Whitewode Campaign Story Map - Version 4

Below is the final version of the Whitewode Campaign Story Map. As I mentioned in my previous post this kind of map is used as a memory device to allow me to see the grand sweep of the Campaign at a glance. It shows major characters, related objects, moods, and key events occurring currently as relates to Whitewode.

Spoiler Alert! If you are one of my players you may want to avert your eyes from this post until the end of the Whitewode Campaign.

The map has not substantially changed from the earlier versions, which looked like this:

Version 1

The first version is the simplest and contains the roughest overview, but would be sufficient to run the Campaign with.  What it represents is a snapshot in time of who is who and where they are located, showing some additional elements such as mood and relationships.

Version 2

The second version shows the same information, but with more detail.  However in this case I left out the relative locations information as I ran out of room on the side of the paper where things would normally go.  As you can see, it is an evolution of the first map and includes some additional detail, such as the key at the bottom which shows various objectives of specific characters or groups in the Campaign.

Version 3

The third version is a combined and more complete combination of the first and second versions, which I posted in my previous blog post A Few Notes on Story Mapping which explains in more detail what is being shown.  This version (3) certainly has enough detail to run with and includes everything I probably would need for the campaign.  However, as I ruminated over version 3 I recalled additional elements that while not essential, might easily come into play soon.  I also wished to clarify the environment such as the borders of Whitewode village, and give further hints as to the characters and include each of their most important aspects, which you can see in what was the blank space for notes earlier.

So here is version 4 which I am considering final for the purposes of tonight's game.

Version 4 - Final

Note: if you want to see the enlarged view of the Story Map you can Right-click the image, and open in a new window. This will give you the jpg itself which most browsers will then allow you to zoom in on. Enjoy.

Also note that during the game this kind of Story Map is really only intended for my own use as Gamemaster, and contains information which the Players are currently unaware of. Of course all of this information is coded in a way that would make it difficult for the Players to interpret even if they saw the map, and they certainly would not understand the references in a way that would allow them to act on that information intelligently. So the map is not as much a giveaway as it may seem at first.

Lastly, I would like to point out that were I to write down all of the information in this image (which I have done elsewhere) then it would take up a great volume of pages, and not serve its intended purpose which is to give me a way to view all the important details of the Campaign at a glance. And that is the true beauty of the Story Map method.