All,

Good news and bad news from the Nocturnal bullpen. The good news is work is proceeding apace on The Great Pendragon Map. We've begun to create production maps for the Book of the Warlord based on the "Über-map" of Britannia and they're coming along nicely. The bad news is our continued effort to get the map right and to fill in tons of details has prevented us from actually starting production on the book, as the text will have to be revised based on the final set of place-names, etc. To end this on a happy note, however, we're pleased to present this sneak peek of a detail of a not-quite finished map of the Castles of Logres during the reign of Uther:

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/5842659/Pendragon/Logres-sneak-peek.jpg

This is to prove to all that we still have a pulse and things are moving, albeit more slowly than we'd hoped. But this is a monumental task — we've now cataloged nearly a thousand names in the Pendragon Naming System, for example, each one lovingly researched and hand-picked by Sir Greg de Stafford himself and I know he's more eager than anyone to deliver this new vision to the fans. All that said, we're still projecting a spring release for Warlord, although we can't be more specific than that. The book will have all the castles in the Early Phase (now numbering over 180!) located on maps much like this one, a handful of sample Honours, and a system for designing your own Honour for those player knights who have climbed, clawed and fought their way to the very top rung of the social ladder! Lots of other cool stuff as well. Warlord will be a great follow-up and companion to the Book of the Estate, as well as set the stage for future books.

Again, this is not a final map and most of the questions you may have about it can probably be answered by "it's not quite done." But you can at least get a view into what we'll be delivering in the near future. The castles here have their "common" names shown. Formally, they would be named "The Castle of the Bridge on the Cam", "Castle Brightstream", "The Castle of the Borders" (formerly known as Devizes), etc.

We appreciate your continued patience and interest as we work through these details. The end result will be very much worth the wait!


Best,


T.

Yes. Very nice.

NT

Thanks to all who clued me in that there was an issue with the graphic. Now that it's been resolved I removed those comments to reduce the noise in the thread. So, as I was saying: we're making this cool map...!


T.

Sweet lord, this map is great!

I'm so looking forward to this.

Can you sell it in a big print version? I'm thinking a huge rollout map!

Sweet lord, this map is great!

Thanks!


I'm so looking forward to this.

Us too, lol! You would not believe the amount of work that has gone (and will continue) to go into this. Needless to say it will keep us in maps for a long time...


Can you sell it in a big print version? I'm thinking a huge rollout map!


Yes. Yes we can. There is no end to the kind of maps we can spawn from the Über-map — color maps, B&W maps, printed canvas maps, cloth maps, poster maps; you name it. We're pretty excited too!


T.

Yes. Yes we can. There is no end to the kind of maps we can spawn from the Über-map — color maps, B&W maps, printed canvas maps, cloth maps, poster maps; you name it. We're pretty excited too!
T.

T-shirt! Mugs! Hats! Tattoos!... [Checks Indulgent]

Impressive!

Yes. Yes we can. There is no end to the kind of maps we can spawn from the Über-map — color maps, B&W maps, printed canvas maps, cloth maps, poster maps; you name it. We're pretty excited too!


Very nice, Taliesin. Looking forward to especially seeing a color version.

Is the map going to be available as a standalone PDF? I might be interested in that. How about for later periods? An Atlas, if you will?

Is the map going to be available as a standalone PDF? I might be interested in that. How about for later periods? An Atlas, if you will?

We are working on that
As for the Atlas, we are currently working on that too. It will be more of a gazateer though, with comments about the places. The list of places is currently about 4,000, and I've got the volunteers working on the easy stuff (ha :) ha) right now. It'll take quite a while for it, and the map too, so we request patience, patience, patience.
In the meantime, you will be seeing our on-the-job workup towards that end
like maps in the books, and so on.

Keep tuned!
And if anyone wants to volunteer, contact me off line with an email with "KAP Volunteer" in the subject line.

Is the map going to be available as a standalone PDF? I might be interested in that.


My wish too. With a big-ass pdf über-map we could just amplify and print dedicated maps for our own campaigns. DEFINETELY on the wish-list.




How about for later periods?


I suspect later periods will be left for Book of the Baron, which will be the same (I think) as Book of the Warlord but for the Arthur period (minus the actual mechanics). The question is, of course, if the über-map and The Great Pendragon Atlas will cover BOTH periods or just one. Anyone?


Anyway, JUST TAKE MY MONEY!!!

Is the map going to be available as a standalone PDF? I might be interested in that.

The most awesome-est thing would if it could be an interactive file, where you can decide what to show and what to hide on the map. Need a map with just the counties? No problem. A map with just the castles? No problem.

It looks great. will have to get used to the new names.

Is there going to be a list of what it was called in the past and how it is called now?

It looks great. will have to get used to the new names.

Yeah, we acknowledge it's an adjustment. Of course, some people will opt to carry on with the traditional names, and that's fine. Although I doubt we'll be making traditional-name versions of the map, at least one can benefit from all the other info the maps will inspire in various supplements.


Is there going to be a list of what it was called in the past and how it is called now?


Absolutely! We've already started including such lists in the back of the latest books (ESTATE and others now in progress). As the list grows, so will the glossary. We also intend to show it both ways, as it were — Traditional name > Pendragon name and Pendragon name > Traditional name. We will probably make these lists available online as well, as free-standing resources.

As Greg indicated, this is a massive undertaking. Any who'd like to volunteer to help coordinate these efforts and help ensure consistency should definitely contact us. The more help we have the sooner we can bring this stuff to market!


Best,


T.

With a big-ass pdf über-map we could just amplify and print dedicated maps for our own campaigns. DEFINETELY on the wish-list.

Mine, too! We still need to work out logistical and design details. Right now the Über-map (Britannia) is over 25,000 px tall, so we have to see what's practical. What will probably end up happening is we'll offer maps for Brittania with a certain level of details (major geographical features, regions, kingdoms and cities, etc.), then maps of regions and/or kingdoms with more detail, then maps of counties with still more granularity, right down to local maps with the most detail. And that would not be a cyclical attempt to milk people for more money. It's simply a result of available resources and time-to-market, not to mention the limited real estate of each map at the various levels. We're putting so much into these things, if we waited to until we had some sort of bundle for the maps it would be 3-5 years or more before you'd see any of it. But right now we're just focused on these B&W production maps for Book of the Warlord. One step at a time.



I suspect later periods will be left for Book of the Baron, which will be the same (I think) as Book of the Warlord but for the Arthur period (minus the actual mechanics). The question is, of course, if the über-map and The Great Pendragon Atlas will cover BOTH periods or just one. Anyone?


That's a likely scenario, though I must confess we haven't fully mapped out the line. We do have a grand strategy regarding the maps, but this is as much a crazy experiment as anything at this time. So far it looks very promising though, and we're excited and working very hard on it on a near-daily basis!


T.

Thanks, Taliesin.

I'm sure someone's pointed it out... but 'Glevum' cutting 'Clarence' in twain needs addressing.

It's a nice clean map, I like the greyscale idea and think colour may muddy it slightly. This map looks like it was made to be viewed on a device (judging by the colour scheme).

I'm sure someone's pointed it out... but 'Glevum' cutting 'Clarence' in twain needs addressing.

Yeah, can't think of a good way around that. There's to a whole lot of options because of the shape of County Clarence, and this is how ye olde cartographer's of the 16th century (like John Speed and others) typically treated this. We had to do the same thing with Thamesmouth and, in a late revision, Salisbury. Open to suggestion here.


It's a nice clean map, I like the greyscale idea and think colour may muddy it slightly. This map looks like it was made to be viewed on a device (judging by the colour scheme).


The grayscale is a necessity because the POD books are only available in B&W and most people want their PDFs in B&W to save on printing ink. But we fully intend on producing color versions of the map(s) at some point, on a case-by-case basis.


T.

'Clarence' need not be horizontal. The county curves upwards and the label could also. Also, I know Glevum is also the county but Im not sure its needed twice in the same space. I have some experience in drawing maps and would happily take a look at the files for you (providing they are Ai, PSD, or ID files).

'Clarence' need not be horizontal. The county curves upwards and the label could also.

Ah, well, there's some other labels going on to the north (just out of this frame) that prohibit rotating the "Clarence" label, unfortunately. Even if I could rotate it, I'd just be trading one issue for another. This space is just a bit congested, as complex maps get, and there's no easy way around it, I'm afraid. At any rate I'm using antique maps from the 16th-19th century by cartographers like John Speed and Timothy Pont as my guiding light when it comes to style. Breaking the words like this was the convention back in the day, rather than severe rotation. I'm tempering these techniques a bit when they get too wacky for modern readers, but all in all I'd prefer to follow their example when I can.


Also, I know Glevum is also the county but Im not sure its needed twice in the same space.

No getting around that either unfortunately. This particular map, which shows all the counties, great cities, cities and castles of Logres has to show the county labels. Unfortunately, in this one place a great city and county have the same name. What I might be able to do is vary the font a little more between the cities and county labels. In 98% of the map it's not a problem, but but in this one corner of the realm it's a bit tricky. Good suggestions, though, thanks!


I have some experience in drawing maps and would happily take a look at the files for you (providing they are Ai, PSD, or ID files).

Thanks so much for that generous offer. I may indeed take you up on it in the future, but the PSDs are so huge and complex (from 8-11 GB and each with hundreds of layers and smart objects) that sharing is a challenge at this point, and I need to focus on delivering the Book of the Warlord. I may well parse out pieces of the maps in the future to artists who want to help. It may be the only way to sustain the larger project in the long run. I'll definitely keep you in mind and let you know!

Best,


T.

Are you going to put in your beautiful map also the fortress of Paladur (Shaftesbury)?
Geoffrey of Monmouth in Historia Regum Britanniae says: "Leil's son Rud Hud Hudibras reigned for thirty-nine years after him. Ounces the civil war was over, Hudibras restored peace once more to the people. It was he who built Kaerceint: that is, Canterbury. Kaerguenit He Also founded, or Winchester, and the fortress of Paladur, which is now called Shaftesbury. There the eagle spoke, while the wall was being built. Its sayings if I believed to be true, I would not hesitate to hand them down to history with my other material. [II.9] "
Congratulations for the work!

Are you going to put in your beautiful map also the fortress of Paladur (Shaftesbury)?
Geoffrey of Monmouth in Historia Regum Britanniae says: "Leil's son Rud Hud Hudibras reigned for thirty-nine years after him. Ounces the civil war was over, Hudibras restored peace once more to the people. It was he who built Kaerceint: that is, Canterbury. Kaerguenit He Also founded, or Winchester, and the fortress of Paladur, which is now called Shaftesbury. There the eagle spoke, while the wall was being built. Its sayings if I believed to be true, I would not hesitate to hand them down to history with my other material. [II.9] "
Congratulations for the work!


Y'know, vortiporio, that castle is not on my inventory, I don't think, but I'll bring it to Greg's attention.

Thanks for submitting this!


T.

Your attention honors me, my lord

Ah, as it turns out, Shaftesbury would have been built long before the Pendragon era. So the consensus seems to be we make it a big pile o' ruins if we list it at all.


T.

Ah, as it turns out, Shaftesbury would have been built long before the Pendragon era. So the consensus seems to be we make it a big pile o' ruins if we list it at all.

Actually Paladur would have been built centuries earlier, and in ruins now.

Any updates?

Hi Kilgs,

We're still pounding away at some pretty cool maps. We now have production maps for each of the Uther, Anarchy and Boy-king Periods that have hundreds of castles, a new map of Salisbury county showing its hundreds, and four new estate maps on the same caliber as those in the Book of the Estate, but twice as large (or more). I hope to wrap up all the maps in the next 2-3 weeks so we can begin production of the Book of the Warlord in earnest. Still hoping for a late Spring delivery. We're several months behind our original schedule, but The Great Pendragon Map was sort of a necessary diversion in order to deliver a much richer and more consistent world. We appreciate your patience as we develop these new tools, which should make it faster and easier to produce future books. But developing this tool has been, and continues to be, a monumental task. If any of you would care to volunteer your time to help us with quality assurance — proofing things, collating data from multiple tables into one master table, double checking our maps against our castle inventories, etc. — please PM me.


Best,


T.

Hi Kilgs,

We're still pounding away at some pretty cool maps. We now have production maps for each of the Uther, Anarchy and Boy-king Periods that have hundreds of castles, a new map of Salisbury county showing its hundreds, and four new estate maps on the same caliber as those in the Book of the Estate, but twice as large (or more). I hope to wrap up all the maps in the next 2-3 weeks so we can begin production of the Book of the Warlord in earnest. Still hoping for a late Spring delivery. We're several months behind our original schedule, but The Great Pendragon Map was sort of a necessary diversion in order to deliver a much richer and more consistent world. We appreciate your patience as we develop these new tools, which should make it faster and easier to produce future books. But developing this tool has been, and continues to be, a monumental task. If any of you would care to volunteer your time to help us with quality assurance — proofing things, collating data from multiple tables into one master table, double checking our maps against our castle inventories, etc. — please PM me.


Best,


T.


Oh man. I'm stoked. :D

My wallet is ready for an hard copy :)

We are indeed planning a hardcopy, Gorgon. We're pouring an awful lot of passion into these new books, and we hope it shows! Thanks for your continued patience!


T.

Here's an update. This time, a detail of the map of castles in the Anarchy:

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/5842659/Pendragon/Warlords2.jpg

We have several hundred castles, all located on three maps (one each for the Uther, Anarchy and Boy-king Periods), along with tenant and Defensive Values for each! God's Teeth, it's a ton of work, but we can't wait to deliver this product! This is the world of PENDRAGON, as Greg always imagined it. We'll also have 4-5 Estate maps, with more detail than this, a new map of Salisbury, with hundreds, and lots of other Early Phase goodness.



T.

Bought!

I should have said that the map from which this detail is clipped is in the final stages of QC and refinement. So there's some things in there that look a little messy, and I'll be spending the better part of this weekend cleaning that up and making everything as legible as possible. So do not take this for the final product. You're only seeing 10% of the map, and even this part's not quite fully baked. It's just an update to prove to our long-suffering and patient fans that we continue to make good progress. It's just such a mammoth effort!


T.

Wonderful work!

Why Silchester alongside Corinium and Londinium? Wouldn't "Calleva" be more consistent?

Why Silchester alongside Corinium and Londinium? Wouldn't "Calleva" be more consistent?

Basically I had some decisions to make concerning the locations which were already well known, like Salisbury.
Thus I left Silchester.
opinions are always welcome, but perhaps it should wait until more is visible...

I don't suppose you're mapping Cameliard, are you? Because that's immediately relevant to my interests. At this point I'm basically raiding old maps of Staffordshire to flesh it out. :)

Cheers,
Cam

Not right now — and not any time real soon. Concentrating on Logres now, for Book of the Warlord. I do have a very high-level view of Cameliard, but not a lot of detail yet. PM me if that interests you.


T.

I apologize for my bad English. I looked carefully at your beautiful map. I ask what is the modern name of the ruined castle of King's Town on the north side of Londinium? Thank you!

I apologize for my bad English. I looked carefully at your beautiful map. I ask what is the modern name of the ruined castle of King's Town on the north side of Londinium? Thank you!


It's Kingsbury.


T.

Thank you. I saw that Kingsbury has two entries in Domesday Book. Very interesting!