The Cursed Earth

[Nuclear Fridge Magnet]

But does a map have to have every last detail nailed down? :?
Traveller's Spinward Marches were -- for me -- very confining. Taking a similar stance re the Cursed Earth may not work.

Of course, a few landmarks (Texas City, the burning Mississippi) are pretty well given. But there's plenty of leeway by having vague areas here and there. 'Gore City' establishes the 'eco city' projects which were forgotten in the Atomic War -- but only very recently were they even referenced in the strip.

Maybe a mixture of 'locked' features and 'open to interpretation' features may work. Just because the mutant guide says it's a 5-day ride to the edge of the Spider Clan's territory doesn't give you an exact mileage.

 

[Ragnar Fisher]

But does a map have to have every last detail nailed down? :?
Traveller's Spinward Marches were -- for me -- very confining. Taking a similar stance re the Cursed Earth may not work.

Of course, a few landmarks (Texas City, the burning Mississippi) are pretty well given. But there's plenty of leeway by having vague areas here and there. 'Gore City' establishes the 'eco city' projects which were forgotten in the Atomic War -- but only very recently were they even referenced in the strip.

Maybe a mixture of 'locked' features and 'open to interpretation' features may work. Just because the mutant guide says it's a 5-day ride to the edge of the Spider Clan's territory doesn't give you an exact mileage.

But how vague does it have to be? In order to set games out there, we need to have a reasonable idea of what is out there and where. The place has, thanks to the extended length of the continuity, become frighteningly populated. Taking the 'vague' route seems to defeat the object of writing a sourcebook in the first place. If we want a coherent game world (at least within the confines of the strip's progressing storylines) we need some solid 'fact'.

 

[numanti]

I haven't bought this yet, or The Judges Handbook. Are they rules heavy as I don't use the Traveller rules so wwasn't sure if they were essential or not.

Most of my background information just comes directly from the Progs and Megazines, but I've been collecting those a long time and have a full set - for fixed locations anyway I can just use online maps of the USA plus the Dreddworld maps that have already been published for general locations.

Having said that, I'm loving having the Casefiles and Mega City Archives. There is just so much to buy lately!!!

 

[Nuclear Fridge Magnet]

But does a map have to have every last detail nailed down? :?
Traveller's Spinward Marches were -- for me -- very confining. Taking a similar stance re the Cursed Earth may not work.

Of course, a few landmarks (Texas City, the burning Mississippi) are pretty well given. But there's plenty of leeway by having vague areas here and there. 'Gore City' establishes the 'eco city' projects which were forgotten in the Atomic War -- but only very recently were they even referenced in the strip.

Maybe a mixture of 'locked' features and 'open to interpretation' features may work. Just because the mutant guide says it's a 5-day ride to the edge of the Spider Clan's territory doesn't give you an exact mileage.

But how vague does it have to be? In order to set games out there, we need to have a reasonable idea of what is out there and where. The place has, thanks to the extended length of the continuity, become frighteningly populated. Taking the 'vague' route seems to defeat the object of writing a sourcebook in the first place. If we want a coherent game world (at least within the confines of the strip's progressing storylines) we need some solid 'fact'.

Hmm. This seems to be going into a circular loop. I wasn't advocating an "anything goes" set-up, but perhaps using some of the "canon" locations, and a few "roaming" features. Sort of like a drop-in outpost or town to liven up a long haul across the wastelands.