South Moravia to Silesia, around Zlin

 
Way back in 2022, I had this exchange with Nigel Robinson, discussing the name of Zlin and other things. I wrote about it on Tao of D&D. Here I'll try and discuss the content.

(by the way, part of this map I had to do twice, because publisher caved on me, disallowing me to save the first run. So it goes).

This more clearly shows the trade passage from the Danube valley to the Vistula, at the top right corner of the map, demonstrating the relationship between Vienna, just off the south of this map, and access to the Baltic Sea. This is why Vienna so was so anxious to carve Poland up in the 18th century, along with Russia and Prussia. Those passages southeast of the Beskids were incredibly important and valuable to the viability of the Habsburgs at the time.

The "Moravian Gate", shown on the map as the dirt road between Prerov in Olmutz, across Carnovia to Ostrawa, is likewise valuable, despite the fact that it runs through rough country. This reaches Silesia, which even then was high "industrialised" in the waterwheel/windmill sense.

Olmutz is a bishopric in the Holy Roman Empire, though obviously willing to play the games of politics in the region with the support of the Holy See in Rome. That makes it a natural holder of road rights, tolls, estates and fortified interests within the Moravian passage.

Carnovia was a duchy in same. Secondhand, Carnovia is a Silesian duchy and a fief of the Bohemian crown, so not fully independent... in terms of the period, it is tied to the Bohemian "Crown" without actually being physically part of Bohemia the kingdom.

In strange ways, then, these "independent" entities yet served more important powers, at arm's length, where they could be empowered by small armies and the understanding that larger threats would end in help called from outside. Politics in the time are loads of fun.

In 1650, a lot of this country would still be marked by the Thirty Years War, that ended two years before. The countryside is littered with abandoned farms, damaged towns, confiscated estates, military memories, religious pressure and locals who remember Swedish, Imperial, Transylvanian or Hungarian forces moving through the countryside. Zlin at the time is a damaged small town, raided, badly damaged and recovering slowly.

Steadily cutting my way across the Czech republic now; Slovakia is now fully mapped, with the last corner of Nyatria done. The next step is to move into Poland, then swing around from going northeast to going straight east across Poland and Ukraine.

Austria-Nyatria, north of Vienna

Just as last time, I think I'll start by posting the bigger picture, since it gives an impression of how thickly infrastructured this part of the Danube Valley is.

A civilised region this wide becomes its own form of obstacle, as the players must navigate an area 120 miles wide and 180 miles long, where the law exists to identify anything wrong about the party's behaviour, their present failure to observe ordinances the party knows nothing about, or just for the sake of persecuting what are obviously unkempt, unwashed foreigners who are staggering along the Hapsburg's pristine roads.

Here's a closer image of what I've done since the last post.

So very dense. Trust me, I did not particularly enjoy the placement of villages, towns and roads on this map. It almost makes me want to do mountains instead.

I'm still two years behind the part of the above on the left, which I mapped in April 2024. Back then, I was doing sections of six 20-mile hexes at a time, three pairs of two piled atop each other, which typically took me about two days. Now I'm doing eighteen 20-mile hexes at a time, nine pairs in a shape much like that above. Not sure if it's faster. It means less "re-work" along the edges... and in some ways, it does feel like a lot more is finished all at once.

But... coming through central Europe as I am right now, this feels like heavy labour. Two years ago, I was slogging through, feeling close to getting through the corner of Poland, knowing that afterward I'd have Ukraine in front of me, where the population drops and the terrain also: which means less hills, less mountains, less infrastructure... and larger areas done in less time. Only, come the 21st of April, doing Galicia (north of here), I crashed and burned, doing one more section in late May and then nothing until November that year. Between November and December, a period of 33 days, I cut from Galicia all the way to the Kerch peninsula in the Crimea... and then crashed again, until July last year, 2025. Then I worked through July and August... and crashed again, not picking this up until May this year.

So you can see, it's not that the work can't be done quickly. It's that it takes so much out of me, what with the nitpickiness of it, that I'm usually good for about a month. After that, I don't want to touch it again.

After all, the last post, which was four days ago (how long this took), got 14 views. Just that. Not exactly, um, encouraging.

I'm trying to convince myself to stop committing to this process for hours at a time. It would be better if I wore it away in smaller parts over a much greater period, than going hard and then not going at all. Right now, I'll be moving up through Moravia, which is easier than Austria, then into a rough patch with Silesia, then some heaviness in Poland... but after that, cutting across the northern frontier of Ukraine, I know it's going to be easier. I've just got to see the work as scratching not digging. If I can.

Part of it is that I like it. I like how it looks. I like how it comes together in ways I can't predict. It's discovery as much as creation. I don't know how precisely the infrastructure is going to shape together. And I want to keep going to find out. I spent a good part of this morning finishing the roads of the above... and I'll probably get started on the next session before I go to bed tonight... though lawd knows there are better things I could be doing.

Austria-Hungary, South of Vienna

Had some initial problems with this in that I'd mixed up the river courses of the Murz, bottom left of the map, which passes through Bruck an der Mur, and the Leitha, which passes through Neunkirchen and Weiner Neustadt before passing through Bruck an der Leitha. My original effort made the first become the second, an error I'd discovered only after the map was actually finished. Fixed now, though.

The new content includes the sea of mountains between Styria and the Danube valley, which was a trial. The Weinerwald, famous for country journeys in the early 19th century and a source of inspiration for Strauss, is the beautific group of hills to the west of Vienna on the map. They need a label. But the one interesting discovery for me, as I'd never known it was there, is Schober Pass, between the Murz and the Ybbs river, minimally shown at left centre. It's basically 45-mile long slot through the mountains with a rapture-like appearance, between spectacular mountains... but as it does not offer a better commercial route to the Danube than does the Murz-Leitha pass, it's minimally used. Here's a screen shot from the east end, with the mountains enhanced:

On the map, you'll find it west of Bruck an der Mur.

The map shows a region that is heavily commercial, with Vienna being one of the world's most important centres. The Ottoman threat is kept away by the Hungary lands of the West Border, Guns, Burgenland and the unlabeled Nyatria, with Pozsony as it's largest city (modern Bratislava). Yanik Kale on the right hand side is an Ottoman outpost. At present, the party is adventuring just off the right of the map, east of Lovaszpatana, above the large white "B" which is the first letter in Bakony. An update is coming on the campaign either today or tomorrow, when I have the wherewithal.

I'm very glad to be able to put the Alps behind me for a while, even though I only skimmed the east end of them.

Croatia to Austria

Details later. For now, I just want to post this expansive region.