Subject: MYSTARA-L Digest - 31 Oct 2002 to 1 Nov 2002 (#2002-284) From: Automatic digest processor Date: 02/11/2002, 19:00 To: Recipients of MYSTARA-L digests Reply-to: Mystara RPG Discussion There are 8 messages totalling 462 lines in this issue. Topics of the day: 1. Cult of Balthac (5) 2. I need some help 3. MYSTARA-L Digest - 28 Oct 2002 to 29 Oct 2002(#2002-281) 4. [GANDERG@tc.gc.ca: The Song of Bjorn] ******************************************************************** 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: Fri, 1 Nov 2002 13:12:09 +0100 From: =?iso-8859-1?q?Havard=20Faanes?= Subject: Cult of Balthac Hi, remember the Cult of Balthac from WotI? Here are a couple of thoughts on how to use this Cult even after the events of that adventure. The ideas are not complete, and game statistics are lacking, but hopefully some of you may find some use for them. As always, feedback is very welcome :) The Cult of Balthac By Havard Faanes Balthac was a legendary warrior and dragon slayer from Darokin. He became a legend when he was killed in a fierce battle with Calor the Red, an evil dragon. Both opponents were vaquished in the battle. However, in the chaotic period known to some as the Wrath of the Immortals, or the Time of Wrath, the legend of Balthac was revived by the evil Immortal Hel, to further her own dark cause and to lure idealistic warriors onto the path of evil. She provided spells for clerics who while believing they were serving the benevolent immortal Balthac, were actually in the servitude of Hel herself. The main champion of this faith was a young man named Kelter Zerben. When Zerben learned of this fraud, he sank into depression for a long time, before eventually regaining his strength and returned to fight the Cult. The Cult was now under the leadership of Lillian Korrigan, a Vampire and priestess of Hel. To protect her servant, Hel revived the undead rememants of the Dragon, Calor, but Zerben and his allies fought back. In the battle Zerben himself was killed, but at that darkes hour, Balthac himself entered the battle. The Immortal Donar (Thor), had been investigating the matter himself and had raised Balthac into a Titan, an Immortal Servant and together with Zerben’s allies, the real Balthac killed Calor and Lillian. Now the cult sprang into bloom again as it was proved that Balthac was real even though Hel had manipulated the priesthood. New leaders took place of the old ones and the Cult of Balthac became a religion of Warriors all over Darokin. Donar provides spells for Balthac’s Priests, and the Cult of Balthac is in many ways a Subcult of Donar. The main teaching of the Cult is that of fighting evil. The Cult, due to its recent experiences, is very sceptical towards new religions and faiths where Immortals may be manipulating their followers. They are as such investigating the new phenomenon of the Faith of Gareth, recently establishing in Darokin. Important Figures: Krakel, high priest of Balthac. Krakel, is none other than Crackle, the Lightning Zombie from Korrigan Keep. Thor took a liking to this young adventurer when he opposed his mother Lillian and the Fake Balthac Cult together with Kelter Zerben. Thor restored Krakel’s humanity, but allowed him to keep his lightning abilities as Thor found them amusing. Now, now longer a child, Krakel takes his responsibilities as High Priest of Balthac very seriously, and uses the wisdom learned through his centures as a Lightning Zombie in teaching new champions of the cult how to fight the many faces of evil. New spells: Priests of Balthac can summon Balthac and Kelter Zerben, who are both now Titans of the Faith. ______________________________________________________ Se den nye Yahoo! Mail på http://no.yahoo.com/ Nytt design, enklere å bruke, alltid tilgang til Adressebok, Kalender og Notisbok ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 1 Nov 2002 13:48:51 +0000 From: Agathokles Subject: Re: I need some help Joe Kelly wrote: > > Thanks Agathokles! by the way everyone the entire dungeon is now complete! Here is the link: Yes, I had a look at it while answering your question. BTW, would you elaborate on the dungeon's setting you're going to adopt? It would be interesting to see what comes out of it. While we are on the subject of dungeons, what would be the main "classical" dungeons in Mystara--the kind of dungeons several groups of adventurers could explore without severely altering the environment (i.e., cleaning the dungeon)? I'd guess the Barimoor complexes and the Gnome-Kobold settlements in Soderfjord... -- Giampaolo Agosta http://digilander.iol.it/agathokles ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 1 Nov 2002 13:51:26 +0000 From: Agathokles Subject: Re: MYSTARA-L Digest - 28 Oct 2002 to 29 Oct 2002(#2002-281) Bruce Heard wrote: > > But think about it. If Europe had lots of gold, first it would not be as > valuable, and second much of the world's history during the Age of Discovery > would have been profoundly altered. So, how does this impact Mystara? Well, > that's really up to you. Where gold is scarce, it can buy a good number of > things. On the opposite extreme, it does not and you end up with > monty-haulistic treasures a la D&D. There's nothing wrong with either > approach. It's a question of personal taste. :-) And if you want to reproduce the dynamics of the Age of Discovery, you can always use another precious metal--be it Red Steel, Mithril or something new from Davania... In this case, gold in Mystara would take more or less the role of silver in RW Europe. -- Giampaolo Agosta http://digilander.iol.it/agathokles ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 1 Nov 2002 14:08:10 +0000 From: Agathokles Subject: Re: Cult of Balthac Havard Faanes wrote: > > Hi, remember the Cult of Balthac from WotI? Here are a > couple of thoughts on how to use this Cult even after > the events of that adventure. The ideas are not > complete, and game statistics are lacking, but > hopefully some of you may find some use for them. As > always, feedback is very welcome :) Very nice! I like the ideas of Immortals sponsoring cults that worship their most powerful servants. Also, depending on the specific game rules, these heroes could be able to grant spells and/or special powers themselves. -- Giampaolo Agosta http://digilander.iol.it/agathokles ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 1 Nov 2002 15:44:29 +0100 From: =?iso-8859-1?q?Havard=20Faanes?= Subject: Re: Cult of Balthac --- Agathokles skrev: > Havard Faanes wrote: > Very nice! I like the ideas of Immortals sponsoring > cults that worship > their most powerful servants. Also, depending on the > specific game > rules, these heroes could be able to grant spells > and/or special powers > themselves. Thats a cool idea! Sounds very Rune Quest/Glorantha-ish, which is where some of my inspiration came from too. What other powers could be appropriate for Balthac? He is mainly know as a hero, warrior and dragonslayer.... How did you like my reincorporation of Crackle? Howard ______________________________________________________ Se den nye Yahoo! Mail på http://no.yahoo.com/ Nytt design, enklere å bruke, alltid tilgang til Adressebok, Kalender og Notisbok ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 1 Nov 2002 17:06:27 +0100 From: =?iso-8859-1?q?la=20Volpe?= Subject: Re: Cult of Balthac Ok, let's see what I've got in my mailbox today. Whoo! > The Cult of Balthac > By Havard Faanes Promising! > the legend of > Balthac > was revived by the evil Immortal Hel, to further her > own dark cause and to lure idealistic warriors onto > the path of evil. She provided spells for clerics > who > while believing they were serving the benevolent > immortal Balthac, were actually in the servitude of > Hel herself. Personally I think that this could be a good example of how some Immortals may have multiple personalities. I was thinking about something on the same lines for other cults. Example: Minoides, Beast King of Minotaurs, worshipped by them and thought to be an Immortal. In fact he is an Exalted being that provides spells through Protius. > leadership of Lillian Korrigan, a Vampire I don't remember if she was connected somehow with the Korrigan of Karameikos. > himself entered the battle. The Immortal Donar > (Thor), > had been investigating the matter himself and had > raised Balthac into a Titan, an Immortal Servant and > together with Zerben’s allies, the real Balthac > killed > Calor and Lillian. Now the cult sprang into bloom > again as it was proved that Balthac was real even > though Hel had manipulated the priesthood. New > leaders > took place of the old ones and the Cult of Balthac > became a religion of Warriors all over Darokin. > Donar > provides spells for Balthac’s Priests, and the Cult > of > Balthac is in many ways a Subcult of Donar. Exactly along the lines I mentioned above! Cool! ===== Iulius Sergius Scaevola Captain of the XXth Cohort Port Lucinius, Thyatis "We poor few forged as brothers in this furnace will emerge as the steel of future generations" -- from "Legionary's Prayers", by Ionaos Nolan ______________________________________________________________________ Mio Yahoo!: personalizza Yahoo! come piace a te http://it.yahoo.com/mail_it/foot/?http://it.my.yahoo.com/ ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 1 Nov 2002 11:39:45 -0500 From: Geoff Gander Subject: [GANDERG@tc.gc.ca: The Song of Bjorn] ================= Begin forwarded message ================= From: GANDERG@tc.gc.ca ("Gander, Geoff") To: au998@freenet.carleton.ca ("'au998@freenet.carleton.ca'") Subject: The Song of Bjorn Date: Fri, 01 Nov 2002 11:31:43 -0500 Hi all, I've been accused of various things in life so far. Poetry hasn't been one of them. Nevertheless, I thought I'd share this piece of verse I wrote not long after I drafted my article on the history of Ystmarhavn. What I wanted to do was create a fragment of a greater saga that DMs could give to their players to inspire them to learn more about the lost jarldom (if they were so inclined), or just as something to add a little more flavour to the campaign. Anyhow, it was sitting on my hard drive for quite some time, and I figured I'd share it. Enjoy, but remember that I make no claim to being a poet :-)! Geoff ********** The Song of Bjorn (c. AC 600) Opening Note: This work is believed to be a fragment of a larger saga of the rise and fall of the lost realm of Ystmarhavn, in what is now Qeodhar. Although the jarldom fell in AC 389, many of its inhabitants in the northern and eastern settlements kept their traditions alive for several centuries in the face of Alphatian dominance. The purported author of this work, Bjarni Horvaldsson, of the eastern town of Østmark, was one such individual; although his fate is unknown. Brave and bold stood he on shore 'Gainst the harsh and bitter winds of yore. Holding high his mighty head Calling the doughty souls of clan, Of hearth, of home. Brothers, sisters, cousins all. "Come ye to me, and heed my call. For we march today 'gainst shadows tall." They had come, great in number. A sinister tide, a mighty thunder Bringing death, ruin, and ill in its wake. They were Kerothar's men, demons all. Without morals, bravery, guile, or wit They came and took what they saw fit. Neither fish nor fowl Neither hammer nor saw, Nor even fabled stories old, None were safe; all were taken. To feed Kerothar's gaping maw. And in their wake the Alphatians left Nary a freeman, nary a hope. The sun was low in Fair Ystmarhavn's sky, Save for one, undying cry. Bjorn the mighty roused his men, Raised the standards, in number ten. Ten clans they were, ten who stood 'Gainst Kerothar's men on summer's day, Where the peaks reach south Toward the bay. "Be bold, my brothers, Fear them not! For we brave few Are true Northmen wrought!" And with a peal they surged forth, High in spirit, those men of worth Did meet the shadows by Bjorn's stead, And did battle 'Ere the sun lay red. His wounds unnumbered, Pained without release Did Bjorn hunt his quarry 'Til fatal sleep's surcease Was forced 'pon him By foul Alphatian steel And Alphatian will. His host broken His standard fallen, Bjorn's men did rally But the deed was done. Ystmarhavn's children would sing no more 'Midst virgin forest, 'pon verdant field; The sea would hear no more The Northman's call, for it did yield. Hear this now, ye blood of Bjorn. Know the deeds 'ere we were born. Of blood, of fate, of fearsome fire. Alphatian deeds ever dire. Know ye well, ye blood of Bjorn, This, your heritage, do not scorn Your fathers brave Serve ye not the Alphatian knave. If this ye do then know ye well, 'Pon thunderous clouds, 'pon tidal swell, Shall Bjorn's spirit ever live And by blood-right these lands shall once more Be ours to keep, or ours to give. -- Geoff Gander, BA 97, MPA 02 Carnifex Loremaster/Mad Roleplayer Master of the Elemental Plane of Bureaucracy au998@freenet.carleton.ca : www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Realm/2091 ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 1 Nov 2002 18:43:56 +0000 From: Agathokles Subject: Re: Cult of Balthac Havard Faanes wrote: > > --- Agathokles skrev: > Havard > Faanes wrote: > > > Very nice! I like the ideas of Immortals sponsoring > > cults that worship > > their most powerful servants. Also, depending on the > > specific game > > rules, these heroes could be able to grant spells > > and/or special powers > > themselves. > > Thats a cool idea! Sounds very Rune > Quest/Glorantha-ish, which is where some of my > inspiration came from too. Really? I've never read Glorantha or anything else about RuneQuest, actually. My "inspiration" for this comment stemmed more from the AD&D subdivision of powers into various levels, with demigods not being able to provide spells over 5th level. Since somewhere else it was said that 1st and 2nd level spells derive from faith alone, so that priests cut off from their powers can use them, I thought that 3rd and 4th level spells could be appropriate for various kinds of Immortal Servants (like Balthac, but also ancestor spirits, traladaran Heroes) to provide (in small quantities, obviously). > What other powers could be > appropriate for Balthac? He is mainly know as a hero, > warrior and dragonslayer.... Perhaps the priest gets a special enemy like a ranger in AD&D, probably Dragons. Or he gets an appropriate offensive spell once per day (or week). > How did you like my reincorporation of Crackle? I like the idea, another option could have been to make the lightning zombies able to age as humans, rather than reverting Crackle to his previous self. -- Giampaolo Agosta http://digilander.iol.it/agathokles ------------------------------ End of MYSTARA-L Digest - 31 Oct 2002 to 1 Nov 2002 (#2002-284) ***************************************************************