The Campaign Builder's Guild

I haven't had the chance to sit down with Arga and really delve, but just about everything I've been seeing so for sounds like it is constructed of pure awesome.

I would like to take a closer look at it.  Is there someplace you would suggest I start--either for my sake or for some piece or project you want feedback on?

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aww hell yeah! it finally uploaded!

anyhow, this is a map representing the areas that the 9 modern languages of Arga are spoken (and to a lesser extent, a general map of culture areas) Also, I mentioned a new map earlier, and this is it, well the terrain at least. the basic map was kept the same, maybe some more islands added in. but the geographical map is much larger (Pixels) than the last one, so I fit a lot more stuff on it and rearranged things that needed to be moved. that will hopefully be up soon.

and @ Seraphine, there is an older thread of Arga, but its very outdated. as of now, all there are are post in this thread, they're the ones in the IC boxes. hopefully I can get my brain together and start a real thread.

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Quote from: Leetzthe alien sorcerer's tongue only known as the Whisper

It's curious that such a language would have a large number of native speakers, as the map appears to indicate. Hope you'll get around to posting more details about this one soon.

Very interested to find out what Song-Cant is.

Ah, I love quirky languages like Iban-Jut where it is not only the grammar and words etc. which makes it differ from other languages but also its use and its, well, quirks (e.g. it has elaborate curses and is useful for romancing).

[ic=The Modern Languages of Arga]"I speak Iban-Jut to my sailors, Prothean to merchants, Perkathian to women, and Salt-Tongue to my enemies."
-Captain Ilun Tyrillic or Ib

The modern languages and tongues of Arga are as diverse and unique as its peoples. From guttural, bestial Vorrese, to the vulgarly romantic Iban-Jut, languages both unify and divide.  
Prothean: Arguably the most common and widespread of the modern tongues, Prothean originated, as can be expected, in the cities surrounding Prothean Bay. A descendant of old Pellan only in its grammatical structure, Prothean uses many words from other tongues, primarily Perkathian and Iban-Jut. In fact, Prothean varies so much from place to place, some dialects sound like completely different tongues.

While not the most beautiful language or the easiest to understand, the flexible and adaptive nature of Prothean has made it the mother-tongue in many cities across central Arga and can be heard in every city, from the steaming temples of Penzanda to the icy iron walls of Thraes.

Perkathian: Subtle, nuanced, and complex, the language of the cities of the Sea of Perkath is not unlike those who speak it. The linguists of Toma claim that Perkathian can be traced all the way back to the tongues of the eldritch Third Age. With a fanciful, flowing script, it is as beautiful to read as it is to speak and listen. The language of poets, lovers, and wordsmiths, Perkathian has only been supplanted by Prothean as the common tongue across Arga. In fact, many words in Prothean come directly from Perkathian, although their nuance and subtly are often lost in translation.

Iban-Jut: The tongue of pirates, corsairs, and romantics, Iban-Jut is a language of contrasts. It alone has more curses and vulgarities than all the other tongues combined, but also has eleven words for "sunrise", thirteen for "sunset", and no less than twenty-two words for "woman". A descriptive and fiery language, Iban-Jut is the sophisticated older brother of the crass and simple Salt-Tongue. Speaking Iban-Jut takes energy in itself, as hand motions, shouts, and the movement of the whole body are integral in its use. While rarely written (it is the pirate's tongue), its script is frantic and sharp. Its multitudes of vulgarities are wider spread than the language is, and Iban-Jut curses can be heard in taverns and ports across Arga.

Vorrese: Vorrese, the tongue of the Vorr, is a rare and difficult language. True fluency is impossible for non-Vorr, as only Vorr vocal chords are capable of creating the range of growls, roars, and howls that encompass the language. However, a basic working knowledge of Vorrese is not overly difficult, and those of northern climes, especially Athas and Thraes, often know a smattering of words and phrases. There is no Vorr script.

Whisper: A strange and unique language, Whisper, as it is commonly called (it is named Sis-Sa-Mo in it's own tongue) was developed by the slaves of a dark, almost forgotten Fourth Age empire. A quiet and hushed tongue (hence the name), Whisper was developed over generations amongst the empire's slaves in order for them communicate with each other without rousing the anger and wrath of their cruel masters.

To those not fluent, Whisper sounds just like that: whispers, hisses, and mumbles. Outside of its native area, Whisper is popular amongst thieves and burglars for obvious reasons.

Song-Cant: Originating from exotic lands far to the south, Song-Cant is a language only in the loosest definition. While natural vocal chords are more than capable of communicating even complex ideas and thoughts, true fluency and expressiveness is obtained only with some kind of musical instrument (preferably a woodwind or string). Sages claim that the language originated in an ancient realm where music was so intrinsically tied to both magic and culture, that to express oneself without music was most uncouth and barbaric.

While today its speakers are not nearly as zealous and stringent in their use of instruments, to hear Song-Cant "spoken" in its full musical range is both a beautiful and rousing experience.  

Norsund: Harsh and strong like the people it is named after, Norsund is a northern tongue rarely spoken south of Thraes and the Sea of Gnashing Teeth. With no script or real use in the "civilized" realms, only bookish scholars and inhabitants of the north bother with learning this brutish language.

Salt-Tongue: An ugly amalgamation of Prothean, Perkathian, Iban-Jut, and words from every language and then some, Salt-Tongue is a bastard tongue preferred by the sea tribes, non-Iban pirates, and coastal barbarians across central Arga. It has even found its way into seedy ports and fringe bars as a lingua franca amongst the seedy and fringe. Useful but ugly.

Durish: Easily the oldest spoken language on Arga, Durish, the tongue of the Dura, has been spoken nearly unchanged since the Third Age. As is wont of the Dura, Durish is kept somewhat secret and hidden, with only the most learned scholars and trusted friends of the Dura being truly fluent. Its script is an extremely complex system of runes and lines which is nearly impossible to completely learn.
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[ic=The Anthos, the Wild Mortals]
Nicknames: Mankind, Manlings
Diet: Meat, fish, vegetables, grains
Homelands: The Lost Lands
Gods: Many

The Anthos
The Anthos are a people of contradictions and contrasts. They are short-lived, short-sighted, and short-tempered, but they have founded some of the greatest empires that have ever marked the face of Arga. Their cities are unsurpassed in their size and squalor, but stand as pinnacles of culture and knowledge. The Dura have a name in their tongue for the Anthos, which roughly translates into "Those of the Cursed Blessing."

Unlike the other mortal races who have retreated and safeguarded their ancestral homelands, the Anthos have a penchant for travel and an inborn wanderlust. Ever since the first ships of Manlings arrived from the distant shores of the Lost Lands on the eve of the Second Age, they have spread across Arga, forging kingdoms and cities through toil and persistence. It is said that all Anthos once looked the same - tall and strong, fair of skin and dark of hair. But now, there is little resemblance amongst them. Those from the cold reaches of the city of Thraes are strong and stout, with wind-weathered skin, eyes like pitch, and pale hair. Those of Ib are sinuous, dark, and wiry while those from the Voy Vasa sport smooth bronze skin and eyes of purple or yellow. From city to city, and region to region, the physical appearance of the Anthos changes. Some radical scholars have surmised that chaos-stuff and entropy are intrinsically tied to the Anthos, explaining their startling physical differences and general racial aptitudes.


Anthos society varies as much as their appearance. The free-cities of Tezzeret, Argaza, and Mylas, the militant fortress of Rigus, and the ebon tower-city of Illix are just a few examples. In fact, the Anthos place their loyalties to their city or kingdom far before that of their race. Other mortal races, such as the Vorr, Maeren, and Dura, sometimes see the Anthos race as an empty, even soulless people who have no connection with their blood-kin. Another peculiar mystery that surrounds the Anthos are their unknown origins. Every other mortal race, whether true or not, claims a creator-god as their maker and benefactor. Mankind, on the other hand, knows nothing of its creation or creator. The gods, religions, and cults of the Anthos have risen and fallen along side its empires. And just like their skin, the gods of mankind vary from land to land.

History
Upon arks of iron, they slowly arrived,
Sailing the warmth of the dead dying light,
Banners of red and black and white so dyed,
The end of our time arrayed before our eyes.

-Excerpt from the Epic of Aela, the Legend of Bast-Thoth

Only the oldest and dustiest texts speak of the arrival of the Anthos at the sunset of the Second Age. The Epic of Aela, the great history-poem of the lost race of the same name, describes the Anthos riding the rays of a sunset upon great ships of iron at the end of the Second Era, arriving from a place only known as the Lost Lands. Many have surmounted that the Lost Lands may not even exist on the surface of Arga, and that the Anthos came from a forgotten world flung far across the cold Void.

But regardless of where or what mankind come from, their mark upon Arga has been indelible. What ever unity the Anthos had during their long voyage was lost upon arrival, and they soon split up into countless tribes, cities, kingdoms, and empires. Some fled into the wilds, never to see the light of civilization again. Other congregated in small towns, content to live simple, bucolic lives. And still others united to create great cities and empires the which have yet to be seen again.

Many of the greatest empire were built upon the ruins of the Aela, a forgotten race thought to be the hand-servants of the Second Age Half-Gods. While it is doubtful that the Anthos destroyed the superior Aela in prolonged warfare, no true cause has ever been discovered. The most learned sages surmise that mankind brought with it a great disease that wrecked havoc upon the Aela, but that is only a guess.

And through the ages the Anthos have risen and fallen, ever at the forefront. They survived the carnage of the bloody Fourth Age and the treachery of the Fifth Age. While many feel that the current Sixth Age represents the final stage of Arga's life, many more feel that it is time for the Anthos to once again reclaim knowledge long lost and power deeply hidden.
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still WIP. critiques, errors, suggestions? too dark/light? readable? too much stuff, not enough? etc..?

* Like the style of the mountains :)
* Ditto w/ the wet-stained paper background.
* The scalebar would look better (and be slightly more informative) if divided to smaller units, perhaps 20 mila or so, with distinct fill colors.
* Slap a nice border around the map for a finishing touch.

Do you use photoshop or gimp (if photoshop can I get those mountain brushes heh)? Also is it bad that I saw Prothean and thought of mass effect?

Anyhow awesome job on the maps :)

i actually just use Paint.NET, but the mountains I did by hand and scanned in. and never played Mass Effect, so not sure on that one.

Quote from: Leetzi actually just use Paint.NET, but the mountains I did by hand and scanned in. and never played Mass Effect, so not sure on that one.

Could I have permission to use those mountains for my own (even better would be the scan file you used)?

I like the map.  The stains look good.  They give it a nice, antique feel.  The mountains look very similar to the mountains in my own map, so, needless to say, I like them.  The trade routes are useful. I agree with Ghostman that the scale bar would do well to be broken into smaller increments, but I don't think it needs to involve different colors.  Just adding notches for easy measuring would be sufficient.

The parchment look is very good. The smudge covering the sea of ghosts seems a bit to vast perhaps and the uppermost smudge seems to have been tinged blue which I think you should change.
The city/sights markers fit surprisingly well with the general look of the map, considering that the map is very old-school and "realistic" while the markers are more artificial, if you will.
Some other related compliments:
Some cool names, especially the seas (Churning Sea, Sea of Gnashing Teeth, Gulf of Sighs are favorites). Also, I like the vast amount of seas you have. Adds to the scale of the world, making it seem vaster.
As a final note, the aesthetics of the continents and landmasses by themselves is impressive, even without all the "make-up" provided by the style of the map. They are kind of neat with their varied, jagged, irregular shapes.