Soulthieves: more overworld changes.
I don't know how I managed to wrench (or spanner, for the Brits in the audience) my neck. It has to be the stupidest injury I've ever incurred. I bent slightly while reaching for the garden hose connection - removing it for the season because it's getting cold and the hose is a ridiculous nuisance - and something got tweaked. It was unpleasant at the moment, but I didn't think it'd stay with me this long. It impaired my productivity slightly.
But I managed to do a fair bit to The Island's map. I did expand Star Hunter Forest, and I also expanded the Fountain of Willows and its meandering creeks. I had to reroute the highways a little again. I also put a delta in the Great River estuary, so that'll see a new town in Estuary Province as well as bridges to both Estuarytown and Greatmouth Port (which now has two wards).
Ay, I added bridges. I placed a number throughout the land to cross the rivers, mostly on highways. The two bridges in Capital Network are made of stone represented in light grey, while the rest placed so far are wood represented in brown. Once I put the passes in the mountains, they'll have rope bridges, probably represented in yellow.
I also added rapids and waterfalls to challenge the navigability of some channels. Rapids may be kayaked, although that's not necessarily a great idea, especially if your Kayaking skill is low. Most PCs who try to go for a swim will just get swept downstream (and probably battered by the rocks). Waterfalls are of course not negotiable; if you have very high Kayaking skill, you might be able to ride them down (again, not necessarily a good idea) but you obviously can't kayak or swim up. They can be climbed when they're frozen, but you have to really be sure the ice won't give; the month of Ptarmigan is probably the only really safe one to try. Different rivers have different dynamics. The Crystal River flows from its source in the high peaks in a single plunge and otherwise flows relatively calmly all the way out to the ocean. The Wild River, in contrast, is completely unnavigable from the foothills up to Hidden Lake, featuring a series of 13 falls (presumably quite short but deadly). If the rope bridge over that one breaks, you'll have a long way to go back to the pass (broadly assuming you're still alive).
After all those additions, I expanded some more features: Faerie's Forest and Gnarled Wood Swamp in Westlands, Spirit Woods in Spiritlands, and the Woods of Plenty in Plentywood. Then I crisscrossed Plentywood Province with a bunch of new highways, as the Principality of Plentywood's legacy. These highways are probably of little strategic value to the Crown, since Plentywood isn't the most excitable province, so the majority of maintenance would likely be done by the locals, perhaps paid for if necessary by the Merchants' Association. Highways headed north are of greater value to the Crown, because they lead into Westlands, which needs to be kept under the thumb.
There is, of course, still a ton to do. But I suppose there's time. I should go sort out my neck situation.
But I managed to do a fair bit to The Island's map. I did expand Star Hunter Forest, and I also expanded the Fountain of Willows and its meandering creeks. I had to reroute the highways a little again. I also put a delta in the Great River estuary, so that'll see a new town in Estuary Province as well as bridges to both Estuarytown and Greatmouth Port (which now has two wards).
Ay, I added bridges. I placed a number throughout the land to cross the rivers, mostly on highways. The two bridges in Capital Network are made of stone represented in light grey, while the rest placed so far are wood represented in brown. Once I put the passes in the mountains, they'll have rope bridges, probably represented in yellow.
I also added rapids and waterfalls to challenge the navigability of some channels. Rapids may be kayaked, although that's not necessarily a great idea, especially if your Kayaking skill is low. Most PCs who try to go for a swim will just get swept downstream (and probably battered by the rocks). Waterfalls are of course not negotiable; if you have very high Kayaking skill, you might be able to ride them down (again, not necessarily a good idea) but you obviously can't kayak or swim up. They can be climbed when they're frozen, but you have to really be sure the ice won't give; the month of Ptarmigan is probably the only really safe one to try. Different rivers have different dynamics. The Crystal River flows from its source in the high peaks in a single plunge and otherwise flows relatively calmly all the way out to the ocean. The Wild River, in contrast, is completely unnavigable from the foothills up to Hidden Lake, featuring a series of 13 falls (presumably quite short but deadly). If the rope bridge over that one breaks, you'll have a long way to go back to the pass (broadly assuming you're still alive).
After all those additions, I expanded some more features: Faerie's Forest and Gnarled Wood Swamp in Westlands, Spirit Woods in Spiritlands, and the Woods of Plenty in Plentywood. Then I crisscrossed Plentywood Province with a bunch of new highways, as the Principality of Plentywood's legacy. These highways are probably of little strategic value to the Crown, since Plentywood isn't the most excitable province, so the majority of maintenance would likely be done by the locals, perhaps paid for if necessary by the Merchants' Association. Highways headed north are of greater value to the Crown, because they lead into Westlands, which needs to be kept under the thumb.
There is, of course, still a ton to do. But I suppose there's time. I should go sort out my neck situation.