Using Succession Maps to Stimulate Stories

This post is the first in a series exploring how the Succession maps can be used as an aid to stimulate your creativity. If you haven’t already, get the free sample pack here.

This post sets down some of the background, the next is an example if you want to get straight to it (coming soon).

Why 10 Time Periods?

A core objective of this project is to use the changing geography of the time periods to stimulate a history. The images are a prompt for creative play, a sandpit for ideas with pretty pictures.

The maps focus on a range of dramatic geological events which would likely distinguish different periods of history.

For instance the discovery of America (by the people who didn’t already live there) added a new map to the world. This event has put a line in the sand between a lot of human history before and after this happened.

The study of history through the lens of geography is called Historical Geography. The land isn’t just the canvas on which history plays out. It’s an integral part of it.

For instance: Would there have been a British Empire if it hadn’t been an island nation? Would history have played out differently if the island was a different shape? Would a different shaped Britain have changed the Norman invasion, how might that have changed the outcome of World War II centuries later?

It’s like a plot summary for a time travel show, which is sort of the point.

With these maps you can plant some stories, events and artefacts in a single age. Move to the next epoch and see how the fallout of these ancient stories shape the stories of the new age.

What happens to a civilizations displaced by water or the the lack of it? This is the story of the Indus Valley, the birth of civilization for countless people spread across our world. Its also the major theme of these maps.

Battle of Hastings is well recorded but narratives differ. From wikmedia commons.

Why 10 Styles?

There are 10 styles for a few reasons.

Firstly a number of different viewpoints allow you to understand the shapes better and different people prefer their information presented in different ways.

Secondly as a tool for creativity it is likely to follow that the maps be actually used as, well, maps. So versions like Parchment add some utility for campaign designers.

Thirdly, as you can tell, some of them are just toys to play with. I could make these up all day long for fun and its useful to have things like this in your back pocket as a busy story maker.

Last but not least, 10x10=100 makes a nice round number. I had to stop making stuff up at some point.

Why generated maps?

I really enjoy winding stories around random events like a pro conspiracy theorist, and the internet proves I’m not alone (we’re not alone!).

Making maps by hand will always produce better maps, these images are not art. However, producing maps at scale by hand is an unrealistic proposition, generated maps fill this hole.

As an artist who has made maps and landscape for decades, I find it difficult to do so without a story. In drawing you are making a narrative and narratives usually requires actors with self-determination. Perhaps the reason unsullied natural landscapes are hard to come by is that its hard to stop drawing. This landscape generator doesn’t know what a story is but it knows a lot about land erosion.

Though the maps are random, they hold to an internal logic, not least that a lot of the processes are physically accurate. This makes a good starting point for a story without having to dream up a canvas as well.

Making generated content is becoming more common and accessable. Generators like these are already in regular use by the role playing community, this is another tool in the box.

Generated maps can look nice but can’t hold a candle to beautiful hand drawn maps.

Why So many Maps?

These maps are an attempt to walk a tightrope between outright bugs and interesting anomalies from randomness.

The randomness of these maps can’t be too prevalent, they wouldn’t be able to form distinct epochs if they were too chaotic. However they need some rope to make things interesting. In a way these maps are the ancient struggle between law and chaos distilled.

To bring out the excitment of chaos there needs to be enough attempts to overcome the strict rules the chaos is allowed to work within.

The Map Packs that are going to be on sale on DriveThruRPG will be a generous sample but not all of them. Some people may prefer to have an individual sets of maps their players cannot sneak a look at. Some may enjoy engaging with advanced content such as height files, alternate views and the 3d meshes, on exclusive content of course. Time will tell. But there will definitely be enough unique content.

The 2nd Age map for #0377 Newlanda became raised due to many factors leaving it with less water than Reborn Mesa.

If you’d like to ask any questions about these images or have something you’d like to say reach out to @Leapin_guy on Twitter or Leap Interactive on Facebook.

Next up will be an example, coming soon.