The Unknown World Trail map

Part I, The Southeast: Karameikos, Five Shires, Minrothad, Ierendi and Thyatis

by Francesco Defferrari (Sturm)

A guide to the wilderlands of the Known World

We all know quite well the map of the Known World. But if we look at it a bit more carefully, we cannot fail to notice that most of it is not “known” at all, as only a very small part of the map is really filled with human or demihuman settlements. It occurred to me that it could be interesting to make a map taking this into account. The project started some time ago with a bigger trail map of the Known World which is now at the Vault of Pandius:
http://pandius.com/m_uknwnt.html.
The canon TM1 and TM2 maps (Thorfinn Tait’s replicas are linked in the page above) covered only the area from Darokin to the Isle of Dawn, so I made a bigger map covering what could be considered the whole of the Known World region, from Sind to Thyatis and from Southern Norwold to the Adri Varma plateau. But that was only the first step. I wanted a map that could show how much of the territory was controlled by humans and how much by other races.
Such a map could in fact be very useful for DMs when PCs are travelling off the beaten path. The Isle of Dawn is not covered in this article because I already detailed its wilderlands to the best of my knowledge of canon and fanon sources in Threshold issue #11.
In the article I also try to provide a count in each nation of the whole population, not only the human and demihuman inhabitants. Obviously each DM will have her or his own idea about how numerous non-human populations should be; these are just my estimates. In general I prefer a more numerous non-human population, because I want it to be a real competition for humans, and the Known World as wild and unknown as possible. Even if the Gazetteers are the main sources of my work here, I also made extensive use of Simone Neri’s Demografia Mystariana¹ which already did something similar, gathering and detailing the available canon information on the various races inhabiting the Known World and trying to determine the number of inhabitants. My population numbers for non-human creatures however are generally way higher than his, so he may not agree with several assumptions I made in this article.
In many wilderness areas of the Known World the canon information is almost non-existent and even the fan production is scarce. The purpose of this article is not really to detail these areas, but rather to gather all the available information and to estimate what creatures could inhabit them, and how numerous they could be.
Also note that population dynamics may be much more important than population numbers. Real world people have a yearly growth rate from -1% to +4%, while the world average is +1.2%. The normal yearly death rate in a population is between 0.5% and 1.5%, while the yearly birth rate is normally from 0.5% to 4.5%. Non-human populations could have hugely different dynamics.
Let’s assume 1,000 humans live near to 1,000 humanoids and 1,000 elves, and give to these populations hugely different growth rates:

If you consider that the growth rate of humanoids could be even higher than this, it’s pretty obvious that races with a higher growth rate could easily supplant races with a lower growth rate in the space of a few centuries.
The actual growth rate should be decided by the DM and may be influenced by many different factors, such as availability of food and good housing, infant mortality, health care, environment conditions, pestilences and maladies, wars and much more.

Known World Populations
http://pandius.com/Known_world_populations.png

Known World Populations

Yellow: “Civilized” lands, high human (or halfling) density, average 75 humans (or halflings) per square mile. The Five Shires, and halflings in general, have been considered similar to humans because their social organization is not very different (they build villages with extensive farms aboveground), while elves, dwarves, lupins and other peoples have been depicted with different colors. The average density of more than 75 people per square mile, means about 5,000 people in an 8 miles hex. Obviously the true figure is quite different between the hexes which contain a big city, where the population can be over 50,000 or even over 500,000 (Thyatis City) and the hexes which are still heavily inhabited by humans but rural, where the population may be as low as 1,300 or 2,000 people, with a density of 20-30 people per square mile. All the yellow hexes, even those which do not canonically contain a city or a town, should be considered to have at least a 500 people town and at least 4 villages with a total population of over 1,000 people, and extensive farms.
Typical 8 miles hex: One city or town and 4-7 villages or settlements, one wood 1-2 miles across, one river or stream, roads and an inn every 3 or 4 miles.
In the yellow areas, humans should be the dominant population. Other races should have a minimal presence, if any, and normally only normal animals should be encountered, rather than “monsters”. This may not apply to special creatures which can thrive or hide in apparently civilized areas, such as undead, werecreatures and other shapeshifters. Also, the underground of many civilized areas could still contain monsters of any kind, yet the countryside should be considered mostly a safe area.
Orange: Borderlands, low human or halfling population, average 25 people per square mile. May contain also other races, average 2.5 people per square mile. This means about 1,500 human inhabitants in each 8 miles hex and 150 other creatures. Many wild animals present, some monsters. Huge variations are still possible with maybe one hex having almost 3,000 inhabitants and the next one having just a small settlement of 100 people, but all borderlands hexes should have at least one human or demihuman settlement.
Typical hex: One town and 3 villages or homesteads, or 5 villages or homesteads, one wood or other wild area up to 4 miles across, one river or stream, no paved road but trails, an inn every 8 or 10 miles, if any.
Purple: Humanoids, giants and others, average 25 per square mile. May also contain small number of humans, average 1.2 per square miles. These are the wilderlands, where very few humans dare to tread. These regions should be inhabited mostly by humanoids, giants, faery folk and other intelligent races, and many wild animals and monsters. Each of these hexes could contain 1,500 inhabitants of different races and a minor number of humans, such as hunters, trappers, adventurers, rebels, bandits, traders or mercenaries, numbering no more than a hundred. In the wilderlands several hexes may well be empty of any intelligent creatures, housing only normal animals and monsters, or maybe just a dragon family.
Typical hex: 3-4 humanoid lairs, caves or villages, or settlements of other races. Mostly forested or wild areas, with no human trails and no inns.

Most of the dragons living in the Known World should live in the orange or purple areas, at least one in each 8 mile hex. Obviously if a hex has a family of 5 dragons, four adjacent hexes will probably have no dragons. In the Known World map depicted above, the approximate number of dragons should be well over 5,000. That may seem a high number, but consider that each 8 miles hex could theoretically support a sizable number of animals in the forested and temperate areas: up to 50,000 rodents, 25,000 birds, 1,000 big herbivores (deers, boars, goats), about 1,000 medium size omnivores and 60-100 big carnivores (bears, wolves, mountain lions), so probably from 1 to 3 super predators too.
Regardless, the number of dragons should not be linked to the amount of prey, as intelligent creatures with access to richness and magic will probably have plenty of means and minions to procure them abundant food. The actual number of dragons is mostly dependant on how much each DM wants dragons to be common in his or her campaign.

Green: Elves, average 20 per square mile. May also contain small numbers of fairies, average 2.5 per square mile. Each hex should have about 1,000-1,500 elves in 2-5 settlements and 100-150 fairy folks in one settlement or sacred grove.
Dark green: Elven borderlands, average 10 elves per square miles. Should also contain fairies, average 10 per square mile. Each hex about 500-700 elves in 1-3 settlements and as many fairy folk in 1-3 settlements.
Brown: Dwarves and/or gnomes, average 70 per square miles. Each hex should be inhabited by 4,000-5,000 dwarves with very low numbers of other creatures, if any.
Typical hex: One dwarven city or town with extensive mines and at least 4 other settlements or forts with mines, some cultivated areas near the settlements.
Dark Brown: Dwarven borderlands, average 15 per square miles. Should contain also humanoids and other races, average 15 per square mile.
Typical hex: About 1,000 dwarves or gnomes in 2 or 3 settlements, with mines and small cultivated areas. About 1,000 other creatures in 2 or 3 settlements, normally forested mountains or hills with many wild animals.
Blue: Lupins or Rakasta, average 40 per square mile. Typical: about 2,500-3,000 lupins in 2-5 settlements, with cultivated areas and domesticated animals. May also contain 100-300 other creatures or humanoids in 1-2 lairs.
Yellow-green: Humans and elves of Wendar, average 50 per square mile.
Typical hex : about 3,000-35,000 people in 3-6 settlements with cultivated areas and domesticated animals, one wood of at least 2 miles, trails or roads, one inn, stream. May also contain 100-200 fairy folk in the wooded areas.
Gold: Wendar borderlands, average 20 humans or elves per square mile. May also contain fairies, average 5 per square miles. Typical hex: one or two woods in at least half of the territory, 1,000-1,500 people in 2-5 settlements, trails, stream. 300-400 fairy folks in one or two settlements in the wooded areas.
Grey: Oghriz of the Adri Varma, average 25 per square mile. Typical hex: 1,500-2,000 oghriz in 3-6 settlements or nomadic tribes.
Light orange: Mixed Oghriz, humanoids and humans, average 25 per square mile. Typical hex: 1,500-2,000 oghriz, humans or humanoids in 3-6 settlements.

Karameikos

Populations and density

Karameikos Populations
http://pandius.com/Karameikos_people.png

In Karameikos I have depicted about 80 yellow hexes of civilized areas in the nation, meaning a population of more than 400,000 people living in “civilized” areas². These areas should contain mostly domesticated and small animals, with predators and monsters only attacking rarely in the harsher winters. Ruins and caves with undead, werecreatures or constructs could still be present, as well as extensive underground areas.
In Karameikos I have depicted about 130 orange hexes, so more than 100,000 people should inhabit the borderlands. Such areas could probably be also inhabited by many wild animals, other intelligent creatures and some monsters.
By assuming that at least a group of 300 humanoids may inhabit each one of these hexes, the humanoid populations of the borderlands could be calculated at 40,000. This figure could include not only goblinoids but also the other intelligent creatures which appear in canon modules placed in Karameikos, such as giants, brutemen, harpies, centaurs, satyrs, minotaurs, troglodytes, lizardmen and others as appropriate for each region.
The regions depicted in purple are full wilderlands. Karameikos has about 270 wilderland hexes, from which we could assume a non-human population of about 430,000 people.
This should include not only goblinoids but also troglodytes, lizardmen, giants, centaurs, satyrs, harpies, brutemen and any other intelligent race we have reason to believe may live in the region as mentioned from canon sources. Note that my calculation is about ten times higher than the figure of about 40,000 non-human inhabitants supposed by Simone Neri in his article in Threshold issue #1. Obviously many DMs may disagree on my numbers, but I prefer to think such populations should be organized enough (with horticulture, livestock and extensive lairs) to support a population much higher than commonly known. Also in my opinion if they are less than one tenth of the human population they cannot constitute a relevant threat or competition in the wilderlands. The purple areas however could also still contain a minor number of human hunters, trappers, adventurers, rebels, bandits, traders or mercenaries. We could suppose a number of at least 20,000 such people living, temporarily or not, in the wilderlands.
Most of the dragons living in Karameikos are in the orange or purple areas. A territory as big as Karameikos could easily support at least 350 of them. A nation like Karameikos could also have up to 25,000 big carnivores and probably several hundred werecreatures of the appropriate type.
The areas depicted in green and dark green are those inhabited by elves. Green areas are settled by elves with a population density of about 20 people per square mile, while the dark green areas probably should have a density of less than 10 people per square mile. This would lead to an estimate of the Callarii population of about 45,000 and the Vyalia population (Karameikos only) to 55,000. The areas in dark green should also contain fairy folk with a density of 10 per square mile, so about 5,000 in Callarii lands and 10,000 in Vyalia lands. This figure too is quite higher than the one proposed by Simone Neri for the same reasons I wrote before: I believe ancient and magical races should be organized enough in their territories to be able to support a larger population. Also I want them to be a relevant force in Karameikos and in the Known World.
The areas depicted in brown are those inhabited by gnomes and dwarves whose density should be quite high considering they have a well developed city, technology and the ability to inhabit underground areas. Therefore I believe the density should be at least from 60 to 80 people per square mile, so estimates for the inhabitants of the Highforge area are at about 35,000.
My final estimation of the total population of intelligent creatures in Karameikos is over 1,100,000, with humans about half of this, with 500,000 people.
The small blue area is the Lost Valley of Hutaaka, which also contains some ancient Traldar. The density of this area should be decided by the DM, depending on how many Hutaakans and ancient Traldar he or she wishes to have and what food sources are available and so the population could vary from 15,000 to 1,500.

The Wilderlands of Karameikos

Wilderlands of Karameikos
http://pandius.com/Karameikos_wilderlands.png

1 - The Blight Swamp

“Lizardmen, troglodytes, caymen, trolls, hobgoblins, savage humans, hydras, undead, black dragons. Every tattered survivor we found at the edge of the Swamp has a different story about the inhabitants of the place. They cannot all be true, I think. Sure is, few who venture there come back. The place must be cursed, do not go there if you wish to live!”
- Marius, soldier at Riverfork Keep, speaking to travellers.

Area: 32 x 20 miles, or 640 square miles.
Days to cross³: 10 days east-west or 6 days north-south, normally it is possible to cover only 3 miles per day due to the treacherous terrain.
Intelligent inhabitants: probably up to 15,000 (lizardmen, troglodytes, trolls, caymen, hobgoblins, humans, undead, sphinxes and at least 10 black dragons), with extensive underground areas.

In Canon products:
- The AC2 Combat Shield and Mini-Adventure supplement from 1984 could be considered the first (not explicit) mention of the Blight Swamp: it contains the adventure “The Treasure of the Hideous One” which features the expedition of Colonel Rosentos in the swamp, with a hydra, a giant serpentweed, a ghost, bandits with an elven chieftain, savage human natives, a vampire and cay-men.
- In Gazetteer 1 The Grand Duchy of Karameikos, it is described as a “an ugly landscape of dying trees and rotting vegetation” and black dragons are the only mentioned inhabitants.
- In Karameikos Kingdom of Adventure Boxed Set, lizardmen, bonesnappers and other reptilian creatures quite hostile to man are mentioned, as well as pirate bases and former humanoid troops of the Black Eagle Baron. There is also an Encounters table however which includes AD&D creatures and refers to all Known World swamps.

2 and 3 - Riverfork and Achelos woods

“Fifty miles of forest looks likes five hundred miles when you are lost inside it. Then you can add strange elves, werewolves, fairies and green dragons and you should get the picture. It lays just beyond our doors, but we do not know much about it.”
- Boris Manov, Captain of Riverfork Keep

Area: 50 x 16 miles, or 832 square miles
Days to cross: 12 days east-west or 4 days north-south due to thick forest and deep streams.
Intelligent Inhabitants: More than 15,000 (faeries, fauns, centaurs, elves, werecreatures, harpies, hobgoblins, gnolls, up to 15 dragons).

In Canon products:
- In Gazetteer 1 The Grand Duchy of Karameikos, it is written the Riverfork (right) and Achelos (left) Woods are largely unexplored and uninhabited by humans, and very ominous.
- The AD&D adventure Carcass Fracas in Dungeon Magazine #57 is set in this area, featuring thouls.
- In Karameikos Kingdom of Adventure Boxed Set, the description is similar but Achelos only is reported on the map and is given as the Traladaran name of the Riverfork woods. The Estate of Achelos has been created for Alfheim elves. Encounter table for Forest included too.

In Fan productions:
- Agathokles’ Lords of the Cruth Lowlands, see link above, is the best source for the area, with Zirchev’s werewolves, a green dragon, faeries, Lindenelm elves (mentioned in canon in the background of a pre-rolled PC of M5 module Talons of Night, page 28) and the Turnwood magic point.
- According to Simone Neri’s history, see above, the Lindenelm elves are the last remnants of a mercenary clan who sided with Taymoran necromancers.
- The Turnwood is also mentioned here http://pandius.com/hghmgcpt.html by Gordon McCormick and in the Grondheim map by John Calvin, see above.
- For a list of monsters, check also Sheldon Morris’ Monstrous Atlas and Agathokles’ Wandering Monsters Tables as above
- I also wrote something about the area here: http://pandius.com/rvrforka.html as companion to my detailed 3.2 map of Traladara, link above. I did not place Alfheim elves in the Achelos woods because I wanted to keep it as a wild area.
- Thorn's Chronicle by Robert J. Nuttman, Jr. has something else here: http://pandius.com/tc_trllt.html about the Darine, Traladaran gypsies, which I think were created by Jennifer Guerra here: http://pandius.com/darine.html
- Sean Meaney has something more about the village of Petra here: http://pandius.com/petracom.html and here: http://pandius.com/buildcmp.html
- The Achelos adventure by Patrick Sullivan is also a major source of information on Western Karameikos: http://pandius.com/ach_camp.html

4 - Cruth Mountain and Hills

“Travelling from here to Darokin through the most direct route? Sure, people have tried. It’s just 90 miles of hills and mountains crawling with orcs, ogres and giants. About 15 days and 15 nights, half the time if you can run fast enough while they throw arrows and spears at you, or a whole lot longer if you can’t.”
- Marcellus, Riverfork guard, laughing at adventurers.

Area: 130 x 60 miles or 7,360 square miles
Days to cross: 20 days east-ovest or 9 days north-south due to difficult terrain (only the Karameikan part).
Intelligent Inhabitants: Up to 200,000. (Ogres, giants, orcs, gnolls, humans, halflings, fairies, centaurs, elves, werecreatures, faenare, harpies, fungoids, troglodytes, rockmen, brutemen and up to 120 dragons).

In Canon products:
- In Gazetteer 1 The Grand Duchy of Karameikos, ogres are mentioned in the Western hills.
- B1: In Search of Adventure was placed by the Expert set in this area.
- The Lost Valley of Hutaaka of B10 Night’s Dark Terror is also set in the north eastern part of this area.
- The adventure The Trouble with Milvyn Wimbly in Dungeon Magazine #5 could be easily set in the area.
- In Karameikos Kingdom of Adventure Boxed Set, the Cruth lowlands are said to be prowled by ogres and giants, and also be a home to wizards and other individuals who value their privacy. The range average height is given at 4000-4500 feet.
- Joshuan’s Almanac mentions a great dungeon complex discovered under Mount Pavel in 1013 AC.

In Fan productions:
- The Achelos adventure by Patrick Sullivan was the first major source of information on Western Karameikos, see above.
- Agathokles’ Lords of the Cruth Lowlands is now the best source for the area as for the previous areas.
- Rashak’s Reavers gnolls were described by Agathokles, see above the work done by him and Greg Weatherup here.
- For a list of monsters, check also Sheldon Morris’ Monstrous Atlas and Agathokles’ Wandering Monsters Tables linked in area 1.
- I also set my megadungeon of Koskatep here (see Threshold from issue #1) and wrote the history of Cruth ogres here: http://pandius.com/cruthogr.html as companion to my detailed 3.2 map of Traladara, link above.
- Robert Ligon created a detailed history of Western Karameikos, see above.
- There was also recently a discussion on The Piazza about locating Skull Mountain from 1977 Holmes D&D edition in the area: http://www.thepiazza.org.uk/bb/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=15940
- Cuchulainisle was created by Kevin Wyton here: http://pandius.com/cuchul.html

5 and 6 - Radlebb woods and plains

“We keep the road safe, patrolling it day and night. North and south of the road? We always advise travellers never to leave the road.”
- Gregori, Captain of Radlebb Keep.

Area: 64 x 64 miles or 4,000 square miles
Days to cross: 3 or 4 days east-west on the road, 7 or 8 days outside the road, at least 10 days north-south.
Intelligent Inhabitants: Up to 100,000. (Bugbears, hobgoblins, goblins, orcs, werecreatures, fairies, centaurs, undead, up to 60 dragons).

In Canon products:
- In Gazetteer 1 The Grand Duchy of Karameikos, bugbears are mentioned in the Southwestern forests and Lord Koriszegy and his keep are described.
- The adventure In The Dread of Night in Dungeon Magazine #24 was set on the Westron road and was later used by myself and Agathokles as the basis to develop the followers of Nyx in Lords of the Cruth Lowlands and Koskatep.
- The adventure Elexa’s Endeavor in Dungeon Magazine #53 could be easily set in this area.
- In Karameikos Kingdom of Adventure Boxed Set, Radlebb woods are said to be inhabited by Callarii elves and Alfheim refugees. The western part is described as dark, and Koriszegy keep is described as haunted by the living dead.
- The storyline of the videogame Order of the Griffon:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dungeons_%26_Dragons:_Order_of_the_Griffon is centered on a struggle against the Iron Ring, werewolves and Lord Koriszegy in Western Karameikos.

In Fan productions:
- Check Simone Neri’s history in Threshold issue #1 and as linked above. Also check Simone’s Demography of Karameikos In Threshold issue #1 and as linked above, with the discussion over his articles about the ruins and the populations of the wilderlands.
- Humanoids of the area were originally described by Agathokles as linked in area 1.
- For a list of monsters, check also Sheldon Morris’ Monstrous Atlas and Agathokles’ Wandering Monsters Tables linked in area 1.
- Robert Ligon created a detailed history of Western Karameikos here, see above.
- Agathokles also created a campaign for this area: http://pandius.com/swkarapt.html
- See also some ideas written for the area by Havard here: http://pandius.com/witchrad.html and here: http://pandius.com/greymnt.html

7 - The Boot (The Vorloi Peninsula)

“Not many people inhabit the interior of the peninsula, and the few who do, do not speak much to baronial officials, if they can be found at all among the woods.”
- Aurelius Vitrov, tax collector for Baron Vorloi

Area: 30 x 30 miles or 900 square miles
Days to cross: 4 days east-west or north-south
Intelligent Inhabitants: Up to 20,000 (Werecreatures, undead, humans, up to 10 dragons)

In Canon and Fan productions:
- As far as I know, this rather large region is not mentioned at all in either canon products or fan productions (or probably just considered a settled and safe area). However I decided to develop it a bit by making the area a haven for werecreatures and rebels, with a dark secret in the middle of it, the hideout of powerful vampires. See the discussion over Simone Neri’s articles about the ruins and the populations of the wilderlands and my detailed 3.2 map of Traladara, links above.
- My History of Traladara, linked in area 1, and Level 7 of Koskatep in Threshold issue #9 also have important information on this area.

8 - Dymrak forest and plains

“Defeat the Dymrak goblins? What do you think the elves, gnomes and centaurs have tried to do in the last five centuries? And the Thyatian Empire? And us? All military expeditions have been swallowed whole by the forest, or by dragons.”
- Livius, Kelvin lieutenant, speaking to new recruits.

Area: 90 x 36 miles or 3,300 square miles
Days to cross: 16 days east-west or 8 days north-south
Intelligent Inhabitants: Up to 80,000 (Goblins, hobgoblins, werecreatures, lizardmen, troglodytes, fairies, harpies, undead, up to 50 dragons)

In Canon products:
- In Gazetteer 1 The Grand Duchy of Karameikos, goblins and hobgoblins are mentioned in East Karameikos and they obviously appear in B10 Night’s Dark Terror and DDA4 The Dymrak Dread.
- In Dragon Magazine 171 Bruce Heard identified this area as Argosyl, the domain of the green dragon Argos: http://pandius.com/whoswho.html
- In Karameikos Kingdom of Adventure Boxed Set, it is written that the wolf-riding goblins of the Dymrak Forest in eastern Karameikos have a deserved reputation for their savagery and animal cunning, and that legends and rumors tell of an adult green dragon living in the Dymrak Forest.

In Fan productions:
- Check Simone Neri’s history and demography of Karameikos in Threshold issue #1 and the discussion linked in area 1 about the ruins and the populations of the wilderlands.
- Humanoids of the area were originally described by Agathokles as linked in area 1.
- For a list of monsters, check also Sheldon Morris’ Monstrous Atlas and Agathokles’ Wandering Monsters Tables linked in area 1.
- Havard wrote much about the Dymrak Forest in Threshold issue #1 and here: http://pandius.com/dymwdang.html but also here: http://pandius.com/dym_gobl.html, here: http://pandius.com/dymrakpw.html, here: http://pandius.com/argos.html and here: http://pandius.com/ddread.html

9 - The Moor and Centaurs lands

“The Moor is undoubtedly a wild land, inhabited by centaurs, not hostile to men but jealous of their independence. Yet in the past it was the seat of a powerful Traladaran Lord, punished by the Immortals for his blasphemous necromancy. Many have gone in search of his treasures, yet no one has found them yet. Do you want to see the map?”
- Artus, sage in Kelvin

Area: 64 x 24 miles or 1500 square miles
Days to cross: 10 days east-west or 4 days north-south
Intelligent Inhabitants: Up to 40,000. (Centaurs, fairies, goblins, werecreatures, undead, troglodytes, harpies, trolls, bugbears).

In Canon products:
- In Gazetteer 1 The Grand Duchy of Karameikos, centaurs are mentioned in forested areas and they appear in B10. Wights, banshees, werewolves and wereboars are said to be common in the moors.
- B5: Horror on the Hill was placed in this area in the D&D Expert set.
- Part of B10 Night’s Dark Terror is set in the vicinity of the Moor or inside it.
- The adventure Hrothgar’s Resting Place in Dungeon Magazine #25 is set in the area.
- The adventure Tarfil’s Tomb in Dungeon Magazine #27 is set in the area.
- The adventure Voyage of the Crimpshrine in Dungeon Magazine #59 is set on the Volaga to Seragrad.
- In Karameikos Kingdom of Adventure Boxed Set, it is described as an eerie area.
- The adventure Escape from Thunder Rift in the 1993 Dungeon Master Screen is set in Bywater.
- The town of the First Quest AD&D 1994 Boxed Set is named Krondsfield in the Karameikos Boxed set and I placed it in the area as no official location is given.

In Fan productions:
- Check Simone Neri’s history and demography of Karameikos in Threshold issue #1 and the discussion linked in area 1 about the ruins and the populations of the wilderlands.
- Lumm (which appears in X12 Skarda’s Mirror) and Gorenenov were described as the original seat of Morphail Gorevitch Woszlany (see Gaz3 The Principalities of Glantri) by Agathokles in his Traladaran Timeline here: http://pandius.com/trldtime.html
- Havard developed the centaurs of the Moor here: http://pandius.com/karcent.html

10 - Wufwolde hills

“It’s a very interesting region. It could be deadly interesting, if you catch my meaning.”
- Fyodor, adventurer in Threshold.

Area: 48 x 40 miles or 1,900 square miles
Days to cross: 10 days east-west or 9 days north-south
Intelligent Inhabitants: Up to 50,000. (Goblins, kobolds, gnolls, stone and hill giants, brutemen, chameleon men, troglodytes, fairies, gargoyles, werecreatures, undead, up to 30 dragons)

In Canon products:
- In Gazetteer 1 The Grand Duchy of Karameikos, one very old red dragon and some fairly civilized stone giants are mentioned in the area. It is also written the region has numerous gnomish and dwarven mines, but also caves and caverns with lost civilizations, hidden bandit tribes, ancient sleeping monsters.
- B8: Journey to the Rock was placed here in the D&D Expert set.
- B9: Castle Caldwell and Beyond was placed here in the D&D Expert set.
- B11: King’s Festival and B12: Queen’s Harvest are set in this area.
- X12: Skarda’s Mirror, is set in Verge.
- The adventure Ransom in Dungeon Magazine #42 should be set in Highdell.
- In Karameikos Kingdom of Adventure Boxed Set, Eltan’s Spring is introduced as a location for the adventures included.
- The module Hail the Heroes is set in the ruins of Zadreth in this area.
- The town of Irenke appears in the Joshuan Almanac on pages 158 and 159.

In Fan productions:
- Check Simone Neri’s history and demography of Karameikos in Threshold issue #1 and the discussion linked in area 1 about the ruins and the populations of the wilderlands.
- Knosht and other locations of the area are also explained here: http://www.pandius.com/thrshld.html by Simone Neri.
- I placed here A Goblin Kingdom: The Rise of Dhrom Dhum, detailed in Threshold issue #1 and here: http://pandius.com/dhromdum.html
- Humanoids of the area were originally described by Agathokles as linked in area 1.
- For a list of monsters, check also Sheldon Morris’ Monstrous Atlas and Agathokles’ Wandering Monsters Tables linked in area 1.

11 - Volaga hills

“Orcs, hobgoblins, minotaurs. Stranger creatures, like the one called decapus which grabs people from the trees. And the Old Man Winter which rules them all!”
- Granny Svetlana talking to the children in Seragrad.

Area: 60 x 60 miles or 3,500 square miles
Days to cross: 12 days east-west or north-south
Intelligent Inhabitants: Up to 70,000. (Orcs, hobgoblins, bugbears, minotaurs, werecreatures, undead, troglodytes, fairies, centaurs, hill giants, up to 50 dragons).

In Canon products:
- In Gazetteer 1 The Grand Duchy of Karameikos, Orcs and Hobgoblins are indicated in East Karameikos.
- B3: Palace of the Silver Princess is set near this area.
- In Karameikos Kingdom of Adventure Boxed Set, it is written that humanoids from the hills often menace Penhaligon.

In Fan productions:
- Check Simone Neri’s history and demography of Karameikos in Threshold issue #1 and the discussion linked in area 1 about the ruins and the populations of the wilderlands.
- Humanoids of the area were originally described by Agathokles as linked in area 1.
- I placed in this region Morozko (Old Man Winter) here described by Jennifer Guerra: http://pandius.com/tales.html
- For a list of monsters, check also Sheldon Morris’ Monstrous Atlas and Agathokles’ Wandering Monsters Tables linked in area 1.

12 - Altan Tepes mountains

“Yes it’s true the mountains are inhabited by some humanoids and hostile monsters, but the Keep is well capable of holding its own against any threat!”
- Lord Maximus, Castellan of the Keep.

Area: 72 x 50 miles or 3,600 square miles
Days to cross: 18 days east-west or 12 days south-north from Castellan Keep (only the Karameikan part)
Intelligent Inhabitants: Up to 90,000. (Orcs, hobgoblins, kobolds, goblins and others, frost, stone and hill giants, brutemen, up to 60 dragons).

In Canon products:
- In Gazetteer 1 The Grand Duchy of Karameikos, frost giants, snow apes and white dragons are mentioned in the mountains.
- B2: The Keep on the Borderlands is set in Castellan Keep.
- B7: Rahasia was placed by the D&D Expert set near the Duke’s road.
- In Karameikos Kingdom of Adventure Boxed Set, the mountains are said to reach 9,000 feet in the east, and it is also written that Gold and silver are found in the southern Altan Tepes, and many people try to establish mines there. Some meet with great success; most meet with death at the hands of the humanoids that infest that part of the country.

In Fan productions:
- Check Simone Neri’s history and demography of Karameikos in Threshold issue #1 and the discussion linked in area 1 about the ruins and the populations of the wilderlands.
- Simone Neri’s Central Altan Tepes Mini Gazetteer here: http://pandius.com/altantps.html is the most complete description of the region.
- See also this work by Ortega76 on Bergoi and Novaci: http://pandius.com/altntpes.html
- Humanoids of the area were originally described by Agathokles as linked in area 1.
- For a list of monsters, check also Sheldon Morris’ Monstrous Atlas and Agathokles’ Wandering Monsters Tables linked in area 1.
- Check also the Ice Wall by Gordon McCormick here: http://pandius.com/ice_wall.html and Return to the Ice Wall by Shawn Stanley in Threshold issue #1.
- Also relevant is Yuri Molotov - Death Knight, by John Calvin, in Threshold issue #1 and here: http://pandius.com/ymoltov2.html, with expansions here at The Piazza: http://www.thepiazza.org.uk/bb/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=14283
- A lot of material also exists on Castellan keep here: http://pandius.com/ppkeepbl.html by Paleologos, here: http://www.thepiazza.org.uk/bb/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=15930 by Kilr Kowalski, here: http://pandius.com/castkeep.html by Lucky and here: http://pandius.com/kotb_ret.html by Havard.
- See also my maps of the Past Ages of the Known World in Threshold issue #12, where I imagined here the Giant Kingdom of Tarsh, partially inspired by Land of the Fomorians: http://pandius.com/fomorian.html by Agathokles.

Five Shires

Populations and density

Five Shires populations

http://pandius.com/Five_shires_people.png

The only true wilderlands of the Shires are in the Black Spires and the Cruth Mountains, shown in purple, where orcs, goblins, hobgoblins, kobolds and bugbears are mentioned. As they are present in nearby Karameikos, brutemen and troglodytes could also inhabit the mountains. The Five Shires Gazetteer mentions among other intelligent creatures living in the mountains, dragons, gargoyles and manscorpions. The mountains probably have extensive caves with old dwarven mines, ruins and the typical monsters of the Shires detailed in the Gazetteer, as Deep Glaurants and Rockfangs.
The Shires part of the mountain chain is just 8 or 16 miles thick but 220 miles long. It is about 2,200 square miles and should have about 60,000 intelligent inhabitants.
The Shires have several wooded hills and deep woods, shown as borderlands, in orange. Some fairy creatures are mentioned in the Shires, particularly actaeons, dryads, sprites and unicorns, and also the dangerous black hags. Undead and werecreatures are known to roam the Shires, mainly in the east, and shapeshifters such as doppelgangers and mujinas have been spotted as well. There are 73 hexes of borderlands for a total of 4,700 square miles. The population of these areas should be up to 120,000 intelligent beings, probably the majority not being halflings, but rather humanoids in the north and fairies and other creatures in the forests.
The total number of dragons in the Shires should be above 100.
The settled lands, depicted in yellow, amount to 140 hexes for a total of 9,000 square miles. Even considering that the average density of the hin population is a bit lower than the human one at 60 people per square mile, the total population in the “civilized” area should be up to 550,000.
The total intelligent inhabitants of the Shires should then be more than 730,000 people.
Of this, halflings are the majority, with about 550,000 people. About 60,000 other integrated races lives in the Shires, mostly humans, lupins⁴, gnomes and elves. Some of these people may be ancient inhabitants of the Shires, while others may be more recent immigrants. Humanoids in the mountains should number at least 60,000, mostly orcs with goblins, hobgoblins, kobolds, thouls, bugbears and gnolls. Other races, which includes faerie folk, wood imps, harpies, faenare, lizardmen, troglodytes, manscorpions, and brutemen, should amount to at least 60,000 people. No one is able to guess how numerous deep glaurants and rockmen may be. Werecreatures and shapeshifters are certainly hidden among the human population.
Dwarves are rare in the Shires due to the past enmity between the two people. Some could be encountered if they are in cordial relations with local halflings, but they could risk some intolerance. Rumors that the heirs of Loktal Ironshield are still hidden somewhere in the Cruth mountains⁵ are dismissed by most halflings as stories to scare children.

The Wilderlands of the Five Shires

Five Shires wilderlands

1 - Eastern Cruth Mountains (Black Spires)

“That’s the wildest region of the Shires. It has werewolves, undead, orcs, human bandits and undead dwarves. And Dragons! It’s always fun for everyone!”
- Jalen, hin yallaren.

Area: 48 x 48 miles or 2,300 square miles
Days to cross: 7 days east-west or 8 days south-north (only the Shires part)
Intelligent Inhabitants: Up to 60,000 (Bugbears, hobgoblins, gnolls, werecreatures, undead, gargoyles, brutemen, troglodytes, up to 35 dragons).

In Canon products:
- In Gazetteer 8, The Five Shires, the area is said to be inhabited by fire beetles, bugbears, carrion crawlers, mountain lions, dragons, gargoyles, ghouls, goblins, griffons, banshees, hobgoblins, nightwings, orcs, robber flies, vampires. The area should be mainly inhabited by bugbears, hobgoblins and some gnolls.
- In Dragon Magazine 171 Bruce Heard identified this area as Azemur, the domain of the gold dragon Azem, see link in area 8 of Karameikos.
- The adventure The Trouble with Milvyn Wimbly in Dungeon Magazine #5 could be easily set in the area.
- The adventure Them apples in Dungeon Magazine #48 is suggested for this area.
- A possible placement for XS2 Thunderdelve Mountains, ruins of the dwarves living near the Shires was imagined by Paleologos here: http://pandius.com/thndrdlv.html

In Fan productions:
- For a list of monsters, check also Sheldon Morris’ Monstrous Atlas: http://pandius.com/ma_five.html
- A Five Shires Gazetteer: Alternate Edition was created by John Walter Biles here: http://pandius.com/AlternateFiveShiresDraftOne.pdf
- The Dark Shire by Geoff Gander here: http://pandius.com/drkshire.html
- The Order of the Broken Chain by Ashtagon is here: http://pandius.com/brknchn.html
- See also Thorn's Chronicle: The Karrnath's Realm, Eastern Glittering Lands by Robert J. Nuttman, Jr., link under areas 2 and 3 of Karameikos, for a possible heir of Loktal’s realm.
- In Threshold issue #12 I also detailed the past of the Known World, and the people who inhabited it and may still inhabit it, hidden in the most wild and remote places.

2 - Central and Western Cruth Mountains

“It’s a long mountain chain and no one ever explored it fully. It has two main passes which are dangerous enough. Few dare to try other routes.”
- Ylo, hin krondar in Sateeka.

Area: 160 x 20 miles or 3,200 square miles
Days to cross: 40 days east-west or 4-5 days south-north (only the Shires part)
Intelligent Inhabitants: Up to 80,000 (Goblins, orcs, kobolds, minotaurs, brutemen, gargoyles, undead, troglodytes, up to 50 dragons)

In Canon products:
- In Gazetteer 8, The Five Shires, the area is said to be inhabited by bears, beetles, carrion crawlers, mountain lions, dragons, gargoyles, griffons, banshees, liches, manscorpions, mujinas,
The area should be mainly inhabited by goblins in the east and orcs and kobolds in the rest of the range.
- The adventure M1 Blizzard Pass is set in one of the two mountain passes of this region.

In Fan productions:
- In this thread at the Piazza, started by Ardano Silverbrow: http://www.thepiazza.org.uk/bb/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=8019 here: http://pandius.com/loktal_s.html and here: http://pandius.com/loktal_t.html Agathokles, John Calvin and others developed a megadungeon connected to the ancient dwarven king Loktal Ironshield in the area.

3 - The Woods

“Once these woods were the homes of the Gentle Folk, who disappeared long ago to escape the orcs. They always were and still are also inhabited by more ancient people who do not like intruders. You have been warned.”
- Anonymous hin Master.

Area: Five main woods from 24 x 8 to 24 x 16 miles or 1,500 square miles total
Days to cross: From 2 to 8 days to cross.
Intelligent Inhabitants: Up to 35,000. (Fairies, werecreatures, troglodytes, lizardmen, up to 25 dragons).

In Canon products:
- In Gazetteer 8, The Five Shires, the woodlands are said to be inhabited by actaeons, bears, drakes, dryads, ferrets, green dragons, hags, werewolves and werebears, owl bears, mujinas, stirges, sprites, unicorns, wolves.

“Pirates, buccaneers and more dangerous creatures. You never know what you could meet on the coast of the Shires.”
- Ceye The Sting, hin Captain and part-time pirate.

Area: 320 miles of coast, of which at least 100 miles unsettled
Days to sail: At least 4 with strong wind, or more.
Intelligent Inhabitants: Up to 60,000. (Werecreatures, undead, lizardmen, troglodytes, sphinxes, up to 5 dragons).

In Canon products:
- In Gazetteer 8, The Five Shires, the coast and the islands are said to be inhabited by giant bats, grab grass, wererats, devil swine, mujinas, robber flies, spiders.
- The adventure for the Shires in X10 Red Arrow, Black Shield is set in a ruin near Shireton.

In Fan production:
- The adventure The Tomb of Thob Shanwood by Agathokles is set in Southshire.
- Mulur’s Grave by Sean Meaney is a coral island off the Shires here: http://pandius.com/mulurgrv.html

Minrothad

Populations and density

Minrothad populations

Minrothad has few true wilderlands, except for the volcanic areas and the interiors of the islands (which often coincide). In total these lands amount to 30 hexes, or about 1,900 square miles, with a possible population of 20,000 intelligent creatures on Trader’s Isle, Fire Island and Blackrock Island (we will examine Fortress Island and Alfeisle below). Open Island and North Island should not contain true wilderlands, but only some borderlands. However Gazetteer 9 The Minrothad Guilds has no true monster list and the Poor Wizard’s Almanac doesn’t mention any intelligent creatures. Simone Neri’s Demography of Ierendi and Minrothad in Threshold issue #3 lists only harpies and lupins as non human or demihuman inhabitants of the isles, while the older Demografia Mystariana also lists fairies on Alfeisle and some werecreatures escaped from the Silver Purge around the islands. Therefore the DM may freely decide what intelligent creatures may inhabit these wilderlands, if any. Given the old history of the islands (see also Threshold issue #12) I think fairies, gremlins, brutemen, gnomes, storm, fire and cloud giants, lizardmen, troglodytes, harpies, faenare, fungoids, rockmen, fire and earth elementals, aranea, kara-kara orcs⁶, dragons and lost human populations are all acceptable ideas for the wild regions of Minrothad. The Undersea is another chapter entirely, featured in PC3 The Sea People. The Triton Kingdom lays mainly southwest of Trader’s Isle, water elves and nixies live around Alfeisle and many kna dwell between Minrothad, Ierendi and Karameikos. Merrow are more common around Ierendi, but can be encountered occasionally, as can sea giants, kopru and devilfish.
I depicted the less settled areas of the islands as borderlands in orange. In total about 42 hexes and 2,700 square miles with a possible population of about 120,000 people. Most of these inhabitants will be humans (or halflings, as appropriate for the island) but such area could have pirates, ancient ruins, undead, werecreatures, isolated villages and other interesting adventure locations.
About 100 dragons should inhabit the Minrothad isles.
The settled areas in yellow should be mostly inhabited by humans on Trader’s Isle and North Island (1,540 square miles with a population of about 140,000 people), and by halflings and some humans in Open Isle with a population of 40,000 people.
On Fortress island only a small part should be heavily settled by dwarves for a total of about 20,000 people. Previous inhabitants, maybe humans and others could well number to 15,000 other people.
Alfeisle should have about 15,000 inhabitants in the wilderlands, 55,000 in the borderlands and 110,000 in the more settled areas, with an elf population of 150,000, 5,000 humans and others and 25,000 other intelligent creatures (probably fairies, harpies, faenare, gremlins, and maybe others).
The total population of Minrothad should be about 200,000 humans, 170,000 elves, 50,000 halflings, 30,000 dwarves, 5,000 lupins, all integrated into the Guilds for a total of 455,000 people, and 80,000 other intelligent creatures in the more remote areas of the islands.

The Wilderlands of Minrothad

Minrothad wilderlands
http://pandius.com/Minrothad_wilderlands.png

1 - Trader’s Isle Dragon Spur

“This island has ancient history, more ancient than you could possibly imagine. On the coast the ancient ruins have been long sacked and covered by new buildings, but in the wilderlands traces of the past can still be found, almost intact, but rarely unoccupied.”
- Maion, Minorothad Captain and Sage.

Area: 72 x 32 miles, or 2,200 square miles
Days to cross: 16 days or more north-south and 3-8 days east-west
Intelligent Inhabitants: Up to 50,000 (Fairies, gremlins, brutemen, gnomes, storm, fire and cloud giants, lizardmen, troglodytes, harpies, faenare, fungoids, rockmen, fire and earth elementals, aranea, werecreatures, up to 25 dragons)

In Canon products:
- In Gazetteer 9, The Minrothad Guilds, some adventures are set on Trader’s Isle where snakes, spiders, wereboars, lizards, nixies, wererats and a green dragon are encountered.
- The Poor Wizard’s Almanac only lists birds, donkeys, goats, giant lizards, monkeys and small pigs as wild animals of the Islands.
- The module X7 War Rafts of Kron begins in the City of Minrothad.
- The adventure Isle of the Abbey in Dungeon Magazine #34 could be easily set in Minrothad.
- The adventure The Djinni’s Ring in Dungeon Magazine #9 and the adventure The Isle of the Storm Giant featured in AC10 Bestiary of Dragons and Giants mention “Serendib, one of the cities of the
Minrothad Guilds”, see also Threshold issue #3 page 160 by Simone Neri.

In Fan productions:
- See also Sheldon Morris’ Monstrous Atlas here: http://pandius.com/ma_minr.html.
- Threshold issue #3 contains Simone Neri’s Demography of Ierendi and Minrothad and issue #3 and #4 contains several other articles about Minrothad and the Sea of Dread.
- In Threshold issue #3, in my article The Darkness Beneath, I imagined some of the ancient ruins which could be found under Minrothad, and in Threshold issue #12 I also detailed the past of the Known World, and the people who inhabited it and may still inhabit it, hidden in the most wild and remote places. Most of this is inspired by the work done by John Calvin on the 2300 BC setting and Taymora in particular, also detailed in Threshold issue #12 and here: http://www.thepiazza.org.uk/bb/viewforum.php?f=63

2 - Fortress Island

“Stronghold is safe, but the branches... Well they are both almost 30 miles of mountains. The left branch has the volcano, and the creatures which live around it. The right branch has our mines, several forgotten fishing villages, pirates, harpies, and more.”
- Durto, dwarven miner of Fortress island.

Area: 30 miles long each branch, or 600 square miles in total
Days to cross: 7 days from Stronghold to the end of either branch
Intelligent Inhabitants: Up to 15,000 (Gremlins, brutemen, gnomes, storm, fire and cloud giants, lizardmen, troglodytes, harpies, faenare, fungoids, rockmen, fire and earth elementals, up to 15 dragons)

In Canon products:
- In Gazetteer 9, The Minrothad Guilds, an adventure is set on Fortress Islands against fire elementals.

In Fan productions:
- See above under Trader’s Isle

3 - Fire island

“Fire island is dangerous. No one lives here and no one ever will!”
- Mirto Jader, official of the Minrothaddan government.

Area: 24 x 10 miles, or 240 square miles in total
Days to cross: 6 days east-west
Intelligent Inhabitants: Up to 20,000 (Brutemen, storm, fire and cloud giants, lizardmen, troglodytes, harpies, faenare, fungoids, rockmen, fire and earth elementals, up to 5 dragons).

In Canon products:
- In Gazetteer 9, The Minrothad Guilds, Fire island is the secret seat of the Privateers Guild.

In Fan production:
- See above under Trader’s Isle

4 - Alfeisle

“We have lived here since before this was an island. Yes, once this land was connected to the continent. Yes I know ancient ruins which can prove this. No, it’s not a guarantee you will come out of them alive.”
- Ashiel, elven ranger in Alfeisle.

Area: 80 x 24 miles, or 2,000 square miles (of wilderlands)
Days to cross: 20 days north-south or 6 days east-west
Intelligent Inhabitants: Up to 70,000 (Fairies, gremlins, brutemen, gnomes, storm, fire and cloud giants, lizardmen, troglodytes, harpies, faenare, fungoids, rockmen, fire and earth elementals, aranea, kara-kara orcs, up to 25 dragons)

In Canon products:
- In Gazetteer 9, The Minrothad Guilds, an adventure was set on Alfeisle with giant lizards, dryads, and treants.

5 - Blackrock island

“Mystics, fishermen, and a volcano with a bad temper. Not much to buy or sell. Why anyone should go there, is beyond me.”
- Kyros, merchant and captain of the City of Minrothad.

Area: 16 x 16 miles, or 256 square miles (of wilderlands)
Days to cross: 4 days north-south or east-west
Intelligent Inhabitants: Up to 7,000 (Fairies, gremlins, brutemen, gnomes, storm, fire and cloud giants, lizardmen, troglodytes, harpies, faenare, fungoids, rockmen, fire and earth elementals, werecreatures, up to 5 dragons)

In Canon products:
- In Gazetteer 9, The island is briefly described as housing a community of mystics who follow an Alphatian tradition.

Ierendi

Populations and density

Ierendi populations
http://pandius.com/Ierendi_people.png

Ierendi has extensive wilderlands, as several islands are historically only lightly settled by humans. Elegy island has at least 450 square miles of unsettled lands, Ierendi island 1,700 (the whole central chain), Fletcher island 130, White island 120, Roister island 320, Aloysius island 400, Honour island 350, Alcove island 380, Utter island 1,000 and Safari island 2,100, for a total wilderlands area of 7,000 square miles and up to 200,000 intelligent non human inhabitants. Beside humans and demihumans, other people documented on Ierendi are lizardmen, goblins, lupins, harpies, elementals and flame salamanders⁷, fire, storm and cloud giants, dragons, rock trolls, white apes, constructs, undead and werecreatures. Other people, such as rockmen, geonids, fungoids, troglodytes, brutemen, neshezu⁸ and more, may also be present at the DM’s discretion.
Depicted in orange as borderlands are the areas of the islands with sparse human population, probably with an average population density of 30 intelligent creatures per square miles, but half of them are not humans. Elegy island has at least 450 square miles of borderlands, Ierendi island 4,700, Fletcher island 550, White island 120, Roister island 120, Aloysius island 1,000, Honour island 50, Alcove island 650, Utter island 900 and Safari island 600, for a total wilderlands area of 9150 square miles with up to 275,000 inhabitants, 135,000 humans or demihumans and 140,000 of other creatures.
In yellow are the settled areas with an high density human or demihuman population. Elegy, White and Roister islands have no regions of high density population, Ierendi island has 2,500 square miles, Fletcher island 260, Aloysius island 100, Honour island 60, Alcove island 380, Utter island 120 and Safari island 380, for a total area of highly settled lands of 3,800 square miles with up to 265,000 human inhabitants, with an average density slightly lower than 70 people per square mile.
The total human population of Ierendi should be about 400,000 people, mostly human with some demihuman minorities (20,000 halflings, about 5,000 lupins, elves, gnomes and dwarves), but the islands should be able to support at least 340,000 other intelligent creatures.
Elegy island has been depicted as all wilderlands or borderlands because it should have minimal population, probably 10,000 human inhabitants and 20,000 others, where others in this case should be mostly undead and some lizardmen. Ierendi island has been depicted as borderlands in all the western region, almost 4,800 square miles that should contain 160,000 inhabitants, half of them humans and half of them not. 50,000 other creatures should inhabit the central chain. All the non human creatures listed above could be present in Ierendi island.
The settled area should have 170,000 human inhabitants, for a total human population of 245,000 humans on the main island (with some demihumans) and 140,000 other people. Fletcher island should be inhabited by 10,000 other creatures and 25,000 humans. Alcove island should have 30,000 human inhabitants and 20,000 other creatures. Honour island should have 5,000 human inhabitants and 10,000 other creatures. White island could have a population of 5,000 inhabitants, even if it appears inhabited only by insane druids and white apes. Roister Island should have only 2,500 human inhabitants and 10,000 other creatures. Aloysius island should have 25,000 human inhabitants and 25,000 other creatures. Utter island should have 20,000 human inhabitants and 30,000 other creatures. Safari island should have 40,000 human inhabitants and 80,000 other creatures.
The islands could easily support a population of more than 200 normal dragons and probably the surrounding sea an even higher number of sea dragons.

The Wilderlands of Ierendi

Ierendi wilderlands
http://pandius.com/Ierendi_wilderlands.png

1 - Safari Woods Preserve

“The wood has many interesting creatures. We have the exploration adventure, the survival adventure, the chase adventure and many other options. Please do not set fire to the woods. The druids will kill you and I will help them.”
- Ako, guide of the Wilderness Preserve.

Area: 64 x 16 miles, or 850 square miles
Days to cross: 12 days north-south or 4 days east-west
Intelligent Inhabitants: Up to 25,000 (Lizardmen, fairies, goblins, harpies, troglodytes and werecreatures. Any other creature possible. Up to 15 dragons)

In Canon products:
- In Gazetteer 4, the Kingdom of Ierendi, the Wilderness Preserves are said to occupy 90% of the island, accessible with guides, special licenses or licensed private tour operators. Exotic creatures are mentioned, such as gargantuan monsters, wyverns, stirges, oozes and jellies, cave snakes, hydras, serpents, lizardmen, orcs, hill giants and dragons.
- Among the native fauna, Gazetteer 4 mentions giant rats, wild boars, giant lizards, dinosaurs, dragons, gulls, parrots and flamingos, mermen, sea serpents, giant turtles, giant insects.
- Gastenoo’s World of Adventure and the other Adventure Parks should instead be located in the areas depicted in orange as borderlands.
- The Poor Wizard’s Almanac mentions also giant leeches in swampy areas and lizardmen, and says Safari Island has monsters from all over the Known World.
- In PC3 The Sea People the waters around Ierendi should be mostly inhabited by merrow, but other Undersea races could probably be encountered too.

In Fan productions:
- See also Sheldon Morris’ Monstrous Atlas here: http://pandius.com/ma_iern.html.
- Threshold issue #3 contains Simone Neri’s Demography of Ierendi and Minrothad and issue #3 and #4 contains several other articles about Minrothad and the Sea of Dread.
- In Threshold issue #3, in my article The Darkness Beneath, I imagined some of the ancient ruins which could be found under Ierendi, and in Threshold issue #12 I also detailed the past of the Known World, and the people who inhabited it and may still inhabit it, hidden in the most wild and remote places. Most of this is inspired by the work done by John Calvin on the 2300 BC setting and Taymora in particular, also detailed in Threshold issue #12 and here: http://www.thepiazza.org.uk/bb/viewforum.php?f=63
- See also The Pirate Kingdom of Ierendi by John Walter Biles: http://pandius.com/AIGV1.pdf

2 - West Safari Preserve

“Volcanoes, swamps and cliffs, there is much to explore in the Preserve. Please note that not all lizardmen, goblins and dragons have yet signed the Do Not Eat Humans agreement with Preserve personnel.”
- Kaira, welcoming visitors to the West Safari Preserve.

Area: 80 x 20 miles, or 1600 square miles
Days to cross: 14 days north-south or 7 days east-west
Intelligent Inhabitants: Up to 50,000 (Fairies, lizardmen, goblins, lupins, harpies, elementals and flame salamanders, fire, storm and cloud giants, rock trolls, white apes, constructs, undead, werecreatures, rockmen, geonids, fungoids, troglodytes, brutemen and/or other intelligent primates, see note 8, up to 25 dragons)

In Canon products:
- See above. Also In Gazetteer 4, the Kingdom of Ierendi, two adventure ideas are set in the west of the island to capture stirges and a giant hydra.

In Fan productions:
- See area 1 of Ierendi above.

3 - Utter island west

“The local albinos and the local Makai are not hostile, but you have to respect their culture or suffer the consequences. Then there is the west, which is completely wild and uninhabited by humans at all.”
- Jan, soldier stationed at Dondo Keep.

Area: 72 x 12 miles, or 900 square miles
Days to cross: 12 days north-south or 3 days east-west
Intelligent Inhabitants: Up to 25,000 (As area 2 of Ierendi and up to 15 dragons)

In Canon products:
- In Gazetteer 4, the Kingdom of Ierendi, the adventure idea involves a civil war between Makai and the albinos, with the winning party declaring independence from Ierendi.
- In Gazetteer 4 it is also written that the island has disease carrying insects (the mau mau) and giant insects in the swamps. Probably this is a typo which was meant for Aloysius island, but the DM may decide that both islands suffer from the same problem.

In Fan productions:
- See area 1 and this Alternate setting for Ierendi v2.0 by Sharon Dornhoff: http://pandius.com/ierendi2.html including the Hollow Moon material and the Once in a Blue Moon article by John Calvin in Threshold issue #4 about the Albharendi.
- See also Utter Island by Gordon McCormick: http://pandius.com/utterisl.html

4 - Aloysius island west

“We have Ierendians, Makai, dwarves, convicts, buccaneers, anything here. And if you go west, and the mau-mau mosquitoes do not turn you into a zombie, you will encounter even more interesting people.”
- Medron, Innkeeper in Jortan.

Area: 50 x 20 miles, or 1000 square miles
Days to cross: 11 days north-south or 4 days east-west
Intelligent Inhabitants: Up to 30,000 (As area 2 of Ierendi and up to 10 dragons)

In Canon products:
- In Gazetteer 4, the Kingdom of Ierendi, it is written that Utter island has disease carrying insects (the mau-mau) and giant insects in the swamps. Probably this is a typo which was meant for Aloysius island, which is described as inhabited by mau-mau mosquitoes. The adventure features lizardmen trying to take back the island.
- In Dragon Magazine 171 Bruce Heard identified the Undersea east of Aloysius as Thundiara, the domain of the sea dragon Thundar, see link in area 8 of Karameikos.

In Fan productions:
- See See area 1 of Ierendi above.

5 - Honour island

“Yes, I have heard many saying they know someone who went to Honour island and came back with treasures and secrets. Yet I have been here ten years, and I know only people who went there and never came back. And as far as I know, the secrets of the wizard are still safe. And yes, I know some of their secrets. But no, I cannot tell anyone. I prefer to keep on breathing, thank you very much.”
- Figgen, famous halfling adventurer.

Area: 20 x 20 miles, or 400 square miles
Days to cross: 4-5 days north-south or east-west
Intelligent Inhabitants: Up to 10,000 (As area 2 of Ierendi and up to 5 dragons)

In Canon products:
- In Gazetteer 4, the Kingdom of Ierendi, Honour island and its inhabitants are described in detail. An adventure leading to Honor island also appear in the Elegy island chapter.

In Fan productions:
- See area 1 and also Mentats of Honor Island by Joaquin Menchaca: http://pandius.com/mentats.html

6 - Alcove island east

“The rumor that pirates control the eastern half of the island is greatly exaggerated. The navy has already beaten them and we will soon catch the few who escaped. No, the area is still unsafe, so I would advise not to dwell there.”
- Irenus, Ierendian Navy Captain.

Area: 35 x 25 miles, or 875 square miles
Days to cross: 7 days north-south or 5 days east-west
Intelligent Inhabitants: Up to 25,000 (As area 2 of Ierendi and up to 15 dragons)

In Canon products:
- In Gazetteer 4, the Kingdom of Ierendi, there are some adventures dealing with local pirates.

In Fan productions:
- See area 1 of Ierendi above.

7 - Fletcher island west

“Most of the island is not dangerous, just inhabited by lots of birds. The western region is another matter. Unexplored area, ruins and secrets. I bet you can find something interesting there, and bring it to me.”
- Mr. Coarke, offering a deal to some adventurers.

Area: 24 x 16 miles, or 380 square miles
Days to cross: 4 days north-south or east-west
Intelligent Inhabitants: Up to 10,000 (As area 2 of Ierendi and up to 10 dragons)

In Canon products:
- In Gazetteer 4, the Kingdom of Ierendi, there is adventure involving the dodo bird and the eccentric wizard Mr Coarke.

In Fan productions:
See area 1 of Ierendi above.

8 - White island

“Insane druids. Giant white apes. Do not go there. This is not the kind of warning bold adventures can ignore to earn unique glory. This is the kind of warning never-heard-again people or returned-but-gone-nuts people did not listen to.”
- Marcus, speaking at the Adventurers’ club of Ierendi city.

Area: 16 x 12 miles, or 192 square miles
Days to cross: 4 days north-south or east-west
Intelligent Inhabitants: Up to 5,000 (As area 2 of Ierendi and up to 5 dragons)

In Canon products:
- In Gazetteer 4, the island and its unique features are described in detail.

In Fan productions:
- See area 1 of Ierendi above and also this recent thread on the Piazza about Orisis and other Nithian immortals: http://www.thepiazza.org.uk/bb/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=15955&p=179334#p179334, Chimpman’s post in particular.
- Instead of just insane, the druids could be played as an elite force battling Outer Beings infiltrations in the Known World. In Marco Dalmonte’s Codex Immortalis here: http://pandius.com/nithcult.html Orisis is an identity of Ixion, while Andrew Theisen here: http://pandius.com/orisis.html recaps canon sources about him. For the Outer Beings see http://pandius.com/insanity.html this article by Geoff Gander.

9 - Roister island

“Huge fish, interesting plants, so many colourful birds. A tourist paradise if you avoid the wildest part, which has mau-mau mosquitoes and other unfriendly creatures.”
- Kaja, Ierendian explorer and adventuress.

Area: 16 x 16 miles, or 256 square miles
Days to cross: 4 days north-south or east-west
Intelligent Inhabitants: Up to 7,500 (As area 2 of Ierendi and up to 5 dragons)

In Canon products:
- In Gazetteer 4, an adventure features a floating island of lizardmen.

In Fan productions:
- See area 1 of Ierendi above.

10 - Ierendi island Uplands

“It’s another world. You will not find brochures or guides of the Uplands. The truth is everyone knows they are dangerous and prefer to avoid them and discourage explorers. Even the Adventurers Club is usually reluctant to provide maps or information. Here Be Dragons. And Giants. And Volcanoes.”
- Ilos, Thyatian trader and adventurer in Ierendi city.

Area: 136 x 32 miles, or 4,300 square miles
Days to cross: 35 days north-south or 5-6 days east-west
Intelligent Inhabitants: Up to 150,000 (As area 2 of Ierendi and up to 100 dragons)

In Canon products:
- In Gazetteer 4, there are adventures involving pirates, merrow, humans and a dragon from a faraway place (Arentela, see Threshold issue #4 and #9), but nothing else on the Uplands beyond the short creature list already provided under Safari island.

In Fan productions:
- See area 1 of Ierendi above.

11 - Elegy island

“There are lots of ancient tombs there, so I guess telling adventurers to stay away is useless. So consider yourself properly warned. The tombs often have traps, and sometimes monsters guarding them. And there are powerful forces defending the artifacts of our ancestors.”
- Keno, boat captain in Matarakai.

Area: 40 x 12 miles, or 450 square miles
Days to cross: 8 days north-south or 4 days east-west
Intelligent Inhabitants: Up to 15,000 (As area 2 of Ierendi and up to 15 dragons)

In Canon products:
- In Gazetteer 4, there are adventures involving tombs, pirates, zombies and Honor island wizards.
- The Elegy island White-faced gibbon is mentioned as a typical animal of the island.

In Fan production:
- See area 1 of Ierendi above and see also the Atlas of the Island by Agathokles, me and Chimpman in this same issue, some info already partially stored in the Vaults here; http://pandius.com/elegynpc.html, here; http://pandius.com/elegylcn.html, here; http://pandius.com/elegy_pc.html, and here; http://pandius.com/jaimehca.html.

Thyatis

Populations and density

Thyatis populations

Thyatis is one of the more settled and civilized nations of the Known World, as it can be seen from the extension of the yellow areas. The settled hexes are about 440, more than 28,000 square miles with a high human density (about 90 people per square mile) and a population of 2,600,000 people.
The borderlands in orange are about 240 hexes, or 15,400 square miles with a density of 50 people per square miles and a population of 800,000 intelligent inhabitants, half of them humans, demihumans or lupins and half of them other intelligent races, mostly giants, ogres, kobolds, hobgoblins or harpies.
The areas in blue are those historically inhabited by lupins, which are a sizable population in Thyatis. There are about 100 hexes, 6,400 square miles, of lupin territory in Thyatis with a population of 300,000 people, (100,000 humans and 200,000 lupins).
The areas in brown are inhabited by dwarves and gnomes, 14 hexes heavily settled and 27 hexes of borderland in dark brown, with a total population of 100,000 people, about 60,000 dwarves, 20,000 humans and 20,000 other creatures.
Areas in green are inhabited mainly by Vyalia elves, 14 hexes with a population of 45,000 people, of which 30,000 are elves, 10,000 humans and about 5,000 fairy folk and other creatures.
In purple as usual are the true wilderlands of the Empire, 255 hexes and more than 16,000 square miles of Imperial Territories with a population of 600,000 intelligent creatures, mostly giants, ogres, kobolds, orcs, goblins, hobgoblins, harpies, faenare, werecreatures and fairies. The humans which live among them are usually illegal colonists, bandits, escaped slaves, rebels or werecreatures.
The total population of Thyatis should be 3,100,000 humans, 220,000 lupins, 70,000 dwarves and gnomes, 40,000 elves, 15,000 halflings, 1,000,000 others for a total of about 4,445,000 intelligent inhabitants. Mainland Thyatis should also be able to support more than 500 dragons.

1 - Tarsia

“It’s giant territory. And there are also ogres. The rumor says the Empire has an agreement with them. They serve as mercenaries from time to time, and we leave them be. Adventurers who go there are on their own. If they create problems, the giants will deal with them as they see fit.”
- Ludovicus, sergeant in Fort Nikos.

Area: 96 x 96 miles, or 9,200 square miles
Days to cross: 24 days north-south or east-west
Intelligent Inhabitants: Up to 350,000 (Giants, ogres, fairies, harpies, faenare, werecreatures, kobolds, goblins, hobgoblins, orcs and up to 135 dragons)

In Canon products:
- Dawn of the Emperors Boxed set contains almost no information on the Imperial Territories and the creatures and monsters living in them.
- The Poor Wizard’s Almanacs list as creatures of the mountains and hills mountain lions, dragons, hill giants, ogres, pegasi and griffons near Retebius, vampires, ghouls and werecreatures in Thyatis and in the west, in the western forests bears, boars, centaurs, and dryads.
- The presence of kobolds in Thyatis can be assumed from Kol XIV background in Gazetteer 10 The Orcs of Thar.
- Harpies and Faenare are mentioned in the mountains in PC2 Top Ballista.

In Fan productions:
- See Past Ages of the Known World by me and Hesperia, Land of the Setting Sun by Giulio Caroletti in Threshold issue #12 and in this same issue, and Lost Civilizations of Thyatis and Alphatia by me in Threshold issue #11 for some info and details on the past of Thyatis.
- Tarsia and Altania were names suggested by Simone Neri here: http://pandius.com/thymadd.html. His Central Altan Tepes Mini Gazetteer is also relevant for the area even if it doesn’t cover the Thyatian side, see link in area 12 of Karameikos.
- Agathokles supposed a Land of the Fomorian giants who controlled the Altan Tepes mountains, see area 12 of Karameikos.
- Orcs, goblins and hobgoblins are mentioned in Simone Neri’s Demografia Mystariana and also in the Hesperia article of Threshold issue #12 by Giulio Caroletti.

2 - Trevonia

“It’s a region of hills inhabited mostly by lupins, kobolds, giants, ogres, centaurs and werecreatures. Most of them are surprisingly not hostile, unless you really bother them. Yet it is still borderlands, so there are also other dangerous creatures around with whom it may be more difficult to speak.”
- Marco, merchant in Kerendas.

Area: 40 x 48 miles, or 2,000 square miles
Days to cross: 10 days north-south or 6 days east-west
Intelligent Inhabitants: Up to 70,000 (Lupins, giants, kobolds, ogres, centaurs, fairies, werecreatures, undead and up to 30 dragons)

In Canon products:
- The Poor Wizard’s Almanacs list as creatures of the mountains and hills mountain lions, dragons, hill giants, ogres, pegasi and griffons near Retebius, vampires, ghouls and werecreatures in Thyatis and in the west, in the western forests bears, boars, centaurs, and dryads.

In Fan productions:
- See area 1 of Thyatis above.

3 - Altenia and Alatia

“Here be dragons. And manticores. Really, the Retebius Air Fleet surveil all the region and do not like people messing around in what they consider their dominion. They breed flying creatures there and people killing them are not much appreciated”.
- Arius, adventuress in Kantridae.

Area: 200 x 50 miles, or 10,000 square miles
Days to cross: 20 days north-south or 50 days east-west
Intelligent Inhabitants: Up to 350,000 (Giants, ogres, kobolds, orcs, goblins, hobgoblins, fairies, harpies, faenare, werecreatures and up to 150 dragons)

In Canon products:
- The Poor Wizard’s Almanacs list as creatures of the mountains and hills mountain lions, dragons, hill giants, ogres, pegasi and griffons near Retebius, vampires, ghouls and werecreatures in Thyatis and in the west, in the western forests bears, boars, centaurs, and dryads.

In Fan productions:
- See area 1 of Thyatis above and what John Calvin wrote here about the gold dragon Hytiliaph: http://pandius.com/htiliaph.html and his mountain Ancepes Trigeminus in Halathius. Hytiliaph was also briefly described by me in “Who’s Who in the Wyrmsteeth part II” in Threshold issue #9.

4 - Messapia and Cania

“A sparsely inhabited area of lupins, goblins, humans and other creatures. Could be a bit of an unpredictable area, you can meet anything from Ylari raiders to bandits to friendly natives .”
- Marcellus, Lieutenant in Fort Zendrol.

Area: 100 x 20 miles, or 2,100 square miles
Days to cross: 3-4 days north-south or 15 days east-west
Intelligent Inhabitants: Up to 85,000 (Lupins, humans, goblins, werecreatures, harpies, faenare, fairies and up to 35 dragons)

In Canon products:
- See previous areas.

In Fan production:
- See area 1 of Thyatis above.

5 - Centuria or Tallia

“Lupins, some human goat herders, and the Hattian lords cannot claim much control of this hilly country. The inhabitants have their own dialect, their secrets, and are more prone to banditry than respect of imperial laws.”
- Corius, ship captain in Vinton

Area: 120 x 54 miles, or 6,500 square miles
Days to cross: 15 days north-south or 7 days east-west
Intelligent Inhabitants: Up to 260,000 (Lupins, humans, giants, harpies, fairies, werecreatures and up to 100 dragons)

In Canon products:
- The area is not described at all in canon products, so the DM may freely decide what creatures could live here.

In Fan productions:
- See area 1 of Thyatis above.

6 - Carytion and Mositius

“The hills of the two biggest islands are wilderlands, with few human inhabitants if any. Legends and rumors say giants and dragons live in these lands, and no one so far has been able to prove or disprove that.”
- Adrianus, wizard in Torion.

Area: 1400 square miles
Days to cross: About 5 days in both islands
Intelligent Inhabitants: Up to 50,000 (Giants, humans, fairies, undead, werecreatures, elementals and up to 20 dragons)

In Canon products:
- In the Poor Wizard’s almanacs gargoyles, skeletons, golems and dryads are indicated on Sclaras and near it.

- The module X8, Drums on Fire Mountain, is set in an island southeast of here, so Kara-kara orcs could be active in the region, see also Minrothad.

In Fan production:
- See area 1 of Thyatis above and detailed map of The Protectorate of Carytion by Robin D here: http://pandius.com/m_carytn.html and the article inThreshold issue #11, The Judicates of Carytion by Giulio Caroletti.

1Available here: http://www.kofn.net/download/ambientazioni/demografiaMystariana.pdf in Italian only, but part of it was updated and translated in English in Threshold issue #1 and #3.

2This figure follows the reasoning already well developed by Simone Neri in issue #1 of Threshold magazine: http://pandius.com/Threshold_1.pdf, in his article “The Demography of Karameikos”. As he wrote, the canon population of less than 300,000 inhabitants is utterly unreasonable with a canon population of almost 100,000 people in the main cities only, so I too believe the “rural” population should be increased consistently.

3By foot with light encumbrance. However as this refers to difficult wilderlands, often without trails, the movement rate on horses should not be much different. Note also that the chance of getting lost in these areas, unless the PCs have a good map or a good guide, should be very high, so the actual travel time could easily double.

4Simone Neri’s Demografia Mystariana is the only source I found about lupin presence in the Shires. I like the idea and decided to use it. I assumed lupins have no distinct territories in the Shires, but are mixed among the general population.

6Kara-kara orcs appear in canon only in the module X8 Drums on Fire Mountain, as living in the island of Teki-nura-ria south east of Thyatis. However fans have supposed they could live also in Davania and other sea regions, so they could be appropriate for any wilderlands of the Sea of Dread.

7In BECMI D&D these creatures are not intelligent, but they are in all the other editions of D&D: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salamander_(Dungeons_%26_Dragons) The creature is included here if the DM wishes to use the intelligent version.

8Intelligent ape-like creatures of the Savage Coast, but a similar people could also live in the southern Known World, see here: http://pandius.com/neshezu3.html. Other possible primate races are the Vanara (http://faerunian.wikia.com/wiki/Vanara) or the Hadozee (https://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/Hadozee_(4e_Race)).

Population	Birth rate by year	Death rate by year	Yearly Growth Births minus deaths
Elves	0.5%	0.25%	+0.25%
Humans	2.5%	1.2%	+1.3%
Humanoids	5%	2.5%	+2.5%

Population dynamics by year
	Year 0	Year 2	Year 5	Year 10	Year 50	Year 100	Year 1000
Elves	1000	1005	1012	1025	1125	1250	2,500
Humans	1000	1026	1065	1130	1650	2300	13,000
Humanoids	1000	1050	1125	1250	2250	3500	26,000

Nation	Humans	Elves	Dwarves Gnomes	Hin	Lupins	Humanoids	Giants	Others	Total
Karameikos	500.000	95.000	40.000	10.000	5.000	350.000	50.000	70.000	1.120.000
Five Shires	40.000	5.000	5.000	550.000	10.000	60.000	5.000	60.000	735.000
Minrothad	200.000	170.000	30.000	50.000	5.000	5.000	5.000	70.000	535.000
Ierendi	375.000	1.000	2.000	20.000	2.000	20.000	20.000	300.000	740.000
Thyatis	3.100.000	40.000	70.000	15.000	220.000	500.000	250.000	250.000	4.445.000
Total	4.215.000	311.000	147.000	645.000	242.000	935.000	330.000	750.000	7.575.000