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I bought the players handbook, gm’s book, and ravens purge almost a year ago. Just starting to dig in and run some sample games.

Maybe I’m missing something (and I understand that the world is meant to be highly customizable) t a few questions:

- the maps in the inside cover of the books list large areas (Dankwood, Modena; Harmsmoor, etc) but I can’t find a reference that gives a brief description of the labelled areas.
- likewise, I found a larger color map of the Forbidden Lands online (no idea the source) showing the different regions. Again, is this info contained in the books I have?

I guess I find it odd that the GM’s guide goes into mind-numbing detail on ancient history but doesn’t seem to give much area descriptions. When I try to read adventure site locations , I understand they are left open in terms of exact location, but there seem to be so many references to place names and no where to look them up.

The idea of this game is that you build the setting while you play. For example, where you place 'The Hollow' (one of the three adventure sites in the GM's Guide) is up to you and once you have placed it, you have started to build your unique Ravenland setting, when you place the next adventure setting, you have built some more on your unique setting. This means that the setting at your gaming table is unique and different from mine. Sure, in the GM's guide you have a cultural map that you can use as a guide. This is the reason the various names on the map aren't described, because what they mean, what lives there, will depend on how you have build your Ravenland, where you have placed the various adventure sites.

This is the reason why you have history and a cultural map in the GM's Guide, because the map (and its names) will mean different things for you at your table, than they do for me, because the adventure sites are different on my map.

In the campaign book (Raven's Purge) you have 10+1 (I think) adventure sites that all will build the setting. For example, in that book there is an orc castle. That adventure site will describe that orc faction and of course the site. When you place that on your map you have added that to your setting, that will most likely change the dynamic of your setting. I probably placed it in a different adventure site, something that created an impact on my setting, probably different from yours.

If you don't have Raven's Purge, then you have to come up with these things yourself (there are some random tables that can help you with it).

- likewise, I found a larger color map of the Forbidden Lands online (no idea the source) showing the different regions. Again, is this info contained in the books I have?

Do you mean this? https://www.reddit.com/r/ForbiddenLands ... very_cool/
Then if so, each of those regions have a short legend about them in the Bloodmarch book.
It can be useful for a GM to know what lands are near, to add to their story telling, but your players are really not supposed to go there until you have have bought the campaign book for that respective region. Not that all regions are likely to get one (well, I hope they do). And if you are a really innovative GM you could probably write campaigns for those regions yourself. Alderland is to some degree completed (like I think all adventure sites are written, but it lacks editing, rules, etc). There was talks about the Sparse too, but if there has been any news about it, I have missed that.

- the maps in the inside cover of the books list large areas (Dankwood, Modena; Harmsmoor, etc) but I can’t find a reference that gives a brief description of the labelled areas.

No, see Fenhorns answer... but there is an exception. All the expansions have a description for their different areas. So the Bitter Reach, the Bloodmarch and the expansion for the Alderlands will also have that (if I understood Eriks comments on discord correctly).

I guess I find it odd that the GM’s guide goes into mind-numbing detail on ancient history but doesn’t seem to give much area descriptions. When I try to read adventure site locations , I understand they are left open in terms of exact location, but there seem to be so many references to place names and no where to look them up.

There are place names mostly so everyone has a common understanding of e.g. what you call that place in the south-west where Zytera and the Rust Brothers are, and so the history can say where a particular battle happened. It's still up to an individual GM to describe what the world is like, and that's left very vague. (It's not even clear which hemisphere Ravenland is in.)