Created for the Dungeons and Dragons Ravnica campaign setting, based on the cards of Magic the Gathering. This map features custom stamps derived from those provided by Inkarnate. Windows, bridges, spires, and other building components were photoshoped apart allowing for modular building construction. Modular buildings paired with the isometric view provides an excellent way to provide the vertical gameplay required by the Ravnican style.

This piece depicts the history of the Ravnica setting in the cross-section style of Steven Biesty. Follow the statue on the hill in its journey through the eras. What has it seen?

1: Pastoral Ravnica

The proto-Rav people were a multi-racial collection of clans originating in a river valley somewhere beneath what is now the Ninth District. The advent of bronze working allowed for stability and agriculture, putting an end to the Gruul-esque nomadic lifestyle of the last Ice Age. The mythos and cultures of this time would form into the Guilds and religions of the present day.

2: Guildpact Era

The centuries before and after the signing of the Guildpact were marked by brutal unrelenting war. The nations and religions that would become the Guilds fought endlessly with each other, brought only to peace by the binding metaphysical law-magic of Azor. Their peace was short lived, for once unified the newly forged city-state of Ravnica would go on to conquer the rest of the planet.

3: Pax Ravnicana

The combined technological and cultural might of the Guilds swiftly overran and integrated every other peoples on the planet. During the long peace that followed, a massive population boom pushed the borders of the city proper in a fervent land grab. Over several millennia forests, mountains, and even oceans were built over by urban sprawl. This period is when many of the Guilds traditions were established.

4: Instability

The power of the Guilds had brought food, technological marvels, and high standard of living to much of the population. Despite this, the disappearance of wild spaces, rampant overpopulation, and corruption of the Guilds inevitably led to widespread civil unrest. The Guildpact prevented total war between factions, but could not stop Gruul raids or the hordes of fickle Guildless rioting outside its jurisdiction. Mass destruction often left entire neighborhoods abandoned.

5: Overgrowth

Advances in Mizzium construction techniques led to an industrial revolution in building construction. Mizzium is thousands of times the strength of steel and never rusts, making it an excellent building material. This enabled great construction projects which sent spires and towers soaring into the sky. This also enabled massive reclamation projects, where it was determined that building over old neighborhoods and filling the empty spaces with abundant rubble was cheaper than demolishing them.

6: Present Day

The Ravnica of today is a vibrant ecumenopolis of over three trillion living souls. The vast undercity beneath the streets provides power, heating, corpse reprocessing, and water management. Legions of Boros patrol the streets while archeological efforts restore ancient worship places. The towering spires and lattice of bridges that cover the surface of this planet are a testament to the thousands of years of conflict and labor that built them.