BACKGROUND LORE:
Ithlien, or "Moon-Land," is the easternmost province of Gondor that is subdivided by the stream of Morgulduin into Northern and Southern Ithilien

In the Second Age and early Third Age, the land was prosperous, filled with many woods and gardens thought it was largely abandon over time with the rise of Mordor and loss of Minas Ithil (Minas Morgul). Since then, the province has been subject to constant raids by both Orcs of Mordor and Haradrim from the South. However, scouts were kept in secret locations throughout such as Henneth Annun.

The land is described as "a fair country of climbing woods and swift-falling streams," with gentle slopes "shielded from the east by Ephel Duath and yet not under the mountain shadow, protected form the north by the Emyn Muil, open to the southern airs and the moist winds from the Sea." It also included "a wealth of sweet-smelling herbs and shrubs" and a vast array of tree species, likely planted by men in earlier days. Despite the desolation, the land "kept still a disheveled dryad loveliness."

Haudh in Gwanur: Tomb of Folcred and Faster, burried side by side on a single mound above the riverbank. The forces of Mordor feared to go near.

There were groves of ash, bay, cedar, cypress, fir, juniper, myrtle, oak, and olive trees. The ground cover included heather, ferns, moss, and briars. Among the many flowers that bloomed in Ithilien were anemones, celandines, hyacinths, irises, lilies, and wild roses. Herbs such as marjoram, parsley, sage, and thyme grew there as well.

GENERAL PLAN:

1. Organize Project Post (done)
2. Map Everything (in progress)
3. Design Concept (done)
4. Section One: (in progress)
   1. Prep Terrain
   2. Execute Concept
   3. Add Landmarks
5. Section One: (in progress)
   1. Prep Terrain
   2. Execute Concept
   3. Add Landmarks
6. Add Finishing Touches (in progress)
7. Party (always)

TO DO LIST:

Harithilien (Part 1):

1. The Basics:
   1. Terrain: Basic Terrain
      1. Map Out
      2. Lowlands
      3. Mountains
      4. Rivers and Sources
2. The Environment:
   1. Forests
      1. Concept
      2. Map
      3. Implement
   2. Vegetation:
      1. Bushes
      2. Vegetation
      3. Flowers
3. The Details:
   1. Roads & Ruins
      1. Map
      2. Implement Villages
      3. Ruin Villages
      4. Add Connecting Roads
   2. Ranger Camps
      1. Map
      2. Implement
   3. Finishing Touches

JOBS:

• Ithilien Concepts (/warp Ithilien Concept)
• Root Fixing
• Ruin Builds
• Village Builds
• Garden Builds
• Ruin Villages
• Road Builds

devdog3531 said:

Since the MCME map is slightly different than the drawn one, I'll chalk my question up to this being a possibility, but I thought you guys had already done South Ithilien. Or is that river that you show as the southern boundary the Poros?

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I thought I did too!

Then someone pointed it out on a map that the section we did was just 1/3 of the region so this is part 2 and 3 of that project

Temporary warp added "/warp Harithilien Temp"

ardelenia said:

what is the pink dot?

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There is something on the map but unfortunately I cant actually read it..

Also there are all these little tower map markers, does anybody know what those are? (@Finrod_Amandil @JordD04 )

Lorwel said:

If you mean the text next to Haudh-in-Gwanûn, the lower one says Athrad Poros, which means Ford of Poros, and the upper one says Tir Ethraid, wich means Tower of the Fords. I haven't found any reference to them in the books lore, I think it's an addition of the Middle Earth Role Playing, which is where that map comes from if I'm not mistaken. I suppose the towers would be some kind of watchtowers over the fords and the road to Harad.

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Yggdrasilion said:

Without a precise quote to back me up, I'd assume those are way stations. You can find similar arrangements in the Roman Empire, for example (http://www.romeinspompeii.net/mus_dis_octav.jpg). They were constructed every few dozen miles for travelers to replenish themselves and their horses. Problem is, Professor Tolkien, as far as I can recall, never describes any such arrangements on Gondorian roads.
If those aren't way stations, they might simply be watchtowers set up to guard the roads of the kingdom. Rome had those along their borders in great numbers (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c3/Roman.Watchtower.WP-4-49.Grueningen.01.JPG).
It might also be a mixture of both, fortified stations of some sort.
Sorry if that isn't particularly helpful.

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Thanks guys!

Tir Ehtraid is what I was trying to read @JordD04

I tried to find lore on em earlier but couldnt so this is helpful, I will be adding watch towers then along the Eastern border against the mountains in that case with a special one close to Poros.

Is the crossing a bridge or a ford?

updated map

MattTheLegoman said:

These maps are designed for role-playing games and would have been made by map-makers who look at Tolkien's map and said, "How can I add a ridiculous amount of extra stuff to make this playable as a role-playing map."

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Ya, hence I simplified the crap out of it

Basic terrain is done

Moving to villages/camps
Artists can find me in game if they want to claim an entire village, otherwise houses will be build on demand
(sorry tiny map, my computer is derping)

purple - small village
pink - large village

blue x - ranger camp
cyan x - tower/refill station
red x - harad camp