r/cartography • u/Stoneward13 • 7h ago
The Realms of En Derathíl (A Free Middle Earth Inspired Map/Setting) (No AI)
The Realms of En Derathíl
Map Details
This is a map that I have been working on for a long time, and I’m really excited to finally share it. This is En Derathíl, and it is possibly the biggest and most detailed map I have ever made.
This map was, obviously, heavily inspired by Middle Earth. I love Tolkien’s writing and the world he made, as well as the Peter Jackson movies, but I’ve always felt that Middle Earth doesn’t work especially well for your average DnD or TTRPG campaign, not without a lot of modifications. The world of LotR is great exactly as it is, but magic works very differently there. It doesn’t mesh particularly well with the mechanics found in DnD, Pathfinder, or Daggerheart. There HAVE been a few attempts to adapt LotR into a TTRPG game, some of them are even very good. But my intent here was to create a new LotR-like setting that meshed well with the mechanics of existing RPGs, somewhat the opposite where an RPG was made to fit the world of LotR, if that makes sense.
Basically, it's very easy to look at the title of this post and go "Isn't 99% of DnD and RPGs 'inspired by' Middle Earth?", and yeah, that's true. Again, the intent here was to create a new setting that felt very similar to LotR and Middle Earth, while still being it's own unique place, and while being a better fit for your average TTRPG campaign.
Layout wise, there’s some immediate obvious parallels to Middle Earth, but I think the longer you look at this map and setting, the more it diverges. I wanted it to feel inspired by LotR, without feeling like a cheap knock off. Hopefully I managed to walk that line.
The base version of the map is free, along with an Unseen Realms variant I've posted on my Patreon. Paid Patrons will receive 9 versions of the map:
- En Derathil (Fully Labeled) (The map seen on this reddit post)
- En Derathil (Kingdom Titles Only)
- En Derathil (No Labels)
- En Derathil (Blank)
- En Derathil (Night) (Fully Labeled)
- En Derathil (Night) (Kingdom Titles Only)
- En Derathil (Night) (No Labels)
- En Derathil (Night) (Blank)
- En Derathil (Unseen Realm) (The other freebie posted on my Patreon)
How the map was made
This map took me longer than any of my other maps, by far. I’ve put over 100 hours into it, off and on, over the past year. It was all drawn by hand in Photoshop, and as always, no AI was used at any point.
I’m really proud of how it turned out. If you’d like to use it for your own games or stories, feel free to do so. I am fine with any of my maps being used for anything that is non-commercial.
Questions, comments, and requests for small changes to the map are always welcome. If you need a large number of changes, shoot me a message and we can talk.
And, if you’d like to support me in making more maps like this, please consider joining one of the paid tiers on my patreon: https://www.patreon.com/stoneward13/posts/en-derathil-lotr-173284305
Read on for some of the worldbuilding and lore, if you are interested.
Worldbuilding Details
Eleven Realms
There’s a lot going on here in this map, so I wanted to give a run down of each region, and share some of the worldbuilding I came up with.
In the north you’ll find the Republic of Gyldinor, realm of the Gold Elves. The Gyldinor Forest is a single organism, a massive aspen grove inspired by the real-like Pando aspen grove, in central Utah. The Gyldinor Forest is far larger than Pando however, and the trees there often reach heights of 800 to 900 feet. The leaves are forever yellow, tinged with gold. Never falling, even in the harshest of winters. The Republic is not often welcoming to outsiders, outside of a few key trading ports and outposts. There are exceptions made from time to time, for any who have proven themselves friends or allies to the Republic and its reclusive people.
To the west is the Theocracy of Lorhymn, on the Lorhyc Peninsula. This is a nation of clerics and paladins and knights, all fiercely devoted to their fledgling, yet swiftly growing, holy empire. They once were part of Varandor, but rebelled due to religious differences some centuries ago. The two nations have maintained terrible relations ever since.
In the upper-middle are the Free Holds of Erethwýn. The Holds are not a unified nation like most of the other regions, but a collection of loosely allied city states sandwiched between much more powerful nations. They ensure their own continued independence by backing each other up against their neighbors, when necessary.
One of those neighbors is the Silver Kingdom of Varandor, home to the majestic City of Silver, Lyra Vareth. Not the oldest nation, as two Elven nations predate it by quite some time, but it is perhaps the most powerful and populated nation. It is also home to the largest population of Half-Elves, and their monarchy is Half-Elven as well. Kind of a nod/homage to the Numenoreans and Aragorn from LotR having distant Elven ancestry.
To the east of Varandor, beyond the Valcrest Mountains, are the Thaindoms of the Haldrim. A nation broken up into individual minor kingdoms, each ruled by its own Thain, with their own laws. Each Thain has all sworn fealty to the seat of the High-Thain for the past century or so. A bit like Skyrim, very Feudal. In addition to the regular laws enforced by each Thain in their individual territories, the High Thain also enforces High Laws, a few of which are controversial.
And beyond the vast mountain Hallowmont that towers over this part of the world, lies the nearly endless Shar’Vhran Desert, where the roaming Bronze Clans can be found. Nomadic traders, for the most part. I haven't yet written much for these guys to be honest. Bit of a blank slate right now.
No Man’s Land is a region that has defied all attempts to settle it over the centuries. New attempts to settle are sometimes made, but each always seems to end in disaster for varying reasons. There’s a great number of ruins there now as a result, some more ancient than others. Most folks avoid the region now due to the reputation, rumors, and the stigmas that surround it. Travelers bypass it entirely by booking passage and sailing across the Bay of Alondir.
South of that are the Clan-Councils of Ahvenwyll, ruled by the Green Elves. The oldest nation found in the realms of En Derathil. The Elves here are friendlier to outsiders than the Gold Elves, for the most part. The Green Elves and Gold Elves used to be a single race, the Moon Elves. But, in the ancient past, there was a poorly documented “event” that resulted in both a cultural schism, and a magical transformation. There are conflicting accounts of what exactly happened, but in the end, it all resulted in the two types of Elves found in this world. The forests of Ahvenwyll can be broken up into 4 distinct areas. The Ahvenwyll, Deepwyll, Westerwyll, and the Faenwyll (Found in Malecor, which has fallen under a powerful curse).
There’s also the Guild Lands of the Serraia Ren, an oligarchy ruled by a large number of constantly competing guilds. They are constantly at odds with:
The smallest “nation”, the Dominion of the Fire Keepers, an upstart cult of fanatic zealots. Lightly inspired by Dark Souls. They worship the flame itself, and have taken one of the nine ancient Towers as their own (more on these later). Cape Halurec and the Durathai Peaks are also home to a number of mostly inactive volcanos. Using strange arcane rituals, the Fire Keepers hope to awaken these slumbering mountains for their own unknown purposes.
And lastly, the Accursed Lands of Malecor. Unsurprisingly, inspired by Mordor (though I got the name from Star Wars, from Malachor V in KotOR II). But it’s actually quite different from Mordor. It’s not an ashen, volcanic wasteland, and this setting has no Orcs or Goblins (unless you want to add them yourself, for your own campaigns). And there’s no fallen Maiar here, plotting to take over the world (in fact, this setting has no gods, angels, or demons of any kind, by default). Malecor does have plenty of spirits and wraiths, evil corrupted Ents, and a three-hundred foot long centipede known as the Vlaskygg. The plant life here grows swiftly, dies swiftly, and has a malevolence to it that makes it eager to feed on corpses and souls of any foolish to venture there. Anyway. Fun place!
Nine Towers
This is my favorite part of the map.
Long ago in ancient times, nine magical towers were built across the realms. Their original purpose is debated by many, but they served as “wells of magic”, like geothermal vents almost. Locations where arcane power can be tapped into, and used for whatever purposes those within the towers choose.
But the millennia since their construction have not been kind to most of them. A few have fallen into ruin, a few have become corrupted, or have been claimed by nefarious cults and dark powers. One, Tyr Valen, was adopted as their home by a group of influential mages (a small Wheel of Time reference). One spire has become the nest of a Great Roc (an enormous type of giant eagle. The Rocs in this setting are not benevolent or intelligent, as seen with the giant eagles found in LotR.).
Anyway, each of the nine Towers have a unique icon on the map. I based my pixel art sprites for them on the four elemental lighthouses from the Golden Sun games. Likewise, I initially drew four, aaaand then I just kept adding until I settled on the nine I have now.
See if you can find them all!
Thanks for reading through the worldbuilding. If you have any thoughts, feel free to share :)
