Working on a city map

[Azélor]

You raise a very important point, I think: the resources to construct a city from the ground-up was a rarity in medieval Europe, but something feasible for the Chinese. I think your even more important point, though, is that the Chinese had a government sufficiently centralised and well-organised to enforce those designs over time.

Very true. I remember reading somewhere how Constantinople grew ever more chaotic under the Ottoman rule compared to the Roman era because the had less regulations.

[xalendi]

Basically, the human empire was a lose collection of city states, that often raided each other - the empire was controlled by a council of Matriarchs, with the Matriarch holding the most territory crowned as Empress, thus more cities, means a more important Matriarch. The walls are fortifications against such, built to also show off the city's power and wealth. The buildings on the walls were owned by people who couldn't fit inside the city itself, but were wealthier than those who lived outside the protection of the city walls.

The cities grew naturally to a certain extent, then the walls started being built once the cities got large enough to attract the attention of a matriarch, a band of taur raiders, a cyclops, or whatever other dangers lurk in the wilds of the Empire. The walls were built with plenty of room between the city and the walls themselves, but eventually the cities expand to fill the space.

There are many people who live outside the walls in suburbs, for one reason or another, but they tend to be the first casualties when a threat happens by. Several of the suburbs have smaller walls for protection.

Eventually however, the human empire got too big for its boots, and a magical plague was unleashed upon them - a horrific disease that only affected humans. It succeeded in killing off a vast majority of the population, and only two city states and a handful of isolated villages survived by the time the plague was rescinded, albeit with a greatly reduced number of inhabitants.

Other races have moved into the empty cities and villages left behind, after clearing up the remains of the bodies. The architecture of human-owned towns and cities is incredibly tough and hard wearing, able to last centuries without maintenance.

[Gamerprinter]

I'm doing a half dozen or so commission maps now for Stormbunny Studios Rhune - Stormpunk setting. So imagine building a viking town map that has airships and electricity!? We always have to accomodate our designs to fit the client's needs. I'll also be doing a map for EN Publishing's upcoming RPG magazine (can't tell you much about it, as I don't know much about it), but it will feature two adventures per issue, so 2 maps per issue (though I'm only doing one so far, but the first one for the first issue.)

@TheHoarseWhisperer - yeah, my list is only a template; the climate, the terrain, the structures, the culture - any factor can change what kind of details fill each step, but the basic steps stay the same.

[xalendi]

I'm now imagining a viking longboat as an airship, and it is -awesome-

[xalendi]

Here is the 'rough' version that I traced from my pencils.


Clicky for a bigger size.

Initial settlement was the area by the centralish docks.

[Wingshaw]

That layout looks pretty good to me. I think you really know what you're doing, and should just keep plugging away at it. Lookin' forward to seeing how this develops.

THW

[xalendi]

Latest update, completed walls and central government palace. The palace has square towers because it was built before they realised round towers are better.

[markem]

Very nice indeed! :-) One question: If they buillt across the island on the south side - would they not build across the island on the north side? Or do you have other plans for that island. :-) Inquiring minds want to know! :-)

[xalendi]

Yeah, that island was already developed before the walls were built, and not by something the Matriarch particularly wanted inside her town...

Thanks for the feedback, everybody!

Also, weirs are hard to draw.

[xalendi]

I facepalm. I've just now noticed the huge WIP section of the forums. How did I miss that? Sorry.