April 2018 Challenge: The Realm of Leressea

[damonjynx]

Here are my stats:

### Latest WIP ###
Screenshot 2018-04-17 21.21.29.png

[damonjynx]

Here is my first WIP for this realm.

I did a search for countries by area and picked Latvia, took a screen shot from Google Maps, pasted it to Ps, flipped it then overlaid the grid and sketched in where I want my mountains and primeval forest to be.

Very, very rough at the moment.

### Latest WIP ###

Leressea WIP 1.png

[DanielHasenbos]

Good start. I like the layout of the mountains and forests so far! Looking forward to seeing how this ends up!

[damonjynx]

Hi Folks,

An update. This doesn't look much at the moment but I've decided to go old-school hex style; what can I say? I like them, and I'm running out of time to get this done - the deadline is looming. Plus, my wife thinks I don't spend anywhere enough time with her, which is fair enough; between Cub Scouts, playing my bass (very badly I must admit), D&D and mapping, I think she has a point!

Anyhow, here is my latest WIP (base colours for the hexes) with the base map overlaid.

### Latest WIP ###
Laressea WIP3.png

[damonjynx]

Here is the version without the base map overlay.

### Latest WIP ###
Laressea WIP2.png

[damonjynx]

Hi Folks,

Another little update.

Basic map done. Still quite a bit to do:

Title, Key, Border, Rivers, Properly place settlement/POI icons, Toponymy and Proper frame...

### Latest WIP ###

Laressea WIP4.png

[damonjynx]

Hi Folks,

This is 98% finished. If I don't get the opportunity to do more today/this evening, i.e. name the ranges, forests, sea etc, this will have to do.

I've had a look at some of the other entries and voting is going to be extremely tough...there are some very nice maps in this months challenge.

### Latest WIP ###

Laressea WIP5.png

[damonjynx]

Hi Folks,

Here is my final map. I've run out of time and this will have to do.

Hope you guys like it.

### Latest WIP ###

Leressea Final.png

[nopkin]

This style brings up so many memories Well done!

[damonjynx]

This style brings up so many memories Well done!

Thanks Nopkin. I thought it would bring back some memories for the old school gamers...

I started role-playing with the BECMI Red Box set after reading Weiss & Hickman's Dragonlance series, well that's a bit of a misnomer, I played one game and it wasn't what I thought it would be like. I didn't take up the hobby again until the early 2000's starting with AD&D 2nd Ed and then D&D 3.0 (I'd already purchased the PHB as I thought the character creation stuff would help me develop characters for my books (I was an aspiring author back then but nothing really came out of it) then 3.5, then 4.0 (what a train wreck that was...) then we moved to D100 games and we've recently started playing Pathfinder (D&D 3.75). So my exposure to hex maps was basically nil. Then when I started doing the dungeon maps for The Design Mechanism's, Classic Fantasy series, I had to do one as part of the commission, so I did a bit of research and kinda fell in love with them...

Thorfin Tait's maps are my inspiration, his maps of Mystara & Calidar are freaking awesome. Mine are nowhere near as good as his...but maybe someday.