Subject: MYSTARA-L Digest - 30 Mar 2003 to 31 Mar 2003 (#2003-90) From: Automatic digest processor Date: 01/04/2003, 19:00 To: Recipients of MYSTARA-L digests Reply-to: Mystara RPG Discussion There are 4 messages totalling 175 lines in this issue. Topics of the day: 1. High or Low magic ? (2) 2. Ierendi Jones And The Temple Of Doom (2) ******************************************************************** 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: Mon, 31 Mar 2003 14:42:26 -0400 From: Steve Carter Subject: Re: High or Low magic ? My campaign is generally extremely low magic. I do not replace modern or ancient technology with magic of any kind. Magical items are rare and difficult to use. Even simple items such as rings of protection. My reasoning being that every item is unique with its own heritage and story. Therefore each will have unique activation requirements. Wizards are either (1) powerful and feared, (2) powerful and beloved but still feared or (3) not very powerful at all and therefore useless. That being said people generally avoid anyone KNOWN to be a wizard. Magical creatures aren't seen by many folks except "adventurers" but everyone knows the wilderness is full of them. Clerics do not perform public miracles like healings with any frequency for fear the public will grow dependent upon them. Healing potions and magical antidotes do not replace surgery or antibiotics/anti-toxin. Herbs and old fashioned surgery are still the stock in trade of the healer and apothecary. There are no publicly known schools of magic outside of Glantri and Alphatia. Any others are completely secret. Getting into such a non-existent school requires (1) you discover they exist or (2) they discover YOU first and come for you... usually at birth or when you are young and can be shaped to their will. Magic User guilds are completely secret. No mortal ruler knows the names of such organizations. When one wants to make their will known to a mortal regent generally they send a message that cannot be misinterpretted. A magical creature suddenly appearing. A trio of magical envoys. Or perhaps just communicate with the court wizard. In general magic is rare. It is kept rare by the wizards themselves. And they also make certain technology doesn't usurp their position. sturm@LIBERO.IT wrote: > Now i would like to launch a little pool... How is your Mystara ? High magic ? Low Magic ? a middle way ? > ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 31 Mar 2003 10:52:38 -0800 From: Joaquin Menchaca Subject: Re: Ierendi Jones And The Temple Of Doom > Very nice :) Yes, very nice. > I would add in 3E some levels in O. Temple-Raiders > prestige class > (Song&Silence) or perhaps Hunter of the Dead.. Both > somehow fitting... :) > Should be at high level, I suppose? Perhaps total of > 15-18? Interestingly, there was one person in my group that played a "tomb-raider" persona. He played a fighter-rogue. It was great. He had some combat ability, combined with the rogues unique abilities. It worked out great. For pulp-fiction ala Indiana Jones style, I would recomend this book Fobidden Kingdoms: Master Codex, Pulp Adventure, which is a d20 game. It's really rich full of ideas and classes. I also thought this would be a good system for a d20 Blackmoor Steampunk style of campaign, but then Mystara has limited steampunk in the form of Highforge/Serraine gnomes and their inventions with Fire Elemental powered devices in collusion with Honor Island fire elementalists... __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Platinum - Watch CBS' NCAA March Madness, live on your desktop! http://platinum.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 31 Mar 2003 11:23:19 -0800 From: Joaquin Menchaca Subject: Re: High or Low magic ? Hi. IMC, which centers around Karameikos before the WotI, I have extremely low magic tech. I even document this on my web page (http://www.angelfire.com/ca4/ShadowTriad/karameikos.html) under Advancements and Magical Development. For any and every magic item discovered, I as a DM create a story. For example, some magical swords and shields are of bronze color represented that it was created by the clerics of Halav, who study weapon smithing as apart of their practices. Other magical items have a story, background, and maybe even a history of ownership. As for wizards, they are not common. Many wizards came to Karameikos before the arrival of Thyatians to escape society and practice their craft in secret. There are very different types of wizards. Any PC or NPC must have been trained by one of these wizards and may share his/her philosphy, or maybe was trained by the Guild. They can also be a foreign import. Nevertheless, in any event, they have some background as to how they obtained magical knowledge. - Joaquin __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Platinum - Watch CBS' NCAA March Madness, live on your desktop! http://platinum.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 31 Mar 2003 18:50:29 -0500 From: Kevin Powers Subject: Re: Ierendi Jones And The Temple Of Doom Ierendi Jones: Raiders Of The Blackmoorian Ark 1. Open on the Isle Of Dread: HIDDEN SHRINE OF TAMOACHAN (see adventure C1) being accompanied through the wilderness by a pair of Atraughinians 2. Have Endi (or Endy if you prefer) met at the entrance to the SHRINE by a vicious Heldannic competitor 3. Endi finally makes his way to a rotten, unreliable Alphatian airship that has plenty of wear on it 4. Endi flies off, fending off snakes- "Jacques [his Nouvelle Averoignian friend] I hate snakes!" 5. Endi, teaching archaeology back at the Glantrian School Of Magic, is tracked down by government officials from the DDC (Darokinian Diplomatic Corps.): they inform Endi that the Heldanners may have discovered the actual location of the Ark Of Rocklin, the ancient toolkit once owned by Stephen "The Rock" Rocklin, engineer aboard the U.S.S. Beagle. 6. Endi sails for Queodhar. 7. In Queodhar, Endi meets an old girlfriend, Mirillia Ravenwood, a raven-haired Alfheimer. They flee together when a band of Heldannic Knights burst through the doors and start setting fire to everything. 8. Sooner or later, Endi winds up in Esterhold. Various marketplace deerings-do. 9. Endi heads far north, into old Thonian/Blackmoorian territory. 10. Endi winds up finding the Ark Of Rocklin, but the Ark is commandeered by the Heldannic Knights, who have by this point caught up with Endi. 11. Endi and Mirillia are bound to a post and shut their eyes as the Heldanners open the Ark. 12. A loud, mechanical voice shouts "PASSWORD." 13. The Heldannic Knights begin shouting out every conceivable word, failing utterly to answer the Ark properly. One minute later, laser beams shoot out from the Ark and kill every last Heldannic Knight present. 14. Endi and Mirillia return to Glantri City, where the Ark is placed in storage and shipped off to a remote dungeon in Klantyre... ------------------------------ End of MYSTARA-L Digest - 30 Mar 2003 to 31 Mar 2003 (#2003-90) ***************************************************************