Help with a number of different things for a regional map

[Thegn Ansgar]

I'm working on a map for a Role Playing setting in a fictional Bronze Age world with some magic/supernatural stuff thrown in (think the Iliad, mixed with Epic of Gilgamesh, meets Conan, meets A Song of Ice and Fire). I've got the map pretty much done. I'm only lacking in a couple of things: cities/settlements, and names of landmarks.

I'm pretty good with thinking of names itself, and there's a few more things I'll have to do to complete the map (legend, clean edges, compass rose, etc.), however I'm stuck on some things and I'd appreciate some help with them.

Looking for:

- Font suggestions (anything that would fit the setting, but is also readable. I don't really want to use Papyrus for example.)
- Naming styles (i.e. should I have a square background to place the names on or should I just place it directly onto the map?)
- Good city/settlement locations (I can see some places, but another set of eyes would be handy. Feel free to take the map and mark it up if you choose.)
- Icon suggestions (Should I go with simple shapes; square, circle, etc. or should I go with something more stylistic?)


And so, the map:



Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[Diamond]

That's a pretty nice looking map! One thing that leaps out at me immediately though is, the way you have it centered. Normally, especially in a setting as ancient as a Bronze Age one, most settlements grew up around water, since everyone needs to drink, wash, and get rid of waste. Plus, rivers and seacoasts are natural trade routes. But the way you've got this set up, the focus of the map is on the big plain right in the middle, when logically, it should be on the two river systems to the west. If you extended the map out to the west quite a bit, it would balance things out in my opinion.

As to your points:

1. Font suggestions. What about Dalek, SPQR, or Basileus?

2. I think what you're asking here is, should you use a number key or put the location names directly on the map. I think that depends on how big the map is, and how small you can make the font and have it still be legible, and how many names there'll be.

3. Good city locations: see first paragraph above. One thing to consider is how much forest you've got around the rivers and coasts. People are going to be settling in those areas, and likely cutting down the trees...

4. Icon suggestions: I'd go with simple shapes, so as not to distract from the lovely map itself. You could use some basic colors to help them pop a bit though, like a dark maroon or gold, something that would complement the map colors.

[Thegn Ansgar]

That's a pretty nice looking map! One thing that leaps out at me immediately though is, the way you have it centered. Normally, especially in a setting as ancient as a Bronze Age one, most settlements grew up around water, since everyone needs to drink, wash, and get rid of waste. Plus, rivers and seacoasts are natural trade routes. But the way you've got this set up, the focus of the map is on the big plain right in the middle, when logically, it should be on the two river systems to the west. If you extended the map out to the west quite a bit, it would balance things out in my opinion.

As to your points:

1. Font suggestions. What about Dalek, SPQR, or Basileus?

2. I think what you're asking here is, should you use a number key or put the location names directly on the map. I think that depends on how big the map is, and how small you can make the font and have it still be legible, and how many names there'll be.

3. Good city locations: see first paragraph above. One thing to consider is how much forest you've got around the rivers and coasts. People are going to be settling in those areas, and likely cutting down the trees...

4. Icon suggestions: I'd go with simple shapes, so as not to distract from the lovely map itself. You could use some basic colors to help them pop a bit though, like a dark maroon or gold, something that would complement the map colors.

Thanks for the suggestion. I can definitely move it further to the west. I simply thought that portion of the map with the two mountains was interesting to look at, so I centered it that way. But I would want the settlements to be more realistically placed, and there's definitely a lot more water to the west and south.

1. Thanks for those, I really like the Dalek one.
2. Well, there is the number key one, but I meant more to make up a decorative background (maybe something to look like a small stone tablet and the text was chiseled onto it), to place the map text on, and then place that on the map as opposed to just placing the text on the map itself and using the terrain as background. There probably won't be that many cities on the map to warrant a number key though.
3. Agreed.
4. Thanks for that. I'll keep it in mind.

[Thegn Ansgar]

Here's an update. Decided to re-orient the way the map was facing, and centered it in a more optimal way for what I was intending to accomplish. Placed cities and text, finished the background and Greek key, added the legend, and even threw in an image from the Mycenaean Lion Hunt dagger as decoration. I'm unsure if I should change the scale. I know I want the world to be fairly small, but I'm wondering if the way I have it now is maybe a little too small.

[- Max -]

Regarding the scale, I woudn't call that a world but just a very small regional map To be true, I'm not sure the way you did elements on your map match the scale you did on the scale bar.

[Thegn Ansgar]

Regarding the scale, I woudn't call that a world but just a very small regional map To be true, I'm not sure the way you did elements on your map match the scale you did on the scale bar.

Well, I mean the world as a whole (since it's going to expand eventually). I did end up changing the scale so that it ends up about 24 miles from north to south. I think that is much more suitable.