Subject: MYSTARA-L Digest - 18 Aug 2005 to 19 Aug 2005 (#2005-161) From: Automatic digest processor Date: 20/08/2005, 17:00 To: Recipients of MYSTARA-L digests Reply-to: Mystara RPG Discussion There are 6 messages totalling 607 lines in this issue. Topics of the day: 1. a new race: the boor (2) 2. is list alive? (2) 3. The Wendarian Northern Wildlands Timeline (Part I - LONG) 4. the boor ******************************************************************** The Other Worlds Homepage: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/OtherWorlds.asp The Mystara Homepage: http://www.pandius.com To unsubscribe, send email to LISTSERV@ORACLE.WIZARDS.COM with UNSUB MYSTARA-L in the body of the message. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 19 Aug 2005 06:24:54 -0500 From: Pat Taylor Subject: a new race: the boor i was looking through some old notebooks of mine and came across a race i brought into my campaign the Boor. they are a magical crossbreed of gnolls, kobolds, and halflings. here is the background write-up Bo-Keem Marid, an alphatian wizard created the crossbreed as part of research and the desire for privacy in his pursuits..later he would use this creation as part of his path to immortality. Bo-Keem Marid (MU 35), an experienced plane and void traveller found a quiet world, Argain, or so he thought for research into the mysteries. Erecting a tower in the waste, Marid hired local kobold and gnolls as gaurds to keep out unwanted visitors. As most wizards, marid was curious and with most gnolls and kobolds the hirleings left alot to be desired. Marid began crossbreeding halfling captives with his hirelings. After many flaws, he finally created his masterpiece the Boor. They had the physcial strenghth and viciousness of gnolls, heartyness of halflings, and the fruitfulness of kobolds. the first batch numbered only 15 (6 males and 9 females). Within 2 years the number had grown to 120. Boor began to teach the original 6 males and they became the patriarch..after a two year process he turned them loose, but they came back to the tower each year with their clans. As Marid contuined with his explorations the Boor quickly overcame the local kobolds, gnolls, and halflings. As time wore on Marid was not at the tower every year so the patriarchs desided to elect on of their number as the high priest to stay at the tower and advise the others....over the course of the next three years the Boor grew very numerous and ever expanding....eventually overruning the gnoll kingdom of Salshar along the salshar river, and a human city on the northern coast..Peligar. their expansion has continued till now....faced with true threats to their domination....from isle to the north come the magical Eloi humans and to the south the numerous and tough Thri-keen tribes. Marid came back and noticed the structure and approved....he also began using boor warriors and mages on his exploraton trips...... In my campaign on a trip to the prime plane and to mystrara Marid had come to colect a the "horn of fire" a minotaur artifact from near minea...that is how the party frist encountered the boor. after a couple of run-ins over the course of the next couple of years the party found a way to Argain, and joined in the fight against the boor there....realizing that if this horde was left unchecked it could overrun most of the multiverse.. let me know what you think typical warrior stat HD 4 AT by weapon Int 14 str 18 wis 12 dex 17 con 15 chr 6 typical mage hd 6 at spells as 4th level wizard int 17 str 15 wis 15 dex 15 con 12 chr 14 take care, neal ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 19 Aug 2005 13:54:57 +0200 From: Havard Faanes Subject: Re: a new race: the boor Hi Pat, looks like a good starting point for devicing an interesting race. But what do they look like exactlty? :) Håvard --- Pat Taylor skrev: > i was looking through some old notebooks of mine and > came across a race i > brought into my campaign the Boor. they are a > magical crossbreed of gnolls, > kobolds, and halflings. > > here is the background write-up > > Bo-Keem Marid, an alphatian wizard created the > crossbreed as part of > research and the desire for privacy in his > pursuits..later he would use this > creation as part of his path to immortality. > > > Bo-Keem Marid (MU 35), an experienced plane and void > traveller found a quiet > world, Argain, or so he thought for research into > the mysteries. Erecting a > tower in the waste, Marid hired local kobold and > gnolls as gaurds to keep > out unwanted visitors. As most wizards, marid was > curious and with most > gnolls and kobolds the hirleings left alot to be > desired. Marid began > crossbreeding halfling captives with his hirelings. > After many flaws, he > finally created his masterpiece the Boor. They had > the physcial strenghth > and viciousness of gnolls, heartyness of halflings, > and the fruitfulness of > kobolds. the first batch numbered only 15 (6 males > and 9 females). Within > 2 years the number had grown to 120. Boor began to > teach the original 6 > males and they became the patriarch..after a two > year process he turned them > loose, but they came back to the tower each year > with their clans. As Marid > contuined with his explorations the Boor quickly > overcame the local kobolds, > gnolls, and halflings. As time wore on Marid was > not at the tower every > year so the patriarchs desided to elect on of their > number as the high > priest to stay at the tower and advise the > others....over the course of the > next three years the Boor grew very numerous and > ever > expanding....eventually overruning the gnoll kingdom > of Salshar along the > salshar river, and a human city on the northern > coast..Peligar. their > expansion has continued till now....faced with true > threats to their > domination....from isle to the north come the > magical Eloi humans and to the > south the numerous and tough Thri-keen tribes. > Marid came back and noticed > the structure and approved....he also began using > boor warriors and mages on > his exploraton trips...... > > > In my campaign on a trip to the prime plane and to > mystrara Marid had come > to colect a the "horn of fire" a minotaur artifact > from near minea...that > is how the party frist encountered the boor. after > a couple of run-ins over > the course of the next couple of years the party > found a way to Argain, and > joined in the fight against the boor > there....realizing that if this horde > was left unchecked it could overrun most of the > multiverse.. > > let me know what you think > > > typical warrior stat > HD 4 > AT by weapon > Int 14 > str 18 > wis 12 > dex 17 > con 15 > chr 6 > > > typical mage > hd 6 > at spells as 4th level wizard > int 17 > str 15 > wis 15 > dex 15 > con 12 > chr 14 > > > take care, > neal > > ******************************************************************** > The Other Worlds Homepage: > http://www.wizards.com/dnd/OtherWorlds.asp > The Mystara Homepage: http://www.pandius.com > To unsubscribe, send email to > LISTSERV@ORACLE.WIZARDS.COM > with UNSUB MYSTARA-L in the body of the message. > ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 19 Aug 2005 17:28:19 -0700 From: Geoff Gander Subject: Re: is list alive? On Thu, 18 Aug 2005 13:28:18 -0300, Vinicius R. de Moraes - USP Solar wrote: > Why don't we try to dicipline ourseleves and use only THIS list? IMHO > checking 2 places instead of only one does not do any good. While I try to use this List as often as possible, there are some occasions where the format of what is being discussed does not always lend itself to a newsgroup - such as maps. That said, I think the main reason why there seems to be a lot of traffic on the MMB at the moment is that there are a handful of hot topics that happened to have been started there, and inertia tends to prevent their moving over here. The solution, of course, is to toss around some ideas here. So: Does anyone have any neat home-brew modules that they would be willing to share? Any new monsters, spells, character classes, races? Any thoughts on my most recent post? Would you like to see more of that sort of thing (in-game props to add more realism to the game, and to provide potential fodder for further adventures)? Geoff ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 19 Aug 2005 19:01:20 -0700 From: Geoff Gander Subject: The Wendarian Northern Wildlands Timeline (Part I - LONG) Hello all, On the MMB, there is a fair amount of discussion about Wendar going on. One aspect of this is the question of its borders - namely, we have maps that either show the kingdom bordering Denagoth to the south and west (as, I believe, Thib's maps show), or having it border Denagoth only to the south, with a stretch of unclaimed land due north. In seeking an explanation for the discrepancy, one idea was that this northern region (the so-called "Northern Wildlands") was claimed by Wendar, an occupied by it at various times and to varying degrees, but had never been successfully annexed. I pursued the idea a little, and this timeline was the result. I might write more in the future (beyond the rest of the timeline), but for the moment I thought some people in both groups might be interested. Note: I have used parts of Shawn and Marco's Wendar timeline for this portion. ******* Timeline of the Wendaran Northern Wildlands: At various times in the past, the elves have claimed the northern wildlands for their own, some undertaking the perilous task of settling the dark forests and building strongholds. In times of prosperity, new realms were carved out of the wilderness, and the border crept northwards. In darker times, evil things swept down from the Mengul Mountains, and from the fearsome Adri Varma Plateau, and in their wake there was nothing but ruined fortresses and towns, and streams of refugees fleeing south, telling their brethren of the horrors that stalked them. Even during the worst times, the heartlands in the south remained free for the most part, made secure by a network of fortresses and towers, but always the wildlands beckoned, promising fantastic things to those with the strength and courage to find them. Gylharen, wishing to usher in a new era of strength for Wendar, has called on the bravest souls - human and elven - to cross the frontier into the wildlands, and retake that which was lost many times before. This time, Gylharen has the Elvenstone, and the guidance of the Korrigans, to strengthen him. Legends abound of lost elven cities, hidden deep in forbidding ancient forests, filled with priceless lore and treasures: many- towered Soreth, Thalion, with its bridge of unsurpassing beauty, and silver-= domed Nimbeth. All were built and held by the elves in times past, and, perhaps, they might be retaken by the men and elves of modern Wendar. The First Realms: Forenath and Soreth BC 2100: The elves of Genalleth discover a broad, heavily forested valley north of their own lands, sandwiched between the Mengul Range and what will one day be known as the Adri Varma Plateau. Although initially promising, the land they explore contains treacherous moors, unwelcoming ancient forests, and powerful monsters. Naming the region the Northern Wildlands, the elves regard it as a dangerous land to be avoided. Unfortunately for them, they do not venture far enough north to discover the more hospitable regions. BC 1725: King Loark raises Great Horde at Urzud (which is located at a fork in the Borea River in central Brun) and migrates eastward, continuing his quest for the Blue Knife. BC 1724: Akkila-Khan, believing he is working off better knowledge than Loark, raises an appreciably smaller horde and moves southeastward from Urzud on his quest for the Blue Knife. BC 1723: Akkila-Khan comes across the northern edge of the Denagothian plateau and starts ravaging the Denagothians. BC 1722: The Great Horde of King Loark crosses the Icereach Range and ravages the Antalians of Norwold, sending them into a dark age. BC 1721: Local resistance forces Akkila Khan to move on southward, entering the elven territory of Genalleth (modern Wendar). Using their superior magic and knowledge of the region, the elves drive Akkila's forces out of their land, and he ends up in Ethengar. Some of his forces are separated from the horde and driven north, into the Northern Wildlands. Unbeknownst to the Genalleth elves, who are certain that the horde will never make it out again, a bronze-age human culture lives there. The humanoids, eager for plunder, fall on the humans and devastate their towns, initiating years of vicious warfare. BC 1700: The humanoid horde is destroyed, but at great cost. More than three-quarters of the humans have been killed, and almost all of their towns and villages are in ruin; their nascent civilisation collapses within a generation, as people come to depend more on their clans for survival. Matters are made worse by the change in climate brought on by the explosion of ancient Blackmoorian artefacts in what are now the Broken Lands. BC 1500: Elves of the Lothenar Forest discover a great, untamed land, west of the Mengul Range. Amazed by their discovery, they explore the area. BC 1470: The Lothenar elves return to their homes, telling tales of a vast land of pristine river valleys bounded by ancient forests, as well as the seemingly magical properties of certain lakes, rivers, and plants found there. Some of them migrate to the newly discovered land, including reclusive clans hoping to avoid further contact with other races. Some Geffronell elves, eager to settle new lands in the aftermath of recent climate changes that resulted in the loss of much of their forest, join them. BC 1450: The elven settlers discover that their new home is not uninhabited. In the far west, in the shadow of the Adri Varma Plateau, primitive humans are encountered (the remnants of the culture that was ravaged by part of Akkila-Khan=92s horde a few centuries earlier). Although most of the humans avoid the elves out of fear, some make contact with the newcomers, and, awed by their strange beauty, revere them as powerful earth spirits. BC 1400: Some of the more open-minded elves, having discovered ruins indicating that the humans were more advanced at one time, learn the humans=92 language and customs, and try to guide them to a higher level of civilisation. BC 1300: Realising that, after being separated from their brethren in Lothenar and Geffron for almost 200 years they have become a different people, the elves found their own realm in the lands they claim, naming it Forenath. It encompasses the northern half of what are now the Northern Wildlands, and contains a handful of both elven and human villages. No effort is made to expand beyond the Muil River (named after the elf who first crossed it), as the forests south of it are more forbidding, and filled with dangerous monsters. BC 1200: At the foot of the mountains in the northern reaches of the land, several reclusive Lothenar clans, disgusted by their compatriots=92 increasing involvement with the human clans, found the town of Soreth on a large forested hill girded by a great river. They fortify their settlement, and allow only elves to enter. BC 1100: By this time word of Forenath and Soreth reaches the elves of Genalleth. Although there is no lack of space in their valley, news that elves have settled the Northern Wildlands (which have until now been considered fearsome and monster-infested) inspires those who wish to found their own stronghold to venture north. Over the coming centuries, word of this rich land eventually reaches humanoids to the north and west, who then try to take the Northern Wildlands for themselves. They are driven back by the elves and their human allies. The human tribes of Forenath have, under elvish guidance, recovered much of their lost civilisation, but in doing so have adopted the elvish language as their own. Many tribes have adopted elvish customs as well, even to the point of worshipping the Korrigans. Occasional intermarriages also produce offspring with both elvish and human blood =96 they are called =93the Childr= en of the Korrigans=94 by the elves, but their human brethren call them =93half= - men=94, even if they appear totally human. BC 1000: Several minor strongholds have been established south of the Muil River by Genalleth elves, and direct contact has been made with the elves of Forenath. The southern strongholds, however, do not fare as well =96 dangerous monsters are far more common, and some elves disappear if they venture too deeply into many of the forests. Elsewhere, Antalian tribes, fleeing what are now the Northern Reaches to escape Nithian encroachments, arrive in the Genalleth Valley. BC 950: Many humans living in Forenath begin to fall ill with a strange rotting disease. Alarmed, and recalling similar diseases that struck them in Lothenar centuries ago, the elves consult their surviving records to determine what the cause might be. The disease was brought to the region by the Nithians, by way of the fleeing Antalians. It is not magical; the only reason why the Forenath humans are dying of it is that they have no immunity against it, unlike the Antalians and Nithians. BC 940: It becomes clear that the disease affecting the humans is not like that which plagued the elves =96 the elves are not susceptible, and none of the traditional remedies seem to work. The disease is also highly contagious, and kills its victims quickly. The elves of Forenath contact their cousins in Geffron, asking for their help in using the Elvenstar to cure their human allies. The Geffronell refuse, citing the treachery of the Denagothians as precedent. The elves of Soreth declare that any human entering their lands will be killed. BC 920: Despair spreads rapidly among the humans of Forenath, as it becomes clear that their elvish friends cannot help them. Some seek to isolate themselves in order to avoid the plague, while others leave the area entirely, hoping to start anew. Others still grow embittered against their elvish allies. One fact that goes unnoticed is that humans with even the smallest amount of elvish blood, the so-called =93half-men=94, are unaffecte= d by the plague. Roughly one-third of Forenath=92s human population has died o= f the plague over the previous 30 years. BC 914: In one of the larger towns of Forenath, a human named Maeglath claims that he has evidence that the plague was created by the elves as a means of killing their human compatriots. He urges his countrymen to take up arms and seek vengeance, before the plague claims too many lives. While many human elders denounce him for spreading dangerous lies, his message resonates with a large number of those who hear it. In later years, the elves will recall this event as the beginning of Forenath=92s fall. BC 910: As more humans continue to sicken and die in Forenath, Maeglath=92s beliefs gain acceptance. Those humans who have embraced elvish ways (and who, more often than not, have some elvish ancestry) urge their countrymen to reject Maeglath=92s message of hatred, but they are increasingly denounce= d as traitors to their own race. The fact that many of these humans are not suffering from the plague (due to their elvish blood), only casts more suspicion upon them. BC 900: In Genalleth, the recently arrived Antalian refugees make contact with the elves, and together the two races begin laying the foundations of modern Wendarian society. In Forenath, tensions have risen to the point that mobs begin attacking elves and humans thought to be traitors. The first attacks surprise the elves due to their viciousness and level of co-ordination. The violence, thought to be orchestrated by Maeglath, escalates over the following years. BC 891: Maeglath is killed by a band of elvish heroes who had been hunting him for several years. The movement he started does not dissolve upon his death, as the elves had hoped, but instead is whipped up to new levels of fervour, as mobs attack their victims regardless of the danger to themselves. BC 890: Owing primarily to the dangers posed by the wilderness, a series of successful humanoid offensives, and the unexpected difficulties in maintaining their settlements, the Genalleth elves abandon many of their strongholds, save for a handful immediately north of Genalleth proper. Contact with Forenath, sporadic at best, becomes increasingly infrequent. By this time, Forenath is in a state of chaos. Although the plague had now killed more than three-quarters of the realm=92s human population, violence is still widespread. Desperate elvish clan elders authorise their warriors, and hired adventurers, to do whatever is necessary to end the threats to their people=92s safety, which results in wholesale slaughter on some occasions as entire human villages are wiped out for sheltering known =93traitors to the realm=94. This only incites the human mobs to even greater acts of violence once word spreads of the deeds. BC 887: Able no longer to see the realm they worked so hard to build descend into further chaos, many Forenath elves seek shelter in Soreth, Lothenar, Geffron, or even Genalleth. Times become very difficult for the =93half-men=94 =96 they are persecuted by other humans, and are often tr= eated with suspicion by the elves because of their racial ties with the rebels, unless they have proven their loyalty. BC 880: By now, Forenath has been largely emptied of its elvish population, save for a handful living deep within the forests. The remaining humans, numbering no more than a few thousand, fall upon any of their countrymen thought to be sympathetic to the elves. In the ensuing battles, the faint remnants of Forenath are destroyed utterly. Humanoid tribes living on the Adri Varma Plateau and in the northern mountains, kept at bay by the elves for centuries, now enter the lands of Forenath largely unopposed. The next 200 years will see the Northern Wildlands revert to being considered a perilous, undesirable land. Some =93half-man=94 clans who survived the chaos= migrate south to Genalleth, where, they have heard, humans and elves co- exist peacefully. ******* More to come....comments welcome! ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 19 Aug 2005 20:26:22 -0700 From: Joe Kelly Subject: Re: is list alive? I distinctly remember members of this list worrying about Wizards having = dropped Mystara from their list. It was with rejoice they put up the = Mystara Message Board on their site. Ignoring the MMB would be telling = Wizards we don't care about Mystara anymore. Something I don't think this = group wants to suggest. So let's keep both active. JK Wolf >>> au998@FREENET.CARLETON.CA 08/19/05 05:28pm >>> On Thu, 18 Aug 2005 13:28:18 -0300, Vinicius R. de Moraes - USP Solar wrote: > Why don't we try to dicipline ourseleves and use only THIS list? IMHO > checking 2 places instead of only one does not do any good. While I try to use this List as often as possible, there are some = occasions where the format of what is being discussed does not always lend itself to a newsgroup - such as maps. That said, I think the main reason why there seems to be a lot of traffic on the MMB at the moment is that there are a handful of hot topics that happened to have been started there, and = inertia tends to prevent their moving over here. The solution, of course, is to toss around some ideas here. So: Does anyone have any neat home-brew modules that they would be willing to share? Any new monsters, spells, character classes, races? Any thoughts on my most recent post? Would you like to see more of that sort of thing (in-game props to add more realism to the game, and to provide potential fodder for further adventures)? Geoff ******************************************************************** The Other Worlds Homepage: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/OtherWorlds.asp=20 The Mystara Homepage: http://www.pandius.com=20 To unsubscribe, send email to LISTSERV@ORACLE.WIZARDS.COM=20 with UNSUB MYSTARA-L in the body of the message. This e-mail and any attachment(s) are confidential and may be privileged. If you are not the intended recipient please notify me immediately by return e-mail, delete this e-mail and do not copy, use or disclose it. Please advise us if you do not want to receive unencrypted e-mails. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 19 Aug 2005 22:47:49 -0500 From: Pat Taylor Subject: the boor thanks havard well they look real simular to a normal kobold....except they are about a foot taller, and a bit more muscular.....when i first put them into the campaign they were a shocking surprize for the party, who saw regular kobolds and were stunned by the toughness. As far as dress and armor......being from a desert/badlands climate most wear cloth or leather armor, with flowing robes, but as Marid has trained the elite for forays into different worlds, they can be found in chain mail or splint mail. the weapon of choice is th "Fith" a normal sword with a wicked barb below the point. or to use short bows ( a hold over from kobold days) Aslo i toyed with the idea of a thief class that would serve as a SS type group on the homeworld or infiltrators on the missions but never fleshed it out.. i also fleshed out the world where they are from....the party campaingned there for a year.... let me know if you are interested in this info and i will post it... neal ------------------------------ End of MYSTARA-L Digest - 18 Aug 2005 to 19 Aug 2005 (#2005-161) ****************************************************************