represent them. Oh and that's a seal or Roan swimming in the center of the map.

WIP...

###Latest WIP###

[Redrobes]

This is looking well cool as usual - going for a 3rd gold ???

If you put a mention of WIP at the posts, why not put :-

*Censored* - heh well no but it would have gotten in the way of the script grabber. Should work just fine with yor tag above now

just before the image instead and then the auto WIP scraper will put your image into the thumbnail list.

I'll edit my tag above out and then update it...

[Gamerprinter]

OK, Redrobes, next time I post I'll do it that way.

Just came up with an idea, for some improvement and/or identification of the islands and continent. I'll place some heraldric device shields identifying which islands belong to Pictish Clans vs. the ogre islands, as well something to denote the southeast landform is the continent.

[Gamerprinter]

I decided to keep the Dire Wolf Skin - as far as the challenge goes.

I added Clan Shields on the two islands - "Tree of Life" and "Whirl of Time".
And a shield of the continent clans - "Salmon"

Map is complete!

###Latest WIP###

[Gamerprinter]

To help you understand this map, the setting it describes, and the secret place, here's a brief overview:

The setting is a pre-celtic world set in a late bronze age/early iron age culture, I call the "Picts" mixed with the very end of the last ice age. On the continent of Cer, to the south east, an iron age culture of Celtic peoples are expanding from the mountainous center outwards to every shore. The Picts who inhabited the northern reaches of Cer are gradually being pushed out.

Two great clans of Picts relocated to the Isles of Caillech 2 centuries ago, just after the end of the Ice Age. The Picts still on Cer travel back in forth between the continent and the isles - thus called the "Salmon" people by the Picts of the Isles. This is a before the viking era, so no long ships. Their boats are corracles (skin covered frames of bone and wood, bowl shaped with a single masted sail, about 30' in diameter, aided by long oars.)

As already mentioned, the Picts have no written language, though use runes to describe their god-spirits, mostly a druid's cant. Everything is told in song and saga by the bards and skalds.

The sea is called the Sea of Roan - depicted by the blue seal at map center. A Roan is type of "selkie" or sealwere (listed in original Monster Manual II 1983), as seals are common in these northern seas. In fact by following the seal herds for hunting is how the Picts discovered the Isles of Caillech.

The isles are historically ruled by the Caillech Bheur, ancient name for the Winter Hag - a queen and goddess over the ogres and giants that also inhabit the larger isles. She may even be the first god, as she ruled the world of the Ice Age now passed. Her continuing goal is through magic, war with other Spirits, to eventually cause the return of the Ice Age. Each century during the worst winters, the Caillech Bheur summons a host of mastadon-riding ogres and giants afoot to invade the southern reaches and war with the men, dwarves and roan trying to wipe them out. Has fought and lost two such wars over the last 246 years.

The secret place is the site of a "spirit binding" the Caillech Bheur summoned a "Worg Spirit" (a god-like spirit wolf that can possess a living "wolf", even a humanoid to create a "werewolf"). It has been bound to the largest seawolf that roams with its pack in the same waters as the roan, hunting them. Thus creating the Sea Worg - a malevolent and intelligent seawolf of great size. Unless "unbound" it cannot be killed.

If a band of heroes can locate the secret location, discover the hidden binding object (a blessed rock with sample of hair or skin of the being to be possessed, and a symbol representing the the Worg Spirit are bound in cloth) and unbind its wraps, the possession is removed and the Worg Spirit nolonger inhabits/controsls its host, or the large normal seawolf. Thus ending that threat.

As part of her plans to bring the ice age, the Winter Hag must expell the humans and roan from the isles. The Sea Worg is her tool to devour the roan.

Understanding this helps to explain what and why of this map.