Monday, September 13, 2010

Space: 1889 RPG map of Swamps of Gorklimsk

       Click map to enlarge
The Swamp of Gorklimsk is an unusual area of Mars created by a fairly recent (in a geological sense) major upheaval which has completely destroyed the banks and foundations of much of the Crocea-Gorklimsk canal, as well as several stretches of the Fadath-Gorklimsk canal. The result is a large, shallow swamp with multiply changing flow channels and small lagoons. Although some aerial mapping has been done, it is of little long-term value, as most of the channels are narrow enough to be obscured from the air by leafy overhanging branches. In addition, the actual navigable channels silt up on a regular basis, and the water flow cuts new channels through former islands and land banks. It is, in short, a genuine maze, which can take weeks, or even months, to navigate (except along the most frequently traveled passages).

Canal boats do travel between Gorklimsk and its two neighbors to the west, but do so at the risk of pirate attacks. Numerous small pirate skiffs often lie in wait in side channels and fall upon unsuspecting merchantmen. All attempts to eradicate them have failed, as the pirates simply disappear back into the labyrinth of the swamp when confronted by genuine force. Bands of pirates almost certainly live on the islands of the swamp somewhere, but no military power has yet succeeded in locating them.

Map and text taken from Conklin's Atlas of the Worlds and Handy Manual of Useful Information, part of the vast Space: 1889 classic role playing game of Victorian era space-faring in which various European powers have colonized the Red Planet.

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