The timer over at “Lord British Presents” continues to tick down (causing me no end of excitement), but our noble leader has not been idle.
We now know that the announcement relates to his “Ultimate RPG”. I suspect that’s intended as a name as close to “Ultima” as possible, rather that a claim that it will be the last RPG ever made. Let’s hope so, at any rate.
The Ultimate RPG facebook page has been releasing pieces of a map, but a map of what? At first sight, it looks like a fairly generic RPG sort of map. Hardly something that would excite us in itself. The importance of it then must lie in the details of what it shows. Is there something there that a Britannian might recognise?
Sosaria, later named Britannia, has morphed and shifted many times over the years, so looking for any exact matches is probably going to be an exercise in futility.
The third piece is the most instantly recognisable to me. On the northern edge of the map is a settlement that looks an awful lot like Skara Brae, seat of Spirituality, the island town which sat off Britannia’s western coast. On the coast itself was a smaller settlement from whence the ferry would scurry back and forth. With it being on the edge of the map, there is no way to tell if it is truly an island or not.
The first piece is trickier, but the small settlement in a lake makes me think of Castle British, which would make the hint of further buildings to the South-East the tip of the City of Compassion, Britain. The Serpent Spine mountains are a little closer than usual, but within wiggley topography parameters. It looks like there is a dungeon entrance in the SW corner. If it is one of the original eight, then I would suspect it of being Despise, though further South than it used to be.
Regarding the 2nd jigsaw piece, I have nothing. There is a tower, and an awful lot of lava. It’s the sort of tower that might make a fine home for Mondain or one cut from the same cloth, but it does not remind me of any particular place.
The thing is, I’m not sure whether Ultimate RPG could even use a map based on Britannia, given that Electronic Arts has control of the original Ultima games. My guesses above could very well be similar to watching clouds on a lazy afternoon, seeing all manner of dragons and giants within their ever-changing forms.
Still, it’s fun to guess! You can share your thoughts in the comments below, if you’ve got any ideas!