I'm assuming the Web of Seas is a swamp? It's a good name for a marshland, all interlaced with waterways.

It is an enormous marshland, yes. Infested with vicious giant insects, crustaceans, Swamp Dragons and other creatures, the land is also home to many bandits and highwaymen, guarding the bridges through the wet, green hell of the Blue Pearl Coast. The city of Kelan is technically a Duchy, with the Duke of Kelan holding the pirate-friendly city in a corrupt grip via his heavily armored, cruel and silent cadre of black-armored elite guards. The Web of Seas is a place people go to disappear, losing themselves in the many small swamp communities, smuggling enclaves and bandit camps scattered across the gigantic expanse of overgrown wilderness.

Bridge tolls! Are there bridge trolls too? Marshlands are always fun places to explore in a fantasy setting. Key example: Velen in The Witcher 3. It's nice that your varied geography makes room for a big ol' swamp off in the corner.

There aren't Bridge Trolls in the traditional sense, no. The Trolls of Teriss are pretty much exclusively members of the species you've already seen. Not that there isn't something awful dwelling under bridges in some places, though.

What are the economic centres of the Tourian continent? Port Vedres certainly seems ideally-situated as a trade port along with proximity to what seem to be major cities and such.

It depends rather heavily on what sort of trade is actually being conducted and for what purpose. For pure economic power, Nef'Rel has one of the richest economies due to trade ties with both Dwarven and Dark Elf cities in the subterranean reaches of the continent, while Lerone has one of the greatest agricultural and lumber industries. Being centrally located on the Sea of Lerone opens it up to trade with most of the rest of the region as well, though overland trade is made difficult by the Great Forest of Lerone and the inherent magical dangers therein.

Port Vedres is predominantly a trade port with the South-Western islands of Breton and the far Western continent of Chiang, but it has recently fallen on hard times due to the increase in distrust of outsiders and insular thinking on the part of the Chiang Empire. It also makes good money from fishing, however, and does run routine trade around to Amberlight Bay, though it risks the dangers on the border of the Sea of Teeth to take that journey.

Avones, though considered one of the three major city-states of Tourian politics, is less of a trade powerhouse. They take in a lot of income from outside sources, and have vast markets, but have little to no actual exports of their own. Their economy is driven mostly by people seeking intangible benefits, like magical boons and charms or mystical training. What trade they do manage is tied to the crafting and sale of said magical goods.

Any advice for mapmaking? Anything to remember geography wise?

Depending on what you're going for, always start out by drawing out just...Land. A solid mass. Carve it out as you go; shape seas and oceans from the land first, so to speak. Visualize it as necessary, and then go for it. I use a program that allows me to start with land then move on by carving it away to use water, called Inkarnate. One you have land parsed out, worry about the environment. If there are going to be transitions, plan for midway points, and decide on a definition, a softness level for whatever brush you want to use. It looks more natural if they fade into each other. Figure out where you want mountains, lakes, rivers, roads, etc. and do those last. Just determine your regions first and get those solidified. Shape roads so they follow natural terrain features; same with rivers.

And always pay attention to your coastlines. In any program you use, I suggest going to a minimum size brush and just sort of free-handing coasts, riverbanks and the like. It'll look more natural in the end, and give it a better flow.

Any other advice, especially for making sure the geographical features and/or climates make sense in a world where "a wizard did it" isn't the go-to answer? Any more Inkarnate tips?

For the mapping program I would suggest that you actually look up new texture packs made by the fans. A lot of the textures used on my map up there were actually from fan-made texture packs that came with a series of brushes which lets you paint the different environmental textures like the volcanic seeps in the desert and the jungle and swamp Terrain. There are plenty of different texture packs already built in but getting a handful of different ones allows you to load up 10 or so new textures which can be used to help make fairly decent intermediary sections like a grassland bordering on a swamp before reaching the mountains, things like that.

I would also definitely suggest experimenting with the softness of your brushes because if you got a maximum softness you'll get a nice blend when you put two areas next to each other. It's how I got the shadowy look of the frost scar along the northern part of the continent. But if you reduce the softness then you can get some harsher lines and you can actually use a narrow brush to try and Define some elevation say Foothills plateaus things like that.

As for creating realistic environments I would suggest that you should definitely determine where you want your equator to be on your world first and foremost because that'll help you determine distance between polar reaches like the northern half of the Tourian continent temperate areas and then more tropical regions. Once you've got that down pat and you know exactly where you want each region to be it's pretty much as simple as looking at a map of the real world or any other fantasy world and figuring out exactly what would fit wear. Take the desert for example

The reason that desert works is because it's close to the northern section of the continent which would imply that plant growth would have already been stunted it's also Coastal which would also probably indicate that the region may have experienced a sudden loss of water in the past like an inland sea receding. The key thing about the desert though is that it exists in the current state it's in because of another environmental feature which is a meteorite impact which is what has caused parts of the desert to remain molten afterwards. Essentially it's just a matter of finding a balance between logic and fantasy and finding what feels natural for you for your setting. I would really just suggest that you watch some nature documentary specifically about the development of certain regions on our planet like the Everglades and also just get a feel for what you would want to do with your world and let your imagination run free. I know that sounds like a rambling nonsense but it's just my process.

Sorry if there are typos; phone talk to text blows.

Any more tips for that kind of thing? What about forest or marsh/swamp regions?

One good tip for forests and swamps: Try a gradual shift from grasslands to marshlands. Use a softer brush and a pale shade of green for dryer grasslands, shift to darker green, then deep green. Add some water for swamps, pools and rivers, etc.

What about deserts, islands and jungles? Any other advice you can think about?

It's usually a good idea for deserts to lead either into mountains or grasslands. Deserts are also pretty decent as standalone islands. A good idea for islands is to use a large brush for the island and draw a single large circle, then freehand the shape as you carve the island away. CHoose a texture you like, color the whole island, then use a soft sand/desert brush to form beaches. If you want to make small islands or reefs off of a larger one, give yourself some time to feel out how you feel the water would flow around the island so you can realistically place and adjust. With jungles, water is important. Jungles should be near coasts and rivers. A good idea is to add mountains amid trees, add plenty of water features, and go for a deep, dark, rich texture. Jungles are wet, and if you're going for the "Green Hell" feeling you want to go for dark colors.

Any lakes, river, mountain or canyon advice? Who/where else can I ask about this kind of thing?

Treat lakes and rivers like coastlines; freehand with a fine brush to carve out the beaches and shores. Wide mouths at lakes and oceans look best, decide which way you want the water to flow and sort of just freehand your rivers from there. Good idea to connect rivers to lakes and then the sea, unless you want to have them flow into a feature, like a mountain or a canyon. For mountains, Inkarnate lets you place and scale mountains to your liking, but it's a good idea to get a feel for the environment you want under and around them. You can imply a stream running from a mountain by using a narrow stream, expanding it wider as it moves out and linking it with a larger body of water. Canyons can work much the same way; use a dark stone or black texture to imply depth, use a sharper brush to signify a severe drop, then soften the land around it.

And one important note for rivers: Making small offshoot streams and ponds can add to the realism. Make sure if you do that you account for how you want the land to be impacted, and what sort of environment you're going for. Making green oases in deserts, marshes or swamps where large flows of water pass through forests, etc.

What about volcanoes, plains/grasslands/prairie/savannah and tundra? Any more jungle advice? What about cities and smaller settlements?

For all of those environments, find a brush that works well. Black brushes or dark brown are good for volcanic terrain. Plains, Grasslands, Prairie, Savannah should all have a lighter green or almost tan brush broken up with green patches and maybe some small forested areas like oases. For jungles, it's nice to break them up with mountains and rock features just to give the impression of broken up terrain. And as for cities and settlements, I'd say find good places that make sense, like alongside rivers and coasts. There are actually city/village items to place in Inkarnate, so just pick the ones that fit. I prefer to use solid icons for major cities and clear ones for smaller places so you can better make out the terrain.

Oh, yeah, and pick a good font for adding text. Inkarnate has font and text adding options. So...Y'know. See what works.

What about geographically speaking for those environments? What fonts are best IYO?

Well, geographically any of the grassland archetypes tend to have little water. If anything, streams or rivers running to small ponds and lakes. Savannahs would have fewer water elements as well. They also tend to be quite flat comparatively, so a distance from mountains is obvious.

And really, font is all personal preference. Inkarnate has a limited number of fonts, so just pick which one you like.

Any good suggestions for places I can find maps both real and fantastic for inspiration?

It's not hard to find them on Google; just google Fantasy World Maps and Geographical Maps of various countries. Specifically you'd want detailed geographical maps.

Where can I find those texture packs you mentioned?

https://www.reddit.com/r/inkarnate/comments/62fivu/inkarnate_texture_gallery_im_back_yall/?st=j5rppjaa&sh=d42014e3

How would I implement them?

Open the Inkarnate Background Textures image link on the page I linked, or go here:

https://imgur.com/a/4XxBY#YO3cKCl

Then just right-click and save the image with the name you want for it. When you load up Inkarnate, click the Brush tool on the right. At the top you'll find a Texture box. Click that and it'll open the Texture menu. There's a + icon in the top right. Click that to add a texture from a source file, which would be one of the image files you've saved. That'll make it a texture brush in Inkarnate, which you can then use at your leisure. You can have ten customs.

Where can I find those?

Anything else I should keep in mind when making grasslands and the like? What about volcanoes and craters?

Not really. Just do what feels right. Craters should be treated as what the environment will allow. Water at the bottom for old craters/dead volcanic calderas, magma and lava flows from a live cone, dead/burned terrain around large active craters, etc.

What about meteor impact craters and the like?

Generally treat them the same, sans volcanic effects unless you want to imply they're maintaining heat. In a fantasy or Sci-Fi setting that could be pretty easily acceptable.

What about peninsulas?

Treat them the same as islands. Make a large circle or mass of land, carve away free hand until you find something you like. You can use some land and a dark blue or other colored brush of your choice to make reefs around your islands.

What about the geography? Any land bridge and straight tips?

Land bridges are generally mud or sand unless particularly large; depending on the size you might want some plants or other features. As for straits? Not particularly any advice. Really, this is all advice you could more readily figure out through experimentation. Just get hands on; you'll learn more by doing than anything else.

I'm just trying to make sure my geography is at least semi-realistic so I don't have to edit my map(s) as much. Measure twice, cut once and all that, you know? Any more volcano advice? Anything else you can think of for Inkarnate and worldbuilding?

Not particularly. It's all just a matter of practice. You'll figure it out.

*Plops into the comments.*

As of current political developments, Queen Lana of Nef'Rel is trying to carve a trade route through the mountains to the web of seas and from there, secure a road to Kelan for the purposes of establishing a safe over land route for caravans. She also wants to put a better route from Angar to Lerone.

Unrelated to that Barclay is on fire. Lord Gideon is not pleased with this.

That's what happens when you hire mercenaries. Not bad mercenaries; just mercs in general.