Known Realms Locations of Classic Adventures

[James Mishler]

This list includes only adventures that I intend to use in my version of the Known Realms; adventures not included either don’t fit my version of the Known Realms, are too tied to their own campaign setting, or simply are not found in my collection!

A Series: Scourge of the Slave Lords
The Slave Lords Series takes place on the Dragonspire Peninsula, north and east of Freeport. The ruins of Highport (A1: Slave Pits of the Undercity) are found on the small jut of land between Freeport and the ruins south of Saltwitch Swamp. The old fort (A2: Secret of the Slavers Stockade) is in the hills to the south, a quarter of the way between ruined Highport and Freeport. Suderham, the hidden city of the slavers (A3: Assault on the Aerie of the Slave Lords and A4: In the Dungeons of the Slave Lords), is located in a volcano in the mountains mid-way between Highport and Freeport. These Slave Lords are the former slavers of Freeport, who still operate with the tacit approval of certain factions in Freeport (well, most of them, really), which can make for interesting political ramifications.

B Series: Basic Adventures
B1: In Search of the Unknown is set in the rolling hills of the eastern Wilds, north of the Saedre River and east of Wildsgate. Roghan and Zelligar purportedly met their ends at the hands of the foul forces of the Mountain King; it was the peoples of the Sylvan Downs who gave them their great treasure, in gratitude for their assistance against an incursion by the savage warriors of the Mountain King. They held a ford across the Saedre, rather than a mountain pass.

B2: The Keep on the Borderlands is set in the Wilds, east of Wildsgate, between Wildsgate and Quasqueton. The Caves of Chaos and the Cave of the Unknown are not controlled by the Mountain King, though he has made overtures to the various tribes, priests, and beings therein.

B3: Palace of the Silver Princess is set in the debatable lands between Thire, the Holdfast, and the Sylvan Downs, amidst a spur of the Ul Dominor range locally known as the Thunder Mountains. Though called a “Princess” by her people, Argenta is merely a Baroness. She is friendly with the folk of Thire, the Holdfast, and the Sylvan Downs, but is not an ally of any of them, and does not have representation at Oakenmeet. Ellis the Strong is a paladin from Morrain; he does not ride a dragon, but instead rides a dragonnel, a special albino breed raised by the paladins of Morrain. Arik is just another manifestation of Zhühn (in my Known Realms, it is actually Yog-Sothoth).

B4: The Lost City is found in the Ghetrian Desert, south of the lands in the Desert of Desolation series (see below), and northeast of Rheksus.

B5: Horror on the Hill takes place in the Wilds, north of Kalia and west of Wildsgate. The River Shrill is the tributary of the Saedre that flows from Loch Gloomen, upon which stands Risinox. Guido is an exile from Kassantia.

BSolo: Ghost of Lion Castle is found on the eastern Mirdar-Luminar Steppes, standing in the debatable triangle region bordering the Scourge, the Wastes of Zamon, and Koranth. Sargon, the wizard who built the castle, was one of the founders of the magocracy that now rules Koranth; he was an immigrant from the far-off Ghetrian lands. It is said that Lion Castle holds many secrets he knew from Lost Abylos. He had a burning hatred for the Scourge, whose ancestors were responsible for the fall of ancient Abylos, and so built his castle to oppose them directly.

C Series: Competition
C1: The Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan is on an island somewhere in the Empyrean Ocean.

C2: The Ghost Tower of Inverness stands in the hilly regions between the Trolltooth Peaks, the Great Swamp, the Stagwood, and the Sylvan Downs, a debatable region claimed by Thire, the Holdfast, the Empire, and the Downs, yet ruled by none. Galap-Dreidel was an antediluvian wizard who, along with his castle, survived the destruction of Lirea and was not friendly with the druid-kings who came after. The party can have been sent on the mission by any of the surrounding lords, who each figure that, should another neighboring state gain hold of the Soul Gem, things would go badly thereafter…

D and G Series: The Drow and the Giants
The Drow series — D1-2: Descent into the Depths of the Earth and D3: The Vault of the Drow — and the Giants series — G1-2-3: Against the Giants — suffer from the same factor: no extensively large mountain range inhabited by evil creatures that is also near at hand to civilized nations. The largest mountain range of applicable size, the Ul Dominor range, is completely controlled by the dwur, far into the wild lands of the north. The only range that can really be used, without extensive modification, is the Dünerain Mountain range, west of Uthur and Luithea. The Giants series takes place amidst the highest crags, which include a volcanic area and a glacial area, and the Drow series takes place below the northern section of these mountains.

I Series: Intermediate Adventures
I1: Dwellers of the Forbidden City takes place in a location hidden in the mountains, relatively far from civilization, but not so far that the bandits can’t be troublesome to passing caravans. I place this module in the Southern Province, in The Sentinels, the mountain range separating the Ghedrian wetlands from the Ghetrian Desert. This is far enough away from civilization to be hidden, yet close enough to be trouble. The city was founded by drakon, who settled in the area during the golden age between the fall of Old Khonsuria and the fall of Lirea.

I2: Tomb of the Lizard King takes place in the Wilds, in the debatable lands between the Warlands and Kalia, west of the Halls of the Mountain King. Sakatha and his kingdom arose during the early days of the Interregnum, ca. 2950 EC. The County of Eor is one of the dozens of petty realms of the Wilds. The map of Eor, which has a scale of 5 miles per hex in the adventure, should be used with a scale of only 2 miles per hex.

I3: Pharaoh, I4: Oasis of the White Palm, and I5: Lost Tomb of Martek take place in the Ghetrian Desert, east of the Sentinels, in the sandy desert area, between the mountains and to the area around where the “T” in “Ghetrian” stands on the map. The River Athis upon a time ran south to the Akhneten, and ceased flowing with the death of Amun-Re. The small human Khonsurian state fell, and the survivors were absorbed by the Ghetrian desert tribes. Needless to say, the state the characters are exiled from stands to the west, not the north (unless they are from an emirate or malikate on the Ghetrian Coast), though the map can otherwise remain the same… the characters, if approaching from the Southern Province, simply pass to the north of the Martek and Oasis regions before first encountering the ghostly Pharaoh.

I6: Ravenloft is set in the Wilds, just north of the Halls of the Mountain King, in the hills west of Azaegal’s Hold. Strahd, from a mixed Lehertian-Arvalezesc family from the Theocracy, settled in the region during the Interregnum, hundreds of years ago. The people of Barovia are thus a mix of descendants of his followers (mostly Lehertian (Slavic) and Arvalezesc (Romanian)), plus local Valheimer stock (German). When he first consolidated his power in the region, the Mountain King sent a small army to conquer Barovia. Not a single warrior returned. He sent a second, then a third army, ever larger groups of foul mercenaries, exiled dwur, euroz, even eiger and jialt… and never a single one returned! He hasn’t bothered with the area since. In fact, the vampire is part of the reason he hasn’t expanded further westward, as he’s not sure how Strahd would react, and frankly, is afraid of him!

I9: Day of Al’Akbar is set in the southeastern Ghetrian Desert, in the sandy erg between the Mountains of the Fifth Prince and the Ctabakul River; it’s that bright oval spot north of the deep curve in the river. The scale of the map is doubled, to 2 miles per hex. The Taal and Khaud rivers are tributaries of the Ctabakul.

I10: Ravenloft II: The House on Gryphon Hill is placed in Crieste, on the western shore between the Blackbriar Wood and Vernault (not too far from where Cage of Delirium is set, actually). Mordentshire is the capital of the small domain of Mordent, ruled by Lord Weathermay. If Strahd has not been destroyed, the Creature and the Alchemist are not Strahd; they are instead a different vampire.

L Series: Lendore Isles
L1: Secret of Bone Hill and L2: The Assassin’s Knot both take place on Lendore Isle, one of the Spindrift Isles of Greyhawk. Minus the other isles, the isle of Porthmeor works nicely for Lendore, with Restenford being on the southern shore of the isle. I haven’t yet, unfortunately, acquired L3: Deep Dwarven Delve.

N Series: Novice Adventures
N1: Against the Cult of the Reptile God is set between Blueblade Lake and the Wailingwood, in an area of land claimed and sometimes patrolled by the Theocracy. Orlane is a village a mere generation old, with a temple to Denithae (Proserpine in my Known Realms). The Moaning Marsh (“Rushmoors”) and the dungeon of the naga are 90 miles to the north, centered the section of green just north of the Wailingwood.

S Series: Special (as in Specially Deadly!) Adventures
S1: Tomb of Horrors is found in the Saltwitch Swamp.

S2: White Plume Mountain is placed on the eastern edge of the Great Swamp, a lone volcanic hill jutting into the swamp from the hills trailing south from the Ul Dominor range. The weapons Wave, Whelm, and Blackrazor were stolen from the vaults of High Cross, where they were kept to be used in defense of the Empire.

S3: Expedition to the Barrier Peaks takes place in the southern Trolltooth Peaks; the creatures from the crashed spaceship can thus have been menacing the Holdfast, Thire, or even the Cinai.

S4: The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth is set in the Dragonspire Mountains. A century ago, Iggwilv terrorized and dominated the Freeholds. The Lost Caverns and the power she found within are part and parcel of the strange, ancient magical power found in the cities and ruins of the Dragonspires.


T Series: The Temple of Elemental Evil
T1-4: The Temple of Elemental Evil is set in the Wilds. The Velverdyva is the branch of the Morro River that empties from the Nyr Dyv (the Lake of Bottomless Depths, west of Zan Tarkhaal). Verbobonc, a large town at the confluence of the Velverdyva and Morro, is the center of a Vizegrafschaft that claims the lands south of the Velverdyva, between Freistadt Dyvers on the Nyr Dyv and the lands claimed by the Fürst of Kithmon, a sometimes-ally of the Vizegraf. The Gnarlywald is a broad, deep stand of woods south of the Nyr Dyv. The forested hills west thereof are claimed by the Vizegraf, his furthest holding being the hamlet of Hommlet, held for him by Rufus and Burne. They have been unable to rout out the bandits at the hamlet of Nulb in the Gnarly. Nearby stands the ruins of the Temple of Elemental Evil, where once was based the Horde of Elemental Evil. The Horde caused no end of troubles in the region until it was destroyed seven years ago at the Battle of Emridy Meadows by the combined forces of Verbobonc, Kithmon, the Steel Overlord, Morrain, and the olve of the Anseur Forest. Unfortunately, the unity of the forces barely survived the destruction of the Horde after the fortnight-long siege. It is said the surviving leaders of the Horde were behind the kidnapping of the Prince of Morrain, who was engaged to Jodelle, the hulve (half-elf) daughter of the Grand Magister of Anseur.

U Series: Underwater Adventures
U1: Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh, U2: Danger at Dunwater, and U3: The Final Enemy all take place on the eastern coast of Crieste; the Hool Marshes being placed along the coast just east of the Black Ore Hills, just west of the “jumping-off” point for DCC #33: Belly of the Great Beast.

WG: World of Greyhawk
WG4: The Forgotten Temple of Tharizdun fits in perfectly in the Dragonspire Mountains, along with S4. In the Known Realms, of course, the temple is dedicated to Zhühn (in my Known Realms, Hastur!)

X Series: Expert Adventures
X1: The Isle of Dread lies far to the south and west of Punjar, somewhere between the Surya Sea and the Southern Oceans, south of Tharnaka.

X2: Castle Amber is in northeastern Kalia, near the Sylvan Downs and the Wilds, south of Wildsgate. Once a domain of the kingdom, the settlements nearby have fallen into ruin, and the lands around to waste, avoided by all. It is called the Terre des Brumes Ambres (“Land of Amber Mists”), or simply Lost Averoigne, and the exact legends are remembered by few locals. From time to time, when the mists are thick, strange creatures — dragons, undead, demons, or worse — walk out of the mists and terrorize the lands around. As in the Mystara version the d’Ambrevilles are not from the Known Realms originally, but fled here when persecuted, and settled in a region that was much like their homeland (in my campaign, Francia of the world of Aerth). The d’Ambrevilles disappeared from Kalia two centuries ago, during the Interregnum; it was assumed by most that the d’Ambreville family, and their entire castle, was wiped out overnight by an enemy wizard, for Stephen Amber was, at the time, the Grand Magister of Kalia.

X9: The Savage Coast (not the later setting, but the setting as depicted in the original module) is found to the west of the Criestine Colonies in the Southlands. The section of the map including the New Hope River connects right up with the southwestern most point of the northern, unnamed island of the Southlands, and the Savage Coast continues on to the west from there. The colonial settlers are Criestine (and other) adventurers who find even the loose society of the colonies to be too strict. Every explorer keeps going just a bit further west, seeking the route to the Shadowed West and the riches from being the first to discover it.

I have a map that lists all the locations, using the fine image that Joe provided us to mark the location of each module. Let me know if you want a copy of the map; when I put it on Photobucket, the labels practically disappear.

James

[Warduke]

Warduke sez ......... Bow down before the mighty Mishler! This is the coolest thing EVAR. (proceeds to kowtow in the direction of AGP)

can you have copies of the maps uploaded to the Prester map page? (especially the old school alignment map! rock on, Mishler!)

[goodmangames]

Sweet! Great idea to locate these on the world map.

[DM_Dave]

Wow! This is great, and well thought out!

Thanks,

Dave