Subject: MYSTARA-L Digest - 21 Nov 2002 to 25 Nov 2002 (#2002-304) From: Automatic digest processor Date: 26/11/2002, 19:00 To: Recipients of MYSTARA-L digests Reply-to: Mystara RPG Discussion There are 14 messages totalling 827 lines in this issue. Topics of the day: 1. M-Babylon or M-Sumeria? (5) 2. Minotaurs of Minaea - History; 1) Rise and Fall 3. Known World Computer Game? (4) 4. Carnifex (was: A Guide to Human Ethnography) 5. Dragonlance Returns 6. Some general skills from my game 7. Gold (changed title back to gold...) ******************************************************************** 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: Tue, 26 Nov 2002 08:01:52 +0800 From: "Francisco V. Navarro V" Subject: M-Babylon or M-Sumeria? Hail Mystarans! A simple question: Is there (or has there been once) some kind of M-Babylon or M-Sumeria civilization on Mystara? Kit Navarro enhcnater_from_glantri@yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 25 Nov 2002 23:17:05 +0100 From: =?iso-8859-1?q?la=20Volpe?= Subject: Minotaurs of Minaea - History; 1) Rise and Fall MINOTAURS OF MINAEA History 1/Rise and Fall 1'699 BC: Minotaurs led by Minoides, fleeing the enduk kingdom in the Arm of the Immortals, finally reach the Teslan Coast. They build a city, Erech, in one of the areas abandoned by the Teslans after a raid. Ruins of several villages warn them of the presence of other intelligent beings, but they are too tired after the long time spent travelling, and they settle down. They build the city of Erech. 1'697 BC: After two years, minotaurs of Erech get in touch with the Teslan city of Ekimmu. Trade begins between the two populations. 1'649 BC: A league formed by Minotaurs (from Erech) and Teslans (from Ekimmu) defeat the greatest Jennite attack of the last century. Three thousand allied troups repel nearly five thousand Jennites. The attack was caused mainly by a long period of drought in the Jennite plains; nevertheless, the attack was repulsed. 1’623 BC: Minoides leaves Erech, appointing his son Atreides as the new King of Minotaurs. Minoides tells the minotaurs that he has been called by Poseidon, their Patron Immortal, to perform some quests for him as part of the espiation for his past crimes. In fact he has begun the Path to Immortality. 1’589 BC: Atreides dies. His daughter Pallas becomes Queen. 1’577 BC: Town of Sinbay founded by minotaurs, following the orders of Queen Pallas. Erech reaches 5’000 abitants. Sinbay hosts about 500 other minotaurs. Minotaurs extend their control over this part of Minaea. They are cow-farmers, and several farms and villages dot the area between the two cities. Their total population is about 8’000 units. 1’555 BC: Queen Pallas dies. Her son Agesilaon becomes King. 1’511 BC: Agesilaon dies of old age. Rumours that he was poisoned by his son Minoides spread unrest among the population. Minoides seizes the throne as Minoides II, but is forced to write the kingdom’s laws. The laws are written down and ratified by a group of minotaurs from the most important families. 1’509 BC: Town of Qyrta founded by Sinbayan minotaurs. They are led by a dissident minotaur named Achlon, that fiercely opposes the Minoides dinasty that rules all over the minotaurs. They are considered outcasts of the minotaur society. Kingdom of Minotaurs renamed Minoidean Kingdom. 1’488 – 1’483 BC: First War of Tears. Minoideans minotaurs, loyal to faction fight against the Achlonites, claiming that they have settled on Minoidean lands. Half the minotaur population dies in these battles. Mercenaries from Ekimmu are employed by both factions, while the government of Ekimmu doesn’t involve itself in the war. 1’477 BC: Minoides II dies mysteriously in his sleep. His eldest daughter Iphygenia becomes Queen. 1’469 BC: Queen Iphygenia sends messengers to the Qyrtans, asking them to open diplomatic ties, offering to recognize their State in hope to work for the benefit of the minotaur race. A group of aggressive minotaurs that oppose these ideas are exiled by the Queen. About eight hundred minotaurs leave westwards. 1’468 BC: Diplomatic ties opened between the City State of Qyrta and the Minoidean Kingdom. Minoidean population about 8’000 units (5’800 living in Erech, 1’800 in Sinbay), Qyrta about 2’500. 1’462 BC: Queen Iphygenia is killed by her husband Archon, that is sentenced to death and executed. In fact, Archon was innocent, because the responsible of the death was her son Minoides III, new Minoidean King. Town of Deianira founded. 1’460 BC: The sphinx prophetess Amatricia reaches the city of Erech. She settles down with the approval of the King, that soon makes her his favourite conselour. 1’459 BC: A plague hits the minotaurs all over Erech. Minotaurs of other cities are not hit. The prophetess Amatricia reveals that it is a punishment sent by Poseidon and Minoides, that has become an Immortal, to punish his descendants. Minoides III is enraged and have Amatricia executed. Minoides III is killed by a four meters tall flaming minotaur that has appeared out of the air immediately after her death. The minotaur then disappears. A group of thirty sphinxes enter the city on the following night, killing randomly and destroying buildings with magic. They return the day after, telling the minotaurs that they must exile all living members of the Minoidean family in order to end the Plague. The minotaurs, frightened, begin to worship Minoides as an Immortal and refuse to choose a new king, turning the government type into a Republic (in fact, an oligarchy). 1’450 BC: Gold and iron mines found in the territories north of Qyrta. Qyrta start heavy commerce with Teslans of surrounding cities, especially Erech. 1’446 BC: The aristocratic rulers of the Republic of Erech declare war to Qyrta, claiming that the past agreements signed by Queen Iphygenia with the town rulers were to be considered not valid. In fact, economic motives are behind this decision. 1’446 – 1’441 BC: Second War of Tears. Republic of Erech (formerly Minoidean Kingdom) against City State of Qyrta. The Qyrtans win thanks to the help of the Company of the Falanx (mercenaries from Erech) and their sphinx allies, opposed to the Erechians since Amatricia’s death. 1’428 – 1’399 BC: Astartius, High Priest of Minoides, is choosen as King. Republic of Erech turns into Kingdom of Erech. While the priests hope to give a theocratic direction to the government, Astartius surprisingly founds a dinasty and firmly divide his duties as High Priest from those of King. He abdicates in favour of his son Iacynthon in 1’399 BC, but retains his High Priest title until 1’394, when he dies. 1’391 BC: Priests of Minoides accuse King Iacynthon of being a tyrant and depose him. Kingdom of Erech becomes a Theocracy, ruled by the High Priest of Minoides. 1’367 BC: Theocracy of Erech turns its name into Minoidean Theocracy. Government changes: there will be four High Theocrats, all equal in rank, and no more a single High Priests. 1’364 – 1’361 BC: The High Theocrats declare war to the City State of Qyrta. Third War of Tears. The Minoideans win with the help of the city state of Erech, frightened by the Qyrtan rise in power in the region. Most of the Qyrtan riches and lands are assigned to the Theocracy and to Erech. 1’359 – 1’357 BC: Disappointed with his High Theocrats, Minoides stops to give them spells, although this will be kept secret for two years to the common population. Without spells, the mortality among minotaurs increases. 1’356 BC: Minoides sends a new plague, that spreads among the population, to uncover the Theocrats’ gamble. Theocrats are deposed by a new leader, a faithful cleric of Minoides named Albaran. He becomes the new King of the Minoideans. The Kingdom has a population of 12’000, 7’000 living in Erech and 2’000 in Sinbay. 1’354 BC: Albaran offers a new peace treaty to the Qyrtans: the Minoideans will return them the land they took from them in 1’361 BC. The Qyrtans accept. 1’349 BC: A group of military officers depose Albaran. Albaran and nearly two thousand minotaurs flee Erech and the Kingdom and settle down in Sinbay, where they declare indipendence. 1’349 – 1’340 BC: Fourth War of Tears: Erech vs Sinbay & Qyrta. At the end of the war, nearly 40% of the population has died. Erech’s population is reduced to 4’000, Sinbay is a mass of burning ashes. Sinbay is rebuilt by the Erechians. Qyrta is again dispossessed of its land, although it retains its indipendence. Albaran new King of Qyrta. Cults of Minoides and Poseidon officially cancelled from Erech, the minotaur leaders turn to the worship of a barbaric divinity named Gylgarid, imported from mercenaries of the East that were employed for the war. Although most of the population secretly worships Minoides, the official religion in Erech is that of Gylgarid. 1’338 BC: Albaran allies himself again with the northern sphinxes. 1’331 BC: A mercenary company from the Jennite Lands in the north reaches Qyrta. They offer their help to the population against the hated Minoideans, in change of the right to settle down in Qyrta. Albaran promptly agrees, and fails to understand that the company, named the Green Spear, is in fact a company of mercenary human fighters and avengers devoted to Jammudaru. 1’330 BC: Albaran dies, poisoned by members of the Green Spear. Being of old age, nobody suspects anything. The Green Spear begins to corrupt members of the Qyrtan government. 1’327 BC: The Green Spear is in control of Qyrta. 1’330 – 1’220 BC: During these years, Qyrta changes for the worse. Many minotaurs leave the city, but, faced by hostile minotaurs in the south, they are forced to move westwards until they reach the sea, and thence they move on towards Brun. Those who remain are turned to the worship of Jammudaru. Meanwhile, the military hierarchy of Erech continues to rule the Minoidean Kingdom. A century of oppression and dictature lower the minotauran culture, and most knowledge of their past is lost. Minoides doesn’t intervene to halt this, because he feels that it is exactly what the minotaurs asked for with their empious way of living. He renounces to the Quest for Immortality, telling Protius that he has been unable to forge a nation in the way he wanted to. Protius appreciates his honesty and turns him into an Exalted being, Minoides, also known by sages as the Beast King of Minotaurs. Protius tells Minoides that, if the minotaurs will return to his worship, he will provide his priests with spells. Minoides, in turn, swears never to intervene directly again in his race’s affairs. 1’218 BC: A group of minotaur dissidents from Qyrta and Sinbay manage to throw down the Erechian corrupted government. They create a Republic and give religious freedom to the population. Minoides is again revered openly, although adventurers and military officers remain mostly worshippers of Gylgarid. 1’215 BC: Republic of Erech tries to open diplomatic ties with the Qyrtans. It turns out to be almost impossible. 1’214 BC: Qyrtans raid and destroy an Erechian city. The government of Qyrta refuses to acknowledge any involvement in the matter. 1'213-1'204 BC: Fifth War of Tears. A great war erupts between the minotaurs of Erech and Sinbay on one side, and of Qyrta on the other. At the end of the war, the victorious Erechian troops destroy the enemy cities and villages, and follows the fleeing minotaurs upwards to the mountains, where they crush nearly all of them, even the civilians. The few remaining minotaurs hide in the mountains, continuing to worship Jammudaru. A northern stronghold is built to watch out for possible attacks from the northern minotaurs. It is called Thakruon (“Tear”). 1'204-1'100 BC: The minotaurs that are sheltering in the northern mountain suffers hardship and goblinoid attacks. Unable to deal with the situation, the minotaurs hastily revert to a brutish state, becoming increasingly violent under the leadership of the brutal clergy of Jammudaru. In the following centuries they will become dull savages far different from their southern cousins, for whom they will still conceive an enormous hatred. These minotaur raiding bands become another of the humanoid threats that periodically harass the Tarystian coast, and then Minaea even to our days. ===== 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 ______________________________________________________________________ Per te Blu American Express è gratis! http://it.yahoo.com/mail_it/foot/?http://www.americanexpress.it/land_yahoo ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 26 Nov 2002 08:06:20 +0800 From: "Francisco V. Navarro V" Subject: Known World Computer Game? Hail Mystarans! I cannot for the life of me remember the name that old computer game set in the Known World where one is supposed to build armies and conquer the Known World. What's the name, if anyone knows what I'm talking about? Also, is there some way to get a copy, online, legitimately, or otherwise? Kit Navarro enchanter_from_glantri@yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 25 Nov 2002 07:49:46 +1300 From: Chris Furneaux Subject: Re: Carnifex (was: A Guide to Human Ethnography) > Were the Carnifex isolated to a single location on the planet, or were > they a > world spanning empire. If so, what does that mean for the human's > pre-history. > How did the Carnifex shape their world, and the fate of the humans? > Were they > responsible for the migratory patterns? Did the humans make war with > them, or > were they slaves? I can't remember where or why but I seem to recall that the carnifex are/were restricted by the climates. Being reptilian they tend to only exist in temperate/tropical areas. Because of this they would be restricted to mostly the upper parts of davinia and most likely not have that much interest in most of brun as it is too cold or dry. I remember the Korpu in X1 seemed to spend their time only in the part of the island most suited to their tastes. That said their effect on davinia is a whole other story, and 'old wives tales' of the danger of the southern lands could be a contributing factor to the lack of exploration of davinia by KW nations till about the last hundred years I think. Geoff would be able to shed more light on it then me however as it's his 'baby' (but I think he is offline this week moving) Chris. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 25 Nov 2002 18:15:45 -0600 From: Mark Gedak Subject: Re: M-Babylon or M-Sumeria? I thought Alphatia represented Babylon ----- Original Message ----- From: "Francisco V. Navarro V" To: Sent: Monday, November 25, 2002 6:01 PM Subject: [MYSTARA] M-Babylon or M-Sumeria? > Hail Mystarans! > > A simple question: > Is there (or has there been once) some kind of M-Babylon or M-Sumeria > civilization on Mystara? > > Kit Navarro > enhcnater_from_glantri@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: Tue, 26 Nov 2002 11:24:22 +1100 From: "Murphy, Jason" Subject: Re: Known World Computer Game? Was called Fantasy Empires i believe -----Original Message----- From: Francisco V. Navarro V [mailto:fvnmd@INFO.COM.PH] Sent: Tuesday, November 26, 2002 8:06 AM To: MYSTARA-L@ORACLE.WIZARDS.COM Subject: [MYSTARA] Known World Computer Game? Hail Mystarans! I cannot for the life of me remember the name that old computer game set in the Known World where one is supposed to build armies and conquer the Known World. What's the name, if anyone knows what I'm talking about? Also, is there some way to get a copy, online, legitimately, or otherwise? Kit Navarro enchanter_from_glantri@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. This e-mail and any attachment is for authorised use by the intended recipient(s) only. It may contain proprietary material, confidential information and/or be subject to legal privilege. It should not be copied, disclosed to, retained or used by, any other party. If you are not an intended recipient then please promptly delete this e-mail and any attachment and all copies and inform the sender. Thank you. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 26 Nov 2002 01:28:04 +0100 From: Jacob Skytte Subject: Re: Known World Computer Game? I believe it's called Fantasy Empires. The only legal way to get it = would be to buy it, must be really cheap if you could find it used. = Officially I wouldn't know of any way to get it through illegitimate = means. Jacob Skytte scythe@wanadoo.dk ----- Original Message -----=20 From: Francisco V. Navarro V To: Sent: Tuesday, November 26, 2002 1:06 AM Subject: [MYSTARA] Known World Computer Game? > Hail Mystarans! > =20 > I cannot for the life of me remember the name that old computer game = set in > the Known World where one is supposed to build armies and conquer the = Known > World. What's the name, if anyone knows what I'm talking about? > =20 > Also, is there some way to get a copy, online, legitimately, or = otherwise? > =20 > Kit Navarro > enchanter_from_glantri@yahoo.com > =20 > ******************************************************************** > 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. > =20 ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 25 Nov 2002 14:39:36 +0100 From: =?iso-8859-1?q?Havard=20Faanes?= Subject: Dragonlance Returns Sovereign Press, producers of the D20 Sovereign Stone RPG plans a rerelease of the classic Dragonlance Setting for D20 next summer. With the gradual reappearance of classic D&D settings, one can only wonder if anyone will try a jab at Mystara one day... From: www.sovstone.com Dragonlance Campaign Setting Sep 20, 2002 September 18, 2002 (Renton, Wash.) — Wizards of the Coast, Inc. one of the world’s premier book publishers of fantasy series fiction, and a subsidiary of Hasbro Inc. (NYSE:HAS), today announced they have reached an agreement with Sovereign Press, Inc., to partner on novels and d20 gaming product supplements based on the Dragonlance® fantasy setting. Sovereign Press authors, including New York Times best-selling author Margaret Weis and veteran game industry writer Don Perrin, will pen the upcoming Dragonlance Campaign Setting hardcover rules book, which Wizards of the Coast will publish and distribute. Weis and Perrin will also write Dragonlance novels to be published and distributed by Wizards of the Coast, and Sovereign Press has licensed the rights to publish roleplaying game accessories for the Dragonlance Campaign Setting. Financials terms of the deals were not disclosed. For more information on Sovereign Press, contact the Lazear Agency at (715) 531-0012. Under the terms of the deal, Wizards of the Coast will publish a trilogy of Dragonlance novels written by Margaret Weis and Don Perrin. The trilogy will be set in Taladas, a continent on the Dragonlance world that has never before been explored in Dragonlance novels. Additionally, Sovereign Press will write and distribute Dragonlance roleplaying game (RPG) accessories that follow up on the publication and release of the Dragonlance Campaign Setting scheduled for release in Summer 2003. “Loyal and supportive fans of the Dragonlance series can rejoice in knowing that their favorite novels will not only continue but there will also be high-quality roleplaying materials available for them,” said Mary Kirchoff, vice president of Publishing for Wizards of the Coast. “In teaming with Margaret and Don, we have positioned ourselves to return to our Dragonlance roots by utilizing their vast game industry experience and Dragonlance world knowledge.” Margaret Weis states: "One of the reasons that Sovereign Press was chosen to bring out the Dragonlance d20 RPG is that we have demonstrated with Sovereign Stone that we can successfully develop a complete campaign world, with support product, set within the d20 SystemTM. The Sovereign Stone product line has been incredibly successful, as evidenced by a fourth printing of the Campaign Sourcebook." Sovereign Press, owned by Margaret Weis and her husband Don Perrin, publishes both roleplaying products and miniature historical wargaming rules. Weis, the author of 15 Dragonlance novels, most recently was on the prestigious New York Times list with the June release of Dragons of a Vanished Moon, the novel that transformed entire areas of the Dragonlance setting and brought the world-shaking War of Souls epic to a close. Many roleplaying gamers will recognize Perrin from his work on the critically acclaimed Sovereign Stone d20 campaign world and as part of the publishing team of historical wargaming rules. Located in Williams Bay, Wisconsin, Sovereign Press is best known as the publisher of the Sovereign Stone campaign setting utilizing the d20 System, a product line tied to the best-selling Sovereign Stone novels by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. Wizards of the Coast, Inc., a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc. (NYSE:HAS), is the worldwide market share leader in the trading card game and tabletop roleplaying game categories. A leading developer and publisher of game-based entertainment products, the company holds an exclusive patent on the method of playing trading card games (TCGs) and produces the world’s best-selling Pokémon® and Magic: The Gathering® TCGs. Publisher of adventure games, family card and board games and electronic media products. Wizards of the Coast is also one of the world’s premier book publishers of fantasy series fiction whose novels have made numerous appearances on The New York Times best-seller list and have sold millions of copies worldwide. For more information, visit the Wizards of the Coast® website at wizards.com. ______________________________________________________ Få den nye Yahoo! Messenger på http://no.messenger.yahoo.com/ Nye ikoner og bakgrunner, webkamera med superkvalitet og dobbelt så morsom ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 26 Nov 2002 01:54:43 +0100 From: =?iso-8859-1?Q?Andr=E9s_Piquer_Otero?= Subject: Re: M-Babylon or M-Sumeria? As per onomastics and general architectural / cultural paraphernalia, the closest thing to Babylonian / Assyrian in the KW are the scorpion men in the SC (I know, that country has a name, but I don't have my Mystara library at hand now! Is it Nimmur????). But Nimmur is SO marginal in the KW, it does not shine as the big Mesopotamian empire!! For some reason, also, there has been a trend to connect Alphatian culture to Babylonian-Sumerian (or general Mesopotamian, it could as well look as Achemenid Persian), if only for the drawing of a Lamassu in the cover of the Alphatia booklet of Dawn of the Emperors. IIRC, some names also pointed in that direction, but the line was soon dropped and Alph. got more "standard Western World general fantasy" looking. Nevertheless, there are some interesting paralells which could be exploited: Alphatia is a cultural / ethnic mixup of Old Alphatian and Cypri (similar to Akkadian-Sumerian mixup in RW Mesopotamia). The relationship between the copper skinned Cypri and the Ochaleans is explicit in published products and some spoof / crackpot history "theories" present Sumerian culture as linked to proto-Historic China (not serious history, in which Sumerians are a big incognita, but really cool stuff for FRPG). More to go, Alphatia is a "cradle of civilization" in the ancient history of Mystara, along with Nithia, again, quite similar to a Egypt-Mesopotamia opposition in the RW Bronze Age. Old Alphatians are Elementalist (Followers of Fire, Followers of Air). As per some interesting Rabbinic folk tradition, Abraham accused Nimrod, Babylonian king, of worshipping the elements... More of this, another Mesopotamian culture, Achemenid Persian (cultural inheritor of Babylon) worshipped Fire. Linguistic traits (that's my fave, i'm a linguist after all): the influence of Alphatia on Ylaruam was big (along with that of Nithia, but much of Nithia's was lost through the spell of oblivion): we get the Ylari, centuries later, who are a Semitic culture which speaks a clearly Semitic language (Ylari, shaped after Arabic, and Nithian-Egyptian is NOT Semitic, close but not quite so). Given that the Semitic streak is not felt in other RW ethnic groups connected to the Ylari (Neathar/Oltec mix), we can conclude that the "semitization" of Ylari groups came through quite extended colonization by a similar linguistically bent people, that is, Alphatians!!! That goes quite well with the linguistic information we have on Alphatian: we know it has two differenced languages (Old Alphatian and Common Alphatian) and that the Common dialect has quite a few dialects: that's a close situation to that lived in Mesopotamia: Sumerian was kept (and well mixed with Old Akkadian) in ritual, religion and solemn monuments, while the populace progressively spoke simpler and simpler dialects (different registers of Babylonian, Assyrian, and quite strange Akkadian in the Western reaches of the empire). So, we could have a mixup of "Sumerian" (old Cypri remains) and "Old Akkadian" (ancient Alphatian) for Old Alhaptian and some kind of dialectally fragmented evolved Akkadian ("Assyrian / Babylonian") for Common Alphatian, maybe simpler than the RW Babylonian and Assyrian were. It's probable that a complex writing system (similar to cuneiform) had been kept for O.A., while the common speech would use some kind of alphabet, especially for practicalities of trade and diplomacy (in a similar way, the RW Mesopotamia under the Persians, adopted Aramaic as the official and trade tongue of their growing empire). That simpler common Alphatian would give birth to the Ylari writing and speech. As for Nimmur??? Well, I could place an Alphatian colony there, from whence the scorpion men would assimilate the culture. It's not so hard to reach the Arm of the Immortals travelling eastwards from the eastern reaches of the Alphatian Empire!!! But well, that's all speculation, it seems that the first line at TSR was having Alphatia like some kind of Atlantis... Anyway, Alpatiya ila kalim!!!! Andrés ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 25 Nov 2002 19:48:48 -0600 From: Eric Anondson Subject: Re: M-Babylon or M-Sumeria? > As per onomastics and general architectural/cultural paraphernalia, > the closest thing to Babylonian/Assyrian in the KW are the scorpion > men in the SC (I know, that country has a name, but I don't have my > Mystara library at hand now! Is it Nimmur????). But Nimmur is SO > marginal in the KW, it does not shine as the big Mesopotamian empire!! It is Nimmur in fact. Also, don't forget that the manscorpions inherited the culture from the Enduks who had originally created the nation of Nimmur. So we also have the exile Enduk nation in the Arm of the Immortals with a Babylonian/Summerian culture. But still, yeah, they are peripheral to the KW. Eric Anondson ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 25 Nov 2002 20:29:53 -0500 From: David Knott Subject: Re: M-Babylon or M-Sumeria? From: "Francisco V. Navarro V" > > A simple question: > Is there (or has there been once) some kind of M-Babylon or M-Sumeria > civilization on Mystara? Not really. The closest culture would be the Arab-like culture of Ylaruam, but its roots go back to a Nithian culture that has more in common with ancient Egypt than with any part of Mesopotamia. Another possibility might be in the ancient history of Hule and lands further west -- I don't think there is any published material that would utterly rule out such a possibility. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 25 Nov 2002 20:35:17 -0500 From: David Knott Subject: Re: Known World Computer Game? From: "Jacob Skytte" > > I believe it's called Fantasy Empires. The only legal way to get it would > be to buy it, must be really cheap if you could find it used. Officially I > wouldn't know of any way to get it through illegitimate means. Try looking for the "Ultimate Fantasy" 5-pack. It includes Fantasy Empires, Unlimited Adventures, Stronghold (another D&D based game), Dungeon Hack, and Dark Sun. I picked it up for $20 several years ago -- it might cost $10 now if you can find it at all. In fact, your best bet might be to look for Web sites associated with Unlimited Adventures and follow up on any leads they give about finding that game, keeping in mind that you want a deluxe package of 4 or 5 CD-ROMs and not the original UA game on its own. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 25 Nov 2002 14:44:50 -0000 From: Colin Davidson Subject: Some general skills from my game Here for consideration of the mailing list members is a description of four of the skills that have been developed in my OD&D Mystara campaign. I hope they're of some interest here. There will be more to come as and when I get them typed in, hopefully I'll keep them coming in steadily over the next few weeks. Feedback more than welcome. Strength Based Skills. Mighty Blow: The skill of focussing ones energy into one powerful blow. A successful skill check will cause an opponent in combat to lose up to three points of weapon mastery related armour class bonus, and give a -4 penalty to any saving throw to deflect. Due to effort needed for a mighty blow, each round in which the skill is used counts as two rounds when determining fatigue*. Dwarf Throwing: The ancient and noble art of hurling dwarves, halflings, gnomes and other small humanoids. A skill much in favour amongst the pygmy mountain giants of Norwold, as a sport and also as a combat tactic in adventuring parties with both giants and dwarves. The effective range is never more than 30 feet (yards outdoors), and unless throwee possesses the skill 'right stuff' (q.v.) he or she will take 1d6 points of damage per 10 feet thrown (save for half damage). An unwilling throwee must first be effectively grappled. Dexterity Based Skills. Spear Brawling: This unusual skill, developed independently by many cultures using the spear, allows a character to combine the use of spear and staff weapon mastery, i.e. the use of the defensive abilities and special column from the spear description, with the attacking and ranged possibilities associated with the spear. Each is made at the appropriate mastery level. Right Stuff: The knack of landing on ones feet. A successful skill check allows a thrown character (see dwarf throwing, q.v.) to ignore all damage, or provides a +4 bonus to any save against falling or falling damage. Practiced by the halflings in and around Leeha, it has made possible some of their greatest feats of mountaineering. *For fatigie in combat, I rule that after a number of rounds equal to a characters constitution that character suffers a -2 penalty to hit and damage, with an additional -2 per half constitution score in rounds thereafter. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 25 Nov 2002 22:15:43 -0500 From: Christopher M Cherrington Subject: Re: Gold (changed title back to gold...) A couple of things that has not been brought up on this subject... Kobolds in the Northern Reaches are rich. They have taken over a successful kingdom of gnomish clans, and acquired all their wealth by invading the gnomish tunnels. Successes like this one, and other successes like King Loark in the Great Horde, would fill many humanoid coffers for years to come. Ardelphia was a whole city that was looted, raped, and now lays in ruins. These types of events brings wealth into the humanoids hands, and they are chaotic enough that they would continually raid on each other, passing the wealth around. The southern principalities of Glantri give an annual payoff to keep the goblins close to their borders under their thumb (to Glantri it gives them more time to study new magics and not worry about staging expensive, time consuming, protective strikes that could keep farmers away from their fields and not feed the rest of the principalities). Besides the occasional raiding, there is the ransoming, tolling, and kidnapping, even slave trading with foreign powers. Slaves for gladiatorial matches have to come from somewhere, why not from unscrupulous merchants dealing with the Iron Ring or the Hill Giants in Altan Tepe? ------------------------------ End of MYSTARA-L Digest - 21 Nov 2002 to 25 Nov 2002 (#2002-304) ****************************************************************