Subject: MYSTARA-L Digest - 12 Oct 2006 to 13 Oct 2006 (#2006-164) From: MYSTARA-L automatic digest system Date: 14/10/2006, 18:00 To: MYSTARA-L@ORACLE.WIZARDS.COM Reply-to: Mystara RPG Discussion There are 3 messages totalling 169 lines in this issue. Topics of the day: 1. Mystara Chronicles 2. Update on the Caravan Campaign 3. Ideas for Niflheim ******************************************************************** 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, 13 Oct 2006 13:01:51 +0300 From: Ville V Lahde Subject: Mystara Chronicles I just read the latest installment in Daniel's Mystara Chronicles, "Motivations". Great stuff. Daniel has really made Alexander's "sideline" into a story in its own right. It was great to read Alexander's one-liner about Glantri City: "I hate it here". In both of my Mystaran campaigns that has been the exact sentiment of the PCs upon running into the segregation and byrocracy of the Glantrian society. The descriptions of the city are made very well - shame I didn't have them at hand when our campaign was in Glantri! Ville ******************************************************************** 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, 13 Oct 2006 13:32:45 +0300 From: Ville V Lahde Subject: Update on the Caravan Campaign I've been collating a campaign log of our current Caravan campaign in =20 the Vaults. Some notes on the current situation: The PCs left Corunglain and headed for Alfheim. They decided to =20 smuggle their Shadowelf prisoner out of the city and into the forest =20 as a "loose leaf" that the PC elf had been asked to bring back home. =20 They managed to fool the Red Arrow border guards, as the prisoner had =20 been thoroughly and magically convinced that they were taking him into =20 a much friendlier captivity than Corunglain could offer for caught =20 assassins. In Alfheim City they booked a room at an inn in the Karameikan =20 quarter, the Traveler's Boot. They still had no idea why the Coruns =20 and the Shadowelves had gathered mercenaries in Favaro, but they =20 suspected that they would be used in the forest. As Alfheim City would =20 be the most likely waystation, they decided to scout the city, as they =20 knew many of the mercenaries. By sheer luck they spotted two teams of mercenaries: in the Refuge at =20 Humans' Right Inn they saw a group of Soderfjordian mercenaries and a =20 mage from Landesfjord. And at a warehouse close to the Alphatian =20 embassy they saw another of the Landesfjord mages with some suspicious =20 Ylari. As they knew that the Coruns has recruited some Ylari =20 militants, they could put two and two together. The troops were in the =20 city, and most likely something was about to happen. They managed to get to speak to Guardian Taragin Oakbranch and =20 revealed their infomation and handed over the Shadowelf prisoner. =20 Taragin realised that the city was in danger. He sent word to king =20 Doriath to general Gilfrondel, and to the Shieldtree garrison. Troops =20 would be sent, but they wouldn't arrive until two day or so. So until =20 then the city would be vulnerable, especially if the PC's suspicions =20 about powerful magical attacks were true. Taragin asked the PCs to capture and/or eliminate the known =20 mercenaries and learn about the possible attack. The PCs converged on =20 the warehouse and their rogues managed to kill nearly all of the Ylari =20 militants without any fuss. In the end they gained three prisoners: a =20 Ylari fighter and two Vestlander mages who were wielding powerful =20 fireball wands (that the Coruns provided for the Shadowelves during =20 the caravan operation). From the prisoners they learned that a lot of mercenaries had indeed =20 been gathered at the inn in Favaro. They had been transported to =20 Alfhein city in groups, given targets and one or two mages with =20 fireball wands. This group's mission was to use the fireball wands on =20 the nearby Sentinel trees and then storm the Alphatian embassy. The signal for the attack would be "when the sky is burning"... This sounded a bit alarming, so the PCs left the elven guards to mop =20 up the warehouse and decided to press on the attack and hit the =20 berserkers. They hope to eliminate as many of the mercenaries before =20 the attack comes. Hopefully the army gets there in time. What the PCs don't know is that 1) the escaped Corun merchant has =20 warned the Shadowelf agents in Desnae that something is wrong and 2) =20 when Gilfronden learns that his plans are in danger he will make sure =20 that the attack will take place before the army arrives. The city guard and the custom office police have been alerted, so the =20 city woun't be caught by surprise. Still, the attack will be fearsome: =20 using the magic items gathered by the Corun conspirators, the =20 Shadowelves will release a powerful spirit of Cretia in Celedryl's =20 market, unleash the Phonenix upon Guardian's palace and summon a =20 powerful Flaem fire elemental on the Council tree. It remains to be seen whether the PCs can help save the city. ******************************************************************** 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, 13 Oct 2006 13:47:34 +0300 From: Ville V Lahde Subject: Ideas for Niflheim In my older Mystaran campaign (OD&D) the PCs are about to travel to =20 Niflheim. They are searching for Ragnar the Stout, the former leader =20 of Soderfjord, who has been hiding the Thyatian occupation army in the =20 Great Marsh. Yup, in my campaign Thyatia invaded Soderfjord in the =20 aftermath of the Nomad War. Tension between Alhpatia and Thyatia has =20 been growing. Alphatia annexed Helskir and Oceansend, and Thyatia has =20 gained Ylaruam and Soderfjord. Due to the intervention of one PC the =20 Thyatian army failed to catch Ragnar who started a guerilla campaign =20 against the invaders. But he was forced to retreat into the Marsh. =20 During the winter he was lured into Niflheim by the Witch Queen - on a =20 mission to look for her missinf elven spouse. The PCs know that Ragnar is in Nifhleim, but don't know much else. One =20 of the PCs is his blood brother and has been having nightmares about =20 Ragnar lost in a blizzard. Ragnar has been captured by a powerful Frost Giant king who originally =20 took him in as a quest. But after having learned about Ragnar's =20 powerful allies he decided to lure them into his court and blackmail =20 them into doing him a favour. I'm yet to come up with a good story here. Who is the Giant king up =20 against? Why are humans essential for him? What about the lost elven =20 spouse? I want to switch the genre for this one. Usually our Mystara is pretty =20 "realistic" in the sense that we focus on politics and economies, the =20 gray areas of real life. But in this case - it is another world after =20 all - I want to go to epics. The solutions to the problems should =20 follow the logic of epic sagas: challenges, tests, mysteries... the =20 PCs must learn to live in a story. Any ideas? Has anyone else been writing adventures in Niflheim? How =20 about you vikings over there? (Funny thing is, the giants were supposed to come from Finland in some =20 versions of the myth. I should have the home field advantage. But =20 perhaps the jotun are sleeping here.) Ville ******************************************************************** 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. ------------------------------ End of MYSTARA-L Digest - 12 Oct 2006 to 13 Oct 2006 (#2006-164) ****************************************************************