Hither Rumelia, around Sofia

Into the heart of Hither Rumelia:

Several people have remarked on the stark break between civilised and uncivilised places ... and there may be some imagination that this is a phenomenon I've incorporated for my 17th century setting.  True enough, my populations are a fifth of the modern equivalents, or less.  But have a look at the above on Google Earth, with a little wider frame:

It can be seen clearly that even in the modern day that there's a sharp line between "civilised" and "wilderness."  Imagine what this must have looked like before the tractor could plow this much field, before the dam that makes the large reservoir bottom centre, before the spreading suburbs of Sofia, when the population density was much higher because there were no roads or even horse carriages for most people.  The old saw is that most peasants never went more than 7 miles from home; imagine these places, where 7 miles puts us behind a mountain 7,000 feet high.

In running as a DM, do make the most of that transition.  Say directly to the players, "As you watch the last house disappear behind the screen of trees, you realise that there isn't another living soul in the woods ahead of you.  From here out, you're on your own."  Stress it.  Make them really think about the lack of support networks and last minute cavalry arrivers.  Make that distinction real ... and with the distinction, that you as DM aren't here to save them, but to run the wilderness AS IS.  "Sorry, guys.  I'm going to have to run this savage land for what it is.  A place no safe person would go."