28 March 2018

Hollow World, 40 miles per hex

The Known World: it isn’t flat, but it is hollow!
Within the sphere of the Known World is another world, the Hollow World. There your characters will meet ancient Nithians, long disappeared from the surface world and thought extinct: Blacklore Elves, living in a magical valley and served by automatons — devices that take care of everything, from serving their food to trimming their grass; Azcans, terrifying, war-mongering natives whose taste for battle extends even into their favorite game — the losers always die — and many more. Monsters abound as well, from dinosaurs to aurochs.
In the Hollow World, the sun never sets. Magic works differently than it does “outside” — some spells don’t work at all. And quite often, getting in is much, much easier than getting out.

from Hollow World Campaign Set, by Aaron Allston

Map (updated 28th March 2018)

*Updated map of the Hollow World, 40 miles per hex*

Note: this is a huge map. The file here is at just 75 DPI; to download the 300 DPI full resolution version, click here. (Or better yet, right click and “download linked file”.)

Sources

Hollow World Campaign Set (1990) (PDF at DriveThruRPG)
- Northern Iciria, 40 miles per hex poster
- Southern Iciria, 40 miles per hex poster
- Continent of Iciria, DM’s Sourcebook pages 24-25
- Hollow World Planetary Map poster
- Hollow World Arctic Cap poster
- Hollow World Antarctic Cap poster
Rules Cyclopedia (1991) (PDF at DriveThruRPG)
- Hollow World World Map, pages 282-283
HWR1 Sons of Azca (1991) (PDF at DriveThruRPG)
- The Azcan Empire, 8 miles per hex poster
HWR2 Kingdom of Nithia (1991) (PDF at DriveThruRPG)
- The Kingdom of Nithia Delta Region, 8 miles per hex poster
- The Kingdom of Nithia Southern Region, 8 miles per hex poster
HWR3 The Milenian Empire (1992) (PDF at DriveThruRPG)
- The Milenian Empire, 8 miles per hex poster
HWA3 Nightstorm (1991) (PDF at DriveThruRPG)
- Northwestern Shahjapur, 8 miles per hex poster
Wrath of the Immortals (1992)
The Poor Wizard’s Almanac (1992)

Secondary Sources

Map of the Hollow World, 60 miles per hex by Francesco Defferrari
Selhomarr, 40 miles per hex by Geoff Gander

Comments

Iciria is the largest continent in the Hollow World, extending continuously from polar lip to polar lip, occupying more than half the length of the equator. It is the most well-known part of the Hollow World, and the vast majority of the main cultures of the Hollow World are based there.

The Hollow World Campaign Set provided coverage of most of the continent of Iciria at the non-standard but not too problematic scale of 40 miles per hex. The combined map of Iciria corresponds nicely — though not exactly — with the Hollow World planetary map. The Atlas uses a best fit placement, adapting areas that don’t line up perfectly by shifting them to fit with the hex maps, then georegisters the result, interpreting the map as a true Robinson projection.

Extensive reference was made to Francesco Defferrari’s excellent Hollow World map, adopting much of his terrain, though in many cases in slightly different positions due to the differing overlay. The same was done with Geoff Gander’s iconic Selhomarr map. Note however that fan-designed locations have not been added at this time.

Finally, the areas covered by 8 mile per hex maps have been tweaked slightly, though in most cases the changes are relatively minor.

Notes

Northern and Southern Iciria — fitting the two original maps together proved problematic, due to differences in the region of the Merry Pirate Seas and the Traldar Kingdoms. The whole region is quite different on each map. The coastline is different, and even the positioning of some towns is different. The merge was made with reference to the relevant map in the Poor Wizard’s Almanac, and the result is somewhat of a compromise between the two maps, although it seems the southern map was always the more accurate of the two.
Rivers — there are problems with two rivers not lining up between the Northern and Southern Iciria Hollow World maps. In both cases, it seems quite clear which version is more correct, and the Atlas has treated them accordingly.