Notes on Rivers of the Empire

The Purpose of this Post

The published materials for both 1st and second edition include river maps and general notes, but not detailed guides to what parts of the river are navigable to different types of craft, when they're navigable or particular hazards of the rivers.  I've included these below, along with some general notes about the course of each river.

The Reik River System

The Reik/Talabec system drains around 400,000 square miles of the Empire, Kislev and the surrounding mountains (more than the Danube) and has an outflow of 8,000 cubic meters/second (about that of the Volga).

The chief rivers of the system are the Reik and Talabec, which meet at Altdorf.

General note: most of the course of Rivers are navigable by small boats (bateau) going one way only for most of their course in the Empire.  The ‘notes on navigation’ describe two-way traffic in the winter and summer months.

See below for notes on each river.

The Reik

• Course
• Rises in the Black Mountains
• This part of the river, until Wuppertal, is swift and occupies a narrow but shallow valley.
• Joined by the Soll in at Pfeildorf
• The river past here and Nuln has low banks and begins to slow.
• Joined by the Aver at Nuln
• After Nuln, the river is slow until it reaches the sea.
• South and North of Kemperbad, the Riek travels through a great gorge, where one or both banks is often quite high.
• The last bridge over the entire Reik is at Nuln.
• Joined by the Stir at Kemperpad
• Joined by the Talabec at Altdorf
• North of Altdorf, the Reik slows even more and has a wide flood plain on one or both sides.
• Joined by the Bogen at Carroburg.
• Here it is divided by an island formed by the silt of the Bogen (there is a toll castle on this island), the shipping channel is to the eastward, Carroburg side of this island.
• Reaches the sea at Marienburg
• Here it forms a delta with the Maar river (from the Pale Sisters) and the Kristall (from the Mirror Moors)
• Notes on Navigation
• The lower Reik ranges from over 1 mile wide (upstream of Atldorf) to ½ mile wide downstream of Carroburg.  
• The Middle Reik ranges from 500 to 800 yards wide.
• In general, the Reik is a slow river that is navigable at all times of year except the spring and times of protracted heavy rains.
• Winds tend to blow upstream on much of the Reik in the summer months, particularly in the gorge around Kemperbad.
• Navigable by medium-sized ocean-going ships until Carroburg
• Navigable by small ocean-going ships until Altdorf
• Navigable by large river boats to Nuln
• Navigable by medium-sized river boats Pfeildorf
• Navigable by small-sized river boats to Loningbruck
• After Pfeildorf, the current is quite strong and two-way travel is only possible in high summer and the dead of winter.
• Tributaries
• River Soll
• Course
• Rises in the Vaults
• It’s upper course is in a narrow valley, while its lower course is on a broad plain.
• Joined by the Aulen at Kel
• Notes on Navigation
• The Soll is fairly slow until Augen.
• Navigable by small-sized river boats to Augen
• The ‘River of Echoes’ (and old Dwarven canal under the Vaults) flows into the Upper Soll at Kreutzhofen.
• River Aver
• Course
• Rises in the World’s Edge Mountains
• Joined by the Blue Reach at Hornsby’s Ferry
• Notes on Navigation
• The Aver is a swift river, and two-way traffic is difficult except in the dead of winter and in high summer.
• Navigable by medium-sized river boats to Averheim
• Navigable by small river boats to Eichschatten.
• River Stir
• Course
• Rises in the World’s Edge Mountains beyond Sylvania
• Branches meet around Waldenhof
• Generally has low banks and swaps around it for much of it’s length, until the great falls just upstream of Kemperbad.
• Notes on Navigation.
• The river is slow for much of it’s length, making two-way traffic easy up to Essen and down to just a bit above the falls.
• Navigable by large river boats up to Wurtbad, with the help of the locks around the falls.
• Navigable by medium and small boats up to Essen.
• Throughout it’s length it is full of sand banks and bars, making navigation slow and groundings common.
• River Teufel
• Course
• Rises in the Grey Mountains
• Branches converge at Auerswald.
• Reaches the Reik at Castle Reiksguard.
• Notes on Navigation
• The river is swift and hard to navigate upstream for much of the year; it is heavily canalized.
• It is navigable (thanks to locks etc) by medium and small river boats to Rottfurt.
• Canals can take medium and small boats up to Auerswald and thence to Ubersreik.
• A canal is under construction between Ubersreik and Bogenhafen.
• River Talabec
• Course
• Rises in the World’s Edge Mountains, around Red Eye Mountain
• Meets the Brunwasser at Bechafen.
• Meets the Urskoy at Slavyanskaya
• Meets the Wulfen just upstream of Talabheim
• Meets the Drakwasser at Ahlenhof
• Meets the Delb near Werder
• Notes on Navigation
• The lower and Middle Talabec is around ½ mile wide for much of its length.
• The River is very slow and is navigable both ways in all but the spring flood.
• Favorable prevailing winds make sailing up river easy for much of the year.
• The upper parts freeze during the winter.
• Navigable by large river boats to Wurzen.
• Navigable by medium sized river boats to Bechafen
• Navigable by small river boats to Fortenhaf.
• Never bridged.
• Tributaries
• River Brunwasser
• Course
• Rises in the World’s edge mountains
• Tributary branches converge at Ebbing.
• Notes on Navigation
• Shallow and swift
• Navigable by small boats to Elbing.
• River Urskoy
• Course
• Rises in the World’s Edge Mountains.
• Slow until the falls just above Kislev.
• Notes on Navigation
• Navigable by small and medium sized boats to Kislev
• Frozen/otherwise impassable for 6 months out of the year.
• River Wulfen
• Course
• Rises in the Middle Mountains at Lake Wulfen
• Major tributaries converge at Woflenburg
• Navigation Notes
• Very swift, difficult to go upstream of Hergig in all but high summer
• Frozen in the winter.
• Navigable by medium sized boats to Hergig
• Navigable by small boats to Wolfenburg.
• Some locks have been destroyed, preventing going upriver all the way to Wolfenburg.
• River Drakwasser
• Course
• Rises in the Middle Mountains north of Bergsburg.
• Navigation Notes
• Swift, not navigable for most of its course, except by small boats one way.
• Navigable by small boats to Fort Denkh.
• Small craft can depart from Bergsburg, but only going downstream.
• River Delb
• Course
• Flows from the Schaddensumpf
• Joined by the Taub at Eldagsen
• Noted for the swamps on its floodplain, which are still extensive despite centuries of draining.
• Navigation Notes
• Very slow and shallow, with many mudflats and marshy regions.
• Navigable by small and medium sized boats to Delberz.
• River Bogen
• Course
• Rises in the Grey Mountains
• Two sets of falls -- one above Bogenhafen, the other below Weissbruck, between these is a long ‘pool.’
• The area around the River’s mouth is swampy and unsuited to boat traffic, except for fishing skiffs.
• Navigation Notes
• Navigable by all sizes of river boats between Bogenhafen and Weisbruck