# Here's That Hi-Res Sword Coast Map



## Marandahir (Nov 14, 2015)

Just to be clear, is this the same resolution that paying $10 to Mike on his website nets you?

I realise it's nice to buy it as a physical map as well, and through Mike's website, you can get this in pdf form which is easier to print for do-it-yourselves-types. 

But if this is the same benefit as buying the digital version… wow! I guess I'm glad I hadn't decided yet if I wanted to buy it or not! Good just Extra Life charity team!!!


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## trystero (Nov 14, 2015)

Marandahir said:


> Just to be clear, is this the same resolution that paying $10 to Mike on his website nets you?
> 
> I realise it's nice to buy it as a physical map as well, and through Mike's website, you can get this in pdf form which is easier to print for do-it-yourselves-types.
> 
> But if this is the same benefit as buying the digital version… wow! I guess I'm glad I hadn't decided yet if I wanted to buy it or not! Good just Extra Life charity team!!!




It is the same size (10,200 × 6,600 pixels) as the map you can buy from Mike Schley's website, and includes the same art and area. Weirdly, though, it's not _exactly_ the same map: some of the labels have moved or gotten different line-breaks, the colour is ever so slightly darker, and the file size is smaller (25.9 MB vs. 50.2 MB).

I haven't so far spotted any _functional_ differences, however (like different labels or cities moving), so for practical purposes I don't think you need to buy the map if you have the free one.


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## graves3141 (Nov 14, 2015)

I downloaded it yesterday.  Great map and I'm glad to see that it's now free for everyone because its awesomeness can only help to draw people to our hobby.  This map goes well with the SCAG book and makes it more of a complete and worthwhile product.


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## Cody C. Lewis (Nov 14, 2015)

Wow...

I literally almost pulled the trigger and bought this last night.

Now if only I could get it to load into Roll20. The file size is HUUUUUGE! (compared to my typical upload anyway)


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## dpmcalister (Nov 14, 2015)

If you buy it from Mike you also get a nice PDF of the map. I'll be honest, when I first read this news I was annoyed but, in hindsight, the purchase is still worthwhile.


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## Cody C. Lewis (Nov 14, 2015)

[MENTION=4302]dpmcalister[/MENTION]

So is the PDF broken down? IE like segmented into smaller sections?


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## dpmcalister (Nov 14, 2015)

Yes, labeled and unlabelled.


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## smiteworks (Nov 14, 2015)

If you are just downloading it as a freebie without actually contributing to the charity, then I would suggest that you are doing it wrong.


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## darjr (Nov 14, 2015)

Also there are corrections on mikes map that are not in the free one... I think. Like some cities don't have a dot and some are mislabelled.


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## Cody C. Lewis (Nov 14, 2015)

Annnnnnnd bought. Thanks [MENTION=4302]dpmcalister[/MENTION] for convincing me.


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## darjr (Nov 14, 2015)

This is wonderful of WotC. I'm glad they've raised so much for Charity.


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## CapnZapp (Nov 14, 2015)

smiteworks said:


> If you are just downloading it as a freebie without actually contributing to the charity, then I would suggest that you are doing it wrong.



No he isn't


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## smiteworks (Nov 14, 2015)

CapnZapp said:


> No he isn't




Really, then I guess this statement on the ExtraLife page doesn't mean anything to you.



> We'll have lots of rewards for *donors*available during the weekend stream.




... and then it is listed as one of the rewards.

I don't know who did or didn't donate. My comment wasn't directed at anyone in particular, but just as a general statement that if you want the reward, you should really donate to the charity. You don't have to, but then you are missing the whole point of the exercise.


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## pukunui (Nov 14, 2015)

darjr said:


> Also there are corrections on mikes map that are not in the free one... I think. Like some cities don't have a dot and some are mislabelled.



Yes. As I mentioned in the other thread:

- Marsember is located where Suzail should be. This was corrected for Mike's map.
- Not all of the cities shown on the map have city icons. This was corrected for Mike's map. (Note: it's possible this was a deliberate omission to highlight the Sword Coast locations mentioned in the book.)
- Elversult is spelled correctly. (It is misspelled as "Eversult" on both the cropped version of the map in the book and on Mike's map.)

I'm not aware of any other discrepancies.


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## Uder (Nov 14, 2015)

smiteworks said:


> If you are just downloading it as a freebie without actually contributing to the charity, then I would suggest that you are doing it wrong.




Wow.

Score another PR victory for smiteworks!


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## Morrus (Nov 14, 2015)

Uder said:


> Wow.
> 
> Score another PR victory for smiteworks!




Encouraging people to support a charity for sick children?

Yup. Good on them! I agree. Donate to the sick children!


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## gyor (Nov 14, 2015)

Morrus said:


> Encouraging people to support a charity for sick children?
> 
> Yup. Good on them! I agree. Donate to the sick children!




 You missed the point, of course donating to sick childern is wonderful, but if you can't afford to its not doing anything wrong by enjoying the picture, if it was meant to be donor exclusive, it would be.

 It just references the frame that if you don't donate to charity x your a bad person, which is why many low income folks hate charities for making them feel like a bad people for not being able to afford to donate.

 What's really sad is that this charity needs to exist at all, another side effect of America's still disgusting excuse for a healthcare system that hosiptals have to go begging.


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## Morrus (Nov 14, 2015)

gyor said:


> You missed the point,




No, I disagreed with the point. There's a difference. That being that making sneering comments at someone trying to encourage people to donate to sick kids is in any way appropriate.


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## graves3141 (Nov 14, 2015)

smiteworks said:


> If you are just downloading it as a freebie without actually contributing to the charity, then I would suggest that you are doing it wrong.




I guess there's going to be a lot of people doing it wrong then, including myself.


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## Marandahir (Nov 14, 2015)

Honestly, I only just donated now. But charity is about giving, not about making a purchase. 

If the map was going to be hidden behind a wall like a kickstarter or patreon reward, WOTC would have used that format for the charity. But that's not what WotC's trying to do: they want to encourage donations to reach those goals (and now I wonder if they'll add a new stretch goal), but giving to charities is all about free will and doing what you want. If you're giving only to receive something, then it's more like a transaction, a purchase. And honestly, most people who are are going to give will give more than the $10 it costs to buy this map. In fact, the most common donor level is 50 USD. All the other rewards are part of the SCAG, which is 40 USD. Combined, you might have just bought the book and the map and had everything you'd get from the rewards of the charity. But giving isn't about getting the rewards; those are just ways of making the milestones in the charity fund more fun for the people at home ("come on people, if we can get it donated, we'll all get to see stuff in this book a few weeks earlier!"). If you're going to give, great. But don't guilt the people who aren't/can't. Maybe consider giving more, since you know someone isn't and you may have the ability to do so that they don't.

But yeah, the charity is good and important. I just disagree with the guy who said, "you're doing it wrong" since that felt less like an encouragement and more like a sneer. Doesn't justify counter sneers, though.


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## smiteworks (Nov 14, 2015)

If that resource wasn't also available for sale directly from the artist, I think it would be different. Not only are the people who support the charity giving a donation, Mike Schley is also giving a donation by making it free for this specific cause. I don't think it has anything to do with what people can afford or not. Is anyone at home surfing on their high-speed Internet connection capable of downloading a large file like that seriously unable to afford a donation? 

My goal wasn't to try to make people look bad, but to remind them that the whole point was to raise money for a specific charity. The wording evidently came off wrong and I should have said something more like, "If you like the map, please consider making a donation to the Miracle Network Hospital." Even if you only donated $1, how many fans does D&D have around the world?


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## Barantor (Nov 15, 2015)

I make very specific donations to very specific charities that I have vetted and researched so that I know that the money I donate isn't going to something that the intent is for it to go to. I donate a specific amount each year and that is it, because between all the bills I have in life, it is what I have allotted. 

I was once cursed at by an elderly lady who came to my door to ask for donations to her church because I told her the above statement. I downloaded the map because it was put out for everyone to download. I watched the extra life charity event on twitch to boost their viewership and get them up in rankings on twitch. 

Don't make others feel like they have to donate for something when it is given freely. If it wasn't free then I would decide if it was worth my time, but putting a 'guilt trip' on others isn't a good move... especially when you are representing a company....

In other news, extra life is a pretty good charity and I will see if I can figure out a way to donate to them in the next year. Mike is an excellent artist and even though this isn't my preferred setting it is really well done.


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## EthanSental (Nov 15, 2015)

wow - another thin skinned, lets all be politically so we don't offend anyone on a forum board....jeez these are getting on my nerves and I'm not on that much.  

I donated to WoTC extra life event and got the cool T-shirt out of it as well as buying the map from Mike.  I'm with Smiteworks as far as donating for a good cause and I also see Barantor's side and applaud him or setting aside funds to donate yearly but I don't see anyone trying to guilt trip people into donating (from my view obviously).  I almost replied to the snide remark about the USA's health care system but Ill let it slide since it's not worth keeping the thread going just for that discussion.


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## Eltab (Nov 15, 2015)

gyor said:


> What's really sad is that this charity needs to exist at all, another side effect of America's still disgusting excuse for a healthcare system that hosiptals have to go begging.



Get out of your Monday-morning-quarterbacking armchair and open up your wallet, then, to the greatest extent possible.  Lead by example !


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## JohnLynch (Nov 15, 2015)

dpmcalister said:


> If you buy it from Mike you also get a nice PDF of the map. I'll be honest, when I first read this news I was annoyed but, in hindsight, the purchase is still worthwhile.



Included in the PDF is a nice big copy that doesn't have all the labels. This has allowed me to make a "Player Friendly" version of the map of Cormyr and the Stonelands and then create a DM copy of the map. Here's a copy of my current WIP.


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## Ricochet (Nov 15, 2015)

JohnLynch (or others who might know): Are all those places in your Cormyr map etc. already annotated in the PDF?

On the topic of the full map: This map is simply amazing!


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## pukunui (Nov 15, 2015)

ParagonofVirtue said:


> JohnLynch (or others who might know): Are all those places in your Cormyr map etc. already annotated in the PDF?



No, they are not. There's nothing extra on the map tiles provided in the pdf. It looks like [MENTION=6749563]JohnLynch[/MENTION] has been adding all that stuff on to the map himself.


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## JohnLynch (Nov 15, 2015)

ParagonofVirtue said:


> JohnLynch (or others who might know): Are all those places in your Cormyr map etc. already annotated in the PDF?



Nope. But with a blank map (and considerable amount of time) you can add whatever you like to it.


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## CapnZapp (Nov 15, 2015)

smiteworks said:


> Really, then I guess this statement on the ExtraLife page doesn't mean anything to you.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



They're giving away the map for free, to everybody. End of story.


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## Radaceus (Nov 15, 2015)

The 10 bucks to Schley is well spent in my opinion, you get not only the full PDF, but also sections , and also get Annotated and Blank versions of the map. it is well worth the ten bucks for the time poor.

it is nice to know though, that the D&D community is large enough to raise 100k,  something I would not have thought could happen if you asked me 10 years ago.../props to the team!


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## gyor (Nov 15, 2015)

smiteworks said:


> If that resource wasn't also available for sale directly from the artist, I think it would be different. Not only are the people who support the charity giving a donation, Mike Schley is also giving a donation by making it free for this specific cause. I don't think it has anything to do with what people can afford or not. Is anyone at home surfing on their high-speed Internet connection capable of downloading a large file like that seriously unable to afford a donation?
> 
> My goal wasn't to try to make people look bad, but to remind them that the whole point was to raise money for a specific charity. The wording evidently came off wrong and I should have said something more like, "If you like the map, please consider making a donation to the Miracle Network Hospital." Even if you only donated $1, how many fans does D&D have around the world?




 Not everyone has credit cards, but still guilt tripping people into donating isn't right. 

You don't need high speed internet to download it, just patience. High speed internet is not even available were I live.


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## gyor (Nov 15, 2015)

Honestly I'd rather donate to https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/dracos-may-be-effective-against-all-viruses#/

 If Draco can get funded it could some day save millions of childern and adults across the world, reduce suffering for millions, make sex safer, reduce healthcare costs across the world, save the lives and improve the health of our pets and live stock.


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## DEFCON 1 (Nov 15, 2015)

CapnZapp said:


> They're giving away the map for free, to everybody. End of story.




Absolutely.  And thus no one needs to feel guilty about downloading it.

However, if someone _does_ feel guilty about it... or is getting a little perturbed about smiteworks suggesting that perhaps they might want to donate to Extra Life as well... then that is more telling than they're letting on.  Everyone basically *is* profiting from both Mike Schley's and the other Extra Life donater's goodwill, because it was only through their charity that we are getting this.  If you are fine with that... then great!  You can download it.  You're been given permission.  But at the same time it doesn't make you free from potential criticism.  And if the criticism actually bothers you... then that's telling you something about yourself and the situation.


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## Coredump (Nov 15, 2015)

Thank you Smiteworks.

These are meant as a 'reward' for folks donating.  Just because they didn't lock it down behind a paywall doesn't change the intent.  No one, not WotC, not me, are policing people. And of course they know more people will download than donated....but that isn't the point.

The point is this is a reward for the folks that donated. You have the opportunity to 'free ride' on their donations.... and you have the opportunity to join them and get the reward as intended.

No one *has* to donate. But no one *has* to have this map either.


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## BoldItalic (Nov 15, 2015)

gyor said:


> Not everyone has credit cards, but still guilt tripping people into donating isn't right.
> 
> You don't need high speed internet to download it, just patience. High speed internet is not even available were I live.



For people struggling with the file size, Wizards_DnD has posted a link on twitter to a medium res version that's only about 9MB. http://media.wizards.com/2015/images/dnd/resources/Sword-Coast-Map_MedRes.jpg


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## JeffB (Nov 15, 2015)

The fact that one has to pay or donate (or feel guilted into donating)  for a a usable map that should have been included in the purchase price is ridiculous.

It was a poor decision in choosing the model they did to benefit the charity.There are better ways to bring attention to charities than trading" perks " (actually things that used to be considered part of a purchase or marketing for the product) for donations.  Previews of chapters. A map .Poor form. Something unique that is  produced specifially for those donating (and only those donating) is always a better choice. A tshirt. A Calendar. etc.  As seen,  what they did is causing some ill will among consumers and I would be upset too had I bought the map or donated.

As I said elsewhere , even that POS 32p GAZ  from 3.0 came with a decent pull out map.   They have put hi res FR maps on the website for free in the past. It was pretty lame  to ask for donations or an extra 10 bucks for a digital version.


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## Hussar (Nov 15, 2015)

This thread makes me a sad panda.

Good grief.  Enjoy the map.  Donate if you feel you want to.  End of story.  

That is one seriously pretty map.  

Great stuff by Mike (as always) and lots of money to a good cause.  Pat on the back for everyone.  

The rest of you folks that seem to feel a need to get on any soapbox and piss and moan or whatever?  How about you take it to the off topic forum where you can talk about all the politics you like and let us have one thread where those of us who just want to enjoy someone's fantastic work can appreciate it without having to listen to the noise.  Is that too much to ask?


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## graves3141 (Nov 15, 2015)

JeffB said:


> The fact that one has to pay or donate (or feel guilted into donating)  for a a usable map that should have been included in the purchase price is ridiculous.
> 
> It was a poor decision in choosing the model they did to benefit the charity.There are better ways to bring attention to charities than trading" perks " (actually things that used to be considered part of a purchase or marketing for the product) for donations.  Previews of chapters. A map .Poor form. Something unique that is  produced specifially for those donating (and only those donating) is always a better choice. A tshirt. A Calendar. etc.  As seen,  what they did is causing some ill will among consumers and I would be upset too had I bought the map or donated.
> 
> As I said elsewhere , even that POS 32p GAZ  from 3.0 came with a decent pull out map.   They have put hi res FR maps on the website for free in the past. It was pretty lame  to ask for donations or an extra 10 bucks for a digital version.




Good points Jeff, pull out maps were the norm until recently and hi res maps of the Forgotten Realms were free on the WotC website for many years.  Many people here seem to have suddenly forgotten those things.


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## pukunui (Nov 15, 2015)

Pull-out maps were the norm for campaign setting guides, not player's guides. Neither 3e's PGtF nor 4e's FRPG came with a pull-out map. It should come as no surprise that the SCAG - which is a player's guide, not a campaign setting book - doesn't either. I don't get why people think that a lack of a pull-out map is a valid criticism of the book.


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## graves3141 (Nov 16, 2015)

pukunui said:


> Pull-out maps were the norm for campaign setting guides, not player's guides. Neither 3e's PGtF nor 4e's FRPG came with a pull-out map. It should come as no surprise that the SCAG - which is a player's guide, not a campaign setting book - doesn't either. I don't get why people think that a lack of a pull-out map is a valid criticism of the book.




Some player's guides did have pull out maps.  The Player's Guide to Greyhawk from 1998 was such a product.


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## DEFCON 1 (Nov 16, 2015)

pukunui said:


> I don't get why people think that a lack of a pull-out map is a valid criticism of the book.




Some people are under the mistaken belief that anything they think they should have gotten but didn't is a valid criticism.


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## graves3141 (Nov 16, 2015)

DEFCON 1 said:


> Some people are under the mistaken belief that anything they think they should have gotten but didn't is a valid criticism.




 Yeah, you know how those people are


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## Mistwell (Nov 16, 2015)

graves3141 said:


> Some player's guides did have pull out maps.  The Player's Guide to Greyhawk from 1998 was such a product.




So nearly 18 years ago, and three editions ago, one player's guide had one near the end of the life cycle of that edition (and it was an 11" X 16" map by the way), and you think it's reasonable to expect one now?


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## JohnLynch (Nov 16, 2015)

To those saying this is a player's guide and so therefore doesn't need a map. Do you expect a campaign guide to be released for 5th edition, do you expect more regional guides that cover the different areas of the Forgotten Realms or do you expect both? If you expect an FRCG for 5th edition, what will this book actually have that isn't covered by the regional guide(s)?


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## pukunui (Nov 16, 2015)

JohnLynch said:


> To those saying this is a player's guide and so therefore doesn't need a map. Do you expect a campaign guide to be released for 5th edition, do you expect more regional guides that cover the different areas of the Forgotten Realms or do you expect both? If you expect an FRCG for 5th edition, what will this book actually have that isn't covered by the regional guide(s)?



To be honest, I'm not really expecting anything in particular. I'm sure we'll get more FR books that aren't just adventures, given WotC's commitment to FR "for the foreseeable future", but I have no idea what form they will take, and I'm not really fussed either way.



graves3141 said:


> Some player's guides did have pull out maps.  The Player's Guide to Greyhawk from 1998 was such a product.



Do you know if there were any others? Particularly in more recent times? I know the 3e era Greyhawk Gazetteers came with maps, but I'm not sure those qualify as player's guides. Otherwise, I'm thinking it's a bit of a stretch to say that "some" came with maps when you've only got one example.


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## Hussar (Nov 16, 2015)

JohnLynch said:


> To those saying this is a player's guide and so therefore doesn't need a map. Do you expect a campaign guide to be released for 5th edition, do you expect more regional guides that cover the different areas of the Forgotten Realms or do you expect both? If you expect an FRCG for 5th edition, what will this book actually have that isn't covered by the regional guide(s)?




And, let's not forget, it DOES come with a map.  It doesn't come with a poster sized pull out map, but, there's a map, right there in the book.

Now, the map doesn't have a _scale_ and that's pretty bad.  Amateur hour crap that I would be pretty peeved about if it was the only thing available.  Still think it's pretty bad, but, at least the honking big digital version is free online. Mitigates things a bit, but, still... someone needs to be pelted with dice for that.


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## Demetrios1453 (Nov 16, 2015)

pukunui said:


> Do you know if there were any others? Particularly in more recent times? I know the 3e era Greyhawk Gazetteers came with maps, but I'm not sure those qualify as player's guides. Otherwise, I'm thinking it's a bit of a stretch to say that "some" came with maps when you've only got one example.




The Living Greyhawk Gazetteer is pretty much the campaign setting book for Greyhawk for 3e (which is a bit odd, as it was the "default" setting for the edition) and not so much a player's guide. It's a very much "here are the facts" book, with very little outside the direct description of the setting - it's that rarest of 3e products, one with out any prestige classes!


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## pukunui (Nov 16, 2015)

Demetrios1453 said:


> The Living Greyhawk Gazetteer is pretty much the campaign setting book for Greyhawk for 3e (which is a bit odd, as it was the "default" setting for the edition) and not so much a player's guide. It's a very much "here are the facts" book, with very little outside the direct description of the setting - it's that rarest of 3e products, one with out any prestige classes!



Yeah, I've actually got both it and the piddlier gazetteer that was released around the same time. I quite like 'em for what they are.


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## Demetrios1453 (Nov 16, 2015)

pukunui said:


> Yeah, I've actually got both it and the piddlier gazetteer that was released around the same time. I quite like 'em for what they are.




Other than a fair amount of truly hideous line-drawing art, the Living Greyhawk Gazetteer is actually a very good guide to the setting, in my opinion. They could do a lot worse in emulating it in some ways for a potential 5e FRCS - the descriptions of the various nations are great, it just needs more detailed description of individual cities and points of interest...


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## Charles Rampant (Nov 16, 2015)

JohnLynch said:


> Included in the PDF is a nice big copy that doesn't have all the labels. This has allowed me to make a "Player Friendly" version of the map of Cormyr and the Stonelands and then create a DM copy of the map. Here's a copy of my current WIP.




Though this thread is a bit of a pit, I just wanted to pop in and comment on this. I love your use of the map pdf, and it embarrasses me that I never thought of it myself! It shows just how high definition the map is, and it must also be nice to have a local and regional map in completely perfect scale. I wonder, would you be able to quickly outline how you did the text labels? The white outlining really makes the labels easy to read.


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## JohnLynch (Nov 16, 2015)

pukunui said:


> To be honest, I'm not really expecting anything in particular.... and I'm not really fussed either way.



It's great that you don't care if you get a map or not, because it means your satisfied with what you got. However I imagine those who have voiced disappointment certainly have a higher level of investment of "meh." Telling people "it's only a players guide, you have no right to feel disappointed" doesn't actually go very far unless you can follow it up with "But you'll surely get one at some point" because the people who are disappointed at the lack of a map, probably want one. And there is no indication that we'll ever get a poster map for the Forgotten Realms ever again. Of all the products we know WotC is planning on releasing, this is the only one that was somewhat suitable. We have no indication WotC will produce a FRCG with a poster map in it.



Entsuropi said:


> Though this thread is a bit of a pit, I just wanted to pop in and comment on this. I love your use of the map pdf, and it embarrasses me that I never thought of it myself! It shows just how high definition the map is, and it must also be nice to have a local and regional map in completely perfect scale. I wonder, would you be able to quickly outline how you did the text labels? The white outlining really makes the labels easy to read.



I've been looking for a map that has this resolution for a couple of years now. This is the first time I found one that was also blank!

as for the writing, This is in gimp:
1) Write the text on the map
2) Right click on the layers and create a layer directly below the text layer.
3) Highlight the text layer with the text editor icon
4) Right click on the highlighted text and select Path to Text
5) Click on "Edit" from the menu and Select Path
6) Click on "Edit" from the menu and Select Grow and enter 2 pixels
7) On the layer below the text lever fill in the selected area with white
8) Merge the text layer with the layer below it.


This is from memory. Step 5 and 6 may be slightly wrong in terms of which menu item to highlight.


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## Charles Rampant (Nov 16, 2015)

JohnLynch said:


> I've been looking for a map that has this resolution for a couple of years now. This is the first time I found one that was also blank!
> 
> as for the writing, This is in gimp:
> 1) Write the text on the map
> ...




Genius, thanks. I'm currently running PotA (so my map needs are covered) and a homebrew world, but I'll have to save this somewhere and use it for whenever I get to make use of this map.


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## Prism (Nov 16, 2015)

JohnLynch said:


> To those saying this is a player's guide and so therefore doesn't need a map. Do you expect a campaign guide to be released for 5th edition, do you expect more regional guides that cover the different areas of the Forgotten Realms or do you expect both? If you expect an FRCG for 5th edition, what will this book actually have that isn't covered by the regional guide(s)?




I don't think we will and in general I'm pretty happy about that. Whereas a players guide tends to enhance creativity because everything is written as a point of view of a narrator and can be used or ignored as needed, campaign guides tend to be a bit heavy handed and tell you how things actually are, who rules, who has secrets (and what they are). I'd rather have more space to work creating my own adventures and there are plenty of ideas in the players guide to work with


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## Hussar (Nov 16, 2015)

JohnLynch said:


> It's great that you don't care if you get a map or not, because it means your satisfied with what you got. However I imagine those who have voiced disappointment certainly have a higher level of investment of "meh." Telling people "it's only a players guide, you have no right to feel disappointed" doesn't actually go very far unless you can follow it up with "But you'll surely get one at some point" because the people who are disappointed at the lack of a map, probably want one. And there is no indication that we'll ever get a poster map for the Forgotten Realms ever again. Of all the products we know WotC is planning on releasing, this is the only one that was somewhat suitable. We have no indication WotC will produce a FRCG with a poster map in it.
> 
> /snip




But, again, there IS A MAP in the SCAG.  It's not a pull out or poster map, but, there is a map there.  AND, there is a massive, high resolution map FOR FREE available to everyone.  

So, in what way didn't people get a poster map?


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## DEFCON 1 (Nov 16, 2015)

JohnLynch said:


> It's great that you don't care if you get a map or not, because it means your satisfied with what you got. However I imagine those who have voiced disappointment certainly have a higher level of investment of "meh." Telling people "it's only a players guide, you have no right to feel disappointed" doesn't actually go very far unless you can follow it up with "But you'll surely get one at some point" because the people who are disappointed at the lack of a map, probably want one. And there is no indication that we'll ever get a poster map for the Forgotten Realms ever again. Of all the products we know WotC is planning on releasing, this is the only one that was somewhat suitable. We have no indication WotC will produce a FRCG with a poster map in it..




The issue is not that people are merely disappointed that there was no fold-out map... it's that some people keep saying they _deserve_ to have a fold-out poster map because of the money they were charged for the book, and because books in the past had them.  And thus WotC is a horrible company with a bunch of horrible people in it.

When the fact of the matter is... none of us DESERVE *ANYTHING*.

WotC made a product.  They told us what was in it.  They didn't advertise one thing and then give us something else... they gave us exactly what they said they did.  If that _wasn't good enough_ for some people, then they should have made their choice not to buy it.  No one forced them to.  Some folks in this thread have chosen not to, which is well within their right and the proper response if they felt the price was not worth what they were getting.  But WotC isn't a bunch of asswipes because the product they chose to make for us today isn't the same as ones they made 15 freaking years ago.  They are under no obligation to produce anything today like what they produced then... regardless of how much a person might _want_ it.

Just because you want something doesn't mean you get to have it.  And while you are more than allowed to complain about that all you want...it also means the rest of us are allowed to tell you right back to get over it.


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## mikeschley (Nov 16, 2015)

Marandahir said:


> Just to be clear, is this the same resolution that paying $10 to Mike on his website nets you?
> 
> I realise it's nice to buy it as a physical map as well, and through Mike's website, you can get this in pdf form which is easier to print for do-it-yourselves-types.
> 
> But if this is the same benefit as buying the digital version… wow! I guess I'm glad I hadn't decided yet if I wanted to buy it or not! Good just Extra Life charity team!!!




Just a heads up. The tiled PDF version of the map that's on my site for $10 is twice the size of this one so don't fret if you bought it from me. 

P.S. The children's charity that this is a stretch goal for is wonderful and I'm super pleased to be a part of the fundraising campaign.


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## pukunui (Nov 16, 2015)

JohnLynch said:


> It's great that you don't care if you get a map or not, because it means your satisfied with what you got. However I imagine those who have voiced disappointment certainly have a higher level of investment of "meh." Telling people "it's only a players guide, you have no right to feel disappointed" doesn't actually go very far unless you can follow it up with "But you'll surely get one at some point" because the people who are disappointed at the lack of a map, probably want one. And there is no indication that we'll ever get a poster map for the Forgotten Realms ever again. Of all the products we know WotC is planning on releasing, this is the only one that was somewhat suitable. We have no indication WotC will produce a FRCG with a poster map in it.



This:



DEFCON 1 said:


> The issue is not that people are merely disappointed that there was no fold-out map... it's that some people keep saying they _deserve_ to have a fold-out poster map because of the money they were charged for the book, and because books in the past had them.  And thus WotC is a horrible company with a bunch of horrible people in it.
> 
> When the fact of the matter is... none of us DESERVE *ANYTHING*.
> 
> ...




 [MENTION=6749563]JohnLynch[/MENTION]: People were trying to use precedent ("They always used to give us a pull-out map, so we should've gotten one this time too!") to justify their feelings of entitlement. I was trying to show them that precedent bites both ways: That is, that the precedent here is that FR player guides _don't_ come with pull-out maps, so why would anyone expect this one to be any different?


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## JohnLynch (Nov 16, 2015)

In 4th ed every supported campaign setting got a poster map. It appears this will not be true for 5th edition (as we have no indication WotC will produce them). Being upset about that seems perfectly reasonable to me.

NOTE: I actually don't care about the lack of poster map, although I was momentarily surprised.


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## pukunui (Nov 16, 2015)

I wasn't surprised by the lack of a poster map at all. For one thing, I think WotC would've let us know ahead of time. For another, as I've said, player's guides don't generally come with pull-out maps, so I wasn't expecting the SCAG to have one. That being said, even if the SCAG *was* a bona fide campaign setting book, I'm still not sure I would've expected - let alone felt entitled to - a pull-out map on account of the fact that WotC has said all along that they are not doing 5e like they did 3e or 4e. They are experimenting with different delivery methods - such as releasing some content for free or allowing the cartographers to sell their maps at such high resolutions that you can get print copies of a much bigger size than a mere pull-out poster - and we can't expect things to be like they were before.


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## graves3141 (Nov 16, 2015)

Mistwell, don't bother quoting me and asking questions.  You're on my ignore list and have been for some time.


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## Marandahir (Nov 16, 2015)

mikeschley said:


> Just a heads up. The tiled PDF version of the map that's on my site for $10 is twice the size of this one so don't fret if you bought it from me.
> 
> P.S. The children's charity that this is a stretch goal for is wonderful and I'm super pleased to be a part of the fundraising campaign.




Thanks for the response, Mike. Still considering buying a larger version to print or a order-of print version. I like my maps.


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## David Scott (Nov 16, 2015)

Thanks!


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## aramis erak (Nov 17, 2015)

JohnLynch said:


> To those saying this is a player's guide and so therefore doesn't need a map. Do you expect a campaign guide to be released for 5th edition, do you expect more regional guides that cover the different areas of the Forgotten Realms or do you expect both? If you expect an FRCG for 5th edition, what will this book actually have that isn't covered by the regional guide(s)?




I expect one in about 1-2 years... 

and I fully expect it will be the "Sword Coast DM's Companion", not the Forgotten Realms nor Faerûn - just Sword Coast.

What it will likely have is better maps, objective text, FR specific magic items, and a reprint of the major named NPCs who are still alive in the current era. 

I expect it will add some more races - Driders, the "uncommon elves", several more subraces for the main races, several unsuitable for general use subclasses, and even more backgrounds. And mass combat rules. Maybe even landholding rules.


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## JohnLynch (Nov 17, 2015)

aramis erak said:


> I expect one in about 1-2 years... it will likely have....objective text



I wouldn't be so sure. 3rd edition was the first edition that put a heavy emphasis on "here are the facts." Up until then unreliable narrators had been used and I personally think such devices work well with 5th edition's "ruling not rules" philosophy.



aramis erak said:


> FR specific magic items



If a DM's Companion as you describe get's printed this is a definite shoe-in. Athough again, a lot of magic items from earlier editions can be used with very little modification.



aramis erak said:


> a reprint of the major named NPCs who are still alive in the current era.



4th edition was designed to get rid of the heavy emphasis of 3e's "major named NPCs" introduced into the Forgotten Realmsian culture (at least in how the FRCS presented the campaign setting). I doubt very much WotC will go back to what was an unpopular part of the campaign setting and instead provide plot-devices that allow groups and book authors to bring back NPCs if they so desire.



aramis erak said:


> I expect it will add some more races - Driders, the "uncommon elves", several more subraces for the main races, several unsuitable for general use subclasses



I would be surprised if any of that was actually included. I think you've got a better chance of named NPCs and monsters being introduced via a monster manual type book.



aramis erak said:


> even more backgrounds.



Given the quality of backgrounds introduced in the Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide I doubt we will see this in a DM resource.



aramis erak said:


> And mass combat rules. Maybe even landholding rules.



I could definitely see them producing a book with this.

So for a Sword Coast Companion I could foresee some adventure sites being included, magic items, maybe some monsters and NPCs (doubtful though) and mass combat rules and potentially landholding rules. That just doesn't seem like enough to base a book around though. I expect we'll see those rules split across multiple adventures and/or player's guides. Rather than introduce mass combat rules in a sourcebook, I could see them being introduced as part of an adventure. Same with magic items, monsters, NPCs, etc. I just don't foresee there being enough material for them to create a campaign guide that couldn't be repackaged in OTHER books and thus result in more sales for WotC (I have no interest in their adventures, I might buy one if only to get the mass combat rules though).


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## Thymm (Nov 17, 2015)

Damn...where can I get such a map printed...?
(I already bought adventure specific maps, but this one would be really cool to have hanging in a gaming room...)


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## aramis erak (Nov 17, 2015)

Thymm said:


> Damn...where can I get such a map printed...?
> (I already bought adventure specific maps, but this one would be really cool to have hanging in a gaming room...)




Your local full-service copy shop (locally, includes the FedEx stores) usually has a large format printer. FedEx quotes $7.25 per square foot. so 2'x4' would be $58.

You can even get it printed on stuff other than paper - FedEx will print onto aluminum, canvas, or vinyl...


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## aramis erak (Nov 17, 2015)

JohnLynch said:


> I wouldn't be so sure. 3rd edition was the first edition that put a heavy emphasis on "here are the facts." Up until then unreliable narrators had been used and I personally think such devices work well with 5th edition's "ruling not rules" philosophy.
> 
> If a DM's Companion as you describe get's printed this is a definite shoe-in. Athough again, a lot of magic items from earlier editions can be used with very little modification.
> 
> ...



See, here's the thing. I expect the DM's guide to include a bunch of player stuff so that the players will likely also buy it. Those extra races I expect to not be in as monster blocks; I expect them to be presented as playable race options, just as the DMG has a couple options that the DM can allow, but which, because they're in the DMG, don't wind up as D&D AL PC options. Like the Assimar, the Cleric of Death, and the Oathbreaker Paladin.

I expect more factual approach - objective material - still not in great detail, but definitely more about the numbers.

It's literally a perfect follow on approach to the SCAG. It can leave out all the material in the SCAG, and focus on the political units, the environmental data by region, possibly even typical encounter tables. It can be objective material without being exclusive nor explicit. It can also add secret societies, and other such useful to the DM for ideas stuff.


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## pukunui (Nov 17, 2015)

aramis erak said:


> ... and focus on the political units, the environmental data by region, possibly even typical encounter tables.



I must admit. One thing that irks me a little about 5e is the fact that they're not giving us the basic facts about all the various towns and cities. No population numbers or demographic breakdowns. You know, like in 3e you used to get this little town statblock, for lack of a better term, that had population, what percentage of that population was of what race, who the leaders were, what its gold piece limit was, and so on. They haven't been giving us any of that this edition.


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## Benjammin (Nov 25, 2015)

Hi all,

I have been a lurker on Enworld for years, and finally decided that this topic was where I would make my posting debut.

I just found out about this map last night from a gaming buddy.  I downloaded the free version earlier today and purchased the for sale version as well.  I have been a fan of Mr. Schley’s work for years, and this map is no exception.  I love it: the richness of color, the textures used for different terrains, and the sheer size of it.  I am already in discussions with my local printer to have it printed out in all its full-sized glory!  Now, if only the rest of Toril (including Maztica, Zakhara and Kara Tur) could be mapped out in this detail!  Psst,  Mr. Schley, if you make it, I will buy it!

I am confused that this supposed to be a 5E map, when it is clearly a 3E map with a few 5E names thrown in.  I mean absolutely no disrespect to the artist, for I am certain this map required numerous hours of labor to produce.  Please permit me the time to explain my position in further detail by comparing 3.5E, 4E and SCAG maps.

And for legal purposes, please let me say that all the details used below are from maps made publicly available either by the artist, Wizards of the Coast, or the Forgotten Realms wiki.  I am using the free version of the SCAG map downloadable at the beginning of this thread.

*Wood of Sharp Teeth*
In 3.5E, the two forests are quite separate:
View attachment 72075

In the 4E map, The Wood of Sharp Teeth is renamed  Werewoods (due to lots of lycanthropes).  It has grown significantly due to the presence of werewolves therein preventing logging.  The woods have connected with the Snakewood to the southeast.  The Snakewood has also grow immensely.  It took 104 years (3.5E official year 1375 DR to 4E official year 1479 DR) for these changes to occur:
View attachment 72076


In SCAG, they are separated again after just 10 years (5E official year 1489 DR):
View attachment 72077

That’s a LOT of logging to take place in 10 years, especially given that society is still just recovering from the 100 years of turmoil after The Spellplague.


*Farsea Swamp*
In 3.5E, as in all prior editions, the Farsea Marshes and Marsh of Tun are quite distinct entities:
View attachment 72078

In 4E, they are combined:
View attachment 72079

Per 4E FRCG  entry on the Farsea Swamp,“This slowly growing mire consists of two formerly separate marshes, Farsea and Tun.”

In SCAG, they are back separated:
View attachment 72080


*Land’s Mouth*
In 4E, the stresses put onto Toril by the appearance of Abeir caused large regions of the Underdark to collapse, creating massive sinkholes on the surface.  One such is Land’s Mouth just south of Priapurl, which is part of Cormyr in 4E:
View attachment 72081

 And here is a map portion taken from Mr. Schley’s excellent map for Kingdom of Cormyr 1479 article in Dragon magazine #365:
View attachment 72082

And yet in SCAG it is completely gone:
View attachment 72083

Now I admit that in The Sundering series the Underchasm is filled in – but that is a completely different area of the world.  And it filled in because Grumbar’s temple was there and Grumbar was bound there by Sune’s gift to thwart Shaar.  I read the books, and I didn’t get any implications that all such sinkholes were filled in.


*Anauroch / Netheril*
In 3.5E, the Anauroch is a desert with glaciers in the north and a lake underneath the City of Shade:
View attachment 72084 

In 4E, the Shadovar have melted the High Ice, causing major climatic upheavals.  They did this to turn the desert back into fertile land (reminiscent of the Dune books by Frank Herbert).  This also created Highmelt Lake and an unnamed lake to the west (which I would call the New Narrow Sea or Sea of Ascore):
View attachment 72085

Also note the presence of the Deep Maw, another region where the Underdark collapsed into a giant sinkhole.

But in SCAG, the High Ice is back and the lakes are gone, as is the Deep Maw:
View attachment 72086

I can’t imagine that all those glaciers suddenly reformed now that The City of Shade fell out of the skies.

So given these discrepancies, I have to say that the beautiful, wonderful and inspiring SCAG map is a 3E map that is being paraded as a 5E map.


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## JeffB (Nov 25, 2015)

Ao did it...

Or Bob..


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## pukunui (Nov 25, 2015)

Benjammin said:


> I have been a lurker on Enworld for years, and finally decided that this topic was where I would make my posting debut.



Welcome!



> I am confused that this supposed to be a 5E map, when it is clearly a 3E map with a few 5E names thrown in.  I mean absolutely no disrespect to the artist, for I am certain this map required numerous hours of labor to produce.  Please permit me the time to explain my position in further detail by comparing 3.5E, 4E and SCAG maps.



It's actually a lot closer to the 2e map. For one thing, the 3e map includes trails as well as roads, whereas the 2e and 5e maps only show roads. For an example, compare the roads in the region between Baldur's Gate, Elturgard, and Dragonspear Castle.



> Now I admit that in The Sundering series the Underchasm is filled in ... I read the books, and I didn’t get any implications that all such sinkholes were filled in.



Almost all of the changes made during 4e -- and even some of those made during 2e's Time of Troubles (eg. Bhaal is back!) -- have been changed back by the Sundering. The only ones the SCAG mentions as still being around are the floating city of Airspur and the remnants of Tymanther. Oh, and Elturgard.



> So given these discrepancies, I have to say that the beautiful, wonderful and inspiring SCAG map is a 3E map that is being paraded as a 5E map.



It's very much a 5e map. Just because it more closely resembles the 2e and 3e maps than the 4e one doesn't mean it's "being paraded" as something it's not. The Sundering event was designed to restore the Realms to more or less pre-4e times (and, in some cases, even pre-2e). Hence why the map looks the way it does.


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## Benjammin (Nov 25, 2015)

pukunui said:


> It's actually a lot closer to the 2e map. For one thing, the 3e map includes trails as well as roads, whereas the 2e and 5e maps only show roads. For an example, compare the roads in the region between Baldur's Gate, Elturgard, and Dragonspear Castle.




I didn't look at my 2E maps for my original post, and I should have, because I agree with you.



pukunui said:


> Almost all of the changes made during 4e -- and even some of those made during 2e's Time of Troubles (eg. Bhaal is back!) -- have been changed back by the Sundering. The only ones the SCAG mentions as still being around are the floating city of Airspur and the remnants of Tymanther. Oh, and Elturgard. ... The Sundering event was designed to restore the Realms to more or less pre-4e times (and, in some cases, even pre-2e). Hence why the map looks the way it does.




Respectfully, yes and no.  The Sundering is the separation of Abeir and Toril because of the restoration of The Weave.  The recombining of Abeir & Toril was an accidental side effect of The Spellplague when the Weave failed.  Thus anything that is Abeir-on-Toril goes back to Abeir, and we have to assume Toril-on-Abeir comes back to Toril (hello Evermeet?).  Except for a few locations without explanation, as you noted (designers' privilege to keep genasi and dragonborn in 5E?).  Clearly with the Weave restored, the plaguelands go away.  [Sux to be a follower of the Order of Blue Flame I guess!]

Thus changes wrought by Abeir being present are removed by The Sundering, but not the mundane effects that happened around that (imho).  The giant sinkholes were caused by earthquakes collapsing the Underdark, not be pieces of Abeir crushing the Underdark caverns like giant meteor impacts.  Chult became an island because the oceans were tumultuous and swept away most of Samarach, Thindol, Tashalar and the Lapal region jungles.  Luiren and Var sank into The Great Sea by the same events.  Halrua was blasted by all the magicks going awry.  The Shaar became a desert because of climactic changes.  I doubt that these changes will be undone - but I could be surprised!

So the giant mountain of Xian southwest of Nathlan - yeah, that's gone.  Earthmotes?  Yup, gone as well.  But the devastated region of Halrua?  Sunken Luiren?  Island of Chult?  I don't think those have changed.  If the SCAG map is truly officially 5E, then how the devil(s) and angel(s) did all the changes occur?

Yes, there were changes from the 1E to 2E maps, and fairly large changes from 2E to 3E/3.5E maps.  The 2E to 3E/3.5E changes were explained in meta-game terms: reduce areas no one plays in and increase areas where people play in.  Some folks didn't like that at all, but at least we understood why the changes occurred.  We have no understanding of why the Farsea Swamp suddenly split back into 2 different marsh regions, or the giant gaping sinkholes vanished.  Or glaciers suddenly reappeared and lakes vanished.  Such major geographic changes need to be explained, at least in metagame terms. 

I guess what I really, really want [please, no Spice Girls comments!] is for Mike Mearls and Jeremy Crawford to come out with an "official canon changes from 4E to 5E Forgotten Realms" guide and clear up all this mess.


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## dpmcalister (Nov 25, 2015)

Benjammin said:


> I guess what I really, really want [please, no Spice Girls comments!] is for Mike Mearls and Jeremy Crawford to come out with an "official canon changes from 4E to 5E Forgotten Realms" guide and clear up all this mess.



Just think of it the way I do... like Bobby Ewing and Dallas... 4th Edition Forgotten Realms was just a bad dream


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## Uchawi (Nov 25, 2015)

Morrus said:


> Encouraging people to support a charity for sick children?
> 
> Yup. Good on them! I agree. Donate to the sick children!



The problem is making the assumption that anyone that downloads the map for free has not donated to a similar charity or otherwise does things to help our fellow human beings. The charity is a worthwhile cause. But if WOTC decides to release the map for free, then we can still be aware of the generosity of WOTC and not have to feel guilty about it.


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## Benjammin (Nov 25, 2015)

Oh, and in case it wasn't clear: THANK YOU MIKE SCHLEY FOR THE AWESOME MAP!!! My disagreements are not with you or your skill, but with the lack of clarity from the designers as to why they had you make the map in the way you did.


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## gyor (Nov 25, 2015)

Samarach is still around, people only think its gone because its hidden by Illusions.

 And there are more 4e Changes that survived then people think.

 The Warlock Knights of Vaasa, the Wereanimal tribes of Dambrath, the Elf Harrows, changes to Algorond's government, possibly other things.


 And some places that were destroyed in 4e only seemed like they were destroyed.


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## Charles Rampant (Nov 25, 2015)

I think that someone earlier in the thread overlaid Mike Schley's map on the 2nd edition boxed set map, and found that they were so close as to be identical; in other words, it appears that Mike Schley (who in my mind is known as 'Captain MapMan') started out by tracing the contours and locations of the 2e map, and then drew the, uh, decorative elements on top. So this explains the question of 'why does this map have pre-4e elements on it'. 

As to your actual question - 'how on earth did that happen?' I do not believe that we have an answer to this. I think that WotC are taking the gamble that the fans will, collectively, be happy enough that the setting has reverted to not care as much about the hows and whys. I expect that _an explanation_ will arise for many of these things, but I am fairly sure that explanation won't be particularly full or detailed: the critical concern is that things are back to normal, not the method by which they did so.

In the SCAG they mention that the Sea of Fallen Whotsits expanded again because it rained a lot. (As a Scotsman, I feel this lore very deeply.) Anyway, this is a fairly odd explanation, and they mostly gloss over the inevitable catastrophe that this would be for the surrounding areas (loss of land, the complete destruction of all the crops in the affected areas, etc). Why? They wanted it back to shape, and as fast as possible. The rest doesn't matter.

Edit: By the way, welcome to the boards, [MENTION=6805158]Benjammin[/MENTION]! That was a pretty impressive and interesting first post


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## pukunui (Nov 25, 2015)

Benjammin said:


> Thus changes wrought by Abeir being present are removed by The Sundering, but not the mundane effects that happened around that (imho).  The giant sinkholes were caused by earthquakes collapsing the Underdark, not be pieces of Abeir crushing the Underdark caverns like giant meteor impacts.  Chult became an island because the oceans were tumultuous and swept away most of Samarach, Thindol, Tashalar and the Lapal region jungles.  Luiren and Var sank into The Great Sea by the same events.  Halrua was blasted by all the magicks going awry.  The Shaar became a desert because of climactic changes.  I doubt that these changes will be undone - but I could be surprised!
> 
> So the giant mountain of Xian southwest of Nathlan - yeah, that's gone.  Earthmotes?  Yup, gone as well.  But the devastated region of Halrua?  Sunken Luiren?  Island of Chult?  I don't think those have changed.



You clearly haven't read the SCAG then. Halruaa is back. Its inhabitants foresaw the Spellplague and moved their entire land to someplace else. Luiren and Lantan are back. Chult is no longer an island. Yes, Evermeet is back as well. 



> If the SCAG map is truly officially 5E ...



WotC is presenting it as such, so how can it not be?



> Such major geographic changes need to be explained, at least in metagame terms.
> 
> I guess what I really, really want [please, no Spice Girls comments!] is for Mike Mearls and Jeremy Crawford to come out with an "official canon changes from 4E to 5E Forgotten Realms" guide and clear up all this mess.



WotC is expecting you to come up with your own explanations. They've deliberately left some questions unanswered and some regions undetailed so that DMs can make the Realms their own. Personally, I think that was a great idea. No more having to feel beholden to 30 years' worth of lore. The Realms is now just a framework on which you can hang your own stories.


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## Doc_Klueless (Nov 25, 2015)

I was able to do a color Engineering Print at Staples for $13 tax included for a 36 x 48 inch copy of the nice map that I bought from Mr. Schiley. Nicely framed above my queen size bed (to give it a scale reference. I like it.

View attachment 72093View attachment 72094


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## Benjammin (Nov 25, 2015)

pukunui said:


> You clearly haven't read the SCAG then. Halruaa is back. Its inhabitants foresaw the Spellplague and moved their entire land to someplace else. Luiren and Lantan are back. Chult is no longer an island. Yes, Evermeet is back as well.
> 
> WotC is presenting it as such, so how can it not be?




Nope, I haven't got the SCAG yet.  The couple of reviews of it I saw were really down on it, so I passed.

As for Halruaa going away... hmmm.  I recall reading a nice description of the land being blasted apart while some mage watched it; he was only just barely zipped away by his guardians at the absolute last second.  So the whole nation going away ala Shade/Netheril and coming back?  Yeah... OK... if they say so....

Luiren is back?  I guess there is a whole lot of fresh, unpopulated land with no plants growing on it that just rose out of the ocean.  Sounds like a prime land rush to me, if you get over the dead fish stench.

So, basically, the fourth edition is being retconned into oblivion.  I am perfect fine with that, having HATED 4E rules, although I liked the 4E history.  I just need to hear it officially; the 5E intro things basically say "play whenever you want" and "4E is canon".  But if 4E history is being retconned back to 3.5E... well, OK, then.


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## Valdier (Nov 25, 2015)

Doc_Klueless said:


> I was able to do a color Engineering Print at Staples for $13 tax included for a 36 x 48 inch copy of the nice map that I bought from Mr. Schiley. Nicely framed above my queen size bed (to give it a scale reference. I like it.
> 
> View attachment 72093View attachment 72094





I got the same print done, but where did you get the frame/backing for it? I would really like to get it laminated but, I can't find a machine big enough


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## pukunui (Nov 25, 2015)

Benjammin said:


> Nope, I haven't got the SCAG yet.  The couple of reviews of it I saw were really down on it, so I passed.



I reckon it's worth it. And it would answer a lot of your questions, I think.



> Yeah... OK... if they say so....



Hey, the Halruaans are descendants of the Netherese, so why not? Here's what the book says: _"Once believed destroyed in the conflagration of the Spellplague, Halruaa has largely been restored to the insular, magic-mighty nation it once was. Because of the foresight of their divinations, Halruaan wizards were able to use the raging blue fire that followed Mystra's death to propel their nation safely into the realm of Toril's twin, Abeir (displacing part of that world into the Plane of Shadow) ..."_



> Luiren is back?  I guess there is a whole lot of fresh, unpopulated land with no plants growing on it that just rose out of the ocean.  Sounds like a prime land rush to me, if you get over the dead fish stench.



Again, from the SCAG: _"... Luiren was lost during the Spellplague to a great inundation of the sea. In the century since that great disaster, the waters receded, and now stories told by travellers from the south tell of halfling communities that survived as island redoubts."_



> So, basically, the fourth edition is being retconned into oblivion.



It isn't being retconned. They're not pretending 4e never happened. The timeline is still moving forward. They're just restoring the surface of Faerûn to more or less its original state.


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## Doc_Klueless (Nov 25, 2015)

Valdier said:


> I got the same print done, but where did you get the frame/backing for it? I would really like to get it laminated but, I can't find a machine big enough



It's called a snapframe. Got it from this company: Snapframesdirect.com . It was a royal BITCH to put together, but I like it.

What I found out, though, is that the print is NOT 36 x 48. It's 36 x something like 54 or so. I had to alter my map a bit to make it fit.


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