Sylvania Map Notes from 2007! (Patreon)

As I catch up with everything after my time away, I figured that sharing an article I wrote for Black Library an age ago would make for a fun aside for today's post.

Want to know what went into making the map for WFRP2's Night's Dark Masters all the way back in 2007? Well, you can now!

Be aware, a far younger Andy wrote this. And a far thinner one, too...

Cartographer’s Notes: Sylvania
The Sylvania map for Night’s Dark Masters was my first cartography project for WFRP where I specified the level of detail the map would depict.

Normally, my Art Director, Hal Mangold (a king among men), sends me all the files and resources required to create a map. These resources include such things as the text from the section to be mapped, and any sketch maps the author has created for the specified area. However, for this project, things were a little different.

Jody MacGregor, one of the authors of Night’s Dark Masters, contacted me in the middle of 2006. He was aware I had been compiling a ‘master map’ of the Old World drawing upon every GW product I could lay my hands on, and enquired if I had any material that could help him with the Sylvania chapter. So, I sent him a fairly comprehensive map of Sylvania (although not a very pretty one) and gave him what details I could of all the locations it included. From this material and his personal research, Jody then wrote the Sylvania chapter, which I later looked over to ensure it didn’t contradict any current GW sources (as much as this is possible, or appropriate).

When the commission came through for the Sylvania map later that year, I not only knew what it had to include, I had already done all the research required to get it right.

And that’s where we hit the big one. The research. This is not only the first map where I specified the detail level, it is also the first where all the research I’ve been doing for the last two years was put into practice. To create my ‘master map’, I’ve been reading every GW product I can get my hands on – and there are a lot! – and synthesising them into one massive reference map for my WFRP cartography. Of course, these sources include multiple visions of the Warhammer world, but I have done my best to combine them into a single map of the Old World that fits the current GW studio maps, but also draws upon the past where it can.

So, when I came to map Sylvania, most of this research had already been done. This is fortunate, as a great deal of sources describe the areas detailed on the map. You will find elements drawn from the various Warhammer army lists of each edition (especially the Vampire Counts army lists), with the basic geography defined by the world map found in White Dwarf 300 and guided by the ‘Settlements of the Old World’ map found in Game Master’s Pack. You will find locations sourced from Bill King’s Felix and Gotrek books, Steven Savile’s Vampire trilogy, and Neil McIntosh’s Kumansky novels. You will find locations drawn from various WFRP products through the ages, including Sigmar’s Heirs, the ‘Pretty Things’ adventure, Empire in Flames (a 1st edition WFRP book), and even forthcoming books such as the Tome of Salvation (where the Last Skaranorak Temple and the Shrine of Seppel are referenced from). The map even includes locations from some ancient Warhammer Supplements. For example, Blood on the Streets, a village pack for Warhammer 2nd Edition, detailed an area called The Riding on the upper reaches of the Aver; this was adapted into The Auld Ryding, one of the provinces between Sylvania and Averland that can be found in the bottom left of the Sylvania map. All of these and more added to the great well of detail I drew upon to create this map, and the results, I feel, have certainly been worth all the months of toil.

Of course, it’s important to make it clear that this is just one more vision of the Warhammer World. After all, the ultimate authority in any game of WFRP is the Game Master, and I have no desire to contradict any GMs (or later GW products) that design their own Sylvanias. So, I composed the text box in the bottom left of the map, which makes it clear that the map is likely to be quite inaccurate. After all, the cartographer admits he has never visited Sylvania (really, would you want to?), and has only read books about the place (and for you GW geeks out there, I even named the cartographer after a family involved with the Carstein’s history in the past). This was done because I feel that it’s important to keep as many maps as possible ‘in-character’, providing a perspective from within the Warhammer World for GMs, not definitive facts, as this ensures contradictions with other sources simply do not matter, and GMs are free to do whatever they want.

So, with most of the details already in place, all I had to do was present them in an appropriate fashion. To do this I drew upon the existing cartography from publications such as Sigmar’s Heirs, Knights of the Grail, and Lure of the Liche Lord, and replicated the styles found in each to maintain a consistent feel to the cartography of the WFRP range. However, as the map included more details than any previous map, I, in turn, added more detail to how the map was drawn. So, the hills and mountains are a little more artistic than previous examples, and every location has a unique little drawing to add a little character. Finally, I drew a reliquary shrine and milestone in the bottom corner to illustrate the boxed text at the bottom of the map; and once that was in place, I added the titles at the top.

Then, with a contended smile and a deep sigh, the map was finished, and I sent it to Hal.

Fortunately, he loved it.

Now the map is out there for you, the players of WFRP, to use as you see fit. Considering what the dread County of Sylvania is like, a small part of me kinda hopes GMs spare their players from the horror of the place, and don’t use the map; however, given how cool Sylvania is to play games of WFRP in, the larger part of me hopes GMs out there do use it; although I do feel a little sorry for the players.

But that’s WFRP, huh? The players never have it easy...

- Andy Law
22nd February 2007 (15 years ago!)