Aside

One day when I was a young’un, I visited the Orlando Public Library to check out some books for school. They had a small room with used books that they were selling for $1 each. I started combing through the bins and shelves to see if I could find anything interesting.

That’s when I came across a teal, hardcover book – no jacket – with a squiggly 8-pointed star inside of a diamond engraved on the cover. The spine read, “The Silmarillion, J.R.R. Tolkien.” Other than the absence of a dust jacket, it was in near-perfect condition.

As I started to flip through the book, I noticed that the pages in the back seemed to have a gap between them. That gap, as I soon discovered, was a huge fold-out map of Beleriand – the ancient coast of northwestern Middle-Earth – before the land was sundered and engulfed by the sea at the end of the First Age.

I was mesmerized.

Of course, I bought the book, and still have it to this day. Best buck I ever spent.

I still remember reading it for the first time, constantly flipping between story and appendices and map, immersed in the excitement of discovering a new world and new mythos. That was the day I fell in love with maps and realized the power they have to bring a story to life and to transport me to that other world.

It also made me want to create my own worlds, my own stories. And, naturally, maps were needed to help define those worlds. Lots of maps. Town layouts scribbled on notebook paper; battle maps and building schematics on graph paper; overland maps spread across 20 sheets of typing paper that occupied most of the floor space in my bedroom. Thanks to Tolkien, maps and fantasy played a key role in developing my imagination, which has brought me a lot of joy over the years.

So that’s my story… What’s yours? I’d really like to hear it, so I’m going to throw in a little incentive to help loosen the tongue.

How to Win a $25 ProFantasy Voucher

In the comments below, please tell me what is your favorite map, or a map that influenced you greatly. Also, share with me why you like it so much and/or how it influenced you. Feel free to link to the map if it exists somewhere on the Interwebs so we can all get a good look at it.

On December 24^th, I’ll pick one commenter and send him/her a $25 ProFantasy gift voucher that can be used toward the purchase of any ProFantasy products. It’s that easy – just leave a comment for your chance to win.

Update

Thank you all for sharing your stories, I thoroughly enjoyed reading them.

I enjoyed them so much that I couldn’t pick just one as the winner. So, in the spirit of gaming, I rolled the dice (well, virtual dice from my Gametable install).

And the Dice proclaim Anthony Toohey to be the winner.

Merry Christmas to you all, and happy mapping!

Do you have a cartographer or fantasy enthusiast in your life and don’t know what to give them for Christmas?

The folks at ProFantasy came through with a solution just in time for the holidays. They now offer gift cards so your special someone can choose their own products.

There are a few things I really like about ProFantasy vouchers:

1. They don’t expire
2. They can stack with other vouchers
3. You can use some now and some later, if you so choose

I actually had a voucher code from a couple of years ago. I had used half of it to purchase Dungeon Designer 3 and some symbol packs. About 2 years later, I wanted to get City Designer 3 and some of the Annuals. Fortunately, I still had the voucher, and it still worked. Hooray for non-expiring gift cards!

For those of you in a table-top gaming group, this would also be a great gift for your Dungeon Master so (s)he can make PC-slaying battle maps even faster.

Click here to check out the ProFantasy gift vouchers.

I just got back from TERRA INCOGNITA: Maps of Imaginary Worlds at the Soho Gallery for Digital Art. The gallery features lots of maps by many fantasy artists from Cartographers’ Guild.

The maps are displayed on large-screen monitors so you can get up close and really see the details. If you’re inclined to take one home on paper, prices range from $95-$125.

In addition to the maps, there are also a couple of panels displaying quotes from the artists and some writing/poems of past literary giants. This was one of the most interesting parts of the gallery in my opinion – it helped put the maps into context as part of our individual and collective imaginations.

The show has been extended to September 1^st, so if you’re in the NYC area I definitely recommend you go check it out.

I don’t usually do any overtly promotional posts, but I think this is too good of an offer not to tell you…

If you’ve been considering getting CC3 or any of the software add-ons, now is the time to buy!

There is a 15% sale on all software items until midnight Sunday. I assume that’s midnight London time, so if you’re in the US or anywhere other than UK, make sure you check your time zone! In all the years I’ve owned Profantasy products, I don’t remember them ever having a sale, so this is probably a good opportunity to take advantage of if you’re missing anything.

Click here to see all the discounts.

I hereby grant you permission to use any map on my website (unless specifically prohibited) for any purpose whatsoever, be it commercial, personal or otherwise.

No need to ask me for permission, just copy the file to your computer and have your way with it. If you feel like being generous, please link back to my site, Free Fantasy Maps, to let other people know where the map originated.

All maps are offered “as is.” What you see is what you get. You’re free to modify them however you’d like. If you really appreciate the maps and are in a position to do so, please consider making a small donation to my website maintenance fund.

Free Fantasy Maps maps by Free Fantasy Maps are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 United States License.
Contact me if you have any questions regarding permissions beyond the scope of this license at http://freefantasymaps.org/contact/.

Most of you subscribe to Free Fantasy Maps via email or RSS feeds – and for that I am grateful. If, however, you wouldn’t mind stopping by the site, I’ve implemented a new rating system for my maps and I’d love to get your feedback.

Rating the maps will help me see what you like (and what you don’t like) so hopefully I can then give you more of what you like.

At the bottom of each post you’ll see five lonely stars waiting for your sweet caress. Click on the star that best expresses how much you like that map (or post).

1 star = horrible, 5 stars = awesome.

Abuse me. Praise me. Just don’t ignore me! =P