Geography (Maztica Supplement)

Geographical Map

Northern Maztica

• Anchôromé: the Sands of Itzcala and Borderlands Range cause travel north of Northern Maztica to be nearly impossible, though it is known that a land lies beyond them. It is said that Nexal grew in power from travelers from beyond Itzcala, and even beyond Maztica, rumors persist of a land of dragons, ancestral birdmen, isolationist elves, and nomadic thri-kreen.

Southern Maztica

Southern Maztica is the heartland of the Kolan Empire...

• The House of Tezca is one of the two great deserts of Maztica. Named after Tezca, the Maztican god of fire and the sun, the desert's surface temperature can easily reach over half way to boiling in the summer sun, with some regions being wholly unable to support life long-term, and drop below freezing on most winter nights. Rain is almost unheard of due to the numerous mountains that border it. What little wildlife the House has is mostly lizards, rhaumbusun, and harpies.
• The Pillar of Tezca is a great mountain along Maztica's western coast. It is a major haven for chacna and plumazotl, and its peak has been used historically as a major scouting site.
• The Fertile Desert is a swathe of water and vegetation cut through the House of Tezca by Qotal upon his return to lead civilians out of Old Nexal. Compared to the rest of the House of Tezca, it is awash with lakes, plant life, and tapirs, and is a common landing place for harpies.
• The Tezca River flows from the falls of the Pillar of Tezca to the Bay of Kolan, creating a wide, verdant plain, which is home to large populations of peacocks and jackals.
• The Chical Hills are the shortest of the House of Tezca's mesas. It is most notable for the Sunstone, a circular lake of silver that sits on their eastern banks, roughly 200-yards in diameter. It is said that anyone who sits at its shores at noon will receive a vision, as per the divination spell. If they are pure in their intentions these visions are truthful, but if their intentions are impure, clouded by greed or hate, the visions are misleading, sometimes even leading the seeker to their death. Touching the silver in any way, even with an object, causes a creature to be teleported to a random location in the House of Tezca.
• The Bay of Kolan is the heart of the Kolan Empire, with its four core cities either sitting on the bay itself or the rivers that flow into it. It empties into Patzcoatl, the Western Ocean, via a cliff-walled strait, making it incredibly defensible to naval invasions, and incredibly useful for naval staging. It is said that nothing moves in the Bay of Kolan without the empire willing it.
• The Chimatepec Mountains consist of two strings of mesas, sometimes four when including the Pillar of Tezca and Mount Mixhuacan though this inclusion is contentious for multiple reasons including that they are not mesas, that split the land around the Bay of Kolan into three lowland prairies. Harpies in these areas are said to be particularly bold.
• The Nachtal Mountains create a circular valley that is only accessible easily from the north, and with some difficulty from the west and south. Within it is the ruins of Tewahca, an ancient city erected around the Pyramid of the Gods, Maztica's throne atop which it is said that Zaltec and Qotal had their legendary battle. It is said that no human ever inhabited Tewahca, though what this means for the numerous homes and tombs the city holds is a mystery.
• Coxamult Island, formerly the Coxamult Peninsula, is a large island in the Sea of Azul, off Southern Maztica's eastern coast. It has a surprisingly large hakuna population.
• The Gualata Mountains are a stretch of mesa plateaus along the Sea of Azul that, alongside the Tlaxacan Forest and the northern swathe of the House of Tezca, makes landing actions along the Sea of Azul nearly fruitless.
• Mount Mixhuacan is a metal rich mountain along southern Maztica's western coast, and is the most extensively mined mountain in Maztica.
• Mount Xochipas, in contrast to its northern twin Mixhuacan, is almost devoid of useful materials save for large clay deposites, and has only seen limited desert dwarf explorations.
• The Gulf of Qotal sits to the south east of mainland Maztica. It is said that on the Night of Wailing, after guiding his people through the Fertile Desert and looking upon Tewahca for the first time in centuries, he took his rest in the gulf.
• The Tlaxacan Forest is southern Maztica's only major woodland. Since Qotal rested in the gulf to the forest's east, it has become dense with coatl.
• The Brown Sisters are a chain of islands that were once part of the mainland. To this day, one can still walk from island to island through shin-high water at low tide. Due to this, inhabitants of the surrounding area sometimes refer to them collectively as the Island of Lost Children.

Far Payit Peninsula

The Far Payit Peninsula, located to the south of Eastern Maztica's east coast, in primarily jungle, though mountains and marshlands also take up large swathes of land. As Maztica's largest jungle, it is home to the greatest number of monkeys, treants, harpies, and coatls.

• The Narabatun Jungle covers most of Far Payit. While it is thick with foliage and wildlife, paths snake their way through the jungle, though they can be nearly invisible unless one is actively walking it. In addition to the nation of Far Payit, tribes of tabaxi and payit halflings, many of which are lead by jaguar lords, have made the Narabatun their home.
• The Uzat Lagoon is a wide area of shallows that sees many spear-fishers and is considered rather pleasant, though it could easily become the home of a cipactli. Many bungalows along its coast are inhabited by werejaguars, and are considered forbidden. Kelpies are also most common here.
• The Ocolan Range is a stretch of small, rocky hills leading south to Mount Ocolan, Maztica's lowest mountain.
• The Pelankal Mountains can be seen from nearly any treetop or hilltop in Far Payit. The valley between its two main peaks, Mount Ixtli and Mount Ushtak, is said to be the site of Maztica's first wound in her battle against Zaltec.
• The Ixtzul Valley is a five-mile long valley along the southeastern side of the Pelankal Mountains, having been cut into the mountainside by the Tecala River. Within this valley is the lost city of Ixtzul, now overrun with bacar.
• The Ocostun Jungle covers the southern tip of Far Payit, and is cut off from the Narabatun by the southern coast, the Pantica and Tecala Rivers, and the thick marshes teeming with kamatlan and giant crocodiles that they feed.

Lopango Peninsula

The Lopango Peninsula is the southern-most landmass of Maztica. Its name roughly translates to "Land of Fire", hearkening to its long history of volcanic activity.

• The Chaputlelel Jungle is the only land connection from Lopango to the rest of Maztica. Its treants are considered particularly greedy.
• The Rupachi Jungle runs along the coastline of Lopango. As a result of regular forest fires, it is the youngest jungle in Maztica. Any old growth should be approached with caution; they are likely to be inhabited by a tabaxi clan, possibly even one lead by a jaguar lord.
• The Azufre River flows from the lake at the peak of Mount Cuzcalac, and deposits into Chaputlelel Bay and the mouth of Pichu Umu.
• The Timpuchi River flows from the side of a rocky cliff in the northern side of the Apu Roca range, and is notably hotter than the rest of Maztica's rivers.
• Apu Roca, the "Lord's Rock", is a great volcanic mountain range that dominates the northern half of central Lopango. Some scholars trace its name back to legends of "Kayra Apu", ancient frog-like humanoids, potentially Slaadi, said to have warred against the ancient Mazticans and their gods.
• Pichu Umu, the "Mountain Head", is a great stone carving of a face in the side of one of Apu Roca's mountains. The face is split in half lengthwise, with one half being said to be Azul's and the other Tezca's, though some scholars posit this may be Kukul and Maztica, whom the twins are said to resemble. It is unknown who carved the monument, or for what purpose. On heavy rain falls and earthquakes, steam is said to billows from Pichu Umu's eyes.
• Mount Cuzcalac is the highest, and likely youngest, mountain in Apu Roca. At its peak is a great lake created and ruled by the largest of Azul's tlalocoatl cults.
• The Tlincalli Desert dominates the southern half of central Lopango. While it is home to the largest unsullied region of the Maztican Underdark, it has long been claimed by the tlincalli.
• Katashaka: the violent Straits of Taba off the Lopango Cape make sailing further south nearly impossible, though it is known that the so-called "Dark Continent" lies beyond them. Even beyond Maztica, rumors persist of a land of titans and the birthplace of humanity.

Other Locations

• The Underdark of Maztica is nearly uninhabitable, having been flooded with toxic, burning fumes in the late 10th century DR due to drow newcomers experimenting with the Darkfyre of Mount Zatal. Unsullied pockets are few and far between, and highly coveted as the only sources of the continent's very limited sources of high-quality metal ore.
• Patzcoatl, sometimes called the Western Ocean, is the great sea to the west of Maztica. The ocean provides a bounty of fish, mussels, shells, and whales to those brave enough to fish it. Far off the Maztican cost, nearest to the coast of Mount Xochipas in Southern Maztica, lies the Sea of Corynactis, a deep-sea realm long conquered by As'Dagon.
• Taylola, sometimes called the Trackless Sea, is an ocean to the east of Maztica. While its provides many more reef sharks and seawolves than whales, it is also home to selkies and kelpies, especially in its northern regions. Much more predominant in the northern region are the sahuagin of Itzcatil.

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