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A fan-made Atlas of North and Central Arypt

by LoZompatore

A fan-made Atlas of Arypt Part 1: Introduction

This work originally came from suggestions and feedback by Sturm and Simone (Zendrolion) about adding a "Barbary Coast" setting (a late medieval to renaissance M-North African culture of independent city-states) placed along the Davanian coastline between the Yasuko Tribal Lands and the Vulture Peninsula.
Unfortunately the project expanded quite a bit and in its current version looks more like a sort of a sketchy atlas for North and Central Arypt and nearby regions such as the Jungle Coast.

It is currently divided into 9 parts. Perhaps I will also add a 10th section with a draft of a timeline covering some key events for the region.

Consider what follows as a draft suggesting a possible arrangement of city-states and also as a collection of canon and fanon information to better detail this part of Davania and the surrounding seas.

Here is the basic map I compiled for the region according to a set of references detailed below. It just shows the overall geography without tags, hexes and other details except for terrain, just to show you the end result.

Detailed thematic maps with tags and symbols are discussed in the next Parts of this fan-made Atlas.

If you wish to download the GIMP source file to create your own thematic map or expand on this work of mine I make the file available here (zipped copy of the .xcf GIMP drawing, around 5 Mb in size).

Notice that all maps are made to fit with Mentzer's Master Set world map; the north-western tip (anything north and west of the Yasuko Tribal Lands) matches the south-eastern tip of Poor Wizard's Almanac II map, including hexes alignment.

Comments:

With respect to the other available fanon maps of the region (see the section about sources, below) I made the following modifications / additions:

The introduction of the Algarin Desert in north eastern Arypt tries to match the description found in Dungeon Magazine #50 adventure. It is mostly an arid land, not a proper desert, and it is the major deviation from the established cartography for the area (which is way less desert), albeit I tried to minimize differences. A possible way to keep both the desert and the more fertile lands is to exploit this old note on Arypt by Bruce Heard: we could say that fertile lands (those shown in Geoff's and Sturm's maps) would magically appear from another Plane/Alternate Reality only at specific times, and then disappear some weeks/months/years later, leaving the desert in their place.

The use of Jurassic Mystara model enables a detailed treatment of the oceans, in particular the placement of several island chains across the Bellissarian Sea and the Sea of Steam. I also added a mid-oceanic range in the Bellissarian Sea and several abyssal depths close to the inferred fault lines. Most islands would be volcanic or having an ancient volcanic origin.

The winding escarpment shown at the bottom of the map surrounds the dried remnant of the pre-cataclysmic Inner Sea (I figured this sea disappeared due to the same geological upheavals that led to the sinking of Lhomarr). This land is now mostly a desert plain, partially fertile only on its easternmost part thanks to a large network of wadis (seasonal rivers) created by seasonal humid winds from the sea.

I turned the southernmost inlet of Lake Arypt to an outlet, so to create a huge inland delta whose function is to water the local jungle, which should not exist according to the overall climate patterns given the dry conditions of the surroundings.

 
Canon Sources:

Basic official details for the region encompassing the Jungle Coast and north-central Arypt are available in the following sources:

Moreover, I guess it is safe to consider as "official" for this region also the information available in the following sources:

Then I collected anything official and related to an "oriental adventure" setting and not explicitly placed in Ylaruam or whose official placement there is troublesome, as in the cases where the city of Serendib is mentioned.

To this bulk I arbitrarily added the following official sources, which refer to locations never explicitly assigned to any location in Mystara's lore. Some of the Dungeon Magazine issues listed below actually refer to generic AD&D adventures published after Mystara's conversion to AD&D (mid. 1994, corresponding to Dungeon Magazine issue #48), which I guess can be safely included in the corpus of potential sources:

I also added two Dungeon Magazine AD&D adventures published before issue #48, because both of them have references in their introductions about a possible placement in a generic Oriental of Arabic setting, respectively. I found them fitting additions to the Yasuko Tribal Lands and to the Northern Aryptian Desert. The second adventure also details an interesting plot by Yuan-ti which is quite fitting for the Aryptian area.

Some words must be spent about the overall geography and info from map below, shown in Dungeon Magazine #79 adventure "Keep for Sale".

The tag about an "Aryptian Ocean" was too tempting to ignore, so I found a way to include the map in Central Davania by merging it with Geoff Gander's fanon map of the Aryptian Basin (see below). By fortuitous chance, by applying a 180° flip (as if the "North" sign is actually pointing to the South Pole of Mystara), and some more tweaking and rescaling, it is possible to match the whole coast in the map of Dungeon Magazine #79 with the southern border of Geoff's Aryptian Basin. So I included the whole adventure in the Aryptian setting, under the assumption that all locations and events refer to the ancient time of Lhomarr, when the Aryptian Basin was still an inner sea and not the current desert plain. p>

 
Fanon Sources:

Then there is the whole fanon production stored at the Vaults.

I have a preference for Mentzer's Master Set world map - instead of the Hollow World's one - so, for general arrangement of landmasses, coastlines and sea depth, I refer to Thorfinn Tait's Jurassic Mystara model (see here) and, in particular, to his map of Skothar (here), which shows the whole Bellissarian Sea and surroundings lands, including part of the Jungle Coast and the whole island of Oceania.
For the shape and extent of Oceanian mountain ranges my map is a mix between Thorf's map of Skothar and a contouring of mountains shown in VotPA maps.

About regional climate, I integrated the available canon info with Thorfinn Tait's reference climate map of Mystara available here. I made local modifications to sea currents patterns and to the boundaries of climatic zones to add details and adapt the map to other existing fanon works.

For terrain details of the Jungle Coast and Cestia I used Geoff Gander seminal layout for Davania here, including its updated version by Sturm in his great political map of this continent here, which adds quite a lot of useful and interesting details.

As both maps were made following the Hollow World reference world map I had to squeeze and stretch several areas in order to have all details fit into Mentzer's map shape. That's why terrains in my map do not strictly follow the hex grid, as I thought it was better to preserve terrain boundaries and make corresponding regions easily recognizable when comparing the maps.

For the northernmost tip of Davania I included also Christian Constantin’s additions to the official maps (mostly isolated mountains) as shown in this work of him.

For the Jungle Coast tried to fit some elements (most notably rivers) shown in Thorf's map of Skothar mentioned above, merging them with Geoff/Sturm's map. The result is sort of a hybrid, I hope it may contribute in the detailing of the region.

A bit of the desiccated, ancient Agrisian Lake taken from this map by Havard is visible in the top westernmost part of the Aryptian Desert shown in the map.

Another notable addition I made to the Central Arypt region is the escarpment of the Aryptian Basin, whose shape is taken and adapted from the Inner Sea shown in Geoff Gander's map of the ancient Lhomarrian Empire (here). I tweaked a bit the southern coastline to get a match with the coastline shown in the map of Dungeon Magazine #79 (the similarity of both coastlines was impressive in the first place, a true example of serendipity), so I could name several regions by picking tags from it.

Finally, I included some geographical details of my own previous works (the Snarta I plateau, a few isolated mountains in the eastern Jungle Coast and several escarpments in Cestia and Oceania) which are visible, for example, in this old map of mine. Notice that the plateaus of Cestia are canon (VotPA, Part 3, Andrumir 7, 1965 entry) as are the jagged coastlines of Oceania and the river on the southern coast (VotPA, Part 2, Tsalmir 8, 1965 and Tsalmir 11, 1965 entries), albeit the shape and location of these features was made up by me.

About fanon populations and settlements I considered the following sources:

What I did NOT include insofar in the region is the fanon detailed description of the island of Oceania, available (in Italian) here, because it is mostly a reworking of "Role Aids: Dragons" supplement by Mayfair Games (see here). Nothing prevents its inclusion, though, as Oceania is a really big place, as shown in Part 2 of this Atlas.

A fan-made Atlas of Arypt Part 2: Hexed map, with scale:

Comments:

The same map seen in Part 1, only with a 72mi/hex overlay to help calculating distances and highlighting the connection with PWAII map.

I also show this map to introduce some sense of scale for the whole work.
In my opinion, the most important thing to always bear in mind is that this map covers a huge area and it may be considered a whole large setting in itself.

I made a couple of figures comparing this hexed map with Europe + Mediterranean Sea and with the United States, both plotted at the same scale of the hexed map:

Comparison with Europe + Mediterranean Sea:

Comparison with United States:

Perhaps a few selected comparisons may help in highlighting the point about map size:

With all these comparisons in mind notice that - while the thematic maps I'll post in the next parts of this atlas will look like a crowded mass of symbols and tags - once you zoom in the scale you'll find that most of the land and sea is actually empty and still free to develop. Whole countries, people and races may fit among the ones I placed there, without too much effort or conflict.

A fan-made Atlas of Arypt Part 3: Climate, Winds and Sea Currents

Comments:

The map above is based on the available information about climate, dominant winds and sea currents for the region (VotPA and here and here) which I expanded to add further details.

I adopted a simple climatic paradigm: warm air rises from oceans and landmasses, creating humid and dry dominant winds respectively, which then move toward the Equator following a clockwise path for the northern hemisphere and a counterclockwise path for the southern one. When humid winds meet landmasses and mountain ranges they drop most of their water with rainfalls, and become dry.

Winds have maximum speed over flat surfaces (oceans, plains) and slow down once they meet rugged terrain (hilly coastlines, forests, mountain ranges, etc.).

Moreover, given the location of the region, the intertropical convergence zone at the Equator (the region where winds from the northern and the southern hemisphere meet) must be introduced.
Ideally this zone is a belt of periodical thunderstorms and erratic, weak winds (the Doldrums), extending at least 5 degrees in latitude above and below the Equator, but this is strictly true only for the oceans. On landmasses, this convergence belt may shift in latitude moving away from the equator up to +/- 10/15 degrees.

Combining the concepts above I placed a suitable convergence zone (its center highlighted by the grey belt in figure above) so to justify the location of jungles and deserts in this part of Davania. I added Doldrums regions on the seas east and west of Oceania, and an oddly shaped wind pattern in eastern Arypt to explain the local dry wind from the NW described in VotPA (magic may also be involved in this case, especially if the concept about the extra planar, alternate, fertile Arypt is considered).
Notice also that the landmass of Cestia intercepts most of the rainfall of the humid winds from the SE so, when these winds reach the eastern Aryptian coast, they are mostly dry and little precipitations ensue.

Surface sea currents shown on map follow the same clockwise /counterclockwise pattern of dominant winds, albeit more confined by landmasses and nearby currents. I complicated things a bit across the Equator (sea branches connecting Oceania, Cestia and Arypt) emulating patterns seen in real world sea currents, which tend to disconnect northern hemisphere and southern hemisphere circulations. This leads to interesting travelling options in the Doldrums area, where sailing is not so reliable and sea currents may be exploited instead.

Finally, a few notes about temperatures.

It was already noticed by Thorf here that Mystara has a cooler climate than Earth, as results from a proper evaluation of latitudes he made in the link above.
For instance, Byzantium-inspired Thyatis city ends up at around 27° of latitude, compared to the 41° of Byzantium; Reykjavik-inspired Farend stands at 51° of latitude, compared to the 64° of Reykjavik. As a rule of thumb, add 13-14° to the Mystaran latitude of a given location (taken from Thorf's map in the link above) to get the real-world reference latitude for climate.
In my opinion, this is not an issue for the Aryptian region; on the opposite, it may be helpful to explain some things from canon such as how the Milenians adapted to local climate and managed to establish an empire across the equator of Mystara.
If temperatures at the Equator are the same as Earth at 14° of latitude (the Caribbean, southern India or Thailand) then the Milenian endeavor is not so unrealistic. The Aryptian desert and the Jungle Coast would still be uncomfortable and difficult to negotiate, but not so much as their real world counterparts at the same latitudes. This has also some in-game consequences about the possibility to wear armor and heavy equipment, rules about fatigue, and so on.
Temperatures in northern Davania (Raven Scarp at around 10° of latitude) should be similar to Earth's tropics (Hawaii, central Mexico, northern India, southern China, southern Brazil). In particular, the comparison between the Pearl Islands and Hawaii (albeit the island of Nuar is as big as Germany) is a fitting one.
Mystaran tropics, estimated at 23° of latitude, should have the same temperatures of Earth's locations at approx. 37° of latitude (central Mediterranean, central China or Japan, central US, south-central Argentina and southern Australia), definitely in the temperate range of climates.

A fan-made Atlas of Arypt Part 4: Regions and Landmarks

Comments:

Most landmarks in this map come from established canon and fanon sources listed above, to which I added several new ones based on the additions I made on the map.
A short description for the most notable landmarks and regions is provided below:

A fan-made Atlas of Arypt Part 5: People and Races

Comments:

In the following a list of notes about several fanon populations, including some new ones I just added into the setting.
To the list I included also some remarks about several small enclaves of dwarves, elves, halflings and lupins because I feel unrealistic there are none of them in such a vast area (see Part 2 of this Atlas for insights about the extent of the region), and because it is useful to have some of these places for PCs generation when running adventurers.

 

Now, for the fun of it, here is a representation of a few selected races of the Arptian region.
Directly from 1973 Disney's "Robin Hood" animated film, here is the procession of a Simbasta warlord corrupted by the Serpentines, advancing in the lower Jungle Coast. Due to his corruption, the simbasta is an outcast and hired a retinue of mercenaries from the Bigfolk people (Pachydermions, Rhinotaurs and Hippofolks). A Naga advisor and a Gator-man herald ensure that the Simbasta does not deviate in doing the Serpentines' bidding. :)

A fan-made Atlas of Arypt Part 6: Settlements and Ruins

Map below shows several settlements and ruins of interest in the region. What is shown is not exhaustive at all, especially if you take into account the scale of the area, as examined in Part 2 of this Atlas. The whole ancient Greece - with all its city-states and culture, history and philosophy, may fit in eastern Cestia.

Several (or many) more settlements and ruins can be added, especially in the empty regions and in the wilderness (Jungle Coast, deserts, etc). Ruins of several Milenian settlements should exist at the fringes of the eastern Jungle Coast and in the Aryptian Savannah. Meghaddarans should have at least a few permanent settlements in their lands, and several ruins of Varellyan cities should dot the route across the Aryptian Basin. The Algarites may have several small settlements along the Aryptian Coast and in the lands of the interior. Perhaps the Katapec built several other crystal pyramids and settlements along the river and elsewhere. The Serpentines may have more than a couple of cities in the jungle, and peculiar outposts, villages and mines should dot the lands of the Bigfolks. Caravansaries, trading posts and small towns with a mixed population should be placed on the cross-continental land route connecting Polakatsikes with Baybluff, and settled oases should exist along the route crossing the Aryptian Basin between Baybluff and Klath'T'zarth. The civilized lands of Cestia should be dotted with towns and villages, and the ruins of Oceanian cities should be more than three (and, perhaps, there might be some inhabited settlement, too).

Consider what is shown in the map below just as a starting point to set several canon and fanon locations for future development.

 
Comments:

The following list, details settlements and ruins shown in map above, complementing the information already provided in Part 5 of the Atlas (descriptions of races and peole) with local information.

NOTE: Currently just a list of placeholders, to be completed (TBC) at a later time.

A fan-made Atlas of Arypt Part 7: Trade Routes

 
Trade Routes, general, with hexes:

 
Trade Routes, by main users:

 
Comments:In principle it is possible for a sailing ship to go anywhere, waiting for a favorable wind to blow in the right direction, or sailing against the dominant winds at the expense of travelling time and route length. So, for this reason, nothing prevents a ship from Spearpoint from coasting Bellissaria and the Alatians up to Beitung and, from there, heading south all along the Jungle Coast to end the trip on the shores of western Oceania. It would require many extra weeks (or months) of travelling, but it is not impossible.

Here below only the easiest and more advantageous travel opportunities are discussed, as they likely will be followed by the majority of merchant ships.

Overall the winds and sea current patterns shown in the figure above highlight the following favorable, speedy sea travel routes:

Secondary favorable routes form a loop connecting the western coast of Cestia to the eastern coast of Arypt and then to the south along the eastern coast of Davania. There is also the possibility to sail north from the central Jungle Coast to the Pearl Islands, to connect with the route to Ochalea and Raven Scarp.

Notice also that dominant winds and currents favor travelling east across the Strait of Ochalea (from the Western Sea of Dawn to the Pearl Islands), west across the Strait of Milen, south across the Spearpoint Channel and south across the central Alatian Archipelago. Routes from Ochalea and the Alatians help explain the presence of merchants from Alphatia and Minrothad in Seagirt, which is also used by Thyatians as a naval base to monitor sea traffic from the Alatians (DotE page 79).

Details of trading lanes exploited by the major seafaring people of the region - with some insights of the political situation as of AC 1000 - are listed below.

 
Algarite trade routes:

Algarites are divided into nested, isolated city-states, usually surrounded by unforgiving wilderness; this means that trading (and, sometimes, raiding) among communities is necessary for survival. For the same reason, Algarites are neutral towards all kind of non-hostile vessels reaching their ports, as they believe they cannot afford losing good trading opportunities.
The Doldrums between the Aryptian coast and Cestia make sailing unreliable, so the Algarites specialized on short-range trips between settlements, which are never too far apart in this region. Local sea currents may be exploited instead of winds, creating a clockwise trade loop between Nandua and Carack (and back) with a turning point in the Wyverians. Dozens of small offshore islands are used by short-range ships to resupply and as safe havens by pirates. Spacing between coastal settlements becomes wider along the eastern coast of Davania, south of Galgaboth, where strong winds and sea currents help reaching the southern lands. Settlements in this region tends to be larger and more organized, fielding larger fleets, albeit Jalinas and Galgaboth are usually cut off the main Algarite circuit and are more connected with Cestian traders. In recent times (after AC 965), with the opening of trade between Alphatia and Cestia, traffic along the Pass of Cestia significantly increased thanks to Alphatian convoys. This benefitted Carack and all settlements south of it, especially Galgaboth, which is close to a dangerous but exotic dungeon (see Bock of Wondrous Inventions page 7) often explored by Alphatian mages. Sea travel among Algarite settlements is usually enhanced by human propulsion (galleys and rowers) and by a clever magical contraption described in Dungeon Magazine #50 (page 27). Relevant quote details that the prow of the caliph's dhow "is decorated with a magical figurehead that can run up the sails on command. With this assistance, the ship needs only a small crew". If this enchanted item is not limited to the caliph only but, say, it is accessible also the wealthiest merchants, then the dhows of the Algarites may be able to quickly exploit the tiniest favorable breeze in the Doldrums, thus cutting travelling times. The magic figureheads would be a local development created to face adverse seagoing conditions, which become less useful in nearby bodies of water, where dominant winds are steadier and more reliable.

A note about land routes: The Algarites are among the few in the whole region caring to maintain reliable land routes for their caravans. This is done mostly to increase the list of their suppliers and to bypass the unpredictable sea lanes surrounding the Aryptian coast. More often than not it is more practical to send goods by land, at least for part of the trip, to skip the most troublesome sea routes. While the hostile Algarin Desert is usually avoided, Algarites' merchants do their best to stay in touch with the communities of the interior, most notably Whitemount, Neo Arypt and Katapec. Whitemount is prominent because it provides an important share of the precious minerals, tools and weapons badly needed by the whole region. Neo Arypt is a must for those wishing to put their hands on some rare relic of the ancient Katapec civilization and, finally, the town of (modern) Katapec itself is the gate for any significant trade with the proud Simbasta of the Aryptian savannah. A route option across the settlement of Arazani bypass to the south the Algarite desert, connecting the eastern and western communities of the Aryptian coast. It is a dangerous and winding route but in dire times is used to bring grain and vegetables of the Aryptian Savannah to the Algarite settlements to the northwest.

 
Alphatian trade routes:

Note: What follows refer to naval Alphatian merchant vessels, usually arranged in slow and bulky convoys with some military escorts. They are dispatched to the southern routes to trade with Alphatian partners in Cestia and in the Green Coast and to resupply the Alphatian colonies of Vulcania (see Book of Wondrous Inventions page 59 for details). Alphatian flying ships are a different matter and they are not forced to follow the routes mentioned below; however, the use of flying ships is restricted to the elite of the Empire and, at any given time, the number of available flying vessels is not large enough to grant a steady flow of goods and supplies. For this reason the Alphatian Empire usually rely upon more traditional vessels to conduct the day-to-day businesses with its Davanian partners.

Traditional Alphatian trading routes in the northern Bellissarian Sea see the Alatian Islands as the main hub between the Isle of Dawn, Bellissaria and the Pearl Islands, with important stops at Crossroads, Rainbow Park and Dubbo on Bellissaria. The western route of the Alatians from Aegos to Thothia, while important, is often plagued by pirates and raiders from Thyatian-aligned Caerdwicca.
With the opening of trade relationships with Cestia in AC 965, the Alphatians resumed an old Milenian sea route which, starting from Spearpoint on Bellissaria, enables to reach the Aryptian coast in relative safety, with stops among the islands of the benign Kunes, which descended from mixes between local populations and ancient Milenian traders. These people, suffering from centuries of isolation, are more than happy to greet Alphatian traders from the north. The only major danger of the area is represented by the shifting Dead Waters, which could trap an entire fleet for weeks, leaving it at the mercy of monsters and evil entities.
Once in the islands of the Brown Kunes it is possible to connect with Algarite and Cestian trade circuits (see) at the Wyverian archipelago, in order to reach the lands of southern Davania and back. The most friendly ports to Alphatian convoys along the southern route are in Carack, Galgaboth, Garth and Caducea, but the last leg south of Garth is threatened by raids from Heldannic warbirds.
The return leg from the Vulture Peninsula is covered under the Cestian trade section. Once back to the Aryptian coast the most convenient route to the Alphatian Empire (i.e. to the Alatians) forces Alphatian convoys to cross part of the sea lanes controlled by Thyatis and Serendib (a proxy of the Minrothad Guilds), and conflicts on these waters are quite common (this is in line with the sentence on page 5 of DotE - Players' Guide to Thyatis about recent squabbles between the Thyatians and Alphatians "in the eastern sea-routes").
For the return trip, the Alphatians established a resupply outpost in Balfour's Landing on the Jungle Coast, Balfour being the name of the Alphatian sea captain who first managed to reach this place two times, on the trip south to Vulcania and back. Here return convoys are repaired and restocked and military escorts assigned to cross the last - and most difficult 2000 miles - stretch up to Crossroads in the Alatians.
Once the relative safety of Balfour's Landing is left, common dangers include pirates' attacks from Nandua, raids from lizardmen war pirogues in the windless shallows of Jungle Coast, skirmishes with Serendib-sponsored privateers and naval battles with regular Thyatian patrols. No surprise that anything arriving in Crossroads from the southern route is expensive, coveted and often smuggled to the best offeror.

 
Thyatian trade routes:

Thyatians are more concerned with the traditional routes connecting the Isle of Dawn, Ochalea and the Pearl Islands, with the newest addition being the colony of Raven Scarp in AC 990, mostly to secure the Western Sea of Dawn and prevent the Alphatians from establishing their own foothold there. While Ochalea is mostly used by Thyatians as a grain silo and a defensive bastion against Alphatia, the real trade of exotic goods happens in the Pearl Islands; here benign winds and sea currents enable ships to go virtually anywhere in the archipelago.
East of the Pearl Islands the Thyatians traditionally rely upon the merchants of Serendib, a proxy of the Minrothad Guilds.
Following the opening of trade routes between Alphatia, Cestia and southern Davania, the Thyatians engaged in an undeclared war to sink and raid Alphatian convoys climbing from the south towards the Alatians. The usual casus belli is trespassing Thyatian waters in the East Rim Chain, an archipelago of small islands east and south of Nuar, albeit Thyatian warships often extend their "patrols" to the isles north and west of Serendib. These naval skirmishes may well represent the first combat experiences of Helena Daphnotarthius (a future admiral of the Thyatian Navy and future governor of Aegos, see for example PWAII page 126 for her background), possibly following her father during such expeditions.

 
Serendibian trade routes:

This offshore, semi-independent trading hub of the Minrothad Guild was established around 500 years ago, capitalizing on the first major conflicts between Thyatians and Alphatians, which prevented both empires from expanding in this part of the world. While formally neutral, it is an open secret that Serendib is aligned with Thyatis and its independence lays in keeping a policy of low prices to the Thyatians and in hiring privateers to keep local lanes free of ships undesired by Thyatis.
Serendib merchants control their own trading circuit connected with the Thyatian sea routes in the Pearl Islands. Sailing south from Serendib it is usual for Minrothad traders to touch many of the small islands dotting the waters north of the Aryptian Coast. These islands are tropical paradises full of exotic goods, and the richest were given the name "Boon Islands" since ancient times.
Main port of the Serendib circuit on the Aryptian coast is the city of Nandua, a haven for Pearl Islanders not wishing to conform to the dominant ideology of the archipelago and also a haven for local pirates and smugglers (which are often listed under one of the many Serendib's payrolls). From Nandua it is possible to connect with the Algarite circuit and reach Cestia and southern Davania.

 
Cestian trade routes:

Albeit contacts between Cestians and Alphatians were established only in AC 965, it does not mean that Cestians do not trade with their neighbors and among themselves.
A very favorable trade circuit starts from Cestian eastern coast; main ports here are the Manakaran city of Ambastalasha and Morovoay's capital of Matirako. From there it is possible to reach the northern settlements of the Aryptian coast, with further possibility to connect with the Algarite circuit. Once in Carack, Cestian ships can find favorable winds and sea currents to sail down the eastern coast of Davania, until the Vulture Peninsula.
Albeit the civilization on the Vulture Peninsula - which as per VotPA was an old trading partner of Cestia - was extinguished in AC 465, this does not prevent trade with other local communities such as Kechamar and Caducea, which are nested in safe anchorages along the Broken Coast. While reefs and hidden rocks along such coast are a danger in itself, the most difficult passage in reaching the Gulf of Mar lays actually in the southern part of the Pass of Cestia (the Tiderips) which is plagued by thunderstorms (see VotPA) and insidious sea currents.
From Caducea there is an advantageous return trip (not shown on the map) along the northern coast of the Vulture Peninsula; once the easternmost point is reached, Alphatian convoys continue south to their colonies and business partners in southern Davania, while most Cestian traders usually turn back home. From the eastern Vulture Peninsula it is possible to cross the western Sea of Steam and - providing the direction is not lost across the Fog Islands -steady winds bring the ships to the fiery volcanic lights of the Lanterns. From there it is possible to reach virtually any point along the southeastern coast of Cestia, thus closing the trade loop. On this coast the Manakaran port of Mahajanga and the Ambiroan cities of Ankavandra and Tsirampany are typical terminal stops for Cestians.
Those wishing to return to the Aryptian coast (including all Alphatian convoys) are usually forced by the Doldrums and by the dangerous night dragons of Oceania to travel around the southernmost tip of Cestia, coasting the erratic kingdom of Androkia. Depending on the mood of its rulers, trading stops are possible at the Androkian capital of Mogador and at the port of Kart-Hadasht.
A most sought destination in this return trip - especially by Alphatians - is the neutral city state of Garth, where it is possible to meet all kind of people from surrounding lands (from the Jungle Coast to the Gulf of Mar to the internal Aryptian Basin) and exchange the most exotic goods and lore from southern Davanian lands with supplies and precious merchandise from the central Aryptian region.

A fan-made Atlas of Arypt Part 8: A possible Adventure Path

 
In the following I suggest a possible path of official adventures for a party of characters beginning at Level 1 in Serendib and then moving in the region, with the opportunity to explore several of the places I included in the maps.

 
Selection of Adventures

This campaign is assembled from a set of 32-35 adventures and side quests taken from the following official supplements:

The abovementioned choices enable the inclusion of several interesting scenarios which can be added to the setting with little modifications.

Notice that I moved from their established locations a few D&D adventures, most notably B7 "Rahasia" and Dungeon Magazine #9 "Djinni's Ring" (which should be heavily modified for a group adventure) because I feel they are a good fit also for this part of Mystara.
I would also place in this region AC3 "The Kidnapping of Princess Arelina" and AC8 "The Revenge of Rusak", albeit I know that there is an established fanon location for both of them west of the Icereach Mountains in central Brun (see GAZ F5 "The Western Alliance" for details).
Considering that a party of characters adventuring in Arypt will unlikely reach the continent of Brun before Companion or Master levels, such a party will not likely have the opportuniy to play B7, AC3 and AC8 in their original locations. So I don't think there would be much interference with the progress of a broader campaign if the abovementioned adventures are played on Davania.

 
Campaign Description

This campaign is ideally conceived to bring a party of adventurers through the turmoil affceting Northern Arypt and the Eastern Jungle Coast in the 15 years between AC 984 and AC 999.
In this timeframe the PCs should gain approx. 1 BECMI experience level per year, being involved into an average of two adventures / side quests per year. By AC 999 the party should be around BECMI level 14, standing at the threshold of Companion Level adventures.
I made an attempt to connect the adventures in a (hopefully not too much railroading) flow chart, as shown below. Of course this is just one of the myriad of possible combinations coming from the choices of the players during the campaign, but I believe that such a reference chart may be useful for a DM wishing to get a clue on how to arrange the set of adventures.
After all "while in battle, plans are useless but planning is mandatory".

The adventures may be played as separate quests, or they can be connected through "Adventure Archs", highlighted by identical colors in the flow chart below. A DM may link together the adventures that are part of the same Arch, by assuming that one of the Movers and Shakers of the campaing is behind the events of all of them. For details see the "Movers and Shakers" section below. Not all the Adventure Archs need to be exploited in the same campaign and some of them can easily be dropped in favour of more light-hearted, one-shot adventures.
All the Adventure Archs are intentionally not completed, to give room for a DM to expand on them and create its own adventures after the end of this campagin, assuming the PCs decide to stay in this part of the world. For example, as the right time for the Night of the Venom approaches, the Yuan-ti will intensify their subtle efforts to unify the Serpentine Empire, until their armies are strong enough to conquer all nearby communities in a devastating war.
As a final option, the last quests of the campaign (a series of adventures centerd on The Needle and the standoff detailed in "The Revenge of Rusak") should heavily embroil the PCs in the broader struggle for power between Thyatis, Alphatia and the Heldannic Knights, possibly leading them out of Davania to take part to the events of the Known World during DotE and WotI.

 

Placement of all adventures in the general map is shown below:

 
Movers and Shakers of the Aryptian Campaign:

Thyatians are not directly involved in this campaign, as they take care of their interests in the area through their proxy represented by the Merchant Guilds of Serendib.
The other factions active at the time of PCs involvement are detailed below.

 
Algarites:

Related Adventures:

The Djinni's Ring (adapted) (Dungeon Magazine #9)
The Object of Desire (Dungeon Magazine #50)
Beauty Corrupt (Dungeon Magazine #63)
The Deluded Dragon (AC10 Module)

Following the arrival of the Alphatians to the coast shortly after AC 965, the city states of the Algarites saw a big increase in trade and wealth, but they also found themselves too weak and fragmented against such a strong competitor. Growing Heldannic Knights' influence in the Aryptian Savannah is also seen with suspicion, while the Yuan-ti menace is negligently underestimated.
Most Algarite rulers believe that, should Serendib (and the Thyatians backing Serendib's Merchant Guilds) lose control of the sea routes, then the Alphatians could have free reins along the Aryptian coast, putting an end to the independance of all Algarites' city states. For these reasons, a surge of diplomatic activity is currently sweeping through the coast, as all settlements look for new allies or renew older agreements. Sasan and Samarkand are planning a dynastic marriage in the hope of restoring the bulk of the ancient Sultanate of Algarin, a union that hopefully would attract neighbouring settlements too. The oligarchy of Orchid Bay is looking for an alliance with the military-oriented Wyverians, offering food and goods in exchange for weapons and mercenaries. The people of Galgaboth are trying to turn their lands in a true neutral ground, where champions from other countries may periodically meet in challenges of honour, bringing wealth to the town and keeping invaders at bay through the equilibrium of forces so established.
The Algarites of Rhyl mostly wish to keep local land routes open, as the road network connecting the kingdom with the coast and with their demi-human allies (the dwarves of Whitemount and the elves to the south) is their only possibility to keep their economy working. The people of Rhyl still does not suspect of the re-awakening of the Serpentines and believes that all accidents happening in their surroundings are due to the actions of indivdual creatures.

 
Alphatians:

Related Adventures:

A Watery Death (Dungeon Magazine #56)
Mad Gyoji (Dungeon Magazine #33)
Needle Part 1 (I11 Module)
Needle Part 2 (I11 Module)
Trial of the Frog (Dungeon Magazine #78)
Mad Chefs of Las Anchois (Dungeon Magazine #64)
Needle Part 3 (I11 Module)
Serpents of the Sands (Dungeon Magazine #37)

As detailed in previous Part 7, the Alphatians have a foothold on the Aryptian Coast through their puppet "kingdom" of Balfour's Landing. They wish to make the colony as strong as possible in order to support their long-range trades; if in the process they also manage to seize some other local settlements along the Coast, the better. This is unacceptable for the Thyatians, unwelcome by the Merchants of Serendib and looked with suspicion by the Algarites. Moreover, the chaotic society of the Alphatians already spilled far from Balfour's Landing, creating havoc in surrounding territories. Ambitious Alphatian nobles (i.e. powerful magic users) moved in the new, exotic lands from Alphatian-controlled territory and dispersed, loyal only to themselves and following their own personal goals. These uncaring personalities altered more than one balance of power, and disturbed entities that should be better left alone. Three examples are detailed in this campaign: Porthratos the Air Elementalist (see below for details) who treacherously seeds terror and destruction to seize the town of Galgaboth for himself; the three mages Randal Willhandle, Wendall Willendall and Stendhall Willendall, who are obsessed with dragon eggs for their experiments; the giants of Las Anchois, who moved from Limn to the Jungle Coast to establish their own community of "gourmets", at the expense of most of the living beings of the surroundings.
The ruler ("king") of Balfour's Landing - and the powerful Alphatian mages who back him - are very interested in the powers of the Needle, as its force field may shield the most critical parts of the settlement against external threats, so they are planning a major expedition to the coast to seize it. As the most direct searoute to the north is blocked by the raiding parties of the lizardmen, the Alphatians plan to make contact with one of the coastal settlements of the Yasuko (who are believed to share some ancient Alphatian blood in their veins), gain their friendship and use that place as an intermediate base to bypass the dangerous Hunting Shoals when it is time to retrieve the obelisk.

 
The Evil from the Deep:

Related Adventures:

The Sunken Shadow (Dungeon Magazine #66)
Beauty Corrupt (Dungeon Magazine #63)
AC10 Adventure: Isle of the Storm Giant

The Evil from the Deep is a powerful lich living somewhere at the bottom of the Bellissarian Sea. His main interest is to create as much havoc and chaos as possible through his actions. The lich is also known as "The Gifter" as he is known to send misleading advices and subtly cursed magical items to those who intrigue his wicked personality. His minions (assuming they are actually minions and not mere pawns) are not immune to his "gifts". During this campaign the PCs have three opportunities to witness first-hand the lich's misdeeds:
1) The Gifter gave notorious pirate queen Kirella Shadowgate the cursed Golden Eel Armband, which increased her greed to an insane level and led to a dramatic spike in pirates' activities. The Armband's power also led to the fall of Arkos Seatamer and Derek Harpwind, the two greatest champions of Serendib against pirates.
2) The lich gifted the three hags Zityak, Groutle and Prout with the recipe of eternal beauty; their quest for the foolish ingredients of the recipe led to the fall of several good beings and created havoc throughouth the Aryptian Coast for more than five decades. Now that the recipe is close to completion the hags were forced to get closer to human lands. They were discovered by one of the leaders of Orchid Bay and, to cover their actions, inflicted on him a magical dementia, just while he was to sign a major treaty with a nearby country.
3) The Gifter sent an aquatic beholder in the lair of a powerful storm giant, which was taken by surprise and charmed by the beholder with dreams of wealth beyond limits. The storm giant moved to an island in the middle of the most crossed sea lanes and started plundering all merchant vessels passing nearby.
It is unknown if the lich has a superior purpose other than spreading chaos. It might be his own way to get some fun from the world, or it could be part of his Path for Immortality for an unknown sponsor.

 
Heldannic Knights:

Related Adventures:

Crusader (Dungeon Magazine #76)
The Kidnapping of Princess Arelina (AC 3 Module)
Revenge of Rusak (AC 8 Module)

The Heldannic Knights established their mighty fortress at Vanya's Rest between AC 952 and AC 958, following a holy quest they started in AC 941. Unfortunaltely, the fortress is surrounded by large prides of hostile Simbasta so the Knights are looking for at least another, safer base of operations in Northern Arypt, to provide support to Vanya's Rest and prevent its conquest by foreign hands.
The Knights of the initial quest tried to establish an outpost in Densthen Keep around AC 943, but they were treacherously attacked by pirates from Nandua, suffered heavy losses and were forced to abandon the place. Learning from this downturn, the Heldannic Knights set in motion a more devious plan to seize at least one of the city-states for themselves.
At first, selfless, heroic Heldannic paladins were dispatched from Vanya's Rest with orders to roam the Aryptian Savannah and right all the wrongs they could see among human and demi-human communities, asking for nothing in return. These idealistic and noble knights were actually manipulated by their leaders to show how good and trustful the Order was, so to give a lasting positive impression in local people. Several of these paladins still live in the region, beloved by the peasants and apparently oblivious of the larger schemes around then.
Then, in the most welcoming communities, more sinister members of the Knights were sent, acting as wisemen and counselors. They did not interfere with everyday life but did their best to manipulate local rulers (or their courts) in favour of the Heldannic Knights. They asked for permission to build temples of Vanya in or around the towns and to include a "token" garrison to protect the holy places. In the meantime they looked for potential allies and established their own network of agents and spies to gather intelligence about the weak spots of local communities.
By the time the PCs are involved in the campaign, the Heldannic Knights - pressed by the attempts of Porthratos the Air Elementalist to establish his own Alphatian-aligned dominion in Galgaboth - are ready to seize the kingdom of King Limakhan. The Knights first act trough one of their proxies, the scheming mage Rusak, to kidnap the daughter of king Limakhan. This is just a ruse to instill fear in the king and to persuade him to accept a large garrison of knights in his castle to protect the royal family. A few years later Ziegler, the Heldannic Warden of the Garrison, finally set things in motion by killing King Limakhan and giving his daughter to a vengeful Rusak to be used as a bait for the PCs. The involvement of the PCs in this coup d'etat marks the ideal end of the campaign and the PCs' direct involvement in the struggle among major powers that would lead to WotI.

 
Merchants of Serendib:

Related Adventures:

The Sunken Shadow (Dungeon Magazine #66)
Skulking Below (Dungeon Magazine #81)
The Artist's Loving Touch (Dungeon Magazine #68)
Stage Fright (Dungeon Magazine #77)
Isle of the Abbey (Dungeon Magazine #34)
AC10 Adventure: Isle of the Storm Giant
Needle Part 1 (I11 Module)
Needle Part 2 (I11 Module)
Trial of the Frog (Dungeon Magazine #78)
Mad Chefs of Las Anchois (Dungeon Magazine #64)
Needle Part 3 (I11 Module)

Those in charge at Serendib are mostly interested in keeping the status quo as, apparently, reverting everything back to AC 950, when the Alphatians and the Heldannic Knights were nothing but faraway names, is impossible. Serendib is very rich and civilized, but it lacks manpower, large food supplies and mineral wealth; its independance is tolerated by the Thyatians only thanks to the favourable trade agreements established centuries ago. Should the trade routes to the Aryptian Coast falter, or be dominated by strong competitors such as the Alphatians or the unified Algarites, then the golden age of Serendib would surely be over.
The Merchant Guilds are well aware of this, and try to increase their influence at any possible opportunity, encouraging corsairs' actions against the Alphatians and trying at the same time to keep the sea lanes free for their ships to use. Unfortunately, a series of downturns plague the city right at the beginning of the campaign. Some of them are definitely caused by interference by the Osani (see related entry); others seems nothing more than random incidents but, maybe, they are part of larger schemes by other external powers like the Alphatians or the Evil from the Deep.
The rulers of Serendib are very interested in the powers of the Needle, as its force field may shield the port and the government buildings from external attacks, so they are planning a major expedition to the coast to seize it. In case they succeed the Merchants of Serendib will also feel more protected also against the Thyatians: they would rise prices for luxury items and would not fear so much the effects of their retaliation.

 
The Osani:

Related Adventures:

Skulking Below (Dungeon Magazine #81)
Isle of the Abbey (Dungeon Magazine #34)
The Menacing Malady (Dungeon Magazine #58)
No Stone Unturned (Dungeon Magazine #72)

As described in Dungeon Magazine #72 ("No Stone Unturned" adventure) the Osani are an expansionist organization of Lawful Evil individuals belonging to various races. They revere Onadar, Lord of the Dead, which could well be another name for Thanatos, Hel or Nyx. They have very long-term goals, planning a slow infiltration in all major communities of the Aryptian Coast until they are ready to seize the whole land in a single, orchestrated revolt, establishing their own, evil Empire of Onadar. During the campaign the Osani are still a hidden power, with possible contact and allies among the most evil Heldannic Knights and among the minions of the Evil of the Deep. They avoid the Serpentine Empire due to conflicting agendas about the region (often the Osani and the Yuan-ti plot against each other) while they plan to manipulate the newcomer Alphatians to their scopes until they will finally be expelled from the region.
Currently the Osani are on the defensive, as the Merchant Princes are planning to cleanse their archipelago from their influence through the use of proxies (pirates, corsairs, and the PCs). As a retaliation the Osani spread a deadly plague in Serendib through their sleeping agents. During their travelling along the Aryptian Coast the PCs have the opportunity to clear a large Osani hidehout in Jevid, an action which will make them sworn enemies of the organization.
The location of Osanis' headquartes is unknown, and the true power and extent of their organization is still to be assessed. In case the PCs decide to stay in the Aryptian region after the end of the campaign, the Osani might become the hidden puppeteer behind most of the troubles the party would incur, plotting at the same time with other Movers to accelerate the demise of the Algarites, of the Merchants of Serendib and of the Alphatians.

 
Porthratos the Air Elementalist:

Related Adventures:

Eye of the Storm (Dungeon Magazine #67)
Adventure Idea from The Sultan's Uncanny Ghost Ride (AC 11 Module)
Prince Reynard and the Silver Staircase (AC 10 Module)

Porthratos is a splinter gone mad of the Alphatians. He is a powerful Air Elementalist who left Balfour's Landing with a very clear obsession in his mind: to carve a dominion for himself along the Aryptian Coast to show the whole Empire his talent. Unfortunately, he is quite skilled in his job and he managed to subdue a clan of Cloud Giants and a pack of Thunder Children (see Dungeon Magazine #67), forcing them to share the clouds of the giants' floating island. Currently Porthratos aims to seize the town of Galgaboth, lured by its silver mines, its good location along the Aryptian Savannah, and intrigued by the exotic dungeon nearby which is used by local people for the Challenge of Champions. The methods used by Porthratos to reach his scope are utterly despicable: he poses as a friendly salesman of lightning rods, only to unleash the full power of the Thunder Children over the unfortunate communities he visits. He is travelling all around Galgaboth, trying to spread terror and major damage to roads, bridges and supply lines, effectively putting the town under siege. He also modified an ancient magical contraption owned by local gypsies, an entertainment contrivance called the "Ghost Ride of Sultan Jalinas". His modifications enable him to kidnap kids while inside the Ride, moving them to a prison in the clouds of the flying castle. There he plans to brainwash and hypnotize the kids, to use them as his "army" to gain access to the most critical buildings of Galgaboth. In a final move, Portrathos tricked the young Prince Reynard, the son of Galgaboth's king Thales, into climbing a magical staircase which directly led to the Cloud Giants' castle, where the young heir was imprisoned. A brainwashing of Prince Reynard would grant Porthratos free access to the king's private rooms, just a murder away from becoming the next king of Galgaboth.

 
Yuan-ti of the Serpentine Empire:

Related Adventures:

Cloaked in Fear (Dungeon Magazine #57)
The Creature of Rhyl (Dragon Magazine #55)
The Witch of Windcrag (Dungeon Magazine #51)
Rahasia (B7 Module)
Keep for Sale (Dungeon Magazine #79)
Needle Part 3 (I11 Module)
Serpents of the Sands (Dungeon Magazine #37)

The Yuan-ti have grand plans for the rebirth of their Serpentine Empire during the events of the campaign. They are aware that the Night of the Venom (see Dungeon Magazine #37 pages 11 and 16) is approaching; a suitable ceremony performed during the Night will turn a large number of human and demi-human prisoners into an army of mutant creatures devoted to the Serpentines. At the same time, the Yuan-ti are planning to isolate the dwarves of Whitemount and the kingdom of Rhyl, where most of the weapons and metal tools of the Aryptian Coast are forged and traded. This will be done by:
1) interrupting the trade route across the valley of Windcrag Mountain (thus separating Whitemount and Rhyl);
2) spreading terror on Asereht and kidnapping the local Prince with a summoned white dragon in the Far Mountains;
3) reawakening the three Lhomarrian evil witches Karalena, Solorena and Trilena tanks to the intervention of their brother, the Rahib, who will be summoned from the past through a time gate.
By conquering the two isolated communities one at a time the Yuan-ti will be able to remove the most direct menace to the heart of the Serpentine Empire and to provide with weapons and armors the Army of the Venom they are planning to create. Most of the "raw living material" for the Night of the Venom will come from the divided human nomads living between Lake Arypt and the lands of the Sis-thiks. For this reason, an alliance with the local serpents of the sands is mandatory.
The first target of the Army of the Venom will be the tribes of Pardasta separating the Sis-thiks from the bulk of the Serpentine Empire. Once the encroachement of the rakasta around the Serpentine Empire is broken, the Yuan-ti will then play another trick: they are going to invade the planar spider's outpost of Chak on Matera, then use the teleporting obelisks to outmaneuver the rakasta and the human communities, leading their Army of the Venom directly on their enemies' weakest points. The Yuan-ti have a powerful agent among the Black Chack of Matera, a blue dragon called Henkus who, decades ago, managed to activate the obelisk in the Avera Desert and, feigning loyalty to the planar spiders, learned enough on how the magical portals work. The missing piece of information he needs is just how to open a portal from Chak to a given obelisk on Mystara, something he will learn when the PCs are brought back home at the end of the third part of "Needle" adventure. Henkus will modify the destination of the magical gate to open the obelisk of the Avera Desert instead of the one in the lands of the Grippli. Henkus will then fly to his Yuan-ti masters in the desert to report on his discoveries.
In short, if left unchecked, the Yuan-ti will be able to regroup the forces of the Serpentines, build a powerful army of brainwashed mutated slaves, and seize a powerful teleporting network able to move such an army across the Aryptian coast and elsewhere, greatly enlarging the extent and the power of the reborn Serpentine Empire.

A fan-made Atlas of Arypt Part 9: Notes and Details about Campaign Adventures

Placeholder for notes and details of all campaign adventures