http://home.nvg.org/~hoc/BlackmoorRegionalMapWL2.jpg
Once again, I have incorporated Bob Bledsaw's Wilderlands setting. I was lucky to get input from James Mishler who works with Bledsaw and have incorporated that information as well as other comments and feedback into the new version.
I have still not adressed the fact that the map is curved.
Location descrptions:
Blackmoor Regional Map Locations
Beastman Wastes – Beastmen hail from the Borean Valley, but have made it across the Frosthaven Landbridge to Skothar. The majority have settled in this northern region.
Blackmoor – A small independent kingdom in the North which has a great destiny.
Bolgerie, Province of – One of the Thonian Provinces, home to the Bolgers, a dark skinned race of humans, related to the Tanogoro.
Borno, Province of – One of the Thonian Provinces, ruled by Duke Taha Marcovic. Marban is its provincial capital.
Cirkhosia – A small nation in the north which trades with the Skandaharians.
Duchy of Ten – A small feudal nation in the North, currently occupied by the Afridhi.
Duchy of the Peaks – A decadent nation of wine, women and drugs.
Egg of Coot – A dark demonic force, possibly a remnant of an older age.
Frisia – A Northern nation, related to the Skandaharians, but more peaceful and trade oriented.
Goblin Kush – This almost uninhabitable land is the home land of the Afridhi.
Great Glacier, The – The Great Glacier separates the Afridhi lands from the Wilderlands region. It is part of the Wilderlands Setting.
Janivarsland – One day this small continent will be the home of the Alphatians. In this age, it was discovered by a Skandaharian explorer named Janivar, ancestor of the Yannifey.
Karak, Kingdom of – A Great Kingdom located between the Thonian Empire and the Wilderlands. It is part of the Wilderlands Setting.
Karsh – This mountainous region is the headquarters of the Afridhi invading forces in the North.
Kurgos - Province of – A province of the Thonian Empire
Land of Thralls – Little is known of this land, but the Skandaharians sometimes take their Thralls from this land, hence its name.
Mirakos, Province of – A province of the Thonian Empire.
Mohacs, Province of – A province of the Thonian Empire. Mohacs is the name of the capital and the surrounding province.
Northern Barbarians – Blackmoor knows of nations in this region, but nothing is known of their culture if any.
Peshwa Lands –The lands of the Peshwa horse people stretch way beyond the reaches of Blackmoor.
Rhun, Island of – This island realm was once a prosperous Duchy, but has never recovered after Marfeldt ravaged the land and killed the Duke. The Island is now controlled by Jarl Thorsen of the Skandahar.
Synobia, Province of – A Thonian Province, known for its monastic orders.
Skandahar, Eastern – Home of the Raiders of the East
Skandahar, Western – Home of the Raiders of the West
Thonian Empire – The Great Empire in the south, said to be composed of ten provinces, the size of Blackmoor.
Tanagoro Lands, Eastern – This mountainous realm is the home of a dark skinned race of humans.
Tanagoro Lands, Western – This realm is the home of a dark skinned race of humans.
Vales, The – A peaceful region, now under Afridhi control.
Valley of the Ancients – This mysterious valley is holds more than one secret.
Wilderlands Realms:
The following realms are detailed in the Wilderlands Setting:
Ament Tundra
Burning Sands
CSIO
Demi Giant Kingdoms
Demi-Giant Colonies
Demon Empire
Demonkin Amazons
Ebon Coast
Elphand
Five Winds
Ghinor
Glow Worm Steppes
Great Horned Empire
Isles of the Blest
Kingdom of Karak
Land of Beasts
Lenap
Lesser Horned Empire
Rarzu
Silver Skein Isles
Southern Reaches
Tarantis
Tarsh
The Great Glacier
The Isles of Dawn
Valon
Viridistan
Havard
Also, Bramwald should be considered a Barony of Thonia (as Baron Bram Tagus has not yet divided himself from the Empire, his sentiments towards the Blackmoorians notwithstanding).
I gather that the area that is largely the Wilderlands on this map is what will largely become the continent of Bellissaria post-GRoF? Kind of interesting speculation, and it might help to give some sense of history to a region that has been incredibly bland.
[EDIT- I just noticed the bit that says "Bellissarian Peninsula", so I'm guessing not. Do all these Wilderlands realms sink, then, post-GRoF?)
The Jennites- I wonder if they are the descendants of the Peshwah (somehow managing to survive the increasing encroachment of their lands in the Blackmoor era)?
I was never quite clear on the Bramwald thing. Tagus is loyal to Thonia, yet he is also part of the Regency Council IIRC. Definately a weird case of mixed loyalties. Yet Im sure there were plenty of examples like this in real history. In any case Bramwald is too small to show up on the map.
As for what happens to the Wilderlands region, I havent changed Skothar that much. Compare the map to this one:
http://www.geocities.com/havardfaa/precataclysmic04.jpg
The biggest change is blocking the water inlet to the bay just south of the "Peshwa lands" in this second map and creating a new one through what will become the Strait of Tangor.
Looks like most of the Wilderlands become stretched into the southern coast of Skothar. Elphand and the Land of Beasts fall below water level, but thats about it.
Ofcourse, Milennias apart and a Cataclysm in between, it is hard to say what may have been preserved...
I think the Jennite/Peshwa connection is feasible. I mean the people of modern day Skothar would have to be descendant of Pre-Cataclysmic Skothar for the most parts wouldnt they?
Havard
Also, it is interesting to note that Minea has been built on the ruins of the Demon Empire and its off shoot branches the Great and Lesser Horned Empires...
Havard
Travis
Not to further complicate your mapping efforts (which are awesome, btw. I think it's pretty cool how well it appears to be synching up), but shouldn't Borno technically be a Duchy and not a Province (being ruled by the Iron Duke, Taha Marcovic)?
Actually, the Iron Duke could still be a Duke, but he could rule a Province. After all, Duke is derived from the Latin Dux, which was a military ruler/commander of a region... So there might also be "civilian" rulers, who are answerable to the Duke in certain things, but answer directly to the Emperor in others.
Also, Bramwald should be considered a Barony of Thonia (as Baron Bram Tagus has not yet divided himself from the Empire, his sentiments towards the Blackmoorians notwithstanding).
As Havard mentions elsewhere, with the feudal system there can be multiple levels of loyalties. In history, for example, though William was King of England in his own right, he owed service to the King of France for the Duchy of Normandy... which later caused all sorts of grief, needless to say, especially with the Angevins and Plantagenets.
The Jennites- I wonder if they are the descendants of the Peshwah (somehow managing to survive the increasing encroachment of their lands in the Blackmoor era)?
The Jennites are an Oltec people, so if the Peshwah are Oltec-derived, then the Jennites could certainly be descended from the Peshwah. IIRC, in the new Blackmoor book, the Peshwah seem rather Oltec-like (i.e., Amerindian style), but I'm at work and can't check the references. I always cast them as being true Persian/Scythian in culture, which would make them Neathar (the Neathar being the Indo-Europeans of Mystara). So it depends on what you want the Peshwah to be, really...
Ament Tundra: A land unnaturally cold, home to wooley versions of tropical creatures and savage barbarians.
Burning Sands: A region infested with efreet, salamanders, red dragons, and other fire-loving creatures, and replete with gates to the Elemental Plane of Fire and various fire and chaotic/evil-oriented outer planes.
CSIO: The Roglaras, the region dominated by the Invincible Overlord.
Demi Giant Kingdoms: Ruled by peoples descended from mixed human and half-giant ancestry. They have a city-state culture like ancient Greeks.
Demi-Giant Colonies: Free steadings of demi-giants exiled from the Demi Giant Kingdoms.
Demon Empire: Ruled by alien demon-like beings, not by creatures from the Outer Planes. Every Great King rules a city-state, and vies with the other Demon Kings for the title of Demon Emperor. Humans and other races are all slaves.
Demonkin Amazons: A barbaric matriarchal peoples descended from Amazons and the alien demons to the east.
Ebon Coast: A wild but mostly peaceful land of small holdings, once dominated by the elves of Revelshire. Their peace may soon be threatened by the barbarian Karzulun or by grasping Karakhan princes.
Elphand: These wild lands are dominated by the vast Irminsul Forest, a region of giant trees and creatures, mixed in with elves and faeries. Cavemen are found in the mountains and hills, and civilized villages are few and far between.
Five Winds: A mysterious sea, the legendary Isle of Tirnanog is said to lie somewhere within its waters.
Ghinor: A savage land of Tanagoro tribes and strange lion and tiger men.
Glow Worm Steppes: These verdant green lands are the scene of battles between nomadic Karakhans and Cavemen, while the eastern environs are vast desert wastes of sand and rock.
Great Horned Empire: A organized yet still evil empire of the alien demon-kin. Martial and mercantile, these demonic city-states are administered by a bureaucracy, while the magist demon-lords vie for power in a civilized fashion, through assassination and set-piece battles with slave armies.
More after work...
You have far better knowledge of these areas than I have. I was considering putting in the "Roglaras" label on the map instead of Csio for that region, but I guess they both work.
It is particularly interesting to read about the regions not covered by the boxed set and the players guide. Also, I liked tying in the Tanagoro with the Ghinor.
The amerind Peshwa connection is indeed more present in the ZGG line. I have always played the Peshwa more as Scythians, but with the Afridhi already being Persian/Afghan related, it might make more sense to make them related to the Neathar and the Peshwa to the Oltecs? The Jennites could in fact be descendants of a merger between those two peoples? We don't really know what happened to the Afridhi after the presumed destruction of the Well of Souls...
Havard
Demon Empire: Ruled by alien demon-like beings, not by creatures from the Outer Planes.
From the Dimension of Nightmares, maybe?
It is particularly interesting to read about the regions not covered by the boxed set and the players guide. Also, I liked tying in the Tanagoro with the Ghinor.
I already had a Zulu-like people placed there; they never made it into the Wilderlands Player's Guide because the races Bob and I sent in were only originally either major Wilderlands races or races important locally in the Roglaras.
The amerind Peshwa connection is indeed more present in the ZGG line. I have always played the Peshwa more as Scythians, but with the Afridhi already being Persian/Afghan related, it might make more sense to make them related to the Neathar and the Peshwa to the Oltecs? The Jennites could in fact be descendants of a merger between those two peoples? We don't really know what happened to the Afridhi after the presumed destruction of the Well of Souls...
I guess it is really up to the individual DM and however he wants his period campaign to run; the result to history and developments in "modern" (that is, ca. 1000 AC) Mystara are essentially one and the same. The issue is getting Oltec-based people all the way from Brun to Skothar, pre-Blackmoor era contact. It can be done; after all, the dwarves originated ages ago on Brun, as did the Beastmen, and the Elves are all the way from southern Davania, yet all three are present on Skothar in the Blackmoor era.
From the Dimension of Nightmares, maybe?
In a Mystaran cosmology-based campaign, diaboli would work pretty well; you'd just have to get rid of that odd "Mystaran magic doesn't affect diabloli, and diaboli magic doesn't affect Mystarans" rule. In Canon Wilderlands, though, the demon-kin races are extra-terrestrial aliens, from distant planets, sort of like servitor races in the Cthulhu mythos.
Kingdom of Karak: The most ancient empire the world has evern known, the empire has existed in one form or another for nearly 20,000 years. The Karakhan peoples are divided into many different ethnic and cultural groups, in three broad types. The ruling nobility are all sorcerous, and magical power equals temporal power. The common folk are all highly religious, and revere the ancient Hindu gods and their nobility as living gods. The nomads are savage barbarians, like mongols, and either wander the continent wherever their herds take them or serve the noble lords as stormtroopers.
Land of Beasts: This is a lost world land, with megafauna and dinosaurs, peopled by savage humans and cavemen.
Lenap: The City State of the Golden Caliph is a center for strange religions, pirates, and slavers. Once a center of a great lawful and good Mycretian civilization, today it is a home of evil and debauchery.
Lesser Horned Empire: Millennia ago the Lesser Horned Empire broke away from the Greater Horned Empire in a civil war. Other than having a distinct and separate bureaucracy, and a slightly different pantheon, it is identical to its larger and older sibling.
Rarzu (Actually, it is Karzul; it was just hard to read on the map with my poor drawing system, I imagine): This is the homeland of the Karzulun, a savage and barbaric tribe related to the Karakhans and Gishmesh.
Silver Skein Isles: Peopled by savage Skandiks and other seafaring peoples.
Southern Reaches: The Southern Reaches was once home to the Ghinorian Empire (yet another analog of Egypt). It is still the heartland of the Ghinorian people and culture, though all the petty pharaohs and kingdoms along the River Quicksake are merely a generation or two from being barbarian kings.
Tarantis: City of the Taran King, Tarantis is the most vibrant kingdom along the Wine Dark Sea. Its merchants vie with Rallu for primacy, and its pirates do battle with those of Lenap and the Silver Skein Isles for the honor of ruling the waves.
Tarsh: Once an outpost of the ancient Empire of Great Torsh, which commanded many gates to other worlds, today Tarsh is a land of barbaric splendor and many ruins, patrolled by the Tennifell Rangers and their druidic allies.
The Great Glacier: An unnatural formation, this is the home of the Winter King and his frost giant and white dragon court. The Cold Folk of this land and their Priestess-Queens revere the Winter King as a god, and they seem to be right.
The Isles of Dawn: One ruled by Titans and visited by the gods, today the peoples of the Isles of the Dawn long for the return of their days of glory and greatness.
Valon: The Avalonians of Valon rule their city of splendor on the sea, revel in magic and its many applications, and send out paladins on missions of honor and glory in the name of law and good.
Viridistan: The center of the Falling Empire, the City State of the World Emperor is the oldest and most corrupt empire extant in the Wilderlands proper. Today the World Emperor and his satraps fester in hatred at their greatley reduced circumstances, scheming endlessly of rebuilding their empire using the mighty demon-calling magics of their forefathers.
In the case of Rarzu/Karzul, yeah I had some trouble making out that one :embarrass I'll fix it later today.
As for the Demonbrood, what I understand is that they were created by the Marcrab experiments and the Marcrabs are an interstellar race. For my own campaign I would prefer a less sci fi-ish option. I like how WL allows for both kinds of interpretations. Something from the Dimension of Nightmares would work well, though Diaboli are probably too nice. The Marcrabs could even be Outer Beings or servitors of such. Linking these with the Egg of Coot works well too.
IIRC the Valley of the Ancients is also home to remnants of the Marcrab civilization. Perhaps the Beagle crash landing there was no coincidence?
Havard
Havard