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 Recent posts by
Maldin:
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Kang wrote:
If so, one of the really cool things about it, IMO, was that the little map conforms exactly to a section in this big map of the City of Greyhawk, right down to the individual buildings.
Not only will you find that map (with pop-up labels) on my website, but you can also find:
A more detailed description of (my) Maldin's magic shop briefly described in the Dragon 337 Wormfood article and Living Greyhawk Journal #2,
A detailed description of the Broken Staff Tavern also briefly described in Living Greyhawk Journal #2,
both of which have interior maps.
You'll also find other useful City of Greyhawk information, such as an equipment supplier, a massive NPC list for the city, and a hidden school of psionics.
Denis, aka "Maldin"
Maldin's Greyhawk http://melkot.com
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The Black Bard wrote:
So who's who in Greyhawk? Where can I go to find this information?
Hmmm... I would have never thunk it, but because of WotC's recent PDF decision, its looking like my website is going to become one of the few sources. I believe Skullking meant his second link to be the City of Greyhawk section of my website, but Courtney! did have it. I guess this gives me even more reason to get back to adding more material.
There you will find the map I created of the City of Greyhawk that would become the official city map (first published in the Living Greyhawk Journal, and later reproduced by tracing -without credit- for the Expedition to Greyhawk Ruins product), as well as the never-published undercity map. You will also find the most complete (and annotated!) list of City of Greyhawk NPCs ever put together. From those pages you'll find links to more detailed pages on several locations in the city, including Maldin's shop described in the Wormfood article Courtney! mentioned in Dragon 337.
In case people are interested, my monicker does not come from that article. Rather, the NPC and the location (first described in the Living Greyhawk Journal #2 by Erik Mona and myself) is based on my primary PC from my 29 year-long campaign. Stop by and visit me! ;)
If you have any questions regarding anything on my website, the original LGJ articles Erik and I wrote, or anything else regarding the City of Greyhawk, please feel free to ask.
Denis, aka "Maldin"
Maldin's Greyhawk http://melkot.com
Loads of edition-independent Greyhawk goodness... maps, mysteries, magic, mechanics, and more!
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Aw.. shucks! Thanks guys! Glad you like my work. Unfortunately, 'tis true... its tough to find time to work on all the zillions of projects I've got going (many non-RPG related). The last Irongate material to go up on my website (I would have linked to the Dock Quarter map, and not that embarassingly rough sketch map I whipped up in a couple of hours) was a complete revamping and expansion of the Irongate pages on my website in late February/ early March, to expand upon my article that appeared in Dragon 351. If you haven't been by my website since before then, do check them out. There are some neat new regional maps there now. Check my Site History/ Site Map page to find out what's new (and see what other stuff is on my website that you may have missed... the City of Melkot material has actually been up for quite a while, but the site is getting big enough that you might miss stuff just following links, so use the Site Map).
Erik has always been a huge supporter of my material... he's the guy who went to WotC and demanded (or at least thats the way I picture him saying) "I want this map for my new Living Greyhawk Journal" when I showed him the preliminary City of Greyhawk map back then (originally meant for my website as a high-resolution download), and made the poster map possible (as well as our continuing series of CoG articles)... and most recently, he's the guy who invited Gary and I to write the Irongate article.
I do know, however, that for publishing product these days, people may like to see (maybe expect to see) arty-looking maps, and perhaps not the more functional style I use in my designs. I've told Erik that I'd love to work with his artists to design great maps, so who knows. I'd love to work with Chris West or Rob Lazzaretti on team-produced maps. To get an idea of what is possible, one will only have to look at the new City of Greyhawk map within the soon-to-be-unleashed Expedition to Greyhawk Ruins (there's a copy of the map in the LG EtGR Sourcebook) (link to the Sourcebook zip-file) to see what an arted-up (yet precisely traced, down to every last shack, fence, and tree) version of my City of Greyhawk design looks like. I'm not certain who arted-me-up, but it looks like Rob's style.
Anyways... Erik knows how to get a hold of me.
::poke poke:: ;-)
Denis, aka "Maldin"
Maldin's Greyhawk http://melkot.com
Edit: p.s. for Kruelaid... I've got a multi-authored page almost ready to go up on the hobloggers, and I'll try to get more of the Irongate map done this summer! Also, building a new section on Greyhawk's Underdark. Stay tuned. :-)
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I think it has all illustrated quite well the fundamental difference between Paizo's view of its relationship with their customers, and WotC's view. The Paizo view is more collegial, where a more open discussion goes on (as much as can happen in a competitive business relationship). There is transparency, with Paizo employees (from the very top on down) participating fully in dialogue (and not just here on their own boards!), taking input from customers, explaining current and future actions. Customers even collaborate in producing actual product.
WotC views it more as a matriarchal (or patriarchal) relationship. Mother knows best for the child. Explanations are not necessary as the child wouldn't understand anyways, thus discussion is limited to what little mother decides to tell the child (and discussion is mostly limited to home). "Whine all you want, but I make the decisions around here." I genuinely believe that WotC truly thinks that once "we are old enough", we'll see the wisdom of their dictatorial decisions, that we'll agree that their decisions were best.
Personally, I prefer the collegial relationship.
Denis, aka "Maldin"
Maldin's Greyhawk http://melkot.com
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Thanks, Kruelaid! I'm glad you found my mapping advice page useful.
Yes, I've run into that problem with Illustrator before, and its a pet peeve. Why Illustrator handles memory and large files so poorly, and Photoshop (made by the same company, of course) does it so well, is beyond my comprehension. As I mention on my advice page, when I was making the BIG City of Greyhawk map, the .psd saved file got over 180MB, and when Photoshop opened it... whoa! The "scratch" file (Photoshop's working temp file) would expand to well over 7 gigabytes!!! I actually had to buy a larger harddrive. Big, yes, but Photoshop never had a problem working with that. However, when I tried to import a 40mb flattened file into Illustrator, forget it! Illustrator would instantly fold like a house of cards in an earthquake. I had to use a very low resolution jpg, do the map tags (text, symbols, etc) over that, send the high-res map as a separate file, and let WotC's graphics people worry about merging them. All programs have a numerical limit to the number of layers, though (irrespective of file size), and I did run into Photoshop's limit once. I forget what it was, but that was an older version anyways, and I'm sure it's higher now. I easily got around it by merging some of the layers. No memory increases were ever necessary.
Denis, aka "Maldin"
Maldin's Greyhawk http://melkot.com
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Ok... Whoa.
Russ (in another thread) is wrong. We ARE losing a good friend. I've been buying Dragon since Issue 45! Over the next little while we are going to hear alot of people saying the same things. This is a stupid decision of Epic proportions on WotC's part. Turning Dragon into "online content"? Shouldn't they have been generating online content all along? But online content could never fill the purpose of the magazines. This is not a replacement or conversion... its an end. I'm certain this is not what Paizo wanted (the ranters in other threads are delusional, and most of Paizo's customers are going to know that). The long glorious history of Dragon and Dungeon is going to end in ignominious obscurity on a website that was never well-designed in the first place. But it will truly end on a high point. Paizo (all of its employees and owners :: waves at Lisa ::), and Erik in particular, has taken both magazines to the best they've ever been. For that I thank them all for their hard work. I wish them the best of luck with any and all future products they produce. I'm certain they will continue to produce the best material, both design content and production quality, in the industry. I've known Erik for a very long time indeed (almost 15 years!), and had many occasions to interact with Lisa as well. Both of them do what they do, as well as they do, because they truly love their jobs and love the hobby. I'm certain that can also be said of their many employees that I do not personally know. I'm also certain Erik never thought (or likes the idea) that he'd be the end of a long and distinguished line.
Still, it is a very sad day for all RPG gamers, indeed. There will be alot of ramifications from this that people likely don't realize yet, both positive and negative. But mostly negative. Another poster has already commented on the fact that Paizo will no longer be straight-jacketed by WotC's content-castrating editorial "managers". True. But this also means that today is a very dark day for Greyhawk. Meditate on what that means! Not a Greyhawk fan? Pick any other campaign world other then FR or Ebberon, and substitute.
Erik, my good friend... my thanks and appreciation, my condolences, and my best wishes for the future.
Denis, aka "Maldin"
Maldin's Greyhawk http://melkot.com
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Kruelaid wrote:
I can't get a copy of Tetreault's Greyhawk city map...
So here's my vote for an updated city of Greyhawk, not that it's up to you, but who else am I supposed to tell?
Kruelaid, you can find a low-resolution version of my map of the City of Greyhawk on my website at http://melkot.com/locations/cogh/cogh.html along with the CoG Undercity Map (which was never published).
I have NO idea what the accompanying map for EtGR is going to look like, but this summer Anna Bernemalm and I will be unleashing onto my website an updated map of the Free City using 3D topography that will blow all other maps out of the water. ;-) Check out the geographic topography maps on my Irongate Region webpage to see the results of our first collaboration. So stay tuned!
buzzby wrote:
Is there anything in particular we can do to help press the issue?
Short of applying for (and somehow getting) WotC's RPG Brand Manager position, probably not alot. I'd say "write a letter to WotC", however seeing as everyone (including alot of very experienced people in the business) have already flat out said that it (and all Greyhawk) would sell gangbusters, with no effect whatsoever on WotC management... your letter would likely not have much of an effect either. I think its just a matter of waiting to see if they change their minds at some point.
Denis, aka "Maldin"
Maldin's Greyhawk http://melkot.com
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grodog wrote:
Maldin's City of GH map (from Living Greyhawk Journal #2, and reprinted on his site @ http://melkot.com/locations/cogh/cogh.html) also displays Bard Street, though it isn't named (as far as I can tell from the online version).
Ya, I always meant to do up a street-name map, but never get the time to do it. One of these days!
wrote:
He does, however, place a curious location on Bard Street: key # C26 Residence - sage, which seems suspiciously close to someone who might have a curio shop, in my mind at least.
Sorry, no curio shop at that location. ;-) However, if you wanted to work up an all new CoG location for a curio shop run by a suitable NPC for the situation, grodog, I'd be willing to post it (with a locator map like my other CoG location pages) to the CoG section of my website.
Denis, aka "Maldin"
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Wow! Many thanks, Grimcleaver!
To say that we've been meaning to work on that stuff for ages, is quite an understatement. We've been talking about a "City Series" (including more City of Greyhawk) since the old Living Greyhawk Journal days. Now that Erik is "Da Man", maybe he'll squeeze some more stuff like that into the mags. After all, whats the point of being boss if you can't indulge your own whims once in a while. ;-) Eh, Erik? ::nudge nudge, wink wink::
I'll continue putting stuff up on the website that realistically wouldn't be appropriate for the magazine, but alas the game industry can't compete with my university position, so time is always the BIG stumbling block. Stay tuned, though!
Denis, aka "Maldin"
=====================================
Maldin's Greyhawk http://melkot.com
Loads of edition-independent Greyhawk goodness... maps, magic, mysteries, mechanics, and more!
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Grimcleaver wrote:
It did not go unnoticed that there was a "city of Greyhawk" feature like I had been asking about (and of course, by not unnoticed I mean jumping around the bookstore hooting like a loon and pumping the air with my fist!)
I'm happy you enjoyed our article to the point of public display, Grimcleaver! :-)
I've finally managed to complete enough of my personal web-enhancement for our Irongate article in Dragon 351 to actually post it to my website. It contains some pretty cool new maps (if I say so myself), extra material of mine that was cut from the article, and a heeping helping of all-new material that was never part of the article. Point yourself to my updated Irongate Project page and its links...
http://melkot.com/locations/irongate.html
Hope you find it useful!
Denis, aka "Maldin"
=====================================
Maldin's Greyhawk http://melkot.com
Loads of edition-independent Greyhawk goodness... maps, magic, mysteries, mechanics, and more!
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Jason Bulmahn wrote:
Ohh ohh.. me too. I want to have a secret project that I cannot yet talk about. Can I.. please?
Hey Jason! Me too! I want a new secret project too, now that the old one is done! Wanna share? ;-) By the way, Jason, I hope the old secret project wasn't too long, and that you could fit in the whole thing. Secret projects have a tendency to expand. Right, Erik? ::wink wink::
Denis, aka "Maldin"
====================================
Maldin's Greyhawk http://melkot.com
Loads of edition-independent Greyhawk goodness... maps, magic, mysteries, mechanics, and more!
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I don't believe for a moment that gamers will buy "just one" dungeon adventure in 2007, and that it will either be EtGC or CZ, thus potentially stealing bread from Gary's mouth. EtGC can only increase awareness (and sales!) of CZ.
I won't repost it here, but I encourage anyone interested in my long-winded, and I believe level-headed, thoughts on the matter to read my post over on the Dragonsfoot board at http://www.dragonsfoot.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=19542&start=36
Denis, aka "Maldin"
====================================
Maldin's Greyhawk http://melkot.com
Loads of edition-independent Greyhawk goodness... maps, magic, mysteries, mechanics, and more!
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Really, the program you use doesn't make alot of difference unless you want to get really fancy or professional. Dunjinni, CC2/3, GIMP, CorelDraw, Photoshop, even Paint... I've seen quite serviceable maps done with all of them. Its your design that is going to make the difference. Play around with a few and choose a program that you're comfortable with (in features, ease of use, style of finished product, and cost), and run with it. Eventually, as terrainmonkey points out, you'll become accomplished with it.
For design tips, map-style examples, and a few comments on the advantages and disadvantages of a variety of different programs, check out my "Guide to RPG Map Making" webpage at http://melkot.com/mechanics/map-guide.html
Denis, aka "Maldin"
=====================================
Maldin's Greyhawk http://melkot.com
Loads of edition-independent Greyhawk goodness... maps, magic, mysteries, mechanics, and more! And did I mention lots of maps! ;-)
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Interesting graph. I think for a "dead" campaign world not worth supporting (according to WotC), Greyhawk continues to show that interest for it is right up there with the newcomer.
farewell2kings wrote:
Right, but they (Kenzer) had to license it from Wizards and didn't buy it from TSR, correct?
Yes, but look at how many other pen-and-paper RPG companies WotC has done any major licensing deals with. Pretty much none. (Paizo is a huge exception to that, for some very important reasons.) Kenzer wrestled that license unwilling from WotC to basically republish the 1E rules - the last thing WotC wanted out there. Lets just say that the old Dragon Archive CD was very good for Kenzer, and a continuing major thorn in the side of WotC. There are still alot of WotC insiders that are really quite bitter about that whole law suit.
Denis, aka "Maldin"
====================================
Maldin's Greyhawk http://melkot.com/
Loads of edition-independent Greyhawk goodness... maps, magic, mechanics, mysteries, and more!
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Peruhain of Brithondy wrote:
Thanks for sharing your insights and experience!
Many thanks, Peruhain!
Orcwart wrote:
..but in my experience GDs just don't give away their knowledge for free.
Well, I keep no secrets. But then, I don't do this for a living. ;-) However, being a good graphics designer does not mean you can create half-decent maps, and I've seen my share of "professional" mappers who create pretty (because of all the distracting, fancy computer-generated fills) but utterly unrealistic maps. City maps are almost universally prone to this. In those cases, you don't want them to spill their secrets anyways... unless all you're interested in is how to make a lovely textured and shaded fill.
The basic design of the city is what is going to make a map useful or not, and anybody can learn that (I have alot of pointers on my website), and apply it to whatever graphics program you choose to use... Photoshop, PaintShopPro, Campaign Cartographer 2, CorelDraw, even Paint. Some people have preferences, and some are easier to use or more powerful in features, but deep down, it doesn't really matter that much. Its all about the layout. Especially if you're doing your map for your own campaign, and not for publication.
A realistically designed medieval city layout can really enhance your adventure as the players explore. But do you really care if all your houses have a sweet shingle-texture on the roof, and that you can count the stones on the pathway your PCs will be taking tomorrow night when you're all crowded around the gaming table in the basement?
Oh, and that the wizard's cottage has a very nice shrubbery. Yes! We want a shrubbery! Ni! ;-)
Denis, aka "Maldin"
=====================================
Maldin's Greyhawk http://melkot.com
Loads of edition-independent Greyhawk goodness, new spells and magic items, locations, maps, mysteries, game mechanics, and more
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Well, some people like their maps more realistic and practical, and some like their maps less so, yet drenched in computer-generated textures. If you're the former (like myself), you may find my "Guide to RPG Mapmaking" webpage useful.
http://melkot.com/mechanics/map-guide.html
Denis, aka "Maldin"
=====================================
Maldin's Greyhawk http://melkot.com
Loads of edition-independent Greyhawk goodness, new spells and magic items, locations, maps, mysteries, game mechanics, and more
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Greetings! You are always more then welcome to drop by my shop and see what wares I have available!
I first described my shop, "Maldin and Elenderi's", as well as "Eridok's Expedition Provisions", in the Living Greyhawk Journal #2, the same issue in which my poster map of the City of Greyhawk was published. When Erik Mona reprinted my shop for the Wormfood article, I created a "web enhancement" for the shop on my website (Erik forgot to reference it anywhere), including a map of the sales floor. I've also got up a page about Eridok's, who can serve as a source of weapons and armor (among other things) both magical and mundane. Between the two shops (and other locations already mentioned above), you should find some interesting choice (and opportunity for interesting roleplay) for your players.
You can get to both webpages, as well as my main City of Greyhawk page (with low-resolution versions of my big CoG map), and several other City of Greyhawk locations and other resources (location index, annotated NPC index) by visiting my active site map at http://melkot.com/sitehistory.html and clicking on the appropriate page titles. Check by periodically, as I'll be adding more locations and other materials in time. Scope out the rest of my website while you're there. You might find other things useful to your campaign.
Denis, aka "Maldin"
============================
Maldin's Greyhawk http://melkot.com
Loads of edition-independent Greyhawk goodness, including lots of maps and locations, new spells and magic items, ancient histories and mysteries, new game mechanics, and a Grand Unified Theory for all of the D&D Multiverse
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This one is a no-brainer.
Yes, Erik is particularly found of Greyhawk... but then that makes him particularly picky about setting accuracy. But you know what? That kind of detail can always be ironed out (and is) during editing. But you should realize that both those pieces of information are less important then you think, because Erik is not the editor that makes the first pass on submissions. Erik may never even see your submission!
There is only one thing that counts. Put your best effort, and all of your energy, into making the actual adventure the best adventure you can. Ultimately, thats the only thing that counts, not the setting. A generic setting has just as high (maybe even higher) probability of getting picked up then any specific setting.
An intelligent plot, some clever twists, interesting and well-developed NPCs, unique puzzles, and a solid grasp of the English language and writing so tight that the words squeak.... THAT is what will get you published.
Denis, aka "Maldin"
=====================================
Maldin's Greyhawk http://melkot.com
Loads of edition-independent Greyhawk goodness, spells, items, maps, locations, and the only Multiverse-spanning Grand Unified Theory for all of D&D existence.
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grodog wrote:
Ahem?
Oh! Sorry grodog... I guess I missed that one. ;-)
What can I say? I will say "Never say Never".
After this school term is over, I intend to set some time aside to work on the website again. That includes, among other things (such as a certain HUGE map that needs finishing), more "City of Greyhawk Locations" for that branch of my site tree. I'll continue to invite Erik to contribute to it as well, but I know that he's as busy as I am, and I suspect writing material for my website is not high on his list of priorities.
On the other side of things, Erik already knows that if he wants to get together on ANYTHING for the magazines, all he has to do is ask... and that certainly includes any City of Greyhawk material. Incidentally, I also extend that invitation to anything the LG Circle wants to do with the CoG as well - if they want my help or advice, they only have to ask.
But what can I say? The original articles were a perfect fit for the original Living Greyhawk Journal's mandate. Erik has other mandates for Dragon and Dungeon magazines. While you and I would love that sort of thing, Erik (and his minions) has a larger more diverse audience to serve now, and he has to keep that constantly in mind. Articles consisting of location descriptions and raw plot hooks don't really fit that shoe, so we have to come up with different ways to bring you Greyhawk content.
If you can get Erik to publicly comment (I believe he's on vacation right now, though), he can voice his own views on the topic. Ultimately, the buck stops with him. ;-)
Denis, aka "Maldin"
====================================
Maldin's Greyhawk http://melkot.com
Tons of edition-independent Greyhawk goodness, new spells, items, maps, ancient histories, and the only Multiverse-spanning Grand Unified Theory for all of D&D.
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