Pharoah Kromium
Mongoose
At the risk of trying to teach some people to suck eggs, here are some (hopefully) simple ideas for producing city maps. I don't think it need necessarily be a major task, depending on the level of detail you want for your players.
I prefer to have a general map with major locations marked and some more detailed maps of the areas around those locations.
For a general map there are plenty of websites or historical atlases with ancient city plans or, alternatively, just find a city map of any long established European, Mayan, Asian or Middle Eastern city. The core of most old cities generally follows the ancient street plan. Many European sites are pretty higgledy-piggledy but some cultures put a bit more planning into their cities (ancient Peking's grid will be used by me as... surprize, surprize Paikang if players make it there).
Take the bits of street plan you like and either eye it in or trace it onto your own sheet of paper, you can mix and match from different sites. Add city walls if desired. For a general plan you can use colour codes for major thoroughfares and other features.
A more detailed map can be similarly based on more detailed bits of real street plans, it's up to you to decide the level of detail your players need.
OK, here's how I'm going about my own map of Shadizar. I've looked at the various maps in the core book and the Shadizar box, I've read the text. So what I know is that the city's sited not too far from mountainous terrain and that it began around a well used by traders. The original rulers wanted to control both these resources. Since then it's grown, it now contains various quarters for merchants, craftsmen and so on, as well as it's infamous Maul "The Desert".
How would the city have grown up? A bit of thought tells me that there's likely to be some high ground in places (we're near hills and mountains) so that's where the original castle, now palace, would be so as to control the trade below. Around that is the wealthy area that's developed over time. Meanwhile the caravan quarter is what will have stimulated the merchants and craftsmen to settle and develop so they'll be near each other, handy for getting new goods, supplies, raw materials.
There's a temple district - I'm placing it near the wealthy quarter. Most cities have a focus or two. The text tells me there are festivals. I know there are pilgrims. So we need a place where public festivities can occur, I'll have a plaza near the temple district and the wealthy district. It can also be a market area the rest of the year so it links the two previous areas with the merchant district.
There are four main gates, so four main thoroughfares - they'll lead to the plaza. I'm going to be cheeky here - the Spider god is the most impotant deity so my street plan is going to be a kind of crooked twisted web linking the main thoroughfares and districts.
What about the Maul? Well, where do the disposessed and squalid live? Where nobody else wants to - so I'll create an area between where the caravans arrive from the South and the better off areas to the North and abutting the merchant areas (all the better placed to steal from).
All that may seem a little long winded but I could just have easily got a map of London or York, got the street plan orientated how I fancy, copied some bits, designated my districts and drawn a wall around.
If I want more detail, all I need do now is draw some more detailed streets on sheets for each district so that I can key in places mentioned in the text and add my own.
I don't think it has to take too long to do (it's easier to do than describe). Just bear in mind what you see on maps of well established cities. Some generic "main road" or "alleyway" street outlines on grid paper might be handy if you or your players want more detail for combat situations.
I prefer to have a general map with major locations marked and some more detailed maps of the areas around those locations.
For a general map there are plenty of websites or historical atlases with ancient city plans or, alternatively, just find a city map of any long established European, Mayan, Asian or Middle Eastern city. The core of most old cities generally follows the ancient street plan. Many European sites are pretty higgledy-piggledy but some cultures put a bit more planning into their cities (ancient Peking's grid will be used by me as... surprize, surprize Paikang if players make it there).
Take the bits of street plan you like and either eye it in or trace it onto your own sheet of paper, you can mix and match from different sites. Add city walls if desired. For a general plan you can use colour codes for major thoroughfares and other features.
A more detailed map can be similarly based on more detailed bits of real street plans, it's up to you to decide the level of detail your players need.
OK, here's how I'm going about my own map of Shadizar. I've looked at the various maps in the core book and the Shadizar box, I've read the text. So what I know is that the city's sited not too far from mountainous terrain and that it began around a well used by traders. The original rulers wanted to control both these resources. Since then it's grown, it now contains various quarters for merchants, craftsmen and so on, as well as it's infamous Maul "The Desert".
How would the city have grown up? A bit of thought tells me that there's likely to be some high ground in places (we're near hills and mountains) so that's where the original castle, now palace, would be so as to control the trade below. Around that is the wealthy area that's developed over time. Meanwhile the caravan quarter is what will have stimulated the merchants and craftsmen to settle and develop so they'll be near each other, handy for getting new goods, supplies, raw materials.
There's a temple district - I'm placing it near the wealthy quarter. Most cities have a focus or two. The text tells me there are festivals. I know there are pilgrims. So we need a place where public festivities can occur, I'll have a plaza near the temple district and the wealthy district. It can also be a market area the rest of the year so it links the two previous areas with the merchant district.
There are four main gates, so four main thoroughfares - they'll lead to the plaza. I'm going to be cheeky here - the Spider god is the most impotant deity so my street plan is going to be a kind of crooked twisted web linking the main thoroughfares and districts.
What about the Maul? Well, where do the disposessed and squalid live? Where nobody else wants to - so I'll create an area between where the caravans arrive from the South and the better off areas to the North and abutting the merchant areas (all the better placed to steal from).
All that may seem a little long winded but I could just have easily got a map of London or York, got the street plan orientated how I fancy, copied some bits, designated my districts and drawn a wall around.
If I want more detail, all I need do now is draw some more detailed streets on sheets for each district so that I can key in places mentioned in the text and add my own.
I don't think it has to take too long to do (it's easier to do than describe). Just bear in mind what you see on maps of well established cities. Some generic "main road" or "alleyway" street outlines on grid paper might be handy if you or your players want more detail for combat situations.
