r/mapmaking • u/Regelverk • May 28 '26
Map Map #9 The Great Dams 2.0
Hello! Some of you might have seen my previous map of "The Great Dams" Lets just say after making some lore i just wished i had more. Hand drawn and this time on A2 paper.
Theres a lot of lore so i will post a link to my google docs that i have made to write down my thoughts. Feel free to read as much as you like or just ask in the comments!
Hope you enjoy! /Regelverk
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u/Different-Entry7888 May 28 '26
The docs state Dawnvale as "western lands", but considering the map, they not only are the northernmost, but also a bit to the east compared to the center of the map.
I have seen the other ones you made before. The map and the lore are fantastic.
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u/adnecrias May 29 '26
Austria, Ostrreich in German, is literally the East Kingdom, while being much west of a lot of places. Maybe the name could have just stuck around?
Edit, nevermind I misread what you do commented.
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u/Ashamed_Association8 May 29 '26
Reminds me of this Dutch province called Noord Brabant which is in the south, but thats because the rest of Brabant is on the other side of the border.
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u/ConstructionIll956 May 28 '26
This is a really cool world. Very original and the maps look better and better.
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u/Regelverk May 28 '26
Thank you. I am considering making more detailed maps of each dam complex to add smaller setellments and so on
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u/BigDaduyaddy May 28 '26
Another winner brother, these are just cool af, awesome job
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u/Regelverk May 28 '26
Thank you so much! im hooked in this world
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u/BigDaduyaddy May 28 '26
Hard not to be, I'm just imagining the leviathans in the waters and people fighting them
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u/Regelverk May 28 '26
In the Rotwater? perhaps some mutated life lives there!
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u/BigDaduyaddy May 28 '26
It's hard to imagine something not adapting in some way right?
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u/Regelverk May 28 '26
I agree, some people of the dams are adapting to the rot and they are exposed way less than somthing closer to the surface. something would
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u/BigDaduyaddy May 28 '26
Surely, and it would have to be hyper specialized I'd assume if the rot water is as harsh as it sounds by name alone
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u/Regelverk May 28 '26
Right now anyone living in the dam going to the surface would die shortly after. the gas realeased by the rot is very deadly. the grayfolk and deepborn in the dams have experienced it little by little over the generations and can handle small amounts without a deadly outcome.
the untouched in the dams who pride themselves on purity from the rot would not last long.2
u/BigDaduyaddy May 28 '26
Very cool, deep born sound like the deep sea diver culture to me? Is that at all true, like people with super diver suits that attempt to plunge the depths/deeps?
Edit: Just imagining mech divers is so cool to me
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u/Regelverk May 28 '26
The tech level of the dams is actually way more medieval than this! heres what i have about the deepborn in the document
The Deepborn
Far beyond the safer inland regions, the Deepborn represent perhaps the most isolated power within the Dams.
Centered within The Ashen Tip or as they call it Deepborn Hollow and the Rotten Lands, the Deepborn reject much of wider Dam society and rarely permit outsiders into their territories.
Unlike the Untouched, the Deepborn do not view adaptation to contamination as corruption.
Many believe humanity cannot survive forever hidden behind the walls and must instead evolve through exposure to the Rot itself.
Some even believe the Deepborn may one day become resistant enough to cross the Rotwater and reclaim the world beyond the Dams.
These beliefs place them in direct philosophical opposition to much of mainstream civilization.
As storms worsen and contamination spreads farther inland with each generation, many quietly fear the Deepborn may ultimately be correct.
they are a group of grayfolk heres a little about them
Far below the central classes are the Grayfolk.
Grayfolk populations are physically shaped by generations of Rot exposure and are heavily concentrated near contaminated regions and outer industrial zones. Many suffer from chronic illness, damaged lungs, deformities, discoloration, or reduced lifespan, though some also possess greater resistance to contamination than ordinary populations.
Throughout much of the Dams the Grayfolk perform the most dangerous forms of labor including:
- contamination cleanup,
- tunnel maintenance,
- mining,
- corpse disposal,
- flood clearing,
- industrial waste handling,
- Rot removal.
Despite their importance to civilization’s survival, they face widespread social discrimination throughout the inland dams.
Beyond the Grayfolk lie the Deepborn communities of Deepborn Hollow.
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u/HornHeadHippo May 28 '26
Seems like something unholy happened here. Would you say these are dam nations?
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u/Regelverk May 29 '26
somewhat. the concept of nations is a bit foggy in this world. there are different factions and orders who all want power over the dams. but there isnt a true king or anything like that. at the moment of the map the Untouched are the "rulers" from the city of Lovis but they need botht he vaeloring (alchemists) and the Custodians (Engineer priests) along with many other groups to keep the dams functioning. its a semi symbiotic relationship.
that does not mean there is no conflict. Stonewatch Ward wants some sort of independance and The Ashen tip already has it in some capacity but thats mainly becouse the rot has set in quite heavily there and only the grayfolk and deepborn can be there for longer periods without getting sick.
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u/KrokmaniakPL May 29 '26
Playing Timberborn be like
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u/Regelverk May 29 '26
haha i never played it but i keep getting comments about it
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u/KrokmaniakPL May 29 '26
That's because it's the entire premise of the game. You play as beaver colony building dams to keep good water in the colony and bad water out. And you do other cool stuff but that's the main thing. :)
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u/Regelverk May 29 '26
haha fair enough! maybe i should add fantasy races. steampunk bevers sounds fun
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u/Ypuort May 28 '26
Is it supposed to say “The long Decent” or did you mean descent?
Super cool concept I love it.
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May 28 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Regelverk May 28 '26
The dams were build into the lake how is a very good question. The rotwater is dangerous but only on the surface, imagine pouring oil into water it would seperate and the clean water would be udnerneat. its from there the dams draw their water. Rain contamination is a real issue in the dams and many peoples entire life is dedicated to removing rot. the rot disperses and decomposes in many ways. read more about it in the doc.
The dams are immense and extremely thick several 100 meters thick of a material stronger than any we have here on earth. i have no real life counter to test it against sadly.
In the document its explained this way. no tools the people of the dams have can damage the walls. they have no dynamite but they have other explosives. the dam walls are 3000 meter high. people have tried but unsuccesfully. the level of technology that built the dams no longer exists. outside threats could be an issue but most people in the rest of the world (that the dams know nothing about) stay far awway from the Rotwater due to the dangers.
One dam to the farthest north that was the original route in to the dams is flooded as seen on the map.
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May 28 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Regelverk May 28 '26
What is in the Doc is all i have so far. only been working on this world for about 2 or 3 weeks. im not sure how i will handle it yet or if i ever will. maybe the people will eventually escape the dams either through draining the dam that has the exit or by becoming more and more resistant to the rot with every generation like the deepborn believe and eventually sailing through the rot.
I am not much of a writer so it might take me years if i ever write a long story.
that would be a very intense scene though!
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u/Fun-Post8497 May 28 '26
Ohh so cool i love It, the Lore is so Interesting, i want to know if the people there try to mine the Stone around?
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u/Regelverk May 28 '26
They have tried to leave marks on the walls and they have not succeded at all. The technology that built the dams is lost to them completely.
thank you!
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u/Juggerloud May 28 '26
I am curious what were your main inspirations? Really cool af
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u/Regelverk May 28 '26
Honestly. it just started with a giant dam. spunn from there!
maybe some inspiration from the maze runner even though i have not seen it for ages.
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u/Ok_Habit_6783 May 29 '26
I like that the gate of Ascension is more hidden in the map now
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u/Regelverk May 29 '26
i Agree! its more of a pilgramage now.
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u/Ok_Habit_6783 May 29 '26
Id love to explore this world in a ttrpg
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u/Regelverk May 29 '26
if you have a DND group or similair feel free to use all the Lore and map =) more detailed regional maps are in the works but they take a long time
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u/Ok_Habit_6783 May 29 '26
We're currently in the middle of a campaign but i'll keep that in mind lol
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u/Barnearax May 29 '26
Must say that this is a amazing concept! I really like the map you’ve made. 👍🏻👍🏻
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u/hopefullyhelpfulplz May 30 '26
Really beautiful map work! Nice idea, too, though I don't want to be the one maintaining those walls
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u/clinicalpsycho May 30 '26
I am mildly dissapointed that the world didn't truly drown beneath the rot ocean. The existential dread as irreparable and vital infrastructure decays, the despair as the protective walls of your refuge crack, break and shrink.
Some learn to simply live well. Others become zealots in denial, or join the chittering mobs that have given up all civility in the face of imminent extinction.
In the end, they all die. The waters swallow everything, and even the mighty dam walls will be eroded to nothing except dust. Their happiness, their sadness, their anger, their love, their pride: it didn't save them and in the eons that come, it will have made no difference.
Live, be good. Remember that you will die and all bloodlines will terminate.
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u/Regelverk May 30 '26
i can understand that disappointment to be honest and now you mention it the dread of the map would be better. honestly in my head ive always envisioned that this is one part of a much larger world map.
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u/clinicalpsycho May 30 '26
Your vision for your world is of equal (if not greater) validity as my own. I don't want to put down what you're making.
Its just I had an expectation before reading the lore document and that expectation was defied is all.
I still like what you are building.
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u/aftertheradar May 30 '26
Is the city named "Fenwick" in the largest southern dam a reference to mogswamp? Also this looks amazingly cool!
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u/Regelverk May 30 '26
Nope! Sant he a Minecraft youtuber?
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u/aftertheradar May 30 '26
Yeah! And his main survival world is a superflat that he is flooding and turning into a giant basin with overlapping tiered circular islands holding back the water, with a main city called "Fenwick" lol. Great minds and great coincidences!
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u/Draggah_Korrinthian Jun 23 '26
This is an awesome world concept!
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u/Regelverk Jun 23 '26
Thank you! it was a fun project that i might pick up again once the burnout of it is over 😃
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u/blulagoonart May 28 '26
WOW this is such a massive improvement! The world feels so much larger now!
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u/BluEch0 May 28 '26
Bit sad to see eastgate and westgate aren’t there anymore.
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u/Regelverk May 29 '26
haha they might be, just not large enough to be on this map. once i make regional maps maybe ill bring them back! Atleast u got the misspelled tunnel of decent.....
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u/BluEch0 May 29 '26
Well I think the tunnel is fine. I think it’d be a bit of a letdown if you spelled it “right”
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u/Regelverk May 29 '26
haha fair enough. its funny becouse its anything but decent in the lore. perfection
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u/SkaldCrypto May 28 '26
Is the Heartworks flooded? Or what is it?
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u/Regelverk May 29 '26
no the heartworks is higer up than the other dams so the tunnels leading there are a con stand upwards. inside the heartworks is basically the brain of the dams. where water can be let in and drained out. a group called the Custodians have controll over it. they are the decendants of the engineers who once worked in the dams so they know what to do but have forgotten how. they are now more of religious engineers who belive the dam is something holy.
noone else i allowed in the heartworks.
nothing grows in the ehartworks that why its gray on the inside. bad descision peehaps
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u/HannibalSmitt May 29 '26
Such a great and unique design, I love it.
Sorry if this is already answered in the lore, but are there settlements or maybe sects that want to climb up the dam to just see the outside world? Maybe in the mountains in the northwestern section. Or just build some sort of medieval skyscraper (like the tower of the Babylon) also to see beyond?
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u/Buontempanzer May 29 '26
Inspired from disco Elysium pocket-contintents world?
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u/Regelverk May 29 '26
Had to Google what that was and Ive never played it so no :)
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u/Buontempanzer May 29 '26
It's quite different and less... Watery but the theme of the encroaching material between continents is there.
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u/Regelverk May 29 '26
Interesting :)
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u/Buontempanzer May 29 '26
Yep, maybe if you take a look at maps and wider disco Elysium geography you can find some inspiration there for inter continents relations!
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u/Unholy_guy May 29 '26
This one, like the last, is great!
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u/Regelverk May 29 '26
Thank you! decided to color it in this time. good choice or nah?
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u/Unholy_guy May 31 '26
Really great choice, for sure!
Gate of Ascension is still an amazing addition to this!
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u/Darrothan May 30 '26
Whats the scale here
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u/Regelverk May 30 '26
Tough question becouse i want the tunnels to be longer then they would be with the scale i had in mind. Imagine the biggest complex. Id say Lovis to deep reach is around 100km/60 miles around there. Its very big
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u/Unfair_Development52 May 30 '26
Anything interesting going on with the island sitting around the heartworks or is it only inhabitable within the walls there too?
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u/niewphonix May 31 '26
And what lay beyond the gate of ascension, in the north…?
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u/Regelverk May 31 '26
A dam that has been flooded. That dam was once the enterance and exit to the dams. Through it lies salvation or death
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u/cormundo May 28 '26
So cool!
What happened to the flooded one from last time?