Had the pleasure of painting this piece and two others for @dragonageannual 2026 zine! It was so much fun working on this and seeing other people's art and writing!
I bring you a Dragon Age Map with the OFFICIAL distances calculated in miles! Higher rez version here for the regular map and here for the map with extra large boxes to help with reading larger distances.
Details under cut.
So I had been on the hunt for a Thedas map that actually had any distances calculated on it for years. There's some fan maps, but none were official.
Well, imagine my shock when I opened my dragon age ttrpg book to find a map at the back that DOES include official distances!! If you have the book, check the back, it's glued in there.
I found no one had uploaded this map online, though. So I took a photo, lined it up as best as I could with a map I found online of the same style, and then pasted in the distance calculator in the corner. I then added a grid on top. I couldn't find a better way of doing it than 5 squares for every 70 miles, which means each square is about 14 miles. I thought that'd be easier to calculate than trying to break a 70 mile chunk down.
Then I realized by looking at the map that trying to calculate longer distances using that map will suck cause they're such tiny squares... so I added another grid on top to make it so the large grid is 70 miles. I included both versions of the map for anyone to use.
According to this map and some online calculators, Varric was wrong that it took Hawke 2 weeks to get to Kirkwall from Gwaren. it should have taken closer to 20 days. But eh, not too big an error and 2 weeks sounds neater. Plus, we know he's an unreliable narrator.
The funny thing is, it takes nearly (edit: MORE than) 2 weeks to get across Ferelden. On horseback. Warden was walking. Warden... how far did you walk... How many miles did you cover...
Anyone feel free to spice up the map however you'd like! I hope this is helpful for anyone out there!
Never realized that this wasn't already done by someone, I think just because I've seen so many versions relying on the other "official" scalings. Really cool to see this done!
I love (and lament) the variations of scaling across the different versions of the Thedas maps. So here are some fun facts about the scaling of this map because they're are just kinda neat.
Note: I'm putting official in quotes because there is next to no consistency and the ttrpg scaling actively contradicts most of the other canon travel times that it is definitely not the one being used by anyone in BioWare. Though sometimes used by novels and other 3rd party material. Officially for the ttrpg, they made some decisions that BioWare says is canon as long as it isn't directly contradicted by the games - which this is so really up to you.
- This is one of the "official" scales, there are actually about four or five depending on how you want to decide “official”. This scaling contradicts about 8 canon time travel points.
Dao’s scaling - where it is a week to travel from Orzammar’s entrance to the circle one way - Two weeks round trip.
One of the more common ones that OP probably saw was based off Varric’s statements of travel times at the start of DA2. This person did a wonderful round up of distances that if you want to use the scale in this post you can convert.
Asunder asserts it takes a month to get to Adamant from the White Spire.
Last Flight’s assertion that on horseback it takes 2 weeks to cross the Anderfels from Weisshaupt to the Wandering Hills. Which contradicts all scaling lol
Dai’s scaling that says you can traverse all of Southern Thedas in a year. Which is 3 1/2x the size of Ferelden which is also traversal in a year (barely).
Dai also asserts it take a week for a letter (and Barris) to get from the Free Marches to Skyhold.
The official cookbook that says you can travel the entirety of Thedas in a year by carriage/on-foot. Which contradicts both dao and dai, as well as Varric's statement of travel times and all the novel travel times.
- This interactive map uses the scaling of a couple theories based on canon travel times. Which I think is neat and could be helpful for any map shenanigans you all may have.
- The printer map is about a half inch off from if you were to print out the WoT map (a version of the map op put the grid on, though that might vary depending on the image source. When making my consolidated map of Thedas there seems to be about a 1/2 to 3 inch wobble across any official map that can be found online or supplied through digital copies of the books. This is where my lamenting of the scaling variations comes from lol)
- Officially it is stated that Ferelden is the size of England. The ttrpg contradicts that. Which I saw somewhere in the reblogs that this scale puts it on par with Poland, which is about 2.35x bigger than England. 312,696km (poland) vs 132,932km (england)
- According to the ttrpg scale, Anders swam 13 miles / 20.92km to get to the docks when he escaped. It also makes it so the horizon for Thedas is further than that of earth by I believe by nearly triple the distance, which is super interesting. 13 miles / 20.92km vs the 4.97 miles / 8km
Despite the defeated of the blighted gods, danger remains from the splintered 'Antaam' (the Qunari army) who make trouble for natives and travellers alike. Much to our dismay, it has been discovered that the Antaam did not split from the other branches of the Qun with a singular leader who might be defeated, but have instead devolved into factions under many warlords. They appear to have replaced their native religion with their own lore, fashioning themselves with a 'false heritage' so as to inspire their followers. One should pay attention on the road to rumours, and to certain names repeated with fear behind them.
Ataashok - 'Dragon King'
A dangerous with the ability to breathe fire (called 'adaari'), he reportedly drank dragon blood, and thus perhaps took on the appearance and abilities of a reaver in addition to breathing fire. Although now defeated, be wary of his former followers who now wander without a master.
Kashtaar 'Jewel-Taker'
The mountains outside Marothius are plagued by a bandit army, led by a figure who, it might be suggested by the name, is particularly interested in killing and looting travellers on the road.
Isskatari 'Master Killer'
Formerly a 'kithshok,' or general, this warlord has taken particular pleasure in destroying Rivaini art, artefacts and sacred places. A delegation sent by the seers failed to mitigate the threat. It seems that he once served in Kont-Aar, and felt that Rivainis did not respect him enough.
Baqounasaar 'Flaming Wind'
Those who think to avoid lost Antaam and other warlord factions should remain cautious at see. Baqounasaar has a fleet under his control, and terrorises the northern coast.
Whether Rivaini seers have taken it upon themselves to try and give those left behind by the fracturing of the Antaam a new purpose, or the Qun sees fit to try and recover its lost followers, one should plan carefully and move with caution regardless.
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