1 January 2021

Expert Set Threshold

This iconic map was Mystara’s first ever town map, appearing in 1983’s update of the Expert Set. The town of Threshold debuted in this book alongside this map.

The scale of this map, at 500 feet per hex, is ludicrously huge, but this is a small thing that likely went unnoticed by the vast majority of readers. GAZ1’s redo of the map four years later fixed the scale issue while keeping the rest of the map intact.

Replica Map (September 2020)

Sources

Expert Rulebook (1983) (PDF at DriveThruRPG)
- Page 31 map, “The Threshold” (Cartographer unknown)

Chronological Analysis

This is a town map. It was published in August 1983. The updated version of this map has not yet been released. See also Appendix C for annual chronological snapshots of the area. For the full context of this map in Mystara’s publication history, see Let’s Map Mystara 1983.SaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSave

The following lists are from the Let’s Map Mystara project. Additions are new features, introduced in this map; Revisions are changes to previously-introduced features; Hex Art & Fonts track design elements; and finally Textual Additions are potential features found in the related text. In most cases, the Atlas adopts these textual additions into updated and chronological maps.

Additions

Buildings — The Old Mill and the Town Hall.
Features — In terms of named features, Tarnskeep is about the only one with a non-generic name to speak of. The terrain and layout of the town itself is of course all new.

Textual Additions (Expert Rulebook 1983)

Trails — “A rarely followed trail leads east from town, winding into the hills (leading to the gnomish mines). No trails lead north or west.” (Page 39) It’s unclear precisely where this trail may lie, as clearly it must cross the river before heading east. There seem to be two possibilities: either it must begin from the north, after crossing the dams and bridges next to the lake; or it goes south and crosses the river somewhere south of town, either by bridge or by some sort of ferry crossing.