Thoughts on Annurios
by Geoff GanderWorking with Thorfinn to detail each region of Selhomarr naturally led me to provide new details, as each region acquired a personality of its own and told me its own story as it was fleshed out. There are details on the maps that I had never conceived of when I first wrote the gazetteer in the late 90s, so any effort to revise the setting (which is one of my long-term goals) would entail a complete re-write. I've been hesitant to jump down that rabbit hole because I know it will be a long commitment. I'm the sort of person who prefers to focus on a single project to get it done rather than bounce among several in fits and starts over many years.
There is some added detail supporting this fabulous map, which people might like. Illaria's Folly is a location of interest that I presented in Issue 9 of Threshold Magazine: What happens when agents of the Lighthouse get ideas above their station? Illaria found out the hard way.
Annurios is intended to be a true wilderness region. It's been on the fringes of the empire for centuries, and while Selhomarr has ebbed and flowed, the Korvoris Forest is a primal place that does not yield easily to outsiders.
I had ideas for the Keep of Ashes, but I don't think I ever wrote them down. It's a forbidding place, but who built it and why, and what lives there now?
Hmmmm.....
Sharing another of Thorfinn's maps here - we're going to Annurios, the remotest corner of the Hollow World realm of Selhomarr! I am stoked that these maps are being featured right now, because I am slowly - ever so slowly - getting around to actually updating the gazetteer and turning it into the product I always wanted it to be. It's been over 20 years since Selhomarr first appeared - time for a re-boot!
Annurios is a true frontier region. Outside of the city of Annurios itself, there are only a handful of villages hugging the coast. The surrounding Korvoris Forest is huge and primal, and does not yield its secrets or resources easily. There is a reason why this territory is so small, despite having been settled so long ago. This would actually be an ideal place to introduce players (especially lower-level ones) to the setting, since a lot of the politics and other dynamics are focused more in the heartlands of the empire, as well as the northern frontier. In the original gazetteer, I placed druids here. While the locals would have a vested interest in managing the flora and fauna responsibly, I'm now thinking this isn't entirely out of altruism, but possibly because of very real threats nearby. My thoughts are also drifting more towards reconceptualising the druids as something unique to the setting to give Selhomarr more flavour. But if I go that route I'm still looking at a fairly hefty sourcebook. We shall see, but this is defnitely going to be a more sinister place...
...and it's also a place that has known its share of political strife. I touched on it a bit in Issue 9 of Threshold Magazine, where we explore the ruins known as Illaria's Folly to see the darker side of seemingly benevolent Lighthouse (which has ways of dealing with operatives who go rogue). There is also the Keep of Ashes and the ruined port of Keldaris - neither of which I detailled, but I will probably need to soon. Keldaris has the feel of an unsuccessful colony (whether abandoned or destroyed by some horrible force remains to be seen), but the Keep of Ashes is likely a local nickname. Who built it, and why? Suggestions are more than welcome.