i'm gonna do something a little different this time. instead of character critiques, i'm gonna ask for a landscape critique. by that i mean the way my world map looks. i've changed the layout quite a lot of times over the past few months, so not many things you see here will stay the same. i cut out a few structures and islands that you don't visit in this game in order to not clutter the map with stuff you dont visit. i'll go over the names of the provinces and who or what lives in them, along with the region's dungeon (if they have one). ignore the blurriness of the pictures. the pics were too big to post without shrinking them down, and i dont have photoshop yet so i had to use MSpaint.
this is riften:
and these are the boarders:
1: merigate (mare-ih-gate) is the starting region for party 1. its residence are mostly humans, but there are a lot of untamed wilds around the edges of the communities. the biggest city in the world is located at the south west coast of this region. this is also the secret home to the beastkin. they live in a secluded kingdom near the border that is engulfed in fog. the only way you could get around is by following a scent trail. the kingdom it's self isn't that foggy. there are quite a few relics from a past war that are still left lying around to be explored. dungeon: hidden stronghold
2: heldrich (hel-drich) is a dense forest area filled with hostile wildlife. the half or the region closer to merigate is inhabited by the ahn'tlo which are a race of human shaped animals. the forest is considered a sacred place where only those who they deem worthy can enter. deeper into the woods live a race of monstrous, un evolved animal people called the ferals who are a constant threat to the ahn'tlo. the woods themselves have strange mutated plant life that range from gigantic flowers to massive root towers that are made of stone. the half that's closer to the akinomori region, however, is much more hospitable. i haven't decided who owns that castle yet. dungeon: stoneroot citadel.
3: presko (press-co) is a militarized region owned by the R.D.C. (riften defense corps) which is mostly considered the human's army. other races can join, but its mostly an army of humans. they use a mixture of swords and machine guns. their job is to defend riften from danger. there also lies the ruins of a city where horrible magic experiments were conducted and almost caused the end of all life. the whole city was lowered into the ground by the goddess so nothing could escape into the rest of the world. there is also a hidden temple in the woods, and a smeltery thats on the other side of the crevice that is half owned by presko and halu vaans. the other parts of the region are mostly untouched. there is no dungeon.
4: alsidia (al-sid-ee-ah) is the most racial friendly region in the continent. the city is full of many different races and cultures. buy that doesn't mean that this region is completely safe. there's an untamed mountain range that looms over the region. it is unknown why there are so many orcs in this region. (until later in the game when it turns out that
the orcs made their fortress in the mountain. caves and ruins are hidden throughout the wooded areas of the region. there is also a really strange building near the giant wall that is rumored to be a link to another world. there is a building near the edge of the woods that i was thinking of removing. dungeon: orcan fortress.
5: halu vaans (hah-loo-vans) is the starting region for party 2. it's ruled by the light elves and is home to many magical creatures. that's it really. dungeon: the hydro complex.
6: gyagyo (gee-ah-gee-oh) it's... uh... it has a savannah? and a garden maze for a dungeon? ok, i got nothing for this region. i actually had it removed for a short while, but i wanted all 3 parties to explore an even number of regions, so i brought it back. dungeon: gracia's garden.
7: xio (jhee-oh) is a vast desert full of dangerous monsters. this region is home to the dark elves and the sanders which are a race of sand people and are mostly all male. there's a volcanic region near the top of this region. there is no dungeon in this region.
8: aggron (ag-ron-) is a treacherous frontier mountain range. the only people that live there are the halflings. they moved there to escape the war between the light and dark elves that happened years ago. there's also a kind of wild west town thats in front of the mountain range. dungeon: aggron's inferno. there is also a power plant located inside a valley next to aggron that supplies power to the entire continent.
9: akinomori (ah-kee-no-more-ee) is the starting region for party 3. the whole region is full of trees that are always in autumn. it is home to the oni, which are a race of monsters that have become to look more human like over a long period of time. this was where the original orcs were first made, though its mostly ogres that run amok in this region. the other orc types have moved all around the world. it is also home to the tengu, which are a race that originated from fallen angels. the worlds biggest technology manufacturer and scientific research lab named "kolcade industries" is located in this region. your party goes there in order to stop a corrupt ceo from messing with a scientific anomaly that could destroy the world. there is also a dead forest filled with youkai. dungeons: cretin's hideout and kolcade industries.
10: vensil (ven-sil) is a big open plains region. there are a few mountains and a second frontier that hold a lot of secrets from ancient times. there is no dungeon.
11: kamborion (kam-bor-ee-on) is an alpine region that is home to a type of crystal called "kamborionite" (or should it be kamborium?) which is a crystal that does a lot of things like make its own energy and making for powerful weapons and armor. the sprites, which are a race of people with bug wings and antennas, used to protect the forests and wildlife has now become more industrialized and have built a city that has so much pollution in the air that its blocked out the sun. they'd cut down entire forests just to find even a tiny bit of kamborionite. there is a swamp full of toxic marsh that is home to giant crabs
insert crab people reference here. there is also a dark and creepy mansion on top of the mountain side to the right that is rumored to be home to a vampire. dungeon: maccauley manor
ps, that giant person standing in the field is a robot and will be saved for another time.
12: elmaison (el-may-sun) is the snowy region.
13: okipali (oh-kee-pah-lee) is an underwater region that is filled with many reefs and sunken vessels to be explored there are these people called the sahuagin which are the fish people of course. all 5 of the egg born races are cursed to be mindless puppets for an overmind because of an ancient being that killed the sacred beasts. (ill probably explain that later if i remember) they live in a castle thats build inside of a trench. there are also other creatures like the tentin, which are octopuses that can walk on land and carry tridents and will attack anything that isnt an aquatic creature. you are able to go there after party 1 gets this spell that allows them to walk and breath underwater. dungeon: abyssal castle
ps i changed the name since the first post.
14: prehisto (pree-hiss-toe) island is a secluded island that is full of dinosaurs and reptiles alike. the island is roughly in the shape of a pterodactyls head. this is where the reptilians, another egg race that is cursed to be monsters, make their home. the island is covered in vast jungles. party 2 finds that this is where the reptilians live and decide to attack them head on since the reptilians are whats causing the most problems for party 2. dungeon: prehisto island.
15: beeden (bee-den) is the land of fairy tails and mystical beasts. most of the classic fantasy creatures like dragons, centaurs, gryphons, meducas, and others stuff. there is a race of insect people called insectoids which are the 3rd cursed egg race. though in this land, some of the sub races have been broken of the curse which gives party 3 hope that the ancient curse can be broken. the most powerful of the sub races are the beek, which are like greek/roman empire type bees who have enslaved the antisians, which are ants. there are also some other races of insectoids that dont live there like the beetalians which are beetles, the motholans which are moths, and my personal favorite; the skeeters which are mosquitoes. the reason for going to this area is to open a portal to a place called asrina which is located inside ancient ruins reminiscent of fantasy rpg games of old. the portal doesnt open since they dont have everything that they need. dungeon: sanctum of the eyeglass.
16: asrina (as-ree-nah) is the heaven type area in the game. there are many floating island and clouds that you can walk on. the realm is ruled by enis, the goddess of light. you visit this area after the 3 parties have joined together and have the correct items in order to enter. they need the help of the goddess to stop the villain of the game from turning the world into a baron wasteland of death and fear. the goddess informs them that they also need the help from the other goddess who rules over nagara. there is no dungeon.
17: nagara (nah-gah-rah) is the hell type area in the game. the whole place is completely underground and has a ton of lava and demons everywhere. the whole party needs to fight their way through a never ending amount of demons to get to the throne of arol, the goddess of darkness. she decides to help them and goes on to tell them about
the true villain of the game, who has been using the before thought main villain as a pawn. there is no dungeon.
18: drekkulaish (dreck-you-laysh) is a wasteland full of undead. this is where the final battle takes place. the main villain sends out everything he's got to stop the mega party from beating him. they do get to his castle and lay waste to his army of elemental creations and risen dead. they reach him and have an all out battle. after defeating him, he goes on to explain that
drekkulaish was once his home, and was full of life. until these monsters called the defyers tainted it to the point of no return. he was told by the true main villain that his home could be saved if he helped him. but before they could finish him off, he gets taken away by a giant undead monster. he later realizes that
he was being used, and that the real main villain was never gonna bring his home back. all he wanted was to use him to do all the work for him so he could take revenge on the ones that imprisoned him in nagara. the old mail villain was then left to die, but was able to escape and helps the heroes in the true final battle. dungeon: drekkulaish kingdom.
19: the farlands is an after game area in which you meet these drow like people that are referred to as the farlanders. they actually never bothered to give their own race a name, since they just considered themselves to be "just people". the farlands are a mysterious land that is really far away from riften. the lands are impossible to explore, since any progress you make in the farlands basically sends you back to where you started, no matter how far you travel. there is a temple that has the hardest boss in the game waiting at the bottom of a gauntlet of enemies you have fought along your journeys. dungeon: temple of the farlands.
20 i guess: there are a few extra zones and dimensions that i decided to put here instead of dedicating separate numbers to. the first is called the stardust dimension which is pretty much outer space. this is where ancient beings that are higher than even the 2 goddesses dwell. at this point of the game, you should be strong enough to defeat literal gods with ease. there are walkways that are surrounded with atmosphere and gravity so that any mortal that is lucky enough to end up there doesnt instantly die. the god of gods sits at a throne at the end of a great pathway, awaiting a challenger to make it that far. there are some additional structures floating around. like the thunder palace, which is kinda a mini dungeon. you dont fully explore it, but you do get to see a good portion of what you need to see. there are these doors that lead to the other god like figures places of being. one of them leads you to the tutorial zone that you have the option of doing at the beginning of the game.
there is another dimension called the anomaly, which takes random stuff from all of time and space and mashes it all together in this weird and illogical world. there were experiments done that caused 6 anomaly pillars to appear throughout riften. interaction with the anomaly will result in horrific mutations. the only one who has ever explored the anomaly and survived was one of the super gods. they give you the ability to explore these areas and destroy the source of the corruption. once destroyed, you are instantly booted out into the normal world and the anomaly is gone. if you try to touch the anomaly before you get this ability, it will result in an instant game over.
i also thought of a shadow realm, but i think ill save it for another time.
ps i haven't thought of a reason for the wall and crevice's existence, other than to temporarily separate the 3 parties. but i will some day.
-golgas