I am just wondering how it comes that most comparative countries still fit quite nicely on top of Varisia?
Yes: because it is the magic maximum size a country can expand and reach before becoming unmanageable and unruly. ;-)
You mean they had the Romans build it for them?Only the main thoroughfares. :)
Does this mean the Varisians drive on the left, too?
One for Günther here...
Comparison of Varisia and Bundesrepublik Deutschland
I think I'm getting a bit carried away with this now. Time to stop.
Hello Miph,
thanks for the comparision! :-)
I am just wondering how it comes that most comparative countries still fit quite nicely on top of Varisia?
Is there a rule of region/ state/ country sizes which makes them stay true to a certain size...? ;-)
Greetings,
GüntherP.S.
I just realized that the Storval Deep has about the same size as lake Bodensee (the big lake between Switzerland, Austria, and Germany).
I was wondering if my scaling was a bit off when all of the overlays seemed to fit so nicely but it would appear that the UK, Germany & Italy are all of a similar size.
Maybe there is some socio-economic factor at work here, although most contries are bounded by natural bondaries of some sort; rather obviously the Sea for the UK, Mountains for Italy, etc. So who knows? Geography or Economics? Don't ask me I'm a Software Engineer.
|
One for Günther here...
Comparison of Varisia and Bundesrepublik Deutschland
I think I'm getting a bit carried away with this now. Time to stop.
Hello Miph,
thanks for the comparision! :-)
I am just wondering how it comes that most comparative countries still fit quite nicely on top of Varisia?
Is there a rule of region/ state/ country sizes which makes them stay true to a certain size...? ;-)
Greetings,
GüntherP.S.
I just realized that the Storval Deep has about the same size as lake Bodensee (the big lake between Switzerland, Austria, and Germany).I was wondering if my scaling was a bit off when all of the overlays seemed to fit so nicely but it would appear that the UK, Germany & Italy are all of a similar size.
Maybe there is some socio-economic factor at work here, although most contries are bounded by natural bondaries of some sort; rather obviously the Sea for the UK, Mountains for Italy, etc. So who knows? Geography or Economics? Don't ask me I'm a Software Engineer.
Well, typically in medieval times, nations only grew as large as its ruler could effectively control given logistical challenges. For instance, France was a fairly considerable nation around the time, but it was a nation in name only. Most of the nation had been divided into sections ruled by feudal lords which were more or less respondent to the king. You saw the same thing with the German and Italian city states. Essentially a nation could only grow as large as a central rulership could effectively control. As technology progressed and travel and communication became faster nations could grow larger. Though this was eventually offset by the rise of nationalism, which made it much harder to control realms which were not traditionally yours. The Romans managed to overcome this problem in part by being extremely proficient road builders, and by being skilled governors and diplomats. Essentially they set up numerous vassal states and provinces ruled by loyal servants and aristocrats, which were in turn kept loyal by the empires main reason for expansion: resources.
Now, Varisia is a frontier realm. How about overlaying some older frontier lands to compare. Like the homeland of the vikings!, namely scandinavia (Norway, Sweden, Denmark). A harsh land makes a strong people...
Nice response Atrocious. Here's your map...
Comparison of Varisia and Scandinavia
Now that's more like it!
|
|
Nice response Atrocious. Here's your map...
Comparison of Varisia and Scandinavia
Now that's more like it!
Nice work miph-not-melf! That helps me put things into perspective... and I am surprised just how large it is in comparison (scandinavia that is...).
Nice work miph-not-melf! That helps me put things into perspective... and I am surprised just how large it is in comparison (scandinavia that is...).
Yup. I'm from Norway my self, and it is pretty big. Long anyway. If you turn it upside down, it stretches all the way down to Italy, if I'm not mistaken.
Tomorrow, I'm moving from my current location to the capital, Oslo, which means by Varisian standards, I will be driving from The Lady's Light to Wartle (approx. 4 hours). I was born and raised in Wormwood Hall, which is a 12 hour drive to my current location.
This was probably interesting to nobody.
|
|
Home of the famous "Trondheim Hammer Dance," according to Monty Python.
--Erik
"Zees vos zer Trondheim Hammer Donce, vich ees herrd every tventy-five minutes in the town of Trondheim, in vich zee old ladies are stuck around zer head veeth round stick, or KNURTEL
Thats right! I was born there so I would know... it is also home to another local specialty: Karsk, a fine brew made from cold coffee and 96% homebrew...
Oslo is a great city. I'd love to live there some day.
My family emigrated from a tiny little town called Flam on the Sognefjord, in Aurland, in the 1860s.
Sometimes I miss my ancestral homeland. :)
--Erik
Funny how this thread became a pro-Norwegian one :)
I was just there 2 summers ago (Flam), and I've lived in Norway on 3 separate occasions back in my school days. Oslo is one of my favorite cities anywhere. But it's expensive to live there.
Erik, if you have any old family letters you need translated, give me a jingle. We can work something out in Paizo trade :)
Ok, we now return to our regularly scheduled thread...
I love the way the Storval Plateau seems to be encroaching and creeping upon the rest of the world.
The funny thing is that I saw the exact opposite.
I saw a continental shelf thousands of miles inland. That suggests a great upheaval of landmass...or a vast draining of the world's oceans.
The question is...will the sea rise to reclaim those lands and re-create those amazing vistas into the continental shelves they once were.
|
Speaking of Map Makers of the Highest Caliber, where is Christopher West in the new Paizo layout? Are you sticking around and doing maps for Paizo or do they lose out on your skills with the move?
inquiring minds and all that nonsense....
I'm illustrating maps for the GameMastery adventures. It's an interesting change of pace from the Maps of Mystery, and I'll be happy to keep on doing them for as long as Paizo wants me to. Thanks for asking! :)
Funny how this thread became a pro-Norwegian one :)
My family emigrated from Sauland in Hjartdal kommune, Telemark to America in 1893...and now I'm completely jealous of of those of you who are in/have been back to the old homeland :)
Back to the map topic - I am noticing a huge number of mountain chains, but not a lot of "hill" areas. Is Varisia that naturally mountainous, or is the scale too big to really show that kind of transition detail from low land to mountains?
Creative Director
|
Back to the map topic - I am noticing a huge number of mountain chains, but not a lot of "hill" areas. Is Varisia that naturally mountainous, or is the scale too big to really show that kind of transition detail from low land to mountains?
There's plenty of hill regions in Varisia. The Storval Plateau is pretty much all hills, for example, and there's plenty in the northern lowlands. We just didn't overload the hill symbols becuase that starts to get really cluttered looking...
|
Creative Director
|
Technical question. Where exactly is the city of Xin-Shalast (supposed to appear in the final adventure of Rise of the Runelords)?
Since the current map of Varisia appears in the Player's Guide, locations like Xin-Shalast and other unknown or secret areas aren't indicated on the map. I suspect we'll not reveal Xin-Shalast's final location until the last adventure, in any event.
|
|
I'm illustrating maps for the GameMastery adventures. It's an interesting change of pace from the Maps of Mystery, and I'll be happy to keep on doing them for as long as Paizo wants me to. Thanks for asking! :)Speaking of Map Makers of the Highest Caliber, where is Christopher West in the new Paizo layout? Are you sticking around and doing maps for Paizo or do they lose out on your skills with the move?
inquiring minds and all that nonsense....
What program or programs are you using. Looks similar to CC.
Or is it a graphics program like Paintshop.If CC would you be able to share files with Us?
Since the current map of Varisia appears in the Player's Guide, locations like Xin-Shalast and other unknown or secret areas aren't indicated on the map. I suspect we'll not reveal Xin-Shalast's final location until the last adventure, in any event.
Good thinking :)
Once all the madness of sending out copies of Pathfinder calms down, I was wondering whether the map on the blog could be updated or reposted to reflect the name changes (e.g. Varisian Bay to Varisian Gulf and The Face Pyramid to The Sunken Queen). That'd be really handy once someone gets the time.
|
Creative Director
|
Once all the madness of sending out copies of Pathfinder calms down, I was wondering whether the map on the blog could be updated or reposted to reflect the name changes (e.g. Varisian Bay to Varisian Gulf and The Face Pyramid to The Sunken Queen). That'd be really handy once someone gets the time.
Probably not. The Blog is meant for previews and the like, not for final versions. In the case of the Varisa map, anyone can download the player's guide for free and get the correct map, in any event.
What I'd like to see is a comparison shot, not of Earth, but of old Thassilonia. You've said it was about the size of the western United States... how much of that is still above water?
And when can we see the Big T-shaped World Map? ^.^
|
Creative Director
|
What I'd like to see is a comparison shot, not of Earth, but of old Thassilonia. You've said it was about the size of the western United States... how much of that is still above water?
And when can we see the Big T-shaped World Map? ^.^
The world map is no longer T shaped, thankfully. It'll see the light of day in January as part of the Gazeteer product we'll be releasing then.
As for Thassilon's footprint in the world... some day we may well do that map. It currently doesn't exist, and can't, until the actual current world map is done (which it currently is not).
Probably not. The Blog is meant for previews and the like, not for final versions. In the case of the Varisa map, anyone can download the player's guide for free and get the correct map, in any event.
Once all the madness of sending out copies of Pathfinder calms down, I was wondering whether the map on the blog could be updated or reposted to reflect the name changes (e.g. Varisian Bay to Varisian Gulf and The Face Pyramid to The Sunken Queen). That'd be really handy once someone gets the time.
Fair enough. Mostly wanted it so for quick access (rather than flipping through the Player's Guide) but I mucked around with it and was able to pull the map page out of the PDF in Photoshop and save it as an image, so I've basically got what I wanted now, anyway :) In fact, it let me grab it at a huge resolution. Hooray for unprotected files! And looking at it again and in such high resolution, I just have to say: congratulations on a such a beautiful map. I know you've heard it a lot, but it's still true. Can't wait to see the world map :)
I am just wondering how it comes that most comparative countries still fit quite nicely on top of Varisia?Is there a rule of region/ state/ country sizes which makes them stay true to a certain size...? ;-)
Greetings,
Günther
Reading the player guide about Varisia, It remembered me of Romania : it was colonized by the roman empire (hence the name of the country), It has gypsies, big mountains, Dracula, and the black sea.