Map 57- The Laberian Empire and Hardstamp Republic

[Arimel]

This thread is still largely a brainstorming exercise but I wanted to share some of my ideas that I have so far. Sorry if it is a bit word intensive!

So the history of my landmass will be very similar to that of Chumpy's 54, being in the same region. Chumpy did not include any time frames within his thread so I am going to assume that it was not a fast process, helping to explain how Phase 2c occurred so 'fast'.

Phase 1: Wilds
Initially this area 57 was ruled by the giants in the Northwest corner and the rest of the area was 'uncivilized' (goblins are a possible fill in race here... I might change this to something else depending on climate etc.).
Phase 1.jpg

Phase 2: Migration Period (same as Chumpy's phase 1-3)
a. initial settlement along the coast
Phase 2a.jpg
b. conquering coasts and southern boundaries of the 'Hardstamp 'Republic'' (best translation available for the Giant nation)
Phase 2b.jpg
c. The human migrants subjugate the entire region, overrunning the giants in the north and the goblins to the south, gaining control of the entire region (Coincides with Chumpy's phase 3 until around halfway through Chumpy's 4).
Phase 2c.jpg

Phase 3: Collapse of the Human Nation (End of Chumpy's 4 into my timeline):
The giants, being threatened on all fronts, made a last desperate attack against the humans that were encircling them. Allying with the Goblins that the humans in area 57 subjugated, they manage to destroy the human's defenses (The humans being too spread out from conquering more than their population could control). Together these two races decimate the humans, forcing them to retreat both north and south to the coasts. The humans in the north stop the attack (at the X) by defeating Argulg in the Battle of _____. The humans who retreated south use the river as a defense against the giants and manage to hold their ground, defending their ports. They also manage to hold the goblins within the mountains to the South and the plains (or forests) in the central regions.
Phase 3.jpg

Phase 4: Stabilization
The borders stabilize. The Giants have conquered the area to the Northwest, controlling that whole territory up into the mountains. The goblins 'control' the central lands and mountains to the southeast. Though they do not have a single united nation, their warbands are exceptionally ferocious and manage to withstand human advances. The largest of the warbands is (at least the best translation) 'The Magnificant Dynasty of King Barg the Wonderful' - A lot is revealed of King Barg's personality in this title...
The Humans are restricted to the North and Southern coasts. Those in the north have access to the mountains & ores within, as well as, the flatter land around. Their section of coast is also part of the body of water above connecting many of the other map parts, so I imagine is a very well traveled area (especially with the straights right around the corner).
The humans in the south are have less mineral resources and are reliant on the goods they produce.
Phase 4.jpg

History ranting done (for now!). Let me know what you think!

I need to look a lot more about the actual climate of the region to help determine the possible goods, culture, etc. of the area (it is also needed for the mapping!).
Finally, if anyone knows one of the other countries nearby that possibly could have been the source of the migrants to my area that would help inspire the culture of my land, that would be great.

[DrWho42]

echoes of the battle maps from the atlas of middle-earth (1981). bravo!

[Arimel]

echoes of the battle maps from the atlas of middle-earth (1981). bravo!

Never actually heard of that book. Sounds amazing though! I need to look into it...

[Kellerica]

I'm glad to see I'm not the only one still working on the Guild World this late in the game... It will be interesting to see where you'll take this.

[Arimel]

I'm glad to see I'm not the only one still working on the Guild World this late in the game... It will be interesting to see where you'll take this.

If only I knew where this was going!

[Arimel]

Ok! Another quick update to show that I have not forgotten this project! I have transferred the digital image onto paper now and added the scale. Beyond that, basically nothing is different from the digital side.

area 57 on paper.jpg
(Sorry for the faintness, my camera is not the best and it is a pain to go to the library to scan these!)

[Arimel]

Ok! So a post-Christmas update is now due. I did not get as much time as I was hoping to draw but I have made some progress with this draft. Again this is a camera image so please bear with me .

Overall image:
download 2.jpg

Slightly more zoomed image of the southernmost mountains:
download 1.jpg


So I have now penciled in the mountains and added a couple of swampy areas. I have also included two segments in the middle of the map to be wastelands remaining from the wars. There are three types of village/city styles in this map. The tent and buildings are both on the zoomed map and show the goblin and human settlements respectively. The fort and tower complex in the northwest are for the giant settlements.
In the more detailed section, I have included what all the mountains will looked like when finished (I don't want to pencil all the mountains like that just to erase it all later!).

So I now still need to add:
-Town names
-River names
-Mountain range names (or transfer from the surrounding regions)
-border
-compass/scale (a more official version at least)
-(I am forgetting something...)

So please let me know what you think!

[J.Edward]

Looks good. I enjoy seeing how everyone develops their countries.

[Arimel]

Thanks! I spent today continuing the plan and will hopefully have it posted soon!

[Arimel]

Ok! Another update! I have been surprisingly productive today and gotten much further than I thought I would. I now have place names for everything and sketched in the scale block and the ThomasR inspired parchment border. For the place names, I took inspiration from Spanish, but if there is any recognizable Spanish left I would be surprised. The country names are for each of the 3 nations in the area: The Hardstamp republic (giants) and the North/South Laberian Empire (Humans). When I come to post my final draft for inclusion in the joint map though I will need to change the positioning of the North Laberian Empire. It is currently overlapping someone else's district and I dont want to intrude on their work!

So I will stop blabbering and post the maps!

download 1.jpg

download 2.jpg