In 1976, Bob Bledsaw and Bill Owens went into business as Judges Guild. Their initial offering was centered on a magnificent 22" by 34" map of the City State of Invincible Overlord. First appearing at Gen Con IX, it was sold literally out of the trunk of a car during the convention.
Now forty years later that map has been redrawn in full color. It preserves all the original detail while adding new ones like rocks, foot paths, trees, and shrubbery. This has been checked against the no-name city blueprint that was the first draft of the map. This helped to clarify details obscured by the offset printing process used in the 1970s.
This map is not a scanned image of the original but has been redrawn from scratch.
This product contains several versions of the map.
- A vector based PDF with layers at 22" by 34"
- A bitmap based PDF at 22" by 34"
- A jpeg of the map with building labels and legends removed suitable for Virtual Tabletop software.
- Instructions for using the VTT map with Roll20
- A 17" by 14" map with the city arranged in its correct location on the original 5 mile hex map published on the back of the Wilderlands of High Fantasy.
- A PDF with overlapping sections of the full map suitable for printing on letter size paper.
- A PDF with a letter sized black and white only map suitable for taking notes on during a campaign.
This is a authorized Judges Guild release for the Wilderlands of High Fantasy.
A coupon for a complimentary copy will be offered to all backers of the City State of the Invincible Overlord kickstarter. Please check the comment section of the Kickstarter for instructions.
Link to Kickstarter
This product only contains color maps of the City State of the Invincible Overlord. The original guidebook and map can be purchased from Judges Guild on RPGNow/DriveThruRPG.
The original guidebook can be found on RPGNow/DriveThruRPG at
City State of the Invincible Overlord Revised
or
Guide to the City State (1976)
11 comments:
What relationship is there between this and the never-delivered CSIO Kickstarter Project by Judge's Guild?
@Keith
This is what I posted over on the Kickstarter
I am Rob Conley one of the cartographers on the Wilderlands Maps. I wish I knew more about what going on but I haven't had any communication with Robert Bledsaw III for a while. I do have some good news for the backers of this kickstarter. As you all know I got the City State map and my Wilderlands maps done in late 2016. It now been a year and nothing has happened.
In addition to doing work for this Kickstarter, I have a business relationship with Bob III's father Robert Bledsaw II through my company, Bat in the Attic Games. I have a limited license to produce material for my take on the Wilderlands known as the Majestic Wilderlands. So I decided to talk to Robert Bledsaw II about the maps. There are things that could effect the Wilderlands maps so I can't do anything at the moment with them. However that not the case with the City State map. So we talked and came to a license arrangement. I have permission to release the map as a Judges Guild authorized product for the Wilderlands of High Fantasy through Bat in the Attic Games.
I am not responsible for what happened with the kickstarter nor do I have any financial stake. But we are a small hobby and the Judges Guild name has been dragged through the mud because of the mismanagement of this kickstarter. That effects what I do with my work as Bat in the Attic Games. I feel what is right is to offer each and every kickstarter backer a complimentary coupon for the release. Understand it is PDF only. RPGNow/DriveThruRPG are not able to print poster sized maps through print on demand. I think you will find that the City State Map PDF package to be a nice one.
Now for the logistics. this Friday I am going to post a code in the comment section of the September 2017 backer only post. You can use that code to get your complimentary copy. I would ask you spread the word to any other backer you know. So you know the number of times the code can be used is limited to the number of backers (965). I will be posting my email address in the comment so you can contact me if there are any issue.
As for the Wilderlands maps, if there no movement by March 2018, then I will talk again with Robert Bledsaw II and see what can be done.
You've really gone above and beyond here, Rob. I really appreciate the effort. You need to get some more Majestic Wilderlands out so we can put this to use (and support your efforts).
Good on you Rob. Well done sir.
Good news. Will this be available to purchase by non-backers, then?
Thanks Rob!
Regarding the Wilderlands maps: They are two-sided, with a 'practical' side and a 'artistic' side (for lack of a better term) done by two different artists, correct? Do you know who the other artist is, and if their maps might get released when you try to get yours out in March?
Thanks so much for delivering the CSIO map. It is really great!
That correct, I am the cartographer for the "practical" side. I don't know the artist (Christine) for the artistic side very well. As far as what will be released all I can speak about is my half and what I will try to do to get it out there.
Thanks for what you have done dealing with the kickstarter and keeping the backers informed.
Questions for your dealing with CSIO, have you ever done a complete building and height type for the CSIO? How do you feel about the profantaasy program cartographer 3, as I have a copy of it but have had not the time to fool around with it.
+Orin Mayer sorry for the belated reply. No I haven't done a complete building and height type for CSIO although I been thinking about now I have this done.
As for Profantasy Campaign Cartographer 3 it is an excellent program. I have it and keep up with it (mainly for the add-on) but I use CorelDRAW as I am very familiar with it. Somebody not wedded to a particular drawing package like I am it is a good tool to learn to use.
Post a Comment