Populating NE Davania
by LoZompatoreI need some help to select and define a few brand-new populations / races to be placed in an empty area south of the Jungle Coast in Northeastern Davania. Any contribution and idea by your side is welcome.
To cut a long story short, I have a long-term project to compile an illustrated timeline of the Milenian Empire on the Outer World, and I am currently trying to detail the meeting between the Snartans and the Milenians.
As reference for Snartan history I used Ethan Deneault timeline here and I already assumed the Snartans are stuck in a small plateau in NE Davania, very poor in metal and coal resources and surrounded by hostile populations, to be liberated only by the arrival of Milenian phalanxes from the northwest (for further details see here).
So I start populating the area with all canon and fanon communities of my knowledge and found that, actually, this area is pretty empty and undetailed, to the point that the Snartan plateau stands in the middle of a wild, unpopulated stretch of land (see reference map below). This is not quite I had in mind when I thought about "hostile neighbours"!
I already made my few personal additions to the area, and I don't like adding further races / monsters / populations by myself out of the blue.
That's why I'm asking the help of the community to devise a proper set of dangerous neighbours to the Snartans.
Which races/people could pose so a threat to block the destitute gnome-thinkerers of Snarta for 400 years (BC 1200 - BC 800) but then gave way to Milenian armies in a relatively short amount of time?
Here is a reference map with all canon and fanon populations I managed to trace back for the area, which should photograph the situation at around BC 1000, before the birth of the Milenian Empire (whose metropolitan territory would be located in the nortwestern corner of the map).
On this map I added a few contributions of my own, as detailed below.
Grey, small-dotted areas represent jungle, while white, large-dotted areas represent desert. The rest is assumed to be grassland or hills.
The same image with a superimposed grid with coordinates, to help locating old and new folks:
Finally, a short, referenced description of all communities shown in maps above:
Amossens: Fanon, my addition. A human, barbaric and warlike population of mixed origins which will be displaced by expanding Milenians into the SW desert (the off-map Meghales Amosses desert, partly named after the Amossens), only to return centuries later to harass the Milenians during their decadence and fall.
Bogdashkan: Canon from PWAII. Jungle orcs, likely hostile towards all neighbours.
Centaurs: Partially based on PWAII and HWR3. They are an eastern extension of the centaurs inhabiting the Megala Kimata plains, which are introduced in PWAII. As centaurs inhabit also the deepest forests of the Milenian Empire in the Hollow World (HWR3 page 41) I assumed there should be a corresponding race of "jungle centaurs" living in some Milenian territory of the Outer World. The closest free location to the bulk of Milenian Empire is area B3 in map above so I placed these jungle centaurs there. They likely are assimilated in the Milenian Empire and act as fast light and medium cavalry auxiliaries in Milenian armies at the height of Milenian splendor.
Elves (C2 and C3): My addition, based on the "southern elf clans" in the Thyatian Hinterlands area of DotE (page 18 of Player's Guide to Thyatis). I added a couple of small, tough elvish clans in the area to keep the Bogdashkan orcs at bay. Both elvish clans are likely allied with the jungle centaurs (see "Centaurs" entry above).
Humanoids (A1-B1): Canon from PWAII. The humanoids of the Hills of Desolation drove away the Traldars of King Milen migration while they where trying to settle in the area. Later these humanoids were likely subjugated by the expanding Milenian Empire, rising up at the end of Milenian decline.
Humanoids (F3-F4): Fanon. My addition, acting as a buffer between the Toadmen / Oltecinidians Tribes and everything living in the jungles to the west (see).
Manacapuro: Canon from PWAII. Copper-skinned xenophobic humans who use poisoned weapons. I assume they descend from Oltec people and are possibly related to the nearby Oltec Tribes (see).
Mawa: Fanon Polynesian-like Oltec people related to Makai and to the original inhabitants of the Pearl Island, see a short description and references by Sturm here. Here I assumed they also settled this peninsula of Northeastern Davania. They later will be absorbed by the Yasuko people followint their migration from the lands north of the sea (likely around BC 500).
Medusae: Their presence in northern Davania is canon (PWAII), their placement is fanon. A remnant of Bachraeus' empire, inspired by Marco Dalmonte article here and James Mishler article here.
Neathar Tribes (A2): Canon, from PWAII. They would be the among first people conquered and assimilated by the Traldars of king Milen, together with the Oltec Tribes to their east.
Neathar Tribes (C5): Canon, from HW Migration Map. A large group of Neathar settled in the area around BC 2000. I assumed that at least the bulk of this people did not mix with surrounding populations.
Olmurians: Fanon. Based on Christian Constantin article here and his BC 1000 - BC 100 map for the region (here). Due to the presence of canon Neathar tribes in the middle of the "Oltecinidians Tribes" of Constantin map I splitted this fanon population in two groups, the proper Oltecinidians living in the eastern jungle and the post-Olmur plain dwellers (or "Olmurians") in the western desert. Olmurians are a scattered, barbaric Oltec-descended people tracing their origins back to the ancient civilization of Orimul some 9000-10000 years ago. Many of them mixed with Neathar people since the Neathar migration in the area (see "Neathar Tribes (A2)" entry for details).
Oltec Tribes: Canon, from PWAII. They would be the among first people conquered and assimilated by the Traldars of king Milen, together with the Neathar Tribes to their west (see).
Oltecinidians Tribes: Fanon, see "Olmurians" entry for details. The Oltecinidians are scattered tribes of jungle-dwellers with an Oltec ancestry, not contaminated by Neathar contributions. They descend from the ancient Oltec civilization of Orimul and share common cultural traits with the Katapec people further east.
Pardastas: From Zendrolion's "History and evolution of Rakasta" article here, especially this map, which are based on Rakasta article on Dragon Magazine #247. Pardastas are at war with Fast Runners further northwest (off the map) and would likely be persecuted in later centuries by Fast Runners' Milenian allies.
Servastas:From Zendrolion's "History and evolution of Rakasta" article here, especially this map, which are based on Rakasta article on Dragon Magazine #247.
Sis-Thik: My addition, also based on MM:MA encounters' table for Tropical Desert areas (page 125). Possibly another remnant of Bachraeus' evil empire (see "Medusae" entry for details).
Snarta I: From Bruce Heard article here, Ethan Deneault timeline here and my own additions here. A race of gnomes of southern Davania who built a huge Earthshaker in ancient times; they embarked on this machine and got stuck in the northern part of the continent when their Earthsaker broke beyond repair. Later contacted by the Milenians which led to the adoption of their militaristic way of life. Snartan gnomes fought as allies of the Milenians for a while, then managed to build another Earthsaker and migrated south.
Thratians: Canon from DotE and PWAI-III. Northern Antalian tribes who migrated to Davania, possibly as slaves of the Nithians.
Toadmen: Inferred from I2 module "Needle", albeit their location is not canon (see for example here by Havard and here by Sturm). Toadmen may be a race formerly enslaved by Bachraeus and added to his evil empire.
Thanks for any help in further developing this region! Much appreciated!