I, too, have been searching for years for city maps which detailed non-medieval, ancient cities.

Who knew they were waiting right here, at a phenomenally low price?

Thank you, Black Hand Source!

I have searched for years and years to find city maps that evoke the feel and detailing of a true to life city. I have to say that this title is exactly what I have always been looking for.

I love the way the city seems to have grown orgaincally over time, the houses each have their own shapes and the streets bend and wind just like a true medieval city. I can easily imagine the city walls expanding over time as more area is claimed from the surrounding countryside.

The clusters of buildings in several areas have been rendered in such a way to suggest urban estates of wealthy nobles. There are also plenty of unique building typies depicted to populate your small city with all manner of temples, shrines, keeps, garrisons and taverns.

The additonal pages showing reference numbers, color coded city districts and even a beautiful black and white 'blank' map give the gamemaster loads of readily accessible tools to develop this locale to his/her taste.

I highly recommend this title and am eagerly awaiting future Ancient City installments!

The cover of this product gives you a good idea of what you're getting. Inside is a keyed legend with a marked map, another that highlights the different districts in separate colors, a plain b/w line version for you to mark up how you like, and the sepia version from the front. That's it, but that's all they advertise and it's all I need. The rest is left to you to fill in to your needs.

What I particularly like is the scope of the map. Most maps I encounter are sprawling high medieval to renaissance layouts. While those certainly have a role, Black Hand Source has the potential to fill out a good niche in offering smaller maps. If you play in a fantasy game with a younger, earlier civilization -- or if you have a need for a small walled town -- this is a good map with plenty of inspiration. However, be prepared to do some work and write in the details yourself.

I'd easily rate the product at 5 starts, but the price is a little high and loses one for value. There are other products that offer similar amount of pages (I don't count blue or black versions of the the exact map as separate pages) for about $2. Still, I'm happy to have purchased this product and hope they continue to do more and create a series.