Building A Skyrim Style ACK Setting - Part 2: The Campaign Map

Building a Skyrim Style ACK Campaign Setting - Part 2: The Campaign Map

Mapping the Campaign

ACK uses hex-based maps as the default. Per the main rule book

“the Judge should create two maps, one regional map representing the adventurers’ starting area and one campaign map representing the lands around it (Macris, 2011).”

They recommend using hex paper and using a 6 mile per hex and 24 mile per hex scale for the maps. Since I own Hexographer Pro, this was pretty easy.  According to the book 

“A standard sheet of hex graph paper, 30 hexes wide and 40 hexes long, covers an area 1,200 hexes total”. (Macris, 2011) 

 I was lucky in the fact I was able to find Hexograph Files already set-up with ACK grids. The following is the Continental or Campaign Map.

Campaign Map – 1^st Draft

 

I originally went for the classic black and white terrain from the old B/X map. It is perfect for the 24 mile hexes. Using colored terrain and icons on hex maps like then make the map way too busy and hard to read. Then I discovered in a folder I had an alternate set of black and white icons that were even better. They have a hand drawn quality.

Campaign Map – Grid-less Version

 

The campaign map covers a landmass that has an area that is very similar to a very large island like Greenland. This area stretches from the sub-arctic to the temperate climate zones.  This gives us that Nordic feel.

The campaign area is dominated by two snowy mountain ranges filled with glaciers. In between these two ranges is a massive valley that is covered by rolling tablelands, deep lakes, grassy plains and conifer forests.

The northern coast also includes stretches of ice-covered rocky coastline that is basically sub-arctic deserts. There are also a couple of active volcanoes. I see this being a frosty land that has warmer micro-climates scattered all across the land, due to all of the thermal activity; I am imagining lots of geothermal features such as hot springs, geysers, mud pots, and fumaroles.
Trisagion

I now need to note the area of influence of my four largest groups.

• The Kingdom of Somerset – Human Kingdom
•  The Trisagion Dominion – Elven Empire
•  The Free Cities of Gaunt – Dwarven Republic
•  The Thamūd – Orc Tribal Nation

 At this stage, I now need to figure out how big each of these four groups and how much of the area they control and influence.