Dragon World
The first D&D world that I created on my own. It began as a wall-decoration on my dorm wall, constructed of many pieces of cheap graph paper. While I stole many ideas of its history and people from a variety of sources, some of my fondest gaming memories were set in this world.
Map of Dragon World
Somewhere, I have the scans I made of the poster-sized, hand-drawn map that I made of this world. This is a copy of a printout of a bitmap that I drew that was based on that hand-drawn map (I couldn't even find the original bitmap).
This was my first, original world. Dragon World has two major moons and a ring system in orbit around it. The main continents are the Broken Continent (the series of islands in the top left - they're meant to be floating islands at differing altitudes), the Evil One's continent in the bottom left, the Slave continent in the lower middle, the Dragon continent (that resembles an upside down dragon), and the main continent with Aristenia (which started this world) jutting out of the upper left-hand section. There is also a frozen continent to the north. The world is smaller than I meant it to be if Aristenia's original size is used as scale, but I imagined either that map makers of that world (being notoriously inaccurate) got the scale wrong, the world is smaller than Earth, or there is much more to the world across the vast ocean to the right of the map.
This was my first, original world. Dragon World has two major moons and a ring system in orbit around it. The main continents are the Broken Continent (the series of islands in the top left - they're meant to be floating islands at differing altitudes), the Evil One's continent in the bottom left, the Slave continent in the lower middle, the Dragon continent (that resembles an upside down dragon), and the main continent with Aristenia (which started this world) jutting out of the upper left-hand section. There is also a frozen continent to the north. The world is smaller than I meant it to be if Aristenia's original size is used as scale, but I imagined either that map makers of that world (being notoriously inaccurate) got the scale wrong, the world is smaller than Earth, or there is much more to the world across the vast ocean to the right of the map.
Map of Aristenia
I started building this map on 1/2 inch-grid graph paper that was half the size of a standard sheet of paper. I created the area of the East Plains first, starting with Farthorne and its immediate vicinity and followed the roads to Elvendell (original name, no?) and the King's realm. These were built one sheet at a time and taped to my dorm room wall above my bed as they were completed. When I actually DMed my first real D&D game (my only experience had been as game master of a GI Joe game I had created, loosely based on D&D rules), I made copies of hex grid paper found at the back of the Dungeons and Dragons Rules Compendium and then fleshed out the rest. I don't know how many hours I worked at this, but I loved creating it.
This is the Kingdom of Aristenia. It was founded two hundred years ago by refugees from the Broken Continent (former non-magic using slaves of magic-using masters). They landed in King's Realm and have spread out from there. The Sea Gull Duchy was the next to form, followed by the Riverside Duchy. Other refugees formed the Stormy Isles Kingdom and the Empire of Masdonia. Recently, the Stormy Isles Kingdom has become the Stormy Isles Duchy through marriage (after the events described in my prequel screen play Mark of the Wizard: The Rogue and the Bride). As Aristenia expanded into the East Plains Duchy, the humans came in contact with the land of the elves (now the Barony of Elvendell) and halflings (now the Barony of the Seven Shires). They also came in contact with indigenous humans (called gypsies) who are distrusted throughout the kingdom. To the southeast, they encountered the gnomish city of Trilindrell, which claims to be the northernmost holding of the Trilenia Empire--though any such empire has yet to be explored. The northernmost area has precipitous cliffs with forts on either side to keep the giants and dwarves (both out of favor, though dwarves are becoming more accepted now) at bay. Within the past fifty years the Dragon's Head Duchy and the Barony of Greenborough (home of the dark elves--not drow) have been formed. The only two items directly labeled on this map are the forbidden volcano of Vargoth (named after the sorcerer who lives there--and supposedly created it) and the solitary caldera called Forest Mountain (where the secret Society of Mages holds its council).
This is the Kingdom of Aristenia. It was founded two hundred years ago by refugees from the Broken Continent (former non-magic using slaves of magic-using masters). They landed in King's Realm and have spread out from there. The Sea Gull Duchy was the next to form, followed by the Riverside Duchy. Other refugees formed the Stormy Isles Kingdom and the Empire of Masdonia. Recently, the Stormy Isles Kingdom has become the Stormy Isles Duchy through marriage (after the events described in my prequel screen play Mark of the Wizard: The Rogue and the Bride). As Aristenia expanded into the East Plains Duchy, the humans came in contact with the land of the elves (now the Barony of Elvendell) and halflings (now the Barony of the Seven Shires). They also came in contact with indigenous humans (called gypsies) who are distrusted throughout the kingdom. To the southeast, they encountered the gnomish city of Trilindrell, which claims to be the northernmost holding of the Trilenia Empire--though any such empire has yet to be explored. The northernmost area has precipitous cliffs with forts on either side to keep the giants and dwarves (both out of favor, though dwarves are becoming more accepted now) at bay. Within the past fifty years the Dragon's Head Duchy and the Barony of Greenborough (home of the dark elves--not drow) have been formed. The only two items directly labeled on this map are the forbidden volcano of Vargoth (named after the sorcerer who lives there--and supposedly created it) and the solitary caldera called Forest Mountain (where the secret Society of Mages holds its council).
Map of Aristenia with city names
I know these names are almost impossible to see. Rather than mar my map, I wrote the names on a plastic overlay that has faded and smeared a bit in the past decade. I used the same key as the maps in the Dungeons and Dragons Gazetteers that I collected at the time (and on which some of the areas of Dragon World are based). To this day, I believe those Gazetteers were the most helpful gaming sources that I have used. The key consists of black dots for towns, circles for cities, circles with dots got the major cities, circles with stars for capitals, flags for camps, unfilled squares for forts, squares with slashes for ruins, solid squares for major fortifications, double arrows for light houses, lines for roads and dashes for paths.
Map of the city of Farthorne
My first city that I designed for Dragon World (and one of the only ones that still has a map I can find) was Farthorne. It was also the first location that I put on the world. From this point, the rest of the world was built. When creating locations, I borrowed heavily from Skip Williams' City Sites module that was made for AD&D 2nd edition (even though we played from the D&D Compendium at the time). Almost every, if not every, named location on the map comes from that source. The notable exception to that rule is the manor, which will eventually be named Castle Rifllian.
I particularly owe thanks to the City Sites source for the creation of the greatest hero of Aristenia: Sir Gideon Drake. I took the idea that Drake's Barbican was named after a hero of the city, and ran with it. I liked the name Drake due to the fact that it is my relatives' name (Drake), it was the name Francis Drake (pirate, privateer, and one of my favorite people in history), and that drake can also mean dragon. I don't know where "Gideon" came from, but it seemed to fit. Now, however, he was no longer the hero of Farthorne, but the hero of Aristenia, friend and companion to the king, and spymaster of the realm. My favorite elements of this NPC were that he always wore black (with royal blue) as though in mourning. He carried a massive bastard sword out of homage to my first character's favorite weapon, he could use magic despite its being largely forbidden in the country at the time, and he had a series of scrolls which were paired with other scrolls in the hands of his agents around the world: anything written on one would appear on the other (I got this idea from the Dungeons and Dragons Rules Compendium nearly ten years before reading a similar idea in Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth series).
Over time, like everything in Dragon World, I realized that the scale was too small. What had started as buildings became city blocks in my adventures. My favorite parts are the river that goes through town, the forest within the walls (used as the Elven Quarter), and the manor itself. When I close my eyes, I can picture the night scene from the north bridge looking down the river to the manor's island, the lamp-lights reflecting in the rippling water while a dragon flies in front of the moon on a clear sky, the rings glistening beneath and reflecting the moonlight.
I particularly owe thanks to the City Sites source for the creation of the greatest hero of Aristenia: Sir Gideon Drake. I took the idea that Drake's Barbican was named after a hero of the city, and ran with it. I liked the name Drake due to the fact that it is my relatives' name (Drake), it was the name Francis Drake (pirate, privateer, and one of my favorite people in history), and that drake can also mean dragon. I don't know where "Gideon" came from, but it seemed to fit. Now, however, he was no longer the hero of Farthorne, but the hero of Aristenia, friend and companion to the king, and spymaster of the realm. My favorite elements of this NPC were that he always wore black (with royal blue) as though in mourning. He carried a massive bastard sword out of homage to my first character's favorite weapon, he could use magic despite its being largely forbidden in the country at the time, and he had a series of scrolls which were paired with other scrolls in the hands of his agents around the world: anything written on one would appear on the other (I got this idea from the Dungeons and Dragons Rules Compendium nearly ten years before reading a similar idea in Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth series).
Over time, like everything in Dragon World, I realized that the scale was too small. What had started as buildings became city blocks in my adventures. My favorite parts are the river that goes through town, the forest within the walls (used as the Elven Quarter), and the manor itself. When I close my eyes, I can picture the night scene from the north bridge looking down the river to the manor's island, the lamp-lights reflecting in the rippling water while a dragon flies in front of the moon on a clear sky, the rings glistening beneath and reflecting the moonlight.
Map of Castle Rifllian
This is a computer image based on a poster-sized map that I made for the first (though short-lived) D&D campaign that I ran in Fairbanks (or anywhere for that matter). We decided to try a high-powered adventure. The warrior-duchess had control of the manor. A cleric by day/vigilante by night (or adventure) ran the cathedral. A halfling (which was a class by itself at the time) was the duchess's bodyguard/maid. Finally, a mage/spy-master (those two always seem to go together) had residence in his own tower. I don't believe that the group ever got past creating back stories, but the characters were too good to leave, so I placed the castle into the heart of Farthorne. It is in this castle that Angus, Adrienne, and Quint first negotiate their treaty with the tiger-like Rakasta and get named Drakesmen.
Map of the city of Talimore
This underground city is the first set of ruins that Angus and Co. come across in their hunt for the Champion. It was hidden underground a thousand years ago using powerful magics when the war against the evil one looked to be going badly. The main locations are:
A - Dragon-riding area. It's here that evidence that dragons and dragon riders worked together to fight the ancient invasion. It is also clear that dragons were able to shift into human form at will.
B - the Tower of Law (not explored)
C - the Circus for both horse and dragon races (not explored).
D - the Library (not explored).
E - the Mage Tower - a massive library/laboratory devoted to magic that went seven stories into the sky, nearly touching the roof of the cave where this city was hidden.
F - the Cathedral - here Adrienne unwittingly comes face-to-face with her first living dragon. Thankfully, though he looked like a red dragon (dragons--color-coded to their alignment for your convenience), he was actually an ancient ruby dragon, a priest, and the guardian of the Champion's sword.
G - the Coliseum - a massive stadium where both acts of athleticism and poetry were performed. Angus and Co. find here that the goblin "army" they were investigating were actually the cleaning staff for the city (not all goblins are bad goblins).
H - the main city well (not explored)
I - the main citadel (not explored)
A - Dragon-riding area. It's here that evidence that dragons and dragon riders worked together to fight the ancient invasion. It is also clear that dragons were able to shift into human form at will.
B - the Tower of Law (not explored)
C - the Circus for both horse and dragon races (not explored).
D - the Library (not explored).
E - the Mage Tower - a massive library/laboratory devoted to magic that went seven stories into the sky, nearly touching the roof of the cave where this city was hidden.
F - the Cathedral - here Adrienne unwittingly comes face-to-face with her first living dragon. Thankfully, though he looked like a red dragon (dragons--color-coded to their alignment for your convenience), he was actually an ancient ruby dragon, a priest, and the guardian of the Champion's sword.
G - the Coliseum - a massive stadium where both acts of athleticism and poetry were performed. Angus and Co. find here that the goblin "army" they were investigating were actually the cleaning staff for the city (not all goblins are bad goblins).
H - the main city well (not explored)
I - the main citadel (not explored)
Map of the area south of Aristenia
As part of my ambitious plan to hex-map the entirety of Dragon World, I added the area south of Aristenia. It was as far as I ever got. While Trilenia, to the far right, is an empire formed from indigenous peoples and the mountain valley just to the left of it is populated by creatures not yet discovered, the rest of the nations on this map were formed (like Aristenia) by people fleeing the Broken Continent centuries ago.
Ky (to the top left) used to have control of the entire island its on, but has willingly given over the other territories to keep its autonomy. The people of Ky appear to be very lazy, at least until Angus discovers their secret when they force him to tame an efreeti and make him their king (I haven't even revealed their secret yet).
Kevonal is a loose confederation of "men and women of freedom" which loosely translates to "pirates." Many smaller islands are not mapped (and likely never will be).
Velrakt is a nation that has been behind a massive wall for so long that no one is certain who or what lives within it. In truth, they are a Spartan-like society who readies for the day when their former magic-using masters return and try to claim them.
Darshlon is a nation built by adventurers (idea stolen from a Gazetteer) and whose ruler is decided by a contest of agility, strength, cunning, and intelligence. Since most of its citizens spend their lives adventuring, the country needs more farmers and other laborers. It is here that Angus and Co. originally found the Champion (though I am updating that to the Slave continent).
Ming An is obviously a nation with similarities to Asian cultures. It is primarily known for its peaceful (yet dangerous if provoked) order of monks who run the country.
Masdonia is a nation of warriors that do not follow a code of honor (though they claim they do). It has been slowly expanding as of late rather than just fighting within itself.
Ky (to the top left) used to have control of the entire island its on, but has willingly given over the other territories to keep its autonomy. The people of Ky appear to be very lazy, at least until Angus discovers their secret when they force him to tame an efreeti and make him their king (I haven't even revealed their secret yet).
Kevonal is a loose confederation of "men and women of freedom" which loosely translates to "pirates." Many smaller islands are not mapped (and likely never will be).
Velrakt is a nation that has been behind a massive wall for so long that no one is certain who or what lives within it. In truth, they are a Spartan-like society who readies for the day when their former magic-using masters return and try to claim them.
Darshlon is a nation built by adventurers (idea stolen from a Gazetteer) and whose ruler is decided by a contest of agility, strength, cunning, and intelligence. Since most of its citizens spend their lives adventuring, the country needs more farmers and other laborers. It is here that Angus and Co. originally found the Champion (though I am updating that to the Slave continent).
Ming An is obviously a nation with similarities to Asian cultures. It is primarily known for its peaceful (yet dangerous if provoked) order of monks who run the country.
Masdonia is a nation of warriors that do not follow a code of honor (though they claim they do). It has been slowly expanding as of late rather than just fighting within itself.