Subject: MYSTARA-L Digest - 15 Feb 2008 to 16 Feb 2008 (#2008-27) From: MYSTARA-L automatic digest system Date: 17/02/2008, 19:00 To: MYSTARA-L@ORACLE.WIZARDS.COM Reply-to: Mystara RPG Discussion There are 4 messages totalling 278 lines in this issue. Topics of the day: 1. Mystaran Numismatics - Darokin 2. Questions on Nithia (2) 3. My End of Nithia, My Doulakki, My Time Travel ******************************************************************** 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: Sat, 16 Feb 2008 04:48:50 -0500 From: Greg Weatherup Subject: Mystaran Numismatics - Darokin Greetings, I got a little delayed due to illness and Real Life, but its time to get ba= ck into this. Toward that end I wanted to share some of my design ideas for Darokin befor= e I post the actual file. Design notes (and random thoughts and ideas): Darokinian numismatics- I occasionally toy with the view of the "Daro" as being Mystara's closest e= quivalent to the various "Frank/Franc"'s of the real world, but am unsure w= ether or not to do anything with this possible connection. I had originally envisioned basing the various older currency systems (befo= re Darokinian unification) on the currency systems of the historical Italia= n states, but the more I research the historical italian systems the more I= realise that so many of the vast array of names I though I had to choose f= rom are simply dialectal differences of the same base set of denominations.= While I still think the basic idea can work I am not fluent enough in Dar= okin's history to actually assign this RW dialect to that feudal/city state= , and I no longer even think it needs to be mapped out, however If someone = wants to go ahead and do so I only got two specific things to except out: 1) Whatever Corunglains historic system is, it must have a Ducat or Ducato = or such, as I have that as the predecessor of the Glantrian Ducat. 2) Selenica's historic system I think needs to be very distinct. I was originally planning to detail Selenica's old system and thinking of h= aving it be based on some historic southern Italian State to represent the = Ylaruam-Arabic and Thyatian-Byzantine influence, but now I am thinking of b= asing the old Selenican system on the coinage of Ragusa to get the Balkan f= eel of the Traladaran influence, which also has some Ottoman, Roman/Byzanti= ne, & Venice influence to represent Ylari, Thyatian, and darokinian influen= ces, also Ragusa is a crossroads like Selenica and even had Hungarian overl= ordship and inluence (ala passing Boldavian connection). This is only real= ly important because I have one modern coin of Darokin as being directly pi= cked from the old selenican system as a concession to Selenican interests a= t the time of the creation of the modern Darokin currency system, otherwise= I probably no longer need to detail the old Selenican currency system (muc= h like the above paragraph). Whatever this concession gets named I am prel= iminarily concidering have it valued at twice the value of a Daro (though t= hat is still open to change) and having it be a gold coin (again, open to c= hange). The idea is that outside of Selenica it rarely turns up (like how = in the United States we do have coins of half-dollar and dollar value offic= ially in circulation but you hardly ever encounter them, and some people do= n't even recognise them when they do see them because they are rare in actu= al circulation) and even in Selenica it is probably only "uncommon".=20=20 I still need a name for this Selenican concession. I originally though "Sc= udi" sounded nice, but am now leaning against using it for various reasons.= After looking at Ragusan coinage I am now thinking perhaps Tallero/Taler,= unless that would be too much like the historical ancestry of "Dollar". C= ould avoid that by using the alternative name of Vislino. Also based on Ra= gusan coinage a possibility in Perpero or Perper, and thus maybe even linki= ng it to one of the rarer Thyatian traditional coinages (ie Hyperperon or B= ezant). Other ideas from Ragusan coinage could be Follaro, Artilucco, or L= ibertina. None of them really cry out to me "SELENICAN" though. Should I = just make up a name? Some other notes: Before the unification of the Republic there were constan= tly shifting exchange rates between the various systems of the historical s= tates. I'm thinking of having some small coins (or perhaps simply units of= account) became common in regional blocks for periods of time (here I am t= hinking of things like the RW Soldi, Cavalli, Piccioli, & Grani for small v= alues, Lira, Ducato, Tallero for larger etc.) at initially agreeded upon se= t values, but overtime these also drifted apart, and no one was ever common= threw ought all of Darokin (maybe this one was used in this century, that = one in the west for a while, etc.,etc.). The first one to become fairly co= mmon and durable was the "Passet" but even still one Passet from here (say = Athenos) was not necessarily equal to a Passet from there (say Akorros). A= t unification the Passem was born basically as a slightly larger (and most = importantly) uniform Passet with the t->m ending change to signify this new= slightly greater value. The gold Daro I'm not yet sure when it was introduced (at unification or ea= rlier?) but whenever it was set it was meant as a widespread coin to bridge= (or replace) the diverse systems but the value was not set and each region= gradually debased it, The various merchants, feudal entities, and city-sta= tes (ie it was introduced before unification, otherwise each individual cit= ies mint if introduced at unification) gradually saw the economic stress th= is was causing and grudgingly gave up control of the minting of the Daro to= a single central mint, at which time it became set in value at its now red= uced size (as described by Chris Cherrington).=20=20 Upon seeing the ecomoic benefits of stable currencies (Passem & Daro) this = was the impetious for the tendrius system/agreement(s). one last note- Darokin & Alfheim have a partial currency union in that they= both produce a large gold coin with the same designs/specificiations, by t= reaty. (I'll have more on this in my file) ok, I think these were the main background ideals I had when I designed the= Darokin system. Any comments/thoughts before I post the actual Darokin fi= le? Especially any name suggestions for the Selenican concession coin? Thank you, Greg Weatherup GWxup@excite.com Gecko_G@email.com http://members.fortunecity.com/gecko_g/ --=20 Want an e-mail address like mine? Get a free e-mail account today at www.mail.com! ******************************************************************** 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: Sat, 16 Feb 2008 05:07:03 -0500 From: Greg Weatherup Subject: Questions on Nithia Greetings, This topic has been an interesting read thus far. If you still need someo= ther ideas I seem to remember from sometime ago someone/somewhere gave a pl= ot/story line about the decline of Nithia having started with a coup on the= pharoh by his jealous brother, but the old pharoh didn't really die but es= caped, and I think there was something about that pharoh eventually adopted= a new identity and eventually became the immortal chardastes. Does anyone= remember something about that? Where was it that I am remembering that fr= om? Greg Weatherup GWxup@excite.com Gecko_G@email.com http://members.fortunecity.com/gecko_g/ --=20 Want an e-mail address like mine? Get a free e-mail account today at www.mail.com! ******************************************************************** 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: Sat, 16 Feb 2008 12:55:54 +0200 From: Ville V Lahde Subject: Re: Questions on Nithia Thanks for the input. This is very helpful. - An idea on the Doulakki: if the proto-Thyatian tribes displaced =20 local Doulakki cultures, perhaps Nithia employs them as mercenaries? A =20 bit like the last days of the Roman empire, with unstable barbarians =20 forming the bulk of the armies. - For dramatic effect, I think I'll use the "ancient lizardman" theme =20 from the Ylaruam Gaz. The Entropic servants perhaps summon ancient =20 undead armies into their service? - Havard: I actually thought about linking the Qauriks into the =20 Firelord theme, but I dropped the idea (I wrote the stuff in the =20 early-mid-90's). The Firelord's followers are a mix of Rathanos =20 cultists, Nithian Fire-worshippers and Alphatian renegades from the =20 fire faction. - I also thought about involving Blackmoor in the time travel =20 scenario, but I decided to keep it simple and limited. The time travel =20 sub-campaign will be a short detour. By the way: did I mention that I =20 plan on changing the game rules for its duration? As the PCs are =20 involved as consciousnesses who direct the actions of Nithian persons, =20 I will use some narrative game system to give the players an alien =20 feeling. - Chris: marvelous ideas on the Meditor! I will definitely use them. =20 Especially as the Meditors are bound to be suspicious due to their =20 relatively fresh menories of the Taymora. Perhaps they see the evil =20 influences earlier than others. A little more background to our time travel scenario: The PCs are =20 following prophesies and obscure hints in their search for "the Beast =20 of Memories". Their cleric has a magical suit which protects from the =20 effects of Oblivion - this is part of his quest, as his patron is a =20 Nithian immortal. But others are searching too. In addition to Daricus =20 the Firelord, the PCs battled servants of Chemos, and next they are =20 going to meet a powerful Lich, a servant of Thanatos. The setting is the undergroung complex of Barimoor. In our campaign I =20 have moved Barimoor earlier into history, into the colonial era of =20 Alasiya. (He was involved in our secondary campaign around 450-500 =20 AC.) Barimoor vanished in 500 AC. My explanation for is that Barimoor experimented with chronomancy and =20 built a time portal to extend his power over time. Barimoor however =20 did not fully understand the nature of time travel, and he was lost in =20 the infinite possibilitites of perception. His empire fell in ruins, =20 as the multitude of conjurations, slaves and constructs run amok. But =20 the time portal remained. So far I have had enormous fun with making the ruins of Barimoor's =20 complex, a good old fashioned "dungeon" for the first time in a really =20 long while. For the heck of it, I even drew a couple of wandering =20 monster tables, for crying out loud! (I had completely forgotten that =20 tradition.) On their quest, the PCs have been aided from time to time by a strance =20 presence. They have met an old man, a retarded child, a shopkeeper, =20 who all had coffee-brown eyes and a deep, heartbreaking voice. These =20 visions were short-lived and they could never recapture them. But this =20 presence has nudged them to the right tradition from time to time. Who =20 is it? It is Al-Kalim, on his quest to become an Immortal. In secret =20 Al-Kalim wants to use the PCs as a tool to break the ancient curse on =20 Alasiya, to bring back the rains and the rivers - to realise his Dream =20 of the Desert Garden. ******************************************************************** 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: Sat, 16 Feb 2008 15:02:55 +0100 From: la Volpe Subject: My End of Nithia, My Doulakki, My Time Travel A lot of interesting ideas. I'll try to sum up what I devised for my campaign. It could be a long read but it could be useful! DOULAKKI The Doulakki were the original founders of Selenica (Salonikos) and the original settlers of Kerendas. They were close relatives of the Traldar. Their common ancestors lived in Nithia before the arrival of the Nithians, and were driven farther west and south. Some went further west and south and founded Selenica (Salonikos), an indipendent city-state, or settled in nowadays western Thyatis/Kerendas; many were absorbed; some surrendered, like the Traldar, that were later sent to colonize Karameikos; Cynidicea remained an indipendent enclave (some more work on the exact relation between those populations can be done, but more or less this is the important bit and short version). LYCANTHROPY IN NITHIA See article by John Calvin (referenced in my previous posts). DOWNFALL OF NITHIA Nithians were the embodiment of Good. Ixion & Ratahanos. Thanatos decides to corrupt it and manages to do it by using Outer Being Lore. He sets that in motion, then steps aside. To prevent the "good ones" to "save" Nithia he also sets up his own cult. In the last centuries of Nithia the Pharaoh is in control just of the region around the capital. Many city-state-priest-kings while their defiling powers dry the earth Dark Sun-style in connection with the Alfheimers intervention. Pharaoh main Outer Being follower. City state priest-kings mostly Entropic. Some minor exception. A lot of mercenaries from Northern Reaches and Doulakki nations fight petty wars among priest-kings. Pharaoh wants to conjure some Outer Being to Mystara, risking to disrupt the fabric of time and space. Immortals destroy Nithia and its memories. TIME TRAVELLING AND PORTALS In my campaign, there are some time travelling portals built millions of years ago by an ancient intelligent crustacean-like race, inspired by HP Lovecraft's Great Race of Yith. However, time travelling in my campaign simply creates a "new" parallel universe, to avoid paradoxes. This means that you can travel in the past, where you will open a new parallel universe, and then to get back to your future you have to do some serious research work to return to your time through the pathways in time (exaclty like if you were trying to get back to Mystara from an Outer Plane but with the additional problem of finding right time, otherwise you end up opening another parallel universe). The "parallel universe" moltiplication is one undesired side effect and thus Immortals of Time try to avoid time travelling, because creating more and more parallel universes will make the fabric of the universe thinner and thinner up to the point when the Outer Beings will be able of free themselves. In my cosmology, this is exactly what the most radical and Evil among the Entropics (like Thanatos) want: they want to disrupt the Multiverse and have access to all the energy that was sealed away from the Immortals' power to bind the Outer Beings. When that happens there will be no immortal's law to bind them and they will be free to do exactly what they want - beat up Outer Beings, the other Four Spheres, and rule over Pure Chaos, where time and space and existance is melted together into an undistinguished mass thinly spread all over to the point of almost nothingness. :) --------------------------------- --------------------------------- L'email della prossima generazione? Puoi averla con la nuova Yahoo! Mail ******************************************************************** 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 - 15 Feb 2008 to 16 Feb 2008 (#2008-27) ***************************************************************