Gorgeous work! And I had no idea D&D in a Castle was a thing - very cool!
The Forgotten Realms Reimagined
Burninating the Sword Coast.final.5.png
Created in: Photoshop
Review:
This commissioned map was created for a D&D adventure being run at the D & D in a Castle retreat convention. The adventure takes place in the Forgotten Realms in a time when dragons have seized control of the region and razed all the population centers, save Waterdeep. They've also terraformed the landscape to create suitable domains from which to rule.
I had a blast re-imagining the Forgotten Realms this way, and thinking through how the different dragons might try to reshape what was already there. This version of the world is not Forgotten Realms canon.
Comments, criticisms, and questions welcome!
Gorgeous work! And I had no idea D&D in a Castle was a thing - very cool!
It is weird to say but I love how the land you show seems tortured. You really did a great job. On a funny note, the event you drew the map for will take place 50 km from my home
Very nice map! A great work on a famous map of the Forgotten Realms Nicely done, great choice of colors!
Cool map, Whipstache ! I especially love your glaciers and deserts, and as told by fol2fol, nice colors too !
Now, I'm a bit curious with this river in the lake, West of Greycloak Hills ^^
Thanks, all, for the lovely comments!
@ThomasR That's great to hear! I tried a few things to try to get that to come across, but after staring at this map for so long, I couldn't decide if that feeling was coming across anymore. I don't know if it contributes to the "tortured" vibe or not, but, to that end I tried making the spines of the mountains a bit stronger... nearly imbalanced with the rest of the lines of the mountains. Felt weird to draw, but I hope it contributes to the sense of unease.
@MistyBeee I threw that little detail in for the commissioner, who had written into the adventure that one of the wide, shallow lakes near the desert is a salt lake. So, I let the river continue into the lake to show where the fresh water pushes into the saline water.
A nice map and a cool (well, maybe cool is not the right word here) scenario as well. I always like seeing these alternate versions of familiar places, and as Thomas said, there is a certain strange satisfaction to seeing the Sword Coast in such a disarray. I also have to say, that the border in all its simplicity is almost my favorite thing about this map. The messy ink looks fantastic.
I noticed that river that Beee mentioned too, and honestly even with the explanation, it still just kind of looks out of place to me... Besides, the river flows from the lake to the ocean, not the other way around, yes? I'm not claiming River Police authority here, but that is a far as I understand this.
Thanks for the feedback, Kelleri.
After your comments, I'm starting to agree. In my head I had it set up that the dragons dammed up the river and sent it the other direction, with the additional water coming out of the (newly created) swamp being able to reverse the direction of the river. Hence the dry river bed between the hill and the coast in the southwest part of the map. But, the more I look at it, the more it just looks a bit silly.
Helpful reminder to edit ideas, not just content! Thanks again.