April 2024 CASAN Fundraiser - Tarantis, A Reimagining
Bill of PaineFull-DM fame here. I participated in 2024's April Arts for Asylum Seekers fundraiser in April 2024.
I had intended to post something every day covering my Tarantis reimagined project. I didn't post every day, but averaged a post every other day (15 posts in 30 days). Next year, I will probably switch to pledging to post three times per week. I will also have my project be more focused - maybe focus on one of the maps - drawing, placenames, geography. I felt like this project was a little too scattered in its presentation. I also participated in helping organize the fundraiser with others in CASAN.
Chittenden Asylum Seekers Assistance Network (CASAN), in Chittenden County, Vermont in the US
After fleeing life-threatening situations in their country of origin, asylum seekers face a years-long legal process. While they wait, these new neighbors are not immediately allowed to work, often know no one here, and are not eligible for many benefits. CASAN has stepped up to fill this gap, providing assistance according to each family or individual’s situation.
During the month of April, CASAN recruited a talented group of Creatives who produced original work such as poetry, photography, crafts, videos and more. Progress
My project wasn’t related to CASAN or people seeking asylum and safety in a new land far from home. One could imagine people in my fantastical land seeking safety in a new place if one wanted to create those stories. My project will be more broad and imagine a land and setting where adventure may take place. I will be drawing maps of the city of Tarantis, the lands around the city, the climate and ecology of the surrounding lands.
An Overview of My Project
I’ll start with cartography and short descriptions of some of the landmarks near Tarantis. As we go along, I’ll start zooming in on the city - both with my maps and sketches - and with descriptions of people and cultures there.
In these emails, I hope to include some of the drawings I’m making and write about what I imagine goes on there.
I’m going to eventually compile these writings to make an adventure site for a role playing game. I’ll describe what that all means in tomorrow’s email. One could use this kind of book of resources to write novels, short stories, poems, create art any kind really.
Here’s a simple draft of some of what’s in my notebook.

Post Two: Inspirations: In the early 80’s in the last century, a couple of friends of mine and I were playing a game called Dungeons and Dragons. D&D is a game where people imagine and pretend to be characters in an imagined land. One player (the Game Master or Dungeon Master) presents the setting though verbal description, images, and maps, portrays characters and creatures that the players encounter, and guide them through the imagined world like a narrator or guide.
I had bought an adventure book set called The City State of Tarantis by Judges Guild. I was the DM, so I laid the map that came in the set on my friend’s coffee table. We would pick a spot on one of the maps and we were off on adventures. I’m a bit of a planner - I would stay up late planning each session - the plots and places we’d explore. Once we started playing, my plans would fall away and we would explore whatever inspired us to go. Even though my often exceptional (🙄) maps, plots, and non-player characters were set aside, I look at that campaign (a series of games) as my favorite role playing game experiences.

One of my fave cities in the “real” world is Siena, Italy. Siena struck me as a city with a deep and interesting history. The art, sport, festivals, food, and music. Also interesting to me was that each neighborhood had its own sets of symbols and flag. The neighborhoods would compete in festivals, local sports, and cheer each other on. So when I started to reimagine Tarantis, I began to imagine a city in a similar climate - also with interesting history and rich cultural heritage.
Tarantis is a city on a small peninsula on the east coast of Alderland in an era similar to southern Europe of the 14th and 15th century CE.
Here are a few pictures that are inspiring me.


Post Three: Regional Map Sketches: Hello and welcome back to Fantastic Geography: A Multimedia Exploration in Imagined Places.
So I’m getting set up to make my first map. I’ll show you different prep drawings I’m putting together - see below. Tomorrow, I’ll show you how I’ll lay it out and get into my first draft.


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