History Main / FantasyWorldMap

* The ''{{Steerswoman}}'' books have a world map, as befits their fantasy trappings. Since those trappings cover a chewy science-fictional center with lots of exploration, the map gets more filled in as the series goes on.

Maps of fantasy worlds have been a feature of {{Fantasy}} books ever since LFrankBaum's Literature/LandOfOz. A visual reference can be very handy. Often drawn in elaborate script, pointing out the DoomedHometown, TheKingdom, TheEmpire, various {{Fantasy Counterpart Culture}}s, each of the FiveRaces' lands. Also marking out many of the {{Wacky Wayside Tribe}}s, the dangerous ForbiddenZone ({{Mordor}}) and other [[TheLostWoods Lost Woods]]. DianaWynneJones's ''TheToughGuideToFantasyland'' has a few things to say on the subject of maps, including the fact that if you're on a quest you may expect to visit ''every single place'' marked on them.

* ''JakAndDaxterThePrecursorLegacy'' has a poster map/game manual in one. The map is bordered with a long passage written in the in-game writing system; those who bother to translate it will find it's full of references to the first game and future storylines.
* ''DragonAge'' has a map that you use whenever you choose which location you want to go to next. It's not a real world map, since it only shows one country (Ferelden), which is part of a much larger world (Thedas). BioWare also released a true world map that shows all of Thedas (see it [[http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/File:ThedasMap.jpg here]]), but this map does not appear in the game itself.

* The ''{{Discworld}}'' eventually had several maps made of it, as did the city of Ankh-Morpork within, even though Pterry said that he never envisioned a map of any kind when writing. (Some of the earlier publications even have quotes from him explicitly stating that "There are no maps. You can't map a sense of humor.")

* AlanDeanFoster's ''Spellsinger'' books have a map. At first it covers only the Bellwoods and immediate environs, with an added portion east of Zaryt's Teeth, because that's where the story is focused. (And true to form, while not every place on the Bellwoods map is visited, almost all the ones east of the Teeth are.) Book three introduces a whole new expanded map of the whole world which afterward never changes--although each subsequent book usually includes a secondary map showing what's 'just off the edge' or expanding on a small region.

* ''Literature/AFireUponTheDeep'' by VernorVinge. While a science fiction novel, it has a map of the galaxy done in fantasy style. It includes a delineation of the "Zones of Thought", which regulate FTL travel, as well as the path the protagonists' ship takes.

* The finale of ''{{RahXephon}}: Pluralitas Concentio'' briefly shows a shot of Earth with an approx. Africa-sized extra continent in the middle of the Pacific. Kinda justified since [[EndOfTheWorldSpecial the world has just been destroyed and recreated]].

* {{Bone}} has had two different maps of the Valley included into the graphic novel editions: the standard map and the one that appears in story that was drawn by a young Thorn (though this one was limited to the earlier volumes).

* The {{Mouse Guard}} TPBs provide the reader with a map of Mouse Territories

* [[UrsulaKLeGuin Ursula K. Le Guin's]] ''EarthseaTrilogy'' has a map showing various parts of the archipelago. Certain editions will include close-ups on the map when the characters are spending time in that particular reach (very very useful!) Her more recent YA series, of which the first is entitled ''Gifts,'' also has such a map, but notably the characters in ''Gifts'' only ever occupy a small upper-right hand corner of the map. Presumably they'll venture forth in the sequels.

* The ''BooksOfPellinor'' contain a map of Edil-Amarandh.
* The ''MagicKingdomOfLandover'' series has a map of Landover.

* ''[[Literature/InheritanceCycle Eragon]]'' has a map. It's even drawn by the author.
* TamoraPierce's ''{{Circle of Magic}}'' series has its own map showing the location of Winding Circle Temple as relative to nearby cities, but not a perhaps more useful map of Winding Circle ''itself.'' (This troper cannot recall if Pierce's books in ''The Circle Opens,'' which take place far away from Winding Circle, also include their own maps, in which case Ms. Pierce is to be applauded.)

** Her [[TortallUniverse Tortall series]] also have maps, with the first one provided with the ''Song of the Lioness'' quartet never changing until the final book provided the (incomplete/unmarked landmarks) map of the eastern continent where the [[FantasyCounterpartCulture Roof of the World]] and the [[{{MacGuffin}} Dominion Jewel]] could be found.

** The simplest solution seems to be reversing the compass needle itself: the Munchkins should be in the East, colored Blue, but the flag (which reflects the four quadrants of the land) has Blue on the left. Hence make East point left and West point right.

* AlanDeanFoster's ''Spellsinger'' books have a map. At first it covers only the Bellwoods and immediate environs, with an added portion east of Zaryt's Teeth, because that's where the story is focused. (And true to form, while not every place on the Bellwoods map is visited, almost all the ones east of the Teeth are.) Book three introduces a whole new expanded map of the whole world which afterward never changes--although each subsequent book usually includes a secondary map showing what's 'just off the edge' or expanding on a small region.

* ''[[ThursdayNext One Of Our Thursdays Is Missing]]'' has a map of the [=BookWorld=] as it stands after the [[CosmicRetcon version update]] that gave it some actual geography.

* ''Series/TheLegendOfDickAndDom'' shows a map of [[ToiletHumor Bottom World]] (conveniently 4:3 shape) over the opening credits, and also uses it during episodes form time to time- both in a mundane way to show where the protagonists are going, but also used for jokes, like LampshadeHanging when they can't afford to film anyhting and doing a little animation on the map instead.

* All ''FinalFantasy'' games have maps wherein, due to the linear plot, you are forced to visit almost every location on it simply to accomplish the story. The few places you don't visit can be found with simple exploring once the world becomes a WideOpenSandbox.

* ''TheElderScrolls Adventures: Redguard, VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind, TheElderScrollsIVOblivion,'' and their related [[ExpansionPackWorld expansion packs]] come with paper maps (a cloth map, for ''Redguard'') packaged in the boxes. They are designed to look like someone who actually lives in ''TheElderScrolls''' world drew them -- ''Oblivion's'' map even has a watermark and signature.

* ''JakAndDaxterThePrecursorLegacy'' has a poster map/game manual in one. The map is bordered with a long passage written in the in-game writing system; those who bother to translate it will find it's full of references to the first game and future storylines.
* ''{{Dragon Age}}'' has a map that you use whenever you choose which location you want to go to next. It's not a real world map, since it only shows one country (Ferelden), which is part of a much larger world (Thedas). BioWare also released a true world map that shows all of Thedas (see it [[http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/File:ThedasMap.jpg here]]), but this map does not appear in the game itself.

* ''{{ZanZarah}}'' had a variation: the in-game map was presented as an actual paper map, of which you initially only had the bottom-left piece. As you progressed through the game, you recovered more pieces that were attached to the map in a jigsaw puzzle manner until it was complete by the endgame. A marker on the map would additionally track your current location, but only if you had the corresponding piece, otherwise you would be wandering through terra incognita (conveniently, though, the map piece depicting each region could be found very close to your most likely first entrance point to said region).

* ''WesternAnimation/{{WITCH}}'' often shows a map of Meridian early in the series in a lot of key scenes, such as when Phobos is planning his next assault or the rebels are planning their next strike.

* The map of the Literature/LandOfOz is one of the earliest examples of this trope. Since each succeeding book visited a different part of Oz or its environs, the map got an annual update with the release of each new book. Unfortunately, Baum messed up the map's directions, putting West and East on the wrong sides of the map. (While this was corrected in later books, devout ''Oz'' fans [[FanonDiscontinuity still embrace the swap]]; for example, in RobertHeinlein's ''The Number Of The Beast'' the world-jumping main characters use this feature to confirm that Oz really is Oz when they visit it.) The unique colors of the map of Oz forms the basis for the flag of Oz.

* In the ''LittleNemo'' movie, Flip is the only one who has a map of both Slumberland and Nightmareland. Not only that but he's also the only one who can understand it.

* Brin's ''{{Uplift}}'' series is another science fiction example.

* Besides having MedievalStasis the Hyrule seen in ''TheLegendOfZelda'' is stuck with this.

* ''[[Literature/InheritanceCycle Eragon]]'' has a map, of course, because Tolkien had a map. It's even drawn by the author.

Also frequent in TabletopGames for gameplay reasons, and, occasionally, in {{anime}} series. For the VideoGame equivalent, see WorldMap and RiskStyleMap.

-- ''[[JRRTolkien J. R. R. Tolkien]]''

* All three ''{{Warcraft}}'' games had World Maps in them. Azeroth's a constantly changing place, though, since none of the maps looked [[RetCon like the other]].

* In ''MahouSenseiNegima'', during the Magic World arc various maps of the MagicWorld (global, regional and local) get shown, sometimes with the map of Japan superimposed for size comparison purposes.

* The page quote from ''TheFirstLaw'' trilogy is spoken by a character reading a fantasy novel (''in'' a bleedin' fantasy novel) as a not so subtle TakeThat to the entire trope. (Or, possibly, to ''Lord of the Rings'').

* ''TheNameOfTheWind''

* Robert E. Howard included a map with the ''[[ConanTheBarbarian Conan]]'' stories, though given Howard's rather slam-bang style of world-building, it wasn't so much a physical map as a series of political borders. It's mentioned at one point in "The Phoenix on the Sword," where King Conan adds the northern lands where he came from to the maps of the Aquilonian court.

* Erin Hunter's ''WarriorCats'' and ''SeekerBears'' series both have two two-page maps per book: One is the "animal view" map, which is more decorative, having houses and trees and everything drawn out, and labeling it with the animals ' names for landmarks. The second is a "human view" map, which labels the landmarks with human names. It also looks more like a proper map: rather than drawing the forest, there is a map key, and it just uses the symbol for "tree" lots of times.

* ''[[Literature/InheritanceCycle Eragon]]'' has a map, of course, because Tolkien had a map. It's even drawn by the author. It looks like an [[DidNotDoTheResearch exercise in the]] [[CriticalResearchFailure art of failing geography]].

* ''Series/GameOfThrones'' has one of these in the credit sequence, highlighting the settings featured in each episode.

* ''VideoGame/GoldenSun'' games had a world map you could access by hitting R while outside of cities and dungeons. ''The Lost Age'' was sold with a paper map of Weyard and a character relationship chart. ''Dark Dawn'''s map of Angara contradicts most of what was established in the first two games.

* ''TheElderScrolls Adventures: Redguard, TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind, TheElderScrollsIVOblivion,'' and their related [[ExpansionPackWorld expansion packs]] come with paper maps (a cloth map, for ''Redguard'') packaged in the boxes. They are designed to look like someone who actually lives in ''TheElderScrolls''' world drew them -- ''Oblivion's'' map even has a watermark and signature.