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

Knightfall · Nov 22, 2011

REVISED MAP: Heverkent and Hinderfall

Here is my latest re-creation of the overview maps of the various regions of Harqual. This region used to be entitled the Heverkent Region. In truth, the Hinderfall mountain range is just as important to the region as the Heverkent rain forests surround the range.

Heverkent and Hinderfall
Rockwood gnomes dominate the Hinderfall Mountains and Inner Forest of Heverkent, but they do not control it the way other humanoids have tried to in the past. There are elder treants living in the Inner Forest while the Outer Forest is dominated by mixture of races and power groups.

The lands surrounding the rainforest are hotly contested. Despite the existence of numerous cities and towns, this region is considered untamed and dangerous. Logging on the fringes of the Outer Forest is a hazardous lifestyle. The trees are massive and the rain forest's denizens viciously attack loggers.

Since the time of The Transformation, the ratio of humanity in this region has increased. Humans are less uncommon in the coastal communities but Torin dwarves and southern elves still outnumber them. The rakasta and kitts tend to be on par with humans although that is in flux.

More tidbits..

The Hordelands
The Hordelands, also known as the Domain of the Horde, is ruled by a council of men and women from several of the races of the Far South. These rulers are known as the Lords of the Horde, with history that stretches back to several southern barbarian tribes. Now, nearly a thousand years later, they have become civilized but still pay homage to certain barbarian traditions.

The Outer Forest
The Outer Forest is made up of a patchwork of independent communities trying to hold back the worst of the logging done by the dozens of "urban" cities whittling away at the edge of the Heverkent Forest. Also known as The Packlands, due to the migratory nature of most of those living within the treeline, this region is home to countless races both humanoid and fey. The constant threat of logging has made strange allies of the rangers, druids, orcs, gnomes, fey races, and halflings who call the forest home.

The Timber Coast
Worst of the regions that constantly cut down trees for profit and shipbuilding is the Timber Coast. Six cities pay homage to the City of Cutte, which means "Fallen Trees" in an archaic language rarely spoken anywhere beyond the walls of the City of Cutte. The citizens of these cities, as well as the hundreds of small communities that call upon them for protection, see the forest as a resource to be exploited at any cost. Hundreds of thousands of acres have been cut down to make room for vineyards and cotton plantations. Besides the Domains of the Horde and the Republic of the Thorn (to the east), the Timber Coast has the largest standing army in the Far South.

The City of Lost Souls
The last place of interest on this map is the City of Adabrilia.

Once the thriving human-centric metropolis of the Far South, Adabrilia is now a ghost. Its streets are deserted and a touch of magic hangs in the air. When the Transformation ended so did the citizens of Adabrilia. Entire families and noble houses gone with the fog. Whether they were killed of transported to another plane of existence, no one knows. And only the foolhardy enter Adabrilia and try to find out.

Most don’t return but those that have come back tell tales of seeing people at the edge of their sight reaching out to them in horror then fading from sight as one turns to get a better view of them. Beyond these "ghosts", Adabrilia is home to only dangerous monsters and wild creatures. Only creatures with an Intelligence score of 5 or less can be found stalking the streets of Adabrilia. Surprisingly, this also keeps most intelligent undead out of the city as well. There are rumors of an insane vampire living in Adabrilia but none have ever seen this evil creature.

Knightfall · Apr 29, 2014

FYI... I just went through this thread and did some cleaning up of the various posts, especially when it came to attached images.

Knightfall · Sep 26, 2014

NEW NAME: Seven Rivers Region

While the Verdalf Forest is one of the dominant features of this region, the Hills of Antius also important this region. I was going to call it the River Plains Region, but the River Plains extend farther north and west than this map shows. The map used to be called the Verdalf Forest Region, but I felt it needed to be changed to better reflect more than the major forest in the region. Once I counted up the number of rivers on the map, the name just came to me.

The main political powers on this map are Antius, the Kingdom of Izmer, the Principality of Shaule, and the Principality of Pretensa. Antius is a city-state full of thieves. Izmer, Shaule, and parts of Pretensa all used to be part of the Empire of Swords, but broke away from the Old Sword Imperium when it began to disintegrate from within near the end of the Mortals War. Pretensa used to be a part of the Kingdom of Izmer, but it went through a succession from that kingdom a few years ago. Antius was never officially part of the Empire of Swords, although it paid lip service to the Sword Emperors and paid tribute.

Izmer and Shaule have remained allies, for the most part, as they have to often work together against the denizens of Antius and the expansionist policies of the Eversinki Suzerainty (not shown on this map) to the Northwest. Izmer's other ally in this region is the island land known as the Hawkgard Holds, which acts as a buffer between the denizens of the Wyrmgard Holds and Eversink. However, since the denizens of Hawkgard Island have aligned themselves closer to Eversink, relations have been strained.

Knightfall · May 16, 2020

Copied over from my WordPress blog, Kulan World Journal: The Eastern Shores (758 N.C.)

I’ve been working on this map for over two weeks. What I thought was going to be a simple recreation of an older Campaign Cartographer 2 map turned into major project. Adding in the political borders and roads and trails was a pain in the butt. The style I’ve chosen for the political borders is meant to be unique to the World of Kulan. Red borders are for human-dominated lands. Purple borders are for demihuman (dwarf, elf, gnome, and halfling) lands. Dark gray-blue borders are for monstrous realms. Dark blue borders are aquatic realms. And unclaimed territory is surrounded by a silver colored border. When lands of different races border each other, the political border shows both colors. The overall effect is a little chaotic, but I like it.

The political names are shown in the same color as that I’ve chosen for the capitals of each type of land: red for human lands, bright purple for demihuman lands, and blue for monstrous lands. The colors for aquatic realms are all the same dark blue.

The Eastern Shores has long been dominated by four human-centric lands: the Barony of Wolffire, the Duchy of Minar, the Kingdom of Stonn, and the Theocracy of Thallin. While dwarves, elves, and halflings have long lived in the region, humans are the most populous race in the Eastern Shores. And until King Varath came to power in Thallin, demihumans were rarely persecuted. Now, in the Thallin king’s theocracy, demihumans are not just persecuted, they are hunted. Many have been forced to become refugees in other countries with many choosing to flee into the Lands of the Cities of the Wind to the north and the Highlands to the south and southwest of Thallin. Others fled into Stonn, but many chose not to settle there — instead they migrated to the Duchy of Minar or into the region to the south known as the Thunder Lands.

The Theocracy of Thallin has become highly human-centric and its warlike king wishes to conquer all of the Eastern Shores. His dark knights and evil priesthoods have had many successes, but there have also been major failures. An entire region rebelled and joined The Highlands. The civil war that engulfed Thallin was a bloody feud between the king and the ruler of the city of Cabaret. It divided the country and the various peoples. The longstanding human nobility backed their king and his call for traditional human bloodlines and traditions. The demihuman races and many of the lower class humans backed Cabaret’s ruler.

While the war officially ended years ago, there are constant skirmishes across the old provincial border that now divides Thallin from the Highlands. There are now few rebels in Thallin, although the South Woods is full of political outlaws who now live as bandits. These outlaws receive little to no aid from anyone in Thallin, and they are rarely welcome in the Highlands (and not at all in the Kingdom of Stonn). The political situation in the Highlands is highly fluid. Before the war, the peoples of the Highlands preferred to keep to themselves. Now, with the threat of King Varath’s troops a real threat, the isolated communities of the territory are now forced to work together more often. This means more laws and patrols, which chaffs at the core of a Highlander’s independent spirit.

If it wasn’t for the physical boundaries that divide Thallin from the rest of the Eastern Shores, the troops of the theocracy would likely overwhelm its neighbors. The massive Wind River cuts through the region through a series of gorges and high hills. The South Woods is a dangerous place full of more than just hungry bears and mountain lions. The number of monsters in the forest has increased significantly and many believe the beasts have been drawn into the forest due to the growing evil in Thallin. The North Woods are less of a barrier to King Varath’s machinations, but it a very dangerous place due to the presence of the Spirit Rift, which was once a mountain range that fell into the earth during the Divinity War. The Jagged Peaks have always been a mystery and full of dangerous creatures and beyond those mounts lies the swampland known as Morilinlanta in the Elven tongue. (Humans usually refer to it as Amylinyon due to the despoiled elven city that sits near the festering heart of the swamp.)

There are other lands that are also part of the Eastern Shores.

The previously mentioned Lands of the Cities of the Wind are independent of Thallin and guard that independence with zeal. However, the cities in these lands often bicker with each other, which makes them a prize target for Thallin’s king.
In between Thallin and the Wind Cities is a new territory called Barrowrise. The territory is controlled by demihuman rebels (primarily halfling) who refuse to acknowledge Thallin’s control over the North Woods or the northwestern communities of the theocracy.
There is also the small elven realm known as Alora, which sits inside the political borders of Thallin. The city used to be a hidden realm that few knew about, but during the civil war, Alora was exposed. Alora is protected by powerful magic and the mystical fog that emanate from the Spirit Rift.
Two semi-independent lands exist within the political borders of the Kingdom of Thallin: the Shadow Magocracy considers Stonn to be its patron, but it is ruled by its own and the Principality of Ambra is a land that gained its independence shortly after the Second Ogre War. Neither realm has much of a navy and relies on the massive fleet of Stonn for protection.
The Qualitian Belt Protectorate is under the guardianship of the Duchy of Minar and many believe that is inevitable that the peoples of The Belt are brought into the duchy. (Others are not so sure.)
Mathghamhna is a realm of arcanists and the fishermen they protect. The Tower of the Arcane Order once stood in Thallin’s capital city, Fruen, but when King Varath took power, the arcanists of the Order magically transported the tower to the largest of the Elsed Isles on Lake Qualitian.
The most powerful demihuman land in the region is known as the Highborn Lands (it’s name in Common). This land guards its borders with vigor and few elven refugees have been allowed to settle here.
The Sunus Mountains are dominated by two nonhuman territories: the Ee’aar Clans and the Sunus Tribes. The Ee’aar Clans are wing elves and few humans knew of the existence of the clans in the mountain range until a decade ago. The Sunus Tribes are a mixture of humanoids and giants that have been a stain on the region for centuries. These tribes are currently ruled by a bugbear king.

The other named region on the edges of the map are not officially considered to be part of the Eastern Shores.

The Kingdom of Navirosov used to be allied with the other major human lands of the region before the events of The Transformation.
The Kingdom of Jalivier’s Honor was once a protectorate of Navirosov but now it struggles to survive on its own. A few in the Islands of Honor have turned to piracy.
The Haven of Vice and the Holds of Guthhell are pirate islands.
Greystone and the Farstone clans are dwarven realms and the Free Lands of Arkhangel has little political ties with the Eastern Shores.
Anoria, the Black Kingdom, Calot, Cauldron, the Diabolic Enclaves, the Midlands, and the Strandlands are all considered to be part of the region known as the Thunder Lands.
The Blood Elf Lands, Elavor, the Lands of the Lochfolk, and the Sacred Realm are considered to be part of the Great Forest of Harqual, physically and politically.

Elenhin is a new territory that arose in the Great Forest of Harqual after the corruption of the Old Knotwood. It’s capital is a large fortified tower of the same name. This territory is also known as the Realm of the Companions. It is a special case on this map. Physically, it is considered to be a part of the Great Forest; however, politically it is considered a protectorate of the Highlands.

Rumors are swirling that Companions of Harqual wish to merge The Belt into Elenhin in order to better protect the region from the predations of the blood elves of the Old Knotwood. Doing this would sever both protectorates from their protectors. Elenhin would be on its own, but it would be stronger in arms and politics. The Highlands would likely cede all the lands south of the Tarrinwood and west of the Wind River. The change would be good for the Highlands since its forces are spread very thin. However, the Duke of Minar isn’t likely to agree to anything without concessions from both the Highlands and the Highborn Lands, which is unlikely to happen.

People in the region worry that more conflict could spark another war in the Eastern Shores.

DM’s Note: While the scale on the map says that 1 Hex = 8 Miles, that is now out of date. I’ve significantly upsized Kulan. On this map, 1 hex now equals 30 miles. Note that I’m still revising the main overview map for Harqual, so this map isn't accurate anymore. The changes I’m making have become more significant since I posted this on KWJ, so there is a new version of this map coming in the future.

Knightfall · May 16, 2020

Copied over from KWJ: Kul Moren Mountains Region

This region of the Lands of Harqual is a legacy of the Shackled City Adventure Path that I ran many years ago for group of players/friends—Brian, Gerald, Rob, and Scott. And the game ended before the final adventure was played, I consider it a major successes as a DM. Plus, the PCs from that game are now major NPCs in the Dominion of Cauldron and the surrounding region.

Now, this region is more than just a SCAP legacy. It is also where I’ve placed Mor’s End, the old EN World City Project (ENWCP), which was created by a number of members of that gmaing community. In fact, Mor’s End is very close to Cauldron and in many ways it is central to the regions economy, as it stands at a key point along the Milvius Waterway on the northern shore of Lake Anoria.

Since the end of the SCAP adventure, I have advanced Kulan’s timeline, which greatly affected Cauldron, Mor’s End, and reset of the region. The Dominion of Cauldron is now known as the Realm of the Silver Hand and is ruled by Hezekiah Grofus. The Archmagus is the closest Cauldron has ever come to having a king even though Cauldron is still a feudal republic. Many think it is inevitable that Cauldron becomes a Monarchy, even though Grofus doesn’t have a wife or any legitimate children. Argo Flameheart has tried, unsuccessful, to marry off his old friend but The Orphan King would rather work on his latest arcane experiments in his massive tower, which lies outside the city.

Mor’s End hasn’t been as lucky as Cauldron. When war broke out between Cauldron and the Diabolic Enclaves, Mor’s End was caught in the middle. Cauldron has kept the Warlords of Flame from conquering Cauldron but they couldn’t keep the masters of Flamerule from annexing the Domain of Anoria. This has made ‘my’ Mor’s End a darker place than the standard ENWCP. While Mor’s End still has a Lord Mayor, he is little more than a figurehead. The true power lies with a man named Tarsus Oliverio (male Tahrannuti human). Tarsus treats Mor’s End as his own personal dictatorship, but he must answer to the Warlords of Flame.

The other key land in the Kul Moren Moutains is the newly self-proclaimed Monarchy of Kul Moren. The Dwarven Holds are now aligned more to Cauldron than to Mor’s End. When Anoria fell to the Diabolic Enclaves, the dwarves of Kul Moren refused to bow down to the Infernals of Flamerule. Led by Kragg Arduun (male high dwarf), Toryn Stonecutter, and The Stone-Heart Wizard (male hill dwarf), the dwarves beat back the war machine of the Infernals. The dwarves were aided by Toryn’s companions, the Order of the Silver Hand, which helped vs. the powerful vile magicks used by the Infernals. While the three dwarves rule Kul Moren equally, Kragg is most likely to proclaimed Thane of Kul Moren. Toryn is happy in his role as Master Smith, and The Stone-Heart Wizard is the land’s Master Arcanist.

To the northeast of Anoria, Cauldron, and Kul Moren lies the lands of the Diabolic Enclaves. Ruled from the City-state of Flamerule, these lands are filled with darkness, evil and devils—both figuratively and literally. The City-state of Fire and its vassal communities are ruled as an Infernal Dictatorship. Flamerule has nine tiers, which are built down into the earth. The tiers are ruled like the layers of the Nine Hells. Each tier is controlled by a Warlord of Flame with the Ninth Warlord being the ultimate ruler of the city-state. There are over 500,000 evil souls living in the city-sate with roughly 10% of those being devils. (The number of devils in the entire Infernal Dictatorship is roughly 2% of the overall population.)

Other lands officially in the region: Caloric (The City of Spires) – a powerful arcane city-state; Calot (Barony) – a small rural self-proclaimed monarchy; and Pretensa (Principality) – a newly self-proclaimed Monarchy/Theocracy that once used be part of the Kingdom of Izmer to the west. Caloric is the strongest of these three lands due to the city-state’s large population (98,000). However, Pretensa is growing in influence in the region due to the strong ties that it has formed with Cauldron and Kul Moren. Calot relies much on the goodwill of the Dominion of Cauldron, but its ruler, Baron Davil Forestwind (male half-elf) worries that Cauldron might be growing too powerful to keep the Dominion from annexing Calot. He has sought the aid of Tiberiu Cojocaru, High Prince of Pretensa (male Kunnian human), in helping with diplomatic relations with Cauldron.

Other lands shown partially on the map: Liran, Minar, and Verdalf.

Knightfall · May 16, 2020

Copied over from KWJ: Thunder Mountains Region

I had finished this map and posted it on Facebook last month, but I just realized I never got around to posting it here. This map now replaces my previous design of this region including my older Thunder Rift hex maps and my Thunder Lands (East) map created using Campaign Cartographer 2. Hexographer allows me to put more details on a larger map than with CC2, so I’ve switched to it almost exclusively. When (or if) I get CC3, I might switch back or use both program at once.

Like with the Cold Barrens map I posted, this map doesn’t have any political division lines on it. I don’t really like using those for World of Kulan although I might use them at a closer scale. (One hex on this map equals 24 miles.)

The key region of Thunder Mountains Region is, of course, the Thunder Mountains. The heart of the region revolves around the southern half of the mountain range and the lands directly to the west and south of it. To the west of the mountains is the Barony of Liran. To the south is the Free City of Yuln, which is also known as the Sovereign City. Liran and Yuln control most of the arable lands in this region, although they don’t have a complete monopoly on food crops. And neither of them control the Thunder Rift in the southern part of the mountain range.

Yuln has more political power, and it is not wise to upset Harian Mal or try to break his feudal grip on Yuln and the communities that pay homage to him. Baron Edward Gaill II of Liran is a little more amiable to outsiders, but he has little tolerance for orcs and half-orcs due to the constant skirmishes his people have had to endure versus the Black Kingdom of Thunder Orcs. Orc raids are commonplace and it is nearly impossible to root the orcs out due to the high Widowfall Cliffs that surround the western half of the mountain range.

To the east of the Thunder Mountains are the lands known collectively as the Strandlands. Ruled, somewhat, from the walled town known as Ironsoul, the communities of the Strandlands are collectively a Gerontocracy (rule by the aged) and a Stratocracy (rule by the military). It is a complicated place with a lot of traditions and taboos. The rulers of the Strandlands are known as The Gerousia, which acts a senate consisting of 25 members, as well as the Seven Lords of the Strand. The peoples of this land, which is also known as the Freeholds of the Strand, are surprisingly welcoming to outsiders, as long as newcomers seem battle tested. The people here love freedom and refuse to elect any one single ruler; they have no patience for tyrants.

There are several numbered locales on the map due to space constraints for writing text on the map using Paint.NET. (The full-sized version of the map is linked below.)

The Tower of the Guardian Knights
Duskriver
The Monolith
Lancaster Inn
Skar’bir Keep
Blood Pits of Hratgurir
Thohemehar
The Hammer of Fire
Obsidian Spire
Silvervale
Gapgard Castle
Echovale
Reikmahk Plantation

Knightfall · May 16, 2020

Copied over from KWJ!

Here is brand new hex map of the cold desert known as the Cold Barrens. I’ve been working on this one for several weeks. This is the start of revising my hex maps for the Lands of Harqual. While I was somewhat happy with how the overview map for the Eastern Shores came out, I soon came to regret overdoing the ‘unique’ icon colors on the map. Plus the border colors got in the way of the map’s design. Thus, the new maps won’t have as many icons with unique colors and I’m not going to even try to add political lines or details on the maps.

Each hex on this map equals 24 miles. That will now be the standard for maps at this level of detail. I will likely do maps of key areas at 8 miles per hex, but that won’t be for a while.

Link to full-sized image on WordPress

Description
This region came out my need to map out the entire Greystone Mountain Range. The Archbishopric of Coldstone is the dominant political force in this region. It is a feudal theocracy dedicated to Hades; however, other churches aren’t restricted (too much) from being allowed to “gather the faithful” within the Archbishopic.

Yet, most of these other churches are forced to set up their chuches outside of the city-state of Coldstone, which acts as the theocratic capital of the Church of Hades. However, the other churches of the North Gods don’t have to abide by this restriction. In fact, one could say the Archbishopic is a theocracy dedicated to all the North Gods but with Hades as the controlling force in the region.

The ruler of Coldstone is Archbishop Dagmar Frosthall [LN male high dwarf (high), cleric of Hades]. He is fairly unusual for a dwarf. He is devoted completely to Hades and has little patience for the “prattling thanes of the Kingdom of the Greystones.”

Beyond the Archbishopic, this region is dominated by the Township of Kimsbridge, the Giant Steadings of Muirmaer, and the barbarian tribes of the Cold Barrens.

Kimsbridge is a tentative ally of Coldstone. This alliance is only a trade alliance so the town isn’t actually under Coldstone’s protection. This is how the town’s current ruler, Leanora Tobbish [N female human Drd7 (the Daghdha)], prefers it to remain as she doesn’t completely trust Dagmar Frosthall.

She has made a secret non-aggression pact with the giants of Muirmaer and hopes to make the alliance a permanent protection alliance in the not to distant future. If the Archbishop found out, it would be bad for the citizens of Kimsbridge as he hates giants, all giants. He would see her alliance with Muirmaer as a betrayal of the North Gods.

The barbarians of the Cold Barrens can trace their lineage back to the time when the North Gods lived amongst the tribes of the Northlands. Their ancestor tribes were never favored, however. Many of them were followers of Xuar before he betrayed the pantheon. Therefore, they were forced to leave the protection of the North Gods and live in the wastes of the Cold Barrens.

This has made the current tribes a bit bitter. They tend towards the evil side of chaos and neutrality, but they are never followers of the Sword Gods. (Xuar betrayed them too, after all.) They prefer to worship Konkresh and Uller but the worst of them worship Gruumsh and Vaprak.

The dead deity known as Zell is the closest many of them have to a “North God” patron deity. Zell was a Sword God who “saw the light” and joined the North Gods. He was the God of Struggling and Ardor, which is something the tribes of the Cold Barrens often take to heart.

Knightfall · May 28, 2020

@jaerdaph, above are some more of my newer maps for Kulan. Enjoy -KF

Knightfall · May 28, 2020

Here is the revised version of the Eastern Shores map, which has now got up on Kulan World Journal in place of the previously posted map, which is still shown in the Eastern Shores post, above.