Subject: MYSTARA-L Digest - 11 Jun 2003 to 12 Jun 2003 (#2003-153) From: Automatic digest processor Date: 13/06/2003, 17:00 To: Recipients of MYSTARA-L digests Reply-to: Mystara RPG Discussion There are 3 messages totalling 228 lines in this issue. Topics of the day: 1. X10 - Red Arrow, Black Shield - Miissing info! SPOILERS! (2) 2. A Taste of HackWurld ******************************************************************** 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: Thu, 12 Jun 2003 10:38:05 +0100 From: Mark Alexander Bertenshaw Subject: Re: X10 - Red Arrow, Black Shield - Miissing info! SPOILERS! ----- Original Message ----- From: "David Keyser" To: Sent: Thursday, June 12, 2003 3:00 AM Subject: Re: [MYSTARA] X10 - Red Arrow, Black Shield - Miissing info! SPOILERS! > > > > On my copy, the Generic City Chase Flow Chart (pg. 7), and the Sayr Ulan map > > (pg. 29) for that matter are missing letters and numbers, as described on > > pg. 3. Now, the letters you can make a pretty good guess at (left to right, > > top to bottom), but the location of the numbers aren't clear at all. And as > > well as that, I suspect that there is supposed to be some other text - maybe > > directions, since it is not obvious how you are supposed to described the > > alternative paths the PCs are able to take at each intersection. Can anybody > > enlighten me? > > > > I don't remember this, but I can check on that. > > > > > As well as this, I noticed that there is absolutely no explanation of how > > the Master got resurrected, > > If you know X4 and X5, I don't see why you feel an > explanation is necessary. The Master is cleary a chosen > favorite of his patron Immortal, and his life force and soul > are clearly not bound by normal life and death, as you > can see from reading about his avatar and original body in > X5. At the end of X10 it is clear he was given another > chance by his patron. Yeah, I had guessed that. But the introduction of an unnamed patron is a fix-up due to the game changes since the Companion set had been released. Before that spells were just gained by being Lawful, Neutral, or Chaotic. > > how he managed to get from level 14 to level 30 > > in a couple of years (this is a sequel to X4 and X5), > > This is a rather common complaint for NPCs that appear > across multiple supplements. The NPC didn't advance > any levels/not enough levels/too many levels for the > corresponding timeframe. Another complaint I have > never understood. What is the acceptable rate and who > gets to decide what that rate is? Well, it is kind of like going to college, doing no work for two semesters, and then suddenly cramming in the last week before the exams. It took him 300 years to get to 14th level, and then _just_by_dying_ he rockets up to 30th! Perhaps he got stuck on a world where time moves faster ... yes, that must be it. > Actually, with D&D 3E, two years for 16 levels is slow. Hmm. Literally only started looking at 3E. This seems *wrong* - in my previous games, I don't think anybody got beyond 10th level! ;-) > > and most of all, why > > the hell he now looks like the late Ayatolla Khomeini!! > > > > An artifact from the module being published in the '80's. > Feel free to disregard the artist's portrayal. Although it > looks like the US and Iran may go into conflict again, > so the Ayatollah as the bogeyman may make a comeback. He's been dead for over 10 years now. I think most people would have forgotten him by now. > > If you examine the adventure, the Master's defeat seems ridiculously > > contrived. Whilst on diplomatic business in both Alfheim and the Five > > Shires, the players just happen to come across a part of the artifact they > > require. And when Laran appears, they just happen to be in pursuit distance > > of the third part of that artifact. Ok - I know that "the Immortals" are > > involved, but this is too much! > > > > It is clear that the Master and his Immortal backers are trying to keep the > artifact out of meddling hands. It isn't a coincidence that the artifact pieces > are in the hands of spectres, or that the red dragon just recently took over > the elven tomb. It was the Master's method of protecting the pieces until > he could reach them himself. He didn't have them to start with. Part of the plot involves him using the PCs to recover the dagger *for him*. The only other explanation would be that the other immortals put them there. But then you have to wonder why they didn't find a more direct way to give them to the PCs. Answer: the module would be over without any fighting at all. > Having played it through once, the biggest problems I have seen are more to > do with the large scale battles - > > 1) By the time the players had been to every nation and returned to Darokin, > most of the fighting was over and the Master's armies had been all but wiped > out. Ylaruam and Ethengar went over to the Master, the rest of the nations > sided with Darokin. The forces of the Shires, Alfheim and Rockhome are more > than enough to push the Master's forces out. Ethengar and Ylaruam are easily > contained, although Selenica was occupied for a while. > > If you use the maps from the Darokin gazeteer, and the fortresses there, the > Master's forces have even more problems. Pushing through the Darokin > fortresses on either side of the lake is very difficult. > > In my game it meant the final battle near Sayr Ulan was less urgent. > > 2) The players expeditionary force is badly outclassed by the Masters Legion > of Doom with direct air support and Immortal strength magic. Not a huge > problem, > but the players may feel like they are set up to fail that battle. Thanks for the hints!! -- Mark Bertenshaw ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 12 Jun 2003 10:43:09 +0100 From: Mark Alexander Bertenshaw Subject: Re: X10 - Red Arrow, Black Shield - Miissing info! SPOILERS! ----- Original Message ----- From: "Chris Cherrington" To: Sent: Wednesday, June 11, 2003 10:13 PM Subject: Re: [MYSTARA] X10 - Red Arrow, Black Shield - Miissing info! SPOILERS! > > > > From: Mark Alexander Bertenshaw > > > > SPOILER SPACE > > > > > > As well as this, I noticed that there is absolutely no explanation of how > > the Master got resurrected, how he managed to get from level 14 to level 30 > > in a couple of years (this is a sequel to X4 and X5), and most of all, why > > the hell he now looks like the late Ayatolla Khomeini!! > > > > His appearance reflects the RW time frame of when this module was created. Not to start a flame war, but this module was made as a parady of the RW conflicts going on at the time. This also connects the Ylari to Hule, they were described as distantly related, though no other cannon material supports this. RW time frame? I thought that the last run-in with the Ayatollah was the hostage debacle in the early 80s. Apart from this, I can't think of any other obvious parallells. As for the Ylari / Hule connection - I think it is more a Ylari / Desert Nomad connection. The module describes the Ylari as being sympathetic to the Desert Nomads because of certain cultural similarities - no more. Actually, this is another bugbear I have with the Desert Nomads series - there aren't really many Desert Nomads in it. In fact, most of the army is actually from Hule. -- Mark Bertenshaw ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 12 Jun 2003 20:55:41 -0500 From: Magister Mystaros Subject: A Taste of HackWurld Hello Everyone! Just dropping a little note... the new Gawds & Demi-Gawds book for HackMaster includes a two-page section on the gawds of the HackWurld. This is just a taste, mind you, and includes the two "home-grown" native divinities of the HackWurld that are of the "gawd" type of divinity, as opposed to those that are of the "HackLord" type, which is the HackWurld of Mystaros equivalent of the Immortals of Mystara (sort of...) Details on the HackLords, as well as how the various peoples deal with "Odin the Gawd" versus "Odin the HackLord" will be available in the Guide to the HackWurld of Mystaros. James ****************************** James "Mystaros" Mishler Freelance Writer and Troubleshooter mystaros@earthlink.net ------------------------------ End of MYSTARA-L Digest - 11 Jun 2003 to 12 Jun 2003 (#2003-153) ****************************************************************