Crafting Map Borders, Legends, and Compass Roses: A Cartography Guide for Game Masters
Crafting Map Borders, Legends, and Compass Roses: A Cartography Guide for Game Masters
In tabletop role-playing games (TTRPGs), maps are more than just navigation tools—they are immersive gateways into the world you've created. As a Game Master (GM), the details you add to your maps can help elevate your players' experience, making your world feel cohesive and lived-in. While the terrain, cities, and dungeons may be the stars of your maps, borders, legends, and compass roses are the finishing touches that tie everything together. These decorative and functional elements serve to enhance immersion, provide essential information, and ensure that your maps are both beautiful and easy to use.
In this tutorial, we’ll explore how to incorporate map borders, legends, and compass roses into your maps, discussing both their practical uses and how they contribute to the overall aesthetic of your world.
1. The Importance of Borders, Legends, and Compass Roses
Borders, legends, and compass roses aren't just decorative—they provide context, orientation, and enhance the usability of your map. Here’s why each is essential:
Borders:
Aesthetic Appeal: Borders help frame the map, giving it a polished, finished look.
Context: They can provide visual cues about the map’s tone or the civilization that created it.
Protection: In digital or printed formats, borders prevent key map details from being cut off or obscured.
Legends:
Key Information: Legends help players understand the meaning of symbols, colors, and markers on your map.
Organization: They declutter the map by keeping explanations in one place rather than forcing players to guess or ask.
Compass Roses:
Orientation: Compass roses indicate cardinal directions (North, South, East, West), helping players navigate the world and understand the geography.
Artistic Flair: Beyond functionality, compass roses add a flourish of creativity that can reflect the theme or era of the world.
These three elements give your map a sense of completeness and professionalism, while also guiding players and aiding their immersion in your world.
2. Designing and Placing Map Borders
The Role of Borders
Map borders are the decorative edge that frames your map. They serve both an artistic and practical function by delineating the boundaries of the map and protecting its contents from being obscured. A well-designed border can also communicate the artistic or cultural style of the map’s setting.
Types of Borders
Simple Lines: A clean, unadorned border is ideal for maps that focus on clarity or have a minimalist design. This can work well for modern or science fiction settings where simplicity enhances usability.
Decorative Edges: Ornate borders, with patterns or flourishes like vines, runes, or geometric shapes, are common in fantasy or medieval-themed maps. They can evoke a particular culture or aesthetic from your world—such as elvish, dwarven, or imperial motifs.
Thematic Elements: If your world is surrounded by oceans or located in the cosmos, you could use water-themed borders with wave patterns or cosmic symbols to reinforce these themes.
Placement and Size
Avoid Overcrowding: While borders should frame the map, avoid making them too thick or ornate if it detracts from the details within the map itself. Borders should complement, not overwhelm, the content.
Insets or Titles: Some borders may include insets for the map's title, emblem, or the name of the cartographer. If you want to add additional lore or titles, incorporate them into the border design.
3. Creating Informative and Thematic Legends
A legend is essential for helping players interpret the symbols, colors, and markers on your map. Legends can be especially important if you're working with custom symbols or a complex map layout.
What to Include in a Legend
Symbols and Icons: Explain what various icons represent—towns, forests, mountains, rivers, and other geographical features.
Terrain Types: If your map uses specific colors to represent different terrain types (e.g., green for forests, brown for mountains), include this information in the legend.
Distance and Scale: If your map has a measurable scale (e.g., 1 inch = 10 miles), include a simple bar scale to show distances. This helps players judge travel time and movement across the map.
Political Boundaries: If the map includes kingdoms, regions, or territories, include a color-coded guide to differentiate these areas.
Legend Placement
Corner or Side Placement: Typically, legends are placed in one of the lower corners or on the side of the map. Avoid placing the legend in the center, as this will block important map features.
Background and Legibility: Ensure the legend has a neutral background (or is enclosed in a box) so that the text and symbols are clearly visible. Keep it simple, with easy-to-read fonts that fit the map’s overall theme.
Thematic Legends
Make sure the design of your legend complements the overall tone of your map. For example:
Fantasy Maps: Use hand-drawn-style icons with fantasy-themed fonts.
Sci-Fi Maps: Opt for clean, futuristic lines and icons.
Historical Maps: If your map is supposed to feel old or antique, you can style the legend to look like it was written in ink or carved into a stone tablet.
4. Crafting a Compass Rose: Style and Functionality
The compass rose is one of the most iconic and functional elements of any map. While its primary purpose is to indicate direction, it can also be a highly decorative piece that reflects the style of your map and campaign setting.
Designing the Compass Rose
Basic Functionality: At its core, a compass rose marks the cardinal directions—North (N), East (E), South (S), and West (W). Many compass roses also include intermediate directions like NE, NW, SE, and SW.
Shape and Design: The shape of the compass rose can range from simple arrows or stars to highly detailed, ornate designs. Some designs may incorporate additional cultural or thematic symbols, such as:Fantasy Setting: Elaborate designs featuring dragons, magical runes, or celestial bodies.
Medieval Setting: Historical-inspired compass roses with cross-shaped designs or royal emblems.
Sci-Fi Setting: Futuristic compass designs might be minimalist, with glowing or digital-style icons.
Placement of the Compass Rose
Non-Intrusive Location: Place the compass rose in an area that does not interfere with important map details, often a lower corner or near the edge.
Directional Accuracy: Make sure the compass rose correctly aligns with the actual layout of your map—North should be up unless there's a narrative reason for a different orientation.
Adding Extra Details
Lore and Story Integration: You can weave lore into the compass rose. For example, the design might reflect an ancient civilization, or the directions might include mystical elements such as a “True North” that guides adventurers.
Use of Color and Contrast: Compass roses often feature bright colors or metallic textures (gold, silver) to stand out from the map. Be sure to match the color palette of the compass with the overall theme of the map.
5. Tips for Cohesive Design and Map Layout
To ensure that your borders, legends, and compass rose all work together harmoniously, follow these tips:
Stay Consistent with the Theme
Every design element—whether it’s the border, legend, or compass rose—should feel like it belongs to the same world. If your map represents an ancient elvish kingdom, for example, the border could be adorned with flowing, vine-like patterns, the legend could use elegant calligraphy, and the compass rose could incorporate elven runes or a nature motif.
Balance Between Art and Functionality
While it's tempting to make these elements highly decorative, always keep usability in mind. Legends should be easy to read, borders shouldn’t overpower the map, and compass roses should be clear and simple enough to quickly indicate direction.
Scale and Proportion
Make sure that borders, legends, and compass roses are appropriately scaled to your map. A massive border on a small map can feel disproportionate, while a too-small legend might make reading it difficult. Test different sizes to ensure everything feels balanced.
6. Tools for Adding Borders, Legends, and Compass Roses to Your Maps
Several map-making tools offer pre-built options for adding borders, legends, and compass roses. However, many also allow you to customize or design your own elements from scratch:
Inkarnate
Inkarnate offers a range of ready-made borders, compass roses, and decorative elements. You can drag and drop these elements onto your map and tweak their colors and size to fit your theme.
Wonderdraft
Wonderdraft provides advanced customization tools for designing borders, legends, and compass roses. You can create your own or choose from an array of themed options, making it a great tool for fantasy cartography.
Photoshop or GIMP
For maximum creative control, Photoshop and GIMP allow you to design your own elements from scratch. While it requires more effort, this approach lets you craft truly unique borders, legends, and compass roses that fit the specific aesthetic of your world.
Conclusion
Borders, legends, and compass roses are more than decorative flourishes—they are crucial elements that enhance both the functionality and artistic appeal of your maps. When thoughtfully designed, these features can make your maps not only easier to use but also more immersive, reflecting the tone and culture of your world. By balancing aesthetics with practicality, you can create maps that not only guide your players but also inspire them as they navigate the rich landscapes of your campaign.
Happy map-making!