#0248 Spotlight on Dry Mesa

This is the third close look at terrain #0248 Archerland. The previous posts look at the 1st & 2nd Ages and the early epochs.

The complete Archerland Map Pack can be downloaded for free from DriveThruRPG. I’d recommend doing so as looking at the maps is far nicer than the little pictures on this blog. The guide pdf booklet in the download will help orient you on the 100 images.

 Dry Mesa

Dry Mesa has all the charm of dying of thirst..

The first thing to know about Dry mesa is its flatter than all the other maps.

If you do a side by side comparison with them you’ll see the topology that would be above water on other maps is all much the same. However the landscape that would be below water on Dry Mesa is sort of compressed upwards except the canyons, they are very deep.

The reason this map has this little cheat is to help advanced map makers.

One way to enjoy playing with these maps is to lay one on top of another in a painting app to blend between them, creating composites. If Dry Mesa was its proper depth then doing this would exasperate the difference in water level on the 3d and 2.5d maps. As the map is a bit flatter it can more easily be merged with the other maps in a way that makes sense.

Canyons

Dramatic canyons in the Dry Mesa epoch.

Where other maps have bodies of water to break up the landscape, Dry Mesa has dramatic canyons. Partly inspired by the Grand Canyon (of course), these canyons take on a lot of variety across the different maps. On Archerland the canyons tend to be smaller than others except for this excellent drunken star shape.

The canyons make good refuges from the beating sun for survivors in this epoch so your players are likely to be climbing into one at some point. There is shading to help you discern depth but it is worth using the different views to work out the shapes inside the canyons so you can plot viable routes for your players.

Inside the canyons there are thin crackled edges, multiple plateau’s, stagnant water and patches of foliage. Depending on you chosen map scale these canyons are likely miles deep, more like Valles Marineris than Yarlung Zangbo.

Sand and the Lack Thereof

Zoomed in 300% on the rocky terrain with sparse drifted sand in corners.

Although this is obviously a desert map it is not a sandy one. If there were lots of sand the canyons would be filled in (as they are in the next epoch), so this epoch is dry and rocky rather than sandy. Perhaps the sand is all in the canyons.

However the land has been eroded, the sweeping mountains of past ages have become stepped as the softer rock has worn away. This epoch reveals all that was once hidden away.

What this will have done is expose underground features and those that have been hidden under the sea since the Primordial.

Dwarven mountain strongholds will have lost their out walls and dungeons just below the ground will be opened up to the sunlight. With all these dark places now revealed where will the evil creatures of darkness go? This may be a good time to re-watch that giant insect scene from King Kong.

Obviously this detail isn’t on the map, it has no ‘made’ structures, but this big reveal was a driver for the epoch.

Oases

Zoomed in 300% on regular water holes in the Dry Mesa of Archerland.

Overland travel is helped along by regular oases with fringes of foliage.

These Oases are pretty regular and save player having to climb in and out of the giant canyons all the time just to access water.

The landscape harks back to the Primordial in that it has lots of steep cliffs everywhere so routes are either long or steep. Although the Oases are pretty regular they may take longer to get between than their straight line distance suggests.

Some patches of foliage don’t have a water hole in the centre which gives game masters opportunities for conflict if these are oases that dry up. They could also be swamps or quicksand hidden amongst dense thorny foliage where the water is below ground. They could be sites of caved in dungeon complexes or ancient cities where the water is channelled and hidden away from the sun by the inhabitants.

Snowy Mountains and Volcanos

Zoomed in 300% on volcano shells (far left) and snowy mountains (far right) in the Dry Mesa of Archerland.

Although very weak compared to other maps, there is snow and ice in the highest places. This offers a source of water for those who can stand the freezing temperatures and elevation.

With the water gone the weight distribution of the land has changed. For volcanos this means the fault lines are massaged into new shapes. This process dries up ‘old faithful’ volcanos and revitalises some that haven’t been seen since the Deadlands. These rebirths celebrate by spewing lava everywhere. Archerland has only one active volcano, but this is more a leak from the side of an ancient volcano that’s been underwater for millennia than a new cone.

I hope you’re continuing to enjoy this tour. Reach out to @Leapin_guy on Twitter or Leap Interactive on Facebook and let me know what you think.