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Post by Huntress on Feb 12, 2010 13:51:06 GMT -5
More specifically, the map of the area of our more-or-less immediate base of operations. I'm going to need a whole lot of help here, because we don't have a whole lot of canon on all this, the bits we do have tend to be contradicting (because of the lack of canon) and are scattered all over our old textwallish roleplays and buried threads. So this thing here is bits and pieces of canon and imagination in a fine 1:2 mix. Observe. (or click here to open it in a new window if you want your browser to scale it to fit the screen instead of scrolling around on it.) I'll admit up front that I'm neither a cartographer nor a geographer and I'd much rather not create the whole map myself only to discover that I've pulled a Paolini and dropped a desert smackdab next to the ocean or something equally weird. And I don't want to pin all other guilds' bases down either. It's done in pencil, so I can edit it quite a bit. However, we did seem to agree on the guild meeting thread that some of the bases are in Dunburrow, so I went with that for now. As for distances: Dunburrow is roughly 40 miles across, with twenty miles between Castle Kestrel and Mage Manor. Tabloid Town is a hundred miles away across the bay, farther when you travel on land. There's mountains up north, a forest to the west, Brassport farther down the coast (we didn't set it as inside Dunburrow, right? >>) and then there's a bunch of other towns and forests and mountains and blah that I didn't feel like naming. Ideally we should get this filled in gradually during future RPs and events, but right now I'd like to know just how much I've missed and mixed up and left out and so forth. |
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Post by Kiddo on Feb 12, 2010 14:08:56 GMT -5
Woooow, my thoughts were way off. I've always figured Tabloid Town would be the center of the guilds, as that's kind of where we all originated, with the ninjas and pirates eventually being ousted due to causing too much of a ruckus and shuffled off to our own forum.
The other assumption I've had is that the Gray Lands are anything not on the map. They are basically mist that takes the form of what we imagine, but lack the power to remain reality. It's nothing permanent until a group of people share an idea - ex: the ninjas creating the Dojo. (which was originally the HQ, but Dojo is more fitting) So basically, go out far enough and you're in the Gray Lands.
We should probably also put the gate to the Underdeep on the map. I've assumed that was close to Tabloid Town, as again, I've assumed that it was the central heart of our world and we've branched out from there. But then again, this is all drawn from Angelis Luci and Voices, which never actually named the town we all ran around in, aside from giving it locations like the Gate, the admin meeting hall, the forum meeting hall, etc.
Edit: I go into more detail with a story about the Gray Lands that I've never finished... and might not finish due to, well, long story...
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Post by Huntress on Feb 12, 2010 14:41:11 GMT -5
Is now a horribly bad time to point out that the NTWF is a planet? >>;
As in, there really can't be the world's end as such because well, it's round. And with the Spacefleet in the picture, they can fly to pretty much any spot on it. Chances are there are lots of cities and continents and other not-so-well-known places farther away, we just never go there because the transportation isn't advanced enough and we're happy enough living in Dunburrow and the vicinity. S'why I put the Gray Lands as a kind of sprawling bit of... thinner reality, or something like that? But they'd still have an other side where the NTWF just continues.
Basically, the guild world has always been a world in its own right. It has nothing to do with the forum itself. (Unless you count older canon; we commandeered the Weewoo from Krawk Island, Mage Manor was originally on the border between Meridell and Brightvale, this sort of thing. I think the NTWF was a mixed reality between Neopia, Earth and whatever our imaginations spat out. It got glossed over later on as we built more of our own world and left the Neo bits behind.) Most of our guild action takes place in Dunburrow and thereabouts; not even sure why, I think it started back when the knights and mages were highly active in GW1. Since we have a kind of chronological guild-history, we just stuck to places we'd already established later on.
The Underdeep gate... hm, there's this nice bit of forest near Tabloid Town that would work. That, or maybe there's an ominous old temple in Tabloid Town itself. That'd probably be more logical. Meaning that I'll need to draw another map of the city itself, this one's too small-scale.
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Post by Celestial on Feb 12, 2010 15:00:50 GMT -5
I always thought that one of the Underdeep gates was in the forest on the outskirts of Tabloid Town, since who in their right mind would found a city slap bang in the middle of a place where a cosmic horror was kept, temple or no temple? I'd think they'd try to keep away.
The map does look pretty good though, if slightly empty. I was thinking, maybe we could have some of the NTWF's boards represented by landmarks and villages since we already have Tabloid Town.
As for the geography, we bend the laws of physics too much in roleplays so I don't see why we should worry about the laws of geography so much. </lame excuse>
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Post by Kiddo on Feb 12, 2010 15:55:50 GMT -5
I was just kinda rehashing how I saw events unfold into going from forums to a world, which is why I envision things spreading outwards from a central location. By no means do we have to base the map on my assumptions. It makes sense that the ninjas would build their HQ in a remote location and the rest of you guilds just saw the brilliance in our idea and ran with it.  I would like to figure out the canon of the Gray Lands, however. Things did start out as a mismatch of worlds and slowly ours grew more distinct - which resulted in the Gray Lands rolling back as we defined more and more stuff. The Gray Lands has also acted as a way between worlds. My thoughts are this - what if we have an entire planet, as the space fleet sees? But those areas we have not defined are still mist and will remain mist, even when looking down from space. The idea behind the Gray Lands is that it's raw potential and the rules of reality don't always apply, as it's a place to create dreams and ideas. Limiting it to one area makes it a set place, instead of this expansive force we can use to create our world, rather than it being a location on a world already created. Does that make sense at all? |
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Post by Celestial on Feb 12, 2010 16:04:34 GMT -5
That sounds good, Kiddo, and certainly a planet map with the actual continents shown would be good. It gives us more to work with and allows some canon to be established in terms of where the guilds are in the world and how far away everything is. Everything else could be Grey Lands as we percieve them because there is nothing defining them.
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Post by Lord Hayati on Feb 12, 2010 17:47:31 GMT -5
I'd think the grey lands would be bigger. o.o
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Post by Draco on Feb 12, 2010 22:15:00 GMT -5
Now the following are just my theories. I've been to lazy to draw up my own map of these theories (which I've been saying I would do for weeks now). So really, these are just how I pictured things. For one, I never imagined them being so far apart. Especially Tabloid Town. Always thought that to be closer  Ninja Dojo. I'm ok with it. Personally I always thought the mountains ran from the coast, on up, possibly in a curve. So in other words, where the forest is + the current mountains. But I can live where they are. Not a problem. Brassport. That has been the biggest confusion since Brassport landed The only thing I figured, was between Tabloid Town and Mage Manor in some way. Especially when I had my character Gil fly out and see Mage Manor, the Castle, and then the forest near Merc Base. Of course, from readings in GWIII, it has moved a lot In some cases I read it between Mage Manor and the Castle. So... *shrugs* On another note. I like the Cthulhu note. And the giant Octopus eating the ship (or is that Cthulhu?). Either way, it looks cute XD |
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Post by ♥ Azzie on Feb 12, 2010 22:28:23 GMT -5
I always thought that one of the Underdeep gates was in the forest on the outskirts of Tabloid Town, since who in their right mind would found a city slap bang in the middle of a place where a cosmic horror was kept, temple or no temple? I'd think they'd try to keep away. The map does look pretty good though, if slightly empty. I was thinking, maybe we could have some of the NTWF's boards represented by landmarks and villages since we already have Tabloid Town. As for the geography, we bend the laws of physics too much in roleplays so I don't see why we should worry about the laws of geography so much. </lame excuse> You're talking about Tabloid Town. You think anyone there WAS in their right mind? *brick'd* |
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Post by Rider on Feb 12, 2010 23:28:23 GMT -5
[glow=red,2,300]The whole point of "Here there be Dragons" is that no one's gone out there to find out what's there. It's like Schrodinger's Grey Lands. (I mean, presumably someone's been there, but hey.)
Anyway, it's strange that Kiddo sees the Grey Lands the way I see the Underdeep, and it makes sense as one came from the other. But here we're getting into metafiziks, and no one needs me to go on that schpeal while I'm high on cold meds and no sleep.
BTW, Kienne's vassal state is named Leona. First person to create a citizen of it named Lewis gets things thrown at their face.[/glow]
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Post by Huntress on Feb 13, 2010 9:53:15 GMT -5
For one, I never imagined them being so far apart. Especially Tabloid Town. Always thought that to be closer The main problem with Tabloid Town is, it's never actually been close. Sure, it'd be highly convenient to have it close now, because the GW3 action is split between TT and Dunburrow and nobody wants to spend ages on travelling. But this is a huge sprawling city. If it was at all close to the guild bases (as in, visible), it'd have influenced us ages ago. We'd have gone there in past roleplays to get help and info and supplies and whatnot. Can't really have the biggest city on the continent just round the corner and then never mention it. I can't speak for other guilds' RPs, but in our neck of the woods, it first entered the picture in Redemption. I could probly move it closer along the coast, but at the end of the day it'd still be pretty far x'D Fun fact 'bout Leona: Kienne's castle, that probably doubles as a kind of capital, is called Chateau du Lis Blanc and is known by the locals as the Blank Castle. But I probably won't be able to fit it on the map xD Hm, considering that it was most likely cut off from Dunburrow, I should edit its borders a little. As for the Gray Lands... you know, I'm starting to think that it shouldn't actually be on the physical map at all. It sounds more like one of those inbetween-places, one you'll find when you know where to go. Because I'm not really buying the misty-potential logic, not the way we've defined the NTWF. It's a fantasy land, but whatever's out there still is out there, it just doesn't cross our actions. Strife says that the world of FableQuest is somewhere on the opposite hemisphere of the planet, for starters. We don't know those parts solely because we've never bothered, but for those who have bothered, the parts are very much there (like Zagora and her shady connections with other continents, and I reckon the Spacefleet has long since mapped it all and recruits people from all over). ...yeah, I think this is the guild-importance paradox all over again. Somewhere along the way, the guildworld is no longer all about us. We're just a bunch of people living in it. |
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Post by Lord Hayati on Feb 13, 2010 15:34:06 GMT -5
Someone get the super soaker, Hunty is going existential Again!
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Post by Fraze on Feb 13, 2010 22:22:52 GMT -5
For one, I never imagined them being so far apart. Especially Tabloid Town. Always thought that to be closer The main problem with Tabloid Town is, it's never actually been close. Sure, it'd be highly convenient to have it close now, because the GW3 action is split between TT and Dunburrow and nobody wants to spend ages on travelling. But this is a huge sprawling city. If it was at all close to the guild bases (as in, visible), it'd have influenced us ages ago. We'd have gone there in past roleplays to get help and info and supplies and whatnot. Can't really have the biggest city on the continent just round the corner and then never mention it. I can't speak for other guilds' RPs, but in our neck of the woods, it first entered the picture in Redemption. I could probly move it closer along the coast, but at the end of the day it'd still be pretty far x'D Fun fact 'bout Leona: Kienne's castle, that probably doubles as a kind of capital, is called Chateau du Lis Blanc and is known by the locals as the Blank Castle. But I probably won't be able to fit it on the map xD Hm, considering that it was most likely cut off from Dunburrow, I should edit its borders a little. As for the Gray Lands... you know, I'm starting to think that it shouldn't actually be on the physical map at all. It sounds more like one of those inbetween-places, one you'll find when you know where to go. Because I'm not really buying the misty-potential logic, not the way we've defined the NTWF. It's a fantasy land, but whatever's out there still is out there, it just doesn't cross our actions. Strife says that the world of FableQuest is somewhere on the opposite hemisphere of the planet, for starters. We don't know those parts solely because we've never bothered, but for those who have bothered, the parts are very much there (like Zagora and her shady connections with other continents, and I reckon the Spacefleet has long since mapped it all and recruits people from all over). ...yeah, I think this is the guild-importance paradox all over again. Somewhere along the way, the guildworld is no longer all about us. We're just a bunch of people living in it. In this very GWIII, you may recall, the 'Fleet was at one point mapping the Underdeep's progress as it spread throughout the entire planet. And now they're working on evacuating the planet as well--not just Tabloid Town and Dunburrow, but wherever there are people. I, for one, have a similar but different reason for leaving the Gray Lands out of the map. Simply put, what you have drawn up just seems too small to me. Using your scale, the entire map is roughly 200 miles by 300. That's about 58% the size of my home state. The Guild!NTWF 1 seems to vary between the Middle Ages and the 18th-19th Centuries (and every step in between) in terms of development. Even in Europe in the Middle Ages, there was extensive trade and other types of exchange throughout the continent, as well as some between Europe, Asia, and northern Africa. And of course, at that same time, there were other civilizations throughout the entire planet. If we consider this as a parallel, it seems to me that human (and non-human) societies should be spread around the entire planet. Also, those icebergs from GWII just seem way too close. Unless the planet is miniscule (in which case we'd all be bouncing along in low gravity) or Dunburrow is somewhere around the Arctic Circle (in which case we'd all be fighting in thick down jackets), I just can't see how those could be so nearby. As for a solution that still works in the Gray Lands, I don't think I have one. This might just be the first time that our canon has contradicted itself in a really significant way. 1: To share my view, there are (at least) two versions of the NTWF. The main one is what I think of as NTWF Prime. This world is sort of an extension of our own reality, with people moving between it and the real world freely. All the Tabloid drama, Splatterboard antics, and so forth take place here. The old defunct NTWF Cafe and Ginz's Trapped RP also took place here. Guild!NTWF is the one we are discussing now. It is completely separate from NTWF Prime and the real world. All the guilds, conflicts, countries, assorted NPCs, and so forth are real for the people living in it. The NTWF of Mafia Wars and such, I'm not so sure about. I suppose it would fall somewhere between NTWF Prime and Guild!NTWF in terms of immersion of the characters in it. |
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Post by Huntress on Feb 14, 2010 21:56:54 GMT -5
Using your scale, the entire map is roughly 200 miles by 300. That's about 58% the size of my home state. 230 by 320 miles by my calculations, meaning roughly 73,000 square miles unless I'm mistaken. ...my homeland could fit in there four times and then some. In my book that's a bafflingly huge tract of land xD And the primary means of transportation is a horse (or ship), so day-to-day travel would be fairly slow. Although yes, this particular area would be mapped out to every last hill. Chances are I'll do that anyway, the original is hanging on my wall and if I'm going to leave it there, might as well make it look nice. The icebergs are another huge canon-contradiction, because in GW2 it took us only a few hours to get there. Which didn't make too much sense back then either. Icebergs on warmer latitudes aren't exactly unheard of (as the Titanic learned the hard way) but they'd probably still influence our climate big time. Not to mention the iceberg region was supposed to be far-far away and avoided by everyone. Even the Rocky Gates wouldn't logically fit on the map, methinks. I should just push 'em off and blame the temporal inconsistencies on TMC. As for the Mafia Wars, that was always intended to be fiction. Possibly an alternate reality in Prime!NTWF. With us, you can never really be sure. |
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Post by Draco on Feb 14, 2010 22:06:29 GMT -5
Using your scale, the entire map is roughly 200 miles by 300. That's about 58% the size of my home state. 230 by 320 miles by my calculations, meaning roughly 73,000 square miles unless I'm mistaken. ...my homeland could fit in there four times and then some. In my book that's a bafflingly huge tract of land xD And the primary means of transportation is a horse (or ship), so day-to-day travel would be fairly slow. Although yes, this particular area would be mapped out to every last hill. Chances are I'll do that anyway, the original is hanging on my wall and if I'm going to leave it there, might as well make it look nice. The icebergs are another huge canon-contradiction, because in GW2 it took us only a few hours to get there. Which didn't make too much sense back then either. Icebergs on warmer latitudes aren't exactly unheard of (as the Titanic learned the hard way) but they'd probably still influence our climate big time. Not to mention the iceberg region was supposed to be far-far away and avoided by everyone. Even the Rocky Gates wouldn't logically fit on the map, methinks. I should just push 'em off and blame the temporal inconsistencies on TMC. As for the Mafia Wars, that was always intended to be fiction. Possibly an alternate reality in Prime!NTWF. With us, you can never really be sure. I have a answer to everything that makes no sense in the NTWF. MAGIC! |
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