15 March 2021

Geoff’s Davania, 72 miles per hex

When Geoff completed the last part of his Davania masterwork in 1998, the technology wasn’t really up to the task for working with massive maps. As a result, combining all of the pieces into a single whole wasn’t really an option.

Ethan Deneault sidestepped this issue and created a combined map by reducing the resolution back in 1998. At the time this was the most practical solution. In subsequent years, Thibault Sarlat recreated Geoff’s map in his own signature style, and even created a 24 mile per hex version, and Geoff’s vision remained the original source for Davania.

I created my own full-size combined replica in 2009, with three different versions: two with old style hex art (Atlas standard palette and Geoff’s original palette), and a third with Atlas standard hex art and palette. I have since retired the first of these, but the other two appear below.

Francesco Defferrari would continue the evolution of Geoff’s Davania in his own maps five years later.

Standardised Replica Fan-made Map (March 2021)

Replica Fan-made Map with Original Palette (March 2021)

Combined replica of Geoff Gander’s Davania, 72 miles per hex, March 2021

Geoff’s Fan-made Maps combined by Ethan Deneault (1998)

This is an original map created by one of Mystara’s excellent fan cartographers. For more information on the cartographer, including a gallery of all their maps, see also Appendix M: Mappers of Mystara.

Sources

Dawn of the Emperors (1989) (PDF at DriveThruRPG)
- Empires of Alphatia and Thyatis, 72 miles per hex
Dragon Magazine Issue #155 (1990)
- Cestia and Oceania
Dragon Magazine Issue #158 (1990)
- The Voyage of the Princess Ark, Part 6
Hollow World Campaign Set (1990) (PDF at DriveThruRPG)
- Outer World Planetary Map
Champions of Mystara (1993) (PDF at DriveThruRPG)
- Serpent Peninsula, 24 miles per hex
Poor Wizard’s Almanac II (1993) (PDF at DriveThruRPG)
- Sea of Dread, 72 miles per hex

Secondary Sources

Description of Cities in the Adakkian Sound region from the MML posted 18 June 1998 (Vaults of Pandius)
The Isle of Cestia, current as of 18 May 1999 (Vaults of Pandius)
Locations from the Aryptian Region map from the MMB posted 28 December 2006 (Vaults of Pandius)
Locations from the Aryptian Savannah-Jungle Coast Region map from the MMB posted 28 December 2006 (Vaults of Pandius)
Locations from the Bay of Pelatan Region map from the MMB posted 28 December 2006 (Vaults of Pandius)
Locations from the Izondian Deep Region map from the MMB posted 28 December 2006 (Vaults of Pandius)
Locations from the Lost Valley Region map from the MMB posted 28 December 2006 (Vaults of Pandius)
Locations from the Vulcanian Peninsula Region map from the MMB posted 28 December 2006 (Vaults of Pandius)

References

Geoff’s entry in Appendix M: Mappers of Mystara
Geoff’s author page at the Vaults of Pandius

Map Types

The Atlas of Mystara includes a few fundamentally different types of maps. The colour of the castle wall border on each map shows which category it belongs to.

Replica maps (white castle border) are exact replicas of primary source maps. They present the world of Mystara as the original source materials depict it, warts and all. No attempt has been made to fix errors of any kind — even typos. As far as possible, replica maps use the same art as the original maps, though in many cases they are colourised. These maps are the main source material of the Atlas of Mystara, forming the base of all of the updated maps.
Updated maps (green castle border) present the Atlas of Mystara’s consistent view of the world, with all errors, alignment issues, and so on fixed. They use standardised hex art and fonts. Anything not marked as a replica map is an updated map.
Chronological maps (yellow castle border) provide snapshots of Mystara at the end of a certain year in its publication history. In effect, they are updated maps created from a limited list of sources. The years in question appear in the title of each map.
Fan-made maps are unofficial maps created by other fan cartographers. As such, they do not follow the Atlas’s castle border colour scheme. The Atlas presents these maps in their original form, with the permission of the cartographers. The Atlas considers these maps secondary sources, and updated maps of areas not covered by official maps make extensive use of them. In a few cases, the Atlas also presents Replica fan-made maps (red castle border).

Chronological Analysis

This is a fan-made map. It was first published in 1998. The updated Atlas version of this map is not yet available. See also Appendix C for annual chronological snapshots of the area. For the full context of this map in Mystara’s publication history, see the upcoming Let’s Map Mystara 1998. (Please note that it may be some time before the project reaches this point.)

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.

Coming Soon