26 March 2018

Gulf of Hule, 8 miles per hex

Slagovich is one of several city-states on the eastern shore of the Gulf of Hule. The city-states are inhabited mostly by humans, and generally ruled by despots, some enlightened, some not. The city-states are mostly self-absorbed, banding together only in the face of great danger.

On the western coast of the Gulf of Hule are a number of small states and baronies, collectively known as the Savage Baronies; these were set up by explorers and conquerors who adventured in the area and then settled there.

Together, the city-states and Savage Baronies bracket the Gulf of Hule. They are separated by an arm of the nation of Hule, which touches the gulf’s northern shores. Hule is a dangerous neighbour, constantly at odds with the smaller nations on its borders.

from Red Steel: Lands of the Savage Coast, by Tim Beach

Map (updated 26th March 2018)

*Updated map of the Gulf of Hule, 8 miles per hex*

Sources

The Voyages of the Princess Ark in Dragon Issues 171, 172, 174, 175, 176 and 177
X4 Master of the Desert Nomads (1983) (PDF at DriveThruRPG)
- The Wilderness Map of the Great Waste, p. 7
X5 Temple of Death (1983) (PDF at DriveThruRPG)
- Map of Hule, p. 31
X9 The Savage Coast (1985) (PDF at DriveThruRPG)
- DM Map 1, cover gatefold
Champions of Mystara (1993) (PDF at DriveThruRPG)
- The Great Waste poster map
Red Steel (1995)
Savage Baronies (1995) (PDF at DriveThruRPG)
The Black Vessel (1996)

Comments

This map is a composite of lots of small ones, with some additional info from 24 mile per hex and non-hex sources.

Update 26th March 2018: As discussed during the Lining Up Mystara project back in 2016, the Great Escarpment has been expanded to merge X5’s much larger plateau with that of the Princess Ark and Red Steel. Other changes include the addition of a couple of things from The Black Vessel.

Notes

Great Escarpment — X5 showed a far larger version of this escarpment. The Atlas has adapted the larger escarpment west of the Llanos Verdes, adding details and curving slightly to encompass the terrain from the Red Steel maps.
Gulf of Hule Red Steel map — in general, this poster map conforms pretty well with the original maps from Dragon. However, the eastern half of the map clashes wildly with previous maps, showing a hilly and forested region in place of the deserts of the Great Waste. The Atlas ignores Red Steel‘s version, but nevertheless adopts terrain features wherever possible within the spirit of the Great Waste area. (See other notes for details.)
Keep of Vastrovek — this detail from Red Steel does not clash with the Great Waste, and as such has been added to the map.
Kladanovich trail — this detail from Red Steel does not clash with the Great Waste, and as such has been added to the map.
Konumtali Savannah beach — this detail from Red Steel does not clash with the Great Waste, and as such has been added to the map.
Mazrooth’s Citadel — this keep from the novel The Black Vessel has been added to the map. Its exact location is not given in the novel, though it is described to be overlooking the three forest hexes next to the Sierra Borgosa.
Red Steel vs. Princess Ark — as a rule, the Atlas prioritises the original Dragon magazine articles and maps over the later AD&D campaign setting. Place names that were changed in Red Steel thus mostly keep to the original names rather than the revised versions.
Silver — the mines of the Sierra del Plata (“Mountains of Silver”) are confirmed to be silver mines in The Black Vessel. We even get the name for one of the mines, the Rio Mercurio. However, there are said to be lots of silver mines in this area, so this detail is not suitable for adding to the map at this scale.
Traladaran & Oltec Ruins — pages 12 and 16 of Book II explain the position and nature of these ruins. (Player Handout #1 includes a map, but it’s too rough to be of any use; the territory does not correspond to the other source maps.)