The Unknown World Trail map

This article follows previous installments detailing the south east of the Known World (Five Shires, Karameikos, Ierendi, Minrothad and Thyatis) in Threshold issue #13: http://pandius.com/Threshold_13.pdf, the Broken Lands and Shadowlands in Threshold issue #14 http://pandius.com/Threshold_14.pdf, the central nations (Darokin, Alfheim, Glantri and Ethengar) in Threshold issue #15 http://pandius.com/Threshold_15.pdf, the eastern nations (Ylaruam, Rockhome and the Northern Reaches) in Threshold issue #16 http://pandius.com/Threshold_16.pdf, and the west (Atruaghin, Sind and Adri Varma) in Threshold issue #18 http://pandius.com/Threshold_18.pdf, and is completed with the north in this issue. See the introduction of the first article of this series for a full explanation of the population maps and the purpose of these articles.

[Image: Known World Populations]
http://pandius.com/Known_world_populations.png

Known World Populations

Yellow: Settled lands, high human (or halfling) density, average 75 humans (or halflings) per square mile.
Orange: Borderlands, low human or halfling population, average 25 people per square mile. May contain other races also, average 2.5 people per square mile.
Purple: Humanoids, giants and others, average 25 per square mile. May also contain a small number of humans, average 1.2 per square mile.
Green: Elves, average 20 per square mile. May also contain small numbers of fairies, average 2.5 per square mile.
Dark green: Elven borderlands, average 10 elves per square mile. Should also contain fairies, average 10 per square mile.
Brown: Dwarves and/or gnomes, average 70 per square mile. Each hex should be inhabited by 4,000-5,000 dwarves and/or gnomes with very low numbers of other creatures, if any.
Dark Brown: Dwarven borderlands, average 15 dwarves and/or gnomes per square mile. Should contain also humanoids and other races, average 15 per square mile.
Blue: Lupins or Rakasta, average 40 per square mile.
Yellow-green: Humans and elves of Wendar, average 50 per square mile.
Gold: Wendar borderlands, average 20 humans and elves per square mile. May also contain fairies, average 5 per square mile.

The North

Population and density

[Image: North Populations]
http://pandius.com/North_people.png

As this series of articles deals with the Known World nations, this last installment will describe in detail only the wilderness of the Heldannic lands and Wendar, partially describe the wilderlands of Denagoth and only marginally touch upon southern Norwold. The lands of Norwold have in fact already been extensively described by Simone Neri and others in Threshold issue #6, #7 and #8. There are no detailed canon sources on the Heldannic Lands, Wendar and Denagoth, which were only partially described in module X11 Saga of the Shadow Lord, and then in the Wrath of the Immortals boxed set, The Poor Wizard’s Almanac I, II and III and Joshuan’s Almanac. As the planned official Gazetteer of these nations never materialized, fans developed them after the Mystara line was discontinued, and JTR/Oldawg created fan gazetteers for Wendar, Denagoth and other nearby nations. My map above only shows the Heldannic territories, including some regions of southern Norwold conquered by the Heldannic knights after the Wrath of the Immortals, and only the southern part of Denagoth.
As can be seen in the map, the north of the Known World is mostly borderlands and wilderlands. Only the central region of the Heldannic lands, the main roads and the major towns, is marked in yellow as settled territory comprising about 90 hexes, of which 75 is in the Heldannic lands with the rest in Southern Norwold and Denagoth. This area has a human population of about 360,000 people. Southern Denagoth should have a population of only 10,000 humans in settled areas (Geron and some other villages) and Southern Norwold about 60,000 (Landfall and some other towns). The borderlands in orange are much more extensive in all three nations, 150 hexes in southern Norwold, 35 in southern Denagoth and 350 in Heldannic lands, with a population respectively of 240,000; 60,000 and 560,000 humans, respectively with other people, mostly lupins, rakasta, giants and humanoids, living in these lands with numbers of about 25,000, 5,000 and 55,000 people respectively.
The regions depicted in blue are those inhabited mostly by lupins, which are quite numerous in Heldannic territories and southern Norwold. There are 240 such hexes in southern Norwold and 45 in Heldannic territories for populations of respectively 500,000 and 100,000 lupins and about 50,000 and 20,000 humans. From the canon information in Dragon Magazine #237, Átila Pires dos Santos’ History of the Lupins from Threshold Magazine issue #2, and the articles by Giampaolo Agosta and Simone Neri in Threshold issue #7 (see below in area 7 of The North) the lupins in southern Norwold are mostly Foxfolk and Heldann shepherds, while in Heldannic territories the main breeds are the native Heldann shepherds, Gnomish Snoutzers and Great Dogges, and the Das Hund and Doggerman which came from Hattia with the Heldannic Knights.
The wilderlands, shown in purple, are extensive in southern Denagoth with about 1,200 hexes and a population of 2,000,000 people, mostly bugbears, gnolls, ogres, thouls, trolls and giants with a minority of humans, troglodytes, yetis and other humanoids. The former elven lands of Geffron, shown in green, are now under heavy humanoid and Denagothian attack and are inhabited by about 115,000 elves and fairies fighting for their existence.
The wilderlands of southern Norwold, mostly in the west, number about 300 hexes inhabited mainly by gnolls, giants, trolls and thouls with some yeti, fairies and mountain rakasta, for a total of 500,000 people. The Heldannic territories also have about 300 hexes of wilderlands inhabited by 500,000 people, mostly giants, sasquatches, trolls, orcs, thouls, goblins and bugbears with minorities of humans and lupins.
The total population of this area of the North would then be about 1,000,000 humans, 150,000 lupins, 50,000 giants, 350,000 humanoids and 50,000 other creatures in Heldannic territories; 100,000 humans, 100,000 elves 100,000 giants, 200,000 other creatures and 2,000,000 humanoids in southern Denagoth; 350,000 humans, 50,000 giants, 50,000 rakasta, 50,000 elves, 500,000 lupins, 400,000 humanoids in Southern Norwold. My estimation of the population of Heldannic lands is, as usual, higher than the one given in the Poor Wizard’s Almanac of 320,000 human inhabitants, and higher than Simone Neri, who in his Demografia Mystariana¹ estimated about 616,000 inhabitants, mostly humans with some small minorities of other races. As explained in the previous articles of this series, I prefer to assume a much higher population density, particularly for non-human races.

The Wilderlands of the North

1 - Brulefer’s domain

“The Western Menguls are dominated by Brulefer the Blue and his Cloud Giants allies. To pass with an army to bring aid to Geffronell has proven impossible. That is the plan of the Shadow Lord obviously. We should not let him win, we should force the pass, no matter the cost.”
- Avren, captain in Surewatch Keep.

Area: 100 x 50 miles, or 5,000 square miles.
Days to cross²: 4-7 days through the pass, normally it is possible to cover only 8-12 miles per day due to the difficult terrain.
Intelligent inhabitants: probably up to 125,000 (cloud, mountain and hill giants, ogres and other humanoids, sasquatches, geonids, gremlins, harpies, faenare, troglodytes, brutemen, werecreatures, and at least 80 dragons), with extensive underground areas.

In Canon products:
- The Poor Wizard’s Almanac lists humanoids of all sorts in Denagoth, and dragons, elks, deers, moose, wolves, bears, boars, mountain lions, wyverns and some isolated elven communities, cut from contact with the rest of the world.
- Brulefer appears in X11 Saga of the Shadow Lord as the guardian of the pass paid by Teriak himself. The castle of the Cloud Giant is the next location. Azor the giant is not necessarily hostile to the party. Random encounters in the Mengul mountains include Brulefer himself polymorphed into an old hermit, human brigands, followers of Idris, ogres, orcs and undead.

In Fan productions:
- The Denagoth section in the Vaults of Pandius http://pandius.com/denagoth.html contains the Denizens of Denagoth gazetteer (Gaz F2) edited by JTR http://pandius.com/denagoth.zip, the Map of Wendar and Denagoth, 1000 AC from X11 by Thorfinn Tait and other fan sources on the region.
- See also my article Who’s Who in the Wyrmsteeth part 2 in Threshold issue #9 for more info about Brulefer and the dragons of Denagoth.
- In the Fan Almanacs from 1014 to 1019 AC http://pandius.com/alm.html a series of events take place in Denagoth, with the Alfheim refugees in Wendar trying to bring aid to the Geffronell elves, encountering many setbacks and difficulties.

2 - The Great Forest of Geffron

“The ancient realm of the elves is besieged by darkness from all side. The forest which has survived the Great Rain of Fire and stood in beauty and magnificence for ages unknown to men will not live another century, I fear. We need the Immortals to look upon us in favor again, or soon our end will come.”
- Sahilial, Geffronell elf cleric.

Area: 200 x 200 miles, or 40,000 square miles.
Days to cross: 16-18 days, normally it is possible to cover only 12 miles per day due to the thick forest.
Intelligent inhabitants: probably up to 1,000,000 (elves, fairies, centaurs, gnolls, bugbears and other humanoids, gremlins, harpies, troglodytes, werecreatures, and at least 500 dragons), with possible underground areas.

[Image: Elven sentry post hidden in the forest]
Caption: Elven sentry post hidden in the forest

In Canon products:
- In X11 Saga of the Shadow Lord the former forest of the Geffronell elves is infested by gnolls and bugbears and in Drax Tallen only the corpse of the gold dragon Auragentus remains, while the ruins are inhabited by goblins, hobgoblins and undead.

In Fan productions:
- In the Denizens of Denagoth gazetteer edited by JTR, Auragentus is alive until 1011 AC, but this could also happen later depending on the time in which the DM wish to play the events of X11. The ruins of Drax Tallen are still mostly occupied by goblins, hobgoblins and undead, while the Geffronell survive in the eastern part of the woods.
- About the History of the Geffronell see also Threshold issue #10 and #17 and the links indicated in area 1 above.

3 - The Southern Mengul Mountains

“These high and icy mountains are the barrier between Denagoth and the Known World, and have done much to determine its history. The mountains are an almost insurmountable wall, and not just for their height, but mostly for the creatures which live on them.”
- Tahrim, Wendar ranger.

Area: 500 x 112 miles, or 56,000 square miles.
Days to cross: More than 60 days lengthways along the mountains or 14 days across them, normally it is possible to cover only 8 miles per day due to the difficult terrain.
Intelligent inhabitants: probably up to 1,400,000 (giants, ogres, thouls, hobgoblins, bugbears, gnolls, orcs and other humanoids, sasquatches, mountain rakasta, gremlins, harpies, faenare, brutemen, troglodytes, werecreatures, and at least 800 dragons), with extensive underground areas.

[Image: Peaks of the Southern Mengul]
Caption: Peaks of the Southern Mengul

In Canon products:
- In X11 only the eastern part is described, see area 1.

In Fan productions:
- In the Denizens of Denagoth gazetteer edited by JTR, the mountains are indicated as 11,000 feet tall and bears, wolves, mountain lions, dragons, ogres, beholders, wyverns, giants, goblins, orcs, hobgoblins, thouls, undead and brigands listed as typical dwellers.

4 - The Eastern Heldann lands

“Eastern Heldann is a well guarded and civilized place, for the most part. The road to Wendar is always open and the one to Ethengar is too when we are not at war with them. But the hills could be dangerous. Brigands, trolls and worse.”
- Vindar, Knight in Eisenturm.

Area: Three different regions of about 15, 25 and 32 x 80 miles, or about 6,000 square miles.
Days to cross: From 2 to 7 days, normally it is possible to cover only 12 miles per day due to the difficult terrain.
Intelligent inhabitants: probably up to 150,000 (humans, giants, trolls, ogres, thouls, hobgoblins, bugbears, gnolls, orcs and other humanoids, mountain rakasta, gremlins, harpies, faenare, brutemen, troglodytes, werecreatures, and at least 90 dragons), with extensive underground areas.

In Canon products:
- Heldannic lands are mostly described in the Wrath of the Immortals boxed set, where the Knights of Vanya rise to the centre of the Known World’ stage, and in the Poor Wizard’s Almanacs. In the Almanacs common fauna of the Heldannic Territories is elks, moose, bears, boars, wolves, snow apes, hill, stone, mountain and frost giants, dragons, gnolls, hags, werecreatures, frost salamanders, giant weasels and yetis.
- In the Poor Wizard’s Almanacs the Heldannic Order begins its conquest of southern Norwold in 1010 AC, taking Landfall, then going on to Oceansend too, but the knights encounter strong opposition from the Wyrmsteeth dragons and Norwold and are divided by the spread of the Heldannic Inquisition.

In Fan productions:
- In the Heldannic Order gazetteer (Gaz F7) edited by JTR http://pandius.com/The_Heldannic_Knights.pdf, the mountains are indicated as 11,000 feet tall and bears, wolves, mountain lions, dragons, ogres, beholders, wyverns, giants, goblins, orcs, hobgoblins, thouls, undead and brigands listed as typical dwellers.
- In the gazetteer, the Frug Hak trolls control the foothills north of Grauenberg and a tribe of hobgoblins live west of Eisenturm. Orcs and bugbears live near the Glantrian border. Sphinxes have been spotted in the Sudbergen region. Fauna is listed on page 18 of the Heldannic Order gazetteer.
- In the Heldann section of the Vault of Pandius http://pandius.com/heldann.html more resources can be found, including many articles by Bruce Heard, who originally designed the Knights of Vanya.
- In the Fan Almanacs from 1014 to 1019 AC http://pandius.com/alm.html more events involve the Heldannic lands, with Oceansend taken and lost and eventually a civil war among two factions of the knights.

5 - The Red Fangs

“The Red Fangs are inhabited by barbarian savages, human and otherwise. Hard to say which are the most brutish. Probably the humans.”
- Hans, Knight in Thurgau.

Area: 120 x 80 miles, or about 10,000 square miles.
Days to cross: 12 days east - west and 8-10 days north - south, normally it is possible to cover only 10 miles per day due to the difficult terrain.
Intelligent inhabitants: probably up to 240,000 (humans, giants, trolls, ogres, thouls, hobgoblins, bugbears, gnolls, orcs and other humanoids, minotaurs, mountain rakasta, gremlins, harpies, faenare, brutemen, troglodytes, werecreatures, and at least 150 dragons), with extensive underground areas.

[Image: Heldannic Order fortress in Grunturm]
Caption: Heldannic Order fortress in Grunturm

In Fan productions:
- In the Heldannic Order gazetteer edited by JTR, the area is inhabited by a small barbarian nation, claiming to be troll-born. The region has also the Cult of Gylgarid, the minotaur immortal, hidden in Lake Erid, and is infested by trolls from Vestland’s Trollheim Hills. The region is also inhabited by ogres, orcs, bugbears, thouls and hobgoblins. Sphinxes have been spotted in the region too.

6 - The Ostbergen and Northern Heldann

“They may have called the Hymirshelm Altar of Vanya, with their typical arrogance, but the mountains are still a bastion of the giants and the knights do not dare to disturb them. They claim all the Heldannic lands, but they do not control as much land as they would like the rest of the world to believe”
- Asrim, cleric of Thor.

Area: Ostbergen and Upper Elben about 40 x 80 miles, or 3,200 square miles each.
Days to cross: From 5 to 10 days, normally it is possible to cover only 8 miles per day due to the difficult terrain.
Intelligent inhabitants: probably up to 85,000 (giants, lupins, trolls, ogres, thouls, hobgoblins, thouls, bugbears, gnolls, orcs and other humanoids, mountain rakasta, gremlins, harpies, faenare, nixies and other fairy folk, brutemen, werecreatures, and at least 120 dragons), with extensive underground areas.

[Image: Traditional old Heldann church]
Caption: Traditional old Heldann church

In Fan productions:
- In the Heldannic Order gazetteer edited by JTR, the Gagur Hak trolls dominate the hill country north of the Elber, while the Memphic Howlers gnolls live near the Altenwald. Along the coast there is also the faerie court of Queen Hildur, a nixie. Hill giants of the Thorn-Kogr Clan form a dangerous and aggressive enemy for those living in Heldland, and some stone giants also inhabit the foothills in the Heldland area.

7 - The Rhien Forest

“The Heldannic Order claims to have conquered all southern Norwold and that is simply ridiculous for everyone who knows the truth. The rakasta, the lupins, the elves, the gnolls and the other creatures of the great forest have hardly seen a knight in their life. Should they see one, the encounter will probably end badly for the knight”
- Gudrun, ranger in the Altenwald.

Area: 160 x 80 miles, or 13,000 square miles each.
Days to cross: From 20 to 10 days, normally it is possible to cover only 8 miles per day due to the difficult terrain.
Intelligent inhabitants: probably up to 320,000 (lupins, elves, gnolls and other humanoids, rakasta, harpies, faenare, fairy folk, werecreatures, and at least 200 dragons), with possible underground areas.

In Fan productions:
- In the Streets of Landfall gazetteer (Gaz F8) edited by JTR, the forest is inhabited mostly by gnolls, elves and foxfolk lupins.
- In The Skaufskogr and Beyond article by Giampaolo Agosta in Threshold issue #7 the region is described in detail and inhabited mostly by elves and foxfolk lupins, while rakasta live mostly in the mountains north of the forest.

Wendar

Population and density

In Wendar only some hexes on the road to Heldann are depicted in yellow indicating a predominantly human population. There are only about 18 such hexes which should contain a population of 80,000 people, mostly humans with some elves, half elves³ and gnomes.
The borderlands in orange are only those inhabited mostly by humans, with some half elves, elves, gnomes and humanoids. There are 85 hexes with about 25 inhabitants per square miles, hence 135,000 people.
Wendar has true wilderlands, in purple, only around its borders, mountainous regions normally inhabited by humanoids, giants and yetis, with a density of 25 people per square miles. There are 192 such hexes with 300,000 inhabitants.
The areas indicated in yellow-green, only the main cities and major roads, are settled in equal parts by humans, half elves and elves, with an average population of 50 people per square mile and a total of about 485,000 people in 152 hexes.
The areas indicated in gold are the Wendar borderlands, with an average population of 20 humans or elves per square mile. This is the most of central Wendar, for a total of 790 hexes and 1,000,000 inhabitants, of which 700,000 humans and 300,000 elves. These regions should also contain about 100,000 fairies, average less than 5 per square miles, and 100,000 humanoids.
The areas indicated in green are inhabited mostly by elves, with an average density of about 20 people per square mile. They may also contain small numbers of fairies, average 2.5 per square mile, so having a population of about 250,000 elves and 25,000 fairies in 190 hexes.
The areas indicated in dark green are elven borderlands, with average population of 10 elves and 10 fairies per square miles, so the 275 such hexes contain about 175,000 elves and 175,000 fairies.
Finally the regions in brown are inhabited mostly by gnomes, with significant minorities of lupins, dwarves and humans, with an average population of 50 people per square miles. There are 60 such hexes for a total population of 120,000 gnomes, 30,000 dwarves, 30,000 lupins and 10,000 humans.
Note that lupins are not indicated as living in Wendar in canon and most fan sources, but given their presence in Heldann and Glantri, it is fair to assume, as Simone Neri did in his Demografia, that the Heldann shepherds, Gnomish Snoutzers, Foxfolk and other breeds should be present in the nation.
The total population of Wendar should then amount to 1,145,000 humans, 970,000 elves, 130,000 gnomes, 35,000 dwarves, 35,000 lupins, 300,000 humanoids, 350,000 fairies and other people. This number is much higher than the one given in the Poor Wizard’s Almanac, 442,000 people including Alfheim refugees, and also higher than Simone Neri’s estimation of almost 700,000 people. Still I think it makes sense given the extension of the nation and the fact it was inhabited by elves continuously for almost five thousand years. Even if for most of its history Wendar was not unified and slowly humans became the majority, it was still one of the more stable and peaceful nations of the Known World through history. For simplicity’s sake half-elves are counted equally among elves and humans, but they should number in about 300,000. These people may appear mostly as elves or humans, with various degrees of interbreeding depending on their parentage.
Note also that the 78,170 square miles indicated in the Poor Wizard’s Almanac do not fit with the extension of the territory of Wendar as presented in the Gazetteer of Wendar by JTR. The extension of Wendar should be about 112,000 square miles, similar to the 107,000 square miles estimated by Simone Neri in his Demografia. Such a territory could easily support up to 1,500 dragons.

The Wilderlands of Wendar

1 - Forest of Bounty

“The Forest is a sanctuary for many creatures, some of which value their privacy. The legend says that only maidens of pure heart can enter it without fear, maybe because the inhabitants can take care of those who enter with evil intentions.”
- Adren, guide and adventurer in Oakwall.

Area: 100 x 40 miles, or 4,000 square miles.
Days to cross⁴: 10 days north - south or 4 days east - west, normally it is possible to cover only 10 miles per day due to the thick forest.
Intelligent inhabitants: probably up to 80,000 (fairy folk, elves, werecreatures, and at least 50 dragons), with possible underground areas.

[Image: Edge of the forest with farming field]
Caption: Edge of the forest with farming field

In Canon products:
- The Poor Wizard’s Almanac lists as creatures living in Wendar bears, boars, giant centipedes, elks, horses, mountain lions, moose, giant slugs, snakes, stirges, giant weasels and wolves. As intelligent creatures, centaurs, bugbears, dragons, dryads, werecreatures, ogres, treants, trolls, unicorns, and yetis.
- Joshuan’s Almanac contains a short description of Wendar by a priestess of Odin from the Northern Reaches, saying that Wendar was often attacked by orcs and monsters from the northern lands.
- In the Almanacs some events are described for the years 1010-1013 AC, in particular the recovering of the Elvenstar stolen by agents of the Shadow Lord, the discovery of magical fruits in the Wendarian forest, and a plague hitting the nation.
- The module X11 Saga of the Shadow Lord begin in Wendar city with an encounter with King Gylharen and soon proceed to Denagoth to retrieve the stolen Elvenstar.

In Fan production:
- The Gazetteer of Wendar (Gaz F1) edited by JTR creatures of the Forest are boars, deers, elks, dryads, elves, porcupines, giant snails, skunks, werefoxes and wolves.
- Many other resources about Wendar can be found in the dedicated page on the Vaults of Pandius http://pandius.com/wendar.html.
- Note that the Enhanced map of the Kingdom of Wendar by Thorfinn Tait http://pandius.com/wendar-8.png contains more locations developed by fan than those in the map of Gaz F1. The locations of the Korrigans’ shrine also differ. I have used Thorfinn’s location in my map and here in the descriptions.
- In Wendar: A Mini Gazetteer by several authors http://pandius.com/wendrgaz.html, the positions of the shrines also differ from the other fan sources.
- The shrine of the Spring Maiden, one of the nine Korrigans, is in the region and there maidens benefit of improved summoning of woodland protectors such as actaeons and unicorns and improved protection spells.
- In the Fan Almanacs http://pandius.com/alm.html events are described for the years 1014-1019 AC, in particular tension between Alfheim refugees and the native population, a crusade of elves in Denagoth to help the Geffronell, guided by the Alfheim refugees, the kidnapping of Bensarian and his replacement with an impostor, the murder of King Gylharen and the short rule of Wendar by the impersonator of Bensarian until the powerful wizard regains control.
- In Simone Neri’s Demografia Mystariana other intelligent races living in Wendar beyond human, elves and half elves are centaurs, lupins, gnomes, bugbears, fairy folk, faeries⁵, sasquatches, faenare, dwarves, ogres, trolls, werecreatures, halflings, gremlins, ents and chevalle.

2 - The Adri Varma border

“Dangerous creatures occasionally come from the Plateau, and there is also something cursed in the region, as we had to fight powerful demons who somehow come from some ancient, lost ruin none has found yet.”
- Shialea, priestess of Ilsundal.

Area: 250 x 20 miles, or 5,000 square miles.
Days to cross: 15-17 days north - south or 1-2 days east - west, normally it is possible to cover only 12-16 miles per day due to the irregular terrain.
Intelligent inhabitants: probably up to 100,000 (death demons, troglodytes, humanoids, gremlins, werecreatures, and at least 60 dragons), with underground areas.

In Fan production:
- In the Gazetteer of Wendar edited by JTR creatures of the Western Borderlands are brown dragons, elves, humans, spitting cobras, death demons, and troglodytes. The Tower of Anorion is described on page 20 and its history elsewhere.

3 - The Forest of Hope

“Very close to the Northern Wildlands which are now infested by bugbears and spiders, even if the elves have tried to reclaim them many times, failing.”
- Tuon, guardian of the Shrine of the Silent Hunter.

Area: 40 x 48 miles, or 2,000 square miles.
Days to cross: 5 days north - south or 6 days east - west, normally it is possible to cover only 8 miles per day due to the thick forest.
Intelligent inhabitants: probably up to 40,000 (bugbears and humanoids, spiders, troglodytes, gremlins, fairy folk, elves, werecreatures and at least 30 dragons), with underground areas.

In Fan production:
- The region has the Shrine of the Silent Hunter which increases magic missile damage, statue, contingency, and instant death spells, reduces all “flashy” or noisy spells (such as fireball or lightning bolt).

“Dark woods, Shunned plains, Gap of Tears: the names of the places on our northern border should give you more than a hint about the dangers you can expect to find.”
- Astrin, city guard in Woodgate.

Area: 200 x 20 miles, or 4,000 square miles.
Days to cross: 2 days north - south or 20 days east - west, normally it is possible to cover only 10 miles per day due to the irregular terrain and thick forest.
Intelligent inhabitants: probably up to 80,000 (nuckalavee, frogmen, centaurs, humanoids and at least 60 dragons), with underground areas.

In Fan production:
- In the Gazetteer of Wendar edited by JTR, Baamor is an evil spirit supposedly imprisoned by the Korrigans in ancient times and the area is avoided. Centaurs however live in Aebhyrn Lwnn. A dangerous nuckalavee controls part of the region. Actaeons and frogmen are also listed as intelligent creatures which can be encountered, and owl bears, dire wolves, killer frogs and giant insects as monsters. More details about the region are also in Gazetteer F3 The Northern Wildlands, edited by JTR.
- In the Timeline for Wendar-Denagoth-Ghyr-Northern Wildlands by Marco Dalmonte http://pandius.com/nor_time.html the Tenth Shrine, dedicated to the Black Wing (Idris) is also here. Such a location is probably unknown to the Wendarian government and would be controlled by Denagothians agents, clerics of Idris and dragons of the Onyx Ring. See my article Who’s Who in the Wyrmsteeth part 2, in Threshold Magazine issue 9 for description and references about the Onyx Ring. See also the description of the Korrigans and Idris in the Codex Immortalis by Marco Dalmonte http://pandius.com/korrigan.html.

5 - The Laughing Woods

“The woods are called so for the wind among the trees, but some the region near Amoleth is dangerous for the presence of undead. Be careful!”
- Murun, ranger in Yngvarsvall.

Area: 40 x 40 miles, or 1,600 square miles.
Days to cross: 5 days north - south or east - west, normally it is possible to cover only 8 miles per day due to the thick forest.
Intelligent inhabitants: probably up to 30,000 (fairy folk, elves, gnomes, undead and at least 25 dragons), with underground areas.

In Fan production:
- In the Gazetteer of Wendar edited by JTR the ruins of Amoleth, an elven city destroyed by giants, are infested with undead. The region is also inhabited by elves, humans, gnomes, cold drakes, and fairy folk. Bynflaare Hall is a haven for monasteries and abbeys.
- In the region there is the Shrine of the Verdant Virgin (Caretaker in JTR’s Gaz), which increases plant affecting spells and decreases fire spells.

“Humans and half elves are not really welcomed in the region. The fact that elves keep secrets do not help them much in the relationship with others, if you ask me.”
- Armann, human trader in Wendar.

Area: 48 x 48 miles, or 2,300 square miles.
Days to cross: 6 days north - south or east - west, normally it is possible to cover only 8 miles per day due to the thick forest.
Intelligent inhabitants: probably up to 45,000 (fairy folk, elves and at least 35 dragons), with underground areas.

In Fan production:
- In the Gazetteer of Wendar edited by JTR the Korrigan is an actual magical creature which lives in the forest, protected by elves and fairies. In other fan sources the forest is just inhabited by fairy folk.

7 - The Scarlet Groves

“Woods of red trees, red pines, red oaks, poinsettias, apple and cherry trees grow there, people say from the blood of the many who have fallen fighting Denagoth. Maybe just a story, but it is still impressive to see, and surely the Denagothians will come to redden the Groves again.”
- Ithil, sergeant in Surewatch Keep.

Area: 32 x 40 miles, or 1,300 square miles.
Days to cross: 2 days on the road or 4-5 outside it, normally it is possible to cover only 8 miles per day outside the road due to the thick forest.
Intelligent inhabitants: probably up to 25,000 (fairy folk, elves, undead and at least 20 dragons), with possible underground areas.

In Fan production:
- In the Gazetteer of Wendar edited by JTR undead can be encountered in the region, probably due to the many battles fought in the area.
- The Shrine of the Fiery Champion gives a 50% increase in fire magic, reduces air, water, earth and cold magic.

“A beautiful, enchanted place. Visitors who do not respect it however have mysteriously disappeared in the past, so mind your actions.”
- Mimr, adventurer in Wendar city.

Area: 60 x 40 miles, or 2,300 square miles.
Days to cross: 7 days east - west or 5 days north - south, normally it is possible to cover only 8 miles per day outside the road due to the thick forest.
Intelligent inhabitants: probably up to 45,000 (fairy folk, elves, and at least 25 dragons), with possible underground areas.

In Fan production:
- The region is named as such only in Thorfinn’s map and I haven’t found other references about the region. A forest with the same name however exists in the real world Mexico.
- The Shrine of the Divine Singer (Rainbow Singer in JTR’s Gaz) increases charm and illusion spells, decreases weather, wind and lightning spells.

“This region can be dangerous due to the proximity of the Denagothian border, which is mostly inhabited by giants, humanoids and thouls, and the Glantrian border, which is thick with humanoids and dragons. Well, Bensarian and his wizards can keep most of them at bay, but not always all of them.”
- Fjord, head miner in Kevar.

Areas: 64 x 32 miles, or 2,100 square miles north, 160 x 24 miles, or 3,800 square miles.
Days to cross: 4-8 days through the northern region, 3-20 days through the southern region, normally it is possible to cover only 8 miles per day outside the road due to the irregular terrain.
Intelligent inhabitants: probably up to 40,000 in the northern region (humanoids, humans, elves, undead and at least 30 dragons), and 75,000 in the southern region (humanoids, giants and at least 60 dragons) with extensive underground areas.

[Image: Kevar hills from the mountains]
Caption: Kevar hills from the mountains

In Fan production:
- In the Gazetteer of Wendar edited by JTR, Bensarian’s Hermitage is located in the northern Kevar area and described on page 16. Creatures listed in the region are brigands, blue dragons, orcs, stirges, thouls, dire wolves, elves, humans, timber rattlers, trolls, vampires, nosferatu, wyverns, archer bushes and vampire roses. Hvollsvatn is inhabited mostly by Heldanners. The creatures of the Wendarian Range are snow and white apes, wolves, mountain lions, dragons (all colors), giant ferrets, gremlins, sasquatches, beholders (deep underground), wyverns, and frost giants.
- The Shrine of the Lore Mistress in in the northern Kevar, possibly the Silver Carver in JTR’s Gaz which increases enchantment and shaping spells, and decreases movement spells.
- The Shrine of the Merciful Healer in the southern Kevar hills doubles healing spells, including remove disease and restore, and reduces all injurious magic.

“The eastern part of the forest is the domain of elves and fairies, but the west has other inhabitants, and many of them do not like visitors much. We may like them, if they are invited, or at least respectful.”
- Asaleth, warrior in Brethiliath.

Area: 128 x 32 miles, or 4,100 square miles.
Days to cross: 16 days east - west or 4 days north - south, normally it is possible to cover only 8 miles per day outside the road due to the thick forest.
Intelligent inhabitants: probably up to 80,000 (fairy folk, elves, werecreatures, gremlins, humanoids, humans and at least 70 dragons), with possible underground areas.

In Fan production:
- In the Gazetteer of Wendar edited by JTR, creatures listed in the region are black bears, boars, giant centipedes, giant ferrets, werewolves, werebears, wereboars, timber rattlers, wyverns, archer bushes, vampire roses, gremlins, and dragons.
- The Shrine of the Soul Keeper is in the forest, possibly the Eternal Wanderer in JTR’s Gaz which increases all travel spells and decreases healing magic.
- Shadowmere is a secret sanctuary of the Old One known only to dragons and their allies, created in the Dragonlord trilogy of books, see also my article Who’s Who in the Wyrmsteeth part 2 in Threshold issue #9 for more references.

“From the Glantrian border a lot of monsters and humanoids come, from time to time. Fortunately for us the dwarves and halflings who live in the are most times are able to stop them before we even have to intervene.”
- Kallesia, Captain in Oakwall.

Area: 56 x 10 miles, or 600 square miles.
Days to cross: 6 days east - west or 1 day north - south, normally it is possible to cover only 10 miles per day outside the road due to the irregular terrain.
Intelligent inhabitants: probably up to 10,000 (halflings, dwarves, fairy folk, werecreatures, gremlins, humanoids, humans and up to 10 dragons), with possible underground areas.

In Fan production:
- In the Gazetteer of Wendar edited by JTR, creatures listed in the region are boars, humans, dwarves, halflings, gremlins, timber rattlers. The town of Dawnblossom-Qvar was established by a group of halflings and dwarves who escaped the towers of Glantrian wizards during the Years of Infamy.
- The Shrine of the Dreaming Seer is here, which increases divinations and illusions and decreases all other spells.

[Table: Total population]

Some final notes

I have already explained the reasons why I decided to have higher population figures than those previously indicated in canon and fan works, what’s more interesting to me after all this series of articles however are the high numbers of non humans in the Known World and their percentage in respect to the human population, as shown in the table above. Even if my calculations are based on personal preferences and many fan sources, some important points should be considered that, in my opinion, could help Dungeon Masters develop the less known regions of the Known World:
- Lupins were added in the Known World only after the Gazetteers, yet if we consider the territories inhabited by them as indicated in Bruce Heard’s article and successive fan works, their total population, even if very different from nation to nation, could be higher than the KW populations of dwarves, gnomes and hin. Their absence in the Gazetteers could be explained by the fact that the KW populations are relatively reclusive.
- Even if gnomes were mostly nominated only in Gazetteer 1 and 7, later PC2 Top Ballista and other canon and fan sources indicate that their KW population should not be negligible.
- Humanoid tribes dominate extensive territories, so they should be quite numerous, and a real threat to human nations in many areas.
- From the “monsters” list in various canon sources and the extension of wilderlands regions in the KW, several ancient creatures, in particular giants, fairies, lizardmen and troglodytes, sasquatches, brutemen and others should be relatively numerous and even predominant in certain areas, as detailed in each wilderland.
- Even if the Known World appears to be dominated by human nations, their real control on their own territories is partial, thin and fragile.
Obviously each DM will have her/his own ideas about the “numbers”, the important point of these articles was just to show how much of the Known World is still Unknown, and therefore a possible haven (or final rest) for many adventurers!

Appendix: Images

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 http://pandius.com/Threshold_1.pdf and #3 http://pandius.com/Threshold_3.pdf. About Norwold, see also the extensive work by Simone Neri and Giampaolo Agosta in Threshold issue #6, #7 and #8

2By 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.

3Early Mystara canon had no half-elves, as Gazetteer 5 The Elves of Alfheim stated that the two races could interbreed, but the offspring was either a full human or a full elf. However later half-elves were introduced in the Savage Coast, both in the Voyages of the Princess Ark and later also in the AD&D Savage Coast products, and also mentioned in other canon products such as Glantri: Kingdom of Magic boxed set. Here I will follow later canon and assume half-elves exist.

4By 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.

5Not one of the fairy folk races detailed in PC1 Tall Tales of the Wee Folk but demihumans living “in air and clouds” detailed in the Master Set, DM booklet on page 30 and Rules Cyclopedia on page 177. Probably could be considered fairy folks as well.

The UnKnown World Trail Map Part II (Threshold issue #14)
	Broken Lands	Shadowlands	Near Shadowdeep
Humans	9,000	500	5,000
Elves	500	550,000	50,000
Dwarves	500	500	150,000
Gnomes	500	500	200,000
Hin	500	0	5,000
Lupins	1,000	0	5,000
Rakasta	0	0	0
Humanoids	485,000	200,000	1,000,000
Giants	18,000	0	5,000
Others	117,000	300,000	1,000,000
Total	632,000	1,051,500	2,420,000

The UnKnown World Trail Map Part V (Threshold issue #18)
	Atruaghin	Sind - Jaibul	Adri Varma
Humans	730,000	2,135,000	1,150,000
Elves	500	3,000	5,000
Dwarves	500	5,000	20,000
Gnomes	500	1,000	5,000
Hin	500	3,000	10,000
Lupins	50,000	200,000	300,000
Rakasta	1,000	100,000	200,000
Humanoids	450,000	1,500,000	1,400,000
Giants	1,000	200,000	100,000
Others	600,000	2,000,000	2,400,000
Total	1,834,000	6,147,000	5,590,000

Whole Known World		%
Humans	18,279,500	38,22%
Elves	2,684,000	5,61%
Dwarves	1,502,500	3,14%
Gnomes	610,500	1,28%
Hin	700,000	1,46%
Lupins	1,728,000	3,61%
Rakasta	364,000	0,76%
Humanoids	11,635,000	24,33%
Giants	1,139,000	2,38%
Others	9,187,000	19,21%
Total	47,827,500	100,00%

	[Image: Ancient map] Part of Tabula Peutingeriana, konrad miller´s facsimile from 1887, via Wikimedia commons	Source
	[Image: Known World Populations] Original work by author	https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B4FkxRFtCZ22alVTYUNxZUhlLXM
	[Image: Map key Populations] Original work by author	https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B4FkxRFtCZ22ZFMwX2pMZEhuaEk
	[Image: North Populations] Original work by author	https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B4FkxRFtCZ22YVJGOFp2NnZ1NjA
	[Image: North Wilderlands] Original work by author	https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B4FkxRFtCZ22OFIwSUJPRklhWGc
	[Image: Mengul mountains] Khogyani District, Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan. Looking south to the Tora Bora (Koh-i-Safed) mountains via Wikimedia commons	Source
	[Image: Elven sentry post hidden in the forest] The Hermitage, Tollymore Forest Park, Ireland by Sarahj2107 via Wikimedia commons	Source
	[Image: Peaks of the Southern Mengul] Blick vom Gipfel der Urbeleskarspitze (2632 m) nach Westen zu Bretterspitze (2608 m) und Gliegerkarspitze (2575 m), Austria by Walahfrid Schwarzenberg via Wikimedia commons	Source
	[Image: Tower in Eisenturm] Eisenturm in Mainz, Germany from Benutzer:Moguntiner, edited by Martin Bahmann via Wikimedia commons	Source
	[Image: Heldannic Order fortress in Grunturm] Veste in Coburg, Germany, photo by Störfix, via Wikimedia commons	Source
	[Image: Traditional old Heldann church] Stave church Urnes, Norway, by Micha L. Rieser via Wikimedia commons	Source
	[Image: Bisons in the forest] Hajnówka, Poland, photo by Franczesko Genelli via Wikimedia commons	Source
	[Image: Wendar Populations] Original work by author	https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B4FkxRFtCZ22T2E4TGFJNVg0N0U
	[Image: Wendar Wilderlands] Original work by author	https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B4FkxRFtCZ22N2lkQ3J1X3piVzg
	[Image: Edge of the forest with farming field] Loode tammik Saaremaal, Estonia, photo by Margus Opp, via Wikimedia commons	Source
	[Image: Dark woods] Gloomy view of a forest clearing in Alsace, Eastern France, photo by JovanCormac via Wikimedia commons	Source
	[Image: Unicorn with maiden] Virgin and Unicorn by Domenichino, Palazzo Farnese, Roma, Italy via Wikimedia commons	Source
	[Image: Red oak] Fall Oak Trees, West Virginia, USA, photo by ForestWander via Wikimedia commons	Source
	[Image: Butterflies in the forest] Migrating Monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus plexippus) on a cedar elm tree in central Texas, USA by Loadmaster (David R. Tribble) via Wikimedia commons	Source
	[Image: Kevar hills from the mountains] View from Milseburg to Wasserkuppe, Germany, by Mg-k, Source: M. Klüber Fotografie, via Wikimedia commons	Source
	[Image: Everway tower] View of Scrabo Tower in Newtownards, County Down, Northern Ireland by Guliolopez, via Wikimedia commons	Source