World Map Part 2: This time with added lore.
And we’ve already got people populating the map…
Hello everyone, I hope you’ve all had an amazing week and if not, I hope this coming week is much better. I didn’t get as much done as I would have liked to due to some computer issues. I buy used workstations from local auctions every 3-4 years and use them for common tasks, including making art. I find them more than capable after some basic upgrades and for a fraction of the cost. However, they are not your standard built for home use computers. They’re more like the proverbial stubborn donkey of the computer world. Long story short, I got it working again by putting everything back in that was originally in it, even after that had failed several times prior and spending money for new parts. But I made the best of it, kept trying and learned a thing or two along the way.
There is quite a bit of tabletop role-playing history and commonalities that I lack due to not growing up playing these types of games; primarily due to zero interest from friends and family. Instead, I’m a child of MS-DOS and the command line, and grew up wandering the lands of Ultima, the dungeons of Wizardry, and traversing the lands of Might and Magic. Computer RPGs (CRPGs) were abundantly available throughout the 80s and 90s, and those early days were certainly golden as far as the massive amount of creativity and boundary-pushing ideas. Some of the biggest influencers, for me at least, stem from those two decades.
My imagination was inevitably enchanted by the stories and adventures that would keep me lost in a computer screen for hours a day. Of course, I spent a healthy amount of time outside as well, often reenacting and reworking stories, finding new and exciting paths that I would dream of programming into my own game someday. And while that has taken many turns and variations over the years, the dream remains alive. One of the most exciting aspects of RPGs of any form, for me, is the creativity that becomes elongated through the passage of time.
Creativity has been a major factor in everything I do, and it’s part of the oxygen I breathe, and the more I explore it, the longer the possibilities seem to stretch. I’ve gone from Digital, painting and collage work to crafting physical worlds, and creating is where I’m happiest. Creativity is the force behind every aspect of advancement, be it technological, spiritual, or even personal; it’s all tied together and pushes us forever forward into the unknown to see whats possible.
Above, the current state of things as of this afternoon. Everything is 95% dry and I’ll start adding more details tonight if I have time. Hopefully this week I’ll finish it off. Not sure if I’m keeping it or putting it up for sale yet. Let me know if you’re interested in something like this.
Welcome to Shadowroot Bastian, a pocket universe nestled securely in the left pocket of a wizard’s robe, forgotten and hanging in the back of a dusty closet. The people of Shadowroot live out their lives unaware of anything else. It’s temperate year-round with a regular rainy season and large, abundant crops. Most of the people live in the city of Cliffspire, nestled into the cliffside. A city quickly outgrowing itself over the past 100 years with many spilling over into Gessintha, a town on the other side of Riftspire Peaks.
Riftspire is where it’s believed that an ancient spirit is said to keep watch over the area from atop the nearby waterfall, which flows continuously out from the depths of the Tomb of the Voiceless God.
A vile ancient god whose name no one remembers, it was blotted out of history, never to be spoken again was defeated by five heroes who are buried atop Shadowroot Mountain under the giant oak tree that began to grow from deep within the tomb, some say from the corpse of the god's body itself. Their names also lost to the wind and erosion, but their deeds not forgotten. Not yet.
One grave sits, disheveled, away from the others. Legends say that one of the members committed horrid acts after their mind was taken over by the god; however, they came to their senses for a brief moment and struck the final blow, causing the god to fall into a deep slumber before taking their own life.
All five heroes took their own lives to prevent the god from living on through them.
Their bodies were recovered by thankful citizens and buried atop the tomb. It’s believed that their bodies are still infected with the god's power to this day.
There is a yearly celebration, marking the day the vile god was defeated; however, it has begun to fall out of favor over the past several generations, and we all know what happens when we forget the past.
Across to the west, a skeletal statue was erected some 200 years prior by a group of necromancers whose continued attempts to awaken the slumbering god, thus far, have gone nowhere. However, the townsfolk have been noticing that the once green landscape has been dying back, slowly over the past several years. Not just surrounding the statue, but in the direction of its gaze, towards the Shadowroot Oak. And lately, a chanting, which could normally only be heard when in close proximity to the statue, can now be heard when standing above the ground where the land seems to be dying.
About a month prior, a mysterious carnival appeared, never before seen in these parts. No one knows where it came from, nor where it went when it left. Attempts to get answers resulted in slight of hand and misdirection. Some people decided to go with them; they’ve not been heard from since.
There is a lone tent remaining, a short distance from Gessintha. A remnant of the joys of those two weeks of bustling circus. The merchant who's decided to stay behind for a bit longer, perhaps due to his age, sells items never before seen in these parts and will be moving on soon. Behind the town, a lonely cabin sits, occupied by a stranger, an older gentleman, living off the land, hardly seen, rarely speaking to anyone when he is.
And that’s the story so far. Or at least the one I’m creating for this pocket universe I’m creating. There’s more to come.
The cabin and carnival are a throwback to one of my favorite CRPGs, Might and Magic 2: Gates to Another World, where you run into a circus if you happen to be in the right place during the right time of year; otherwise, it’s moved on already or it’s too early. While there, you can win a Cupie Doll. While it’s not the only place to get one, you can give it to an old man who used to work for the circus; his cabin can be found in the woods. Might and Magic, among other games, seemed like huge worlds to me, and they helped foster my love of adventuring. I played every CRPG I could get my hands on and I loved every one of them.
Those trees are not yet glued down, I still had to paint the green sand, and and add some other features, such as filling in the path with some dirt. The logs are just some small sticks I found outside in my garden. I broke them up and hot glue gunned them one by one into a stack.
While several people supervise, I installed Gessentha, the second town along the river. Gessentha is a spill over of people looking to get away from the ‘big city’ and all its problems. It’s a wooded area, quiet most of the time… But there’s some spooky lights at night that come from the cave where the waterfall comes out and then there’s that weird castle that seemingly appeared over night a few months ago.
The waterfall cave has a roaming spirit, I wonder who that is? And some moss, more foam rocks, and other decor, along with one side of the cave in the mountains. I also added some pine tree’s. I need to print at least 60-70 pine trees I’m thinking. I’ve got about 20 so far. I resize the same one repeatedly, making some fat, some short, some tall, others combinations of the prior. I think it looks better with a variety of trees.
I went a little crazy with the white sand, thinking that maybe this area is colder.. Why not? Maybe not… I’ve not decided yet and it really depends on how the snow turns out after I paint it.
I also added dirt all along the rivers edge, and all over along and up into the ‘snow’. Then flooded the area with mod podge and PVA glue spray. I’m finding that the sand needs at least 6-7 layers with about 20 minutes between those last 3-4 layers for best results.
I have plans for small set of stairs that do downwards in another location, these were it, but I decided to throw them here instead. I’ve got plans for this area. Snow or not. If the snow does not work out, no biggie. I can paint or cover it with green sand then paint it.
Also let me introduce you to the magic school there in the corner (center bottom). We’ve not gone up there yet, so we’ve no idea what it’s like or anything about it, but we do know it’s some sort of school of magic. I bet it holds some interesting secrets…
Also note the two tents… Those are left over from the Circus, one is the shop, the other the mans place of residence as he travels from location to location.
Finally, I added some edges along the ledge with the bridge, and covered it with sand. Oh! And I found small bit of string that was with the dirt from the garden. Still quite tough, I used it to build a fence outside the school of magic.
Later I added some dirt to this area, and made a path as you can see in the image at the top of this post.
That’s it for this week, and it looks like there will be a part 3 to finish this off. Hope to you see you there! Bet there will be more people and monsters wondering about by then. It’s already kinda busy and I have to keep watching there I put stuff.
Appreciate you all and hope you have an amazing week! Take care of each other and most of all yourselves, see you next week.