Welcome to Episode 20 of ‘What Is Roleplay?! This episode we are joined by fantasy map maker Jog Brogzin to discuss Maps

• What is a fantasy map maker? Someone who makes fantasy maps. Unlike a regular cartographer they’re not looking to create maps that will safely guide you to your destination – they’re not looking to complete with GPS or Ordinance Survey. Instead they are looking to tell a story through the map.
• Jog creates maps for conventions such as Dragonmeet and Warpcon, making sure they have the flavour of the particular convention.
• Jog first got into maps by going hiking and taking a map and a compass to be able to know exactly where they were at all times.
• In RPG maps are an important part of the lore – here is the world, what do you want to do with it?
• CM Lowry asks Jog to share some roleplaying games that feature maps and have sparked joy.
  • The Royal Cartographer – A Solo Journaling Map Making RPG by Albi
  • Colostle – A beautifully illustrated Solo World-building RPG by Nich
  • We Sail Beyond – A map making game for group play By Matt Sanders

• Jog shares some tips for making your own maps
  • Don’t be to hard on yourself – have fun with it
  • Remember the purpose is for story telling more than navigation
  • Manage your expectations on how much people will interact with your map
  • Share your skills with others if you can
• Hex Maps are discussed: these provide narrative prompts for various different biomes and encounters, whilst allowing for quicker movement through areas that are less exciting or important to the game. For example you might have one square for a huge desert and four squares for a small city.
• Other types of maps use in RPGs have different levels of scope and would include the full world map, geographic location maps for specific countries of areas and then more detailed specific location or dungeon maps.
• CM Lowry and Jog Brogzin undertake an actual play in which they tell the tale of Jog arriving in the Land of Qor’de’tarr, washed ashore on a life raft after experiencing a ship wreck (see Jog’s Map below)

Links to things we discussed:

Games:

• The Royal Cartographer
• Colostle (also for sale in our store here)
• We Sail Beyond
• MÖRK BORG
• CY_BORG
• Mork Org

Books, Authors, Etc.

• Ordinance Survey
• The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien
• The National Library of Scotland Map Repository

More about Jog

• Jog on Bluesky – @jogbrogzin.bsky.social
• Jog’s Website – jogbrogzin.com
• Jog’s Linktree – linktr.ee/jogbrogzin
• Jog’s Patreon – patreon.com/jogbrogzin

More about Us

• Beyond Cataclysmon Bluesky @beyondcataclysm.bsky.social
• CM Lowry’s website – All About Chris
• Website – beyondcataclysm.co.uk
• Patreon – Patreon.com/beyondcataclysm

With music generously provided by: Powerplant & Imploders.

The post What is Roleplay #21: Maps with Jog Brogzin first appeared on Beyond Cataclysm.