"Invisible" countries: tribes and villages which didn't get a red-lined border
by Travis HenryI feel its arbitrary which "petty tribes", independent villages, small colonies, and sapient species get a Red-Lined Border on Mystaran maps. And which don't.
I can understand if there's no sapient life there, and if no sapient culture claims the land. Okay, that's a true wilderness.
But why does, say, the Broken Lands, and the various tribes of orcs in the Orc's Head Peninsula, get a red-lined border, but other goblinoid lands do not get a red-lined status? The Black Belly Goblins clearly have a sense of traditional territory -- as seen in the confrontation with General Cimmarron (=M-Lt. Colonel Custer).
In my re-synthesized Mystara, I would draw in red-lined countries wherever there are currently sapient communities, whether they be "tribal" humans or humanoids, or independent villages, or small colonies.
Here are a few of possibly many examples:
The Matriarchies of the Seven Villages of the southeastern Isle of Dread. (M-Tahitian.) X1 says they have a shared inter-village council and everything. How is this not equivalent to, say, one of the Atruaghin Clans? Their collective red-lined homeland includes the southeastern peninsula and adjacent islets.
The Village of Mantua or Chiefdom of Mantua (M-Yorubas), including the entire caldera as its traditional territory. They do have a chief, so they're a chiefdom!
The Desert Nomads of the Great Waste. M-Afghans (humans and orcs). X4 says the Great Waste is their "home.": "For years, the Great Waste to the west of the Republic has been the home of nomad raiders. Petty little tribes, both human and otherwise, have roamed this trackless waste, raiding each other and the surrounding settlements."
Goatmen of Kavaja. Their various M-Balkan city-states.
The Village of Tyjaret (Sea Camel) An outpost of Sind.
The Village of Kladanovic (Dead Mule) An outpost of Slagovich.
The Gnolls of El Grande Carrascal M-Apache Gnolls ("Chiriquis" is an alteration of "Chiricahua" Apache)
The Goblins of the Badlands M-Lakota Goblins. The Badlands of South Dakota are Lakota Sioux traditional territory. [This is one of several uncomfortable legacies.]
Tortle Country (east) and Tortle Tribeland (west). M-Mesoamerican. Not fair. Even if not recognized by any of the SC "powers", it's still a sapient culture. And this is a fantasy world. And Tortles are even one of the most iconic Mystaran PC races! Why are these M-Mayan(?) lands not red-lined countries, just like the other iconic animial-folk lands of Renardy and Bellayne?
The Highlands of Pyctis (Goblin Territory) M-Pictish Goblins
The Land of Carnax (Orcish Territory) M-Gaulish Orcs
The Land of Cassivellonis (Orcish Territory) M-Britonnic Orcs: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catuvellauni
Free City of Dunwick
Richland
The various Yazak tribal territories. Or at least the Yazak Steppes as a whole -- as a sort of giant version of the Broken Lands or the Dark Jungle Orc Territories.
And others.
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This sort of red-lining would be a further step in the direction of how (what was later known as) Sind was first portrayed in X4 as a boundary-less waste, with a few villages, trails, and outposts, with no red lined border. But then was later upgraded to a proper red-lined country.
It doesn't even involve a retcon. The sapient cultures are already there. It's just a matter of giving their traditional territories or small domain a red line on the map.
What else?