The Basin - Step 1

Artistic creation

So this will be the first entry into the journal for the creation of this region of the Shards of Arennia. It will probably be a bit dry to start with as I find my writing voice. I appreciate any feedback if you are reading this.

I will go step by step on tables and the rolls -   The first table I look at when creating a region is the "Region Size" table. Today I decided to just choose a middling size for my first published realm generation. This table tells me how many types of terrain should be in the region and has a random roll for the number of special sites/locations to start with. The region size selected also relates to the size of the map I will create. In this case the "Middling Size" calls for 6 types of terrain to be rolled, 3d6+12 sites, and a map size of 8" by 8". The second table I now look at is the terrain table and I roll 6 times getting Desert, Desert, Barren, River Lands, Swamp, and Plains. Obviously this new region is going to be at odds with itself from the very start.   Next I rolled three d6 and got 8 and added it to the 12 to get 20 sites for this region. For the sites table I am going to roll the numbers first then consult the table adding what the rolls indicate afterwards, so one roll doesn't influence me in any way for the others. Each set of rolls consist of a 1d8 for the category of site and a d6 for the specific type. I rolled and then came back and added the categories and types. The rolls: 8 and 2 - Fortification / Outpost 1 and 5 - Lair / Monster 7 and 2 - Landmark / Travel Feature 6 and 1 - Civilization / Isolated Structure 5 and 4 - Resource / Uncommon 2 and 2 - Ruins / Structure 2 and 1 - Ruins / Structure 5 and 3 - Resource / Uncommon 2 and 4 - Ruins / Resource 8 and 6 - Fortification / Significant Stronghold 4 and 2 - Resource / Common 6 and 5 - Civilization / Small Settlement 6 and 3 - Civilization / Persistent Encampment 4 and 6 - Resource / Exotic  3 and 1 - Resource / Common  8 and 6 - Fortification / Significant Stronghold 7 and 5 - Landmark / Historical Site 1 and 6 - Lair / Exotic 7 and 1 - Landmark / Travel Feature 4 and 4 - Resource / Uncommon   For the next journal entry I will take out an 8" x 8" sheet of paper and come up with a basic layout of the terrains on the paper and then apply a grid in Photoshop Elements and then pin the sites to the map.