Subject: MYSTARA-L Digest - 9 Dec 2002 to 10 Dec 2002 (#2002-319) From: Automatic digest processor Date: 11/12/2002, 19:00 To: Recipients of MYSTARA-L digests Reply-to: Mystara RPG Discussion There are 29 messages totalling 1056 lines in this issue. Topics of the day: 1. Epic Adventures & Newbie Guide (2) 2. Nithia in the Savage Coast (was Addakia etc) 3. Gnolls & Hutaakans, intermarriage (6) 4. Just to say hello! (3) 5. Fwd: Re: MORE Page missing in ESD 6. Nithian Thoughts 7. Was Gnolls & Hutaakans, intermarriage (6) 8. Freeport question 9. No one expects the Glantri paparazzi! [Was: Was Gnolls...] 10. No one expects the Glantri paparazzi! [Was: Was Gnolls...] 11. Biology Lessons for Druids and DMs (Symbiosis) (3) 12. Atruaghin and Yazi similarities (2) 13. Attracting Players to Mystara ******************************************************************** 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, 10 Dec 2002 11:51:04 +0100 From: =?iso-8859-1?q?la=20Volpe?= Subject: Epic Adventures & Newbie Guide I have skimmed through these ideas (and read carefully more than a half) and I think that the ideas would make for a very good campaign. Unfortunately, to write such an adventure would take a really long time and I suppose it will remain forever as a simple campaign idea. Do a complete write up would prove useful to the newcomers. Other ideas like Firelord and Corruption of the Swords suffer of the same problem: they should be written in module formate and made available as "original" products at the Vaults. Even if we can't agree on things like Almanacs and future of Mystara, single adventures, using as the background the 1000 AC world would be great additions to the Vaults, to Mystara and for the 3E players that could be somewhat interested in our work. A last note to tell you that we are struggling to complete the Newbie Guide. Only Glantri is missing, then we will proofread the thing and publish it as in PDF format. Hopefully soon...it would be great to start the new year with it. ===== 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 ______________________________________________________________________ Yahoo! Foto: salva, ritocca, condividi e ordina stampe professionali http://it.yahoo.com/mail_it/foot/?http://it.photos.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Dec 2002 12:02:42 +0100 From: =?iso-8859-1?q?la=20Volpe?= Subject: Nithia in the Savage Coast (was Addakia etc) A couple of things we should try to remember: 1) Nithia underwent a long decline during which it begun to worship Entropic Immortals and maybe worse things too 2) Nithians were colonizers that, in some regard, had an enterprising attitude similar to the Phoenician one. Thus it would not be surprising, especially in the first stages of their history, and in the last ones (when Nithia became evil and probably the "good" Immortals told their servitors to leave for better shores) that they left their homeland and made outposts for commerce. If I recall correctly, Phoenicians had outpost all the way to central Africa (west) and Zanzibar (east) or something along those lines. They probably circumnavigated Africa, and they went even up to Britain (and Greeks too, if I'm not wrong) to trade tin. Maybe we should try to imagine a sort of trading route that the Nithians set up from Nithia to the Savage Coast. If this happened, maybe the western tip of the colonization became more succesful (in a manner not different from what happened to Thotia), thus the presence of more Nithian remnants in the west. ===== 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 ______________________________________________________________________ Yahoo! Foto: salva, ritocca, condividi e ordina stampe professionali http://it.yahoo.com/mail_it/foot/?http://it.photos.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Dec 2002 12:11:08 +0100 From: =?iso-8859-1?q?la=20Volpe?= Subject: Gnolls & Hutaakans, intermarriage > Just a thought, I mean, one can over use > the Nithians as an > explanation for the unexplained... Thanks for the info, Eric. Personally I have always liked unifying theories more than splitting ones...I'll explain myself better. I think that we could go even further, assuming that genetically hutaakans and gnolls are so similar that they can have intermarriage, just like elves and humans. Moreover, although no one asked me about this topic, I think we could say the same about gnomes/dwarves, and probably other races as well, like goblins/hobgoblins/bugbear, orcs/humans/ogres. No orc/elf intermarriage, though. ===== 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 ______________________________________________________________________ Yahoo! Foto: salva, ritocca, condividi e ordina stampe professionali http://it.yahoo.com/mail_it/foot/?http://it.photos.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Dec 2002 09:07:10 -0200 From: Julio Prina Subject: Just to say hello! ---534588575.1039518430260.JavaMail.nobody.webmail1 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Hi people, i am new to the list and a old Mystara fan (since the times when the KW maps was just a blank page on the Expert Set!) To begin, any tip about information on Hule (aside from X4,5,10)? JJJ ---534588575.1039518430260.JavaMail.nobody.webmail1-- ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Dec 2002 12:29:28 +0100 From: Federico Kaftal Subject: Fwd: Re: MORE Page missing in ESD FYI, their first answer to the problem... ----Original Message Follows---- From: "SVgames support" To: "Federico Kaftal" Subject: Re: MORE Page missing in ESD Date: Mon, 9 Dec 2002 09:00:32 -0800 Thanks for contacting us. I will contact the publisher to see if they can provide this to us. Tyler Customer Service SVGames.com - A Gaming Tradition ----- Original Message ----- From: "Federico Kaftal" To: Sent: Saturday, December 07, 2002 7:02 AM Subject: MORE Page missing in ESD > Dear sirs, > > I have just downloaded another ESD: TSR930ESDPDF.1 (GAZ7 - The Northern > Reaches) and after joining it with the split free file, I see that the whole > large, full color double-sided map of the lands of Ostland, Vestland and > Soderfiord is entirely missing. > > What's happening? Did you sell us incomplete copies? Note that the Northern > Reaches Gazetteer is not at all a rare object: there are shrinkwrapped > copies on sale at Amazon. So, why is the big double-sided map missing? > I attach my previous mail for your convenience. > > Regards, > Federico Kaftal > > _________________ > Previous message: > _________________ > > Dear sirs, > > I have just downloaded ESD TSR9272ESD.PDF (The Dymrak Dread) and I notice > that there's one page missing: > > At the end of the booklet there's a dungeon map obviously consisting of > eight pages: only pages I-VII are there, the upper right page of the map has > not been scanned. > > Would you please make sure to add the page to the ESD and to send me the > missing page by e-mail as well? > > Thanks for your answer. > > Federico Kaftal > > > > > _________________________________________________________________ > Help STOP SPAM with the new MSN 8 and get 2 months FREE* > http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail > > > _________________________________________________________________ MSN 8 helps eliminate e-mail viruses. Get 2 months FREE*. http://join.msn.com/?page=features/virus ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Dec 2002 12:33:29 +0100 From: Giampaolo Agosta Subject: Re: Epic Adventures & Newbie Guide la Volpe wrote: > > Even if we can't > agree on things like Almanacs and future of Mystara, > single adventures, using as the background the 1000 AC > world would be great additions to the Vaults, to Indeed. Even shorter adventures that showcase a specific area and its inhabitants would help. Of course, writing in full module format is rather boring :( > A last note to tell you that we are struggling to > complete the Newbie Guide. Only Glantri is missing, > then we will proofread the thing and publish it as > in PDF format. > Hopefully soon...it would be great to start the new > year with it. Ok, ok, I'll write Glantri within two weeks, I promise! -- Giampaolo Agosta http://digilander.iol.it/agathokles ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Dec 2002 12:40:23 +0100 From: Giampaolo Agosta Subject: Re: Gnolls & Hutaakans, intermarriage la Volpe wrote: > > I think that we could go even further, assuming > that genetically hutaakans and gnolls are so similar > that they can have intermarriage, just like elves > and humans. You could well extend this to Lupins. > Moreover, although no one asked me about this topic, > I think we could say the same about gnomes/dwarves, Yes, there is at least on dwarf who has gnomish blood in Mystara. > and probably other races as well, like > goblins/hobgoblins/bugbear, orcs/humans/ogres. In generic AD&D, orcs can interbreed with the goblin/hobgoblin group as well. Thouls can probably interbreed with hobgoblins, and Beastmen could be compatible with certain goblinoid races as well. > No > orc/elf intermarriage, though. Why not? There were ogre/elf intermarriages (the Ndjatwa), so orc/elf could be feasible. -- Giampaolo Agosta http://digilander.iol.it/agathokles ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Dec 2002 13:16:48 +0100 From: Giampaolo Agosta Subject: Re: Just to say hello! Julio Prina wrote: > Hi people, i am new to the list and a old Mystara fan (since the times when the KW maps was just a blank page on the Expert Set!) Hi, welcome onboard! > To begin, any tip about information on Hule (aside from X4,5,10)? Here are two links on the subject: http://www.dnd.starflung.com/hule.html http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Cauldron/5014/ -- Giampaolo Agosta http://digilander.iol.it/agathokles ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Dec 2002 08:25:41 -0500 From: Castille Baromon de Preto Subject: Nithian Thoughts There seems to be alot of information about Nithia out there, and at times too much for players. What if the immortals were not out to rid the world of the Nithian's evil, but to clean the slate of the people that became the Nithians. This is to say, Nithia was a colony, just like Thothia and Minrothad. Nithia is the only name that anyone can recall, but only that it was once a legendary kingdom. The immortals saved one part of Nithia for the Hollow World, what if the other "Nithians", in the west, were so bad, they could not save any of them? ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Dec 2002 12:41:10 -0200 From: JJJ Subject: Re: Gnolls & Hutaakans, intermarriage Giampolo wrote: > > No > > orc/elf intermarriage, though. > > Why not? There were ogre/elf intermarriages (the Ndjatwa), so orc/elf > could be feasible. > -- I remind AD&D elves handbook stating elven blood being incapable of breeding with orcs, and another saying somewhere( unfortunately i do not remember the source) declared orc hatred for elves so great as to be disgusting for them to have interrelationship. Anyway this orc-elf hatred is a lot more likely AD&D stuff than the original Mystara forms. But how would it be an orcelf, or should i say elforc? Maybe ecorfl? P.S> where are the Ndjatwa from? I would like more info. Thanks :) ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Dec 2002 10:08:55 -0500 From: Castille Baromon de Preto Subject: Re: Gnolls & Hutaakans, intermarriage > > From: JJJ > > I remind AD&D elves handbook stating elven blood being incapable of breeding > with orcs, and another saying somewhere( unfortunately i do not remember the > source) declared orc hatred for elves so great as to be disgusting for them > to have interrelationship. > This has to deal with accepting Tolkein's variant of orcs and elves, and differing them to AD&D. In LOTR, goblins were twisted and tortured forms of elves during the first age. I liked this description, and adapted it to my Elven Mythology of Mystara. Then when the Shadowelves Gaz came out with their mutated offspring being adopted by orcs in the tunnels, this pretty much does represent an immortals intervention to bring the orcs back to civilty by reintroducing elvish bloodlines into their breeding. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Dec 2002 16:11:05 +0100 From: Giampaolo Agosta Subject: Re: Gnolls & Hutaakans, intermarriage JJJ wrote: > > I remind AD&D elves handbook stating elven blood being incapable of breeding > with orcs, and another saying somewhere( unfortunately i do not remember the > source) declared orc hatred for elves so great as to be disgusting for them > to have interrelationship. The elves of Mystara are different enough from AD&D elves that we may assume an interbreeding is actually possible, though probably disgusting for both parties. > Anyway this orc-elf hatred is a lot more likely AD&D stuff than the original > Mystara forms. But how would it be an orcelf, or should i say elforc? Maybe > ecorfl? It would be an half-orc, in the end. It seems (but this is mostly AD&D) that orcish genes are dominant. > where are the Ndjatwa from? I would like more info. Thanks :) The Ndjatwa are an hybrid race of elves and ogres that live in Davania. They were described by Bruce Heard in the Voyage of the Princess Ark series of articles in Dragon Magazine. This is the entry I wrote some times ago for the Sentient Races List, http://dnd.starflung.com/sentrace.html: N'djatwa A race of half-ogres, half-elves of Southern Davania, the N'djatwa are cannibalistic, and follow the lead of tribal Druids. Their numbers are quite low. -- Giampaolo Agosta http://digilander.iol.it/agathokles ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Dec 2002 10:17:45 -0500 From: Castille Baromon de Preto Subject: Re: Gnolls & Hutaakans, intermarriage To continue my last post... IMC Goblins were the result of elven and orc interbreeding, many, many years ago. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 11 Dec 2002 00:11:07 +0800 From: "Francisco V. Navarro V" Subject: Re: Was Gnolls & Hutaakans, intermarriage [Warning: Message Written In-Character] Hail Mystarans! Hail our newest denizen, JJJ! > I remind AD&D elves handbook stating elven blood being incapable of breeding > with orcs, and another saying somewhere( unfortunately i do not remember the > source) declared orc hatred for elves so great as to be disgusting for them > to have interrelationship. Ooooh! Tread carefully! Very touchy topic! We recently had very heated discussion whether or not elves breed purely or not--meaning, will elf/non-elf mating produce half-elves or pure elf/non-elf children? This debate will actually lead to the ultimate question--also known as THE-QUESTION-THAT-SHOULD-NOT-BE-ASKED!--Are there... Are th-th-there h-h-h-HALF-ELVES in Mystara? [Quick! Duck! Flame war begins! Fireballs headed this way! ***FFFFFWAASSHHHHOOOOOM*** Whew! It would be a lot easier to say Voldemort! Voldemort! Voldemort!] There are those who believe that in Mystara, there are NO SUCH THINGS as half-elves (in the true AD&D Forgettable Realms sense). It thus follows that an elf/non-elf union will always produce a child that is either an elf or a non-elf. (This is the similar with dryads and satyrs. Dryads produce daughters that are dryads and sons that are the same race as the father. Satyrs produce sons that are satyrs and daughters that are the same race as the mother.) . To them, "half-elf" is just a term used for those who are not of pure elven lineage. They are either humans with some elven blood (such the Glantrian Ambassadress to Karameikos, Don~a Marianita Lucia de Leon y Valdez), or elves with some non-elven (usually human) lineage, in the example of Lord Elrond Half-Elven in "Lord of the Rings." [Burst of applause from the Mystaran Elven Purist League! Jeers and deadly spells from the Half-Elven Recognition Movement!] Then there are those who believe that there are half-elves in Mystara. This implies that elf/non-elf unions breed half-elf. This would also imply that other unions... even ghastly ones you suggest... will produce half-elven or half-orc children. [Weak applause from the H.E.R.M...] That's it! End of speech. (Yes, I am biased for the former arguement!) [Weak applause turing into violent rants and deadly spells.... ***KKKKKKKRRRAAAKKKAAAAKKKKOOOOOMMMM****] Well, just a warning and a warm (or maybe, scorching hot) welcome to the newcomer. Kit Navarro Mad Enchanter from Glantri ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Dec 2002 08:28:37 -0800 From: Joe Kelly Subject: Freeport question This question is for those of you who have played Freeport.=20 What would Drac do if Freeport were to be invaded. Would he become the = fearless leader? or would he be the first to start packing his bags = looking for the easiest escape route? Any help would be appreciated. JK Wolf ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Dec 2002 08:29:16 -0800 From: Joe Kelly Subject: Re: Just to say hello! Hi JJJ welcome to the list, nice to see new blood!=20 :) JK Wolf ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Dec 2002 11:37:59 -0500 From: Dustin Clingman Subject: Re: Was Gnolls & Hutaakans, intermarriage This is interesting stuff. I stayed away from the defecation thread, though I thought it was funny... At this time in Blackmoor there has been no decision about half-elves. I personally am not averse to having them though. I think it related to whether you view them as a magically created race or just another flavor of humanoid. Though I love the Tolkien representation about the mystery of elves, I tend to lean towards the second option. I attribute their resilience to sleep spells to be a natural resistance based on living near enchanted woods.. The real question is what about half-dwarves?!? Dustin --- Dustin Clingman Zeitgeist Games //-----Original Message----- //From: Mystara RPG Discussion //[mailto:MYSTARA-L@ORACLE.WIZARDS.COM] On Behalf Of Francisco //V. Navarro V //Sent: Tuesday, December 10, 2002 11:11 AM //To: MYSTARA-L@ORACLE.WIZARDS.COM //Subject: Re: [MYSTARA] Was Gnolls & Hutaakans, intermarriage // // //[Warning: Message Written In-Character] // //Hail Mystarans! Hail our newest denizen, JJJ! // //> I remind AD&D elves handbook stating elven blood being incapable of //breeding //> with orcs, and another saying somewhere( unfortunately i do not //> remember //the //> source) declared orc hatred for elves so great as to be //disgusting for //them //> to have interrelationship. // //Ooooh! Tread carefully! Very touchy topic! // //We recently had very heated discussion whether or not elves //breed purely or not--meaning, will elf/non-elf mating produce //half-elves or pure elf/non-elf children? // //This debate will actually lead to the ultimate question--also //known as THE-QUESTION-THAT-SHOULD-NOT-BE-ASKED!--Are there... //Are th-th-there h-h-h-HALF-ELVES in Mystara? // //[Quick! Duck! Flame war begins! Fireballs headed this way! //***FFFFFWAASSHHHHOOOOOM*** Whew! It would be a lot easier to //say Voldemort! Voldemort! Voldemort!] // //There are those who believe that in Mystara, there are NO //SUCH THINGS as half-elves (in the true AD&D Forgettable //Realms sense). It thus follows that an elf/non-elf union will //always produce a child that is either an elf or a non-elf. //(This is the similar with dryads and satyrs. Dryads produce //daughters that are dryads and sons that are the same race as //the father. Satyrs produce sons that are satyrs and daughters //that are the same race as the mother.) . To them, "half-elf" //is just a term used for those who are not of pure elven //lineage. They are either humans with some elven blood (such //the Glantrian Ambassadress to Karameikos, Don~a Marianita //Lucia de Leon y Valdez), or elves with some non-elven //(usually human) lineage, in the example of Lord Elrond //Half-Elven in "Lord of the Rings." // //[Burst of applause from the Mystaran Elven Purist League! //Jeers and deadly spells from the Half-Elven Recognition Movement!] // //Then there are those who believe that there are half-elves in //Mystara. This implies that elf/non-elf unions breed half-elf. //This would also imply that other unions... even ghastly ones //you suggest... will produce half-elven or half-orc children. // //[Weak applause from the H.E.R.M...] // //That's it! End of speech. (Yes, I am biased for the former arguement!) // //[Weak applause turing into violent rants and deadly //spells.... ***KKKKKKKRRRAAAKKKAAAAKKKKOOOOOMMMM****] // //Well, just a warning and a warm (or maybe, scorching hot) //welcome to the newcomer. // //Kit Navarro //Mad Enchanter from Glantri // //******************************************************************** //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, 10 Dec 2002 11:32:37 -0500 From: Castille Baromon de Preto Subject: Re: Was Gnolls & Hutaakans, intermarriage > > From: "Francisco V. Navarro V" > > This debate will actually lead to the ultimate question--also known as > THE-QUESTION-THAT-SHOULD-NOT-BE-ASKED!--Are there... Are th-th-there > h-h-h-HALF-ELVES in Mystara? > Not to fan any flames, but I would think that there are no half-elves in Mystara, at least not in the Known World of Mystara. So you have half-elf/goblin in Oenkmar (a secret city), you have the half-elf/ogre in Southern Davania, you have half-elves in the Savage Coast, not to mention the Tanagoro and Elven mixing, realy a human with pointy ears. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Dec 2002 14:47:48 -0200 From: JJJ Subject: Re: Was Gnolls & Hutaakans, intermarriage Francisco V. Navarro V wrote: < Fireballss and Half-Elves... KRABUUUUUUUMMMMMM> Okay! Lets raise hell here. Remember the marvelous "Champions of Mystara", the Yavdlom divinarchy was technically a race descendent of Elves and Tanagoro: true half-elves! [Cheers form H.E.R.M, Yeah baby!] But the books said to treat them like normal humans OR the Foresters (human with elf abilities Class from DotE) [M.E.P.L guildsmen scrath their necks in doubt.........] "Elf or not so much elf, that is the question" Mystarespiere P.S> I recognized that lots of you people have alias with Mystaran nacionalities and titles, how does that function? ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Dec 2002 11:06:22 -0600 From: Eric Anondson Subject: No one expects the Glantri paparazzi! [Was: Was Gnolls...] > P.S> I recognized that lots of you people have alias with Mystaran > nacionalities and titles, how does that function? That's mostly disguises to hide from the Glantri paparazzi. ;) ... kidding! Eric Anondson ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Dec 2002 20:22:36 +0100 From: Giampaolo Agosta Subject: Re: Was Gnolls & Hutaakans, intermarriage Su 10 Dec 2002 14:47:48 -0200, JJJ ha scritto: > the Yavdlom divinarchy was technically a race descendent of Elves and > Tanagoro: true half-elves! [Cheers form H.E.R.M, Yeah baby!] Of course, there _are_ true half-elves in later Mystaran canon, the problem is mostly whether this is limited to the Savage Coast or not. In the end, this is mostly for purposes of canon consistency, since for individual campaigns I assume most people would choose either to have half-elves everywhere or nowhere at all. > P.S> I recognized that lots of you people have alias with Mystaran > nacionalities and titles, how does that function? There are no rules, no any specific pattern to nicknames and aliases, apart from a series of old threads where people discussed semi-IC on various topics, especially Thyatis vs. Alphatia... Bye, GP ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Dec 2002 20:33:24 +0100 From: Giampaolo Agosta Subject: Re: Was Gnolls & Hutaakans, intermarriage Su 10 Dec 2002 11:37:59 -0500, Dustin Clingman ha scritto: > This is interesting stuff. I stayed away from the defecation thread, > though I thought it was funny... At this time in Blackmoor there has > been no decision about half-elves. I personally am not averse to having > them though. I think it related to whether you view them as a magically > created race or just another flavor of humanoid. Though I love the > Tolkien representation about the mystery of elves, I tend to lean > towards the second option. Good, it seems more in line with the nature of elves in OD&D/Mystara. > The > real question is what about half-dwarves?!? LOL! On a Dark Sun (IIRC) website I once red about the elfling, half-elf half-halfling... are we going to miss this one? Not to mention the quarterling ;) ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Dec 2002 19:08:43 +0100 From: =?iso-8859-1?q?la=20Volpe?= Subject: Re: No one expects the Glantri paparazzi! [Was: Was Gnolls...] > That's mostly disguises to hide from the Glantri > paparazzi. ;) > > ... kidding! > > > Eric Anondson I hope so. I am a stiff-necked, overly-serious Thyatian Captain, so please, don't make fun of me here. 8-) Just go ahead and choose a name. We have already Brendan Corliss, Captain Scaevola, the Stalker of Alphatia, Glim Garrick, and so on... ===== 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 ______________________________________________________________________ Yahoo! Foto: salva, ritocca, condividi e ordina stampe professionali http://it.yahoo.com/mail_it/foot/?http://it.photos.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Dec 2002 13:58:59 -0800 From: Darth Darknerd Subject: Biology Lessons for Druids and DMs (Symbiosis) Hello all, I am taking a Biology class, and I am amazed at the many relations amongst critters and evolution. This gives great ideas for monsters and ecological relations that could be great material for an adventure. Now class (Sister Mary Elephant accent), today's topic is Symbiotic Relationship. There are three kinds: 1. Parasitism - one species benefits, other is harmed. 2. Commensalism - one species benefits, other is unaffected. 3. Mutualism - two species benefit Cool example of mutualism is the acacia tree and ants. The acacia tree has hollowed out thorns that act as a good habitat for ants, and produces these protein swellings, that serve no purpose. The ants harvest these swellings. Anything that attacks the the plant, and ants swarm and attack the predator. Without the ants, the acacia tree quickly dies from other predators. Thinking about parasitism and evolution, they gave an example of Europeans rabbits introduced into Australia around the 1940s. The rabits, well, breeded like rabbits and threaten the cattle and sheep industry. So a parasite was introduced from Europe: myxoma virus. The rabbit evolved and became immune to the virus, and now poses a problem again. (http://genetech.csiro.au/research/environment/rabbit_doc_long.htm) What does this mean? Well, thinking of this, there can be some very interesting ideas for monsters. Then also, how can magic help or disrupt the natural evolution of species in regard to this. In modern world, one major destructive factor to the environment that leeds to extinction is the introduction of an exotic species, like the rabbit in Australia, that doesn't have the same checks and balances in nature. Magic could create/summon creatures, that become exoctic species in the world, or through trade (maybe using airships or other forms of magical travel) species could be introduced that threaten the new environment. Naturally, druids might be aware of this, and probaly have an instinctive concept to purify the habitat of non-native species, and would be opposed to magical experiments, like the ones done in Nithia. Perhaps this is what led to the Immortal intervention when Nithia was destroyed. __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now. http://mailplus.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 11 Dec 2002 08:21:44 +0800 From: "Francisco V. Navarro V" Subject: Re: Biology Lessons for Druids and DMs (Symbiosis) Hail Mystarans! Hail the Dark Darthnerd, who dabbles in that despicable art of "science magic!" I've seen it on Discovery Channel and National Geographic to know of the bioecological disasters happening in Australia! And they're not just the rabbits... There were these bugs (scarab beetles) that were destroying the sugar cane crops (which itself is not native to Australia, I think). So they imported the cane toads from South America to eat them bugs. But them cane toads had no natural predators of their own, so with the bug feasts, there population boomed. And now they're considered a pest because of their impact on the plant and animal life. They also have venom and they eats many other bugs as well. (I don't remember if they introduced another animal species to prey on the cane toads...) Then there are rats and mice, that just have no predators, and are more aggressive and destructive than the native marsupial population, and have overrun certain farming areas. So, there are the cats... who are overwhelmed by the rats and mice... but also prey on the poor defenseless marsupials.... And so I am reminded of the old lady who swallowed a spider (of wriggled-and-jiggled-and-wiggled fame)... and swallowed a bird... and cat... and a dog... (Did she swallow a cow?)... and swallowed a horse and died... > Naturally, druids might be aware of this, and probaly > have an instinctive concept to purify the habitat of > non-native species, and would be opposed to magical > experiments, like the ones done in Nithia. Perhaps > this is what led to the Immortal intervention when > Nithia was destroyed. I can imagine what bio-eco disasters there are in Glantri post-WotI. Never mind the usual ravages of war (i.e. mass destruction, dead bodies, plague, and magical pollution.). With all the monsters summoned by the Alphatian wizards, there would hardly be anything left of "natural flora and fauna" in the Highlands. This could lead to a nice druid, ranger, elf nature wildernes adventure though. Druids from Darokin and Canolbarth, Wendar, and Sindhi, and even Ethengarian shamans might become a lot more active ensuring the control of the magical monsters spilling out from the Principalities. The Mad Enchanter ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 11 Dec 2002 14:53:15 +1300 From: Chris Furneaux Subject: Re: Biology Lessons for Druids and DMs (Symbiosis) > With all the monsters summoned by the Alphatian > wizards, there would hardly be anything left of "natural flora and > fauna" in the Highlands. although don't forget most of the monsters will also be "unsummoned" when the spell duration is up or simply cease to exist when the WWM hits. So it is probally fairly safe. Chris. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Dec 2002 21:23:44 -0600 From: Eric Anondson Subject: Atruaghin and Yazi similarities There is usually a single analogue in Mystara with an historic Earth culture/civilization. When there is more than one, there is usually a good explanation for what accounts for the similarity. Anyone have one for how the Yazi gnolls and goblins of the Savage Coast are nearly identical to the Horse and Bear Atruaghin clans? Eric Anondson ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Dec 2002 23:58:50 -0500 From: Christopher M Cherrington Subject: Re: Atruaghin and Yazi similarities > Behalf Of Eric Anondson > > Anyone have one for how the Yazi gnolls and goblins of the Savage Coast > are nearly identical to the Horse and Bear Atruaghin clans? > Native Americans never scalped anyone, until the French showed them how. To get around this politically incorrect behavior, the Horse and Bear clans learned from their humanoid masters before they moved on in search of the Blue Knife. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Dec 2002 22:46:57 -0800 From: Darth Darknerd Subject: Attracting Players to Mystara I'm going to try to get a gaming group for my Mystara campaign, and I was thinking of ways I can get players, and what to use to attract people. Then I thought of it: B6 Veiled Society. This is a great way to get player's involved. The player's are placed right in the middle of conflict, and they get introduced to the various houses through role-playing. There are so many opportunities for role-playing in B6, and it is not without its action as well. There other thing I like is that it is a mystery sleuth, where the PCs must solve the crime. The player’s must think and role-play. Imagine. I think B6 is a great litmus test for both getting quality players and also showing players what Mystara is about. I am going to work on this module and update it to D&D3e. Though the one thing I don't like is that the player's bring down the house. House Radu stats are much weaker in B6 than GAZ1 Grand Duchy of Karameikos or GAZ Kingdom of Karameikos, and if B6 is played true to form, the Radu clan can no longer be used as an antagonist (or protagonist depending on alliances) in the campaign. __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now. http://mailplus.yahoo.com ------------------------------ End of MYSTARA-L Digest - 9 Dec 2002 to 10 Dec 2002 (#2002-319) ***************************************************************