Underground Arabian style city

[Zakier]

Hello Cartographers,

First time poster/requester. I myself am a Dungeon master and create my own fantasy world.

So far, I've been running without maps or grids because my computer crashed last year. Unfortunately I've been unable to get a new one and the new party I run has just reached a large city for the first time and I've got no map.

I know this is unpaid work so o don't expect anything professional quality looking but the more detailed the better as always.

Would one of you fine mappers please give me a hand by mapping out this city for me?

The artist retains all ownership of the work.

I do hope eventually to compile my campaign and setting into a free release for others to use and hope the artist gives me permission to use this map in the book. It will not be sold by Mr in any way simply used as a map for the city.


The detail quality is up to the artist.


If possible, I need a rough layout completed in about 2 weeks with more detailed completion by January.

Contact me at Daimenperry-at-yahoo.com
(Remove -at- replace with @)


Kanoveir the city of Hollows.


Carved out of the walls and rocks of a deep cavern, this large underground city is home to over 1,000 people from peasants and merchants to nobles and priest.


The city layout:


Starting from the south is the Market lane. The far south end is the cavern wall, heading north is the lane itself filled with various tents of many shapes and sizes. These merchants sell everything from food and jewels to weapons and armor. A few sturdy stone buildings off the beaten path house the finer merchants and their manses.

To the west is the merchant guild house and merchants lords.

North from there is the Nobles Quarter. These are spacious homes with plenty of open land around them.

North center (opposite of the market) is the Administration and government buildings. At the end of this lane (far north) is the Palace of Stone. Twice the size of any other building in the city and home to the Ruling Family.

To the east from the Goverment section is the craftsman and housing districts.


The slums is an underground cave network housed under the market and housing sections. With only a few sewage tunnels reaching the admin and nobles quarters.

A pit is under the colosseum where bodies are thrown to rot and the sewage canals formed a hole in the pit wall to connect the pit woth sewage.



Directly center of the city is the colosseum, 400 ft wide from east to west and circular. Multi story.


The nobles district has about 30 manses of various sizes. These all and sporadically placed and have appropriate lands around them. As this is a trade city, not agricultural, the lands around the Nobles homes are usually either empty or have servant houses and guard barracks (think menzobaranzon style from the underdark)

The slums hold the homeless and have an entrance in the far south eat side of the market lane as well as under the colosseum and through a cistern far East of the craftsman district.




Details of the map.


City feel:

This city began as a small cave pocket in a mountain. Not exceptionally deep underground but large enough for a small tribe.

Over the centuries, the cave has been worked away to create this larger cave. As each year passes, more rock has been removed leaving the edges of the city jagged. Houses are built if this worked stone and it's dense quality has lent it well to being used for sculptures. The rock had an odd wavy colored pattern like a mottled rainbow so much of the stone is carved to use this pattern to greatest effect.


The homes and building are set out in what would have been a haphazard manner. A few places through the city are orderly and straight lines as if some magistrate tried to settle the chaos but eventually, money won out and the haphazard layout continues. This is especially true for the Nobles district where buildings are packed in as if trying to fight for space. The truly richest homes able to carve out a decent section of land around them showing their wealth.


City streets are in no way straight and the layout leads many walks to narrow alleyways and blind corners.

There is a single cart pass from the craftsman district to the colosseum and then down to the market lane. Though there are no horses or beasts of burden as the underground doesn't suit them well. Instead, carts are dragged by slaves pulling palentines.


Each district has a few notable locations.


Market has 4 high quality buildings for expensive wares.

Craftsman district has a few main crafters of arms armor and magical items. As well as the tavern the Stone bowl (a circular tavern 2 stories and fairly large to accommodate a large tap room and 5 upstairs inn rooms plus 1 off room downstairs for cheap sleeping)

The admin section houses the royal palace which spans from the Nobles to the craftsman district in width with the Palace itself being within its own walled section.

The admin section has 1 magistrate building, 1 large temple and the rest is smaller buildings down until you reach the colosseum.


The nobles section had 2 large mansions with plenty of room around them, at opposite ends of the quarter. The other buildings are smaller and more dense but vary in size. This section has much wider roads and alleys than the housing district which is meant to be packed full.

Finally, the building appearances would lean more towards an Arabian nights feel.


If you have any other questions I'll be glad to answer them.

[XCali]

Unpaid is a bit hard, maps take time.

YET. If I do feel like playing around for an afternoon or what to create a map, I do feel a very ROUGHLY drawn outline of the city would be much appreciated. Scribbles on a piece of paper and words saying where is what.

[ScottDA]

Cities, especially, are a lot of work. A simple regional map could be thrown together quite quickly but cities require many details, all of which take time and effort. Not being negative, just adding my two cents. That and $3.50 will get you a coffee at Starbucks! lol!

[Mouse]

A city is a very tall order in just 2 weeks - especially if you aren't getting paid for the work, since you wouldn't really be able to do anything else to get it finished in that time.

Maybe a better bet is to ask if there are any city maps that roughly fit the bill, and which the owner doesn't mind you borrowing (for your group only)

[Azélor]

A city is a very tall order in just 2 weeks - especially if you aren't getting paid for the work, since you wouldn't really be able to do anything else to get it finished in that time.

Maybe a better bet is to ask if there are any city maps that roughly fit the bill, and which the owner doesn't mind you borrowing (for your group only)

Considering it was posted in November, he might have moved on.

[Mouse]

LOL! Didn't see that, Azelor - just assumed it was current when I saw XCali and Scott commenting on it

I guess there wasn't a map - or he found one and just used it anyway

[ScottDA]

Oh! I didn't notice it was from November, either... Never mind... lol