Post by Vile Traveller on May 2, 2015 22:34:58 GMT -5
As I mentioned in the Cultures Thread, I am more inspired by the grid-like layouts of Roman forts and ancient and Chinese cities when it comes to designing settlements within the Realm. I treat alignment very much in the Poul Anderson vein of Law (Realm) vs. Chaos (Wilderness). The Underworld is partly Law-become-Chaos, but that's another story.
Some of you may recall my previous map for Camlann Market (a castle town/village in my Known World of BLUEHOLME™), which was very much like a medieval English village. It was nice, but then I sat back and thought - these guys (actually the castle owner is a lady) are sitting out here in the middle of the wilderness, half-way between two far-away but rival cities, in a forest that is the battleground of a low-key war between elves and goblins. This place needs some fortification.
So I started looking through Roman forts, and then it hit me - Law. This is the Realm of Law. Law should permeate the culture and their way of thinking, and this should show in their edifices and in their town planning. What began as a simple quest to make the place more defensible became a philosophical basis for urban design, and I'm very comfortable with the result. So now, my inspiration for cities, towns, castles and villages comes from a fusion of western medieval technology and ancient and eastern order. With a dash of the wild west as pretty much anywhere in the Realm counts as a frontier.
Some of you may recall my previous map for Camlann Market (a castle town/village in my Known World of BLUEHOLME™), which was very much like a medieval English village. It was nice, but then I sat back and thought - these guys (actually the castle owner is a lady) are sitting out here in the middle of the wilderness, half-way between two far-away but rival cities, in a forest that is the battleground of a low-key war between elves and goblins. This place needs some fortification.
So I started looking through Roman forts, and then it hit me - Law. This is the Realm of Law. Law should permeate the culture and their way of thinking, and this should show in their edifices and in their town planning. What began as a simple quest to make the place more defensible became a philosophical basis for urban design, and I'm very comfortable with the result. So now, my inspiration for cities, towns, castles and villages comes from a fusion of western medieval technology and ancient and eastern order. With a dash of the wild west as pretty much anywhere in the Realm counts as a frontier.
