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
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- Communication Towers
- Crystal monoliths for data transfer and global positioning
- Transport Junctions
- Sky docks
- Port Cities
- Trading posts
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- Underwater Reaches
- Cities deep in the darkness
- Reefs
- Bright, colourful and chaotic
- Coastal Areas
- Abundant coves and beautiful beaches
- Canyon
- Badlands
- The Demon Gates
- Snowy Mountains
- Boreal Forests and Foothills
- Cold Temperate Transitions
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- Jungle
- Tree towns
- 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
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- Personal Realms
- Pocket dimensions of players
- Dream Realms
- Shared subconscious
- Access to the spirit world
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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
Map of the Continents, and Hadley Cells of atmospheric movement
Red dots are volcanic hotspots, green dots are major trees of life (note the south pole especially) and blue Xs are the major pyramids. Grey lines on the border of some continents are the big mountain ranges.
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.
- 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.
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
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