Knightfall's World of Kulan Campaign Maps (Updated: July 2022)

Ferret said:

Great detail in all your work, thanks again for drawing out that continent of mine. No larger picture in your world though? Lot of really nice regions, or towns but nothing larger.

It just find it interesting the way worlds form.

Click to expand...

Okay, you want to see a world overview, huh? Here you go...

Ok, I decided to forego working on my Cabaret city map for a bit so that I can finalize the terrain and regions of the Continent of Kanpur, Kulan's largest continent.

So without further ado, here is the finalized Northwest Region for Kanpur. In reality, it could be called the Far Northwest Region but that's too clunky for me.

Moved Subregion Descriptions to new thread in Plots & Places.

Amazing! You are most generous to share this with us, and I am highly impressed!

With your permission I'd like to borrow some of your work to incorporate into my world (building one from scratch for first time). What is your real name so I can give you proper credit? (Even though it won't really leave my house, I still like to give credit where credit is due). I don't have to have your real name... not sure why I'm asking for it. I guess my old research-paper-writing days have tainted me forever.

Cool

Phaedrus said:

Amazing! You are most generous to share this with us, and I am highly impressed!

With your permission I'd like to borrow some of your work to incorporate into my world (building one from scratch for first time). What is your real name so I can give you proper credit? (Even though it won't really leave my house, I still like to give credit where credit is due). I don't have to have your real name... not sure why I'm asking for it. I guess my old research-paper-writing days have tainted me forever.

Click to expand...

Totally understand the part about giving credit to fellow gamers when borrowing ideas. Lord knows I've done it enough times. Here is all my technical data:

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Here is the second regional map for the Continent of Kanpur. I'm going to go into a little detail on each subregion but not a lot as this area isn't as fleshed out in my mind.

Sub-Regions
Below is a quick & dirty description of each subregion and whether it comes from a d20 product or is based on an Old World country and/or region. This list is alphabetic. Note there isn't a listing for Almadon or the Dragon Sands, as those subregions are more a part of the northwest than the southwest.

Aegis (Greek)
While listed on this map for completeness, Aegis will come into more detail once I get around to subregioning the more central parts of Kanpur. Aegis is my Ancient Greece and will draw a lot from texts I own as well as Green Ronin's The Trojan War sourcebook coming out later this year. (I can't wait!)

Baidhin Islands (Phoenician)
The northwestern map only shows part of these phoenician style islands. On this map, you get the whole show. And yes, I painstakingly draw (and sometimes redraw) each island by hand in CC2.

Cathe (Phoenician/Mixed Races)
Cathe is going to be my Carthage. However, it will be very fantasy phoenician with lots of elves, dwarves, orcs, goblinoids, rakasta, etc. (Must find time to research more!)

Terre Mortis (Fantasy Undead/African cross)
I'm thinking desert wastes, hordes of undead, lost cities, and lots of African influences.

Kesh Lands, the (North Africa/Desert Tribes)
The map in Gary Gygax's Necropolis by Necromancer Games denotes several lands surrounding Khemit. One is a land which I believe is called Kesha. I took the name, dropped the 'a'. I am thinking Tunsia with nomadic desert tribes, as per the movies "The Mummy" and "The Mummy Returns".

Khemit (Egyptian)
Go and buy Gary Gygax's Necropolis from Necromancer Games. The stuff in the back of the book makes it even more valuable.

Kungya (Dwarven-African/Phoenician cross)
Here I'm thinking Cathe tries to invade by sea and by land but the deep jungles are full of dangerous Africa-inspired jungle creatures and cannibalistic dwarves. Not sure yet.

Lamnaro (Elven-African/Arabian cross)
The name was built from the elven name generator from Dragon Magazine #251. Broken down "Lam-Na-Ro" means "East-Ancient-Walker". I'll let your minds come up with the rest.

Phillistia [Egyptian controlled Arbain lands(?)]
This is another name from Gary Gygax's Necropolis. I'm pretty sure I know which real world culture this name is taken from but I won't bastardize how it is written. I can say but not spell it for some reason. (I'm pretty sure it's not Phoenicia.)

Revised Continent Map for Janardun

Hello, it's late and I haven't really thought too much about the regions on this map. It is a more finalized version of the Continent of Janardun. Each name represents a province. However, not all provinces are under of the main ruling force on the continent. (A republic - I'll post more later.) A lot is controlled by ogre mages, the continent's main baddies.

Anyway, I'm going to post another one after this but it will have more of a writeup. (It might be tonight or sometime tomorrow afternoon, depending on how much I write.)

Cheers!

KF

REVISED this post with different names for some of the islands, as I've updated the region.

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This regions is inspired by two different d20 campaigns. The most obvious campaign is Freeport: The City of Adventure from Green Ronin. The less obvious campaign is from a now defunct d20 publisher known as Dark Portal Games. (No sign of the company for some time now.) The campaign is called Arekoz and the main book is the adventure White Robes, Black Hearts: Enigma of the Arcanexus.

I helped write the book and did some of the cartography. It's too bad the company has disappeared, as most of those who have read it, seemed to like it. I've decided that I don't feel right letting my work simply disappear into the breeze so I've created the Isles of Valossa to take advanatage of EotA, in conjunction with the Freeport Sourcebooks and my own imagination.

The Island of Arek
Calrendia
Calrendia is the location for most of Enigma of the Arcanexus. I haven't read up on Arekoz in a while so I can't say much about it. I believe it was designed to be the typical fantasy kingdom. However, since my Calrendia is very close to the equator, a lot of how the land is portrayed will be different. No knights in heavy platemail here.

The City of Gateway is one of the key cities in Calrendia and is a metropolis. DPG posted a free PDF detailing Gateway. which I still have. (I don't know if it is available anywhere still, but I will send a copy to anyone who wants to see it. The city is a great campaign location unto itself.)

Mhul
Another region from the Arekoz Campaign Setting, this one is a vital import for EotA. Not that I mind, the Empire of Mhul, as it's called in the book, is a great land of bad guys for the heroes to face. I've even thought of a way to tie EotA to Freeport and the idea of the lost Empire of the Serpents. As with Calrendia, the land lies in a warm tropical part of the world and will have to be modifed somewhat. All the better to make Mhul more to my liking.

Aste, Athe, and Nuvro
I decided to name each island on the map but I'm not going to write anything into stone for these islands. It's always nice to leave gaps for new ideas. (Two fo the names came from my old hand-drawn Triadora map.)

Darkfire Island
The name for this island realm is a turn of word from the name of a mountain range from the Arekoz Campaign map - Blackflame Peaks. I'm thinking Darkfire Island will be a mountainous island with warring orcs and dwarves.

Hurmfarlu Island
A group of Horn Minotaurs, that have broken away from the Empire of the Horned God, live on this island. Sardian Minotaurs here are larger and more bestial than their normal kin. Basically, they will be modified with the Gigantic template from Book of Templates: Deluxe Edition. (Don't know yet.)

Keoi Isle
Keoi Isle is the home of a kingdom of wizards, known as Abjura, with a taste for abjuration magic. On my world, this is where abjuration magic first originated. The god known as The Abjurer, or Abjios in the language of the Rachites (see below), is the island's patron god.

Merok Isles
This small group of islands, just north of Arek, is home to a culture similar to that of Mhul, a land that come from EotA. However, while Mhul is a dark and evil land, the Lands of Agul are more so. The islands have major undead problems, including unsafe passages into the Underearth.

I'm a big fan of what Piratecat has done with the DUNGEON Adventure about the White Kingdom. I think I have that issue. Perhaps there will be a connection between the White Kingdom and the Lands of Agul. Hmm... I'll have to wait and see.

The Rachis Isles
This group of islands is know for it devotion to the god known as Helios, The Sun Lord. The Rachites are a society of warriors, minstrels, sailors, and intellectuals. The theme here is Greek but none of the more "well known" Olympian Gods are worshipped here.

The Serpent's Teeth
The Serpents Teeth -- the islands known as Leeward, T'wik, Windward, and the large central island of A'Val. These are the islands of Freeport. If you don't know what Freeport is then where in the world have you been? Several of the islands that appear of the Arekoz map have been integrated into the Serpent's Teeth - Gelem & Gulmagesh. However, those islands are controled by Mhul.

If you want more information on Freeport then go to the following web address: Freeport: The City of Adventure - Freeport

NEAR NORTH REGION
Before the events of The Transformation, the Near North was considered more of a no-man's-land.

The region surrounding Lake Gem was inhabited by wild animals, dangerous monsters, and scattered barbarian tribes. The few cities built in the region never seemed to last. Only the dwarven holds in the surrounding hillside (and one of two elven towns) seemed immune to this enigmatic apathy. It was whispered that the region was under the divine protection of some powerful spirit of nature.

The Wind Plains are known for being home to nomads and horsemen yet there are also city-states and towns. These communities are linked by tradition and a mutual fear of the machinations of the new king of Thallin, to the south. Yet, there are few roads here and sense of windswept freedom.

The Lashee Divide is a cold flat-land that divides the civilized lands of the Principality of the Shining Stones from the hills and forests of the Nashee. Its emptiness makes the Wind Plains seem like the heart of the civilized world. There are only a handful of stable communities between the City at Wood's End and the city-state of Varra.

One cannot talk about cold desolation without pointing out the Cold Barrens. This frozen desert lives up to its name and then some. It isn't lifeless but it is harsh and unforgiving. It is the epitome of a subarctic desert. The barbarian tribes that live here do so because they have no choice. They are outcasts that once worshiped the evil god known as Xuar. When The Jealous Arcane betrayed the North Gods, these tribes were forces to flee into the frigid wastes of the desert.

Life in this region would likely have remained much the same if not for The Transformation.

Kingdom of Jewels
After the mists of The Transformation receded from the Near North, six city-states and twice as many towns and villages stood around Lake Gem. Each city-state supposedly came from a unique material plane. Four of the city-states (Dalyvar, Felyer, Halle and Vull) were dominated by humans while the other two city-states (Alithton and Stonevale) were dominated by two unique races -- the Siarrans and the Niomus, respectively.

Thrown into an alternate world with no connections to their past lives, the denizens of these diverse communities were forced to band together in order to survive. Like the Kingdom of Ahamudia on the Ragik Peninsula, the new city-states of Lake Gem had to defend themselves from those surrounding them. The most aggressive of these foes has been The Gleaming Prince, Lord Augustus Gault (LN male human, aristocrat 10), the ruler of Principality of the Shining Stones. War has never been officially declared, but the conflicts that are fought on a yearly basis are brutal and bloody.

Luckily, the thanes of the Greystones didn't feel as threatened by the new city-states as the Shining Principality's ruler. A trade alliance has brought the city-state important resources and a strong ally on Harqual. It has also provided the city-states with some legitimacy. High Thane Sannl Blackforge helped broker the alliance that brought about the official declaration of the lands surrounding Lake Gem as a kingdom. This has put the High Thane and Lord Augustus at odds with each other; the two lands were strong allies before The Transformation.

The newly formed Kingdom of Jewels has also forged a tentative alliance with the Archbishopric of Coldstone. However, the new kingdom's strong ties to the dwarves of the Greystones has limited the success of diplomacy with Coldstone.

Regardless, the future of the region might depend on whether or not the city-states will remain allies or turn on each other due to the constant infighting. Each city-state has its own king and nobility. While many look to the siarrans of Alithton for leadership, there are strong forces amongst the human-dominated city-states that want a human as the kingdom's ruler. The kingdom's charter calls for the naming of one of the kings as high king. So far, the arguing (and backbiting) has prevented this from happening. (Alithton has been named the capitial city, for now.)

The siarran king, Allarur Cakrellas (NG male siarran, fighter 10), isn't sure if he wants to be the first high king. He would be honored to claim the title, but he believes it is in the best interest of his people and everyone else that each king be allowed a chance to petition to become high king. The niomus of Stonevale are pushing for Allarur to be high king, which has put a strain on nonhuman-human relations.

NEW MAP: Cadra Forest Region
Description to be Posted. Later.