Karameikos, 8 miles per hex (1987)

GAZ1 introduced the first Gazetteer map, along with the 8 mile per hex standard scale, in 1987. The first nation to be covered was of course Karameikos — but it had already been mapped out in some detail previously, first in the Expert Sets (both 1981 and 1983), then in B10 in 1986. However, instead of working from these maps, it appears that the designers went back to the source, and the original X1 Known World map — the 24 mile per hex map. Consequently, there were great differences between the pre-1987 Karameikos maps and the GAZ1 map. For more on this, see the Lining Up Mystara article The Karameikan Revolution.

It has taken me nearly 20 years to work through all of these complex issues, but at last I have come to what I believe to be a satisfactory hybrid map. As it is the foundation of the Gazetteer series and a major cornerstone of the setting, I have preserved all the details in GAZ1’s map. But at the same time I have added in all of the additional details found in the previous maps.

Among the most significant changes are the more detailed mountain shapes, taken from the Expert map; the rivers, taken from B10 and Expert; the settlement locations, again from B10 and Expert; the coastlines, taken from Expert; and a whole slew of other details, mostly from B10 as well as a few other sources.

The map below is therefore not just the first Gazetteer version of Karameikos, but also a synthesis of that with all that had come before.

Chronological Map (February 2025)

This map is part of the Mystara 1987 series of chronological maps. It is an updated map, incorporating all available sources and made internally consistent with other maps in its series. But it only uses sources published in or before 1987.

For more information, see Appendix C: Cartographic Chronology.

Sources

• Mystara 1984
  • Sea of Dread Underwater, 24 miles per hex (1984)
  • Specularum, 0.5 miles per hex (1984)
• Mystara 1986
  • Known World, 24 miles per hex (1986)
  • Karameikos, 6 miles per hex (1986)
  • Eastern Karameikos, 3 miles per hex (1986)
  • Foamfire Valley and Hutaaka — the Lost Valley, 2 miles per hex (1986)
  • Island of Lost Dreams (1986)
  • Threshold (1986)
• GAZ1 The Grand Duchy of Karameikos (1987) (PDF at DriveThruRPG)
  • Karameikos, 24 miles per hex
  • Karameikos, 8 miles per hex
  • Specularum
  • Kelvin
  • Threshold
  • Legend
• GAZ2 The Emirates of Ylaruam (1987) (PDF at DriveThruRPG)
  • Ylaruam, 24 miles per hex
  • Ylaruam, 8 miles per hex
• GAZ4 The Kingdom of Ierendi (1987) (PDF at DriveThruRPG)
  • Ierendi, 8 miles per hex
  • Safari Island
• B1-9 In Search of Adventure (1987) (PDF at DriveThruRPG)
  • Grand Duchy of Karameikos, 8 miles per hex
  • Threshold
  • City of Specularum
• X12 Skarda’s Mirror (1987) (PDF at DriveThruRPG)

Revisions

For detailed notes, see the posts for each individual source map at the links above.

• (Under construction!)

References

1. Appendix L: Lining Up Mystara
   • The Woes of B10 (1986)
   • The Never-ending Story (1986)
   • The Karameikan Revolution (1987)
2. Let’s Map Mystara Together discussion thread at The Piazza (link leads to this map’s post)
3. Karameikos at the Vaults of Pandius

Thanks to:

Ian Brockbank, Paul Dupuis, Fabrizio Hockey, Sionainn Mac Innéirghe, Jason Nash, Chris Paasch, Michael Simms, Jonathan Stromberg, and Joseph Triplett.

Past and Future Versions of this Map

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