Powderborn: Rough World Layout

Let's figure out what the Powderborn world is roughly going to look like, shall we?
I'm starting with a broad list of areas I want in the setting, followed by an abstract sketch of a possible layout.

Preface

If you don't know what I'm talking about, Powderborn is my worldbuilding project for a gunpowder fantasy setting. You can find an overview of the general ideas in this post.

For today, we're going to look at the rough layout of the world. I made a list of the major areas and created a corresponding abstract sketch to show a possible layout.

The following may sound very high fantasy but keep in mind that we're talking about broad strokes and huge distances here. My main goal is verisimilitude instead of self-contained theme parks dotted around the world.

The Major Areas

All names are (obviously) placeholders.

1. - The Merged Supercontinent

• Formerly 3 medium-sized continents divided by the open sea.
• Spans across a variety of biomes and supports an incredible variety of flora and fauna.
  
• The Rheokrene dried out the water between the continents and many lakes, rivers, and waterways further inland suddenly turned into deserts.
  
• Nations, cultures, and entire civilizations that were dependent on the ocean, and the readily available access to water, suddenly found themselves staring at a vast coral desert. 

Think of sea-faring cultures suddenly forced into a nomadic desert lifestyle. Imagine buildings made out of the hulls of former warships, abandoned cities in the sand, magically adapted plants or animals, and forgotten memories from the bottom of the sea uncovered once again, only to be buried by the shifting sand.

How have the inhabitants adapted in the ~80 years since? What happened to those who couldn't adapt or didn't want to stay? How has it affected their neighbors?

Freshwater access along the former coastlines will obviously be a major point of conflict, but what about new opportunities through the suddenly connected landmasses (albeit through a desert)?
Expeditions that cross the desert between the continents is a fantastic campaign premise, so let's remember that for later.

Sea-faring transport and trade (between the 3 former continents) is suddenly much harder, if not impossible. What does that mean for the power dynamics in the region?

2. - The Shattered Isles

• Completely torn asunder and shattered during the Rheokrene
  
• Former home of the most influential superpower (before the Rheokrene)
  
• Hundreds of small islands that slowly and constantly move in a chaotic pattern
• Unpredictable and extreme weather that makes ship travel almost suicidal
  
• Favored hideout for anyone desperate enough to try to evade unwanted attention.

Think of the equivalent of the British Empire at the height of its power, stretched across the globe with colonies at every corner. Now imagine what would happen if the British Isles suddenly destroyed itself and, with it, the power base of this vast empire. That is the concept I am going for.

3. - Map Gore

• Medium continent with temperate climate
  
• A lot of smaller nations that have been in a constant state of turmoil ever since the Rheokrene
• Borders often change and are all over the place (see maps of the early German states)
  
• Republics, kingdoms, an empire in decline, a fanatic theocracy, mage-kings, and many more

4. - The Graveyard of Empires

• Small Continent between the (now) shattered isles and the 'Map Gore' continent
• Terrain is easily defendable and unsuitable for large armies
  
• Name comes from several failed invasions from different empires in the time before the Rheokrene
  

5. - The Refuge

• Large island group
• Isolationist refuge for magic users
• Refugees (mostly magic users) from all over the world escaped here during the powder wars
• Powerful defenses along the entire coastline
• Self-sufficient through favorable terrain and natural resources
• Officially a Magocracy ruled by a unified council
• In reality, constant infighting, scheming, and tribalism hinder any unified initiative

6. - The Unknown Land

• Very large island that suddenly appeared during the Rheokrene
• Rich in natural resources that are difficult to access
  
• 'Gold-rush' colonization from different interest groups has already begun
• Most of the landmass is still unexplored and a mystery
  

7. - Small Continent

• Rough and inhospitable terrain located near the supercontinent
• Sparsely populated before the Rheokrene
• Has since seen a population boom from refugees of the supercontinent
• Slowly becoming a mercantile powerhouse
  

8. - The Ocean Wall

• Giant wall of ice slowly moving across the ocean
• Appeared during the Rheokrene
  
• Think Game of Thrones wall but freestanding in the ocean and moving like a ship
• Thick fog surrounds the wall and swallows every ship that enters
• Rumors of entire civilizations living inside the wall have never been confirmed
  
• Sailors swear that they've seen icebergs moving toward the wall and being absorbed by it

Basically a giant, moving megadungeon.

9. - The South Pole

• Before the Rheokrene, it was just a thick and permanent mass of ice
  
• An active volcano at the center of the ice
  
• Yes, I know that doesn't make sense in an Earth-like environment, but this is a fantasy world and strange combinations like that make it fun and interesting.
  
• Around the volcano is an ever-evolving zone of constant growth and decay
• Think seclusion zone comparable to Annihilation or STALKER
• Pretty much everyone (except a few expeditions) tries to avoid this area
  

10. - The Shifting Ice of the North

• An intricate pattern of ever-shifting ice packs moving around the North Pole
• The ice is said to have a will of its own
• Some sailors claim to know the required rituals to be allowed through the ice
• Most ships are just one gust of wind away from being permanently stuck in one of the moving packs
• Most people prefer to take the long way around the ice

The Abstract Map 

Remember that this is only a first 'sketch' of the world, and there will most like be changes during the entire process. That's why I'm not sitting down and spending a hundred hours making a fancy map in Wonderdraft.

The Next Steps

Now that we have a basic sketch of the layout, it's time to dig our teeth into the meat of the actual content within these abstract circles.

I love the method of worldbuilding through solo play but, in this case, it's important to establish at least a basic understanding of each area before we get down into the nitty-gritty of random generation. What that means for the blog is that we're going to spend a post per area looking at the major themes and how they affect their neighbors.

Before we can do that, though, we need to talk about setting-wide influences such as the magic system, general technology levels, and a bit of history.

In the next post, we'll start with the different interpretations of magic in this setting. I'm very excited for that because I already have some fun ideas floating around in my head.