Introduction Conceptual Geographic Linkage Map Ecosystem descriptions The other main ecotypes are: Minor geographic features: Social Geography Climate and Biogeography Development Discussion Relevant Links

Introduction

In the past, Shashnia was mostly ocean just like Earth. Due to the eruption of giant mountain ranges all over the world much of the water was gradually transferred into craggy, snow-covered mountain ranges. Massive deserts formed in the rain shadows of these mountains and jungles flourished in their windward side.  The large stretches of tropical environments, separated by mountains has caused diverse ecosystems to diverge and has shaped the cultures and practices of the myn across the world as much as the biodiversity.

 

Conceptual Geographic Linkage Map

The conceptual linkage map presented below is a basic flow of how the geography in Shashnia connects among regions.  The more direct the link, the easier it is to move from one region to another.  This may be useful when planning adventures and drawing local maps, but also illustrates less physical geography, such as the proximity between the sky, dreams and the realms of the Gods.

 

Animal Kingdoms myn cultures across the world Nomad nations typically Savannah wandering units of myn and herd animals Cities Type varies by ecozone Size and sustainabilty are key defining characters	Communication Towers Crystal monoliths for data transfer and global positioning Transport Junctions Sky docks Port Cities Trading posts
Underwater Reaches Cities deep in the darkness Reefs Bright, colourful and chaotic Coastal Areas Abundant coves and beautiful beaches Canyon Ancient weathered chasms Badlands Fault line infernos The Demon Gates Beyond the Demon Walls Snowy Mountains Caves & Strongholds Boreal Forests and Foothills Cold Temperate Transitions	Jungle Tree towns Cities in the canopy Forest floor permaculture units Diverse and dark Monsters and plant resources abound Farms Warm/Cold Temperate Transitions Savannahs/Plains Lots of mounted adventure and herding Sky Algae Farmers Sky Rovers/Sky Raiders Floating Mountains, Sky Islands hovering cities
Astronomical Regions Space Far future and spell hinging Gardens of the Pantheon Where the Gods hang out	Personal Realms Pocket dimensions of players Dream Realms Shared subconscious Access to the spirit world

 

Ecosystem descriptions

Despite the diversity presented in the illustrated linkage map, Shashnia is composed of primarily three ecotypes making up the majority of the land area:

Dense Jungles

Glaciated Mountains

Sparse Deserts

 

The other main ecotypes are:

Savannah/grassland/etc

Marsh/Swamp/Wetland/Riparian/River

Canyon

Forest

Coastal

Islands

 

Minor geographic features:

Crater islands

Volcanoes

Lava tubes

Social Geography

Those areas which are of small population and isolated by ocean.

 

Outcast Nations

There is only one landmass of sufficient size that is discontinuous with the super continent that is even close to being a continental island. The landmass is about the size of Sask. to B.C. and exists as a sovereign, democratic state outside the Red and White nations.

(this island is isolationist and fearful. This is meant to be a parody of the extreme, hostile and paranoid state as embodied by the USA currently. Through the parody, reveal that their isolationist behaviour makes them seem like a small child, ineffectual because they will not play nice, or deal with anyone fairly. Ie, the shashnanii world has given up on them cause they won’t be a part of their unity).

 

The Gumar/Mecenasnuro also have a sizeable island to themselves, the scales of both these smaller nations needs to be redefined once the world maps are scanned, reprojected and scaled.

 

Climate and Biogeography

The distribution of the ecosystem is primarily the function of:

• Latitude: with warmer, even seasons occuring near the equator.  Note, the Shashnimyn geography has the poles as 0 degrees, and the equator as 180.  There is also less tilt on its orbital axis, making seasonality less pronounced.
  • Atmospheric movements are also affected by Hadley_cells
• Altitude: The high mountain passes are always colder, and cause rain shadows
• Geothermal venting: The poles are quite hot despite receiving less light because of the amount of energy welling up from within the core of the planet.  The South Pole augments the growing conditions by converting this heat and magentic energy into full-spectrum light using magical clouds connected to the giant magic tree.

 

---

Development Discussion

<<note, this section is about to undergo major revision after I post up the first drafts of the global map.  It will needed to be decided where the root of campaign development should center around.>>

 

Originally the plan was to have the planet almost completely land locked, with water prevalent in the form of river systems, but oceans few in number.  This was to give justification of the amounts of jungles and glaciers for typing up most of the water in the lithosphere, and then the large land areas would lead to lots of deserts when far from mountains or areas with water allowed moist conditions to exist.

 

There exist a few small oceans scattered about the temperate zones, balancing things out. err… There are no distinct continents defined by water bordering them on all sides. (it was this idea, or have them all as islands to allow for the vector based expansion of geography as recently thought. Perhaps create a discussion page for the possibilities. Nothing needs to be set in stone at this point, and there is nothing wrong with adapting the original thoughts to fit the overall function).

 

Geography should be based upon research not what looks pretty. Land types are not completely restricted. It is a large and diverse world. The world is slightly larger than our own. The vegetation level might be comparable to the dinosaur age. There is mega-fauna and extremely large flora. The extremes of the environment should be exaggerated for the sake of fun, epic gameplay, etc.

 

Is there a Pangaea-like main continent with lots of water connections and the lesser continent? The water connections could be as small as rivers and lakes riddled through the continent, as a result of the mountains and running out to the meager seas.

There should still be some ocean, or at least seas of a decent size so that pirate-like scenarios and underwater kingdoms are a feasible option for gameplay and story-dev.

Presently, I was thinking there should be at least three continents.  Two major ones that are linked, or just across small river/sea/channel spaces.  The third would be the exile nation, far out in the ocean.  The two major ones would hold a pole each.  Potential for another smaller one in the middle that allows for player created nations that are not exile nations.

 

Are the poles land-locked? I kinda feel like they should be. I was feeling that both of the poles are rather inaccessible and difficult to reach. They are essentially an image of super-good and super-bad areas, neither of which are easy to come to. Is this a good image to work for? That either ends of the spectrum are hard to obtain, and most of the things happen in the middle? *shrugs*

 

---

Relevant Links

Landscape painting: an index of all pictures that may be used as a scenic backdrop for stories.

Global Hex Strategy Game: a minigame idea based upon the Hex board game which simulates a sphere using a hexagonal board to use in planetary conquest