Bell Digest vol10p02-1.txt
Date: Sun, 14 Nov 93 23:46:27 +0100
From: RuneQuest-Request@glorantha.holland.sun.com
Subject: RuneQuest Digest Volume 10, no 2: Intro - read this first
Contents:
Intro: Joerg Baumgartner - Dragon Pass Maps
Appendix: Maps #2 and #5
You can delete the Appendix if you don't want the
additional volume (slightly over 10K).
Editorial:
Joerg's submission consists of a main article and seven sample
ASCII maps. Two maps are included in part two of this
submission, for the remainder of the maps, there are several
alternatives:
1) Upload them to soda - not everybody can access it.
2) post them as separate files - not everybody would like that.
3) compress, and uuencode them - not everybody can decode them.
I will do (1) anyway. I have gotten some negative response
on both option 2 and option 3. Option 3 is out for the moment,
as no single compression method is available to all. So option
two seems best.
I will use method (2), with the following provision: I will
combine the digest and daily subscription lists into a single
temporary list, and will delete anyone who does *not* want to
receive the additional maps...
I will wait for a week, and send out the other maps no
earlier then next Saturday...
Henk
--
Submissions for the Daily to:
for the Digest:
Subscriptions and questions:
Me: Henk.Langeveld@Holland.Sun.COM
--------------------
From: joe@sartar.toppoint.de (Joerg Baumgartner)
Message-Id:
Subject: The Dragon Pass Renaissance
Date: Wed, 10 Nov 1993 21:42:48 MEZ
Expanding Dragon Pass
As I have announced a while ago on the RuneQuest-Daily, I am planning
to work up some extensions for the Dragon Pass and Nomad Gods boardgame.
Well, I've done some work on that, and I want to discuss the results to
avoid unneccessary mistakes.
Right now I have "mapgridded" an area which extends roughly from
southeastern corner of the Redlands (top left corner of Elder Wilds
map) to a point slightly south of the end of the Eastern Rockwood
mountains (top right corner), from there straight south to the mouth of
the Zola Fel (actually as far into Vulture country as the detail mas
from RoC and Borderlands allowed), along the shore of the Rozgali sea
to the Vent, north to the western end of the Hydra mountains, and in a
zig-zagging line (mostly along the map borders of Griffin Mountain, but
interpolating some parts like the north-western shore of the Elf Sea).
I have guesstimated a lot of positions from several maps, often by
cross-aiming (what's the nautical term for that?) and positioning the
location at the intersection. There were some difficulties in that,
because most Gloranthan maps I've seen so far (possible exception: the
tiny "Gref's" as in Dorastor, and the Elder Wilds/Balazar maps
from Griffin Mountain) have serious distortion towards the maps'
borders, i.e. very different distances between two locations (compare
the Dagori Inkarth map from RQ3 Troll-Pak with the hex-Grid maps from
Dragon Pass and Nomad Gods, the northwestern part is enlarged compared
to the eastern part north of Pavis).
Different maps offer different details. I tend to believe any detail
give in any map, as long as it doesn't contradict details mentioned
elsewhere. Thus I have placed Torkan's Last Fort, Toena, Hender's
Ruins, Fort Raus, the Vulture Country ledges etc. on the Nomad Gods
map, included a lot of the woodland shown on the Dagori Inkarth map
into the northeastern part of the Dragon Pass map (also the flower-wood
in the Vale of Flowers), and used all the map information on the Holy
Country I could find (that's King of Sartar p.126, the map from the
Home of the Bold booklet, which is probably an excerpt form the map of
the Holy Country from the RQ Companion I still have to see, the very
undetailed maps from G:CotHW, and the maps shown in the RQ2 rules
book). Since these extrapolations tend to get inaccurate, I'd like to
post my maps in an ASCIIfied version, using a hex-grid like the one
below.
As far as areas unchanged from games in print are concerned (at the
moment that's only Dragon Pass, and I've heard that that's hard to get,
too), I'll only provide a few hexes of overlap to allow seamless
adaption to the existing mapboards.
This hex-grid printed in pica is approximately 200% the size of the
Dragon Pass and nomad Gods hex-grid. If anyone wants to design their
own map, this might be a way to ASCIIfy the results and exchange them
via email.
< >------< >------< >------<
\ / \ / \ / \
\ / \ / \ / \
\ / \ / \ / \
>------< >------< >------< >
/ \ / \ / \ /
/ \ / \ / \ /
/ \ / \ / \ /
< >------< >------< >------<
\ / \ / \ / \
\ / \ / \ / \
\ / \ / \ / \
>------< >------< >------< >
/ \ / \ / \ /
/ \ / \ / \ /
/ \ / \ / \ /
(Repeat as often as necessary)
Index of example maps:
Example 1: The mouth of Zola Fel and Corflu: (mostly from Nomad Gods)
Example 2: City of Karse, Choralinthor Bay
This map format can convey all the information about a hex within the map,
but a very large number of maps would be needed.
The following examples are made on a smaller hex-grid, to allow more area
to be covered by one map:
< >--< >--< >--< >--< >--< >--< >--
\ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ /
>--< >--< >--< >--< >--< >--< >--<
/ \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \
(Repeat as often as necessary)
This format can serve as overview map. A pica printout comes conveniently
close to Dragon Pass hex size. To make better sense of it, I suggest to
colour the printout to produce visible contrasts.
m: marsh
t: tidal flat (New terrain, can be entered only when Blue Moon phase is
low. Blue moon phase is determined with 1D6, first half of it
the flats may be entered. Units caught by the flood may
withdraw as usual, if impossible, they are destroyed.
May also be entered with ships (special kind of herd) which
also allow movement on sea hexes.)
f: forest
F: hill-forest
c: chapparal (plains)
C: chapparal (hills)
s: sea
h: hills
M: mountains
q: flower or fungus wood (plain)
Q: flower or fungus wood (hills)
G: glacier or snow field (always mountainous)
#: ridge (upper side)
~: river/shoreline
=: major road
+: minor road
Example 3: Dagori Inkarth's West, bordering on Dragon Pass
(The left hand side hexes are the right edge of the board, the top rows
are from Griffin Mountain. All Dagori Inkarth features from the RQ3 Troll
Pak map. The lower rows overlap with Nomad Gods. I've changed the area
arount Tada's High Tumulus as well as the northwestern corner to sut the
Dagori Inkarth map. The mountainous region marked with "?" can either be
mountain or glacier/snow field.)
This map is slightly off the 70 keys line grid. I've also made another
version that fits.
Examples 4 to 7 detail the eastern Holy Country. I provide no worked out
scenarios or list of pieces yet. Scenarios I have in mind are:
Wolf Pirate raid:
A beginners scenario with normal troups and ships only, maybe include some
heroes. Aim of the game is to hold as many cities as possible.
Praxian raid:
A beginners scenario with normal troups, missile units and heroes. And/or
an advanced scenario with magicians, ancestors and whatever Nomad Gods
offers.
Chaos invasion:
>From the Chaos Woods in Larnste's Footprint some terrible monsters rise.
(A similar scenario could be developed for Snake Pipe Hollow!)
Struggle for succession: 1617 ST
Several parties try to gain the Crown of Heortland. Among the contestors
are the Rokari knights of Richard the Tigerhearted and one or two native
candidates.
The Lunar Conquest: 1620 ST
Brian of the Volsaxi and Richard the Tiger-Hearted against the Lunar
empire. Most of the Lunar counters from Dragon Pass (except the Emperor)
could be used. There would have to be special siege rules for Whitewall.
The Lunar collapse: 1624 ST
Tatius the Bright and most of the Lunar troups have been devoured at the
site for the Temple of the Reaching Moon. Remaining Lunars, Rokari knights
coming out of their Hide-outs, Wolf pirates and King Brian of the Volsaxi
strife for the upper hand in Heortland.
Suggestions for pieces and scenarios are welcome.
Note also that the maps I offer are only "first draft", and will most
probably be altered. Alterations will include more special sites (where
shall I put Black Arkat's temple, described in Troll Gods? Do the Kitori
have settlements in their woods?) as well as minor changes in terrain.
Unless I can be proved to be totally wrong (e.g. by somebody producing the
mapboard of the rumored "Masters of Luck and Death"), I strongly advocate
to keep the scale I chose - I already altered it once and had to throw most
of my previous work overboard.
Example 4: Eastern Esrolia with Nochet (Note that the top rows are the
southern rows of Dragon Pass)
(This area has not yet been developed toward the western edge. Suggestions
for continuing into the west are heartily welcome!)
Example 5: The Shadow Plateau (note that the top row of hexes is the
bottom row of the Dragon Pass board)
Example 6: Volsaxiland and Footprint (top row from Dragon Pass mapboard,
left edge continuing Shadow Plateau map)
Example 7: Storm Mountains and God Forgot Islands (top rows southern
border of Dragon Pass, eastern columns from Nomad Gods, to be changed in
some hill hexes)
The hills between Barbarian Town and the Storm Montains ought to get some
steads (stockades or open towns), some plain hexes, and a minor road
connecting Barbarian Town with Swenstown, all this similar in terrain to
the surroundings of Swenstown which offer a few strategic decisions.
I have also prepared the southern coast of Prax, but that offers little
more than a seaward ridge and a row of marsh hexes in between. One might
include some major licks there, to provide some more points for rivalry
between the nomads.
The full set of maps is almost finished in the small scale hexes. The
printout covers approximately 2 by 2 metres. Printed on my 9-pin printer in
draft/pica with exhausted Ribbon cartridge gives an excellent map to be
coloured by hand. I have found out though that a lot of printers don't make
the > and < signs look appropriately. My final aim is to do a graphic
version, but my current machine (an Atari ST with only 2.5 kByte RAM)
inhibits me somewhat.
Joerg