Subject: MYSTARA-L Digest - 1 Mar 2002 to 2 Mar 2002 (#2002-61) From: Automatic digest processor Date: 03/03/2002, 19:00 To: Recipients of MYSTARA-L digests Reply-to: Mystara RPG Discussion There are 14 messages totalling 526 lines in this issue. Topics of the day: 1. D&D Mystara Gazetteers (5) 2. Another Realms of Mystara chat 3. Thanks for the dwarf-golems 4. Almanac Frustration 5. Issues and Resolutions (long but civil) (3) 6. Physical Map of Davania? 7. Clarification 8. Emerond in NACE? or Thyatis? ******************************************************************** 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: Sat, 2 Mar 2002 03:10:12 -0500 From: Dan Eustace Subject: Re: D&D Mystara Gazetteers > As for a comprehensive AC 1000 overview its something that would be useful > for new Mystara DMs to have, as for obvious reasons not every one can shell > out hundreds of dollars to buy all the Gazetteers set in this time period ; > and I don't think everyone wants to play in the WOTI period either (I know I > don't). What is the status of the "Beginner's Guide to Mystara" project that was in the works a few months ago? I would hope that this would include an overview of the known world, even if not much more than is found in the PWAs. BTW, Jacob, when will the War Journal be returning? That was, without a doubt, the best continuing series I've ever seen on the MML. Hopefully it won't be too long. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 2 Mar 2002 02:48:08 -0600 From: John Polacek Subject: Another Realms of Mystara chat Hi everyone, It's me again, writing to let you all know that we'll be having another Neverwinter Nights/Realms of Mystara chat this Sunday at 2PM CST. We had a good turnout for the last one, and we hope to make this next one even better. Hopefully, this will be more convenient for those on the list who are outside of the US - there are a lot of you guys out there that we'd like to have be a part of our project! If the idea of online roleplaying in our favorite setting is appealing to you, I encourage you to come. Here's the addy: http://www.mystaranet.com/chatmain.htm or on IRC: Server: chat.planetz.net port: 6667 channel: #Realms_of_Mystara Hope to see you there! - Ashlander Producer, Realms of Mystara http://www.mystaranet.com _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 2 Mar 2002 13:04:34 +0100 From: Jacob Skytte Subject: Re: D&D Mystara Gazetteers Dan Eustace wrote: > BTW, Jacob, when will the War Journal be returning? That was, without = a > doubt, the best continuing series I've ever seen on the MML. = Hopefully it > won't be too long. *cough* I know, it's been longer than I had planned, but some trouble in = my life has limited my time and motivation. This and a bit of writer's = block (I discarded my initial attempts at continuing it) means that I = haven't been able to finish it yet. It's been awhile now though, so I'll = give it another try this weekend. Thank you for the words of praise, I like the story a lot myself too. It = took a few unexpected turns for me as well, as parts of it wrote itself. = I just have to find that state of mind again, so hopefully it'll = continue within a week and reach its conclusion this month. Jacob Skytte scythe@wanadoo.dk ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 2 Mar 2002 13:51:32 +0100 From: =?iso-8859-1?q?Havard=20Faanes?= Subject: Re: Thanks for the dwarf-golems Always happy to take credit, I humbly step forward and announce: It was me, me me! :) Anyways, I'm looking forward to reading your stuff on Rockhome. I'm assuming you'll be posting it here? I have another article on Dwarves that I'll be posting in a few days... Havard --- Ville V Lahde skrev: > I forget who it was who mentioned the idea of > veteran dwarves who replace > lost limbs by golem-tech. Anyway, thanks a lot! I'm > currently writing some > stuff on Rockhome, and this will give a nice touch > to the gruffy old > Torkrest war veterans I've been designing. Small > ideas and inspirations > like this are what makes MML great. By Kagyar's > beard, I salute you. > > Ville > > ******************************************************************** > 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. > ______________________________________________________ Sjekk snørapporter... fra 500 ski-destinasjoner i Europa på http://no.snow.yahoo.com/ ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 2 Mar 2002 14:04:44 +0100 From: =?iso-8859-1?q?Havard=20Faanes?= Subject: Almanac Frustration I feel strange making this complaint.. I mean, I love having tons and tons of high quality fan created material out there on web. The problem is that I feel lost in the amounts of material out there. Probably because I dont have as much time to devote to Mystara as I used to. (Don't worry, I'll always be around!) One of the things that I would like to see is, a simple general timeline of the Almanac events. (Both official and Net Almanacs). Just to give us a general overwiev of whats been going on there lately. Anyone up for the job? Havard ______________________________________________________ Sjekk snørapporter... fra 500 ski-destinasjoner i Europa på http://no.snow.yahoo.com/ ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 2 Mar 2002 09:50:44 -0500 From: Geoff Gander Subject: Re: Issues and Resolutions (long but civil) Alex wrote: > Emerond in Nace- I still have no idea where that came from. My stance on > seperating DV from Brun and Alphatia is pretty solid and longstanding. Even > based upon the Spheres of Influence, that portion of DV is within the > Thyatian Sphere. Geoff, could you elaborate on this some? I have no idea > where this comes from. This accusation came at me from out of the blue and I > am actually quite curious as to what caused it. Geoff knows of my extensive > work on DV, most set for later inclusion in the MA. You'll find scant > references to any Alphatians in any of those works. I will preface this by saying that what follows is something that may not be of interest to the general MML membership; it is simply setting the record straight. This is how I remember it: About 2 years ago, we were discussing (that is, "we"=the DV team) how to bring in new areas to the Almanac, as we periodically do. A number of areas had been covered by the Davania DM's guide, and there was general agreement that these areas should be phased in over a period of several years, both for storyline purposes and to prevent information overload. One of these areas was Emerond, of which little had been written officially, and for which Marco had done some work. I had proposed introducing Emerond by way of a short series of events where a Thyatian expedition would run across some Emerondian scouts or somesuch, and some sort of official relationship would result. I recall that you, Alex, had said that it was your opinion that Thyatis would try to conquer Emerond, rather than open diplomatic relations with it, given what had happened in the Hinterlands thus far, and the militaristic history of the empire. I disagreed, and a short discussion resulted, in which you stated that if anything, Emerond would be more likely to ally itself with NACE than Thyatis, in the interests of maintaining its independence. Again, this was about 2 years ago, and I don't think I have the old emails anymore. I suppose at the time I was a little defensive, and I referred the matter to Marco, and asked him to draft the events to his liking, since the two of us were not able to agree. Matters quickly changed to other topics, and the final product was Marco's series of events relating to the opening of relations between Thyatis and Emerond, upon which James followed with covert Emerondian material aid to the Hinterlanders last year (they are not opposed to Thyatis in the region; they just don't want them to become too powerful, yet at the same time they see the benefit of having friendly diplomatic relations with the empire). So, long story short, I saw your stance as favouring Emerond being (eventually) part of NACE, and I reacted by becoming more defensive for a time. Now, if that was not the case, then I was wrong, obviously, but that was how I saw things at the time. Nonetheless, the DV group chugged along, and we still did some good work on several fronts. Geoff PS - Ethan, thanks for the vote of confidence on my work! :-) Don't think for a moment that I'm letting you off the hook for your various projects. My reach, and memory, are long.... -- 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: Sat, 2 Mar 2002 09:53:07 -0500 From: Geoff Gander Subject: Re: Physical Map of Davania? Alex wrote: > I use Geoff's Davania maps exclusively. That's no slight against other maps > in circulation. I was introduced to Geoff's maps while working on the DV MA > Team and the DV DM's Guidebook. Another stranger aspect that causes me to > use Geoff's maps are the colors. I am colorblind and some of the other color > schemes that mapmakers use really mess with my eyes. It's good to know that my maps are still finding active use among the online Mystara community. Thanks for the testimonies, everyone; they make all those hours spent slaving away worthwhile! :-) Geoff -- 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: Sat, 2 Mar 2002 15:35:55 +0100 From: Agathokles Subject: Re: D&D Mystara Gazetteers Dan Eustace wrote: > > What is the status of the "Beginner's Guide to Mystara" project that was in > the works a few months ago? I would hope that this would include an > overview of the known world, even if not much more than is found in the > PWAs. Nothing new in the last few months. You can find the files that were produced at the mystara_newbie_guide on yahoo groups. There should descriptions for the demihuman nations, the Northern Reaches, the Sea of Dread region, and the nations of Ethengar, Ylaruam, and Atruaghin. However, the core nations of Thyatis, Darokin, Karameikos, and Glantri are still missing, so the work is not really in a good state of advancement. -- Giampaolo Agosta agathokles@libero.it agosta@elet.polimi.it http://digilander.iol.it/agathokles ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 2 Mar 2002 12:05:32 -0500 From: SteelAngel Subject: Re: Issues and Resolutions (long but civil) On Sat, 2 Mar 2002, Geoff Gander wrote: > for a moment that I'm letting you off the hook for your various projects. > My reach, and memory, are long.... eek -- Kinard 210 Linux Guru Webmaster www.steelangel.com ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 2 Mar 2002 13:17:56 EST From: Alex Benson Subject: Re: Issues and Resolutions (long but civil) Thabnks for the reply. That has been 2 years ago or more so I can understand the memory thing. All I recall of that episode was that Marco had drawn up a verison of the Emerond. I myself have a different idea of the Emerond, basing them on the survivors from the FSS Beagle being assimilated into a dying elven clan explaining the green skin and elven features. As mentioned, I opposed Thyatis getting friendly so quickly with the Emerond based on their nature (isolationist). I do recall suggesting that the Emerond would probably secretly aid the unconquered Hinterlanders against Thyatian expansion. This expansion would eventually see Thyatians approaching at the Emerond's own lands. If that was implemented then Emerond complicity would be eventually discovered, pushing the Emerond into a Nace alliance out of need. So it is possible that I may have suggested a form of alliance with Nace. However, that alliance was dependant upon alot of events that were not implemented and an alliance that was far from the Emerond from being annexed by Nace. Likewise, a forceful Thyatian expansion on DV was nixed thanks to Thyatian preoccupation with several other conflicts. I don't have any of the old mails either so I am guessing at what was said based on the discussions you mentioned. So I'll just assume that the discussions were taken out of context, in their most detrimental form towards Thy interests. If I wanted to remove Thy from northern DV I already have the perfect tools to do just such a thing. Even if kept out of the MA or DV DM's Guidebook, such a campaign would really raise an ire. Just look at the fallout from OpHydra. Anyway, thanks for commenting. I don't want to make this a "prove it" type matter. Do you think I intended the Emerond to be part of Nace? Do any of the DV Team (past and present) think I had such intentions? I know my stance on DV and can live with it. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 2 Mar 2002 15:55:07 EST From: Alex Benson Subject: Re: Clarification Just to be safe, let me clarify something about my response to Geoff (re: Issues and Resolutions). That was not an admittance that I had done what I was accused of. It was a rationalization of what might have, or could have, been said by yours truly based upon the subject matter discussed at that time. The truth is that I don't know what exactly was said and how it was said. I don't have any records of it and Geoff has no records either. Thanks man for pointing out the vagueness on that mail. Rereading it, I see how it might seem like I was admitting to the accusations. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 2 Mar 2002 14:42:45 -0800 From: Chris Furneaux Subject: Re: D&D Mystara Gazetteers > However, the core nations of Thyatis, Darokin, > Karameikos, and Glantri > are still missing, so the work is not really in a > good state of > advancement. I didn't realise that much was still missing... oh well still we should compile what we have, I think I might look into it... I have some misc. art around too, see what I can do. Still we should really finish it, and it is as much my fault as I was going to write an entry for alphatia. Perhaps we should set a deadline for shortly after the almanac is due? For those that are really interested in what is there you could always have a look at the groups site/home. If anyone feels inspired to write AC1000 entrys for the missing bits I don't think there would be any objections. Chris. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Sports - sign up for Fantasy Baseball http://sports.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 2 Mar 2002 16:41:02 -0800 From: "Jenni A. M. Merrifield" Subject: Re: D&D Mystara Gazetteers George Giorgio wrote: > > I am just starting to get my AD&D 2E: Mystara campaign off > the ground, and I in the process of acquiring new Mystara > material for my game (mostly on EBay). I could use some help > in increasing my (small) collection so any help is appreciated. [snip] > Besides EBay, where the GAZ average $25-$50 each, where else > can I buy these OOP Gazetteers? Seeing as not very many of the replies to your message gave suggestions for where else to track down OOP Gazetteers, may I suggest you check out the "OE & 2# D&D Sources" section of the "Mystaran Lore" page at the "Mystara 3E" web site. This page will eventually contain an annotated bibliography for all the source material that was consulted, at one time or another, and to one degree or another, during the development of the Mystara 3E Conversion, and this particular section of that page deals specifically with the OOP Mystaran material. The annotations for each items includes a link to the ESD versions at WotC (when they exist) and a link to an appropriate search at eBay. Additionally, there are six of the more popular online gaming stores where Mystara material may frequently be purchased listed at the very top of the section. Hope this helps you. :-) Jenni -- Jenni A. M. Merrifield :: strawberryJAMM The Benevolent Despot of the Mystara 3E Project Team http://mystara3e.starflung.com/ strawberry@jamm.com ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 2 Mar 2002 23:24:16 -0800 From: Jordi Castille Subject: Emerond in NACE? or Thyatis? Alex wrote: > Emerond in Nace- I still have no idea where that came from. My stance on > seperating DV from Brun and Alphatia is pretty solid and longstanding. Even > based upon the Spheres of Influence, that portion of DV is within the > Thyatian Sphere. Geoff, could you elaborate on this some? I have no idea > where this comes from. This accusation came at me from out of the blue and I > am actually quite curious as to what caused it. Geoff knows of my extensive > work on DV, most set for later inclusion in the MA. You'll find scant > references to any Alphatians in any of those works. I recall that you, Alex, had said that it was your opinion that Thyatis would try to conquer Emerond, rather than open diplomatic relations with it, given what had happened in the Hinterlands thus far, and the militaristic history of the empire. I disagreed, and a short discussion resulted, in which you stated that if anything, Emerond would be more likely to ally itself with NACE than Thyatis, in the interests of maintaining its independence. Again, this was about 2 years ago, and I don't think I have the old emails anymore. I suppose at the time I was a little defensive, and I referred the matter to Marco, and asked him to draft the events to his liking, since the two of us were not able to agree. Matters quickly changed to other topics, and the final product was Marco's series of events relating to the opening of relations between Thyatis and Emerond, upon which James followed with covert Emerondian material aid to the Hinterlanders last year (they are not opposed to Thyatis in the region; they just don't want them to become too powerful, yet at the same time they see the benefit of having friendly diplomatic relations with the empire). ---------------------------------------------------------- If i remember correctly, Emerond was dealing with Thyatian incursion back in 1000 A.C. according to the Voyage of the Princess Ark, when Prince Heldamar when to visit this country. The People were fugitves from Outer Space, and had crash landed in Davania's Jungle Coast. I would say that If Thyatis rediscovers Emerond, like most countries when making first contact, Thyatis may try to open Diplomatic Relations with them, first, Thyatis has been at war off and on for 10 years, by now given their current problems with the occasional fires and the slave revolts that occasionally happen, and paying for forced emigration, and the cost of war, and reopening the Aegos tunnel, the last campaign under the reign of Thincol I, during the takeover of most of the Isle of Dawn specifically the northern portion of the IoD, that war was possibly costly for Thyatis. I believe that another war might run Thyatis in debt, and they might have to borrow money from other countries, most likely Kara ! meikos, and maybe Darokin, whose immense wealth might be used to loan it to other countries for a nominal rate of interest in paying it back. Countries of the WDL might gain something from this. As for the NACE, They would be too busy stabilizing Norwold, Esterhold and the Alphatian Sea region. They have problem with the Pirates of Minaea, maintaining security on Monster Island, and the savaging of ramnant of Sunken Alphatia, all of which would cost them alot of money. These factors would cause the NACE to focus more being a little more isolated for awhile before thinking about expansion, once again. It is with this theory that i would have to say that I don't see Emerond as being in any trouble what so ever, They would possibly be living in relation calm with their independence, and attack by Thyatis would be very troublesome, and costly due to the Emerond ability to blend in with the environment Thyatis would have to think twice before going there, and just focus on maintaining their colony on the coast of their Hinterlands, especially in Raven Scarp. This is just my Theory on that matter. George Valencia --------------------------------- Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! 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