6 September 2025

LoZompatore’s Nithian Expansion v1

Michele’s first map of 2006 began a wonderful cartographic journey through the ancient Nithian Empire, which he would revisit again and again over the years. This is the earliest surviving version, although since it’s marked “Version 3.0”, there may be earlier attempts floating around somewhere. As an aside, I’m always very thankful when cartographers number their maps, as it allows for easier tracking. Note that here at the Atlas, I use my own numbering scheme, so these numbers don’t always line up — especially since, as in this case, some of the numbered variants are lost to us.

To make the map, Michele began with the Elven Migrations map from GAZ5, which showed the extent of the Nithian Empire as of 1000 BC. That map was useful, but Michele took things much further, assembling all the references to Nithia and its colonies that he could find, from a wide range of sources. He detailed his work in the text below the map.

All in all, this was a great work for anyone interested in Ancient Nithia. It and its successors remain influential in the community to this day.

Fan-made Map by Michele Carpita (January 2006)

*Nithian Expansion v1 by Michele Carpita, January 2006*

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

MSOLO2 Maze of the Riddling Minotaur (1983) (PDF at DriveThruRPG)
X8 Drums on Fire Mountain (1984) (PDF at DriveThruRPG)
M5 Talons of Night (1987) (PDF at DriveThruRPG)
GAZ1 The Grand Duchy of Karameikos (1987) (PDF at DriveThruRPG)
GAZ2 The Emirates of Ylaruam (1987) (PDF at DriveThruRPG)
GAZ4 The Kingdom of Ierendi (1987) (PDF at DriveThruRPG)
GAZ5 The Elves of Alfheim (1988) (PDF at DriveThruRPG)
GAZ10 The Orcs of Thar (1989) (PDF at DriveThruRPG)
Dawn of the Emperors (1989) (PDF at DriveThruRPG)
Hollow World Campaign Set (1990) (PDF at DriveThruRPG)
HWR2 Kingdom of Nithia (1991) (PDF at DriveThruRPG)
Red Steel (1994) (PDF at DriveThruRPG)
Savage Baronies (1995) (PDF at DriveThruRPG)
And others…

Fan Sources

LoZompatore’s Brun Base Map

References

All of Michele’s maps at the Atlas of Mystara
Michele’s entry in Appendix M: Mappers of Mystara (upcoming)
Michele’s author page at the Vaults of Pandius

Chronological Analysis

This is a fan-made map. It was published in January 2006. 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 2006.

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. 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.

Under Construction! Please check back again soon for updates.