Hello everybody,

this is my latest cartography work I've finalised last week in Inkarnate.

Ban Cruach_überarbeitet.jpg

Old Cruach_überarbeitet.jpg

I've created two maps for my new campaign: One for the present, one for the past.
The twist is, as a DM I'm managing two different groups: One "stayed" in the present, the other one has been thrown to the past, with Tor Cruach as the capital city.

My scenario is loosely based on AD&D2 from Gary Gygax, so Tor Cruach is inhabitated by Tor Gargoyles on the west side of the river and Ondonti Orcs on the east side. It is named to their savior Cruach.

So to make my map easier to understand, I'm translating some of the geography to English. Please understand, I do want to explain so I hope you're with me going through the details.

Ban Cruach is a reference to a city from "Stark Adventures" from Star Wars Screenwriter Leigh Brackett. (Though I'm fortysomething, i do read that type of novelettes in both German and English as well.)
The name "Verneer" is a reference to Johannes Vermeer.

On the Tor Cruach Map:

In the west you see a Gargoyle City, "Kaltstein" which is a reference to Othello, also called "Coldstone", voiced by Michael Dorn in Gargoyles TV-series from 1994-97.
In the north there is a small city named Fernmeer which translates to "Far Sea", it's a reference to the Far Sea Missions introduced in "Altar of Malice" Expansion of Everquest 2.

Further on the Old Map, far in the south-east, the city "Schutzrune" is located which roughly translates to "Protection Rune".
"Klippenlager" at the north east point of the map translates to "Camp Cliff".
The inland sea is named "Wailing Sea" and the mountains are called "Moribund Mountains".
More or less, it's pretty empty because it recently has become civilized by the fleeing Ondonti Orcs.

On the Ban Cruach Map:
Now, 2000 years later it's heavy colonised. Beacons on the coast keep the sea route safe and ships can better circumnavigate cliffs and other dangerous areas. Also the lighthouses represent a harbour at cities and villages and direct the ships safe to the port.
Also, there has been a wear in the language and I wanted to have it represented on the map. (Cologne was not always called Cologne as well, the Romans named it "Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium" and afterwards Colonia developed to Coellen, Cöllen, Cölln and Cöln before it finally was named "Köln" on 1st February 1919 - back to my map...)

So Fernmeer is now called "Veneer" and Schutzrune "Shuruun".
Ban Cruach is not influenced because the Orcs are stubborn and traditional. They want to save the name of their savior.
The big lake above the capital city is now named "Lake Anna" instead of "Cursed Lake".

In an "Reverse-S"-Form from Veneer to Shuruun, the cities/villages are named:
Field Bight, Mussel Bight, Bonny Home (bit Scottish here), Basalt Rest, Lumber Field, Sweet Cove, Strong Falls, South Flue and Ocean Watch.
"Turm" transcribes to "Tower", so these Mages Tower belong to Erik and Zana.