Subject: MYSTARA-L Digest - 6 May 2003 to 7 May 2003 (#2003-120) From: Automatic digest processor Date: 08/05/2003, 17:00 To: Recipients of MYSTARA-L digests Reply-to: Mystara RPG Discussion There are 10 messages totalling 495 lines in this issue. Topics of the day: 1. Questions, Porto =?8859_1?B?TWFsZGnn428g?=and Porto Escorpiao 2. Help! (2) 3. =?ISO-8859-1?Q?Re=3A_=5BMYSTARA=5D__________?= =?ISO-8859-1?Q?____Questions=2C_Porto_Maldi=E7=E3o_and_P?= =?ISO-8859-1?Q?orto_Escorpiao?= 4. Selections from the library of the CFRC (3) 5. =?iso-8859-1?Q?Re:______=5BMYSTARA=5D_____________Questions=2C_Porto_Ma?= =?iso-8859-1?Q?ldi=E7=E3o_and_Porto_Escorpiao?= 6. [MYSTARA] Questions, Porto =?8859_1?B?TWFsZGnn428g?=and Porto Escorpiao 7. =?iso-8859-1?B?UmU6IFtNWVNUQVJBXSBSZTogW01ZU1RBUkFdIFF1ZXN0aW9ucywgUG9y?= =?iso-8859-1?B?dG8gTWFsZGnn428gYW5kIFBvcnRvIEVzY29ycGlhbw==?= ******************************************************************** 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: Wed, 7 May 2003 11:33:39 -0400 From: Chris Cherrington Subject: Re: Questions, Porto =?8859_1?B?TWFsZGnn428g?=and Porto Escorpiao > > From: Asgor Ironfist > > I had an idea for adventures for Porto Maldição, based on the brazilian > history. Since it's placed next to many unexplored/unclamed/savage lands, > it's probable that some verdan adventures would like to explore this > regions. And this remembers me about the brazilian Bandeirantes, explorers > that explored the unknow lands west of the portuguese first colonies. The RW > Bandeirantes mainly started their "Bandeiras" (exploring missions) from a Do I smell a new Prestige Class? Do Bandeirantes have any special requirements? > So, this fits perfertly with Porto Maldição and Mato Grande. Baideirantes > could organize Bandeiras (in Mato Grande as the start point) to explore the > Terras Orcs Orientais (Western Orclands) looking for orcs to become slaves > and pass through the Pântano Podre (Rot Swamps) to reach and explore the > mountains next to Aeryl, looking for gold (and other precious metals) mines. Orcs as slaves!? Ooo, a racialy biased system of slavery, give me the pretty one, the ugly ones can go to the mines, and that huge one, send him off to Thyatis' Gladiatorial matches! An extremely charasmatic NPC could start a whole new trend, enslaving the beastmen! Although not pretty to look at, but hard workers for little quality of living. > that don't care to use forced labor. And the first nation that i think when > i found this answer was Nimmur. Nimmur is a realm of cruel Manscorpions that > can't stay under the sunlight for a long time, or they would die. So, they > would need very much someone to work on their farms, for example... First lesson in economics, know your market. Nimmur would be a very good place to introduce the beastly slaves. As profits start to build, the market can increase to ports further east, say Slagovich, who in turn would sell to Jaibul, and then Thyatis. > This would > generate an very prosperous new trade route (of slaves), just waiting for > someone with enough money to invest and take this slaves to where their > nedded the most. <> Love it, chaos makes the world richer! Add in a gold rush or two, and the world starts looking west. Soon you won't have enough orcs to enslave. People would want to work as endentured servants, just to get a chance to live in a land of "milk and honey". Add in a couple of rich Thyatians and soon you have Empire building in the west. IMC, I had a simular event. One PC from Torreon discovered the Isle of Dread. In the parties explorations, they enslaved the locals, sold them to Thyatis and soon had a very popular port of call from Torreon to Thyatis, and Thyatis to the Hinterlands. Alot of New Hispanola history went down on these isles. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 7 May 2003 12:37:37 -0400 From: SteelAngel Subject: Help! I need to change the subscription to the list, as this email is being shut down. How do I go about it? I remember that there used to at one time be a web page for the listserv, but I can't seem to find it, and I don't remember how to send commands.. Ethan -- Kinard 210 Linux Guru Webmaster www.steelangel.com ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 7 May 2003 13:09:39 -0400 From: Chris Cherrington Subject: Re: Help! > > From: SteelAngel > > I need to change the subscription to the list, as this email is being shut > down. How do I go about it? I remember that there used to at one time be a > web page for the listserv, but I can't seem to find it, and I don't > remember how to send commands.. > We don't want to lose you, so here is the link... http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Realm/2091/MMLGuide.html ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 7 May 2003 19:56:21 +0000 From: Giampaolo Agosta Subject: =?ISO-8859-1?Q?Re=3A_=5BMYSTARA=5D__________?= =?ISO-8859-1?Q?____Questions=2C_Porto_Maldi=E7=E3o_and_P?= =?ISO-8859-1?Q?orto_Escorpiao?= Asgor Ironfist wrote: > > I had an idea for adventures for Porto Maldição, based on the brazilian > history. Since it's placed next to many unexplored/unclamed/savage lands, > it's probable that some verdan adventures would like to explore this > regions. [..] > Well, that's all =) > Please don't forget to send your comments =) Just finished reading it, and it's definitely a good idea. You might want to consider the following points: 1) Pyre, the Crimson Dragon, is trying to expand his holdings to the Western Orclands, and his interests may clash with those of the Bandeirantes; 2) The Orcs are not the only dwellers of the Immortal's Arm: other humanoids that should be considered are the Enduk (more passive, but likely to react to attempts to establish mines on their mountains), the Krolli (fighting, winged lizardmen with a mercenary attitude--they might even work as slavers at some point), and the demi-ogres of Sumaa and Gombar (on the western coast, with similar motivations as the Verdans, but more firmly established); 3) The Redhawk Dragons are other powerful inhabitants of the Arm. They might join the picture as enemies of Pyre; 4) Nimmur is a good market for slave trade, indeed; Herath might be another one. Bye, -- di nuovo come un tempo sopra l'Italia intera urla il vento e soffia la bufera ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 7 May 2003 14:04:27 -0500 From: John Walter Biles Subject: Selections from the library of the CFRC Mr. Cherrington's offerings of various books for Glantrian libraries inspi= red me to get off my butt and present some tomes from the research libraries of P= Cs in past games I have run... (These are from the libraries of the CFRC, an adventuring party who eventually saved Glantri from destruction in the Wrath of the Immortals, became Archdukes of Glantri, and then the campaign died, unfortunately, as= they were working on immortality). The Fifth Harmonic of Energy (500 gp, a box of scrolls; the box is made o= f silver (it is worth another 500 gp itself) and is engraved with images of flames and = clouds) The Fifth Harmonic of Energy is an Alphatian primer on the magics of energ= y. It is a fairly straightforward theoretical text useful in the research of almost= any sort of magic which controls energy in some fashion. It is written in Alphatian; translations into Common and other languages exist, but the price usually = goes up. The King in Yellow (500 gp, Bound in Purple Velvet with brass fastenings) This version of the King in Yellow is an elaborately illustrated and annot= ated play (much cheaper, but less useful editions exist which merely print the text = of the play without comment) which parodies several of the religious myths of the cult= s of Ixion, turning it into a tale in which Ixion is an indecisive weakling tor= n between the affections of Valerias and Nyx, and how this brings tragedy and destructio= n upon the lands which worship him and contributes to the destruction of Nithia. = It is quite popular in Glantri, since Glantri rejects the worship of the Immortals, an= d banned in any land where Ixion or Valerias is worshipped. The annotations provide i= nsight into a variety of topics ranging from planar geography to the paths of imm= ortality to extra-planar magics and is thus useful for research into such topics. Some copies of the King in Yellow are perfectly harmless. However, the fi= rst set of copies of this book were created by a cult of the Outer Beings. They appe= ar mundane, but have a slowly corrupting effect on those who read the books, causing them to reject and oppose the Immortals (Will save at a difficulty= of 25 for D&D3E, Save vs. Spells at =9610 penalty for other editions). Those who fa= il the save will begin to dwell obsessively on the book and begin to seek out other se= crets of the universe, a search which will likely lead them into the hands of other= foul tomes or cults of the Outer Beings... Secrets of Pyromania (500 gp, Bound in Red Silk with copper fastenings) Secrets of Pyromania appears to be a badly done translation and condensati= on of the rare tome The Holy Power of Flame, an ancient Alphatian text written o= n the Alphatian Homeworld by the Followers of Fire. The result is that it is es= sentially a combination of badly-translated religious spiel about the glory of fire, a= nd a grimoire full of spells which do not work. A sufficiently intelligent wiz= ard can, however, use the book to aid research into fire magics. The Academy of Fi= re (the fire elementalist secret craft) is believed to possess improved versions o= f this book which contain functional spells and which are thus much more valuable. Certain rumors claim that a few cursed copies of Secrets of Pyromania exis= t which can, in fact, infect their readers with actual pyromania. If the DM decid= es such rumors are true and you have the misfortune to buy one, it requires a save= vs. spells at =963 (Will save, difficulty 18 for D&D3E) to avoid being infecte= d with pyromania. Such cursed copies typically contain one or more fire spells t= o aid you in your reign of terror. Secrets of Sindhi Mind Control, by an Darokinian Mother, (500 gp, Bound in= Purple Velvet with brass fastenings) Secrets of Sindhi Mind Control, by a Darokinian Mother is often considered= to be one of the most insane books which can yet be found in reputable magical l= ibraries. The book is a long, rambling rant about the evil Sindhi and how they are u= sing evil mind control to corrupt the youth of Darokin. Anyone with even marginal knowledge of Sindhi culture can tell that the author of the book knows ver= y little about Sind, although one may get the impression that the author had a bad experience with someone from Jaibur. However, the book does provide insig= hts into a variety of ways in which magic can be used to influence minds, maki= ng it a valuable resource for researching spells to influence minds, which is why = wizards collect it. Certain editions of the book seem to exist which contain one or more actua= l spells which can be memorized out of the book; such editions are very rare, uncer= tain of origin, and cost far more than 500 gold pieces. Watchmen (500 gp, Bound in Gray Silk with brass fastenings) Watchmen is a book about creating wards and summoning creatures capable of= acting as guards for your valuables. Written by the third century Thyatia= n merchant Ludovicus Tyraxus, this book is very popular and fairly common in= wizardly libraries. The book is unusually well and clearly laid out for a= magical research work and can be gainfully consulted by non-spellcasters who simpl= y seek a greater understanding of forms of magical security. Enchanted versions of Watchmen are known to exist which can help protect y= our research library from attack and theft. They are additionally expensive p= roportional to their powers. Baxtin's Guide to Magical Fisticuffs, Abridged (600 GP, Bound in White Sil= k) Baxtin was a tenth century wizard noted for having originally been a very = skillful unarmed combatant before he struck it rich, attended the Great School of M= agic, and became a wizard noted for his development of spells which created magi= cal hands that slapped people around. His original guide to magical fisticuff= s was a combination of grimoire and reference work on the subject; the abridged ve= rsion cuts out all the spells, making the book less valuable, but also MUCH chea= per. Baxtin later published a second edition, shortly before his death; it has = a sale value of 800 GP in the abridged edition. John Walter Biles : MA-History, ABD, Ph.D Candidate at U. Kansas ranma@falcon.cc.ukans.edu http://www.dkcomm.net/rhea/falcon.html rhea@maison-otaku.net http://maison-otaku.net/~rhea/ "That all princes shall kiss the foot of the Pope alone."--Dictatus Papae, 11th century ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 7 May 2003 15:40:05 -0400 From: Chris Cherrington Subject: Re: Selections from the library of the CFRC > > From: John Walter Biles > > Mr. Cherrington's offerings of various books for Glantrian libraries inspired me > to get off my butt and present some tomes from the research libraries of PCs > in past games I have run... > Aargh! "Mr." you make me feel old. I know you are just being polite, but my boys just call me pegleg or Chris. Good books, I will have to add copies of them to my library. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 7 May 2003 15:19:17 -0300 From: JJJ Subject: =?iso-8859-1?Q?Re:______=5BMYSTARA=5D_____________Questions=2C_Porto_Ma?= =?iso-8859-1?Q?ldi=E7=E3o_and_Porto_Escorpiao?= I am Brazilian, so let's move on! :) Your idea to use the Bandeirantes is extremely good! It is a rich and well deserving history making period of our country. In fact, there is an entirely Brazilian RPG system called "Desafio dos Bandeirantes" (Challenge of the Bandeirante). This game puts many questions that can be adressed to enrich the game, particularly racial questions (like black and indian peoples enslavement). I would put an indian culture, loosely based on the Neatharians to enrich the slave and gold rush of your ideas. In Brazil, very UNLIKELY Mexico, Bandeirantes ended mingling with the population freely and happily. Sure there was a lot of blood, but as the Bandeirantes were not conquerors like Cortez's men, and instead were more like robbersm burglars and other deported people, they searched the land for riches to find happines THERE and not to return to Portugal. The portuguese autorithies wanted all that riches to return (and pay English coffers), but many a rogue Bandeirante found his good life in the forest near an beautifull indian. It is important to stress that Brasilian indians ARE NOT like Sindhian ones, who hail from Asian Indian Culture. Ours walk naked, live by gathering and hunting and know a lot about the natural ways (Prestige Class for Rangers coming?) we had not the industrious ways of Central-American aztecs and oltecs either. Oral tradition, deep toned chanting and drumming, highlly developed weaving skills, and a "primitive" life style is what brasilian indians are about. Our indian legends regard the stars mainly and many forest spirits. I could go on and on, but if anyone is interested in better developing the Savage Coast peoples, well... just ask! :) ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 7 May 2003 17:00:15 -0400 From: Chris Cherrington Subject: Re: [MYSTARA] Questions, Porto =?8859_1?B?TWFsZGnn428g?=and Porto Escorpiao > > From: JJJ > > I am Brazilian, so let's move on! :) > > Your idea to use the Bandeirantes is extremely good! It is a rich and well > deserving history making period of our country. In fact, there is an > entirely Brazilian RPG system called "Desafio dos Bandeirantes" (Challenge > of the Bandeirante). This game puts many questions that can be adressed to > enrich the game, particularly racial questions (like black and indian > peoples enslavement). > So instead of colonizing westwards, but enslaving/populating/mixing eastwards and south of Yavi influence, and towards the Serpent Peninsula and Isle of Dread areas would be a good mixture. Raiding the Yavi coast for slaves and mixing them freely with the local Nuari and Makai peoples of the isles. This also puts the trade closer to the biggest slave clientle, Thyatis. I will need more info... ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 7 May 2003 17:14:26 -0500 From: John Walter Biles Subject: Re: Selections from the library of the CFRC On 7 May 03, at 14:40, Chris Cherrington wrote: > >> From: John Walter Biles > >> Mr. Cherrington's offerings of various books for Glantrian libraries inspired me >> to get off my butt and present some tomes from the research libraries of PCs >> in past games I have run... > > Aargh! "Mr." you make me feel old. I know you are just being polite, but my boys > just call me pegleg or Chris. > Good books, I will have to add copies of them to my library. I have found it is better to be too formal than too informal, living in Academia as I do. John Walter Biles : MA-History, ABD, Ph.D Candidate at U. Kansas ranma@falcon.cc.ukans.edu http://www.dkcomm.net/rhea/falcon.html rhea@maison-otaku.net http://maison-otaku.net/~rhea/ "That all princes shall kiss the foot of the Pope alone."--Dictatus Papae, 11th century ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 8 May 2003 00:36:17 -0300 From: Asgor Ironfist Subject: =?iso-8859-1?B?UmU6IFtNWVNUQVJBXSBSZTogW01ZU1RBUkFdIFF1ZXN0aW9ucywgUG9y?= =?iso-8859-1?B?dG8gTWFsZGnn428gYW5kIFBvcnRvIEVzY29ycGlhbw==?= Hi everyone Thanks everyone =) JJJ, eu sou brasileiro também, prazer em te conhecer! Eu suspeitei que você fosse brasileiro quando eu vi o seu email quando vc postou algo sobre os idiomas de tendência, mas eu preferi deixar pala perguntar se você era mesmo brasileiro em uma outra oportunidade. Well, in my campaing, there's no Yezchamenid Empire, but 12 indian nations (some like the Azcans [aztecs], some like the incas, some are nothing but many primitive farmer/hunter tribes... if you don't mind, i'd love to post here this in another oportunity here on the List), so it would be easier to make something more similar to what happened at the RW Brazil, with indian slaves. But i suggested the Orcs of the Western Orclands because they're so close of Porto Maldição, and because i think that their culture is somehow similar to some indian tribes (i don't know for sure, but this is true on my campaing). Another thing, the verdans are already an mixed people, so they are very similar to the RW brazilians, with ispan/oltec/tanagoro blood. So there're no need to put indians to mix with this Bandeirantes Indeed, both Bandeirantes and the indian warrior (there's an specific name for this "prestige class"?) would become very interesting prestiges, but i don't know how to create prestige classes (i never had enouth time to read this part of the DM handbook). JJJ, do you mind help me with this? =) All this ideas are very interesing and certanly the local verdans will have to deal with it, both conflit with local powers (the enduks, the dragons, Gombar and Suma'a) and an great trade slave route to other countries (specially Thyatis), but this would need a plenty of time to happen, since Porto Maldição is a ver very small and fragile colony yet. What I posted was an probable picture of this region in 5/10/20 years (after 1018 aC). Specially considering that many of this Bandeiras are orginized by an middle-lower class and are composed by an small group (this would be an very interesting low-level campaing), so they would even have a chance agains organized troops, like the enduks (for now). But this ideias are very good indeed =) Another thing, the verdans thenselves might give up using this orcs slaves in their farms, since they would give a lot of trouble (rebelions, escapes to their homeland and then possibly great attacks to the colony), so they prefer simply to sell the slaves and use free workers in their farms. They might use orcs slaves on their mines (if they find one, at leats), but they could simply mine the gold (or diamonds, pehaps? silver, who knows...) thenselves, and sell the slaves for Nimmur, Yezchamenid, and in the future, Jaibul and then Thyatis. I was woundering what would happen after Baronatos de Portos take the control of the Yalu Bay trade routes. Texeiras, even after this important trade route probably would rather try to negociate with Vilaverde and Portos, because an war against Vilaverde would be extremely prejudicial for Texeiras (specially because Torreón is waiting just one oportunity to conquer Texeiras and then Terra Vermelha), and because of that, the LB Trade Company would do the same. But Renardy probably would try to forte it's way into the Yalu Bay, even if this means an war against Vilaverde, simply because they spent some money in the zuyevan conquer of Richland, because of Preuve and because of the oportunities of profit they would lost. But Renardy probably would lost this war (after an epic battle on the Strait of Yalu, pehaps?), and Portos would take the control of Preuve as an retaliation, helping even more this new barony to consolidate itself and even became an sea power in a near future That's all =) Bye _________________________________________________________________ MSN Hotmail, o maior webmail do Brasil. http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ End of MYSTARA-L Digest - 6 May 2003 to 7 May 2003 (#2003-120) **************************************************************