by Allyn@darkleagues.com

CC2: It's not just for Forgotten Realms anymore

CC2 Pro from Profantasy Software (www.profantasy.com) is a versatile and downright amazing piece of software. Easily recognizable are the big, colored polys used to create maps of fantasy worlds that guide players through adventures both mysterious and fantastic.

One thing that I felt these maps always lacked, however, was the ability to put themselves into the hands of the characters themselves. Unless your fantasy world is rather modern, the characters roaming through it wouldn't have a boldly colored, satellite view map to guide them. Those maps are for the players and game masters. What the characters need are hand drawn maps.

The term 'hand drawn' covers a whole variety of maps. It can be something as simple as a map scribbled on a sleeve by a drunken sailor amid the raucous, bawdy atmosphere of a tavern or it can be an elaborately decorative antique style map made, presumably, by a cartographer of some renown and skill. Whether on either end of the spectrum or somewhere in the middle, these are the kinds of maps that the characters themselves would have in hand as they continue on their adventure.

Can we make them in CC2 Pro? Absolutely!

Historically Accurate?

I occasionally get into discussions about what is 'historically accurate'. Folks will get all bent out of shape because there is an element in a map or a particular style that they claim wasn't in existence during a specific time period.

My stand on this topic is simple. Unless I am mapping for the SCA, what is historically accurate for my gaming world is what I say it is. It's my world. No one knows the history of my world better than I do, so please don't try and dictate to me what is historically accurate.

That said, I will point out that I am not here to give us all a history lesson in cartography. What I will be doing over this series of articles is showing what can be done in CC2 to produce hand drawn, antique styled maps that have the look one might expect to find in your characters' possession as we watch them pursue their adventures.

What kind of Hand Drawn Map?

There are several styles of map that I will be covering as the series progresses. In no particular order, these will include but not be limited to:

Whimsy --

The skill level of the cartographer is low to moderate. He or she might be a traveler who recorded what was seen along the way and has sketched a rough map.

Desperation --

The cartographer has no skill. The map might have been drawn in a hurry as evidenced by the scratchy scrawl. Details are at a minimum and usually confined to those immediately relevant.

Old World Elegance -

The skill level of the cartographer is high. The mapmaker uses artistic elements to create a design that is pleasing to look at. It might have been commissioned by a nobleman or some other wealthy client who could afford to pay the cartographer.

But is it accurate?

Don't confuse viewing appeal with accuracy. The map sketched in desperation may be no more or no less accurate than that commissioned by the wealthy client. The accuracy of the map is dictated by the knowledge and information given to the cartographer. You decide how accurate is the map that your characters see.

All in CC2 Pro?

Absolutely. The same magical software that brought us the Forgotten Realms Interactive Atlas can also make these hand drawn and antique styled maps for our characters to use. As this series progresses, we'll look at different styles of maps, and I'll talk about what elements make these maps look the way they look so you can create your own.

If you don't already have CC2 Pro and you want to join in by mapping your fantasy world, go to www.profantasy.com and buy the software. Please don't steal it. Stealing software hurts a lot of people. Some folks that wouldn't dream of walking into a store and shoplifting merchandise seem to think nothing of stealing software off the Internet or passing disks around to share with their friends. It's all stealing and it hurts people. Please don't do that.

If I've sparked your interest in this style of mapping, join me again in October when we start to explore this topic in more depth. It's going to be an adventure.

Allyn

Fantasy Mapping at darkleagues.com
The All Realms (allrealmsrpg.com) Cartography Guy