Cats + Cartography is a series where I post a map I’ve made along with a picture of one of our cats.
This week I’ve been revisiting the work I did on my wavecrawl setting and toolkit Weird on the Waves. It was the most ambitious rulebook project I’d ever undertaken, and it took me a very long time to finish. Upon re-reading it though, there’s a lot of fun and detailed stuff I had forgotten about.
One thing that stayed consistent throughout the three years I worked on it was the setting: an alternate history 1666 set in the Caribbean Sea that was isolated from the rest of the world by a mysterious force within the ocean.
I went through several different styles of mapping in order to capture the look and feel of the world. Full colour, black and white, vintage paper textures, period-accurate map keys and lines, isometric details, etc. In the end I decided on a crisp and clear look that was the easiest to use and read digitally. The colours are muted and the lines bold and clear.
The titular Weird on the Waves has caused the islands of the region to become unmoored, drifting to different spots. All around they are surrounded by a new ocean, the weirdways, past a barrier called the Border Ethereal.
In this setting, help isn’t coming from the Old World powers of England, France, and Spain. Instead, buccaneers will need to rely on each other to survive and explore this brand new world.
If you’re interested in Weird on the Waves, it’s available in PDF form in our main store. It’s a full 150+ page rulebook usable with any fantasy roleplaying game
Finally, here’s our cats enjoying a calm moment together during our big holiday rush to get products and up listed before November hit.
