The Kingdom of the Greater Mossmarch Isles

The Greater Mossmarch Isles are a large archipelago in the Indian Ocean, stretching some 1,700 km from north to south. Almost all of it belongs to a single state, the Kingdom of the Greater Mossmarch Isles, which faces the African mainland across the Mozambique Channel.

The climate varies sharply with terrain and prevailing winds. The east coast is generally humid, and northeastern Keenaghia has a tropical rainforest climate found nowhere else in the islands, while dry hill country covers southwestern Mossmarch. The entire archipelago is a biodiversity hotspot. The main industries are cash crops such as coffee and vanilla, nickel mining, and seafood processing.

History

In the 17th century, local kingdoms arose on Keenaghia and on Mossmarch, growing rich on trade with visiting European and Muslim merchants. In 1869 the whole archipelago became a protectorate of a foreign empire and lost its sovereignty. Mossmarch gained independence in 1958 as a federal republic, and Keenaghia, independent in 1960, joined it as a constituent state. In 1985, disputes over corruption and electoral fraud fueled a growing separatist movement in Keenaghia. After an army coup and the restoration of the monarchy in 1991, the country was reorganized as the Kingdom of the Greater Mossmarch Isles.

Two capitals

San Franciscoke, the kingdom's second city, was developed under imperial rule as a modern steamship port and served as the seat of the colonial governor-general. Under the federal republic it housed the presidential office and the central government, and it is still home to the prime minister's office, the ministries and the Supreme Court. With most foreign embassies there as well, it remains the country's administrative, judicial and diplomatic center.

Mossterdam, the legal capital, was the royal seat of the local kingdoms before the protectorate. Set on an alluvial fan where the lowland and highland societies meet, it is a traditional city of centuries-old temples and markets. After the 1991 restoration it regained its status as capital and became home to the royal palace and parliament.
— from A Regional Account, qhqhTerra Map Bureau, 2026 edition

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About This Project

Okay, confession time: I didn't put that much thought into the lore. (You can probably tell I tried to break away from the Madagascar analogy and... didn't quite make it. But that's not really what this project is about.) If you came for deep worldbuilding, I hope the map itself makes up for it!

The place names are mass-produced too. The "koke" you'll see all over the map is Japanese for moss (苔). "Moss" is, well, moss. The rest are moss and lichen translated into various languages.

The real starting point was a tree I spotted on a walk in the park, covered in moss (and some lichen too). As an amateur map artist, I couldn't help seeing a map in it: "Wait, isn't that a bay? And look, there's a ria coastline over here!"

So I drew it 💪

I wasn't going for a simple tracing or a vague Age-of-Exploration chart. My goal was coastlines and administrative divisions that could hold up as a modern atlas-style map. I hope some of that comes through in the finished piece.

Honestly, the hardest part wasn't the coastline, it was the finishing. I love drawing maps, but the antique look was a real challenge: unfamiliar techniques, a cartouche, ever-multiplying layers, and a drawing hand that nearly got tendinitis from all the clicking.

A Note on Generative AI

I used generative AI for a few things outside the core of the artwork: the parchment texture, mass-producing city names, and translating this text. For the texture, I didn't hand my map to the AI to process. I had it generate a standalone PNG texture, then reworked it myself in my drawing software. The map itself, including the drawing, the ideas and the layout, is all mine. If this kind of use isn't appropriate here, I'll replace the textured version with an alternative.

Sharing and Feedback

I'm releasing this map under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0) licence. You're welcome to use, share, and adapt it under the terms of that licence.

Comments, critiques, and suggestions are very welcome, especially on the coastline design, cartographic detail, and overall presentation.

And if possible, please go easy on the place names. There are rather a lot of them.

Thanks for taking a look!

Ysacyithaia is one of the oldest surviving states in my fantasy world, Elyden, founded in 2804 RM when rival Siirvani clans came together under the Accord of Aachacars. Rather than being forged through conquest, the kingdom was built around compromise, shared law and a rejection of hereditary monarchy.

Today, Ysacyithaia is a land of broad pastures, cattle ranches, ancient forests, market towns and rugged frontiers. Its wealth comes largely from ranching, forestry, cinnabar mining and trade routes connecting the Inner Sea with the Ishmmarran interior.

But the kingdom has a rather more unusual problem on its eastern frontier: the Stone Whirlpool, an enormous and mysterious phenomenon whose presence has shaped Ysacyithaian history for centuries. The frontier is guarded by the Gerasene Legion and the Order of the Steel Spear, but the greatest threats to Ysacyithaia aren't necessarily other nations.

This is the latest map of Ysacyithaia, showing its major regions, cities, roads and geographical features.

I've been building Elyden for over 2-years as a single interconnected fantasy world, with its own history, cultures, religions and geography.

I'm happy to answer questions about Ysacyithaia or anything else on the map!

Our version of the Great Map of Faerûn!

The southern part of the map is currently in the works...

These maps were private commissioned by Jeff Todd and Morvold Press!🧭🗺️

Faerun is unofficial Fan Content permitted under the Fan Content Policy. Not approved/endorsed by Wizards. Portions of the materials used are property of Wizards of the Coast. ©Wizards of the Coast LLC

Moreno Paissan and Angela Gubert Art 2026

When Angela and I work on maps for a Videogame, it's always incredibly exciting...

Work in progress on the map for a new Videogame in development!🧭🗺️🏰

Follow me on : https://www.instagram.com/morenopaissanart?dlrf=MXZjajRkeGlzemtxNA==

I still have to add territories, names, mountains, rivers etc but this is what I have so far for my DnD world Tarn.

I use Inkscape for my maps and I was wondering if there's anyway to replicate the 'inner-halo' effect seen in older maps like the one attached, so is it possible?

Yeahh, got kinda bored today so thought I would make a small map for a worldbuilding project. Kinda got carried away though and now we got this^^

pretty happy with it though; ofc there are some flaws (especially the colors in some parts and the font) but i wanted it to look a bit like a sketch done while planning, so works just fine (?)

any feedback would ofc be appreciatedddd :)

Half of it is done and I want to know, if I'm doing it right. I'm open to advises!

A map created for Nadine Brandes’ new novel, set in a Dutch/German-inspired fantasy world—featuring a few dragons and knights, alongside numerous elements from Dutch and German folklore, such as a magic well, nautical details, crowns, thrones, and tulips! More information about this intriguing novel is coming soon; stay tuned to learn more!🧭🗺️🏰

Moreno Paissan and Angela Gubert Art 2026

Follow me on IG: https://www.instagram.com/morenopaissanart?exln=MXZjajRkeGlzemtxNA==

A new state has appeared in the world - Riro Islands.

Almost every year, a new state or tribe emerges in the world. Currently, it is the 11th year in the world.

Now let's talk about how the state came to be:

initially, it was a close-knit tribe where everyone got along. But then they decided to establish a state on a small island. Some people agreed, but some wanted to stay and not move to the island. So a disagreement arose. Some stayed where they lived, and others sailed to another island. That's how this state came to be.

A new country has appeared - Drevir.

The history of this country can be said to be almost the same as the very first one, but the country has a democratic regime.

This map is for a long form D&D campaign I’ll be running. The land mass is roughly the size of the Scandinavian peninsula with currents driving primarily from the southeast to northwest. The lakes in the mountains are reservoirs behind massive dams the mountain dwarves have built. Other than that, everything else should look relatively natural.

The Kickstarter campaign for YŌVĀKYĀNA RPG—a tabletop role-playing game set in an Indian-inspired fantasy world, written by Przemysław A. Lewicki and published by LilaLoom Press was successfully funded on Kickstarter in no time! We are thrilled to have contributed to this project with our maps and illustrations! Below, you can take a look at the large world map that Angela and I created, along with the characters we designed. We truly hope you like them—don’t miss out on this compelling project! You can find the links in the comments! 😊🧭🗺️

Materials used: H-HB pencils, Unipin 0.05–0.1 pens, and Winsor & Newton watercolors on 300gsm smooth (hot-pressed) Fabriano paper; the artwork was subsequently scanned.

Moreno Paissan and Angela Gubert Art 2026

Trying to blend a few styles I've seen here with my own, and I really like how the coarse brush stroke fills the mountainside and gives it more detail. Used the app Sketchbook on my phone.

I am aware that there are several out there.

For this one setting, I've just been writing standalone adventures as the hero wanders the world, with only a vague idea of the overall geography. Basically I've just worldbuilt as I go forward. Now that I've finished several of these stories I'm thinking of mapping the setting out a little. And by little I mean something like the southern half of Europe, or the general Mediterranean area.

For this other setting I'm thinking of going in the opposite direction: Creating a map first, then adjust the details of the backstory and worldbuilding to the geography. I'm thinking something around the size of Europe.

So either way, I don't need to map out an entire planet. What are my options, and what are the differences between them?

City map for rpg game!

Visit our IG account for more maps: https://www.instagram.com/morenopaissanart?mdxt=MXZjajRkeGlzemtxNA==

Another screenshot of one of the parts of my unfinished fantasy world map. It's Aldonia, an island of the Elves, although they call themselves "anisines", the most divine race, made to rule the others and bring stability to the world of barbaric chaos.

This island is a metropoly of the Padiany, an Elven theocratic empire with padian (from aldonian - guardian) as an autocratic head of state.

I think I just finished a small part of my fantasy world map. This screenshot covers just about 10% of the general map.

A world map im currently working on where i didn't noticed the eastern continents resemble that of American continent until i flipped the map

Just under a year ago, I uploaded a previous version of my setting's "world" map (it obviously is not the whole world). In the past year, I've played with the design a bit, and recently I started in on a complete rework. This included some substantial changes to the geography, as well as some updates to my own style which I'm extremely happy with. It is officially my favorite map I've ever made.

Some notes:

1. Yes, I know this is not a traditional "continent." Neither is Europe, except by tradition. Sue me lmao

2. The edges of the map basically reflect the outer limits of the "known world"--some sparse knowledge exists beyond, whose obscurity increases further and further out until no consistent information can be used, but what is mapped here is basically the only places people ever go to with any regularity. For example, the desert seen to the east stretches quite far, giving way only to stormy steppes with few safe passages, none known to the folk of the East. Such dangers exist in every direction of travel, so this is basically all anyone knows with any certainty.

3. If you look closely, all of my hills and mountains were copy-pasted from a set of masters. There are about twelve different mountain shapes, each with forward and backward shading (the outlines and shading were drawn and then copied separately, so I needed to color each mountain twice for each direction, except for the smallest ones which are pretty much symmetrical). This was... time-consuming, but my last map incarnation had fully hand-drawn and -colored mountains, and it probably took longer and didn't look as good, so this was an improvement on all fronts lmao. I assume I'd get questions about them anyway, so here I am getting ahead of the curve.

4. My next step is gonna be adding settlements, territory names, labeling landmarks, etc. But that's daunting and I'm nervous about getting started on that, so here's the bare nature version sdkfsj