From 1989-ish until 2010, I ran a campaign world called King's Realm, a pastiche of medieval Europe and Scandinavia, classical Mediterranean, and Biblical North Africa/Levant. Underlying it was a sweeping Arthurian-style mythology and world history that developed over those 20+ years into quite a lot of material. Many of the same players participated in the entire campaign and by the end were quite high-level and in charge of their own demenses.
I used to hand-draw everything in the early days, before consumer graphic design software came on the scene, and this is a map of one of the realm's major cities. That campaign had a social rank table that new characters rolled on, and one player actually ended up being the son of the lord of this city. I always liked how this drawing came out, and the city played a recurring role the campaign, particularly in the early days.
FROM MY CAMPAIGN NOTES:
The flat, grassy horse-plains of the south-western realm slope steadily
over many leagues to the ocean, before dropping off to a beach of
fine white sand. Sheval, the second-largest city in the realm, sits on the shore of the Southern Sea, where the Westfork River from Lac Glimmere flows into the ocean.
The granite walls of the city shimmer in the bright southern sun. The buildings of whitewashed wood and bleached shingles reflect the many cultures that make Sheval their home. Two stout keeps and a series of smaller fortifications anchor the city’s defenses, and watch over the constant ship traffic that arrives and departs from its many piers.
The city’s chief landmarks—the duke’s expansive estate and the magnificent Cathedral of St. Just—lie at its heart. The shanties and warehouses of Lowtown, while certainly the rougher section of the city, are still well-built and orderly, hardly a slum. Still, soldiers watch the district vigilantly from the top of the Gaol Tower.
Just inside the main northern gate is Sheval’s famous open-air market faire—an elaborate and ever-changing city-within-a-city. The market’s innumerable tents, stalls, and carts are a hive of commerce, an intense barrage of colors, sights, smells, and sounds. Peddlers, hawkers, and mongers shout constantly for attention, and the persistent clinking of coins signifies the huge volume of trade. While not quite the equal of the market in Swordgate, Sheval’s faire is certainly the most impressive in the King’s Realm.
A full legion of troops is billeted in the city. One quarter of these troops consist of light and medium cavalry forces, Sheval’s legendary horse-warriors. Their mounted combat skills and the superb quality of their fast, powerful steeds are unmatched on the battlefield. Another third are “marines,” who spend part of their tour of duty at sea, protecting the merchant fleet from pirates and enemy forces. Finally, the city is the home of the Templar Order of St. Just, a cadre of heavily armored holy knights dedicated to upholding the law and meting out justice to the guilty.
Cultural Equivalent: French/Breton
Ruler: Duke Renard d’Argent
Patron Saint: St. Just the Lawgiver
