Subject: MYSTARA-L Digest - 15 Oct 2004 to 16 Oct 2004 (#2004-222) From: Automatic digest processor Date: 17/10/2004, 18:00 To: Recipients of MYSTARA-L digests Reply-to: Mystara RPG Discussion There is one message totalling 69 lines in this issue. Topics of the day: 1. What's Mystara all about. ******************************************************************** The Other Worlds Homepage: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/OtherWorlds.asp The Mystara Homepage: http://www.mystaranet.jamm.com/vaults/default.aspx To unsubscribe, send email to LISTSERV@ORACLE.WIZARDS.COM with UNSUB MYSTARA-L in the body of the message. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 16 Oct 2004 11:14:00 -0700 From: The Stalker Subject: Re: What's Mystara all about. On Fri, 15 Oct 2004 11:01:41 +0300, =?ISO-8859-1?Q?Ville_V_L=E4hde?= wrote: > > So very true. One good example of the Mystara feel are the shadowelves. > First, they were introduced in the Alfheim Gazetteer as the villain > culture - however the possibility of they having a genuine real-life > ethical&political viewpoint (as opposed to AD&Dish petrified metaphysical > moral positions) was already hinted at. While I like much of AD&D, the problem with it in many campaigns is that what you call the metaphysical moral positions are applied across most or all of the campaigns without distinction. Yes, I want those metaphysical aspects to be dominant, particularly in the outer planes where the immortals/deities/gods/whatever lie and have their greatest influence, but on the mortal planes, like the Prime Material, things should be far more gray. After all, the prime is a battleground for the immortals precisely because the moral positions are undecided and changing. Hence Mystara became much more interesting, because the people who live there are indeed being pulled in various directions as determined by the circumstances of their lives, whereas in Forgotten Realms there are hosts of godly avators or "chosen ones" or their ilk. For example, there are people who see Stefan Karameikos as a heroic and benevolent king, but there are also those who see him as a scheming manipulator. The great thing about Mystara is that which side is correct depends entirely on your point of view - if you're pro-Thyatis, then Stefan *IS* a manipulator. After all, despite having autonomy, he did call his lands a "grand duchy" to suggest a continued connection with the Thyatian Empire, but when the Great War came, he used the first possible opportunity to declare independence and then abandon Thyatis in favor of a treaty with Alphatia, who were doing better at that point in the war. It can be called practical or forced by the circumstances, but a Thyatian could also call it treacherous and unpatriotic. > But when we finally got the > shadowelves Gazetteer, the picture of the shadowelves was much more richer > than we might have thought. And again there we have the common-knowledge > histories, the true history, and the Immortal Plan that is disquised in a > whole cultural system. > > One the coolest cultures ever in fantasy RPGs. > Mystara isn't has hung up on the whole moral issue of having things all black and white as most other (A)D&D campaigns, and the Shadowelves are an excellent exception. In gaz 5 (Elves of Alfheim) we're told they're evil, chaotic, and generally nefarious, but the shadowelves don't see it that way themselves. Except for some truly nasty individuals (Zandor, Ludwig von Hendriks, etc.) there are few or no all-evil characters, and none of the societies can be clearly painted as such - they are all good or evil depending on how you look at them. The Shattenalfen might be cruel and manipulative, but they are also under the control of Atzanteotl... Same goes for the Azcans during the gazetteer era. This is the reason why Mystara is generally considered the 'grey' campaign setting of (A)D&D. Personally, I think it just makes it more believable and interesting, because you can run more realistic plots in it without worrying too much about whether it fits the good or evil profile of whatever nation. - The Stalker ------------------------------ End of MYSTARA-L Digest - 15 Oct 2004 to 16 Oct 2004 (#2004-222) ****************************************************************