Subject: MYSTARA-L Digest - 5 Nov 2006 to 6 Nov 2006 (#2006-177) From: MYSTARA-L automatic digest system Date: 07/11/2006, 19:00 To: MYSTARA-L@ORACLE.WIZARDS.COM Reply-to: Mystara RPG Discussion There are 4 messages totalling 332 lines in this issue. Topics of the day: 1. Blackmoor (3) 2. Niflheim adventure ******************************************************************** 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: Sun, 5 Nov 2006 23:19:54 -0800 From: "David S. Leland" Subject: Re: Blackmoor > There are some monsters on my site. > > However, I recommend Trainanus's Monster thread over > at the WotC boards, which has most of the DA monsters > converted, and probably better versions than the > drafts I have made. Thanks yet again. Any idea where to find this. The wizards boards don't allow searches and I can't seem to find anything using generic searches. Anyone have a link to the thread in an old email? Thanks, MC ******************************************************************** 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: Mon, 6 Nov 2006 08:54:21 +0100 From: Giampaolo Agosta Subject: Re: Blackmoor On 06/11/06, David S. Leland wrote: > > Thanks yet again. Any idea where to find this. The wizards boards > don't allow searches and I can't seem to find anything using generic > searches. Anyone have a link to the thread in an old email? There's a link in the sticky thread ("Links for Important Threads on Board"). Anyway, here is a direct link: http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=459254 GP ******************************************************************** 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: Mon, 6 Nov 2006 11:56:37 +0200 From: Ville V Lahde Subject: Niflheim adventure Some time ago I asked for ideas on Niflheim and received some good =20 insight. Thanks. Here's an adventure scheme that I developed: "The Lost Spear" Background: Dunedhel, the elven servant of Hel, was sent on an errand. He was =20 supposed to fetch a powerful artefact that Hel had commissioned from =20 the Niflungur, the moulder dwarves of Niflheim. The Niflungur, or =20 Niebelungen, are related to the modrigswerg of Mystara - or perhaps =20 they are emigrees from the destroyed modrigswerg dominions that Hel =20 allowed to settle in Nilfheim (which is at least nominally under her =20 rule). The artefact was a powerful Spear of Giant-Slaying that was crafted to =20 kill the Frost Giant king B=E5hren who has rebelled against Hel. B=E5hren = =20 is married to a young and temperamental queen who thirsts for power, =20 wealth and glory, and her whispers have strentgthened his ambition. =20 B=E5hren is so powerful that even an Immortal would fear challenging him =20 - as befits the spirit of the saga worlds of the Norse Immortals. So =20 Hel wanted to have that powerful weapon as a threat so she could bring =20 B=E5hren back under her rule. Unfortunately Dunedhel was amushed by B=E5hren's minions when he was =20 travelling to the abode of the Niflungur. He was captured, and B=E5hren =20 threw him to the great serpent Niddhogg. Dunedhel lies under the =20 seprent's claw in constant torment. The Niflungur are still waiting for someone to come and claim the =20 Spear. B=E5hren is content for the moment, but he wants to gain the =20 spear so that nothing could threaten him. But his giant warriors =20 cannot gain access to the icy mountain of the Niflungur. Hel is =20 wondering whatever happened to Dunedhel. Another Hel's servant, Witch-Queen Carrah, is searching Mystaran =20 Northern Reaches for heroes who would find her lover Dunedhel. Theme of the adventure: Logic of Sagas The world of Niflheim is part of the realms of Norse immortals, which =20 form a whole that only touches Mystara. This whole follows a logic of =20 its own, the Logic of Sagas. The fate of these realms is tied to the =20 ever-repeating cycle of Ragnar=F6k, and every significant person has a =20 predetermined fate. Motivations of the habitants follow the logic of =20 the saga, not the logic of everyday life. Even the elements themselves =20 act according to a story. That is why, literally, only Dunedhel can get the spear from the =20 Niflungur, why Hel won't send another of her minions to get it, why =20 B=E5hren can be killed only with the spear... and why Dunedhel lies =20 under Niddhogg's claw, still alive. But people from Mystara are not part of this cycle. They come from a =20 world without a predetermined fate, so to some extent they are Agents =20 of Freedom. Carrah knows this, so she is looking for such heroes to =20 intervene. Carrah doesn't know what happened exactly, but she knows =20 that something is wrong. And she is right - the Saga is lacking its =20 heroes! (Human agents is a constant theme of sagas.) So even when =20 looking for agents of freedom Carrah is filling her place in a story. This means that when in Niflheim the PCs are not wholly tied to the =20 Logic of the Saga. Their adventure has to follow a dramatic arc, but =20 its end is not predetermined. For example: it is possible for them to =20 kill B=E5hren even without the spear, and they can perhaps negotiate a =20 settlement with the Niflungur. But in order to act succesfully they have to understand the world of =20 Sagas. Whenever they are appealing to the logic of reality, to the =20 technicalities of their skills and spells, they are more likely to =20 fail. But when they strive for dramatic and storylike acts, they are =20 more likely to succeed. In gaming terms the GM can decide what this might mean. That's a =20 matter of taste. I opted for a highly storytelling-like approach. Some =20 examples of our group's play: - The PCs were in a blizzard and were in the danger of being frozen. =20 They tried to use their spells to erect wooden barriers and described =20 in minute detail how they were building their camp. But the fire =20 tended to go out, the barrier kept falling, and tent spikes were blown =20 about by the wind. Then they started to get the hang of it, and they =20 decided to take their fur cloaks and lie between them, drinking strong =20 liquor and singing the cold away. That succeeded. - Food was a problem, as the PCs only had iron rations, which in this =20 world meant dry pieces of bread, hard beef jerky and moldy cheese. One =20 PC wished to hunt. As he decided to go out into the snow, sniffing his =20 prey (the PC has a cat motif), he was likely to find game. Another PC =20 later found a deer by sitting morosely and staring dramatically into =20 the blizzard. But again, all this is up to the GM and the taste of the group. In our =20 game I rested the adventure on the notion that the possibility of =20 leaning on reality (the rules of OD&D) was a strength of the PCs. They =20 could basically kill anyone, find innovative solutions and survive - =20 as long as their powers sufficed. But too much reliance on this would =20 be a weakness. Their true power was that they could augment their =20 mundane powers with living according to the saga. So: if the PCs had =20 some skills and the players used them dramatically, they could be much =20 more powerful than in Mystara. I used the following rules of thumb: - Always describe the action, not the result. The Saga won't let you =20 "play" it to your direct advantage. If you act according to it, the =20 results will follow. - Do not lean on technicalities. Don't say you are casting a spell of =20 create wood, say that you are crafting wood out of thin air and =20 singing it into form. Instead of using the Smash option describe your =20 attack. - The elements are more dangerous than persons or monsters. The =20 elements (snow, hunger, wind, blizzard, cold, ice...) don't have game =20 statictics, they are obstacles sent to test you - and they can even =20 become personalities. In our game the PCs had to test their wits =20 against "Old Man Blizzard". They came very close to death, until one =20 PC started belittling and ignoring him, making him run out of wind. =20 But he did it with a style according to a story. - Overanalysing is dangerous. - The GM is not the judge of a good story. That is why I only had a =20 loose scheme of the situation (persons, places, intrigues, =20 relationships). Any outcome can be made into a saga. As agents of =20 freedome the PCs will choose their path. Don't back down when they do =20 something unexpected. Roll with the punches. - Everything is bigger, even the giants. Plot hooks and gaming tips: - B=E5hren's court is a court, so there must be intrigue - in sagas =20 there always is. The Queen Venla has an old mother whom B=E5hren treats =20 with contempt, using her as a servant. The old mother might help the =20 PCs. She knows where Dunedhel is, for example. - B=E5hren will of course try to fool the PCs into bringing the spear to =20 him. He will try to make them believe that the Niflungur crafted the =20 spear to him, but he lost it to them in a game of chance. - The Niflungur will be hostile to anyone who claims to be serving =20 B=E5hren. But they might be persuaded to part with the spear if the PCs =20 make a good enough story, or of course if they have Dunedhel! - In "primitive" sagas strange meetings and weird individuals are =20 usual. If the PCs are lost, let them meet an old wise man in a =20 ramschackle hut, engage in a duel of wits and perhaps gain some =20 knowledge. Or whatever. Our Saga ran like this (this far): 1) The PCs learn that their friend (Ragnar Stout) is in danger. One of =20 them sees repeated nightmares of him lost in a blizzard. - Background: Ragnar appealed to Carrah for aid against Thyatian =20 invaders. But Carrah trapped him and sent him into Niflheim. Ragnar =20 ended up as a guest in B=E5hren's castle. B=E5hren learned from Ragnar of = =20 his powerful friends and decided to use him as a bait. Ragnar is =20 encased in ice, and B=E5hren sends his nightmares as a bait. 2) The PCs know that Ragnar was in the Great Marsh and learn of =20 Carrah's legend. They try to contact Carrah but are enchanted by her =20 will-o-wisps and imprisoned. Carrah's ship takes them to Niflheim. =20 Carrah says that she won't take them back until they find Dunedhel. - They could of course have repelled her charms and negotiated a =20 passage. That way they could have learned important things. 3) In Niflheim the PCs have trouble with the elements and slowly learn =20 where they are. - As a clue I described how the PC start to look different. They are =20 no longer just adventurers, but each of them becomes an "archetype": =20 the Wise One, the Good Heart, the Devious Lecher... 4) The PCs clash with Old Man Blizzard. From him they learn that =20 Ragnar went to B=E5hren's castle. 5) In B=E5hren's castle they miss all the signs and swallow his story =20 about losing the spear in a game of dice. They promise to get =20 "B=E5hren's spear" back so the king will release Ragnar. 6) They penetrate the icy mound of the Niflungur fighting their =20 Clockwork Men. They try to negotiate but fail, as they are asking for =20 B=E5hren's spear. The Niflungur know very well that it his not his. In =20 the end they steal the spear. 7) The PCs don't trust B=E5hren, although they just believe he won't pay =20 the price of "his spear". So they negotiate from a long distance and =20 ask to trade Ragnar for the Spear. They get Ragnar, but as soon as =20 B=E5hren gets the spear he yells triumphantly "Now nobody can defeat =20 me!" and sends his warriors to kill the PCs. We've got this far. I was surprised that the PCs missed all the =20 possibilities to learn about the spear. Okay, no trouble. Now this is =20 a Story of Betrayal. Now the players have made a dangerous choice: they still believe that =20 the Spear is the powerful artefact that makes B=E5hren invincible (a =20 credible hypothesis), so they decided to send their thief to destroy =20 it with a Rod of Cancellation. We'll see where this goes... Perhaps the thief will read some warning =20 signs and rethink the situation (B=E5hren is putting the spear into a =20 chest, the old mother is looming in the background, whatever...). Or =20 perhaps he manages to destroy the spear, and the PCs will have to do =20 the "impossible" - kill B=E5hren. The old mother would be grateful. ******************************************************************** 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: Mon, 6 Nov 2006 16:45:37 +0100 From: Havard Faanes Subject: Re: Blackmoor Thanks for posting this GP. There is a link to it at my site as well. I will try to upload the monster descriptions of Blackmoor relevant monsters to my site on the next update so they will be easier to find. Cheers! Havard --- Giampaolo Agosta skrev: > On 06/11/06, David S. Leland > wrote: > > > > Thanks yet again. Any idea where to find this. The wizards boards > > don't allow searches and I can't seem to find > anything using generic > > searches. Anyone have a link to the thread in an > old email? > > There's a link in the sticky thread ("Links for > Important Threads on Board"). > Anyway, here is a direct link: > http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=459254 > > GP > > ******************************************************************** > 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. > ******************************************************************** 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 - 5 Nov 2006 to 6 Nov 2006 (#2006-177) **************************************************************