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After a Thousand Ages - Valbara

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I started a 5th Edition Dungeons and Dragons campaign called After A Thousand Ages. Myself and all the players are all professional artists, so we started a collective blog for the art we make of our adventures.

afterathousandages.tumblr.com/

The campaign takes place on the supercontinent of Valbara, the only known landmass on this world, though other mythical continents of fire and ice have been posited to explain its odd weather patterns. Valbara is divided into a number of nations and kingdoms, which I'll summarize below.

Nations of Medirra- A diverse array of tribal peoples who fight amongst each other but unite viciously against outside invaders. A kind of fantasy Africa with wood-elves in baobab villages, nomadic halflings, tribes of dragonborn and gnolls, and swarthy hill dwarves.

Ulaeris Empire- The most consolidated and powerful of the main nations, Ulaeris once ruled over almost the whole of Valbara. Orderly, bureaucratic, even authoritarian, since the death of its last king, Wolter the Bold, Ulaeris has been ruled by a byzantine hierarchy of various officials, culminating in a council of regents.

Hightower Confederacy- A coalition of independent kingdoms and city-states that united together for their common defense. Though not under the rulership of any one person, in recent years the Silver King, ruling from Argentum in the northwest, has begun to exert a strong influence over the Confederacy as a whole.

Free and Disputed Lands- A diverse array of unaffiliated kingdoms and city-states to the south of Ulaeris. They are either neutral to the conflicts between the larger kingdoms, or are kept as buffer states between Ulaeris and Hightower. Its west coast is home to several notable city-states, while the Red Mountains and Barazinbar are home to the civilization of the so-called Sea-Dwarves. The central grasslands have become a lawless no-man's land in the years since the Great War, and are crawling with vicious bands of orc tribes. 

Khasima Tha- A small and isolationist kingdom between the Free Lands and Hightower. Its capital, of the same name, is often called the City of the Dead, and is known for its vast catacombs and mausoleums. People from all over Valbara seek to have their final resting place in Khasima Tha, for it is believed that the rituals of Khasiman priests can absolve the dead of any sins, ensuring an afterlife in one of the good planes.

Helkariah- A vast archipelago inhabited by the High Elves, the most sophisticated and aloof of their race. They trade extensively with the other nations but remain neutral to their conflicts. The highest of the High Elves consider themselves to be the purest descendants of the legendary First Race.

***

This is the second map I've made with this technique, and the first that I've posted. I begin by finding clean, high resolution images of islands, continents, or countries with irregular borders. I combine, flip, stretch, and warp them until they're at least somewhat unrecognizable. This creates the silhouette of the landmass of the map. I then go onto Google maps, turn on terrain, and screen capture isolated mountain ranges in Siberia and the Yukon, where there are no borders or map text getting in the way. I then duplicate, stretch, and overlay these mountains and whatnot to create the topography of the map. Finally, I airbrush some color over everything to suggest deserts, forests, ice, and so on. 
Image size
3558x2000px 2.91 MB
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LEPTAILURUSINVICTUS's avatar

hi! is there an unlabeled version of this map? i like the shape of the land.