This is a map I made for a D&D game I play in featuring the world setting, Elysia. If I recall the lore correctly for the setting, Elysia was something of a prototype, one that was left unfinished in the end. Like a game that never actually left Beta testing and was released as is (like most modern day AAA games amirite).
The map is highly inspired by a map found in Dover Castle that is a recreation of an older, 12th century map. The Angels that adorn mine are based on those found in D&D, including Deva and Planetars.
The monsters on the map are, likewise, based on those found on that same map. Though with a bit of a slant for the game.
I plan to use this same map frame for other things as well. Maybe for the Eberron or Faerun maps.
I previously posted this to Creative as well, but a commenter recommended I also post it here!
How did you put the actual image together? Like did you trace your inspirations or copy/paste them in or what? It looks very cohesive.
I would also like to know more about the human headed octopus.
All of it is handdrawn (digitally), but with heavy reference to a specific map!
The pattern of the frame is mostly straight lines, so it was easy to sort of just mimic. The Angels positions are also the same, but are highly modified from the originals. I didn't copy and paste any of the stuff in there, though there is a bit of tracing to make sure that everything fits together like the original!
The human headed octopus is inspired by a few "here there be monsters" sort of things I've seen on different maps. They are often portrayed with human faces and stuff. It's basically my representation of a Kraken or something similar. The bird one is an Aarakokra sort of, by the way.