On the heels of yesterday’s Technology post and subsequent discussion with Joachim Boaz, I looked at my Power Sources map again and decided it needed some more work.
So much work that it expanded to three maps.
I had previously been considering adding ‘grass’ as a fuel source, since I knew that prairie grass and other shrubby stuff is frequently used when other options aren’t available, but hadn’t put it in due to the concern that it would be basically everywhere. With the discussion on using animal dung as fuel though, I decided to make a map of the basics, based on domesticated ruminant and appropriate grass/brush distribution.
There is significant overlap between the two, of course. Places without grass- or dung-use are either places that don’t use fuel (the lizardfolk jungles in the south and the skinchanger- and wraith-controlled forests, because none of them bother to cook) or places with domesticated animals and crops unsuited to these uses. Or the (sandy, not scrubby) desert.
Those two are what people who can’t gather or pay for higher quality fuels use. Higher quality fuels and power sources still look like so:
There are some tweaks to the distribution, because I decided to focus on what’s in use now — though the coverage of wind and solar power are still idealized levels. Notably, tide/wave power has a diminished range, geothermal has been removed (to concentrate on surface-dwellers), solar now covers the southern desert instead of arcane, and I picked out a few more spots of peat- and animal-oil use that I’d overlooked previously.
Since both of those maps only cover where the fuel/power is created or harvested, I traced some of the trade routes from an earlier map to figure out what fuel sources are currently shipped where:
So this shows more of the resource availability in different areas. Yes, materials do get around, though certain realms refuse to trade with each other.
The War of Memory Project 
very nice. i assumed (silly me) that ‘grass’ fuel was chip fuel. >.> into the dungsack with you!
I’m looking at grass as the kind of twisted/compacted ‘prairie fuel’, plus other small brush that doesn’t really qualify as wood.
Dungsack!
the bison/cattle people could have special ‘tatrine’ areas to collect chips and sell them to other species!
It’s possible that they would export to the Brother Isles, but since the Brother Isles have oil and wood resources, I’m not sure they’d want to buy that. Maybe for bulk burning if they get industry off the ground. The cattlefolk certainly won’t sell it to their direct neighbors though; they’re at war.
Maybe shove it down their throats, but not sell it.
::flings poo::
What tool do you use for creating your maps?
GNU Image Manipulation Program and this tutorial. Tutorial is for an older version of GIMP, but easy enough to figure out.
Also, I note that you came over here via a discussion on magic systems. I have a bit of info about mine here. Included are a few lectures I wrote up in the voice of one of my characters, to give myself a better understanding of how magic is handled and taught.
Well, I would peek, but I just picked up your book and I don’t want any spoilers 🙂
Frankly, I was so impressed by the level of thought and consideration that your maps show you’ve put into your worldbuilding that I have to see how it lays out in your book.
Then I will be quiet now! 😀 Hope you enjoy!