The map seems to be off

[Rhianni]

Please forgive me if this is explained somewhere that I missed but the map seems to be off from the stories and past maps. Also I am being extremely anal...

Aquilonia seems really big. Its supposed to be the strongest country but that much land is larger then all the hybernian kingdoms put together. Land size Nemidia and Aquilonia are close.

I thought Iranastan was more of an arid desert and nowhere near the ocean coast.

Didnt the black kingdoms cover more jungle heading south?

My players really wont know the difference between the traditional map and this one except for this next point.
The Shirki river starts in the plains of Aquilonia, flows through a mountain range turning into a lake. Empties into the Thunder River to the ocean near Argos. This doesnt seem possible. Plus the Thunder river should be the river on the Pict / Bossonian Marches border and not the Black River as is illustrated.

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On the other hand the map looks really nice! Its not done with campaign cartagrapher giving it a modernish computer look. Jesus Barony did a good job on it. As I was looking through it there are landmarks and cities added in that I had forgotten about completely. Its nice to be able to place the stories on the map.

 

[Madhatter]

I agree that the map is really good! I'm very excited to see The Road of Kings! I plan on getting Kinkos to print the map from the book and I'll have it laminated. That will be the general use map that the players can see. There are quite a few places metioned in the hyborian gazetteer that I assume the Road of Kings will have placed in its map. This is under the assumption that the Road of Kings will have a more detailed map. This way there will be quite a few things the players won't have on their map. :twisted:

 

[VincentDarlage]

Please forgive me if this is explained somewhere that I missed but the map seems to be off from the stories and past maps. Also I am being extremely anal...

You have to keep in mind that Howard's original, very vague map does not include Iranistan, Vendhya, most of the Black Kingdoms, Khitai, et. al.

Iranistan, so far as memory serves, is only mentioned in 'The People of the Black Circle', and no details are given. Any other details come from de Camp (his rewrite of 'Three Bladed Doom', a non-Conan Howard story, as 'The Flame Knife') or other pastichers.

While I personally would have made the Black Kingdoms longer, their length is the traditional size. Howard doesn't say one way or the other. It is a beautiful map.

 

[Outlaw]

I'm idggin' the map, but I have to agree with Rhianni. Acquilonia is HUGE!

Yes, it was bigger than Nemedia, but maybe because the Bosonian Marches aren't kind of cordoned off it makes it look bigger. I was just taken aback when I first saw it.

 

[skalvar]

Hey now!

Remember, our primary sources here are the tales told by an aging king as he lolls around on his throne, chatting with his cronies about the great deeds of his past....

How well do you remember your geography after a few dozen beers?



Shannon
Mongoose Writing Slave

 

[VincentDarlage]

Shannon, I like that answer!

Seriously, a few map errors shouldn't hamper anyone's enjoyment of the game. I am sure the maps will only improve with subsequent supplements.

 

[Decurio]

Not to mention that real maps from most of history haven't been exactly correct; take a look at any number of ancient maps. The cartographer's sense of scale is questionable at best, and often gives disproportionate representation based on their point of reference, e.g., a map of ancient Greece from the period is going to stress the eastern mediterranean basin because thats what the Greek cartographer is a) most concerned with and b) most familiar.

Bearing that in mind, the map makes perfect sense if you imagine it to be drawn by a Aquilonian cartographer

Personally, I dug the map even if Akbitana got moved a bit!

 

[VincentDarlage]

Another fantastic point! How true!

 

[Jason Durall]

Personally, I dug the map even if Akbitana got moved a bit!

It looks like it's in the right place on the online version.

What other changes between the online version and the print ones can you spot?

 

[rook111]

What other changes between the online version and the print ones can you spot?

Where's Waldo? :roll:

 

[toothill man]

its a english company so its not waldo it is were is wally and I can see him why cannot you :twisted:

 

[Jason Durall]

As I'm rereading the Conan stories, I notice another map glitch - Xuthal should be surrounded by the southern desert - as described early in "Xuthal of the Dusk"/"The Slithering Shadow".

It's a large enough expanse of desert that Conan and his companion spend days crossing it, and Xuthal is supposedly still at least two days march away from any greensward (and a day from an oasis).

 

[Anonymous]

I guess thi sis how I see it (this map thing)

Mongoose has provided us with their version of the Hyborian World. If you don't like it, or think it is in error, simply change it as you see fit for your game. Mongoose is not REQUIRING you to use their map, but rather it is a very nice reference guide. Some things may change as they come out with gazateers that are more in depth, some things might not.

Apparantly the map was either a) good enough or b) not much of an issue for the liscensing figures to veto it.

In any case it's yuor game play it as your group sees fit. :wink:

 

[Jason Durall]

I guess thi sis how I see it (this map thing)

Mongoose has provided us with their version of the Hyborian World. If you don't like it, or think it is in error, simply change it as you see fit for your game. Mongoose is not REQUIRING you to use their map, but rather it is a very nice reference guide. Some things may change as they come out with gazateers that are more in depth, some things might not.

Apparantly the map was either a) good enough or b) not much of an issue for the liscensing figures to veto it.

In any case it's yuor game play it as your group sees fit. :wink:

Most of us are providing this info so that Mongoose can improve the product, not because we're trying to cut them down or nit-pick them to death.

I don't know that any of us need to be told that we can change things as we see fit.

Note also that the map was also not part of the playtest, so there was no opportunity to note these issues ahead of publication. If the game goes into a second printing, this sort of thing is easily corrected (as the map online already shows some corrections from the print version).

 

[Rhianni]

I guess thi sis how I see it (this map thing)

Mongoose has provided us with their version of the Hyborian World. If you don't like it, or think it is in error, simply change it as you see fit for your game. Mongoose is not REQUIRING you to use their map, but rather it is a very nice reference guide. Some things may change as they come out with gazateers that are more in depth, some things might not.

Apparantly the map was either a) good enough or b) not much of an issue for the liscensing figures to veto it.

In any case it's yuor game play it as your group sees fit. :wink:

Yes it is their version. The one they have stated time and again that they want to make it as close to Howard as they can. I love the book and think they did a good job. I just want to know if my memory of the stories are off or if there was an error.

A stat or rule in the book is an easy thing to fix. A full color 2 page map that is used as a visual aid is not so easy for me to fix as I see fit.

 

[Anonymous]

Early in the morning for me on that first post, spelling was horrible.

I did not mean to come off as trying to inform you to do things your own way, just trying to point out that the map issue is really a non-issue.

Oh and Rhi, you could always try poking out your players eyes, a little extreme, but effective and will get them into the feel of the game. :twisted:

Perhaps the map uses sources we are unaware of and is actually correct in one form or another. Like the fella up there said, given a time period with little to no access of consistant measurement nor a bird's eye view, each cartographers map will be umm, unique.

 

[Jason Durall]

Perhaps the map uses sources we are unaware of and is actually correct in one form or another. Like the fella up there said, given a time period with little to no access of consistant measurement nor a bird's eye view, each cartographers map will be umm, unique.

Well, since the placement of Xuthal in the middle of the desert is from the story by REH, I would wonder at any conflicting sources...