Subject: MYSTARA-L Digest - 21 Apr 2002 to 22 Apr 2002 (#2002-110) From: Automatic digest processor Date: 23/04/2002, 17:00 To: Recipients of MYSTARA-L digests Reply-to: Mystara RPG Discussion There are 14 messages totalling 490 lines in this issue. Topics of the day: 1. Psionics in George's Campaign (3) 2. Air Power 3. Endless Armies (3) 4. Light vs. Dark 5. 2E vs 3E (3) 6. 2E vs. 3E 7. Trade Marks 8. Name clarification ******************************************************************** The Other Worlds Homepage: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/OtherWorlds.asp The Mystara Homepage: http://www.dnd.starflung.com/ To unsubscribe, send email to LISTSERV@ORACLE.WIZARDS.COM with UNSUB MYSTARA-L in the body of the message. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 22 Apr 2002 10:09:58 +0200 From: Giampaolo Agosta Subject: Re: Psionics in George's Campaign David Knott wrote: > > Not necessarily -- the key feature that marks divine spellcasters > is their servitude to a greater power. True: even mystics are tolerated in Glantri, and psionicists are not much different. -- Giampaolo Agosta agathokles@libero.it agosta@elet.polimi.it http://digilander.iol.it/agathokles ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 21 Apr 2002 21:33:01 +0200 From: Francesco Defferrari Subject: Re: Air Power From: "Agathokles" To: Sent: Saturday, April 20, 2002 11:16 PM Subject: Re: [MYSTARA] Air Power > Jordi Castille wrote: > > > > 2.)I didn't even consider Alphatia a nation with slavery, that was never mentioned in the VotPA Journals. > > This is not surprising, since VotPA is written in character, from an > Alphatian's point of view. Actually, DotE makes it quite clear that a > large part of the non-spellcasting population of Alphatia is composed by > slaves. The rest are servants, and only a small fraction is comprised of > freemen and gentry (around 10%, but that may be my own guess). Just the usual thyatians LIE... Alphatia has not slavery. Alphatia is not a barbarian nation like Thyatis. Alphatia didn't used her great power to conquer all Skothar because Alphatia is not an imperialistic barbarian nation like Thyatis. Alphatia always defended herself from thyatian aggression... It's the evil nation of Glantri that enslave its not-spellcasting population, not the Enlightened Empire of Alphatia IMC Alphatia was not destroyed by the evil weapon of glantrians demonologists... Long Live Alphatia ! : - ) : - P (hey just a joke 'cause there are too many thyatians on that list : - ) bye Francesco ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 22 Apr 2002 12:09:36 -0500 From: Giorgio Subject: Re: Endless Armies -----Original Message----- From: Mystara RPG Discussion [mailto:MYSTARA-L@ORACLE.WIZARDS.COM]On Behalf Of Agathokles Sent: Wednesday, April 17, 2002 3:43 PM To: MYSTARA-L@ORACLE.WIZARDS.COM Subject: Re: [MYSTARA] Endless Armies > We (the Thyatis Character Reference, http://www.geocities.com/talerio) > have been discussing KW armies for some time. I've started redoing all > PWA armies at a more homogeneous level (that of the Karameikos gaz, > basically), but we've not yet tackled the details like uniforms and so > on, so we'd certainly be interested in hearing your ideas. At this moment I cant access the website, can you give me a brief summary of what topics you have covered? George ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 22 Apr 2002 12:09:38 -0500 From: Giorgio Subject: Re: Endless Armies -----Original Message----- From: Mystara RPG Discussion [mailto:MYSTARA-L@ORACLE.WIZARDS.COM]On Behalf Of Max Rega Sent: Wednesday, April 17, 2002 1:04 PM To: MYSTARA-L@ORACLE.WIZARDS.COM Subject: [MYSTARA] Endless Armies > I want to summarise in a catalog every army in the > Know World and discuss > about them ( uniforms, awards, tattics, ecc.). > Contributes will be welcome. > Who is working on the next MA of Ierendi? > Let me know. > Eijerzz* What is an "MA" ? George ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 22 Apr 2002 09:27:20 -0700 From: macnerd Subject: Re: Light vs. Dark There are many that believe in good vs. evil, as this is integrated all to well in Western or Christian influenced cultures. In understanding, that cultures and different groups might have different views on what is good and evil, we know that good/evil are not universal. However, I would like to add further that good/evil in itself is a philosophy and is not shared in some cultures. I think to impose a good/evil axis, like in AD&D and D&D3e, is to impose one groups belief and perception, which detracts from the overall experience of role-playing in other societies/cultures and thus in Mystara. I think it though is important to focus on some sort of axis including good vs. evil within a story to make a story simply and enjoyable. With too many conflicts in a story (adventure), it deludes the plot. Recently, I was watching The Prisoner. It has a nice axis of conformity vs. individuality. > -----Original Message----- > From: Mystara RPG Discussion [mailto:MYSTARA-L@ORACLE.WIZARDS.COM]On > Behalf Of Havard Faanes > Sent: Sunday, April 21, 2002 4:08 AM > To: MYSTARA-L@ORACLE.WIZARDS.COM > Subject: Re: [MYSTARA] Light vs. Dark > > > --- macnerd : > > > I don't think the idea was to impose good/evil axis > > on > > Norse stuff to make it Mystara, as I get a feeling > > that > > many support sticking with only chaos/order axis. > > This > > is my idea too. > > I think the Chaos/Order axis fits pretty well when it > comes to the Norse stuff in Mystara, but on the other > hand, Entropy is not really connected to any of the > alignments is it? > I think using too mych emphasis on axis and stuff like > that juts makes most sitations too simplistic. In > Mystara it seems that just about everyone are simply > acting in their own interests. OTOH I use Evil as a > pretty prominent element in my own campaign. Nothing > makes better Heroes than a truly evil enemy. However, > its the people in bewteen in all shades of gray that > makes things interestin. I think Immortals like Odin > or Loki fit better in the gray zones than anywhere > else, if you want them to be at all similar to their > real world counterparts. > > Haavard > > ______________________________________________________ > Sjekk snørapporter... > fra 500 ski-destinasjoner i Europa > på http://no.snow.yahoo.com/ > > ******************************************************************** > The Other Worlds Homepage: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/OtherWorlds.asp > The Mystara Homepage: http://www.dnd.starflung.com/ > To unsubscribe, send email to LISTSERV@ORACLE.WIZARDS.COM > with UNSUB MYSTARA-L in the body of the message. > ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 22 Apr 2002 09:30:08 -0700 From: macnerd Subject: Re: Psionics in George's Campaign That makes a lot of sense. However, what if the pscions gain a particular magic, the wards, detection, anti-magic shells, etc. don't work. The wizards can find themselves defenseless against pscions. It could also be perceived as a threat. Also, isn't demonology permitted, even though the caster could inadvertently be bounded to a greater power... > -----Original Message----- > From: Mystara RPG Discussion [mailto:MYSTARA-L@ORACLE.WIZARDS.COM]On > Behalf Of David Knott > Sent: Sunday, April 21, 2002 3:55 PM > To: MYSTARA-L@ORACLE.WIZARDS.COM > Subject: Re: [MYSTARA] Psionics in George's Campaign > > > From: "Giorgio" > > > > GAZ 3-The Principalities of Glantri > > -Low ; I think psions would be persecuted just like clerics are . > > Not necessarily -- the key feature that marks divine spellcasters > is their servitude to a greater power. Psions would most likely > be regarded as some new sort of sorcerer until the differences > are noticed. Given that Glantrians (according to G:KoM) have > great respect for spellcasting monsters, they would probably > accord similar respect (but no particular rights or privileges) to > psions, sorcerers, and other spellcasters who are neither wizards > nor divine spellcasters. > > ******************************************************************** > The Other Worlds Homepage: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/OtherWorlds.asp > The Mystara Homepage: http://www.dnd.starflung.com/ > To unsubscribe, send email to LISTSERV@ORACLE.WIZARDS.COM > with UNSUB MYSTARA-L in the body of the message. > ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 22 Apr 2002 09:48:22 -0700 From: Beau Yarbrough Subject: 2E vs 3E At 10:07 4/15/2002 -0700, macnerd wrote: >> >For this reason, IMC, there is no language like COMMON, but >> >rather Thyatian, Alphatian, Hulean, Traldaran, etc. >> >> Thyatian = Common. ;) > > Really!?!? What if you are Alphatian or Hulean? I think Alphatians > and Huleans are not going to like you!! :-) Then they've been upset since 2E Mystara, where Thyatian was specifically called Thyatian common. And, really, a Common tongue is a language that's commonly spoken over much of the world. That there are large chunks of the world that don't speak this trade-use language really doesn't impact things. At the risk of stirring the pot needlessly, on Earth in the 22nd century, English is our Common. It may not be the native language of most of the world, but a few words of English can connect people from Outer Mongolia and sub-Saharan Africa in a way no other language can. Does that mean that Chinese, spoken by the largest nation on Earth, isn't a big language? 'course not. But talking Mandarin to a random person in Brussels has a lot lower chance of being understood than English ... or Common. Oh, and Alphatia sucks anyway. :p BEAU http://www.LBY3.com/ ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 22 Apr 2002 09:57:14 -0700 From: Beau Yarbrough Subject: 2E vs. 3E At 16:21 4/16/2002 -0500, Giorgio wrote: > My take on the D&D 2E vs. 3E rules as a GM is one of time and money. > > 1-Time : I don't have the time to learn a new set of rules, convert my > existing game to the new rules set, AND teach 5 players the new rules. > Between work, university, and my hobbies (which include a weekly 3 hour D&D > game), I just don't have the time or inclination to read/teach and start a > 3E game. I already have a good grasp of the 2E rules, have taught it to my > players, and have a whole Mystara campaign designed around this rule set. I > see no need to change rules now. > > 2-Money: I have too much money invested in 2E items to just stop using the > 2E game rules, and I don't have the budget for buying 3E books now. Having > the books lended to me is not an option I like, and starting a new 3E > library is not something I see happening in the near future. > > However, I will keep my option open, so potential I might in the future > start a Dragon Lance or Mystara 3E game if enough material is available > online or in printed form to justify the time, money and effort I would need > to spend to start a 3E campaign. > > In the meantime, I will continue to happily use 2E in my Mystara campaign. > :) Anyone who thinks that this isn't a valid reason needs to come talk to me. :) I hear ya, Giorgio. I was able to make the transition to 3E simply because I'd unloaded most of my 1E stuff and most of the 2E stuff was so awful I'd never bought it to begin with. BEAU http://www.LBY3.com/ ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 22 Apr 2002 13:04:50 -0400 From: SteelAngel Subject: Re: 2E vs 3E On Mon, 22 Apr 2002, Beau Yarbrough wrote: > At the risk of stirring the pot needlessly, > .... > Alphatia sucks anyway. :p Jeez. Here we go again! Ethan - ducks for cover -- Kinard 210 Linux Guru Webmaster www.steelangel.com ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 22 Apr 2002 17:38:28 +0000 From: Agathokles Subject: Re: Endless Armies Giorgio wrote: > > >We (the Thyatis Character Reference, http://www.geocities.com/talerio) > >have been discussing KW armies for some time. I've started redoing all > >PWA armies at a more homogeneous level (that of the Karameikos gaz, > >basically), but we've not yet tackled the details like uniforms and so > >on, so we'd certainly be interested in hearing your ideas. > > At this moment I cant access the website, can you give me a brief summary of > what topics you have covered? About the army, we've not yet put on the web anything significant, but we've been working on two different settings for Thyatis armies. Both are quite complete at this point, but need a lot of formatting work. In general, the TCR includes the works of James Ruhland and Giulio Caroletti on Thyatian history and literature, plus a treatise on Thyatian Religion (major and minor churches, with a major revision of Thyatian religion, with the inclusion of Ixion in an important role), and politics. However, the greatest effort has been directed towards Thyatian characters, with detailed write-ups for several Thyatian NPCs. If you want more info, just ask :) -- Giampaolo Agosta agathokles@libero.it agosta@elet.polimi.it http://digilander.iol.it/agathokles ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 22 Apr 2002 17:46:10 +0000 From: Agathokles Subject: Re: Trade Marks Max Rega wrote: > > If I want to make a site about Mystara, have I to ask > right to someone? > Let me know No, you don't need any permission, AFAIK. Of course, you still can't use copyrighted material, and IIRC you must comply to some rules of conduct (which are the same for all xD&D websites), but other than that you can do pretty much as you like. I think you can find the whole legal stuff on the WotC website. -- Giampaolo Agosta agathokles@libero.it agosta@elet.polimi.it http://digilander.iol.it/agathokles ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 22 Apr 2002 21:09:38 +0000 From: Gilles Leblanc Subject: Name clarification I just realised that I have gone through 4 names ( Roger Plante, Bob Dylan, Bleakcabal, Gille Leblanc ) on the list this year :) With the fact that most didnt last very long except this one and that when I used to be a lurker a few years ago I went by the name Red Wolf, I can see why some poeple seem to treat me as a newbie. So if anybody remembers any of those poeple I am all of them :) I have been using Gilles Leblanc ( my real name ) for the longest time tough. But considering most names didnt last long most probably didnt remember them but just in case, I wanted to clear this up. _________________________________________________________________ Join the world’s largest e-mail service with MSN Hotmail. http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 23 Apr 2002 00:03:11 -0400 From: David Knott Subject: Re: 2E vs 3E From: "Beau Yarbrough" > Oh, and Alphatia sucks anyway. :p Actually, I think you might be mixing up Alphatia with the whirlpool left behind after it sank. That whirlpool REALLY sucks! ;) ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 23 Apr 2002 00:05:54 -0400 From: David Knott Subject: Re: Psionics in George's Campaign From: "macnerd" > That makes a lot of sense. However, what if the pscions gain > a particular magic, the wards, detection, anti-magic shells, etc. > don't work. The wizards can find themselves defenseless against > pscions. It could also be perceived as a threat. If you go with the "psionics are different" approach, psions certainly would be a threat. However, if you use the standard approach that in the Psionics Handbook (3e) that treats magic and psionics as basically very similar in nature, then a psion or psychic warrior would be no more threatening than a sorcerer, witch, or bard. ------------------------------ End of MYSTARA-L Digest - 21 Apr 2002 to 22 Apr 2002 (#2002-110) ****************************************************************