Subject: MYSTARA-L Digest - 20 Feb 2003 to 21 Feb 2003 (#2003-53) From: Automatic digest processor Date: 22/02/2003, 19:00 To: Recipients of MYSTARA-L digests Reply-to: Mystara RPG Discussion There are 48 messages totalling 2455 lines in this issue. Topics of the day: 1. Hacklopedia Mystarica: The Guide to the HackWurld of Mystaros (13) 2. Gif of the Kopru 3. Hacklopedia Mystarica: The Guide to the HackWurld of Mystaros (2) 4. Nature of the Old Ones in your campaign? (2) 5. Zyxl, was Nature of the Old Ones 6. Hacklopedia Mystarica: The Guide to the HackWurld of Mystaros (3) 7. Zeitgeist in Limbo again? (3) 8. Hacklopedia Mystarica: The Guide to the HackWurld of (5) 9. Hacklopedia Mystarica Provisos (5) 10. Hacklopedia Mystarica: The Guide... (2) 11. Ierendi (4) 12. Hacklopedia Mystarica: The Guide... Freelancing 13. HackWurld of Mystaros questions and comments 14. Question for Mystaros about Hacklopedia comment (3) 15. HW of Mystaros Q&C (Mike) 16. Hacklopedia Mystarica Provisos (Cthulhudrew) ******************************************************************** 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: Fri, 21 Feb 2003 19:45:14 +1100 From: Jonathan Nolan Subject: Re: Hacklopedia Mystarica: The Guide to the HackWurld of Mystaros Hackmaster is utter shit. It has about as much in common with Mystara in any incarnation as it does with good roleplaying. Hackmaster is a one-note joke told far too often. Ruining Mystara was inevitable I guess. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 21 Feb 2003 02:26:26 -0800 From: Darth Darknerd Subject: Re: Gif of the Kopru > Subject: Re: Gif of the Kopru > > --- Darth Darknerd : > > Crimson Death (Savage Coast novel, forget name): > > > http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/mm2_gallery/88268_620_23.jpg > > The Black Vessel? Exactly. For some reason, I just could not recall the name. I hope people enjoyed the GIFs. Has anyone checked out Savage Species (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=products/dndacc/881580000). It's awesome. It's just the sort of thing one can use to create custom monsters and have rules for custom monsterous player characters. I loved it, but it is a bit advanced. I was browsing through it at Barnes & Noble. The artwork for that one can be counf here: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/article9.asp?x=dnd/ag/ag20030209a&p=ss&g=full regards, Joaquin __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! News - Today's headlines http://news.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 21 Feb 2003 12:26:45 +0100 From: =?iso-8859-1?q?Havard=20Faanes?= Subject: Re: Hacklopedia Mystarica: The Guide to the HackWurld of Mystaros First of all: congratulations! Second: Its not nice to kick someone when they are down... Mystara is finally to be released again. But as a sillified clone of its former self? My players have problems taking Mystara seriously as it stands. Now, what am I going to tell them? On the bright side, I have always admired your works and I think you are the man to pull this off. However, the answer you did not answer yourself is: Is this product going to be of any use/interest to people who want to run a serious campaign in Mystara? *Will the maps be nice or just comic-bookish? *Will there be new and useful setting information that can be used for serious purposes? *Will there be new monsters that arent just stupid? I love Knights of the Dinner Table, but not enough to buy an entire RPG-joke. And Mystara...oh no... I hope you understand the worries of this list. Anything you can say to comfort us will be most welcome... Håvard --- Magister Mystaros skrev: > I have been wanting to tell you all for a while now, > veritably bursting at > the seams. They finally announced it earlier today. > This is going to ROCK! > And I say that with all humility... (^_^) > > ***Begin Press Release** > MUNDELEIN, IL Kenzer & Company is pleased to > announce the impending release > of the first HackMasterT campaign setting book, the > HacklopediaT MystaricaT: > The Guide to the HackWurldT of MystarosT, based on > the classic Dungeons & > Dragons® setting, the Known World of Mystara®. > > "We have always wanted to rewrite the classic > fantasy game settings of our > youth for our own HackMaster setting, Garweeze > WurldT," said Kenzer & > Company Project Manager, Brian Jelke. "The classic > Known World of Mystara > was the perfect choice for our first release. > Mystara has everything you > could want in an adventure setting, from hordes of > screaming humanoids and > wuss-slapping knights, to mysterious vivisectionist > wizards and butt-kicking > halfling bounders. Besides, we knew we had the right > author for the project > when he asked us how much he had to pay us to do > it!" > > "Are you kidding? Pass up an opportunity to redesign > Mystara for > HackMaster?" said Hacklopedia Mystarica designer, > James 'Mystaros' Mishler. > "I would have sold my dice collection for the > opportunity! Well, half of it, > maybe. The revamp of the classic Mystara setting for > the HackMaster milieu > was a given since day one of HackMaster. The Known > World Gazetteers and the > later Mystara releases helped define the look and > feel of fantasy worlds for > thousands of players. The new HackWurld of Mystaros, > in which we take the > original Mystara material and crank up the > HackFactor, will do the same for > a new generation of gamers." > > The "Hacklopedia Mystarica: The Guide to the > HackWurld of Mystaros" is being > written by crazed Mystara fan James Mishler and goes > on sale in late summer > of 2003. The book is expected to be a 256-page soft > cover sourcebook that > will include a 2'x3' full-color wall map of the > HackWurld of Mystaros. > Estimated retail price is $34.99. > > About Kenzer & Company > For more information on Kenzer & Company, check out > http://www.kenzerco.com. > HackMaster, Garweeze Wurld, Hacklopedia Mystarica, > and HackWurld of Mystaros > are trademarks of Kenzer & Company. Dungeons & > Dragons, D&D, and Mystara are > registered trademarks owned by Wizards of the Coast, > Inc., a subsidiary of > Hasbro, Inc. and used by Kenzer & Company under > license. > ***End Press Release*** > > To answer some questions I'm sure to get before they > are asked... > > 1) Taymorans and Carnifex -- Yes. More than this, > man was not meant to know. > Mwahahahaha! > 2) Blackmoor -- Unfortunately, no, due to copyright > and licensing issues. > What did Mystaros come up with to take its place? > Mwahahahaha! > 3) Hollow World -- No, not as such, due to certain > continuity issues. But > there will be some materials from it incorporated > into the HackWurld. > 4) Heldann and Wendar -- More details on each > nation, as much as will be > found for each of the classic gazetteer kingdoms. > 5) Ierendi -- Hee hee. Let's just say "the fix is > in." Mine! Mine! > Mwahahahahaha! > 6) The rest of Mystara (the "HackWurld of Mystaros" > region being synonymous > with the "Known World of Mystara" region) -- The > rest of the world will be > changed, some parts little, some parts a lot. I > don't know how much I can > tell you all at this point, as I didn't know the PR > was going out this soon, > and hadn't asked how much I could tell. > 7) Fan-written materials from the Vaults of Pandius > -- Probably not, due to > copyright issues, but I am still delving into that. > Other than my own stuff > that has been seen in drips and drabs, here and > there, that is, as I sold my > soul to get this gig, and my Mystara material goes > with it... (^_^) > 8) Previews -- I am hoping that we will be able to > preview parts of the > setting in Knights of the Dinner Table, maybe > elsewhere, before release. > That is still under consideration. > 9) Mystaros -- Yes, you will finally get to meet the > real Mystaros. All > these years he has been my Mystaran counterpart, as > Elminster is Ed > Greenwood's Forgotten Realms ID, and Mordy and Bigby > in Greyhawk to Gary > Gygax. > > More than that I cannot say at this time. I'll spill > as much as I can here, > when I know what I can say... > > Gah! It's finally out in the open. Hooray! > ::Cartwheels:: This is so going > to ROCK! > > Now you all know why I've been quieter than normal, > even after being back... > (^_^) > > James > > ****************************** > James "Mystaros" Mishler > Freelance Writer and Troubleshooter > mystaros@earthlink.net > > ******************************************************************** > 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. > ______________________________________________________ Få den nye Yahoo! Messenger på http://no.messenger.yahoo.com/ Nye ikoner og bakgrunner, webkamera med superkvalitet og dobbelt så morsom ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 21 Feb 2003 03:27:11 -0800 From: Andrew Theisen Subject: Re: Hacklopedia Mystarica: The Guide to the HackWurld of Mystaros Jonathan Nolan wrote: > Hackmaster is utter shit. It has about as much in common with Mystara in any > incarnation as it does with good roleplaying. Hackmaster is a one-note joke > told far too often. Ruining Mystara was inevitable I guess. > > > So nice to see people keeping an open mind about things. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 21 Feb 2003 12:54:03 +0100 From: =?iso-8859-1?q?la=20Volpe?= Subject: Re: Nature of the Old Ones in your campaign? I have written a long article on the origin and nature of the Multiverse. You can find it at Shawn's somewhere, it's called "A Complete Guide to the Cosmos". It may also be found at the Nightmare Project Home Page, http://www.geocities.com/iuliusscaevola Enjoy and let me know questions, curiosities etc. if you like it or not... ===== 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! Cellulari: loghi, suonerie, picture message per il tuo telefonino http://it.yahoo.com/mail_it/foot/?http://it.mobile.yahoo.com/index2002.html ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 21 Feb 2003 12:54:37 +0100 From: Francesco Defferrari Subject: Re: Hacklopedia Mystarica: The Guide to the HackWurld of Mystaros ----- Original Message ----- From: "Havard Faanes" > Mystara is finally to be released again. But as a > sillified clone of its former self? My players have > problems taking Mystara seriously as it stands. Now, > what am I going to tell them? Well, I'm happy that at least something of Mystara will be published again after so many years.. I think I'll buy the book anyway, even if It'll be only a parody of my beloved world... Sure I'll be happier if Mystara was to be republished as a serious setting, but.. something is better than nothing... and anyway this list, the almanac, Shawn's site and the many others fansites are keeping "serious" Mystara alive and well... bye Francesco ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 21 Feb 2003 13:00:03 +0100 From: Francesco Defferrari Subject: Zyxl, was Nature of the Old Ones ----- Original Message ----- From: "Chris Cherrington" I had one NPC that was "touched" by an Old One, he was an Orc that lived in Zyxl. He was a famous oracle, but only when he consumed mass quantities of beer, and then nobody understood what he said. I've always been curious about Zyxl, and I think there aren't informations about this land nor canon nor fan-created. What kind of place it was in your campaign ? bye Francesco ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 21 Feb 2003 07:24:01 -0500 From: Dustin Clingman Subject: Re: Hacklopedia Mystarica: The Guide to the HackWurld of Mystaros Congrats James! Sorry about the Blackmoor part missing ;P We have plans to do that one ourselves shortly. Kenzer has been after us for a while to get the ball rolling on that. I disagree when people say Hackmaster is crap. If you have any sense of humor or have played with any of the types of people that game reflects, you will just laugh your butt off. Just reading the rulebooks is funny, let alone the actual game. In a world of total clones, at least they have humor on their side. Plus they added tons of rules to the licensed stuff they got from WoTC. Bottom line, it's fun stuff. Maybe not the way people wanted to see Mystara come back, but it's fun nevertheless. I look forward to reading it when it comes out! Dustin -- Dustin Clingman Zeitgeist Games, Inc. www.zeitgeistgames.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 21 Feb 2003 13:41:13 +0100 From: =?iso-8859-1?q?Havard=20Faanes?= Subject: Re: Hacklopedia Mystarica: The Guide to the HackWurld of Mystaros --- Francesco Defferrari : > Well, I'm happy that at least something of Mystara > will be published again > after so many years.. I think I'll buy the book > anyway, even if It'll be > only a parody of my beloved world... Sure I'll be > happier if Mystara was to > be republished as a serious setting, but.. something > is better than > nothing... and anyway this list, the almanac, > Shawn's site and the many > others fansites are keeping "serious" Mystara alive > and well... I probably will too. Unless I am too disappointed when I flip through it in the stores. I am sceptical though. But deep down there, there is a small hope...please let it be good! :) Håvard ______________________________________________________ Få den nye Yahoo! Messenger på http://no.messenger.yahoo.com/ Nye ikoner og bakgrunner, webkamera med superkvalitet og dobbelt så morsom ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 21 Feb 2003 13:45:05 +0100 From: =?iso-8859-1?q?Havard=20Faanes?= Subject: Re: Hacklopedia Mystarica: The Guide to the HackWurld of Mystaros --- Andrew Theisen skrev: > Jonathan Nolan wrote: > > >Hackmaster is utter shit. It has about as much in > common with Mystara in any > >incarnation as it does with good roleplaying. > Hackmaster is a one-note joke > >told far too often. Ruining Mystara was inevitable > I guess. > So nice to see people keeping an open mind about > things. You are right. I had the same opinion of the Munchkin card game, but when I tried it I found that it is absolutely hilarous! I do love the other stuff from KenzerCo, but I never picked up Hackmaster as I found it a tad too expensive just for laughs. Has anyone else played the Hackmaster RPG or even read through the books? What can we expect from their version of Mystara? Håvard ______________________________________________________ Få den nye Yahoo! Messenger på http://no.messenger.yahoo.com/ Nye ikoner og bakgrunner, webkamera med superkvalitet og dobbelt så morsom ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 21 Feb 2003 23:53:35 +1100 From: Jonathan Nolan Subject: Re: Hacklopedia Mystarica: The Guide to the HackWurld of Mystaros > >Hackmaster is utter shit. It has about as much in common with Mystara in any > >incarnation as it does with good roleplaying. Hackmaster is a one-note joke > >told far too often. Ruining Mystara was inevitable I guess. > > > > > > > So nice to see people keeping an open mind about things. I'm through giving Hackmaster chances... it's had years to capitalise on the inheritance of the past-edition D&D licences, but no, one joke per game system is the limit. They have toned down the parody of the proper gaming companies also, now that they have metamorphosed into a moneyspinning enterprise. I signed up for all things Hackmaster once upon a time and between the unprofessional way the company ran its support and the tiresome interpolation of , not to mention their CRAZY prices for what is essentially badly rewritten rehashes of materials written by the luminaries of TSR of old. There are ESDs a-plenty out there of the proper stuff, so why pay top dollar for a "funny" rewrite or now in the case of Mystara outright butchery? ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 22 Feb 2003 00:04:55 +1100 From: Jonathan Nolan Subject: Re: Hacklopedia Mystarica: The Guide to the HackWurld of Mystaros > I disagree when people say Hackmaster is crap. If you have any sense of humor Yes, I do - I guess that is part of the problem. or have played with any of the types of people that game reflects, Who hasn't? As a game system it makes an excellent 12-issue comicbook. > you will just laugh your butt off. Afraid not. > Just reading the rulebooks is funny, let alone the actual game. In a world of total clones, Not really justified. Iron Kingdoms... Sky Federation... Conan... Arcanis... Dragonstar... Cowboys and Dinosaurs.... yeah, total clones. You need to earn your spurs before making that kind of comment. > at least they > have humor on their side. Who doesn't? They need a better gimmick. > Plus they added Let's say "borrowed from the gaming community" > tons of rules to the licensed > stuff they got from WoTC. They "got" it because WotC used their comic without a licence (WotC doing something like that? Surely not!). It was a windfall and a destructive move against the older D&D versions by the 45 year old "new kids" at WotC. > Bottom line, it's fun stuff. Sales say otherwise. Fortunately. Now Kingdom of Calamari - THAT is funny stuff. For that authentic retro feel and a lot of unintentionally funny one-liners, Calamari is the tour de force. > Maybe not the way people wanted to see Mystara come back, but it's fun nevertheless. You ARE a fan of Mystara, right? You actually like the setting? OK, then can you see the difference between humour IN a product, which Mystara and Blackmoor have always been famous for, as opposed to unfunny sophomore crap, which is what Kenzerco is "famous" for. Everyone's heard of D&D and without realising it have also heard of the Known World, as its adventures were universally distributed. Who's heard of Kenzer? Sod all people other than hardcore gamers. Does matching up the most ubiquitous setting ever with notorious second-stringers make sense? Not to me. Whatever. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 21 Feb 2003 14:05:04 +0100 From: =?iso-8859-1?q?Havard=20Faanes?= Subject: Re: Zeitgeist in Limbo again? --- Dustin Clingman skrev: > I can understand that point. I think that I made a > rookie mistake in > this end of the biz by getting the bees bumbling too > soon. I come from > the video game industry so the more hype the better > on that end. > Promotion starts many many month in advance. > Sometimes it takes that > long to really get the word out. :) Promotion is good. But I think we all would love to see more stuff on your website. And making promises you cant hold makes us worry. I'm glad you are still on this list, but updating your site every now and then would be nice. Have a look at www.greenronin.com for one of the best rpg companies to support their products online I have seen in a while... Håvard ______________________________________________________ Få den nye Yahoo! Messenger på http://no.messenger.yahoo.com/ Nye ikoner og bakgrunner, webkamera med superkvalitet og dobbelt så morsom ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 21 Feb 2003 14:50:09 -0000 From: Colin Davidson Subject: Re: Hacklopedia Mystarica: The Guide to the HackWurld of Mystaros ----- Original Message ----- From: "Magister Mystaros" To: Sent: Friday, February 21, 2003 1:40 AM Subject: [MYSTARA] Hacklopedia Mystarica: The Guide to the HackWurld of Mystaros > I have been wanting to tell you all for a while now, veritably bursting at > the seams. They finally announced it earlier today. This is going to ROCK! > And I say that with all humility... (^_^) (CUT) I like humour in games. But I don't like humorous games, nor do I want the game setting I have used for many, many years to become a comedy setting. Mystara has always been quirky, distinctive and witty. Hackmaster hasn't. My fingers are crossed. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 21 Feb 2003 10:28:15 -0500 From: Dustin Clingman Subject: Re: Hacklopedia Mystarica: The Guide to the HackWurld of Mystaros > Not really justified. Iron Kingdoms... Sky Federation... Conan... Arcanis... Dragonstar... Cowboys > and Dinosaurs.... yeah, total clones. You need to earn your spurs before making that kind of > comment. Hahaha, I got plenty of spurs, but you missed my point. What I am saying is that the game play style isn't a carbon copy of many of the games out there. To be clear, it promotes a sillier style of play than the more serious RPGs out there. That style isn't for everyone though. From time to time, I enjoy just goofing around in a game. I suppose that is possible without playing Hackmaster though. > They "got" it because WotC used their comic without a licence (WotC doing something like that? > Surely not!). It was a windfall and a destructive move against the older D&D versions by the 45 year >old "new kids" at WotC. Business is business. > Sales say otherwise. Fortunately. Now Kingdom of Calamari - THAT is funny stuff. For that authentic >retro feel and a lot of unintentionally funny one-liners, Calamari is the tour de force. I have seen quite a boon of Hackmaster games in my area. People enjoy playing in a light hearted way. If the sales were that bad or they didn't think they could cover bases, they wouldn't be working on a Mystara release. > You ARE a fan of Mystara, right? You actually like the setting? Yes, I am a fan of Mystara. I guess I am more easy going than some others. I prefer to spend my time focusing on positives rather than wasting time with things I can't control. Oh wait! I can control whether I choose to buy the book or not. If you disapprove cast your votes with dollars and not venomous replies. Dustin -- Dustin Clingman Zeitgeist Games, Inc. www.zeitgeistgames.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 21 Feb 2003 10:31:04 -0500 From: Dustin Clingman Subject: Re: Zeitgeist in Limbo again? Well the only thing that we didn't do was release the updated version of the doc that you all had the chance to download in advance of anyone on the planet. We cleaned it up quite a bit and then prepared it to be released. I will make an effort to keep the website updated more frequently. I am also considering a forum for the site as well. If anyone has anything to worry about it's me and the money I would lose if this book was never published or it just sucked out loud... I won't let that happen. ;) Thanks, Dustin -----Original Message----- From: Mystara RPG Discussion [mailto:MYSTARA-L@ORACLE.WIZARDS.COM] On Behalf Of Havard Faanes Sent: Friday, February 21, 2003 8:05 AM To: MYSTARA-L@ORACLE.WIZARDS.COM Subject: Re: [MYSTARA] Zeitgeist in Limbo again? --- Dustin Clingman skrev: > I can understand that point. I think that I made a > rookie mistake in > this end of the biz by getting the bees bumbling too > soon. I come from > the video game industry so the more hype the better > on that end. > Promotion starts many many month in advance. > Sometimes it takes that > long to really get the word out. :) Promotion is good. But I think we all would love to see more stuff on your website. And making promises you cant hold makes us worry. I'm glad you are still on this list, but updating your site every now and then would be nice. Have a look at www.greenronin.com for one of the best rpg companies to support their products online I have seen in a while... H=E5vard ______________________________________________________ F=E5 den nye Yahoo! Messenger p=E5 http://no.messenger.yahoo.com/ Nye = ikoner og bakgrunner, webkamera med superkvalitet og dobbelt s=E5 morsom ******************************************************************** 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: Fri, 21 Feb 2003 10:40:36 -0500 From: SteelAngel Subject: Re: Hacklopedia Mystarica: The Guide to the HackWurld of Mystaros On Fri, 21 Feb 2003, Havard Faanes wrote: > Mystara is finally to be released again. But as a > sillified clone of its former self? My players have > problems taking Mystara seriously as it stands. Now, > what am I going to tell them? Considering that Mystara is a parody in and of itself to some extent, I certainly hope that James realizes this. One thing that frightens me is that he's going to change Irendi, which is just the type of setting that Hackmaster -is-, silly and irreverent. I mean, how can you NOT like Irendi? I find the concept bizarre. Ethan -- Kinard 210 Linux Guru Webmaster www.steelangel.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 21 Feb 2003 17:19:51 +0100 From: =?iso-8859-1?q?Havard=20Faanes?= Subject: Re: Zeitgeist in Limbo again? Don't take it the wrong way. Its just that we care :) And ofcourse we always want to see more! A forum is not a bad idea, especially if you can generate some activity on it. It is probably bound to happen anyways as your deadline moves closer. Some general info about the setting, about Arneson and maybe about the various incarnations of Blackmoor would be interesting too. And more press releases! They are always good. Good luck :) Håvard --- Dustin Clingman skrev: > Well the only thing that we didn't do was release > the updated version of > the doc that you all had the chance to download in > advance of anyone on > the planet. We cleaned it up quite a bit and then > prepared it to be > released. I will make an effort to keep the website > updated more > frequently. I am also considering a forum for the > site as well. If > anyone has anything to worry about it's me and the > money I would lose if > this book was never published or it just sucked out > loud... I won't let > that happen. ;) > > Thanks, > > Dustin > > -----Original Message----- > From: Mystara RPG Discussion > [mailto:MYSTARA-L@ORACLE.WIZARDS.COM] On > Behalf Of Havard Faanes > Sent: Friday, February 21, 2003 8:05 AM > To: MYSTARA-L@ORACLE.WIZARDS.COM > Subject: Re: [MYSTARA] Zeitgeist in Limbo again? > > > --- Dustin Clingman skrev: > > > I can understand that point. I think that I made a > > rookie mistake in > > this end of the biz by getting the bees bumbling > too > > soon. I come from > > the video game industry so the more hype the > better > > on that end. > > Promotion starts many many month in advance. > > Sometimes it takes that > > long to really get the word out. :) > > > Promotion is good. But I think we all would love to > see more stuff on your website. And making promises > you cant hold makes us worry. I'm glad you are still > on this list, but updating your site every now and > then would be nice. > > Have a look at www.greenronin.com for one of the > best > rpg companies to support their products online I > have > seen in a while... > > Håvard > > ______________________________________________________ > Få den nye Yahoo! Messenger på > http://no.messenger.yahoo.com/ Nye ikoner > og bakgrunner, webkamera med superkvalitet og > dobbelt så morsom > > ******************************************************************** > 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. > > ******************************************************************** > 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. > ______________________________________________________ Få den nye Yahoo! Messenger på http://no.messenger.yahoo.com/ Nye ikoner og bakgrunner, webkamera med superkvalitet og dobbelt så morsom ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 21 Feb 2003 11:43:04 -0500 From: Geoff Gander Subject: Re: Hacklopedia Mystarica: The Guide to the HackWurld of Greenlantern wrote: > >> I disagree when people say Hackmaster is crap. If you have any sense of > humor > > Yes, I do - I guess that is part of the problem. Everyone has the right to express their opinion about a product, but I draw the line when it degenerates into a potential flame war, like this. No one's interests will be served if this persists. Some of us - myself included - are a bit anxious about the announcement of this upcoming book. All of us have a vested interest in ensuring that such a fascinating, well-detailled game world lives on in our minds, and in those of people whom we hope to win over. Some people here, and in other fora, have expressed misgivings about the suitability of Hackmaster as a vehicle for resurrecting Mystara - albeit in a modified form. I, for one, am prepared to give James the benefit of the doubt. I had the pleasure of meeting him at GenCon in 2001, and found him to be a very pleasant person - easy to talk to. I also know that he is highly imaginative, and that he loves Mystara as much as any of us do - I do not believe that he would undertake such an effort (and what he is doing is a difficult task) if he did not think that it might, at some level, be of benefit to Mystaran fandom. With that in mind, I will gladly buy a copy of his book when it comes out, and reserve judgement until after I have read it. As others have pointed out, Mystara has never taken itself too seriously, and I am more than willing to overlook a possibly crasss joke or two, if it results in increased interest in our favourite game world, which could, in turn, spark more interest in what we do. So, I would ask all of you to calm down, and I would ask James to come forward and try to provide more details concerning what he is doing, if he is willing to do so. Thanks, 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: Fri, 21 Feb 2003 18:01:21 +0100 From: Thibault Sarlat Subject: Hacklopedia Mystarica: The Guide to the HackWurld of Amen Geoff i also would like to know more about James work... there is enough war threat by now in the RW for us to quarrel about our own unique sense of derision and humor. After all our beloved world only lives in our minds. We are all free to let in or out anything we judge fit for our campaign. i think it great to know that one of ours (fan of mystara) has been judged talented enough to be part of a professionnal team of writers. i envy you James for this. it must be great to live thanks to ones passion. if only i could live on my maps.... Thibault Sarlat. Techniques de l'Ingénieur Port: 06 84 92 32 55 Fax: 05 56 96 85 24 www.techniques-ingenieur.fr ICQ 16622177. Personal homepage http://www.mystara.fr.st thibault.sarlat@wanadoo.fr ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 22 Feb 2003 06:53:51 +1100 From: shawn stanley Subject: Re: Nature of the Old Ones in your campaign? At 12:54 21/02/03 +0100, you wrote: > I have written a long article on the origin and nature > of the Multiverse. > You can find it at Shawn's somewhere, under Atlas -> Mystaraspace -> A Complete Gudie to The Cosmos the direct link is http://dnd.starflung.com/cosg_cnt.html > it's called "A > Complete Guide to the Cosmos". It may also be found at > the Nightmare Project Home Page, > http://www.geocities.com/iuliusscaevola > > Enjoy and let me know questions, curiosities etc. if > you like it or not... shawn stanley what have you done for me lately ... more to the point what have i done for me - mightyfew, "i can't wait" ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 21 Feb 2003 14:50:21 -0600 From: Magister Mystaros Subject: Re: Hacklopedia Mystarica: The Guide to the HackWurld of Mystaros <> Thank you Ethan. I plan very much on NOT sucking... (^_^) James ****************************** James "Mystaros" Mishler Freelance Writer and Troubleshooter mystaros@earthlink.net ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 21 Feb 2003 16:08:00 -0600 From: Magister Mystaros Subject: Hacklopedia Mystarica Provisos Okay, here goes with a few more broad generalizations... First off, I want to say that basically, whatever happens with Mystara in the Hacklopedia Mystarica will be by MY decision. If you don;t like something that happens in the Hacklopedia, blame me, not Kenzer. They have given me carte blanche to work on it. The crona stops here, so to speak. So if you must curse someone, curse me. Second, remember, I am as rabid a Mystara fan as you are going to find. This is not going to suck, or, I should say, I do not PLAN to make this suck. This is not going to be an unplayable parody. It will still be a parody, though, as that is part and parcel of what comes with the HackMaster territory. However, it will be a parody that makes it eminently even MORE Mystara than Mystara, if I may be so bold. I am taking the things that make Mystara, and give it its special essence, and making them "more so." I am also cranking up the HackFactor, too, to go along with the HackMaster feel. This is a good thing. The guys at Kenzerco tapped me to do this because, though they want to do the all AD&D worlds for HackMaster, they want people who are both familiar with HackMaster AND the world in question to make the adaptation. I like to think they made a good choice. Third, remember, this is the HackWurld of Mystaros, not the Known World of Mystara. This is a world based on the original Mystara. It is not a replacement for Mystara, and does not change anything that anyone has ever done before as far as Mystara goes. This will be, for all intents and purposes, my own version of Mystara. This will be the Canon HackMaster Mystara, not the Canon Wizards of the Coast Mystara. Even if you do not play HackMaster, but you like something from it, take it and use it, by all means. Some things I can now reveal: 1) Geographic changes -- The "HackWurld" of the title is the "Known World," plus a little to the north. I am "recentering" the HackWurld to include Wendar, Denagoth, the Heldann Territories, and Landfall and parts north. Why? Well, the "Known World" of Mystara used to include the Thanegioth Archipelago, which was supposed to be as unknown as anyplace in the Known World. So, rather than include the islands in the big map we are doing, I wanted to fit in more of the lands to the north. Thus, the "HackWurld of Mystaros" includes the lands from a line south of (but inclusive of) Wendar, Denagoth, Heldann, and Landfall (including some of the Wyrmsteeth, crawling with dragons for adventurers to slay). The end of the HackWulrd in the west will be Akesoli, in the east the Western Sea of Dawn, and in the south the Sea of dread just south of Ierendi, Minrothad, and the Isle of Hattias. That way, the incredibly cool 2' x 3' map (at 50 miles/inch) will include a lot more than the open seas of the sea of dread and some islands that the players shouldn't know much of anyway... There will be a few minor fixes to the geography of the HackWurld, nothing that takes away anything, but a few things that make the world make more sense. One thing I will mention is the Trollheim Rise. This is the region flanking the border between Ethengar and Vestland. In the traditional Known World, it is simply a region of forested hills. In the HackWurld, it is a region of huge ridges, rising up to the Ethengar Plateau. The ridges swarm with trolls and other such beasties, living in the ancient tunnels once carved and anhabited by gnomes. This change fixes the nature of the flow of the Krandai River while also adding a lot of cool adventuring opportunities, without significantly altering anything. This is the kind of limited geographical change that happens in the HackWurld. Stuff that makes the world cooler, while fixing inconsistencies and so forth. Geographic regions will be described in detail. >> From the HackWurld on out, however, there are more changes. Some of them quite drastic. Remember, this Mystara is not the original Mystara, it is the world of Mystara on Aldrazaar, the HackMaster world. The largest changes occur with Davania and Skothar. Most of Davania is, well, gone, sunk beneath the waves. The portion of Davania north of the Aryptian Basin remains. The same must be said for Skothar. The Esterhold Peninsula remains, as does the portion once known as "Jen." Minaea also remains. The rest is sunk beneath the waves. These lands were lost during the "Great Rain of Fire" event, according to Mystaran myth and legend. The reason they do not exist on Aldrazaar, of course, is to make room for the rest of the world, which is already there. As for Brun, there are changes as well. Most of the lands west of the Yalu/Borean river have fallen into the water, this time, between 2000 and 1700 BC. There remain the great Isle of Hyborea, the Sylvan Isles, and the Isles of the Immortals. There is a whole story behind this, which I cannot reveal here (I have to save some surprises for the actual book.) You will notice a pattern here. The areas that were "dropped off" are those that never got major development in Canon Mystara. Now, of course, in your own campaigns, if you want the rest of Mystara to still be there, you can do that. Alphatia, Bellissaria, the Isle of Dawn, Ochalea, Nuar, the Serpent Peninsula, the Savage Coast, Norwold, the Midlands... all remain. 2) Hollow World -- The Hollow World does not exist, as such, in the HackWurld. There is the HackWurld equivalent, but I want to save the details of that for the book, to be a surprise. It's cool, believe me. 3) History -- Okay, this one is a doozy. Some of you will brand me a heretic forever for doing it. The biggest news is that the HackWurld of Mystaros will be set in 1000 AC. The Wrath of the Immortals has not yet (will not?) happen. The reasons for this are many and varied. From a HackMaster standpoint, the most important reason is that a Mystara without Alphatia is no Mystara at all. Alphatia rocks, pure and simple, and without it Mystara is much, much poorer. Additionally, the changes that occured during the "Wrath of the Immortals" were many... too many, too much, in too short a time. The Known World should have been cast back into the stone age just because of the big meteor, let alone any of the other things. As we've discussed here just recently, the sinking of Alphatia and the invasion of the Desert Nomads were more than enough combined to ruin civilization. Altogether, the reasons behind this, and the implications of it, will be detailed in the book. In addition, there will be a massive, comprehensive, cross-indexed History, complete with adventure kernels and notes. Carnifex, Serpentines, and Taymorans included. It has always been my firm belief that the best adventures are those that tie into what has gone before, and this will allow game masters to tie characters intimately to the world around them. 4) Culture -- One of the definiteve things that made Mystara, well, Mystara, was the fact that each of these nations had a distinctive culture. Those remain; in some cases, they are taken more to an extreme, in a HackMaster way. Thyatis is even more Byzantine, with daggers flying freely. The division between the Kin and Preceptor factions in Ylaruam is even more pronounced. The Norse of the Northern Reaches are even more viking and barbaric. You get the idea. "More Mystaran than Mystara" is my goal with this. Plus, those areas that got short-shrift, culturally speaking, like the Isle of Dawn, Bellissaria, Davania, Ochalea, and so forth, get new, original, full and more dynamic cultures. 5) The issue of Ierendi specifically -- Let's face it, people. Sure, Ierendi was cool, from a certain point of view. But it just didn't FIT. It made no sense. It did not fit into the cultural and historical panorama of Mystara. Yes, it is changing for HackMaster. The basics: take Elizabethan England and add to it the Merry Pirates from the Hollow World. It will fit the borad band cultural region between Minrothad and Darokin. As for those that want to have "Disneyland-style" adventures, Gaity Island remains a vacation wonderland. It makes some sense there, after all, with Alphatia being a realm of massive magics and indolent nobles given to pleasure and amusement. Above all, and over all, remember... this will be the HackMaster Mystara. This will be Canon for HackMaster, not the original Mystara. If you like the work I've done with Mystara in the past, you will not be disappointed. I think that's enough for now. I see there is plenty of other commentary already... I'll see if I can answer some individual inquiries. James ****************************** James "Mystaros" Mishler Freelance Writer and Troubleshooter mystaros@earthlink.net ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 21 Feb 2003 16:12:06 -0600 From: Magister Mystaros Subject: Re: Hacklopedia Mystarica: The Guide... <> Thibault, I mention these in an email I just sent out a few moments ago. The constraints of the new setting meant that these sections of the world had to go (for the most part). I guess what this means is that if folks want to use Skothar and Davania as they were in the original Mystara, they will have to find references elsewhere. Hmmm... where would they find that, I wonder. (^_^) James ****************************** James "Mystaros" Mishler Freelance Writer and Troubleshooter mystaros@earthlink.net ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 21 Feb 2003 16:14:37 -0600 From: Magister Mystaros Subject: Re: Hacklopedia Mystarica: The Guide to the HackWurld of Mystaros <> Thank you so much for you vote of confident, Jonathan. It is greatly appreciated. (^_^) James ****************************** James "Mystaros" Mishler Freelance Writer and Troubleshooter mystaros@earthlink.net ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 21 Feb 2003 16:38:38 -0600 From: Magister Mystaros Subject: Re: Hacklopedia Mystarica: The Guide to the HackWurld of Mystaros A bunch of questions from Haavard... <> Thanks! (^_^) <> Tell them that the Mystara of the Hacklopedia Mystarica is the Mystara of HackMaster... just that. It will be a serious setting. Let me put this on a scale based on the Gazetteers... GAZ 1 Karameikos = Most Serious Indeed GAZ 7 Northern Reaches = Mostly Serious, with some Silly Fun Bits GAZ 3 Glantri = Rather Serious, with Lots of In-Jokes and Silly Fun Bits GAZ 10 Orcs of Thar = Not Terribly Serious, All in Good Fun GAZ 4 Ierendi = Takes Itself Too Seriously For All That it is Horribly Silly... On this scale, the Hacklopedia Mystarica will be equal in silliness to GAZ 3, Glantri. I will be making the more serious regions a bit sillier, and taking the really silly regions, like Ierendi and the Broken Lands, and making them rather more serious. This will be the first HackMaster setting. It must be, and will be, eminently playable as a game setting, as such equal to the Forgotten Realms or Greyhawk. It will have a "silly flavor" to it, along the lines of HackMaster... taking the gaming culture inherent in the setting to an extreme. It will NOT be "fluff"... <> Thank you again! (^_^) << However, the answer you did not answer yourself is: Is this product going to be of any use/interest to people who want to run a serious campaign in Mystara?>> Definitely. As I state above, this product will be eminently playable as a SERIOUS game setting. Like the Orcs of Thar and Glantri, you will be able to take the setting and use as much of the "silliness" as you like. Take the "silliness" out, and you will have a hardcore medieval/renaissance style fantasy setting, the likes of which will rival the Forgotten Realms in detail. It will definitevely be HackMaster, though. Anyone that wants to use if for another system will need to do some work... <<*Will the maps be nice or just comic-bookish?>> The maps will rock! They won't be as beautiful as, say, the new Forgotten Realms map (IMNSHO, the best map ever made for a fantasy game,) but they will be very, very good. I am working very closely with Kenzer & Company to make sure everything has the feel of Mystara. We are, however, not going to be using the hex grids... I know, I know, more heresy. But, unlike the map from Joshuan's Almanac, this will rock. <<*Will there be new and useful setting information that can be used for serious purposes>> Yes, it will be all eminently playable as a serious setting. In fact, it will fill in and flesh out blanks that were left in the earlier Mystara Canon, especially on Wendar, the Heldann Territories, Norwold, Davania, the Isle of Dawn, Alphatia, Bellissaria, and the Midlands. This will be, of course, HackMaster Mystara Canon, not WotC Mystara Canon. <<*Will there be new monsters that arent just stupid?>> Due to page constraints, there will be a limited number of monsters included in the book. These will include mostly Mystaran monsters that did not make it into the Hacklopedia of Beasts. The exact list is not yet defined, as I am not sure how much space I will have. The descriptions of nations, geography, politics, and so forth comes first. <> This will not be one big in-joke. This will be a playable, serious game setting. It will be a HackMaster setting, make no mistake. But it will not be just so much fluff to read... <> Believe me when I say that no one wants to see Mystara work as a playable setting than I. HackMaster, as a game, is eminently playable. Sure, there are some silly bits. Of course, there are some over-the-top bits. But at its core, it is still AD&D. Everyone plays with the other bits as they like (well, unless you are in the HMPA, then you have to use it all.) Similarly, the Hacklopedia Mystarica will have as its core a solid, playable setting. Then, atop that, there will be all the silly bits that poke fun at the world's idiosyncracies. However, like KoDT, these parts will be "laughing with," rather than "laughing at" their source. It's going to be a helluvalotta fun... I guarantee it. James ****************************** James "Mystaros" Mishler Freelance Writer and Troubleshooter mystaros@earthlink.net ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 21 Feb 2003 16:41:06 -0600 From: Magister Mystaros Subject: Re: Hacklopedia Mystarica: The Guide to the HackWurld of Mystaros <> Francesco, Do not worry! It will be a serious setting. The parody will be there, but it will not make the world unplayable. The parody of this book simply makes Mystara more Mystaran, if you get my drift. You will want to drop your other settings and play in the HackWurld. It might even convert you to playing HackMaster... James ****************************** James "Mystaros" Mishler Freelance Writer and Troubleshooter mystaros@earthlink.net ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 21 Feb 2003 16:47:47 -0600 From: Magister Mystaros Subject: Re: Hacklopedia Mystarica: The Guide to the HackWurld of Mystaros Quoth Dustin: <> Thanks! (^_^) <> Well, it is really for the best on both ends, frankly. This way, Mystara can be pure Mystara, and Blackmoor can be pure Blackmoor. <> Exactly! While HackMaster is not exactly how I would have done with AD&D given the chance, it is actually far closer to what I would have done than 3E D&D is. The new Spellslinger's Guide and Combatant's Guide have convinced me more and more that Kenzer is on the right path with this game. They add an incredible amount of cool stuff to HackMaster, more than any of the similar guides for 3E D&D do for 3E... <> It will be fun, both from a pure game play perspective, and from a HackMaster "tongue firmly in cheek" perspective. It is going to completely rock! James ****************************** James "Mystaros" Mishler Freelance Writer and Troubleshooter mystaros@earthlink.net ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 21 Feb 2003 14:58:15 -0800 From: Joe Kelly Subject: Re: Hacklopedia Mystarica Provisos Hey Mystaros, I love some of the ideas you are including. Especially like = the Piracy Islands of Iernendi, which is what I have in my campaign (ie, = Freport/Bral/Skullport)=20 I also really like the idea of more monsters and the idea of no sinking of = Alphatia. For my own campaign I am going to have the 1000 wizards of = Alphatia mass teleport over Glantri, but as they cast their spells = simultaneously they are instead going to create, a magical short throughout= the world. Which the rest of the KW will forever condemn. Also Love the = idea of a more Viking barbarian realm for the Northlands. So when is this = coming out? Can't wait!=20 ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 21 Feb 2003 17:14:32 -0600 From: Magister Mystaros Subject: Re: Hacklopedia Mystarica: The Guide... Jonathan Nolan said: <> Alright, I'm not going to touch how it happened, however... You state that it was a "destructive move against the older D&D versions." How so? If HackMaster hadn't come out, there would not be ANY version of the earlier AD&D editions out there. Whatsoever. Anywhere. They would have remained dead, dead, dead. At least, with HackMaster, if a guy wants to buy something for the older editions of AD&D (and at its core, that's all HackMaster is, AD&D 1E, with some 2E, some honest GOOD additions, and a number of silly bits). HackMaster isn;t exactly what I would ahve done with AD&D, given the chance, but it is a lot closer than 3E D&D... Besides, if you don't like it, don't buy it. No need to go pissing in someone elses' clam chowder just because you ordered the chicken noodle soup... <<> Bottom line, it's fun stuff. Sales say otherwise.>> I'm, presuming you are actually in the business, and know what you are talking about here. I am. Have been for nearly a decade. From what I know (and I am not in the know at Kenzer on this) HackMaster sales numbers are such that any secondary game company would KILL to have their numbers.Compared to 3E D&D, or AD&D in it's "day," of course they are small numbers. But then, ANYTHING is small potatoes compared to those. Kenzer & Company is in the Top Ten game companies (#8, in fact), and the HeckMaster series is a regular seller; not nationwide, mind you, as it is a secondary game (as is anything compared to D&D). <> While I am a huge fan of Mystara, even I would not claim it is the "most ubiquitous setting ever." I'd give that honor to the Forgotten Realms. I can see that it would be a waste of time discussing it. Jonathan, good luck with playing whatever you like to play. Really. However, there's just no need for you to go on and on about how much you hate HackMaster and everything associated with it. If you want to argue about it, please do so in a constructive way. James ****************************** James "Mystaros" Mishler Freelance Writer and Troubleshooter mystaros@earthlink.net ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 21 Feb 2003 17:17:23 -0600 From: Magister Mystaros Subject: Re: Hacklopedia Mystarica: The Guide to the HackWurld of Mystaros Quoth Colin: <> Everything will be okay. It will remain a quirky, distinctive, and witty setting. It will just become moreso. Mystara has always been dear to me. Ask any of the Old Ones on this list. Look at any of my work on the Pandius site. Mystara is in good hands... James ****************************** James "Mystaros" Mishler Freelance Writer and Troubleshooter mystaros@earthlink.net ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 21 Feb 2003 17:23:27 -0600 From: Magister Mystaros Subject: Re: Ierendi <> I can indeed not like Ierendi because, though there is a "parody" inherent factor in Mystara, Ierendi does not otherwise fit. There are so many things jarringly wrong with Ierendi, so many glaring inconsistencies with the way the rest of the nearby world works, that it doesn't just border on the absurd, it passes that border, and then jumps up and down on it while giving you a raspberry. The "Disneyesque" bits of Ierendi will be retained on the Isle of Gaity, in the Alatians, in Alphatia, where they fit a lot better. The early '80s references, which no one will get anyway, will be excised with extreme prejudice. And into the incredible vacuum that remains will flow a nation that better fits the internal consistency of Mystara. A little bit Darokin, a little bit Minrothad, a little bit Five Shires. And, of course, the Merry Pirates. Heck, if you look at the history, the Merry Pirates make a better fit alone than anything in the actual Gazetteeer... James ****************************** James "Mystaros" Mishler Freelance Writer and Troubleshooter mystaros@earthlink.net ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 21 Feb 2003 17:32:17 -0600 From: Magister Mystaros Subject: Re: Hacklopedia Mystarica: The Guide to the HackWurld of Geoff proclaimed: <> No one has more of a vested interest in seeing Mystara work in the HackMaster milieu than I. Spiritual, professional, and financial. This is going to be the best damn game setting anyone has ever seen. Okay, maybe except for Glorantha. And Tekumel, I'll give you that. Those worlds are things of beauty. Mystara is going to be beautiful. Mystara will be grand. Mystara is going to kick ass. And it will do so in the HackMaster way, while maintaining the best of what Mystara originally had to offer, even moreso. <> Thank you Geoff! Indeed, I did not undertake this to cause any harm to Mystara. There will be changes (the most obvious geographical, as I mention in an earlier email), that will be major, but nothing will change that will destroy Mystara being Mystara. Please, all, as Geoff will do, reserve your judgement till you see the actual book. I guarantee you, after glancing it over in the aisles of your FLGS, you will grab your cash as quickly as possible and run to your nearest game table to start a new Mystara campaign... possibly even in HackMaster. <> That is certainly one of my hopes. I am going to limit the "crass jokes" parody form, opting more for "more Mystara than Mystara" type of jokes. Of course, this statement is null and void when it comes to the Black Eagle Baron. He is, after all, the epitome of crassness, and the more the merrier, I think... (^_^). <> I am going to give you all on this list as much information as I can. I am also going to keep some of my cards very close to my chest, as I do want some surprises for you. I hope Kenzer will be able to provide some previews, either in KoDT and/or their website. Still workign on that... James ****************************** James "Mystaros" Mishler Freelance Writer and Troubleshooter mystaros@earthlink.net ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 21 Feb 2003 17:45:19 -0600 From: Magister Mystaros Subject: Re: Hacklopedia Mystarica: The Guide... Freelancing Thibault stated: <> Thank you Thibault! (^_^) Actually, I do have other works already published. Check out "The Lost Tomb of Kruk-Ma-Kali," "Lands of Mystery," and "Harvest of Darkness" (my co-author credit with Jolly on "The Hungry Undead" got dropped off). Also, the "HackMaster Game Master's Guide." All from Kenzer & Company. Plus, "Dungeon World" (levels 5 and 6) from Fast Forward, and the "Relics & Rituals" from Sword & Sorcery. Plus, a year and a half worth of Scrye magazine. Oh, and a bunch of stuff on Mage Knight, HeroClix, and MechWarrior in Scrye, Inquest, and Game Trade, from my time at WizKids. << i envy you James for this. it must be great to live thanks to ones passion. if only i could live on my maps....>> Ah, Thibault, but you can indeed live off freelance writing and cartography. If you can live off of raman noodles and popcorn, that is... (^_^) James ****************************** James "Mystaros" Mishler Freelance Writer and Troubleshooter mystaros@earthlink.net ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 21 Feb 2003 18:12:10 -0600 From: Magister Mystaros Subject: Re: Hacklopedia Mystarica Provisos <> Yeah, it always struck me as the perfect place for pirates, too... and now it will be! Arrgh!(^_O) [That's the One-Eyed Pirate Smile] Thanks for the vote of confidence! <> With the timeline reset to 1000 AC, this will never have occured... however, there will still, oddly enough, be bits and pieces of the results of the WotI in the setting. How, you ask? Wait and see... << Also Love the idea of a more Viking barbarian realm for the Northlands.>> Not only will the Northern Reaches be more barbaric, the Atruaghin and Ethengar will also be rather more so... << So when is this coming out? Can't wait! >> Late summer this year. Or so the plan goes. But you know what they say about plans... James ****************************** James "Mystaros" Mishler Freelance Writer and Troubleshooter mystaros@earthlink.net ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 22 Feb 2003 01:19:44 +0100 From: =?iso-8859-1?Q?Andr=E9s_Piquer_Otero?= Subject: Re: Hacklopedia Mystarica: The Guide to the HackWurld of One year ago i flipped through the first Hackmaster core products (after reading quite a bit of KotDT, which I find really cool; I've seen quite a few of my gaming anecdotes reflected in the comic strips) and well, I did not bring myself to buy them because my budget's limited and it could not afford the reprint of AD&D 1st ed with the add-ons... BUT, that game, silly as it is (it's a joke in itself), really reflects a big love for old (pre- 3e) incarnations of the xD&D game behind it!!!! Now, that most game publishing tendencies point towards d20 licensing, to get the big drag of 3e (even old Chaosium has 50% fallen into that) or to movie / video-game gameplay style, betting for a revival of the "oldie" is really something more than sheer marketing, it's a tribute to all the old-timers, even if it comes out under a joke / parody outfit. I don't know, I keep using primarily D&D Mystara and AD&D 1st ed (in Greyhawk and occasionally FR) for my campaigns, but the idea of 1st ed stuff being published and read (no matter about sales, i don't have any idea of that), it's a real feat!!!! And it's 100 % compatible with AD&D 1st ed (and easy to convert around to D&D), so one could pick up products without having to go for the rulebooks In my most humble opinion, xD&D tends to have lotsa joking / self-parody elements... that's especially true for Mystara, in TSR canon products, the GAZs are really high-pitched developments of fantasy clichés, with tons of RW glimpses and nuances... [ONE parenthetical question to Mystaros: is the forthcoming product going to include some of these glimpses, only connecting to the RW now??? i think you're right with the Ierendi / California / Florida resort joke being a bit old... but are there any new ones coming (from present-day RW), or does the book delve more into fantasy stereotypes, neglecting the RW nuancing Mystara is so famous for?] I think that any competent DM could use the product, if the quality is high, which I hope (I quite liked the Mystaros online stuff, was my comeback to Mystara after the line got cancelled), reducing or supressing (or stressing) the joking elements as much as they want for their campaign... The joking style will probably just make the material a funnier read!!! I don't know, GAZ3 is my long-time favorite, and probably it is for the fun, comedy-like way in which it was written, which didn't prevent it from being packed with tons of useful background and rules stuff... So congrats, and it's really nice that M-stuff is going to be published around... A useful joke is better than non-intentional bad jokes, like the AD&D 2nd ed. Mystara line, that crazy Joshuan's Almanac or the unbearable high-powered unbalanced gameplay of sososo many FR stuff. Andrés ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 21 Feb 2003 19:02:36 -0600 From: George Hrabovsky Subject: Re: Ierendi I think Ierendi is just fine. So what if they have a theme park! Mystara is a more magically heavy world than most AD&D/D&D settings. Magic is fairly well integrated into everyday life, even though most people are not magically inclined. There are serious aspects to Ierendi that are very cool. I like the private detectives (and have created professions for my game to reflect these). George ----- Original Message ----- From: "Magister Mystaros" To: Sent: Friday, February 21, 2003 5:23 PM Subject: Re: [MYSTARA] Ierendi > < certainly hope that James realizes this. One thing that frightens me is that > he's going to change Irendi, which is just the type of setting that > Hackmaster -is-, silly and irreverent. I mean, how can you NOT like Irendi? > I find the concept bizarre. > > Ethan>> > > I can indeed not like Ierendi because, though there is a "parody" inherent > factor in Mystara, Ierendi does not otherwise fit. There are so many things > jarringly wrong with Ierendi, so many glaring inconsistencies with the way > the rest of the nearby world works, that it doesn't just border on the > absurd, it passes that border, and then jumps up and down on it while giving > you a raspberry. > > The "Disneyesque" bits of Ierendi will be retained on the Isle of Gaity, in > the Alatians, in Alphatia, where they fit a lot better. The early '80s > references, which no one will get anyway, will be excised with extreme > prejudice. And into the incredible vacuum that remains will flow a nation > that better fits the internal consistency of Mystara. A little bit Darokin, > a little bit Minrothad, a little bit Five Shires. And, of course, the Merry > Pirates. Heck, if you look at the history, the Merry Pirates make a better > fit alone than anything in the actual Gazetteeer... > > James > > ****************************** > James "Mystaros" Mishler > Freelance Writer and Troubleshooter > mystaros@earthlink.net > > ******************************************************************** > 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: Fri, 21 Feb 2003 17:33:47 -0800 From: Mike Harvey Subject: HackWurld of Mystaros questions and comments Hey this sounds really cool. I like the new ideas and the changes listed so far, the choice of 1000AC, and so forth. I also think that setting the silliness tone equal to Glantri (rather than Ierendi) is perfect. One question: will Mystara be altered to include grunge elves, gnome titans, and the like? Or will the different HM "worlds" have regional variations? I'd hate to see the shadow elves replaced by grunge elves and drow. Suggestion: I'd like to see more "adventuring" opportunities sprinkled in. Not long ago there was a discussion of large mega- dungeons in Mystara, or the lack thereof. I'd like to see some megadungeons, some big nasty villains, and the like. I'd like to see the "underdark" expanded a bit, some competition for shadow elves, and the like. I don't mean changing anything in a major way, but the way Mystara was developed, each region is self-contained, with vague disjointed borders in between where it would be easy to insert connections and ruins and adventuring opportunities. Anyway, sounds great. This could breathe new life into the setting. I think Mystara fits much better into HM than 3E. BTW, there was a "Hackmaster Lite" rumor floating around a while back. Any chance it is true (please pleeeeze) and any chance you might use it for HackMystara? I'd LOVE to see a new BD&D replacement complete with a revamped Known World to go with it... Will HackMystara be a single FR-style book, or a series of gazetteers, or what? Mike -- Mike Harvey -- Beaverton, Oregon http://members.dsl-only.net/~bing/ ICQ: 15446302 ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 21 Feb 2003 18:39:37 -0800 From: Andrew Theisen Subject: Question for Mystaros about Hacklopedia comment Not really related to the Hacklopedia threads that are going on right now, but rather a question in regards to a comment you made on the ENWorld boards. In the "Return of Mystara?" thread on the forums, you mention about the Hacklopedia- "This will be the Mystara that Jeff Grubb wanted to do, but wasn't allowed to do." It seems to me I heard something similar to this comment once before, in regards to Jeff Grubb and the Kingdom of Karameikos boxed set, but I don't recall the details. Do you, James, (or anyone else here on the list) know anything about this? IE, was Jeff Grubb constrained from doing certain things in the KoK boxed set by editorial mandate, or something? And does anyone know any specifics of what he would have liked to have done? Just curious, Andrew ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 21 Feb 2003 18:51:29 -0800 From: Andrew Theisen Subject: Re: Hacklopedia Mystarica Provisos Magister Mystaros wrote: > There will be a few minor fixes to the geography of the HackWurld, nothing > that takes away anything, but a few things that make the world make more > sense. > Are you going to take into account the Kamminer Bay area south of Landfall and north of Heldann? Myself and several other cartographers have long noticed that there is some inconsistencies with the maps of the Known World and the maps of the northlands (probably due to the various maps having come out in different products, and not being connected). The Kamminer Bay was our solution to the dilemma, as by all efforts (mine, at least, and I believe Thibault's as well) there should be a large bay in that region- the Landfall map in CM1 doesn't match up with the Heldann maps of later eras without it. Also, as I mentioned in an earlier post (in regards to your Atruaghin clans stuff), the plateau of the Atruaghin tribes is smaller in the 8 mile version than it is on the 24 mile versions. > 3) History -- Okay, this one is a doozy. Some of you will brand me a heretic > forever for doing it. The biggest news is that the HackWurld of Mystaros > will be set in 1000 AC. The Wrath of the Immortals has not yet (will not?) > happen. The reasons for this are many and varied. From a HackMaster > standpoint, the most important reason is that a Mystara without Alphatia is > no Mystara at all. Alphatia rocks, pure and simple, and without it Mystara > is much, much poorer. > So is there going to be more detail on Alphatia, then? I can just imagine where you might be going with Blackheart... it's a place I planned to go some time ago myself, albeit through a "parody" website that never quite took off. I've still got most of the web designs somewhere, maybe I'll post them up on my page. It was going to be called Malebolge University- if anyone has ever read the comic book "Finals" think that series meets Mystara- a magical university where few of the students ever survive their final thesis projects to graduate... > Additionally, the changes that occured during the > "Wrath of the Immortals" were many... too many, too much, in too short a > time. The Known World should have been cast back into the stone age just > because of the big meteor, let alone any of the other things. As we've > discussed here just recently, the sinking of Alphatia and the invasion of > the Desert Nomads were more than enough combined to ruin civilization. > Altogether, the reasons behind this, and the implications of it, will be > detailed in the book. > > Do you mean that you will discuss why WotI didn't happen? Or something else entirely? > 4) Culture -- One of the definiteve things that made Mystara, well, Mystara, > was the fact that each of these nations had a distinctive culture. Those > remain; in some cases, they are taken more to an extreme, in a HackMaster > way. Thyatis is even more Byzantine, with daggers flying freely. The > division between the Kin and Preceptor factions in Ylaruam is even more > pronounced. The Norse of the Northern Reaches are even more viking and > barbaric. You get the idea. "More Mystaran than Mystara" is my goal with > this. Plus, those areas that got short-shrift, culturally speaking, like the > Isle of Dawn, Bellissaria, Davania, Ochalea, and so forth, get new, > original, full and more dynamic cultures. > > Any Sind here? Or no? (FWIW, I think Allen Varney's treatment of the Sindhi in HWA3 was very well done, and I still don't quite understand why much of it was discarded or dropped in the Champions of Mystara boxed set...) Anyway, congratulations on this James. I know it must be a dream come true for you, and I truly don't think there are many better hands that I'd entrust such an undertaking to. Even though I don't play Hackmaster (nor know too much about it, save for what I've seen in the KoDT comic when I was still reading it), I'll be sure and pick this one up! Count yourself down for one sale, at least. :) ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 21 Feb 2003 20:58:28 -0600 From: Magister Mystaros Subject: Re: Question for Mystaros about Hacklopedia comment <> I know exactly what he would have done; I carpooled with him when I worked at WizKids, and talked with him extensively about it. He was working on a "world book," much as we are doing with the Hacklopedia Mystarica (and was done with the Forgotten Realms in 3E D&D.) Had it almost done, in fact, when the suits at TSR (in those days) decided that they wanted to go with the boxed set, kingdom-by-kingdom format. So they scrapped the world book and did a revamp of the Gazetteer; that's why it is almost word-for-word a copy of the Gaz, even down to the mistakes. They had no time to do it, as the suits changed their mind at the last minute. Pity, really, I think Mystara would have done much better, and been a going and growing concern for AD&D, had he had his way. James ****************************** James "Mystaros" Mishler Freelance Writer and Troubleshooter mystaros@earthlink.net ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 21 Feb 2003 22:43:05 -0500 From: SteelAngel Subject: Re: Hacklopedia Mystarica Provisos On Fri, 21 Feb 2003, Magister Mystaros wrote: > occur with Davania and Skothar. Most of Davania is, well, gone, sunk beneath > the waves. The portion of Davania north of the Aryptian Basin remains. Aww! Jerk! :D You sank my favorite part of Mystara! Now there's no chance of a Hackmaster Thimhallan/Snarta supplement :P *Hides in a corner and cries* Ethan -- Kinard 210 Linux Guru Webmaster www.steelangel.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 21 Feb 2003 22:49:28 -0500 From: SteelAngel Subject: Re: Question for Mystaros about Hacklopedia comment On Fri, 21 Feb 2003, Magister Mystaros wrote: > done with the Forgotten Realms in 3E D&D.) Had it almost done, in fact, when > the suits at TSR (in those days) decided that they wanted to go with the > boxed set, kingdom-by-kingdom format. Whatever happened to those notes? It would certainly be a tour de force to have them released. Ethan -- Kinard 210 Linux Guru Webmaster www.steelangel.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 21 Feb 2003 23:11:07 -0600 From: Magister Mystaros Subject: Re: Hacklopedia Mystarica: The Guide to the HackWurld of Andres stated: <> There will still be much humor, but built on cultural and gameplay elements, rather than trying to knock off of bad television shows (okay, I'll admit, I *did* like Magnum P.I.). Cliches will be based on fantasy elements. Wizards will be more wizarding than anything in the Forgotten Realms. Alphatia, which was horribly underdeveloped in Mystara Canon, will be much more developed. And in a case of fantasy being mocked by reality being mocked by fantasy, the Great School of Magic in Glantri will be, well... wait till you see. What it will do is use the fantasy stereotypes that are generated by the RW cultures that they are based upon. Traladara and Boldavia will be more "mytically Transylvanian," Ylaruam will make the "Arabian Nights" seem tame by comparison, the Ethengar will make any historical tales of the Mongols seem like tales of the "West Side Story" gang battles. Remember, my mantra for this is "More Mystaran than Mystara." James ****************************** James "Mystaros" Mishler Freelance Writer and Troubleshooter mystaros@earthlink.net ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 21 Feb 2003 23:33:16 -0600 From: Magister Mystaros Subject: Re: Ierendi George said: <> George, I gotta admit, it was a close thing, even with my own distaste for Ierendi. I knew there would be a lot of players out there, like yourself, who would say "Why?" However, I felt that, as Gaity in Alphatia would more than take up the slack on the Theme Park setting issue, I could give Ierendi the fair cultural and historical treatment it really deserved. The Makai will still be found in Mystara, but in more appropriate settings. When you take out the "Theme Park," the Makai, and the horrible '80s TV parodies, you didn't have much left. What you do have left are the following: 1) Elegy Isle -- still there, slightly changed due to the change in history, but still very cool. 2) Honor Island -- The Hono Island mages still figure prominently, and are still the core of the Royal Navy. 3) Coral Palace -- The Coral Palace is still there. 4) Adventurer's Paradise -- The aspect where adventurers are welcomed, even revered, still exists. There is even still an annual contest; the winner becomes a Knight of the Realm, one of the Peers of Ierendi. New Elements: The Merry Pirates from the Hollow World are now found here, in Ierendi. The whole history of them are fit in with the history of Ierendi, Minrothad, Traladara, Thyatis, Darokin, and even the Northern Reaches. They figure prominently in the Great Rebellion. Halflings, appropriately enough, also figure more prominently. The general culture is a mixture of Thyatis/Darokin/Traladara/Darokin. The Queen (descended from the old Royal Family of Darokin, a point of contention to this day) is guarded by the Royal Bladesmen (think Musketeers without muskets). The Royal Peerage is made up of adventurers that have won the Royal Tournament of Adventurers. The Bladesmen and the Peerage have a rivalry. The Royal Navy is powerful, and supported by the Ironclad Fireships of Honor Island. The Royal Buccaneers, pirates under letters of marque, are more than their equal in numbers. Think Sir Francis Drake as played by Errol Flynn. The Royal Navy and the Royal Buccaneers do not get along much. The Honor Island Mages, descended from Flaems from Glantri, do not get along with the White Isle Wizards, who are more traditional generalist magic-users descended from Alphatians. Importantly, the islands were not "discovered" by the Hin and the Thyatians in the 6th century AC. Silly idea, that. There is a whole comprehensive history, which will fit in with everything else that happened in the area. The Ierendi Isles did not exist in a vacuum for a thousand years. Basically, take the movies "Elizabeth" (and maybe "Shakespeare in Love,") add in "Yellowbeard," "The Three Musketeers," and "The Sea Hawk," and you get the basic idea of what the new Ierendi is all about. And, of course, if you don't like it... don't use it. All I ask is that you give it a try. James ****************************** James "Mystaros" Mishler Freelance Writer and Troubleshooter mystaros@earthlink.net ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 21 Feb 2003 23:43:23 -0600 From: Magister Mystaros Subject: Re: HW of Mystaros Q&C (Mike) Mike Quoth: <> Thanks! I think a Glantri tone is about right too. That was, relaly, quite HackMaster, when you think of it. Plus, remember, the HackFactor will also be boosted a bit, too... << One question: will Mystara be altered to include grunge elves, gnome titans, and the like? Or will the different HM "worlds" have regional variations? I'd hate to see the shadow elves replaced by grunge elves and drow.>> Yes, it will have Grunge Elves and Gnome Titans. Nothing will be changed to add them (well, okay, almost nothing.) Grunge Elves will be found in the Midlands region (fits in with what I had always described the elves of that area as, anyway, in my Midlands). Some clans will be found wandering the forests here and there, showing the humans and other elves what-for. Gnome Titans will definitely make an appearance. In the HackWurld of Mystaros they come from the steppes and hills of the far west, and are followers of Dorfin. They have been swarming into the HackWurld in recent years, looking for revenge against the Gnolls and Kobolds that slaughtered their kinsmen. Shadow Elves will NOT be replaced by Drow. Shadow Elves will remain Shadow Elves. << Suggestion: I'd like to see more "adventuring" opportunities sprinkled in. Not long ago there was a discussion of large mega-dungeons in Mystara, or the lack thereof. I'd like to see some megadungeons, some big nasty villains, and the like. I'd like to see the "underdark" expanded a bit, some competition for shadow elves, and the like. I don't mean changing anything in a major way, but the way Mystara was developed, each region is self-contained, with vague disjointed borders in between where it would be easy to insert connections and ruins and adventuring opportunities.>> Oh... there will be PLENTY of adventuring opportunities. I did say the HackFactor was being cranked up, right? Plus, as I mentioned earlier, the Hollow World will nto be there... but *something* will be... (^_^) <> I haven't heard of a "HackMaster Lite." But then, I'm not an employee of Kenzer, so who knows... This book, however, is being written for standard HackMaster. <> Right now we are planning on the single book, scheduled to be 256 pages. Whether further books come out after is determined entirely on how sales of the core book go. I already hJames ****************************** James "Mystaros" Mishler Freelance Writer and Troubleshooter mystaros@earthlink.net ave several ideas for follow ups, including sourcebooks and adventures. But we shall have to wait and see... ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 21 Feb 2003 23:55:11 -0600 From: Magister Mystaros Subject: Re: Hacklopedia Mystarica Provisos (Cthulhudrew) The Mighty Cthulhudrew Pontificated: << Are you going to take into account the Kamminer Bay area south of Landfall and north of Heldann? Myself and several other cartographers have long noticed that there is some inconsistencies with the maps of the Known World and the maps of the northlands (probably due to the various maps having come out in different products, and not being connected). The Kamminer Bay was our solution to the dilemma, as by all efforts (mine, at least, and I believe Thibault's as well) there should be a large bay in that region- the Landfall map in CM1 doesn't match up with the Heldann maps of later eras without it.>> Yes, this has always been one of the cartographic nightmares of Mystara. I have fixed it much as you guys did. The official appearance, in the WotI map, showed it much further north, but that just didn't jibe with the materials in GAZ 9. Plus, I wanted Landfall, and the Wyrmsteeth, to fit on the HackWurld map. It is called "Dragon Bay," as many dragons have been encountered near it. <> Yes, that is another of the fixes. As I mentioned in my earlier Westerlands posts, the Atruaghin get fixed a bit... <> Yes, there will be as much detail on Alphatia (Alphatia ALONE, not including colonies and Bellissaria) as there will be on any FOUR of the other nations. This will give character to each of the kingdoms and regions of Alphatia. Not as much detail as I would like, but more than has been available before. Not every Alphatian wizard is a zzonga-crazed maniac (okay, most are, but you get the idea). <> Yes and yes. This will be one of the surprises. <> Yes, but not in any great detail. There will only be so much room, unfortunately. Cross your fingers that it does well... if so, there may be more books. <> Thanks Andrew! I will NOT disappoint you! You should definitely pick up HackMaster. Use the bits you like, don't use the bits you don't. Unlike certain other editions of D&D, which shall remain nameless (cough... 3E... cough), you CAN do that. (^_^) James ****************************** James "Mystaros" Mishler Freelance Writer and Troubleshooter mystaros@earthlink.net ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 22 Feb 2003 01:21:10 -0500 From: Dan Eustace Subject: Re: Ierendi > New Elements: > The Merry Pirates from the Hollow World are now found here, in Ierendi. The > whole history of them are fit in with the history of Ierendi, Minrothad, > Traladara, Thyatis, Darokin, and even the Northern Reaches. They figure > prominently in the Great Rebellion. Halflings, appropriately enough, also > figure more prominently. The general culture is a mixture of > Thyatis/Darokin/Traladara/Darokin. This could very well be a good fit! I have the Ierendi GAZ (along with all the others), but I've skimmed it more than anything else. I think there is some cool stuff in there, like the things you mentioned, but what you're proposing also makes sense. Ierendi never really featured promiently IMC, so even after all these years, I could still modify it and get away with it! If your stuff looks good I most certainly would incorporate some of it. I don't know anything about Hackmaster, except what has been said on this list, but I don't see this as a negative development. Congratulations. The MPs have been a favorite of mine for a while, and I have some notes that I was hoping to eventually develop into a HW Gaz of the MPS. The bare bones of this have been incorporated into the M-Almanac (pirate factions, ship types, piratical culture, famous captains, etc.) in 1017 and 1018, with more to come (hopefully). I also did the MA entry for the Makai. It sounds like you have a very good plan already, but if you want to bounce some ideas off me, I'm game. BTW, do you have a home page? I'd like to check out some of the work that you mentioned. Dan ------------------------------ End of MYSTARA-L Digest - 20 Feb 2003 to 21 Feb 2003 (#2003-53) ***************************************************************