Karameikos - Vaults of Pandius

The Demography of Karameikosupper ranks of those mercenaries, who hadearlier helped the Taymorans in their warsagainst the giants, had mixed fully with thedecadent Taymor society, adopting theworship of Nyx and committing heinouscrimes during the Taymoran age. When theTaymoran civilization collapsed, this elvenruling class was overthrown. The Lindenelmancestors, while not involved in the worstexcesses of their kin, were still ostracized bythe Vyalia, and forced to flee the easternforests. They settled in the Achelos Woods,but their population never grew to asignificant extent - the clan nowadays hasabout 100 members.Lastly, there is a small number of elvenimmigrants (1% of the total elven population)who came to Karameikos to trade or travel;these foreigners are mostly Minrothad waterelves who live in the Grand Duchy’s coastalcities and towns, but some Darokinian,Alfheimer, Glantrian, Ierendian, and Thyatianelves may also be encountered.Goblins (pop. 16,350)Common goblins (Goblinus goblinus) are anumerous race in Karameikos. Theirpresence in the region can be traced back tothe humanoid invasions that befell Traladaraafter the Battle of Sardal Pass (BC 492). Thegoblins dominate most of the central DymrakForest west of the Rugalov River, where morethan eight thousand of them are found.Dymrak goblins are split among the largertribes of Karameikos – like the Dread Horde(which also includes a number ofhobgoblins), the Red Blade, and the Vipers –some of which are in league with localpowers such as the green dragons or theWitches of Dymrak. Many goblins also live inthe Altan Tepes mountains and in theforested hill country east of the HillfollowRiver, their clans often under the control ofhobgoblin or orc tribes – with the notableexception of the Yellow Fang tribe. Anumber of other dangerous goblin tribes arefound in the Wufwolde region between theWindrush and Hillfollow Rivers; foremostamong them is the Nightstalkers tribe,followed by the mountain clans who livenorth of Threshold and Verge, in the BlackPeaks Mountains. Lastly, some smallergoblin clans live in the southern area of theBlack Eagle Barony, where they lend theirservices as mercenaries to the Black EagleBaron.Gnomes (pop. 16,100)All Karameikan gnomes belong to the earthgnome stock. Their presence in this regioncan be traced back to BC 100, with a groupof gnome clans that survived the onslaughtof their kin at thehands of thekobolds under theHardangerMountains. After along exodus theyarrived in thelands between theWindrush and theHighfollow Riversand settled there.Most (around90%) of thegnomepopulation lives inthe Kingdom of Highforge; populationdensity here averages 37 people per squaremile. About 6,500 gnomes call Highforgetown their home; several smaller gnomesettlements (population up to 2,500) dot theregion around the town. The Kingdom ofHighforge – which encompasses the town19THRESHOLD: The Mystara Magazine Issue #1