From: owner-mystara-digest@ (mystara-digest) To: mystara-digest@lists.io.com Subject: mystara-digest V2 #1 Reply-To: mystara Sender: owner-mystara-digest@ Errors-To: owner-mystara-digest@ Precedence: bulk mystara-digest Sunday, February 9 1997 Volume 02 : Number 001 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 7 Feb 1997 08:59:57 -0800 (PST) From: "Herve Musseau" Subject: Mystaran acronyms This is a list of acronyms I know of which are Mystara relevant. If you know others that should be added, drop me a line... List of Mystara relevant acronyms version 1.0 by Hervé Musseau AC or A.C. (After Crowning of the first Emperor of Thyatis). To calculate dates according to the Thyatian calendar. AC# (Accessory #). Series of adventures and rule supplements(OD&D). The PWAs also have AC as a code (OD&D and AD&D). AE (Alfheim Elves). The main group of surface elves of the KW. AY or A.Y. (Alphatian Year). To calculate dates according to the Alphatian calendar. B# (Basic #). Series of adventures for basic level of play (OD&D). BC or B.C. (Before Crowning of the first Emperor of Thyatis). To calculates dates according to the Thyatian calendar. CAS (Clark Ashton Smith). Author of short stories that have inspired Mystara's Nouvelle Averoigne. CM# (Companion #). Series of adventures for companion level of play (OD&D). CoM (Champions of Mystara). Campaign extension describing the area between the KW and the SC, and skyships (OD&D). DA# (Blackmoor #). Series of adventures set in the Blackmoor era (OD&D). DDA# (Challenger adventure #). Series of adventures set in the KW (OD&D). DDC (Darokin Diplomatic Corps). Darokin's network of diplomats and spies. DMR# (Challenger rules #). Series of rules supplements (OD&D). DotE (Dawn of the Empires). Campaign extension describing the empires of Thyatis and Alphatia (OD&D). G:KoM (Glantri : Kingdom of Magic). Campaign setting (AD&D). GAZ# or Gaz# (Gazetteer #). Series of books describing the countries of the KW (OD&D). HK (Heldannic Knights). Knights of Vanya that rule in Heldann. HW (Hollow World). The inner world of Mystara. HWA# and HWQ1 (Hollow World Adventure #). Series of adventures (OD&D). HWR# (Hollow World Rule #). Series of campaign extension (OD&D). IM# (Immortal #). Series of adventures for immortal level of play (OD&D). IoD (Isle of Dawn). Region of the KW. JA (Joshuan's Almanac). Book describing the KW and one year of events (AD&D). K:KoA (Karameikos : Kindom of Adventure). Campaign setting (AD&D). KPE (Karameikan Polar Expedition). Expedition that went to the HW and back. KW (Known World). In earlier OD&D products, the region of the world that had been mentioned in module X1. Later refers to the area described in the GAZs, or, more generally, the "civilized" area of the world (from a Thyatian PoV), ranging from the Sind Desert to Alphatia. M or M- (Mystara). Prefix commonly apposed to our real world names to make temporary equivalents for the world of Mystara until they get a new name (e.g. MOrient). M# (Master #). Series of adventures for master level of play (OD&D). MML or mml (Mystara Mailing List). Where Mystarans discuss the world. MoA (Mark of Amber). Adventure (AD&D). NACE (New Alphatian Confederate Empire). Name of the empire that succeeded the NAE. NAE (New Alphatian Empire). Name of the remains of the Alphatian Empire after Alphatia's sinking. NoS (Nucleus of Spheres). Artifact, source of the Radiance. O# (One-on-one #). Series of one-on-one adventures (OD&D). OD&D or D&D (Original or Old D&D). Old D&D, as opposed to AD&D. PC# (Creature Crucible #). Series of campaign extensions for monster races as PCs (OD&D). PWA or PWA# (Poor Wizard's Almanac #). Series of books describing the world and one year of events (OD&D and AD&D). RC (Rules Cyclopedia). Compilation of the old rules, with Mystara extension (OD&D). RS (Red Steel). Name of the setting describing the SC. Also, the name of a substance found only there (AD&D). SA (Schattenalfen). The underground elves of the HW. SC (Savage Coast). An area of Mystara west of the KW suffering from the Red Curse. SE (Shadow Elves). The underground elves of the KW. TM# or ETM and WTM (Trail Map#). Trail maps of the Eastern and Werstern KW (OD&D). ToL (Tree of Life). Living artifacts of the elves of Alfheim, incarnations of Ilsundal. WDL (Western Defense League). Association of some states of the KW. WotI (Wrath of the Immortals). Adventure and campaign extension describing events from AC 1004 to AC 1010, and the Immortals (OD&D). X# and XL1 (Expert #). Series of adventures for expert level of play (OD&D). XS# and M# (Solo #). Series of solo adventures (OD&D). Herve Musseau Primary Email: musseauh@esiee.fr (please don't use this one) Secondary Email: herve@hotmail.com (use this one) Also: 106335,2103@compuserve.com (but I prefer hotmail) Homepage: http://www.esiee.fr/~musseauh I'm a QSQWBEEEGGNFR Mystaran - --------------------------------------------------------- Get Your *Web-Based* Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com - --------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 9 Feb 1997 14:10:29 +-100 From: Terje Subject: [Mystara] R.I.P. ???? Is The List Dead and Buried or what? Tarjeh ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 11 Aug 1996 11:15:56 -0600 From: Leroy Van Camp III Subject: [Mystara] Test Test - -- Leroy Van Camp III | "You know, not kneeing you in the groin malacoda@lesbois.com | is a constant struggle." owner-mystara-l@io.com | MST3K ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 11 Aug 1996 12:11:40 -0600 From: Leroy Van Camp III Subject: [Mystara] It Is Alive... Whew... Well, the list is back up and hopefully in full functioning form. Except for a few digest details, everything should be working as normal. The address to post to is... mystara-l@lists.io.com ...which is a slight change from the old list. If anyone has any questions or comments, feel free to write me at one of the addresses below. Post away. BTW, if you run across any prblems, please let me know. Thanks - -- Leroy Van Camp III | "You know, not kneeing you in the groin malacoda@lesbois.com | is a constant struggle." owner-mystara-l@io.com | MST3K ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 9 Feb 1997 23:11:51 +0000 From: "Sharon" Subject: [none] Just checking if this is a real list.. :) ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 09 Feb 1997 18:39:00 -0700 (MST) From: "Cthulhudrew, The Great Old One" Subject: [Mystara] Myoshima/Patera stuff (fwd) First off, let me say it's good to be back! :) Well, folks, it just so happens that I am currently enrolled in two, yes, two courses on Southeast Asia this semester. Figuring that I might as well put the knowledge thus gained to use (since come May I'll probably never use it again ;) , I thought I might try and come up with some information on the Rakasta world/moon of Myoshima. What does this have to do with Southeast Asia, you ask? Well, a quick reading of the (all too brief) writeup on Myoshima in Dragon Magazine 161? 162?, seems to indicate that Southeast Asia is the major inspiration for the world of the cat men. You've got it all- tropical environment, island nations, perpetual rain... and cats. Lots and lots of cats. At any rate, I've started to gather information on this place, and am calling for help from anyone who would like to join me. Specifically, I'm hoping there's someone out there who is somewhat knowledgeable in astronomy, to try and come up with a calendar of sorts for Myoshima, not to mention any other pertinent astronomical data. Also, anyone who would care to send me any relevant historical info on the Rakasta- specifically if there is any info on them in Red Steel (as I don't own that supplement). Thus far, here's my thoughts on the nations of Myoshima/Patera: Empire of Myoshima- Based on the info given, I think it's rather obvious that this is based on feudal Japan. Rajahstan- I gather that this is based on India, but given size constraints (Myoshima isn't that large a world, and SE Asia is a huge area), and not wanting to duplicate other material (spec. Sind), I decided to base Rajahstan on the four Hinduized areas of SE Asia- Laos, Burma, Cambodia, and Thailand. Selimpore- My thinkings that this is based on the tiny yet rich city state of Singapore. Surabayang- I've based this loose confederacy of pirates on Indonesia (Surabaya is a city on the isle of Java in Indonesia... or is it on Sumatra?) Malacayog- Though head hunting is a common cultural trait found in SE Asia, I've based the head hunters of Malacayog on Malaysia. (Actually, I've recently been told by Bruce that he based Malacayog on pre-spanish colonial Philippines, rather than Malaysia. Thanks, Bruce! :) Kompor-Thap- The land of a thousand hidden temples seems based on Burma, but I've sort of combined this aspect of that land with Tibetan culture. Basically, rather than Hindus, the Kompor-Thap are more strictly Buddhist (I'm not actually using these religions, just as an example for you all). (Another note or two- Bruce was basing this region on a combination of Burma and Cambodia. My thinking is to populate it with Pachydermions, as opposed to Rakasta. Any thoughts on this?) Anyway, I figure I'll pretty much just use the maps of SE Asia and Japan as is, to map out Patera's surface. That's about all I've come up with thus far, but I do have a couple of other ideas I'd be willing to share with anyone who'd care to help out. (Among them are ideas about cultural exchange with Mystara. Currently my thoughts are that the Rakasta influenced the culture of Ochalea at some point in the pre-Alphatian past, then were expunged, leading to anti tiger sentiment in the Ochalean territories. Further, I'm leaning towards Rajahstan being created by shapeshifters fleeing persecution in Sind in 528 (I think). Any thoughts?) ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 09 Feb 1997 21:40:31 EST From: nbamba@juno.com (Nicholas C Bambakidis) Subject: [Mystara] Gareth Maybe I'm not up on current events, but does anyone know who Gareth is? My own suspicion was that it was Benekander, but I have not seen any evidence of this. N.B. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 9 Feb 1997 22:24:14 -0500 (EST) From: Daniel Boese Subject: Re: [Mystara] Myoshima/Patera stuff (fwd) Well, you've started what I was planning to. :) I compiled all the extant data on Patera/Myoshima, and was playing with the World Builder's Guidbook (an /excellent/ reference, by the way). I'll forward you what I've typed out in this message, and respond to your own message in my next message. The Visible Moon: Matera This moon, well known to anyone living on the outer surface of Mystara, is a silvery, lifeless, crater-marked satellite. Like the moon of our Earth, it waxes and wanes in a predictable pattern, controlling the tides and lycanthropy, but it isn't very interesting to Mystaran adventurers - unless, of course, they know of the gateway to the Immortal City of Pandius located in one of Matera's large craters. As of AC 1013, the moon has remained unexplored. Matera has a diameter of 2,160 miles and orbits 238,600 miles above Mystara's surface. DMs wishing to liven up Matera up a bit may place unknown, secretive, and very reclusive underground creatures on this moon. Or explorers looking past the uninspiring exterior of this "lifeless chunk of rock" might find evidence of long-lost civilizations here. How about the wreckage of Voidships that undertook the perilous voyage from distand worlds only to crash on an inhospitable moon within sight of a magnificent world? The Second Moon: Patera (Myoshima) Mystara has a second moon, unknown to all but its inhabitants and a very few other mortal creatures. The Immortals call this moon Patera; its inhabitants call it Myoshima. The moon can't normally be seen by anyone outside its Skyshield, due to its core's unusual light-bending properties. It is small, with a circumference roughly equal to 3,000 miles, and a diameter of 950 miles. The central core of Patera is extremely dense and magical, allowing a gravity comparable to that of Mystara. It orbits a scant 34,200 miles above Mystara's surface. This moon completes a full revolution around Mystara in three days and twelve hours (or two revolutions per week). Patera follows an exact polar orbit above the Known World, so that the moon passes above almost every point on the globe. Patera does not have a rotation of its own. One hemisphere (called Nearside) always faces Mystara, and viewers on the opposite side of Patera (Farside) never see the world they orbit. The pattern of day and night cycles on Patera is thus very complex because of Mystara's axial tilt, which provides Patera's seasons. The sun appears to wobble back and forth across the sky over a 3 1/2-day period as it also appears to travel around the Patera globe along a great cycle every 336 days, Mystara's year. (Myoshiman calendars take a year of study to be understood, and its inhabitants have no fixed cycle of wakefulness or sleep.) Nearside usually continually receives a small amount of light reflected from Mystara. Full daylight on Patera is not as bright as on Mystara, being more like twilight. The sky changes color during a "day", ranging from fiery tones at noon to tamer red and purple hues at dusk or dawn. This happens because Patera has a light-reflecting shield at the immediate edges of its atmosphere. This shield bends light rays except at the extreme ranges of the visible spectrum - ultraviolet and infrared are unaffected by the shield. Light rays hitting Patera's atmosphere are deflected back to the surface or off into space. In effect, this causes the planet to be nearly invisible from the outside and allows little light to filter in (only Mystara, Matera, and the sun can be seen from Patera's surface). Patera's core generates the light shield's effects. Patera is mostly covered by steaming jungles and earthquake-prone volcanic mountains that surround three freshwater seas. Rain clouds cover a third of Patera at all times, and precipitation is abundant. The two polar areas of the moon offer at worst a temperate climate. The vast majority of the sentient population is made of various breeds of rakasta, humanoid felines with human intelligence. Unlike the Mystaran species, these all have infravision good to 60'. It is known that they have an architectural sense similar to the inhabitants of Ochalea - exotic, tiered, slope-roofed structures - and that they breed riding sabre-tooth tigers which, through the use of magical /flying collars/ and /airmasks/ for their riders, fly through the airless void between Patera and Mystara. Patera is divided into three major political blocks. The largest and potentially most aggressive is the Empire of Myoshima itself, a nation of feudal provinces controlled by daimyos, with a dingle emperor who rules them all. Next is the nation of Rajahstan, made up of twelve allied realms. Each realm is a sovereign state ruled by holy gurus (who handle law, education, religion, and internal politics) and maharajahs (who handle the economy, military, and foreign politics). Together these form the Spiritual Council to run Rajahstani affairs as a whole. The third block consists of many loosely allied petty kingdoms and principalities. Among the more prominent territories are Kompor-Thap (a valley of a thousand temples), Selimpore (a mercantile matriarchy), Malacayog (a nation of headhunters), and Surabayang (fierce island pirates). These territories are politically aligned with placid Rajahstan against imperial Myoshima - when they are not fighting each other. DMs may wish to map out the various Rakastan dominions - or nations ruled by even stranger creatures. Myoshima could provide an excellent way station for adventurers just venturing out into the Void from Mystara's atmosphere. There are plenty of opportunities for adventure in the rakastan cities or in Patera's wilderness. If the PCs get bored with Myoshima's surface, they can get involved in skirmishes between Rakastan Voidships and Heldannic Warbirds or try to negotiate trade agreements between inhabitants of Mystara and Patera. There are at least two Myoshiman languages: "common" and "poetry". Very little is known of Myoshima; it was visited twice in recent history by Alphatian adventurer Haldemar of Haaken, and the Heldannic Knights have apparently had unfriendly contact with the Myoshimans, but Patera has not been visited by diplomats or scholars from Mystara since Prince Haldemar, in AC 965. Sources: The Voyage of the Princess Ark, episode 7 (Dragon #160) Champions of Mystara boxed set Poor Wizard's Almanac, PWA II, PWA III Sources missing: Polyhedron #120 (Provides some details on how one RPGA member detailed Myoshima, using material from Oriental Adventures (both rules and modules).) - -- Daniel Boese dboese@freenet.npiec.on.ca ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 9 Feb 97 19:38:29 PST From: "David 'Azure' Leland" Subject: Re: [Mystara] Gareth At 09:40 PM 2/9/97 EST, you wrote: >Maybe I'm not up on current events, but does anyone know who Gareth is? >My own suspicion was that it was Benekander, but I have not seen any >evidence of this. > >N.B. If he isn't, he SHOULD be. :) /~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~\ ~| David "Azure" Leland ~|~ Email: dleland@cogsci.ucsd.edu |~ ~| UCSD Cognitive Science ~|~ Phone/Fax: (619) 642-6709 |~ ~| Oberlin class of 1996 ~|~ Web: http://cogsci.ucsd.edu/~dleland |~ ~| Amateur conguero; Q(O+H)Q(G+W)AEEEBGKUS Mystaran; P75 on Ethernet |~ \~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~/ ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 9 Feb 1997 23:06:00 -0500 (EST) From: Daniel Boese Subject: Re: [Mystara] Myoshima/Patera stuff (fwd) > What does this have to do with Southeast Asia, you ask? Well, a quick > reading of the (all too brief) writeup on Myoshima in Dragon Magazine > 161? 162? 160, actually, with a few extra details about the rakasta (primarily Myojo Katamura) in later episodes. > At any rate, I've started to gather information on this place, and am > calling for help from anyone who would like to join me. Specifically, I'm > hoping there's someone out there who is somewhat knowledgeable in > astronomy, to try and come up with a calendar of sorts for Myoshima, not > to mention any other pertinent astronomical data. I volunteer for this one. Mind you, the calendar would be rather different depending on where on Patera you are. Hm... to help avoid confusion, maybe we should use "Patera" to refer to the moon, and "Myoshima" for the Empire. Or not, if it's obvious. > Also, anyone who would care to send me any relevant historical info on > the Rakasta- specifically if there is any info on them in Red Steel (as I > don't own that supplement). I'll get back to you on this one. I do recall that the rakasta of the Savage Coast were originally nomadic sabre-tooth-riders, before they found the felequines and their current culture. They seem to have some oriental influences, though, with the Wu Jen kit and Honorbound warriors. > Empire of Myoshima- Based on the info given, I think it's rather obvious > that this is based on feudal Japan. That sounds about right - daimyos, feudal provinces, and a single emperor in charge. > Rajahstan- I gather that this is based on India, but given size > constraints (Myoshima isn't that large a world, and SE Asia is a huge > area), and not wanting to duplicate other material (spec. Sind), I > decided to base Rajahstan on the four Hinduized areas of SE Asia- Laos, > Burma, Cambodia, and Thailand. Well, considering that there's a region in India called Rajasthan, India seems a reasonable start. I'm not well-informed about SE Asia myself, so I'll take your word for any data there. > Selimpore- My thinkings that this is based on the tiny yet rich city > state of Singapore. "A mercantile matriarchy", quoth the Dragon (#160). If Singapore counts as one of "many loosely allied petty kingdoms and principalities" - and city-states are one form of principality - this sounds reasonable. > Surabayang- I've based this loose confederacy of pirates on Indonesia > (Surabaya is a city on the isle of Java in Indonesia... or is it on Sumatra?) Don't forget that Patera is "mostly covered by steaming jungles and earthquake-prone volcanic mountains that surround three freshwater seas." Surabayang would probably claim one, or possibly parts of two, of these seas. > Malacayog- Though head hunting is a common cultural trait found in SE > Asia, I've based the head hunters of Malacayog on Malaysia. > (Actually, I've recently been told by Bruce that he based Malacayog on > pre-spanish colonial Philippines, rather than Malaysia. Thanks, Bruce! :) Hm... here's an interesting question: should we accept Mr. Heard's unpublished comments, or take things up ourselves from just what was published? I lean towards the former, but we'll probably end up combining the two - especially since I'm naive enough not to know the difference between ancient Malaysia and the Philippines. :) > Kompor-Thap- The land of a thousand hidden temples seems based on Burma, > but I've sort of combined this aspect of that land with Tibetan culture. > Basically, rather than Hindus, the Kompor-Thap are more strictly Buddhist > (I'm not actually using these religions, just as an example for you all). > (Another note or two- Bruce was basing this region on a combination of > Burma and Cambodia. By all means, base the valley of Komor-Thap on Burma (and possibly Cambodia). > My thinking is to populate it with Pachydermions, as > opposed to Rakasta. Any thoughts on this?) Hm... "The vast majority of the sentient population is made of various breeds of rakasta". Perhaps Komor-Thap is an analogue of Shangri-La... mind you, I would still like to see some phanatons gliding about the jungles. :) > Anyway, I figure I'll pretty much just use the maps of SE Asia and Japan > as is, to map out Patera's surface. Um. I'm not sure this is an especially good idea, easy as it might seem. To re-quote: "Patera is mostly covered by steaming jungles and earthquake- prone volcanic mountains that surround three freshwater seas. Rain clouds cover a third of Patera at all times, and precipitation is abundant. The two polar areas of the moon offer at worst a temperate climate." So, we have a hot, volcanic, quite humid moon to work with. Mostly land, with only three seas. The poles are warm temperate climes. Should all of Patera be claimed by some nation or other, or should there be regions that not even the hardiest rakasta lays a claim to? How do the river systems and drainage work? Where are the seas, and what are they shaped like? Are there any non-volcanic mountain chains, implying crustal plates and all that entails? How do the dense core and Skyshield affect all of this? Are the nations like modern nations, each one giant lump, or do they have colonies, territories, and uninhabited/able areas? Are there any extra-Mystarestrial influences, beings, races, or nations (Perhaps the illithids are trying to build a spelljamming base in an isolated locale - Patera seems to be "Class M" for them, based on the Dragon (I forget which issue) article, "The Sunset World".). Are there any /roads/, even, carved and maintained through the dense jungles, or is each community mostly isolated from the others? Perhaps the reason Myoshima is such a large empire, relatively, is that they have control of the secrets of the /flying collars/ for their tigers, enabling long-distance communication? What other sentient races exist on (or in!) Patera? Pachydermions seem a good idea, as do phanatons... have any humanoids migrated from Mystara, or is Patera goblin-free? Are there any humans or demi-humans, such as stranded Heldanners? What neat questions haven't I thought of here? :) > That's about all I've come up with > thus far, but I do have a couple of other ideas I'd be willing to share > with anyone who'd care to help out. (Among them are ideas about cultural > exchange with Mystara. Currently my thoughts are that the Rakasta > influenced the culture of Ochalea at some point in the pre-Alphatian > past, then were expunged, leading to anti tiger sentiment in the Ochalean > territories. Further, I'm leaning towards Rajahstan being created by > shapeshifters fleeing persecution in Sind in 528 (I think). Any thoughts?) 451 AC, actually (quoth the Timeline-keeper :) ). And there's already a shapeshifing-dominated Sindhi culture in the Hollow World - it was in the Nightwail/Nightstorm/Nighthowl adventure trilogy. Here's an idea - perhaps a few Immortals didn't especially care for the Hollow World, and decided to use Patera to preserve some rakasta. However, without the Spell of Preservation, they created (and destroyed?) their own cultures... Hm... I'm going to dig through that Timeline I play with, and see what useful tidbits turn up. - -- Daniel Boese dboese@freenet.npiec.on.ca ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 9 Feb 1997 23:10:12 -0500 (EST) From: Daniel Boese Subject: Re: [Mystara] Gareth > Maybe I'm not up on current events, but does anyone know who Gareth is? > My own suspicion was that it was Benekander, but I have not seen any > evidence of this. Nothing's ever been confirmed by the folks at TSR, but everybody else guesses that's who Gareth is. After all, if an Immortal goes 10 years without any worshippers, he fades away... - -- Daniel Boese dboese@freenet.npiec.on.ca ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 11 Aug 1995 22:10:44 -0600 From: Leroy Van Camp III Subject: [Mystara] Immortals and Worshippers... Daniel Boese wrote: > After all, if an Immortal goes 10 years > without any worshippers, he fades away... Just curious... do you have a source for this? There was talk on this subject long ago, and I don't recall seeing any such indications in the Wrath of the Immortals boxed set. - -- Leroy Van Camp III | "You know, not kneeing you in the groin malacoda@lesbois.com | is a constant struggle." owner-mystara-l@io.com | MST3K ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 10 Feb 1997 16:42:50 +1000 From: s9406058@bohm.anu.edu.au (Stan) Subject: [Mystara] Events for Gombar and Suma'a AC 1014 Events for 1014 AC in Suma'a and Gombar Nuwmont 2: Ogre speaks out Location: Sumag, Suma'a Description: An ogrekin prophesies today outside that temple of Sumag that the faith of Sumag will crumble under the greater wisdom of Gombar. The ogrekin is taken away by city guards and imprisoned awaiting trial. What This Means: The clerics of Sumag fear this to be quite true, that is why they ogrekin taken away. They are more frightened that the change in faith should be seen to be happening rather than actually happening, they petition Sumag for help in this matter. Some higher members of the faith decide to make sure that the outcome of the trial is a non-damaging one. Ever since the finding of the Gold Mine near Malabar the more economical teachings of Gombar have found a foothold in the people of Suma'a. They still believe in the teachings of peace which is a concurrent theme in both the teachings of Sumag and Gombar but the general populace is beginning to see that profit and peace can go together as well. Nuwmont 23: Very promising area found near Odom Location: Mountainous region to the northeast of Odom, Suma'a Description: Geologists who have been working in the Odom region since 1002 AC have finally found a promising layered mafic intrusion. They start to do tests to determine the exact position of any metalliferous reefs. What This Means: No real exciting mining operation has been started in the Odom region since the town was founded in 1002 AC. This has led many who supported the idea both financially and ethically to doubt their move, with many people having distanced themselves from the whole scheme. Now with a real promise of mineral wealth interest will again be placed in Odom. What the PCs Can Do: The PCs may be part of the geological team to find the layered mafic intrusion or they may be in town to hear about the whole thing early on. If they act quickly they may be in line to become very rich. Nuwmont 27: Emdur merchant arrives in Odom Location: Odom, Suma'a Description: One of the most well known precious metal dealers from Emdur has caught wind of the news from Odom. He has travelled quickly to Emdur, with a troupe of geologists, to assess the situation. Vatermont 2: Population of Odom doubles Location: Odom, Suma'a Description: Hopeful miners from Gombar and even Suma'a have flocked to Odom causing its' population to double even though nothing has yet been found. A lot of activity outside the mining area is also occurring in Odom at this time with new taverns, inns and supply stores opening overnight to accompany the projected influx of people. What This Means: With the new influx of people the faith of Gombar is beginning to expand in Odom and the Odom region, the church of Sumag is at a loss at what to do about this. Thaumont 8: Trial in Sumag Location: Sumag, Suma'a Description: The trial of the ogre found blaspheming outside a temple of Sumag on Nuwmont 2 finds today that the ogre is insane and should be taken to a facility in the mountains east of Sumag where clerics of Sumag will help cure him of his affliction. Thaumont 22: Nothing happens Location: Odom, Suma'a Description: With no new news from the field the interest in Odom has begun to dwindle again. People have been leaving the area. Flaurmont 9: Platinum reef found Location: Mountainous region to the northeast of Odom, Suma'a Description: Geologists still hard at work finally found what they've been searching for. A large platinum reef is first discovered to the northeast of Odom this morning. The reef is given the name The Pride of Gombar by one of the geologists working on it. News of the find travels fast. What This Means: The hunt is on again. Flaurmont 11: Population of Odom skyrockets Location: Odom, Suma'a Description: By the ends of today the population of Odom has increased over tenfold. Now that news of an actual discovery has gotten out everyone who wasn't already engaged in something, and some who were, are making their way to Odom to cash in on the first significant mineral find since the gold mines of Malabar in 1000 AC. Flaurmont 25: First load of platinum sold at Emdur Location: Mining Exchange, Emdur, Gombar Description: Today at the Mining Exchange in Emdur the major component of the first ton of mined material is sold, 45 grams of platinum. This unexpectedly high amount raises a lot of interest in people who have thus far remained sceptical. Felmont 1: Ten millionth kilogram mined from Malabar Location: Gold mines to northeast of Malabar Description: Today the ten millionth kilogram of gold is mined from the mines near Malabar. What This Means: The event does not quite get the interest it deserves owing to the fixation with the possible platinum reserves in The Pride of Gombar. Despite this, this milestone in mining is significant in that it draws more interest from the people in the surrounding area. Felmont 17: Pride of Gombar mapped out Location: Mountainous region to the northeast of Odom, Suma'a Description: Geologists believe that they have mapped out sixty per cent of the aerial extent of the reef. Most decide to finish the job at this time as there is an increasing demand for geologists in the mines which are still opening up, and enough of the reef has been mapped out to keep activity going for quite some time. Ambyrmont 13: Debate continues over unknown map Location: Sumag, Suma'a Description: It has now been a year since the discovery of the unknown maps near Malabar. Officials in Sumag still debate over the validity of the maps and what they should do in the eventuality that the maps are real. Followers of Gombar are using the lack of action to incite anti-Sumag feelings. Sviftmont 13: Secret plans in Emdur Location: Emdur, Gombar Description: Several powerful merchants gather together today to take action over the maps which were found thirteen months ago. The make plans to infiltrate the temple of Sumag and steal the maps. What this Means: Few outside the temple of Sumag has seen the maps though it is the common belief of many merchants in Emdur that these maps are of economic significance. With the lack of action regarding the maps this has caused some merchants to decide to take drastic action to procure the maps. Kaldmont 18: Death of Aw'ar Location: Sumag, Suma'a Description: Aw'ar the chief priest of Sumag dies of natural causes today in Sumag. She has been growing progressively weaker over the preceding months but her death still comes as a bit of a shock to those close to her. What This Means: Aw'ar was a very charismatic person, she was perhaps the front line in the retention of the faith of Sumag. A new chief priest must now be chosen but no one is eager to accept position in light of the current difficulties. Kaldmont 28: Attack on temple of Sumag Location: Odom, Suma'a Description: The temple of Sumag in Odom is vandalised today by a group of ogrekin. The ogrekin escape capture. What the PCs Can Do: If the PCs are Suma'an they may be on hand to stop the desecration of the temple, for today. What This Means: The group who caused the desecration are part of a fringe group of Gombarians who are content with the peaceful teachings of the faith of Gombar. Shawn Stanley, Department of Geology, Australian National University. (s9406058@student.anu.edu.au) (http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/5304) ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 10 Feb 1997 16:45:03 +1000 From: s9406058@bohm.anu.edu.au (Stan) Subject: [Mystara] Immortals of the Known World - Other Immortals Note: I am not 100% sure if this got through when I sent it previously, this was at the time of the death of the old list. If it did get through please forgive me. *** This is a list, with brief descriptions of those immortals who did not even make it into the "Other Immortals" section of WotI. The list is by no means comprehensive as I do not own all Mystaran products, therefore any news of omissions would be greatly accepted at s9406058@student.anu.edu.au The information presented contains a lot of my own ideas, and are generally not based on the mythological views of these beings (as I dislike this practice), so any disputes as to my interpretations or views are welcomed. Also I have changed some of the information presented in some of the sources. IMMORTALS OF THE KNOWN WORLD - OTHER IMMORTALS Father Time: Hierarch, Sphere of Time. This immortal is merely Khoronus under a different name. (Original Immortals set, DM's Guide, page 41) Grammaton: Hierarch, Sphere of Thought. This immortal is the identity by which Noumena is known to sphinxes. If this is taken to be so then it implies that sphinxes have only existed since 500 BC at the earliest, as this is when Noumena attained immortality. Noumena created sphinxes to help mortals become more like him, puzzle solvers. Even if Noumena is not Grammaton then it seems clear that Grammaton is an immortal of the Sphere of Thought. (PC2, page 25) Grim Reaper: Hierarch, Sphere of Time. This immortal is actually Thanatos as he is known in some areas. Thanatos is not a Hierarch of the Sphere of Time, this is only an artefact of the belief of the people to who he is known as the Grim Reaper. To these people death is generally taken more pragmatically, the sages who know of such things in these areas see the Grim Reaper as belonging to the Sphere of Time. (Original Immortals set, DM's Guide, page 41) Gylgarid: Initiate(5)/Temporal?, Sphere of Matter/Entropy?. Gylgarid is an immortal who has strong ties to minotaurs, though is also worshiped by many northern tribesmen (X13, 3) which assumedly means Heldanners or Vestlanders. This then implies that Gylgarid was either a minotaur, an immortal who created minotaurs or a mortal who killed lots of minotaurs. A minotaurs head is the symbol of Gylgarid (X13, 18) though this need not mean he is a minotaur he could be like Ruaidhri Hawkbane and have taken the likeness of the animal he killed as his symbol. Though it also stated that the minotaur is the likeness of Gylgarid (X13, 27), though it seems odd how "many" northern tribesmen would worship a minotaur. The final piece of evidence is that Gylgarid is described as a chaotic barbarian god of uncertain origin (X13, 17) whose followers even seems to be feared by local people (X13, 17). I would contend that Gylgarid is a mortal who killed a lot of minotaurs for a very personal reason (much like Ruaidhri Hawkbane) and the whole thing sent him a bit mad, nevertheless he was pretty proud of himself. He somehow attained immortality in the Sphere of Entropy (the rules for attaining immortality in this sphere have always seemed a little sketchy) and the whole experience of attaining immortality sent him over the edge. He took the minotaur as his symbol and seems to prefer his temples adorned with the figure and even acting as guardians. I think that Gylgarid was someone from this region of Mystara which accounts for it being his base of operation, though I think that he is not in fact worshipped by "many" northern tribesmen but perhaps only by a few similarly mad individuals, which is why his worship is not prominent in the northern regions, though he may become so. If this were all so then Gylgarid would probably not be a powerful immortal which is why I place him at Initiate(5) level, though X13 seems to imply the Gylgarid has some power so perhaps some Entropic immortal is working behind the scenes pulling his strings - though this is only conjecture. Though all the above may not be so and the next most likely scenario is the Gylgarid is a minotaur who achieved immortality in the Sphere of Matter, and would probably therefore be a Temporal. Though he has some unsavoury followers. Hymir: Celestial(16), Sphere of Time. Hymir was a chronomancer from Sundsvall about 200 BC. He was the Archchancellor of the University of Sundsvall. Not having any children he attained immortality by increasing the size of the university, particularly the chronomancy department, and also ensuring its survival through time, his final trial being to perfectly rebuild the university after the sinking of Alphatia. Hymir was always fond of his drink and it is no wonder that the chronomancy department is known for the best ale in Alphatia, it should also be noted that a significantly high number of the archchancellors subsequent to Hymir have also come from the chronomancy department - most of them of course were also fond of their drink. Since reaching immortality Hymir has remained interested in the affairs of Alphatia as a whole though he also found many allies in the northmen pantheon who are also fond of their drink. (Original Immortals set, DM's Guide, page 41, and Master DM's book Artifacts chapter) Idraote: Celestial(16), Sphere of Energy. Idraote was a mage on the planet of Alphatia who attained immortality a long time before its destruction. He followed his people to Mystara although he is not overly prominent in the affairs of Alphatia. (Original Immortals set, DM's Guide, page 41, and Master DM's book Artifacts chapter) Idris: Novice(2), Sphere of Entropy. Although the symbol of Idris is a black dragon (X11, 17) I do not believe that she was a dragon in real life (a thought which will be expanded upon in a later post). Instead Idris was a mage from Glantri who was a member of the craft of Dracology. She attained high mastery in this craft and was fond of turning herself into a black dragon and harassing people in Glantri. She sometimes travelled to the north during these excursions and harassed people in the Realm of Wendar. Whilst on such an excursion she caused the people in the village of Geron to become interested in her whilst she tore through a Wendarian patrol. Some of the people began to worship the dragon. Idris went on to attain immortality in the sphere of Entropy who were impressed by her savagery. Upon attaining immortality she noticed the attentions the people of Geron, in who she is now actively cultivating a following for herself. Ilmarinen: Celestial(15), Sphere of Matter. Ilmarinen was a Kogolor dwarf craftsman by the name of Tordur. He was sponsored to immortality in 200 BC by Garl Glittergold who was very impressed with his sense of art and his practicality. (Original Immortals set, DM's Guide, page 41, and Master DM's book Artifacts chapter) Korrigans, The: Empyreal(21), Sphere of Energy. The Korrigans are a group of nine elves who lived in the forest areas in the area which would become Wendar, although they lived there a long time ago even before the coming of the Antalians. They all adventured together in mortal life but parted when each chose to attain immortality. Unbeknownst to them they were all being sponsored by the same immortal who enjoyed the precedence that he was setting. The nine elves all achieved immortality within a few centuries of each other and then resumed their friendship. (Original Immortals set, DM's Guide, page 41, and Master DM's book Artifacts chapter) Light: Hierarch, Sphere of Energy. This immortal is merely Ixion under a different name. (Original Immortals set, DM's Guide, page 41) Mother Earth: Hierarch, Sphere of Matter. This immortal is merely Terra under a different name. (Original Immortals set, DM's Guide, page 41) Old Nick: Hierarch, Sphere of Entropy. This immortal is merely Thanatos under a different name. (Original Immortals set, DM's Guide, page 41) News: Hierarch(36), Sphere of Thought. News is an old immortal who lived in the city of Blackmoor. She acted to inform the citizens of Blackmoor against their actions by collecting any information she could find and then talking to the citizens of Blackmoor. Although she was an excellent orator she had not swayed enough people by her knowledge by the time of the Great Rain of Fire. Although she died in the ensuing cataclysm the immortal Diulanna was so impressed by her actions that she sponsored News to immortality. (Original Immortals set, DM's Guide, page 41) Night: Hierarch, Sphere of Entropy. This immortal is merely Nyx under a different name. (Original Immortals set, DM's Guide, page 41) Ninsun: Empyreal(19), Sphere of Energy. Ninsun was a winged minotaur in the ancient land of Nimmur. She attained immortality in the sphere of Energy with Ixion as her sponsor. Since attaining immortality she has shown little interest in the affairs of enduks. (Original Immortals set, DM's Guide, page 41, and Master DM's book Artifacts chapter) Ouranos: Hierarch(36), Sphere of Matter. Ouranos is a very old being and unbeknownst to the other immortals is actually no longer an immortal. Millions of years ago a being existed which knew itself as Ssaa Kraat. Ssaa Kraat attained immortality under a long gone immortal of the sphere of Matter. Ssaa Kraat rose through the ranks of immortality and became the Reigning Hierarch in the sphere of Matter. Not happy with this position Ssaa Kraat reincarnated itself as a mortal in the hopes of learning more about the universe. The new mortal identity which also existed long before humankind knew itself as Ouranos. Ouranos achieved immortality in the sphere of Matter and also became the Reigning Hierarch in the sphere of Matter. So doing Ouranos learnt of the previous existence of Ssaa Kraat. Displeased with the outcome Ouranos decided to do as Ssaa Kraat had done - to become mortal again. So doing Ouranos passed beyond the barrier and went to exist with the Old Ones. The being known as Ouranos is known to the present group of immortals as an ancient being which, as far as they know, has gone to walk amongst the planes. Although there are a number of cultures on Mystara and throughout the Multiverse who know of Ssaa Kraat and the ultimate knowledge which is attained by that being. Ssaa Kraat is known by many names including Zagrat, Saccrat and Sakkrat. Ouranos is not tied in with any of these legends. (Original Immortals set, DM's Guide, page 41; Master DM's book Artifacts chapter and The Highest Science by Gareth Roberts) Pyro: Hierarch, Sphere of Energy. This immortal is merely Ixion under a different name. (Original Immortals set, DM's Guide, page 41) Saturnius: Celestial(15), Sphere of Energy. Coloc was a boy born in 3746 BC in a tribe which has previously been assimilated by the Oltecs. He grew up resenting the form of imprisonment which the Oltecs practiced. One day he left the tribe and adventured around Mystara. He attained immortality in the sphere of Energy and since then has acted as a patron of freedom. (Original Immortals set, DM's Guide, page 41, and Master DM's book Artifacts chapter) Simurgh: Celestial(15), Sphere of Time. Simurgh was a member of a race of roc like birds which were the ancestors of present day rocs. Simurgh attained immortality in the sphere of Time and as part of the trial he averted the death of his people from water, ice and fire. (Original Immortals set, DM's Guide, page 41, and Master DM's book Artifacts chapter) Skuld: Celestial(14), Sphere of Entropy. Skuld was a Hill Giant who hated his existence and hated his parents for bringing him into it. As a result he killed them, the not happy with this he decided to kill his relatives. Although the science of genealogy as practiced by Hill Giants is not very precise so Skuld killed any Hill Giant he came across. So impressed with his record of killing Skuld was sponsored to the sphere of Entropy. He now acts against all giants although he still particularly hates Hill Giants. (Original Immortals set, DM's Guide, page 41, and Master DM's book Artifacts chapter) Solarios: Hierarch, Sphere of Energy. This immortal is merely Ixion under a different name. (Original Immortals set, DM's Guide, page 41) EVEN MORE IMMORTALS These immortals don't have anything written about them. Oleyan (GAZ 9, page 44) this is a junior immortal, probably Initiate, who is trapped within the Carven Oak. Creator of the Carven Oak (GAZ 9, page 44). Creator of the Faenare, sphere of Thought (PC2, page 6). Creator of gremlins, sphere of Entropy (PC2, page 13). Creator of harpies, sphere of Entropy (PC2, page 18). Any of the above four immortals could easily be one of the already known immortals. Shawn Stanley, Department of Geology, Australian National University. (s9406058@student.anu.edu.au) (http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/5304) ------------------------------ End of mystara-digest V2 #1 *************************** From: owner-mystara-digest@ (mystara-digest) To: mystara-digest@lists.io.com Subject: mystara-digest V2 #2 Reply-To: mystara Sender: owner-mystara-digest@ Errors-To: owner-mystara-digest@ Precedence: bulk mystara-digest Tuesday, February 11 1997 Volume 02 : Number 002 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 10 Feb 1997 16:51:43 +1000 From: s9406058@bohm.anu.edu.au (Stan) Subject: [Mystara] Immortals of the Known World - Nearly Immortals Note: I am not 100% sure if this got through when I sent it previously, this was at the time of the death of the old list. If it did get through please forgive me. *** Cthulhudrew, The Great Old One wrote > Plus there is still any amount of work to be done on the definitive > Immortal Catalogue (for want of a better name), wherein we have been > attempting to list the important dates of the Immortals (and I don't mean > who's going out with whom...) such as their 'birth date' (when they > became Immortal), as well as possible guesses, etc. on their formal > mortal identities, in order to try and link them more closely with the > world of Mystara. To further aid such a project I thought it might be good to compile a list of all those mortals who in the campaign are currently questing for Immortality. Also added are any beings of an exalted status who may be confused with immortals. IMMORTALS OF THE KNOWN WORLD - NEARLY IMMORTALS Barimoor: MU36 questing for immortality in the sphere of Energy. GAZ 2 gives a detailed account of where Barimoor's plans for immortality stand as at 1000 AC. It also guesses that it will take about two centuries for the plans to be completed. (GAZ 2, page 49) Chuarbhidhe: Chuarbhidhe is a pooka who has attained an exalted status and is probably the Monster Ruler for pookas. (PC1, page 53) Étienne d'Amberville (Rad). If as a result of Mark of Amber the PCs attain partial success then Étienne will be a mortal who will be undoubtedly trying to attain immortality in the sphere of Energy starting all over again in AC 1012. If the PCs fail utterly then Étienne may one day be in a position to try again for immortality. If the PCs succeed completely then Étienne will be a full immortal again. (MoA) Kaladan (The Masterharper): M36/WTI21 questing for immortality in the sphere of Entropy. There is no indication on how long Kaladan has been questing for immortality nor how long he has to go, most of the problem here of course stems from a lack of information on the path to Entropic immortality. (PC4, page 6) Leo Variantia (Shapechanger): F34/T18/M14/C13/WTI36/WFO13/WBA9/WBE10 questing for immortality in the sphere of Matter. Leo has been questing since about 500 AC and as of 1000 AC is on his final quest. There is every possibility that by the present, 1014 AC, that he has achieved immortality. (PC4, page 8) Mylertendal: MU36 questing for immortality in the sphere of Energy. She started questing for immortality about 900 AC although she is no hurry to attain it. Because she has a magically extended life of about 255 years she quite possibly died during the Week Without Magic 1009 AC and there is a good possibility that she may not have been subsequently wished back to life. (DotE book 1, page 46) Starwatcher: I know he exists I just have to get a hold of GAZ5 first :) Travestis: 34TT/10D questing for immortality in the sphere of Entropy. Travestis is a treant who is part of an adventure seed in PC1. The idea of the adventure is to stop Travestis blighting part of the Canolbarth Forest and thus completing the testimony part of his quest. The end of the little adventure would probably have seen the death of Travestis. I on the other hand prefer the little adventure to never have happened. If Travestis had a hand in the Shadow Elves invasion of Alfheim then this may be considered to be completing the testimony part of the path, I believe that the negative view of the help he had in achieving the testimony would be offset by the larger than necessary area of blight caused. If Travestis is allowed to survive careless adventurers and also have the blighting of Canolbarth Forest to account for his testimony then that leaves him in 1007 AC with only his task to complete before he achieves immortality. There is no indication how long this would take. (PC1 part II, page 15) Tylion IV (Master Terari): M36 questing for immortality in the sphere of Thought. Tylion only decided to start questing for immortality not long before 1000 AC. It is said that Tylion is in hurry to achieve immortality. It has been suggested by Victor Caminha that Tylion has found a sponsor in Ssu-Ma by following his goals of literacy and scholarship. And indeed the creation of the Karameikan School of Magecraft could be considered his task and his testimony is in finding a good enough student who could end up being his successor. (DotE book 1, page 53) Shawn Stanley, Department of Geology, Australian National University. (s9406058@student.anu.edu.au) (http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/5304) ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 10 Feb 1997 01:45:51 -0500 (EST) From: Kaviyd@aol.com Subject: Re: [Mystara] Immortals of the Known World - Nearly Immortals In a message dated 97-02-10 01:04:49 EST, s9406058@bohm.anu.edu.au (Stan) writes: << Starwatcher: I know he exists I just have to get a hold of GAZ5 first :) >> I think that is a nickname for Mealiden, who is already an Immortal. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 10 Feb 1997 09:50:01 +0200 From: Guy Friedman Subject: [Mystara] RE: Just checking if this is a real list.. :) Its realy not at all ! You only think that its mailing us a small note by e-mail whle actually a small dworf gets the messege at the server end. He promptly retipes the letter to all the people on you list and sends them along...... Sorry im fealing amused this morning... Guy ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 10 Feb 1997 01:01:18 -0800 (PST) From: "Herve Musseau" Subject: [Mystara] Mystara FAQ v2.0 So here's the updated FAQ for Mystara. The most notable addition is a Q/A about the Empire of Dorphin IV and such, as was suggested a few weeks ago by someone on the list. If anyone has ideas about things that should appear in the FAQ, drop me a line. Mystara FAQ version 2.0 by Hervé Musseau Q: What is Mystara? A: Mystara is an imaginary world created by TSR as a campaign world for roleplaying games using the rules of Dungeons and Dragons. Q: What is a roleplaying game? A: Roleplaying games are games in which people play the role of imaginary fantastic characters like warriors or wizards and try to complete an adventure under the guidance of a game master. Q: I never heard of Mystara, but I know a setting called the Known World which looks pretty the same. What's the difference? A: Mystara got a name as a world only recently; before that, it was often referred to as the Known World, although Mystara is more than just the Known World. Q: So, what's Mystara? The Known World and what else? A: Mystara is basically composed of 2 main parts, the Outer World and the Hollow World, plus 2 moons, and some other exotic settings. Q: A Hollow World? A: Yes. Mystara, unlike our earth, is hollow, an empty sphere. It has an internal sun that lights the interior world, making it inhabitable. It holds old civilizations that are now extinct on the Outer World, placed there by the Immortals with strong magic preventing them from evolving much or dying away. The only entrances to the Hollow World are through underground passages between the two worlds, and through the holes that stand in place of the north and south poles. Q: And the Outer World? A: The Outer World is mostly like our Earth. It comprises: - - the Known World, where the most civilized countries are located, - - Alphatia, - - the Savage Coast and Hule, - - the southern continent, called Davania, - - the eastern continent, called Skothar. Q: On the continental map published in the Master DM's book, there are some empires I've never read anything about in other products and on the list, like the Empire of Dorphin IV or the Empire of the Great Khan. Do they exist? Where can I find information about these? A: The map in the Master set is wrong, wrong, wrong. In the series of articles written by Bruce Heard in Dragon Magazine, the first in the series (Dragon #153) explains this all. The map was the was released by a very imaginative Thyatian, and wrongly accepted for the truth. There is no Empire of Dorphin IV, no Empire of the Great Khan, etc. Also, as you probably guessed, the size of the Thyatian Empire was also largely exagerated on this map... Q: I've already heard from the Known World, and from the Hollow World too, but never as Mystara. What does all this mean? A: This is because Mystara is a very old world, one of the oldest created by TSR, and, as TSR grew, so did Mystara. All of these product lines are revelant to Mystara: - - Mystara, of course, - - the Known World and most stuff that were made for D&D (as opposed to AD&D) like these old good modules B and X, or the Gazetteers, - - the Hollow World, - - Red Steel/the Savage Coast, - - Blackmoor. Also, some products bearing the label First Quest are related to Mystara. Q: Blackmoor? I know a Blackmoor, but it's part of Greyhawk, isn't it? A: Blackmoor was, like Greyhawk, the campaign world of one of TSR's founder. It was later placed in both Greyhawk and the Known World (as a past kingdom in the later), effectively making two Blackmoors exist. It seems there is no relation between the two Blackmoors, however, although some people made the assumption. Q: Ok, and now what's Red Steel? A: Red Steel is a setting that is part of Mystara (west of the Known World), although it was released as a stand-alone setting. Q: You spoke of Immortals, what are they? Are they Gods? A: Mystara has a different pantheon when compared to other D&D settings. Most notably, it has no gods, but beings called Immortals. Immortals are mortals who, through their deeds, have reached a higher status granting them more power than mere mortals. Basically, however, Immortals are not very different from Gods of other settings. Q: Also you mentionned something about D&D not being AD&D. What does that mean? A: Mystara was the world designed to be used with the rules of D&D (often called OD&D to better distinct it from AD&D and from the generic term D&D which could mean both; OD&D stands for Old D&D or Original D&D). It appeared in the old boxed rules: the Expert box, the Companion box and the Master box. Most of the earlier modules designed for D&D were set in this world. Recently, however, Mystara has been converted to AD&D (along with Red Steel), but many people who play in Mystara do it with the old rules (or their reedition, Rules Cyclopedia). Q: When I read stuff about Mystara I keep seeing acronyms I cannot understand like WotI or PWA. What do they mean? A: There is a list of Mystara relevant acronyms at http://www.esiee.fr/~musseauh. Q: I heard that the Mystara line was cancelled. Is this true? A: It is unfortunately true. And Red Steel is cancelled too. Some novels pertaining to Mystara may be released as part of the First Quest line, and modules may be part of the Odyssey line. AFAIK, there is no such products in preparation however. Joshuan's Almanach was the last product of Mystara (to be precise the novel "The Black Vessel" has been released after, and to be even more precise it deals with the Savage Coast) and the Savages Baronies the last of Red Steel (except for online exclusives). Q: But I saw in TSR's preview that there would be Red Steel modules released as online exclusive. What does this mean? A: TSR will release these modules for free on its site of MPGN at ftp://ftp.mpgn.com and on AOL and GEnie. Q: So, if TSR has dropped the line, how can I get new material for Mystara? A: There are many people on the web who love Mystara and have taken upon themselves to keep Mystara alive (and well alive). There is a mailing list dedicated to Mystara where people discuss together about it, exchanging ideas, points of view, and more. To subscribe, send e-mail to majordomo@io.com. In the body, have the single line: subscribe Mystara-L . There are also many pages around the net dedicated to Mystara, sometimes with lots of interesting materials. The pages I am aware of are: http://www.esiee.fr/~musseauh : Herve's HomePage : the homepage of the writer of this FAQ http://www.io.com/~oryon/mysthome.htm The Mystara Mailing List Home Page http://moray.ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au/%7Eknight/mystara/index.html Knight's Mystara Homepage new material http://www.ing.unipi.it/~s153349/diary Fabrizio's Mystara Homepage diary of a Shadow Elf http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/6011/ Lord Estlor's Mystara Page new material http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/5304/ Shawn's Mystara Site articles collected from the mailing-list http://www.miniworld.com/adnd/ Dungeon and Dragons Section Toowin's travels and Madame Aleksandra's horiscopes http://www.angelfire.com/pg7/HL/index.html The High Legion Clan campaign presentation http://www.geocities.com/Area51/4090/index.html The Druid's Grove druidic information http://www.angelfire.com/pages0/redwolf/index.html Mystaran Almanac I, by Red Wolf http://www.spherenet.com/fmt/kat-path/mystara.html Kat's Mystara page (in French) http://radon.mat.univie.ac.at/~pbalazs/rollen.html#myst Mystara and Diplomacy (in German) ftp://ftp.mpgn.com/Gaming/ADND/Worlds/Mystara/ Mystara at MPGN ftp://ftp.mpgn.com/Gaming/ADND/Worlds/SavageCoast/ Savage Coast at MPGN http://skaro.lawlib.wm.edu/~msphil/fnn/ The FNN Adventurer's Journal ftp://ftp.io.com/pub/mailing-lists/mystara-digest/ >ftp://ftp.io.com/pub/mailing-lists/mystara-digest/ archive of the Mystara-digest Q: Where can I find a complete list of the material published for Mystara? A: The most complete lists to my knowledge are at http://moray.ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au/~knight/mystara/prodlist.html (I think it is almost a complete one except for the most recent products) and in the digests of the mml. Also check TSR's list of products at http://members.aol.com/tsrinc/products.html. Q: Where can I find the FAQ for the Mystara mailing list? A: Check at http://www.io.com/~oryon/mmlfaq.htm. AFAIK there is no plain text version of this FAQ. Herve Musseau Primary Email: musseauh@esiee.fr (please don't use this one) Secondary Email: herve@hotmail.com (use this one) Also: 106335,2103@compuserve.com (but I prefer hotmail) Homepage: http://www.esiee.fr/~musseauh I'm a QSQWBEEEGGNFR Mystaran - --------------------------------------------------------- Get Your *Web-Based* Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com - --------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 10 Feb 1997 14:36:47 +0100 From: Fabrizio Paoli Subject: Re: [Mystara] Shadow elves Hi everybody, it's nice to be back. This is the first of 2 messages that probably didn't get to you because the list was down. At 13.42 28/01/97 -0000, Jorge Villalobos wrote: >Reading the Shadow elves gazeteer (sorry about the spelling) and reading the >references for post alfheim invasion times, I came across the following >question: Are the SE still worshiping Rafiel, if not who are they worshiping? IMO the underground Shadow Elves still worship Rafiel and underground the Shamans still "rule", instead on the surface things are quite different, because the soul crystals (hence the Shaman's powers) don't work above ground. Though the majority of Shadow Elves still worship Rafiel there're a few that now worship Atzanteotl, especially in Oenkmar/Aengmor because that city is sacred to Atzanteotl, and , still IMO, a few SE in Alfheim/Aengmor that don't worship neither Rafiel, nor Atzanteotl, or at least worship Rafiel, but doesn't follow all the strange rituals of the original Way of Rafiel (Princess Tanadaleyo is one of these IMO). For more information about the SE-Rafiel-Atzanteotl relationships check my timeline of the Alfheim Invasion, you should find it in several sites, notably Herve's Home Page. >If they do how does this fits into his plans (the nuclear reactor)? How do the >sowl crystals work (if they do)? If the sowl crystals work why don't they >desintegrate? I don't know if the invasion of Alfheim really fits in Rafiel's plans, because it obviously draws the attention of other Immortals on the Shadow Elves, and that's certainly not the best way to keep such a project (the nuclear reactor) secret. Probably Rafiel decided to risk because the nuclear reactor is close to completion. ************** Fabrizio Paoli brizio@lunet.it s153349@studenti.ing.unipi.it DM in City Of The Stars - PC in the Forgotten Realms Leader of Privateers - Trip Bomb Master - Lord of Firewalkers Home Page:http://www.ing.unipi.it/~s153349/index.html ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 10 Feb 1997 14:36:36 +0100 From: Fabrizio Paoli Subject: Re: [Mystara] The Mother of all Mystara Indexes ..and this is the second... At 17.14 27/01/97 +0100, you wrote: > > >Two weeks ago, David send the most exhaustive list of >Mystara/Mystara-related material I have ever seen (thank you for this) >However, I have some questions and remarks on this: > >> DRAGON Magazine > >> 216 Campaign Source Explicit Bargle the Infamous > >Where is it? Are you sure you named the right number of Dragon Magazine, >since I haven't found anything in this issue. >I am very interested, which issue of Dragon mag. actually contains some >information on Bargle. Yes, check pages 10 to 14 > >> Mystara Novels > >> The Black Vessel Explicit > >What is this novel like? I've never seen it in the shop, where I buy my RPG >stuff. It's a paperback book like the Dragonlord trilogy :) I've seen it in Italy, but didn't buy it. ************** Fabrizio Paoli brizio@lunet.it s153349@studenti.ing.unipi.it DM in City Of The Stars - PC in the Forgotten Realms Leader of Privateers - Trip Bomb Master - Lord of Firewalkers Home Page:http://www.ing.unipi.it/~s153349/index.html ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 10 Feb 1997 14:35:13 +0100 From: Fabrizio Paoli Subject: Re: [Mystara] The Mother of all Mystara Indexes ..and this is the second... At 17.14 27/01/97 +0100, you wrote: > > >Two weeks ago, David send the most exhaustive list of >Mystara/Mystara-related material I have ever seen (thank you for this) >However, I have some questions and remarks on this: > >> DRAGON Magazine > >> 216 Campaign Source Explicit Bargle the Infamous > >Where is it? Are you sure you named the right number of Dragon Magazine, >since I haven't found anything in this issue. >I am very interested, which issue of Dragon mag. actually contains some >information on Bargle. Yes, check pages 10 to 14 > >> Mystara Novels > >> The Black Vessel Explicit > >What is this novel like? I've never seen it in the shop, where I buy my RPG >stuff. It's a paperback book like the Dragonlord trilogy :) I've seen it in Italy, but didn't buy it. ************** Fabrizio Paoli brizio@lunet.it s153349@studenti.ing.unipi.it DM in City Of The Stars - PC in the Forgotten Realms Leader of Privateers - Trip Bomb Master - Lord of Firewalkers Home Page:http://www.ing.unipi.it/~s153349/index.html ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 10 Feb 1997 14:35:17 +0100 From: Fabrizio Paoli Subject: Re: [Mystara] Shadow elves Hi everybody, it's nice to be back. This is the first of 2 messages that probably didn't get to you because the list was down. At 13.42 28/01/97 -0000, Jorge Villalobos wrote: >Reading the Shadow elves gazeteer (sorry about the spelling) and reading the >references for post alfheim invasion times, I came across the following >question: Are the SE still worshiping Rafiel, if not who are they worshiping? IMO the underground Shadow Elves still worship Rafiel and underground the Shamans still "rule", instead on the surface things are quite different, because the soul crystals (hence the Shaman's powers) don't work above ground. Though the majority of Shadow Elves still worship Rafiel there're a few that now worship Atzanteotl, especially in Oenkmar/Aengmor because that city is sacred to Atzanteotl, and , still IMO, a few SE in Alfheim/Aengmor that don't worship neither Rafiel, nor Atzanteotl, or at least worship Rafiel, but doesn't follow all the strange rituals of the original Way of Rafiel (Princess Tanadaleyo is one of these IMO). For more information about the SE-Rafiel-Atzanteotl relationships check my timeline of the Alfheim Invasion, you should find it in several sites, notably Herve's Home Page. >If they do how does this fits into his plans (the nuclear reactor)? How do the >sowl crystals work (if they do)? If the sowl crystals work why don't they >desintegrate? I don't know if the invasion of Alfheim really fits in Rafiel's plans, because it obviously draws the attention of other Immortals on the Shadow Elves, and that's certainly not the best way to keep such a project (the nuclear reactor) secret. Probably Rafiel decided to risk because the nuclear reactor is close to completion. ************** Fabrizio Paoli brizio@lunet.it s153349@studenti.ing.unipi.it DM in City Of The Stars - PC in the Forgotten Realms Leader of Privateers - Trip Bomb Master - Lord of Firewalkers Home Page:http://www.ing.unipi.it/~s153349/index.html ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 10 Feb 1997 11:25:04 -0500 (EST) From: Daniel Boese Subject: Re: [Mystara] Immortals and Worshippers... > > After all, if an Immortal goes 10 years > > without any worshippers, he fades away... > > Just curious... do you have a source for this? There was talk on > this subject long ago, and I don't recall seeing any such indications > in the Wrath of the Immortals boxed set. Wrath of the Immortals box, Codex of the Immortals book, page 83, section "Fading": "...without a following, [Immortals] can slowly fade away to nothingness. ...This fading begins a full year after the Immortal's last mortal follower dies or abandons his or her faith. It takes ten years for the Immortal to fade to nothingness." - -- Daniel Boese dboese@freenet.npiec.on.ca ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 10 Feb 97 14:30:00 EST From: emayers@cosi.stockton.edu (Eric Mayers) Subject: [none] Hello to all gamers. I am new to e-mail lists but I thought this would be a good place to start. I am a member of the Richard Stockton College Gamers' Guild, a haven for RPG junkies and all around weirdos. We have played many campaigns in Mystara (Karameikos, Glantri, Ostland, Aengmor a.k.a. Alfheim, and Red Steel). I have also read novels set in Mystara (The Dragonlord series). Rakasta are my favorite Mystaran race (I happen to be a cat lover). If anybody out there wants to get to me, my e-mail address is emayers@cosi.stockton.edu for at least a few more months (the system is going to be trashed). Hey! Is anybody out there?! ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 10 Feb 1997 17:09:51 -0500 (EST) From: TSRBruce@aol.com Subject: Re: [Mystara] Patera/Kompor-Thap In a message dated 97-02-09 20:55:12 EST, you write: >My thinking is to populate it with Pachydermions, as >opposed to Rakasta. Any thoughts on this? Good idea! Some variety couldn't hurt the setting. Indeed Rakastas dominate Patera, but this does not mean other races didn't manage to create a niche for themselves. If anything, it would add some interesting twists to the Rakastan *hegemony* on this moon. Bruce Heard ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 10 Feb 1997 17:41:00 -0500 (EST) From: TSRBruce@aol.com Subject: Re: [Mystara] Myoshima/Patera stuff (fwd) In a message dated 97-02-09 23:32:04 EST, Daniel Boese wrote: > Hm... here's an interesting question: should we accept Mr. Heard's >unpublished comments, or take things up ourselves from just what was >published? I lean towards the former, but we'll probably end up combining >the two - especially since I'm naive enough not to know the difference >between ancient Malaysia and the Philippines. :) Be my guest! :) It would interesting to know how goblins made it to Patera. I'd assume Rakastas visiting Mystara would have captured a number of them and hauled them back to the moon. Since then, they would have become slaves, except those that escaped to caverns and unexplored jungles (probably breeding like fiends and plotting a revenge). >Currently my thoughts are that the Rakasta > influenced the culture of Ochalea at some point in the pre-Alphatian > past, then were expunged, leading to anti tiger sentiment in the Ochalean > territories. That's a good point. The expunging of rakastas makes perfect sense, especially in the light of the article I wrote about lupins (the very next issue of DRAGON). The article implies an important community of lupins in Ochalea (among many other places on Mystara), various sub-breeds of lupins specific to this "oriental" setting. Of course, we don't have to agree that lupins necessarily dislike rakastas, but it would easy to assume so. Bruce Heard ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 10 Feb 1997 17:35:18 -0500 (EST) From: Daniel Boese Subject: [Mystara] Where did the Hivebrood come from? Does anybody know what adventure module the Hivebrood came from? They seem to be complex enough to have the entire module based around them.. - -- Daniel Boese dboese@freenet.npiec.on.ca ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 10 Feb 1997 22:01:18 EST From: nbamba@juno.com (Nicholas C Bambakidis) Subject: [Mystara] Immortal fading > > After all, if an Immortal goes 10 years > > without any worshippers, he fades away... > > Just curious... do you have a source for this? There was talk on > this subject long ago, and I don't recall seeing any such indications > in the Wrath of the Immortals boxed set. > Wrath of the Immortals box, Codex of the Immortals book, page 83, section >"Fading": "...without a following, [Immortals] can slowly fade away to >nothingness. ...This fading begins a full year after the Immortal's last >mortal follower dies or abandons his or her faith. It takes ten years for >the Immortal to fade to nothingness." Do "worshippers" include those beings on planets and planes besides Mystara, or do Immortals need to have worshippers on either the outer world or Hollow world? My own feeling on this is that the great diversity of Mystara places it among the most important of planets in the Multiverse, but that many Immortals have a great many other followers on other planets and in other planes thus not necessarily requiring an Immortal to have followers on Mystara itself to prevent "fading" N.B. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 11 Feb 1997 00:27:14 -0500 (EST) From: Kaviyd@aol.com Subject: Re: [Mystara] Patera/Kompor-Thap In a message dated 97-02-10 17:12:41 EST, TSRBruce@aol.com writes: << Good idea! Some variety couldn't hurt the setting. Indeed Rakastas dominate Patera, but this does not mean other races didn't manage to create a niche for themselves. If anything, it would add some interesting twists to the Rakastan *hegemony* on this moon. >> To really keep things interesting, might I suggest that Rakastas dominate Patera in the same sense that humans dominate Mystara itself? While humans make up over 90% of the population of that world, there are MANY other races present. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 11 Feb 1997 02:34:37 -0600 From: "George E. Hrabovsky" Subject: RE: [Mystara] Patera/Kompor-Thap - ------ =_NextPart_000_01BC17C8.FBFA1560 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Would this imply that the other races would form a sort of barbarian enclave? George - ---------- From: Kaviyd@aol.com[SMTP:Kaviyd@aol.com] Sent: Monday, February 10, 1997 6:27 PM To: mystara-l@lists.io.com Subject: Re: [Mystara] Patera/Kompor-Thap In a message dated 97-02-10 17:12:41 EST, TSRBruce@aol.com writes: << Good idea! Some variety couldn't hurt the setting. Indeed Rakastas dominate Patera, but this does not mean other races didn't manage to create a niche for themselves. If anything, it would add some interesting twists to the Rakastan *hegemony* on this moon. >> To really keep things interesting, might I suggest that Rakastas dominate Patera in the same sense that humans dominate Mystara itself? While humans make up over 90% of the population of that world, there are MANY other races present. - ------ =_NextPart_000_01BC17C8.FBFA1560 Content-Type: application/ms-tnef Content-Transfer-Encoding: base64 eJ8+IhkJAQaQCAAEAAAAAAABAAEAAQeQBgAIAAAA5AQAAAAAAADoAAENgAQAAgAAAAIAAgABBJAG ACgBAAABAAAADAAAAAMAADADAAAACwAPDgAAAAACAf8PAQAAAEsAAAAAAAAAgSsfpL6jEBmdbgDd AQ9UAgAAAABteXN0YXJhLWxAbGlzdHMuaW8uY29tAFNNVFAAbXlzdGFyYS1sQGxpc3RzLmlvLmNv bQAAHgACMAEAAAAFAAAAU01UUAAAAAAeAAMwAQAAABcAAABteXN0YXJhLWxAbGlzdHMuaW8uY29t AAADABUMAQAAAAMA/g8GAAAAHgABMAEAAAAZAAAAJ215c3RhcmEtbEBsaXN0cy5pby5jb20nAAAA AAIBCzABAAAAHAAAAFNNVFA6TVlTVEFSQS1MQExJU1RTLklPLkNPTQADAAA5AAAAAAsAQDoBAAAA AgH2DwEAAAAEAAAAAAAAAx84AQiABwAYAAAASVBNLk1pY3Jvc29mdCBNYWlsLk5vdGUAMQgBBIAB ACEAAABSRTogW015c3RhcmFdIFBhdGVyYS9Lb21wb3ItVGhhcABoCwEFgAMADgAAAM0HAgALAAIA IgAlAAIALAEBIIADAA4AAADNBwIACwACACEAHwACACUBAQmAAQAhAAAAMEMyOERGMTRCNjgzRDAx MTlDODI0NDQ1NTM1NDAwMDAAzQYBA5AGANAEAAAQAAAACwAjAAAAAAADACYAAAAAAAsAKQAAAAAA AwA2AAAAAABAADkAYApGavYXvAEeAHAAAQAAACEAAABSRTogW015c3RhcmFdIFBhdGVyYS9Lb21w b3ItVGhhcAAAAAACAXEAAQAAABYAAAABvBf2ajwU3ygNg7YR0JyCREVTVAAAAAADAAYQtYwOjgMA BxCgAgAAHgAIEAEAAABlAAAAV09VTERUSElTSU1QTFlUSEFUVEhFT1RIRVJSQUNFU1dPVUxERk9S TUFTT1JUT0ZCQVJCQVJJQU5FTkNMQVZFP0dFT1JHRS0tLS0tLS0tLS1GUk9NOktBVklZREBBT0xD T01TTQAAAAACAQkQAQAAAIADAAB8AwAAEQYAAExaRnU1J8Am/wAKAQ8CFQKoBesCgwBQAvIJAgBj aArAc2V0MjcGAAbDAoMyA8UCAHByQnER4nN0ZW0CgzN3AuQHEwKAfQqACM8J2TvxFg8yNTUCgAqB DbELYOBuZzEwMxRQCwoUUSUL8mMAQCBXCGBsZGggdGgEACAHcAtQeY0bQWEFQBtQZSBvHFFtBcBy ANAHkXcbAwIQcmBtIGEgcxWxHIBm3CBiCsAeoQcwbgqFCfDiYwtgdmU/CoUKhgGRyCBHZQWwZ2Ug LQsDIGxpMTgwAtFpLXgxNDQN8AzQI5MLWTGuNgqgA2AT0GMFQC0lt68KhyRrDDAlNkYDYTomvgsl NiEDSx/gaXlkQAphBvAuBaBtW1NN6FRQOip8XSZfJ20GYBcCMCifKatNAiBkYXnCLChAZWJydQrA G+ADGTAxIDE5OTcgNmQ6MjJAUE0srydtVDZvLu8pq20TsQrAYS0MbEAi8BPAcy5pb8crEjLfLb51 YmolcTT/SSmrUmU6oFtNNuRdRzKgHCAEkGEvSwNwcGkFsC1UEYBwIb8iwzPuNiQ3GkUlNkkDoB4A B4H0c2EhkCAw8BPQGzAyMCgtMDIjgDAxwDc6EDEyOjQa0EVTVOExIFRTUkIxcB0QKtYnHUAFEBPQ czogLDw8nSFAbwRwG5ANsGEhBgD7A3AccHYe4RHAG+AFoBsRdG4nBUBoCHAcNBGxdDkLgGcuQXEN sEKBUmHUa2E28XMKhWQDcAuAzz1xCoU9VTEgYnUcMhtxe0tAB5FuHJBBwQORHJpkz0cASIIDgUIS dG9IIBYQfz1xHfEDABFwS7cdsRxCbX0RsGwf8DewQXAegABweZ8bURkQMSBFUB1FYWQbMP8eIEeB C4A9gQeQSYIbQAPxvzegT8IcUUvGSlUDoCocYPchkARgUqAqHIADoBtTBGDjAiBJwCA+PiAsNNAc 4NVHIGwb0WsJ4HAbQhkQzxuBVGgxIEtgZ2hBYR4Q/HVnIZATwBv0SlZLPj1k+1RBSQRhR4ERsACA T7EcEn9IwAOBXYgF0DbkUyFR4WbqP0wgVxtgbBxwCoVgddMAwFowIHVaYG8f8AXAuDkwJR5iHFI+ AHAbEL8cIDfQThFk4hwhHVByGyAPMSAcolBRZxFNQU5Z3wqFHJoTUAeQLrEuICw+jy8/n0CsCoUV MQBuAAMAEBAAAAAAAwAREAEAAABAAAcw4JU+Q/YXvAFAAAgw4JU+Q/YXvAEeAD0AAQAAAAUAAABS RTogAAAAALFf - ------ =_NextPart_000_01BC17C8.FBFA1560-- ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 11 Feb 1997 02:42:03 -0600 From: "George E. Hrabovsky" Subject: RE: [Mystara] Immortal fading - ------ =_NextPart_000_01BC17C9.0734D6E0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Of course, we know almost nothing about the Immortals of other worlds, since they do not interact with Mystara and are not as important. George - ---------- From: Nicholas C Bambakidis[SMTP:nbamba@juno.com] Sent: Monday, February 10, 1997 9:01 PM To: mystara-l@lists.io.com Subject: [Mystara] Immortal fading > > After all, if an Immortal goes 10 years > > without any worshippers, he fades away... > > Just curious... do you have a source for this? There was talk on > this subject long ago, and I don't recall seeing any such indications > in the Wrath of the Immortals boxed set. > Wrath of the Immortals box, Codex of the Immortals book, page 83, section >"Fading": "...without a following, [Immortals] can slowly fade away to >nothingness. ...This fading begins a full year after the Immortal's last >mortal follower dies or abandons his or her faith. It takes ten years for >the Immortal to fade to nothingness." Do "worshippers" include those beings on planets and planes besides Mystara, or do Immortals need to have worshippers on either the outer world or Hollow world? My own feeling on this is that the great diversity of Mystara places it among the most important of planets in the Multiverse, but that many Immortals have a great many other followers on other planets and in other planes thus not necessarily requiring an Immortal to have followers on Mystara itself to prevent "fading" N.B. - ------ =_NextPart_000_01BC17C9.0734D6E0 Content-Type: application/ms-tnef Content-Transfer-Encoding: base64 eJ8+IisJAQaQCAAEAAAAAAABAAEAAQeQBgAIAAAA5AQAAAAAAADoAAENgAQAAgAAAAIAAgABBJAG ACgBAAABAAAADAAAAAMAADADAAAACwAPDgAAAAACAf8PAQAAAEsAAAAAAAAAgSsfpL6jEBmdbgDd AQ9UAgAAAABteXN0YXJhLWxAbGlzdHMuaW8uY29tAFNNVFAAbXlzdGFyYS1sQGxpc3RzLmlvLmNv bQAAHgACMAEAAAAFAAAAU01UUAAAAAAeAAMwAQAAABcAAABteXN0YXJhLWxAbGlzdHMuaW8uY29t AAADABUMAQAAAAMA/g8GAAAAHgABMAEAAAAZAAAAJ215c3RhcmEtbEBsaXN0cy5pby5jb20nAAAA AAIBCzABAAAAHAAAAFNNVFA6TVlTVEFSQS1MQExJU1RTLklPLkNPTQADAAA5AAAAAAsAQDoBAAAA AgH2DwEAAAAEAAAAAAAAAx84AQiABwAYAAAASVBNLk1pY3Jvc29mdCBNYWlsLk5vdGUAMQgBBIAB AB4AAABSRTogW015c3RhcmFdIEltbW9ydGFsIGZhZGluZwB4CgEFgAMADgAAAM0HAgALAAIAKgAD AAIAEgEBIIADAA4AAADNBwIACwACACkACAACABYBAQmAAQAhAAAAMTAyOERGMTRCNjgzRDAxMTlD ODI0NDQ1NTM1NDAwMDAAuwYBA5AGAAwGAAAQAAAACwAjAAAAAAADACYAAAAAAAsAKQAAAAAAAwA2 AAAAAABAADkA4DSQdPcXvAEeAHAAAQAAAB4AAABSRTogW015c3RhcmFdIEltbW9ydGFsIGZhZGlu ZwAAAAIBcQABAAAAFgAAAAG8F/d0hxTfKBGDthHQnIJERVNUAAAAAAMABhCkIzkbAwAHEGYEAAAe AAgQAQAAAGUAAABPRkNPVVJTRSxXRUtOT1dBTE1PU1ROT1RISU5HQUJPVVRUSEVJTU1PUlRBTFNP Rk9USEVSV09STERTLFNJTkNFVEhFWURPTk9USU5URVJBQ1RXSVRITVlTVEFSQUFOREFSRU5PAAAA AAIBCRABAAAAvQQAALkEAACqCAAATFpGdVUHWjH/AAoBDwIVAqgF6wKDAFAC8gkCAGNoCsBzZXQy NwYABsMCgzIDxQIAcHJCcRHic3RlbQKDM3cC5AcTAoB9CoAIzwnZO/EWDzI1NQKACoENsQtg4G5n MTAzFFALChRRhQvyYwBAIE9mIAWgAwhwEbAsIHdlIGu8bm8H4AdABGATwCAb4LR0aAuAZxwQBuB1 BUDzHLAbsEltBGAAIAdABCBebxsAHKEEkAqFdwWwbMxkcxuAAJBuYxuwHXHQeSBkbxyCIAuAE9D+ cgDQBUAD8BywBdATsQrAcmEcEG5kHBAWECCTYbZzCoUHcHAd4gIwLgqFIwqGAZEgR2UFsGdlgyQ9 CwNsaTE4MALR4GktMTQ0DfAM0CejeQtZMTYKoANgE9AhQS1fKccKhyh7DDApRkYDYTrnKs4pRiUT TmkRcAbwIwAgIEMgQmEG0GFrBGlkBABbU01UUIw6bi9gL1FAanUb4PIuBaBtXSpvK30GYAIwiyyv LbtNAiBkYXkbgOBGZWJydQrAIFAZMAEbgDE5OTcgOToyMBrQUE0xPyt9VG+LM38tu20h1C1sQCcA cRPAcy5pMNM3bzJOdVxiaimBOY8tu1shxV3xHacgZmEvoBkQJc8m01wzNihHGkUpRj5FkUH3AYAE kBwRbBuABpAiMUGojGdvB5EZMCB5ZRGRfwqFRaIhch0yAHAgUB9Bc/kcwHBwBJAfkR2BQkEHkfRh dzWQLktgSFdIV0yi9Ep1HGFjCHEIYDxAS2DNIGJ5CGBKgGF2G7AiID5zCGEf8QIQBcAcsXM/fUyg VB6hG7BLMAQgHgFrvx5AA6BIV0+CH7A+1CAVoC8c4keAG4AiQkkgYW4n+wVAFhBjRkEfsAngHNNJ kd9R8BFwINEvoFPwdDxgAID3SFcLgB1jVyEgIZEeUR18/QbgeAmAVDEkHkWgVv9YBzcbgAhQDbB4 Wl9YUW9rhxuACrAloCA4MywKhU8RsCFAVbFIViJGQlMi/T8wIkthSQdPMUZQG/Ac0b0bgFsdt0GQ U/ADoHNhId5sIFBKwksTHWBvSFYclfZuB5A8QCBLYU/wUcFCRLlYUGVnC4BLAUIwdVQRb0gCHBBF 8x16JwQgLtF0/0hWQdZhA0YRL6AHkQWxAaD/IkFVwUqAUcEFsR6hQjEhgf1N0EkdUS9wB5ET0AOg SAp/T0FIVh16Y6FjBG+RZFoiVSQ8RCCAIknJIiDRY/8KQG/iLrARsGYBHNEeMQOg/wtRZMA8MCIz dINYQQeQL5D/B5AKhSHFG4AFsSBxHbhkwP9YkW+RTmNJyVDSVGAekh1j9x0xHrxqkkhhAx80T8Eh wPUeQHcDoGYJ4CcAHOFQ4f9Ro1HBHLBVkB1jCcFVkAqF/y+gToARoCGAfOEbACHGC1H/H/B+ISLh BGAc4R1yHEMjl/8eQnSGVoR2JmawVaB/4htx/mIdQ36RA4EgUB24TmV/A/+GBB6Dabd0MgqFiCR0 ilaBv4m5flJNACCTZMCBQXMKwMcDECBQFhBxdWkFEFSDfwqFbwpOY4iKIbchgBGwbLdcMSCAE1Bl ToCDESJCRPFxDU4uQiQtQx9ELylVCwqFFTEAl5AAAAADABAQAAAAAAMAERABAAAAQAAHMODEwVP3 F7wBQAAIMODEwVP3F7wBHgA9AAEAAAAFAAAAUkU6IAAAAABv5A== - ------ =_NextPart_000_01BC17C9.0734D6E0-- ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 11 Feb 1997 11:55:41 +0200 From: Guy Friedman Subject: [Mystara] Hello all Hia there, im new to this list, im currently DM'ing a nice little group and am planing on taking them into Mystara. If anyone hase any suggestions on how to do this (not your ship is lost at sea for week's.. you finaly see land stuff but sumthing a bit more amusing I wold love to hear your suggestions Mail me at mailto:guyf@zapa.co.il ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 13 Aug 1995 07:15:20 -0600 From: Leroy Van Camp III Subject: Re: [Mystara] Immortals and Worshippers... mystara-l@lists.io.com wrote: > > > > After all, if an Immortal goes 10 years > > > without any worshippers, he fades away... > > > > Just curious... do you have a source for this? There was talk on > > this subject long ago, and I don't recall seeing any such indications > > in the Wrath of the Immortals boxed set. > > Wrath of the Immortals box, Codex of the Immortals book, page 83, section > "Fading": "...without a following, [Immortals] can slowly fade away to > nothingness. ...This fading begins a full year after the Immortal's last > mortal follower dies or abandons his or her faith. It takes ten years for > the Immortal to fade to nothingness." Intersting... despite the fact I have read WotI cover to cover, this section slipped my mind. Out of curiosity, does anyone who has the gold box Immortal rules know if it had a similar ruling? - -- Leroy Van Camp III | "You know, not kneeing you in the groin malacoda@lesbois.com | is a constant struggle." owner-mystara-l@io.com | MST3K ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 11 Feb 1997 06:28:30 -0800 From: University Services-Internships & Careers Subject: [Mystara] ANNOUNCE> Africa/Brazil: Proj DIRs/Interns/Volunteers (deadline/summer) ========================================================================== (IUN) Inter-University Network * University Services-Internships & Careers __________________________________________________________________________ INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS * INTERNS * VOLUNTEERS * CAREERS RE: Non-Profit Organizations Summer PROJECT DIRECTORS/INTERNS/VOLUNTEERS Americans, Canadians, others - welcome Approaching Deadlines Humanitarian Multi-disciplinary Projects List Owner/Mgr: Please post/forward/share this information on career opportunities and meaningful "different" summer experiences/internships. Likely to be of interest to the List. Deadlines are pending. Thanks in advance ___________________________________________________________________ CAREER OPPTYS 1. AfriCare ...................................................................... SUMMER INTERNSHIPS/VOLUNTEER PROJECTS 2. Operation Crossroads: Global Volunteers/Interns/Project DIRECTORS -> ONLINE applications now available for Proj DIRs & Interns [Africa/Brazil] No Language requirement for participation Aimed at involving North Americans (and others) in sustainable development efforts in Africa and Brazil, while helping local communities to help themselves Academic Credit *highlights below* =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- More Details: 1. A F R I C A R E Recruits for a variety of positions in non-profit work. BA/BS, 3 years experience, language proficiency, job specific. Contact: Director of Management Services, AFRICARE, 440 R Street, NW Washington, D.C. 20001 (202) 462-3641 (please phone/no E-Mail available) ...................................................................... 2. O P E R A T I O N C R O S S R O A D S [AFRICA][BRAZIL] -Global Volunteers/Interns/Project Directors -Receive application by E-Mail (write to addresses given below) Crossroads offers an opportunity to do summer work and participate in multi-disciplinary grassroots projects that Africans and Brazilians in rural & urban communities deem valuable. 20 - 25 projects are being organized; plans are for 150 - 200 volunteers/interns and 15 - 20 Project Directors. Crossroads recently announced that ONLINE applications (due over next few weeks) are available for Project Directors/Leaders (26 yrs and over with experience) & for Volunteers/Interns (college age & up; ALL are welcome) C R E D I T : Students generally arrange with their campuses to receive academic credit (typically 7 to 15 units) for their summer internship experience. The Program starts with a several-day Training Orientation in NYC in early July; Volunteers return to the US in mid-August. CONTACT: Operation Crossroads, Attn: Overseas Department 475 Riverside Drive, Suite 1366, New York, NY 10027 212-870-2106 Or, to receive the brochure, application and other info by E-Mail, send your request to <> 1- "Applications & Info Update" , 2- "Brochure & New Programs" ..and in the Subject Field, put either of the following: -> "SEND VOLUNTEER\INTERN's Packet" (college age & up/open to all) o r -> "SEND LEADER\ProjDIRECTOR's Packet" (26 yrs & up w/exp-read below) Please include your street address in case our equipment malfunctions P r o j e c t D i r e c t o r / L e a d e r applicants must include a brief paragraph on their background & interests to receive application Crossroads helps Volunteers/Interns raise funds for the summer; EARLY application is a MUST ==================================================================== MULTI-DISCIPLINARY PROJECTS / RESEARCH / WORK CAMPS / FIELD STUDY ___________________________________________________________________ Ecology & Environment. Traditional Medicine. Oral History. Folklore. Primary Care. Archaeology. Anthropology. Reforestation. Media. <> Distance Learning. Art. Ethnomusicology. Public Health. Construction Wildlife. HUMAN RIGHTS. Computer Literacy. Agric/Farming. Nursing. Teaching/Tutoring. Business Dev. African/Brazilian Language Study. Youth Programs. Recreation. Traditional Religion. Dance. RURAL SOCIOLOGY. Rainforestry ******************************************************************* Also, programs addressing Women's Issues & Female Circumcision / Genital Mutilation [FGM] carried out with sensitivity for local customs/practices C O U N T R I E S: Botswana, The Gambia, Ghana, Eritrea, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Guinea Bissau, Ethiopia, Malawi, Mali, Benin and Brazil (in South America) _______________________________ Operation Crossroads is a non-profit 501(3)(C) organization Credited by JF Kennedy for inspiring creation of the Peace Corps Celebrating 40 yrs of service and 10,000 Volunteers "Good ideas without action don't accomplish much" Info Technology/Distance Learning Conference being organized for Accra, Ghana (W. Africa) for December 10 - 14 1997 * mark calendars! _____________________________ (IUN) Inter-University Netowrk University Services-Internships & Careers Plz post/forward/share ------------------------------ End of mystara-digest V2 #2 *************************** mystara-digest Friday, February 14 1997 Volume 02 : Number 003 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 11 Feb 1997 19:27:35 -0700 (MST) From: "Cthulhudrew, The Great Old One" Subject: Re: [Mystara] Myoshima/Patera stuff (fwd) On Sun, 9 Feb 1997, Daniel Boese wrote: > I volunteer for this one. Mind you, the calendar would be rather > different depending on where on Patera you are. One of my biggest problems when trying to work on my Patera information... I should have paid more attention in Astronomy. :p > Hm... to help avoid confusion, maybe we should use "Patera" to refer to > the moon, and "Myoshima" for the Empire. Or not, if it's obvious. I agree. I have taken to calling the moon by it's (Mystaran?) name of Patera, and Myoshima as just being the Empire. Perhaps Haldemar's use of Myoshima in reference to the moon as a whole has to do with the fact that he only encountered the Myoshimans themselves, who seem to be more than a little imperialistic and self important. > > Rajahstan- I gather that this is based on India, but given size > > constraints (Myoshima isn't that large a world, and SE Asia is a huge > > area), and not wanting to duplicate other material (spec. Sind), I > > decided to base Rajahstan on the four Hinduized areas of SE Asia- Laos, > > Burma, Cambodia, and Thailand. > Well, considering that there's a region in India called Rajasthan, India > seems a reasonable start. I'm not well-informed about SE Asia myself, so > I'll take your word for any data there. I have it on good authority that India was the inspiration for Rajahstan (I didn't know about the region called Rajastan, btw. Thanks. :) My reason for wanting to make a change was mainly so that there wouldn't be so much duplication of cultures- one of my favorite things about Mystara is that there are so many diverse and unusual cultures- and I sort of hoped to make them a bit different. > > Selimpore- My thinkings that this is based on the tiny yet rich city > > state of Singapore. > "A mercantile matriarchy", quoth the Dragon (#160). If Singapore counts > as one of "many loosely allied petty kingdoms and principalities" - and > city-states are one form of principality - this sounds reasonable. The whole region of SE Asia, during pre-Islamic times tended to be one of many petty kingdoms and city states, rising and falling over the course of time. There were many major port cities along the trade route between india (and the west) and the Orient. Singapore was the most recent of them, and arguably the most important and successful. > > Surabayang- I've based this loose confederacy of pirates on Indonesia > > (Surabaya is a city on the isle of Java in Indonesia... or is it on > > Sumatra?) > Don't forget that Patera is "mostly covered by steaming jungles and > earthquake-prone volcanic mountains that surround three freshwater seas." > Surabayang would probably claim one, or possibly parts of two, of these > seas. I agree- more on this later. :) > > Malacayog- Though head hunting is a common cultural trait found in SE > > Asia, I've based the head hunters of Malacayog on Malaysia. > > (Actually, I've recently been told by Bruce that he based Malacayog on > > pre-spanish colonial Philippines, rather than Malaysia. Thanks, Bruce! :) > Hm... here's an interesting question: should we accept Mr. Heard's > unpublished comments, or take things up ourselves from just what was > published? I lean towards the former, but we'll probably end up combining > the two - especially since I'm naive enough not to know the difference > between ancient Malaysia and the Philippines. :) I'm not too sure myself, to be quite honest. My reasoning for Malaysia was primarily due to the similarity between names- Malaysia, Malacayog. As it is, I'm sort of more inclined to the Philippines version, if only because the Philippines take up less surface area than Malaysia, and will be easier to fit onto a map of Patera. (For the record, this is part of what I said "More on this" above. My idea was to basically transplant the map of Southeast Asia, plus Japan, and minus one or two other extraneous spots, onto our globe of Patera.) > > Kompor-Thap- The land of a thousand hidden temples seems based on Burma, > > but I've sort of combined this aspect of that land with Tibetan culture. > > Basically, rather than Hindus, the Kompor-Thap are more strictly Buddhist > > (I'm not actually using these religions, just as an example for you all). > > (Another note or two- Bruce was basing this region on a combination of > > Burma and Cambodia. > By all means, base the valley of Komor-Thap on Burma (and possibly > Cambodia). > > > My thinking is to populate it with Pachydermions, as > > opposed to Rakasta. Any thoughts on this?) > Hm... "The vast majority of the sentient population is made of various > breeds of rakasta". Perhaps Komor-Thap is an analogue of Shangri-La... > mind you, I would still like to see some phanatons gliding about the > jungles. :) My thinking was that the Pachydermions were sort of isolated in this one area. They are powerful and influential enough to keep more aggressive Rakasta from their territory, and yet not interested in expanding themselves. Elephants are not uncommon in the sort of climate that Patera seems to cover, and these guys have never really fit much of anywhere else. I just sort of liked the thought of having perhaps one other intelligent race there on Patera. > > Anyway, I figure I'll pretty much just use the maps of SE Asia and Japan > > as is, to map out Patera's surface. > Um. I'm not sure this is an especially good idea, easy as it might seem. > To re-quote: "Patera is mostly covered by steaming jungles and earthquake- > prone volcanic mountains that surround three freshwater seas. Rain clouds > cover a third of Patera at all times, and precipitation is abundant. The > two polar areas of the moon offer at worst a temperate climate." > So, we have a hot, volcanic, quite humid moon to work with. Mostly land, > with only three seas. The poles are warm temperate climes. It works out pretty well- I've calculated the surface area of Patera to something like 240,000,000 sq. miles, and the surface area of portions of SE Asia that I'm thinking of, plus an approximation of the size of Japan, comes to around 160,000,000 sq. miles- about 60% land. (Note, I'm going from rote memory here, these numbers may not be what I've actually worked out... :( Also, I figure that Patera must have numerous wormhole access to both the Planes of Fire and Water, if only to help account for its unusual climate. > Should all of Patera be claimed by some nation or other, or should there > be regions that not even the hardiest rakasta lays a claim to? A good question, and I figure that with some of the broken island chains, etc. there is still quite a bit of free area to work with. Remember the scale we're working with- even if Patera is substantially smaller than Mystara, it still covers quite a huge amount of area. SE Asia is one of the largest regions (in rough sq. mileage) in the world; not to mention it's vast diversity of wildlife and cultures. > Are the nations like modern nations, each one giant lump, or do they > have colonies, territories, and uninhabited/able areas? I have a few thoughts here, tied in with the nature of the Rakasta. As I see it, the Rakasta should be as culturally and ethnically diverse as humans of Mystara- if only due to the fact that there are so many different species of cats (in the real world). My view is that the Rakasta are mainly related to Tigers, with mixed amounts of other representatives. Thing is, as far as I can determine, there is only one type of large cat found in Japan. My theory here was that this type of Myoshiman Rakasta is very territorial, and very prejudicial. The Myoshiman Rakasta are xenophobic and aggressive (IMO). Rather than dominate other Rakasta, they'd prefer to wipe them out. Just a few thoughts on my end, though. > Are there any extra-Mystarestrial influences, beings, races, or nations > (Perhaps the illithids are trying to build a spelljamming base in an > isolated locale - Patera seems to be "Class M" for them, based on the > Dragon (I forget which > issue) article, "The Sunset World".). Interesting theory. If there are Phanatons, they would definitely be an "otherworldly influence". I could also see perhaps some colonies of the Emerondian peoples here on Patera (beleagured though they might be). More on this below... :) > What other sentient races exist on (or in!) Patera? Pachydermions seem a > good idea, as do phanatons... have any humanoids migrated from Mystara, or > is Patera goblin-free? Are there any humans or demi-humans, such as > stranded Heldanners? Pachydermions, isolated in their valley is one thought we've discussed. I like the thought of Phanatons (they seem appropriate to the climate). Another thought I've had is that perhaps Patera is the original homeworld of the Tabi- the monkey-cats from X4 and PC2. They might be relatives of the Rakasta. I also seem to recall that they hail from more tropical environments such as Patera. I was also thinking that perhaps the Rajastanians hunt (non-intelligent) Orangutans and other primates for sport, much as Indians hunted tigers on the real world. Which might help explain why the Myoshimans at least seemed to harbor such disdain for the humans of the Princess Ark and the Heldanners ("I don't like him- he looks like an ape...") > 451 AC, actually (quoth the Timeline-keeper :) ). And there's already a > shapeshifing-dominated Sindhi culture in the Hollow World - it was in the > Nightwail/Nightstorm/Nighthowl adventure trilogy. I recall- which, incidentally is sort of where I got the idea for the Pachydermions. They could be followers of that elephant immortal in Nightrage, Ganetra. Also, given the preponderance of Rakasta on Patera, I thought that some high placed Rakshasa (an AD&D monster, I know, but it's one I'd be willing to make a concession to. ;) would fit in perfectly. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 11 Feb 1997 19:41:18 -0700 (MST) From: "Cthulhudrew, The Great Old One" Subject: Re: [Mystara] Where did the Hivebrood come from? On Mon, 10 Feb 1997, Daniel Boese wrote: > Does anybody know what adventure module the Hivebrood came from? They > seem to be complex enough to have the entire module based around them.. I don't know that they originated in any particular adventure, though they were featured in an adventure in DUNGEON magazine (I think #7? #9?). Anyway, I think they debuted in the original Creature Catalog. I was a little disappointed in the adventure in DUNGEON- I had hoped it might be more of a political thriller instead of what it was. Still a good adventure, though. :) ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 12 Feb 1997 00:42:07 -0600 (CST) From: Daniel Reece Buhler Subject: Re: [Mystara] Immortals and Worshippers... On Sun, 13 Aug 1995, Leroy Van Camp III wrote: > Intersting... despite the fact I have read WotI cover to cover, this > section slipped my mind. > Out of curiosity, does anyone who has the gold box Immortal rules > know if it had a similar ruling? Don't know off hand, but I could check. Later, D.R. Buhler ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 12 Feb 1997 00:47:42 -0600 (CST) From: Daniel Reece Buhler Subject: [Mystara] A Greeting, and a ? Hey, all. New to the list here, so thought I'd say "Hi!" before I lapse into lurking. So, hi! Anyways, I'm a LONG-TIME D&D player. I've got all the Gazeteers for Mystara (the old basic D&D), and I was wondering something. Can anyone out there tell me it they figure its worth my time/money to purchase the new stuff? I mean, how much really new material is in there, and how much is just a re-hash of the old stuff. Brief reviews would be appreciated. Also, what, exactly, is on all the CD's? Are they worth it? The reason I as is that the local shop has second hands of all the material, so I need to know if I'm gonna be wasting my money or not. Thanks, all. Later, D.R. Buhler ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 12 Feb 1997 12:00:42 +0100 (MET) From: Morten Helles Subject: Re: [Mystara] A Greeting, and a ? In my opinion you should only buy the following: Wrath of the Immortals Champions of Mystara Poor Wizards Almanac AC 1010 The rest: Karameikos Boxed set Glantri Boxed set Poor Wizards Almanac AC 1011+ is just updates of previous material to AC 1010. The old material will do just fine. The CD-ROMs in the boxed sets really sucks; Did the people of TSR think their gamers are 5 years old? I trust you already have the Hollow World material. Otherwise, buy it! (ex- cept for the adventure modules). Regards, Morten. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 12 Feb 1997 14:36:48 +0200 (EET) From: Aleksej Andrievskij Subject: Re: [Mystara] A Greeting, and a ? On Wed, 12 Feb 1997, Daniel Reece Buhler wrote: > > Hey, all. New to the list here, so thought I'd say "Hi!" before I > lapse into lurking. So, hi! > Anyways, I'm a LONG-TIME D&D player. I've got all the Gazeteers > for Mystara (the old basic D&D), and I was wondering something. Can > anyone out there tell me it they figure its worth my time/money to > purchase the new stuff? I mean, how much really new material is in there, > and how much is just a re-hash of the old stuff. Brief reviews would be > appreciated. > Also, what, exactly, is on all the CD's? Are they worth it? The > reason I as is that the local shop has second hands of all the material, > so I need to know if I'm gonna be wasting my money or not. > Thanks, all. > The new AD&D Mystara stuff takes place after the Great War, in 2012 AC and beyond. Joshuan's Almanac describes events for 2013 and is fun to read. Glantri: Kingdom of Magic is also pretty good, updating much Glantri info. I love the Mark of Amber Adventure, featuring the return of... don't want to spoil it! There are some minor inconsistencies, though, like: Diane de Moriamis (countess of Malinbois) was originally an old lady with a wig - now she is young and beautiful. Aleksei ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 12 Feb 1997 13:55:07 -0500 (EST) From: TSRBruce@aol.com Subject: Re: [Mystara] A Greeting, and a ? In a message dated 97-02-12 11:05:19 EST, Aleksei wrote: >Diane de >Moriamis (countess of Malinbois) was originally an old lady with a wig - >now she is young and beautiful. Perhaps she found a fountain of youth since the previous accessory!? ;) Bruce Heard ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 12 Feb 97 15:16:17 EST From: Geoff Gander Subject: Re: [Mystara] Timeline v1.2 part 11 Hi Dan, Just one question. Where did you get the info on the conquest of the Heldannic Territories by the Hattians? Aside from general info, I could find no exact timeline as to when it exactly happened. Thanx, Geoff - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Geoff Gander Political Science IV Carleton University General wanderer by principle, adventurer by profession Email address: ggander@chat.carleton.ca - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 12 Feb 1997 17:50:09 -0500 (EST) From: TSRBruce@aol.com Subject: Re: [Mystara] Myoshima/Patera stuff (fwd) In a message dated 97-02-11 21:29:57 EST, you write: >Perhaps Haldemar's use of >Myoshima in reference to the moon as a whole has to do with the fact that >he only encountered the Myoshimans themselves, who seem to be more than a >little imperialistic and self important. Correct. Haldemar did not have the opportunity to visit the rest of the moon, thus his assumption that Myoshima controlled all of Patera. >> Should all of Patera be claimed by some nation or other, or should there >> be regions that not even the hardiest rakasta lays a claim to? > >A good question, and I figure that with some of the broken island chains, >etc. there is still quite a bit of free area to work with. Remember the >scale we're working with- even if Patera is substantially smaller than >Mystara, it still covers quite a huge amount of area. SE Asia is one of >the largest regions (in rough sq. mileage) in the world; not to mention >it's vast diversity of wildlife and cultures. If the size of the moon is a problem here's a weird fix. Assume that anything within a certain distance of the moon shrinks to a smaller size. This would From ???@??? Sat Feb 15 11:33:40 1997 Return-Path: Received: from lists.io.com by bohm.anu.edu.au (SMI-8.6/SMI-SVR4) id EAA09119; Sat, 15 Feb 1997 04:22:51 +1100 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by lists.io.com (8.8.5/8.8.5) id KAA27623 for mystara-digest-outgoing; Fri, 14 Feb 1997 10:54:00 -0600 Date: Fri, 14 Feb 1997 10:54:00 -0600 Message-Id: <199702141654.KAA27623@lists.io.com> From: (mystara-digest) To: mystara-digest@lists.io.com Subject: mystara-digest V2 #3 Reply-To: mystara-l@lists.io.com Precedence: bulk X-UIDL: 6a7b735ef0b6c6d6270208037bcb282c means that the moon is in fact much larger to its inhabitants than it would appear from the outside. Of course, this poses several problems -- all items carried by outside visitors and visiting ships would also have to shrink/unshrink everytime they travel to/from Patera, grains of sand on this moon would look more like small pebbles, etc. Laws of physics may get a bit weird too. Just a thought. Bruce Heard ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 13 Feb 1997 00:57:53 +0100 From: Peter Balazs Subject: [none] Hi! I just wanted to know, if I am off the list, if it´s down, or if just nothing is happening! Thanks *************************************************************************** Peter Balazs (a9003307@unet.univie.ac.at) http://radon.mat.univie.ac.at/~pbalazs *************************************************************************** ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 13 Feb 1997 13:25:17 +0200 (EET) From: Aleksej Andrievskij Subject: Re: [Mystara] A Greeting, and a ? On Wed, 12 Feb 1997 TSRBruce@aol.com wrote: > >Diane de > >Moriamis (countess of Malinbois) was originally an old lady with a wig - > >now she is young and beautiful. > > Perhaps she found a fountain of youth since the previous accessory!? ;) > Well, all the better for the good Malachie du Marais... who seems to have cut his hair (he is pictured long-haired in Poor Wiz's Almanac and short-haired in Glantri: KoM). ;) Aleksei ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 13 Feb 1997 07:26:52 -0500 (EST) From: ChanDog21@aol.com Subject: [Mystara] Fwd: Please post this... -Forwarded In a message dated 97-02-11 08:00:18 EST, kroberts@compucom.com (KOREY ROBERTSON) writes: << ello everyone! Important to all of us, we cannot let this happen: I am writing you this to inform you of a very important matter currently under review by the FCC. Your local telephone company has filed a proposal with the FCC to impose per minute charges for your internet service. They contend that your usage has or will hinder the operation of the telephone network. It is my belief that internet usage will diminish if users were required to pay additional per minute charges. The FCC has created an email box for your comments, responses must be received by February 13, 1997. Send your comments to isp@fcc.gov and tell them what you think. Every phone company is in on this one, and they are trying to sneak it in just under the wire for litiagation. Let everyone you know hear this one. Get the e-mail address to everyone you can think of which is isp@fcc.gov Please forward this email to all your friends on the internet so all our voices may be heard! Thank you all! Michael Bitar Branch 36 >> - --------------------- Forwarded message: From: kroberts@compucom.com (KOREY ROBERTSON) To: ChanDog21@aol.com, rrphlegar@mymail.net, cboyle@VNET.IBM.COM Date: 97-02-11 08:00:18 EST Date: Tue, 11 Feb 1997 03:49:39 -0600 From: Karim Bitar To: NHughes@Compcuom.com,GDONAHUE@Compucom, JBOMBKA@Compucom, JMERCHAK@Compucom, TREID@Compucom, TWILMS@Compucom, acoppa@compucom.com, adefrang@compucom.com, ahernand@compucom.com, angonzal@compucom.com, bmorton@compucom.com, bruggier@compucom.com, cbeaureg@compucom.com, cc004@compucom.com, cc005@compucom.com, cc007@compucom.com, cc026@compucom.com, closse@compucom.com, CShort@Compucom.com, dbuccine@compucom.com, ddususin@compucom.com, dgopal@compucom.com, djaramil@compucom.com, djordan@compucom.com, djump@compucom.com, dkeilty@compucom.com, dlewis@compucom.com, dperez@compucom.com, DSMITH@compucom.com, dwisk@compucom.com, ebetanco@compucom.com, eschweik@compucom.com, etaylor@compucom.com, falbarra@compucom.com, fford@compucom.com, gherzog@compucom.com, gmitchel@compucom.com, gschenac@compucom.com, HHimmel@Compucom.com, hmover@compucom.com, igurler@compucom.com, jajones@compucom.com, jbuczek@compucom.com, jdownes@compucom.com, jeickman@compucom.com, jgutkows@compucom.com, jjackson@compucom.com, jmarcum@compucom.com, joyjones@compucom.com, jraos@compucom.com, jrubiani@compucom.com, JRuscans@Compucom.com, jsnyder@compucom.com, jstevens@compucom.com, JVelez@Compucom.com, JWARE@Compucom.com, kedelman@compucom.com, LBernard@Compucom.com, lmusa@compucom.com, lthomas@compucom.com, marphill@compucom.com, mbachett@compucom.com, mbrown@compucom.com, mcarroll@compucom.com, mcatucci@compucom.com, MCONNER@Compucom.com, mdimarsi@compucom.com, mdonegan@compucom.com, mduquesn@compucom.com, mhenders@compucom.com, mlevitt@compucom.com, mli@compucom.com, mlouderb@compucom.com, mredmond@compucom.com, mschall@compucom.com, mvolikas@compucom.com, nfoster@compucom.com, NMedina@Compucom.com, nmocarsk@compucom.com, pabel@compucom.com, PAnger@Compucom.com, pborri@compucom.com, pduquesu@compucom.com, ppatel@compucom.com, ramartin@compucom.com, RBuck@Compucom.com, rcooke@compucom.com, rdavis@compucom.com, rquinone@compucom.com, rviccica@compucom.com, SBONCIC@Compucom.com, schampio@compucom.com, sdestefa@compucom.com, shaskoor@compucom.com, stesmith@compucom.com, TConner@Compucom.com, tfederma@compucom.com, twheeler@compucom.com, vmattia@compucom.com, wkubala@compucom.com, maspence@ompucom.com Subject: Please post this... Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain Content-Disposition: inline Hello everyone! Important to all of us, we cannot let this happen: I am writing you this to inform you of a very important matter currently under review by the FCC. Your local telephone company has filed a proposal with the FCC to impose per minute charges for your internet service. They contend that your usage has or will hinder the operation of the telephone network. It is my belief that internet usage will diminish if users were required to pay additional per minute charges. The FCC has created an email box for your comments, responses must be received by February 13, 1997. Send your comments to isp@fcc.gov and tell them what you think. Every phone company is in on this one, and they are trying to sneak it in just under the wire for litiagation. Let everyone you know hear this one. Get the e-mail address to everyone you can think of which is isp@fcc.gov Please forward this email to all your friends on the internet so all our voices may be heard! Thank you all! Michael Bitar Branch 36 ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 12 Feb 1997 23:26:35 -0500 (EST) From: Daniel Boese Subject: Re: [Mystara] Timeline v1.2 part 11 On Wed, 12 Feb 1997, Geoff Gander wrote: > Just one question. Where did you get the info on the conquest of > the Heldannic Territories by the Hattians? Aside from general info, I > could find no exact timeline as to when it exactly happened. 950 AC: A small but powerful army of Hattian clerics of the Immortal Vanya conquer the Heldannic Territories. Freiburg falls; Halvardson family massacred. 952 AC: Siege of Altendorf, last Heldann city to surrender. The conquerors rename the Heldannic Freehold the Heldannic Territories; the Thyatian Order of Vanya is recast as the Heldannic Knights. Well, these particular dates I got from Joshuan's Almanac. They might have been mentioned elsewhere, but I don't recall exactly where. - -- Daniel Boese dboese@freenet.npiec.on.ca ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 12 Feb 1997 23:31:28 -0500 (EST) From: Daniel Boese Subject: Re: [Mystara] Myoshima/Patera stuff (fwd) On Wed, 12 Feb 1997 TSRBruce@aol.com wrote: > If the size of the moon is a problem here's a weird fix. Assume that anything > within a certain distance of the moon shrinks to a smaller size. This would > means that the moon is in fact much larger to its inhabitants than it would > appear from the outside. Of course, this poses several problems -- all items > carried by outside visitors and visiting ships would also have to > shrink/unshrink everytime they travel to/from Patera, grains of sand on this > moon would look more like small pebbles, etc. Laws of physics may get a bit > weird too. Just a thought. My, oh my... this would make for an interesting little extra. If Patera is merely an extreme case, due to its core, it might also help explain things like why when a voidship is far from a planet, it goes faster. (Also, why wouldn't grains of Pateran sand be the right relative size? :) ) Anyway, if anybody wants to expand on this idea, please, feel free.. I would, except I'm in the middle of the Myoshiman calendar. - -- Daniel Boese dboese@freenet.npiec.on.ca ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 13 Feb 1997 10:13:55 -0800 From: "Jenni A. M. Merrifield" Subject: [Mystara] Concerning The Recent FCC Proposal on ISPs To all: Sorry to those lists where this information is a bit off topic, however although I am from Canada, and do not feel that I have the right to comment on this issue directly, I felt that notification of this issue should be spread to as many US Citizens as possible. This information was passed to me by a friend. I have verified the authenticity of the information and e-address supplied by checking the FCC web site, where more information about the ISP Proposal can be found at . Yours, Jenni A. M. Merrifield - -=> strawberryJAMM <=- >---------- Forwarded message ---------- > >We are writing you this to inform you of a very important matter >currently under review by the FCC. Your local telephone company has >filed a proposal with the FCC to impose per minute charges for your >internet service. They contend that your usage has or will hinder the >operation of the telephone network. > >It is our belief that internet usage will diminish if users were >required to pay additional per minute charges. The FCC has created an >email box for your comments, responses must be received by February >13, 1997. Send your comments to isp@fcc.gov and tell them what you >think. > >Every phone company is in on this one, and they are trying to sneak >it in just under the wire for litiagation. Let everyone you know here >this one. Get the e-mail address to everyone you can think of. > >isp@fcc.gov > >Please forward this email to all your friends on the internet so all >our voices may be heard! - -- Jenni A. M. Merrifield <==> strawberryJAMM Designs strawberry@jamm.com <==> http://www.jamm.com/ <------------------------------------------------------------------> God created Light. Then Earth, Vegetables, Animals, Man and Woman. Then God started to think: "I should create things *I* like!" And God said: "Let There Be Strawberries!" ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 13 Feb 1997 21:34:31 +0100 From: Fabrizio Paoli Subject: [Mystara] Tangs and trade bars The Ethengarian coins are called Tangs. These Tangs come in many denominations (1,5 and 10) and made of the five different ores: platinum, gold, silver, electrum and copper. But the Great Khan made also trade metal bars, that come in denomination of 50, 100, 500, 1000 and 10000 Tangs. My questions: 1) Are these trade bars made only of gold or also of the other ores, like the coins ? 2) What's the encumbrance of these trade bars ? Because it's unreasonable that a 1000 gp trade bars weighs 1000 cn, like 1000 1 gp coins. 3) Don't you think strange that the only place in Mystara where there're trade bars (correct me if I'm wrong) is Ethengar and not Darokin, where there's a "modern" economical system. Using trade brade is almost like using paper-money (or fungus-money, like the Shadowelves' Kalafi), because the value of the trade bar is not the gold worth out of which the trade bar is made, but the number (50, 100...) that's written on the bar. ************** Fabrizio Paoli brizio@lunet.it s153349@studenti.ing.unipi.it DM in City Of The Stars - PC in the Forgotten Realms Leader of Privateers - Trip Bomb Master - Lord of Firewalkers Home Page:http://www.ing.unipi.it/~s153349/index.html ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 13 Feb 1997 12:34:45 -0800 From: "Olivia C. Williamson" Subject: [Mystara] RE: Concerning The Recent FCC Proposal on ISPs Actually, nowhere in the Notice of Inquiry does it say that there is a proposal to charge end-users per-minute access charges for data calls. Please do not further distribute this notice that claims that: it is false. Most of the notice concerns how local companies and long-distance carriers should charge for the fees required to provide interstate access. It's pretty dull, and would mostly shuffle around charges, not ask for new ones. The part talking about internet access is further down, and is fairly well-balanced, recognizing that calls to ISPs impose a different sort of load on the system than voice calls. It asks for comments about how this can best be handled, explicitly stating that no new charges are expected to be imposed immediately. If you do want to submit comments, read the whole thing carefully, don't go blasting off a half-baked angry notice about per-minute end-user charges. The comment period has been extended until March 24, 1997. If you want to comment, I urge you to read the entire notice. The home page for it is at http://www.fcc.gov/isp.html. Once you are there, either read the text version, or download the WordPerfect or Acrobat formatted versions. - - Olivia Williamson On Thu, 13 Feb 1997 10:13:55 -0800 "Jenni A. M. Merrifield" wrote: > Sorry to those lists where this information is a bit off topic, however > although I am from Canada, and do not feel that I have the right to comment > on this issue directly, I felt that notification of this issue should be > spread to as many US Citizens as possible. > This information was passed to me by a friend. I have verified the > authenticity of the information and e-address supplied by checking the > FCC web site, where more information about the ISP Proposal can be found - ---------------------- Olivia C. Williamson Expert Partner Program Manager, SUL/AIR Stanford University (415) 723-1474 olivia@sulmail.stanford.edu ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 13 Feb 1997 21:14:28 -0700 (MST) From: "Cthulhudrew, The Great Old One" Subject: Re: [Mystara] Myoshima/Patera stuff (fwd) On Mon, 10 Feb 1997 TSRBruce@aol.com wrote: > That's a good point. The expunging of rakastas makes perfect sense, > especially in the light of the article I wrote about lupins (the very next > issue of DRAGON). The article implies an important community of lupins in > Ochalea (among many other places on Mystara), various sub-breeds of lupins > specific to this "oriental" setting. Of course, we don't have to agree that > lupins necessarily dislike rakastas, but it would easy to assume so. Oooh! When is this issue coming out? What number is it? (I'm not up to date on Dragon, as I stopped collecting it around the time of the last Princess Ark articles...) This one's a definite must get, though. :) ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Feb 1997 10:56:05 +0200 (EET) From: Anias Pasi Subject: Re: [Mystara] Tangs and trade bars > The Ethengarian coins are called Tangs. These Tangs come in many > denominations (1,5 and 10) and made of the five different ores: platinum, > gold, silver, electrum and copper. > But the Great Khan made also trade metal bars, that come in denomination of > 50, 100, 500, 1000 and 10000 Tangs. > My questions: > 1) Are these trade bars made only of gold or also of the other ores, like > the coins ? Most would be Gold I believe, though the cheeper ones might be found in silver too (50, 100) and the more expensive ones (1000, 10000) might be found in platinium too (though rarely). I dont have any 'official' info of this though. > 2) What's the encumbrance of these trade bars ? Because it's unreasonable > that a 1000 gp trade bars weighs 1000 cn, like 1000 1 gp coins. Considering the way the ethengars live, i should guess they do weight the amount they value, plus maybe a bit more. You see, in a society like this, there should anyway be a store of gold big enough to cover all the tradebars, should their true value be less than their From ???@??? Sat Feb 15 11:33:40 1997 Return-Path: Received: from lists.io.com by bohm.anu.edu.au (SMI-8.6/SMI-SVR4) id EAA09119; Sat, 15 Feb 1997 04:22:51 +1100 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by lists.io.com (8.8.5/8.8.5) id KAA27623 for mystara-digest-outgoing; Fri, 14 Feb 1997 10:54:00 -0600 Date: Fri, 14 Feb 1997 10:54:00 -0600 Message-Id: <199702141654.KAA27623@lists.io.com> From: (mystara-digest) To: mystara-digest@lists.io.com Subject: mystara-digest V2 #3 Reply-To: mystara-l@lists.io.com Precedence: bulk X-UIDL: 6a7b735ef0b6c6d6270208037bcb282c exchange value. And it would be wery hard for the khan to store gold in such amounts, while being on the road as much as he is. Naturally the 10000 tang bars would be quite rare, as they are really big (500 kg). Not too big to carry in wagons, but a true challenge for any would be thiefs :) And while we are on the subject... I do consider it really disturbing the way the money weights in mystara. Just think about it. A Bar of 500 kg, made of gold, but only worth of a couple of houses, or a small sailinship. Getting enough of this, I changed it in my games a year ago. In my games the coin now weights 10 grams (not 50 as it did). Also cost's of some eweryday products like food is lowered a bit, while good weapons, good armor and such got a raise. (good armor meaning metal armors, excpecially plate-armor). I believe I now have a more realistic, and at least more to my taste campaing; the gold isn't too heavy to carry around, you can live with a copper or two a day, if you have to (most would't want though, the standard for 1-5 level beginning heroes is more like a gold a day, if they dont own a house themselves), and the armor you inherited from your father is really valuable too (beside sentimental value that is, a good plate costing even 2000 gp's, enough to build a house). The armorvalues of players have gone down though, good armor costing, as it does, but it's only good, considering how bad armor all monsters have. And a Knight still has enough income to get a good armor :) > 3) Don't you think strange that the only place in Mystara where there're > trade bars (correct me if I'm wrong) is Ethengar and not Darokin, where > there's a "modern" economical system. Actually I think the Darokians have their system of IOU's. At least in my games they do, and I think it was an official view too, I will have to check though. An IOU (I owe you) is a paper where it is written who owes how much and to whom. Also it is said wether the IOU is tradable forward or not. Usually they are, meaning that the owner of the IOU (the one who is getting the money) can sell the IOU for somebody else, who can then get the money from the one who originally gave the IOU (the seller must signature the IOU and mark it sold). As them are the IOU's are a predecessor for the nowday cheques (sp?). it is a kind of papermoney, where the giver of IOU promises to store the gold for the amount of the IOU, in stead of state, as is it in real money (or was, gold stores are not in use anymore in most states). Also it is possible to have the IOU's changed in cash in banks, if the giver of the IOU has an account. (at least in my games anyway). The biggest banks have offices in all 3-6 biggest cities in Darokin. Though one has to be really rich to get such an account, and also trusted by the bank (all big merchanthouses are). And the IOU is not changed in bank if they know or suspect that there is no money in the account. Also the banks may sell IOU's. They are again changeable in all offices of the bank (unles other noted) and unlike customer IOU's they are changeable allways, as in them the Bank is the one who owes. The bank will get some percentage of the IOU when they sell it though. 5-15% is goo (excample: a bank in darokin City may sell an IOU worth 1000daros and changeable in Darokin City, Selenica and Gorunglai for 1100 daros, getting an profit of 10%). Its costly but easy, and quite safe. > Using trade brade is almost like using paper-money (or fungus-money, like > the Shadowelves' Kalafi), because the value of the trade bar is not the gold > worth out of which the trade bar is made, but the number (50, 100...) that's > written on the bar. as I wrote ahead, I am of different mind, but naturally, ewerybody will have to do as they wants... Pasi - -- X Pasi Anias X p.03 - 2533536 X \\|// X X Sammonkatu 28 A 18 X a122286@proffa X (o o) X X 33540 Tampere X .cc.tut.fi X o000--(_)--000o X ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Feb 1997 12:27:30 +0200 (EET) From: Aleksej Andrievskij Subject: Re: [Mystara] Tangs and trade bars On Thu, 13 Feb 1997, Fabrizio Paoli wrote: > 3) Don't you think strange that the only place in Mystara where there're > trade bars (correct me if I'm wrong) is Ethengar and not Darokin, where > there's a "modern" economical system. Darokin uses clocs, which could be considered "paper money". Aleksei ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Feb 1997 16:05:02 +0100 From: dalmonte@dsc.unibo.it Subject: [Mystara] Names Did someone of you notice that some Alphatians have only ONE name (like Eriadna, Ericall, Zandor) and others have a name and a surname (the Aendyr family)? How can this be? I thought all Alphatians had only ONE name, but then those Aendyrs are a real puzzle... and there's also the Princess Ark crew which is an even harder puzzle to solve! Haldemar of Haaken is fine (you surmise "of Haaken" means he's from that town) but then we are told that there's "an important Haaken family made up of other nobles": so what's the truth? Also the same problem you find with Ramissur Zumrulim and Talasar Ecbashur (which is the family name and which is the real surname? i've never figured that out...) So can someone (maybe Bruce Heard?) please explain me how to handle this issue? Oh, and since we're talking about names, tell me which one is the right one: Lornce N'Jozee (as first stated in Alphatia & Thyatis boxed set) or Lornce M'Jozee (as stated everywhere else)? Thanx and bye! DM Omne ignotum pro magnifico (That which is not known is enchanting) ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Feb 1997 16:06:42 +0100 From: dalmonte@dsc.unibo.it Subject: [Mystara] Digest Can someone tell me where i can find all previous posted articles of this list? Thank you! Omne ignotum pro magnifico (That which is not known is enchanting) ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Feb 1997 08:49:22 +0000 From: collver@dnc.net (Reuben Collver) Subject: [Mystara] (Fwd) isp@fcc.gov - ------- Forwarded Message Follows ------- Date: Tue, 11 Feb 1997 09:05:11 -0800 To: collver@dnc.net (Reuben Collver) From: "Michael J. Tardiff" Subject: Re: (Fwd) Fwd: Re: isp@fcc.gov At 06:25 AM 02/11/1997 +0000, collver@dnc.net wrote: > I found your e-mail address on the Halcyon User's Group homepage. >Do you know if the below rumor has any validity? I would find it >disturbing to see a per-minute charging scheme enforced on all US >Internet Service Providers. Thanks for any reply! At http://www.fcc.gov/isp.html is the following short note on what kind of comments the FCC is seeking. Note that at the end of the request for comments is the following: The Commission made no specific proposals, but tentatively concluded that providers of information services (including Internet service providers) should not be subject to the interstate access charges that local telephone companies currently assess on long-distance carriers. Reed Hundt, chair of the FCC, has recently been quoted saying the same thing. I've appended the short note and the applicable section of the proceeding (longer). This is one of those "Net panics" that come along every so often. While I think some kind of additional arrangements will be made in coming years to deal with today's telco congestion and cost-recovery problem, I don't think that it's going to happen in this FCC proceeding. Sending rational, reasoned, polite comments to the FCC at isp@fcc.gov can't hurt, though; vox populii, and all that. Cheers. + Michael Access Charge Reform NPRM In this proceeding, the FCC seeks to reform its system of interstate access charges to make that system compatible with the pro-competitive deregulatory framework established by the Telecommunications Act of 1996. The NPRM includes several proposals for reform of the Commission's existing access charge rate level policies. The Commission outlines two possible approaches for addressing claims that existing access charge levels are excessive, for establishing a transition to access charges that more closely reflect economic costs, and for deregulating incumbent LEC exchange access services as competition develops in the local exchange and exchange access markets. Comment Date: January 27, 1997 Reply Comment Date: February 13, 1997 Comments on the Access Charge Reform NPRM (FCC 96-488) are now available for downloading. 1/31/97 Internet Access & Information Service Provider NOI The NOI seeks comment on whether the FCC should, in addition to access charge reform, consider actions relating to the implications of information service and Internet access provider usage of the public switched network. In particular, in light of concerns raised over congestion on the public switched network, the Commission seeks comment on how it can most effectively create incentives for the deployment of services and facilities to allow more efficient transport of data traffic to and from end users. The Commission made no specific proposals, but tentatively concluded that providers of information services (including Internet service providers) should not be subject to the interstate access charges that local telephone companies currently assess on long-distance carriers. Comment Date: February 21, 1997 Reply Comment Date: March 24, 1997 - ----------------- >From the complete proceeding: X. NOTICE OF INQUIRY ON IMPLICATIONS OF INFORMATION SERVICE AND INTERNET USAGE 311. In Section VIII.B, above, we tentatively concluded that information service providers should not be subject to interstate access charges as currently constituted. However, the development of the Internet and other information services raise many critical questions that go beyond the interstate access charge system that is the subject of this proceeding. Ultimately, these questions concern no less than the future of the public switched telephone network in a world of digitalization and growing importance of data technologies. Our existing rules have been designed for traditional circuit-switched voice networks, and thus may hinder the development of emerging packet-switched data networks. To avoid this result, we must identify what FCC policies would best facilitate the development of the high-bandwidth data networks of the future, while preserving efficient incentives for investment and innovation in the underlying voice network. In particular, better empirical data are needed before we can make informed judgments in this area. 312. We ask whether, after we complete reform of access charges as contemplated in this proceeding, we should consider any additional actions relating to interstate information services and the Internet. We therefore initiate this Notice of Inquiry, with a separate pleading cycle, to address these issues. Based on the record in response to this Notice of Inquiry, and the decisions we make in the Access Reform Report and Order, we will determine whether to make proposals in this area in a subsequent Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. 313. Many of the concerns now being raised about switch congestion caused by Internet usage arise because virtually all residential users today connect to the Internet -- a packet- switched data network -- through incumbent LEC switching facilities designed for circuit-switched voice calls. The end-to-end dedicated channels created by circuit switches are unnecessary and even inefficient when used to connect an end user to an ISP. We seek comment on how our rules can most effectively create incentives for the deployment of services and facilities to allow more efficient transport of data traffic to and from end users. We invite parties to identify means of addressing the congestion concerns raised by incumbent LECs, for example by deploying hardware to route data traffic around incumbent LEC switches, or by installing new high-bandwidth access technologies such as asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL) or wireless solutions. 314. We seek comment on what regulatory barriers -- at either the state or federal level -- might prevent provision of alternate network access arrangements for information service providers, or might create artificial disincentives against use of such arrangements when they become available. Should we consider using our forbearance or preemption authority to avoid results that would hamper the deployment of new technologies? We also seek comment on how the matters before us in our Local Competition and Universal Service proceedings affect information service providers and raise issues that we need to address in this proceeding. 315. We seek comment on the effects of the current system on network usage, incumbent LEC cost-recovery, and the development of the information services marketplace. We are disinclined to take actions that would stifle, rather than enhance, the development of the Internet, or similar packet-switched networks. We encourage commenters to provide data on the characteristics of information service usage and its effects on the network. We are also particularly interested in data on the incumbent LECs' costs directly related to ESPs' use of the PSTN, on incumbent LECs' revenues attributable to ESP traffic (including second phone line revenue), and in a comparison of what PSTN services ESPs desire, as opposed to what they currently have access to. We seek comment on administrative and technical issues that may arise either under continued operation of the current system or as modified by this proceeding. In particular, we seek comment on jurisdictional, metering, and billing questions, given the difficulty of applying jurisdictional divisions or time-sensitive rates to packet-switched networks such as the Internet. 316. The current division in our rules between basic and enhanced services may not accurately capture the types of companies that provide information services today, and the manner in which these companies use incumbent LEC facilities. There are many kinds of information services, with different usage patterns and effects on the network. For example, arguments about network congestion caused by long hold-time calls would not seem to apply to information services such as telemessaging or credit card validation. We seek comment on whether we should distinguish between different categories of information or enhanced services. In addition, several companies now provide software that allows a voice conversation to be conducted over the Internet. Such "Internet telephony" allows what appears to be a basic service -- voice transmission -- to take place over a packet-switched interactive data network that we have traditionally considered to be an enhanced service. We seek comment on how new services such as Internet telephony, as well as real-time streaming audio and video services over the Internet, should affect our analysis. 317. We seek comment as to whether the issues raised in this Notice of Inquiry should be addressed in any existing proceeding, or a new proceeding. As discussed in Section VIII, above, the Network Reliability and Interoperability Council (NRIC) is also currently evaluating the effects of Internet usage on the voice network. We do not intend for this proceeding to in any way supersede the NRIC's efforts, and we believe that the NRIC's recommendations will complement the record we develop here. Ultimately, a full and open debate about the relationship of information services to the public switched network will benefit all parties. We also strongly encourage interested parties among incumbent LECs and ESPs to work together to identify which technological solutions hold the greatest promise in carrying Internet traffic most efficiently and with the least adverse price impact on consumers. 318. As discussed in Section VIII, above, we have established an electronic mailbox at for submission of informal comments on the treatment of Internet and other information services, and we have made additional information available through our World Wide Web site at . ___________________________________________________________________ Michael J. Tardiff mjt@westernstar.com Western Star Internet Consulting 1 206 528.8102 Seattle, Washington USA 1 500 488.8102 - Internet Strategy, Connectivity, Web Marketing, Public Speaking - "You can doubt all but doubt. Since doubt must exist, so must existence. Doubt requires a consciousness to exist, so there you are. What are you, by the way?" -A Ben ------------------------------ End of mystara-digest V2 #3 *************************** mystara-digest Thursday, February 20 1997 Volume 02 : Number 004 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 14 Feb 97 12:48:02 EST From: Geoff Gander Subject: Re: [Mystara] Names Well, I know that either Ramissur or Talasar (one of them) was actually a Minaean pirate (who commanded the group named "Yodar's Sea Wolves"), so that would explain at least one of them. As to the other, or which one is the Minaean, I can't remember. Geoff - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Geoff Gander Political Science IV Carleton University General wanderer by principle, adventurer by profession Email address: ggander@chat.carleton.ca - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Feb 1997 19:17:02 +0100 (MET) From: Haavard Roenne Faanes Subject: Re: [Mystara] Gareth On Sun, 9 Feb 1997, Daniel Boese wrote: > > Maybe I'm not up on current events, but does anyone know who Gareth is? > > My own suspicion was that it was Benekander, but I have not seen any > > evidence of this. > > Nothing's ever been confirmed by the folks at TSR, but everybody else > guesses that's who Gareth is. After all, if an Immortal goes 10 years > without any worshippers, he fades away... My impression was that he was a really powerful creature. (more powerful than an Initiate) I was thinking more in the lines of an Old One. After all, he mentioned having returned from the vortex. It would also seem to me that this "guy" would play an important role in Mystara's future. Whats Benekander up to these days anyways? Haavard R. Faanes Email: hoc@nvg.unit.no hoc@nvg.nuts.edu http://www.nvg.ntnu.no/~hoc "I didn't spend all those years playing Dungeons and Dragons without learning a bit about courage" -Fox Mulder ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Feb 1997 14:09:54 -0500 (EST) From: Shin Chyang Yu Subject: Re: [Mystara] Tangs and trade bars Anias Pasi pontificated: > > And while we are on the subject... I do consider it really disturbing > the way the money weights in mystara. Just think about it. A Bar of 500 > kg, made of gold, but only worth of a couple of houses, or a small > sailinship. Getting enough of this, I changed it in my games a year ago. > In my games the coin now weights 10 grams (not 50 as it did). Also > cost's of some eweryday products like food is lowered a bit, while good > weapons, good armor and such got a raise. (good armor meaning metal > armors, excpecially plate-armor). I believe I now have a more realistic, > and at least more to my taste campaing; the gold isn't too heavy to carry > around, you can live with a copper or two a day, if you have to (most > would't want though, the standard for 1-5 level beginning heroes is more > like a gold a day, if they dont own a house themselves), and the armor > you inherited from your father is really valuable too (beside sentimental > value that is, a good plate costing even 2000 gp's, enough to build > a house). The armorvalues of players have gone down though, good > armor costing, as it does, but it's only good, considering how bad > armor all monsters have. And a Knight still has enough income to get > a good armor :) > I think this is a good change, as I felt much the same way about the Mystara's economic. I was thinking of change the monetary system to silver based, changing everything that cost say 1 gp to 1 sp instead, thus making money 10 times more valuable. I want to stike a balance that money is not so heavy that you need a packing mule inorder to carry enough money for couple weeks of travling expanses, but still common enough that there are still caravan of gold travling around. If possible, I would like to take a look of your new price list, as I'm thinking of doing the same thing myself. John Yu ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Feb 1997 21:11:08 +0100 (MET) From: Haavard Roenne Faanes Subject: Re: [Mystara] Immortal fading On Mon, 10 Feb 1997, Nicholas C Bambakidis wrote: > Do "worshippers" include those beings on planets and planes besides > Mystara, or do Immortals need to have worshippers on either the outer > world or Hollow world? My own feeling on this is that the great > diversity of Mystara places it among the most important of planets in the > Multiverse, but that many Immortals have a great many other followers on > other planets and in other planes thus not necessarily requiring an > Immortal to have followers on Mystara itself to prevent "fading" Very interesting question. It seems most logical that followers on all planes are equally treated as worshippers. However given the number of planes existing, this would make it impossible to keep track of immortals followers. I use the Primal Order rules de describe my immortals. Using these rules, keeping track of followers is important, since deities within those rules draw power from their followers. Maybe the immortals only can draw power from followers on the prime plane (or the inner planes), since the outer planes are like the immortals' playground. Because of the non-intervention rules of the prime, immortals can draw powers from followers on that plane. (otherwise the immortals could just create more followers?) While I'm at it. What exactly can an immortal do on the prime plane? Whatabout exaulted beings. Do they have any restrictions? Hel summoned Fiends in WotI, but why ist the world crowded by these critters? sorry if this letter is a mess :P Haavard. Haavard R. Faanes Email: hoc@nvg.unit.no hoc@nvg.nuts.edu http://www.nvg.ntnu.no/~hoc "I didn't spend all those years playing Dungeons and Dragons without learning a bit about courage" -Fox Mulder ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Feb 1997 13:20:14 -0700 (MST) From: "Cthulhudrew, The Great Old One" Subject: Re: [Mystara] Names On Fri, 14 Feb 1997 dalmonte@dsc.unibo.it wrote: > Did someone of you notice that some Alphatians have only ONE name (like > Eriadna, Ericall, Zandor) and others have a name and a surname (the Aendyr > family)? How can this be? Remember that Alphatia is a huuuge empire- covering a vast area- and that cultural diversity is very possible; likely even. Just compare it to the United States- even though we all share a similar cultural background, there is much ethnic and racial diversity even within one area- one neighborhood, even. > I thought all Alphatians had only ONE name, but then those Aendyrs are > a real puzzle... and there's also the Princess Ark crew which is an > even harder puzzle to solve! Haldemar of Haaken is fine (you surmise > "of Haaken" means he's from that town) but then we are told that > there's "an important Haaken family made up of other nobles": so what's > the truth? Again, the name thing is a suggestion, not the rule. With a vast empire like Alphatia, it would take somewhere along the lines of the 14 Gazetteers for the Known World just to describe it all (to even begin to make the attempt, even.) My suggestion is to just explain it as the Alphatian nobles come from different areas, and each has his/her own different naming conventions. Also, don't forget that the Aendyrs have lived in Glantri for hundreds of years, and are bound to have picked up 'western' traditions. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Feb 1997 17:39:26 -0700 (MST) From: "Cthulhudrew, The Great Old One" Subject: Re: [Mystara] Tangs and trade bars On Fri, 14 Feb 1997, Anias Pasi wrote: > And while we are on the subject... I do consider it really disturbing > the way the money weights in mystara. Just think about it. A Bar of 500 > kg, made of gold, but only worth of a couple of houses, or a small > sailinship. Getting enough of this, I changed it in my games a year ago. > In my games the coin now weights 10 grams (not 50 as it did). I also think that the weight of the coins is somewhat unreasonable, but don't forget that it isn't entirely weight, but encumbrance- meaning weight + ease of transportation. Transporting 1000 gold coins isn't nearly as easy as carrying only 10 or even 100. > I believe I now have a more realistic, and at least more to my taste > campaing; the gold isn't too heavy to carry around, you can live with a > copper or two a day, if you have to (most would't want though, the > standard for 1-5 level beginning heroes is more like a gold a day, if > they dont own a house themselves), and the armor you inherited from > your father is really valuable too (beside sentimental value that is, a > good plate costing even 2000 gp's, enough to build a house). The > armorvalues of players have gone down though, good armor costing, as it > does, but it's only good, considering how bad armor all monsters have. > And a Knight still has enough income to get a good armor :) I use a system based on Bruce Heard's improved Dominion system in Dragon magazine (in the 180's; not sure exactly which). In other words, gold isn't nearly as common place as it is in the regular rules- most households only produce a few coppers or silvers a day, and that is what they live on. Silver tends to be the most common denomination among adventurers, and I adjust the prices of items using the import/export rules from GAZ's 9 and 11. In one campaign, the characters were rather equipment starved, but that made them make use of their brains and roleplay all the more. They were constantly being told (by other adventurers) that adventuring isn't a very profitable business to get into (unless you happen to hit that mother lode one day... but with all those adventurers out there, the mother lodes tend to be rare. :) Another good system is the one that Gary Gygax uses in his Gord the Rogue books. He explains it in the back of the first book (which, for the life of me, I can't remember). It was one of my favorite books- that and the second one. Too bad the other books in the series weren't quite up to par... ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 Aug 1995 17:47:15 -0600 From: Leroy Van Camp III Subject: [Mystara] [ADMIN] This Whole FCC Thing Needs to End Now! I think the subject sums most of this up. I let the first post through because I think it is an important subject. But this is not FCC-l. Unless you can apply this towards Mystara, no more stuff on this should be sent to the list. Thanks. - -- Leroy Van Camp III | "You know, not kneeing you in the groin malacoda@lesbois.com | is a constant struggle." owner-mystara-l@io.com | MST3K ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Feb 1997 22:03:23 -0500 (EST) From: Daniel Boese Subject: Re: [Mystara] [ADMIN] This Whole FCC Thing Needs to End Now! > I think the subject sums most of this up. I let the first post > through because I think it is an important subject. But this is not > FCC-l. Unless you can apply this towards Mystara, no more stuff on > this should be sent to the list. I've ignored this thread, since I've seen it on 3 other lists. But, LeRoy has thrown up an interesting challenge... is there any way to use the idea of the FCC in Mystara? Perhaps a group of Glantrian wizards, similar to the Alphatian Disease Control group, tries to force a set of regulated standards on sorcery... "for everybody's safety", of course. All spellcasters in Glantri will have to prove their spells fall within "Sphere of Energy emission guidelines" before they get their licenses. And if they have Synn's backing, who knows what their ultimate objective might be? :) - -- Daniel Boese dboese@freenet.npiec.on.ca ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 15 Feb 1997 02:02:54 +0300 From: the.hebert@quasar.com.br Subject: Re: [Mystara] Synn MY>> I think the subject sums most of this up. I let the first post MY>> through because I think it is an important subject. But this is not MY>> FCC-l. Unless you can apply this towards Mystara, no more stuff on MY>> this should be sent to the list. MY> I've ignored this thread, since I've seen it on 3 other lists. But, LeRoy MY>has thrown up an interesting challenge... is there any way to use the idea MY>of the FCC in Mystara? Perhaps a group of Glantrian wizards, similar to MY>the Alphatian Disease Control group, tries to force a set of regulated MY>standards on sorcery... "for everybody's safety", of course. All MY>spellcasters in Glantri will have to prove their spells fall within MY>"Sphere of Energy emission guidelines" before they get their licenses. And MY>if they have Synn's backing, who knows what their ultimate objective might MY>be? MY> :) There is a real Synn in the Mystara timeline ? I thought that he only appeared in the Arcade ( Tower of Doom and Sahdows over Mystara ) . The Arcade history is a real history or the history become real after him ? Hebert Magno mailto:The.Hebert@quasar.com.br ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 15 Feb 1997 02:01:30 -0500 (EST) From: Shin Chyang Yu Subject: Re: [Mystara] [ADMIN] This Whole FCC Thing Needs to End Now! Daniel Boese pontificated: > > I've ignored this thread, since I've seen it on 3 other lists. But, LeRoy > has thrown up an interesting challenge... is there any way to use the idea > of the FCC in Mystara? Perhaps it is because it is 2 in the morning and I haven't got much sleep lately, but I laugh out really loud when I read this. I don't think this was what Leroy had in mind. So will the Mystara FCC will regulate what can be send over telepathy and through crystal balls? :) John Yu ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 15 Feb 1997 15:26:38 +0100 From: Fabrizio Paoli Subject: Re: [Mystara] Tangs and trade bars At 10.56 14/02/97 +0200, Anias Pasi wrote: >> 2) What's the encumbrance of these trade bars ? Because it's unreasonable >> that a 1000 gp trade bars weighs 1000 cn, like 1000 1 gp coins. > >Considering the way the ethengars live, i should guess they do weight >the amount they value, plus maybe a bit more. You see, in a society >like this, there should anyway be a store of gold big enough to >cover all the tradebars, should their true value be less than their >exchange value. And it would be wery hard for the khan to store gold in >such amounts, while being on the road as much as he is. > >Naturally the 10000 tang bars would be quite rare, as they are really >big (500 kg). Not too big to carry in wagons, but a true challenge for >any would be thiefs :) 500 Kg gold ingots? I don't see why. Easier to spend? No. Easier to transport? No. Easier to store' No. The only advantage is that is more difficult to steal a 500 Kg bar, than 10000 coins. On the other hand, I agree with you when you say that, considering how ethengarians live, they should weight the amount they value. Moglai Khan visited various nations of the KW in his youth, probably he saw the trade bar system somewhere, liked it and decided to use it also in his Khanate. But, as often happens, he distorted the system, so that in Ethengar a 10000 tang bar really weighs 500 Kg, because it contains 10000 gp worth of gold. What do you think of this explanation ? >> 3) Don't you think strange that the only place in Mystara where there're >> trade bars (correct me if I'm wrong) is Ethengar and not Darokin, where >> there's a "modern" economical system. > >Actually I think the Darokians have their system of IOU's. Yes, I know they have "CLOC" or Certified Letter Of Credit. I didn't mention them in my previous mail because my question was about Ethengar. ************** Fabrizio Paoli brizio@lunet.it s153349@studenti.ing.unipi.it DM in City Of The Stars - PC in the Forgotten Realms Leader of Privateers - Trip Bomb Master - Lord of Firewalkers Home Page:http://www.ing.unipi.it/~s153349/index.html ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 17 Aug 1995 10:41:33 -0600 From: Leroy Van Camp III Subject: [Mystara] A Thought: Thyatians and Thyatian Karameikians Just an observation... Why is it that the Thyatians are described as an open culture that readily embraces the cultures of others, often integrating them into thier own [1], but the Thyatians of Karameikos are a bunch of haughty, closed minded people who look down on the culture of the Traladarans? [1] Excluding the Hattians, of course. - -- Leroy Van Camp III | "You know, not kneeing you in the groin malacoda@lesbois.com | is a constant struggle." owner-mystara-l@io.com | MST3K ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 15 Feb 1997 16:54:29 -0500 From: Rob Rickard Subject: Re: [Mystara] A Thought: Thyatians and Thyatian Karameikians Leroy Van Camp III wrote: > > Just an observation... > > Why is it that the Thyatians are described as an open culture that > readily embraces the cultures of others, often integrating them into > thier own [1], but the Thyatians of Karameikos are a bunch of haughty, > closed minded people who look down on the culture of the Traladarans? > > [1] Excluding the Hattians, of course. > The Duke of Karameikos has treated the Traladaran people well. I play that it is the Traladaran race that is bitter adn they perceive the Thyatin as closed mainded and only think of conquest. But for the most part I feel that it is water under the bridge by the year 1000. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 15 Feb 1997 16:19:25 -0700 (MST) From: "Cthulhudrew, The Great Old One" Subject: Re: [Mystara] [ADMIN] This Whole FCC Thing Needs to End Now! On Fri, 14 Feb 1997, Daniel Boese wrote: > I've ignored this thread, since I've seen it on 3 other lists. But, LeRoy > has thrown up an interesting challenge... is there any way to use the idea > of the FCC in Mystara? Perhaps a group of Glantrian wizards, similar to > the Alphatian Disease Control group, tries to force a set of regulated > standards on sorcery... "for everybody's safety", of course. Somehow, Glantrian wizards seem a bit too chaotic to organize something like this- I could see it happening in Alphatia, though. Maybe a group of Alphatian/Glantrians, or else some Alphatian expatriates in the Known World decide to organize this, as a control on the dangerous Glantrian wizards... a bit more peaceful than starting a world war, a la WotI. :) ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 15 Feb 1997 16:32:50 -0700 (MST) From: "Cthulhudrew, The Great Old One" Subject: Re: [Mystara] A Thought: Thyatians and Thyatian Karameikians On Thu, 17 Aug 1995, Leroy Van Camp III wrote: > Why is it that the Thyatians are described as an open culture that > readily embraces the cultures of others, often integrating them into > thier own [1], but the Thyatians of Karameikos are a bunch of haughty, > closed minded people who look down on the culture of the Traladarans? It might have something to do with the fact that the Traladarans don't seem particularly inclined to integrating their culture with the Thyatians. (Thyatian snob, sticking his nose up at a Traladaran- "Hmph. I can't believe you wouldn't want to join the most civlized empire in the entire Known World. You must be a bunch of cultureless, backwater hicks. Shine my boots, peasant.") > [1] Excluding the Hattians, of course. I have some theories of my own about the Hattians and their dislike of other cultures- they seem to have much in common with the Alphatians, in this regard. I'm of the mind that the Aalbanese (Alphatian/Thyatian outcasts) are actually more of a Hattian/Alphatian mix (note all the Hattian/Heldannic names). My pet theory is that many of the early migrants to Glantri were Hattian expatriates, fleeing Thyatis after their disastrous revolt of hundreds of years earlier. When the Alphatian control of the land was From ???@??? Fri Feb 21 10:38:16 1997 Return-Path: Received: from lists.io.com by bohm.anu.edu.au (SMI-8.6/SMI-SVR4) id GAA08474; Fri, 21 Feb 1997 06:58:23 +1100 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by lists.io.com (8.8.5/8.8.5) id NAA24649 for mystara-digest-outgoing; Thu, 20 Feb 1997 13:49:21 -0600 Date: Thu, 20 Feb 1997 13:49:21 -0600 Message-Id: <199702201949.NAA24649@lists.io.com> From: (mystara-digest) To: mystara-digest@lists.io.com Subject: mystara-digest V2 #4 Reply-To: mystara-l@lists.io.com Precedence: bulk X-UIDL: 05e3362cdd9bfa8f745d566d41a41f9e broken, and they were forced to flee, the Alphatians and Hattians grudgingly and slowly mixed their cultures- what better breeding could you get, with the Hattian military traditions combined with Alphatian magic use? A very cold and calculated effort at creating the master race... ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 15 Feb 1997 18:35:04 -0500 (EST) From: Kaviyd@aol.com Subject: Re: [Mystara] Names In a message dated 97-02-14 10:09:09 EST, dalmonte@dsc.unibo.it writes: << Did someone of you notice that some Alphatians have only ONE name (like Eriadna, Ericall, Zandor) and others have a name and a surname (the Aendyr family)? How can this be?>> The Aendyrs are Glantrians of Alphatian ancestry -- a slight but critical difference. Presumably all Glantrians have surnames regardless of origin, whereas Alphatians living elsewhere do not. <> I don't have an answer to that one -- I recall reading (but cannot currently locate) a reference indicating that Alphatians typically have only a single name. Does anyone remember where this is stated? However, I have noticed a pattern -- those Alphatian individuals with single names tend to be nobles, whereas those with double names tend to be of lower class origin. It is not clear whether the second name is meant to be a family name or (more likely, considering Alphatian family structure) a nickname that is meant to distinguish a person from others with the same or similar names. Presumably all nobles are given original names and require no further distinction -- from that point on, their names can be given only to commoners, who must add something to the name to distinguish themselves from the original. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 15 Feb 1997 19:33:33 -0500 (EST) From: TSRBruce@aol.com Subject: Re: [Mystara] Myoshima/Patera stuff (fwd) In a message dated 97-02-13 23:17:32 EST, jsmill wrote: << Oooh! When is this issue coming out? >> It's the very next DRAGON Magazine (this *was* the January issue still due from TSR). I'm as impatient as you are to see it shipped! Bruce Heard ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 15 Feb 1997 21:05:25 -0500 (EST) From: Kaviyd@aol.com Subject: Re: [Mystara] Immortal fading In a message dated 97-02-14 15:49:59 EST, hoc@nvg.ntnu.no (Haavard Roenne Faanes) writes: << Because of the non-intervention rules of the prime, immortals can draw powers from followers on that plane. (otherwise the immortals could just create more followers?) >> But creating followers requires a permanent expenditure of power -- and those Immortals who are in danger of fading do not have that amount of power to spend. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 15 Feb 1997 21:05:39 -0500 (EST) From: Kaviyd@aol.com Subject: Re: [Mystara] Synn In a message dated 97-02-14 23:15:56 EST, the.hebert@quasar.com.br writes: << There is a real Synn in the Mystara timeline ? I thought that he only appeared in the Arcade ( Tower of Doom and Sahdows over Mystara ) . The Arcade history is a real history or the history become real after him ? >> You must be talking about a different foe. In the Mystara timeline, Synn is a female night dragon who has never been known to assume a male form. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 15 Feb 97 18:28:43 PST From: "David 'Azure' Leland" Subject: Re: [Mystara] Immortal fading At 09:05 PM 2/15/97 -0500, you wrote: >In a message dated 97-02-14 15:49:59 EST, hoc@nvg.ntnu.no (Haavard Roenne >Faanes) writes: > ><< Because of the > non-intervention rules of the prime, immortals can draw powers from > followers on that plane. (otherwise the immortals could just create more > followers?) >> > >But creating followers requires a permanent expenditure of power -- and those >Immortals who are in danger of fading do not have that amount of power to >spend. There is no contradiction here. I believe Haavard's point was that perhaps only prime plane followers count towards power/fading, and that part of the non-interventionist policy is that no followers can be created on the prime. Otherwise, when Immortals are strong, they could create superloyal and worshipful followers on, for example, their homeplane, make them very fertile, etc., and make sure that fading won't start to happen in the first place. It also gives Immortals a reason to give a damn about mortals on the prime plane, because that's the only place from which they can get followers who "count" in terms of their power and not fading. /~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~\ ~| David "Azure" Leland ~|~ Email: dleland@cogsci.ucsd.edu |~ ~| UCSD Cognitive Science ~|~ Phone/Fax: (619) 642-6709 |~ ~| Oberlin class of 1996 ~|~ Web: http://cogsci.ucsd.edu/~dleland |~ ~| Amateur conguero; Q(O+H)Q(G+W)AEEEBGKUS Mystaran; P75 on Ethernet |~ \~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~/ ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 16 Feb 1997 11:26:46 +0200 (EET) From: Anias Pasi Subject: Re: [Mystara] Tangs and trade bars Fabrizio Paoli wrote: > >Naturally the 10000 tang bars would be quite rare, as they are really > >big (500 kg). Not too big to carry in wagons, but a true challenge for > >any would be thiefs :) > 500 Kg gold ingots? I don't see why. Easier to spend? No. Easier to > transport? No. Easier to store' No. > The only advantage is that is more difficult to steal a 500 Kg bar, than > 10000 coins. There is one more huge advantage: It is a lot more easy to make 1 big gold-bar than it is to stamp 10000 gold coins. I would suggest this is the primary reason for the use of bars in ethengar. The nomands dont have the capasity to make enough coins to cover the need, so they make bigger 'coins'. > On the other hand, I agree with you when you say that, considering how > ethengarians live, they should weight the amount they value. > Moglai Khan visited various nations of the KW in his youth, probably he saw > the trade bar system somewhere, liked it and decided to use it also in his > Khanate. But, as often happens, he distorted the system, so that in Ethengar > a 10000 tang bar really weighs 500 Kg, because it contains 10000 gp worth of > gold. > What do you think of this explanation ? Yes, why not. And also I would believe that the Rockhomes coinage has had some influence here too. Remember, they have various sizes of gold coins too, though only up to 10gp's if I remember correctly. But the khan is a wise man and thinks, why satisfy to coins of half a kilogram when you can make the biggest coins in the world. 'Yes, my son. We truly are the richest peoples in the world. And it is all thanks to the Golden Khan himself. When he took the position he promised to make as to prosper, and that he did. And to prove that we have these, the biggest coins in the whole world. Bars of 10000 tang. The peoples of other worlds, they have only petty cash, coins weighting the same as tangs, but no money for bigger purchases. When they want to bought something bigger, like a couple of new wagons with horses, or weapons to arm an army, they have to collect all the money in their villages. All them little coins, sackfulls of them, and still there is not as much as is the worth of the bars. Yes, my son. Our tribe, our nation, we are truly rich.' > >Actually I think the Darokians have their system of IOU's. > Yes, I know they have "CLOC" or Certified Letter Of Credit. I didn't mention > them in my previous mail because my question was about Ethengar. yes, CLOC's. that was their name... Pasi - -- X Pasi Anias X p.03 - 2533536 X \\|// X X Sammonkatu 28 A 18 X a122286@proffa X (o o) X X 33540 Tampere X .cc.tut.fi X o000--(_)--000o X ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 18 Aug 1995 11:36:58 -0600 From: Leroy Van Camp III Subject: Re: [Mystara] Digest mystara-l@lists.io.com wrote: > > Can someone tell me where i can find all previous posted articles of this list? > Thank you! > Omne ignotum pro magnifico > (That which is not known is enchanting) The Digests from the list, as well as many other items, can be found at the Mystara Mailing List home page at... http://www.io.com/~oryon/mysthome.htm - -- Leroy Van Camp III | "You know, not kneeing you in the groin malacoda@lesbois.com | is a constant struggle." owner-mystara-l@io.com | MST3K ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 18 Feb 1997 10:18:43 +0000 From: dalmonte@dsc.unibo.it Subject: Re: [Mystara] Gareth At 19.17 14/02/97 +0100, you wrote: >On Sun, 9 Feb 1997, Daniel Boese wrote: > >> > Maybe I'm not up on current events, but does anyone know who Gareth is? >> > My own suspicion was that it was Benekander, but I have not seen any >> > evidence of this. >> > >My impression was that he was a really powerful creature. (more powerful >than an Initiate) I was thinking more in the lines of an Old One. After >all, he mentioned having returned from the vortex. It would also seem to >me that this "guy" would play an important role in Mystara's future. Whats >Benekander up to these days anyways? > I read somewhere (PWA 1014 in Herve Musseauh's home page) that Gareth is Benekander, but i've always disliked this idea, mainly because, as you said, Gareth is telling everybody that "he has returned from the Vortex", and Benny has never even seen the Vortex... So i was thinking about Rad.... But then again PWA1014 tells us that Etienne has returned to Glantri and he is no more Rad: he's a mere mortal!!! I think that probably the author misunderstood this one about Rad/Etienne and Benekander, what do you think? But if he's right, well, i'd agree with the Old One option... but then, i don't think he would really mess in the politics of other Immortals, so why is he here?? Any ideas? DM ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 18 Feb 1997 12:08:22 -0800 From: Martin Johansen Subject: [Mystara] Cooperation between players Hi there! I'm a fairly new DM and have started a group in Mystara(AD&D). I took them through the adventures from the Karameikos-box, and the two other adventures from TSR, Night of the vampire and Heroes of Karameikos (the search of Halav's shield). Much too easy, but I added a little of my own! Since I hadn't much background info of Mystara (I'm from Denmark and cannot find the D&D stuff anywhere) I decided to throw them into the mysteries of The Savage Coast. (some powerful wizards whom the party had messed with during the previous adventures sent them there to perish). So I combined some old adventures, some of my own and the stuff from the Red Steel box. Everything went well, but I have one very big problem: I can't really get the player's characters to cooperate. They seem to hang on every little(or big) mistake that some other character have made during their entire companionship. Has anybody outthere some ideas how to make a party cooperate without directly forcing it upon them? I would very much appreciate any comments or suggestions and since it might be a general problem, it could help other DM's (or certain players, hmh ;-) I would also be very happy to receive suggestions on good plots from which to make your own adventures. Right now I am using the brilliant Riftwar-saga by Raymond E. Feist as source and it works really fine. Greetings from Martin Johansen ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 18 Feb 1997 09:18:49 EST From: nbamba@juno.com (Nicholas C Bambakidis) Subject: Re: [Mystara] Gareth On Tue, 18 Feb 1997 10:18:43 +0000 dalmonte@dsc.unibo.it writes: >At 19.17 14/02/97 +0100, you wrote: >>On Sun, 9 Feb 1997, Daniel Boese wrote: >> >>> > Maybe I'm not up on current events, but does anyone know who >Gareth is? >>> > My own suspicion was that it was Benekander, but I have not seen >any >>> > evidence of this. >>> >> >>My impression was that he was a really powerful creature. (more >powerful >>than an Initiate) I was thinking more in the lines of an Old One. >After >>all, he mentioned having returned from the vortex. It would also seem >to >>me that this "guy" would play an important role in Mystara's future. >Whats >>Benekander up to these days anyways? >> >I read somewhere (PWA 1014 in Herve Musseauh's home page) that Gareth >is >Benekander, but i've always disliked this idea, mainly because, as you >said, >Gareth is telling everybody that "he has returned from the Vortex", >and >Benny has never even seen the Vortex... So i was thinking about >Rad.... But >then again PWA1014 tells us that Etienne has returned to Glantri and >he is >no more Rad: he's a mere mortal!!! I think that probably the author >misunderstood this one about Rad/Etienne and Benekander, what do you >think? >But if he's right, well, i'd agree with the Old One option... but >then, i >don't think he would really mess in the politics of other Immortals, >so why >is he here?? >Any ideas? >DM > > It would have been nice if the folks at TSR would have explained this one a little bit better! ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 19 Feb 1997 11:22:58 -0500 From: "Khelbon Blackstaff" Subject: Re: [Mystara] Cooperation between players In regards to your cooperation question concerning your players I can only offer you this advice. I have DMed for over 16 years now and the cooperation you are looking for can be forced upon them but in a very subtle way. Remember that first and foremost you are trying to be a storyteller and an actor. So create instances where they are forced to cooperate and rely upon one another. Place two people who don't get along in a situation where they must. IF they still bicker and fail to cooperate, use it against them. Even if the results are so harsh that one of their characters or more perishes, then it is a lesson they will remember. I hope this helps. There really isn't a formula for this etched in stone. In practical terms too, the more they play together as a group, that is to say if you and your friends get together for years, then you will see more cooperation among them Don - ---------- > From: Martin Johansen > To: Mystara D&D list > Subject: [Mystara] Cooperation between players > Date: Tuesday, February 18, 1997 3:08 PM > > Hi there! > I'm a fairly new DM and have started a group in Mystara(AD&D). I took > them through the adventures from the Karameikos-box, and the two other > adventures from TSR, Night of the vampire and Heroes of Karameikos (the > search of Halav's shield). Much too easy, but I added a little of my > own! > Since I hadn't much background info of Mystara (I'm from Denmark and > cannot find the D&D stuff anywhere) I decided to throw them into the > mysteries of The Savage Coast. (some powerful wizards whom the party had > messed with during the previous adventures sent them there to perish). > So I combined some old adventures, some of my own and the stuff from the > Red Steel box. Everything went well, but I have one very big problem: > I can't really get the player's characters to cooperate. They seem to > hang on every little(or big) mistake that some other character have made > during their entire companionship. > Has anybody outthere some ideas how to make a party cooperate without > directly forcing it upon them? I would very much appreciate any comments > or suggestions and since it might be a general problem, it could help > other DM's (or certain players, hmh ;-) > I would also be very happy to receive suggestions on good plots from > which to make your own adventures. Right now I am using the brilliant > Riftwar-saga by Raymond E. Feist as source and it works really fine. > > Greetings from > Martin Johansen ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 18 Feb 97 17:14:43 EST From: Dave Brohman Subject: Re: [Mystara] Synn Kaviyd@aol.com writes: > << There is a real Synn in the Mystara timeline ? I thought that he only > appeared in the Arcade ( Tower of Doom and Sahdows over Mystara ) . > The Arcade history is a real history or the history become real after > him ? >> > > You must be talking about a different foe. In the Mystara timeline, Synn is > a female night dragon who has never been known to assume a male form. Apparently Synn appears in the Shadows over Mystara game and she is, indeed, the Night Dragon Synn. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Dave Brohman E-Mail : dbrohman@chat.carleton.ca Carleton University Featuring Alexi Sayle as the Balowski Family. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 20 Feb 1997 01:49:00 -0500 From: Rob Rickard Subject: [Mystara] Talasar's symbol In Champions of Mystara & in Dragon Magizine, Princess Ark - every picture of Talasar he has a Black Lion on his tunic over his armor. The symbol of his Immortal, Razud, is a Granite Tree. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 20 Feb 1997 10:00:00 -0700 (MST) From: "Cthulhudrew, The Great Old One" Subject: Re: [Mystara] Talasar's symbol On Thu, 20 Feb 1997, Rob Rickard wrote: > In Champions of Mystara & in Dragon Magizine, Princess Ark - every > picture of Talasar he has a Black Lion on his tunic over his armor. The > symbol of his Immortal, Razud, is a Granite Tree. Hmmm... I didn't notice this. I know that at least in one instance, Talasar was trying to impersonate a Heldannic Knight, but that wouldn't account for the Black Lion all the time... :( ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 20 Feb 1997 10:06:43 -0700 (MST) From: "Cthulhudrew, The Great Old One" Subject: [Mystara] MChina project? Just wondering what the status of the MChina project is currently. Not trying to rush anyone! ;) I'm mainly curious as I am wondering how I might be able to fit ideas about Rakasta cultural interchange with Mystara in with whatever ideas that the MChina crowd has floating about- coordination at this point will help prevent future inconsistencies. :) ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 20 Feb 1997 18:13:53 +0100 (MET) From: Haavard Roenne Faanes Subject: [Mystara] Dymrak Dread Does anyone have the adventure Dymrak Dread? The sequel too Eye of Traldara? I need a summary of the adventure pluss all possible information about the Eye of Traldara artifact. Haavard R. Faanes Email: hoc@nvg.unit.no hoc@nvg.nuts.edu http://www.nvg.ntnu.no/~hoc "I didn't spend all those years playing Dungeons and Dragons without learning a bit about courage" -Fox Mulder ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 20 Feb 1997 11:37:00 -0600 From: "GUILLORY: BRANT" Subject: re: [Mystara] Dymrak Dread Form: Reply Text: (6 lines follow) The Dymrak Dread is, in fact, the sequel to the Eye of Traldara. They are both bare-bones basic-level modules. Since I'm at work, I don't have the stuff in front of me, but I'll try and look it up at home for you. Brant Original text: (16 lines follow) >From HOC @ SMTP (Haavard Roenne Faanes) {hoc@nvg.ntnu.no}, on 2/20/97 11:13: Does anyone have the adventure Dymrak Dread? The sequel too Eye of Traldara? I need a summary of the adventure pluss all possible information about the Eye of Traldara artifact. Haavard R. Faanes Email: hoc@nvg.unit.no hoc@nvg.nuts.edu http://www.nvg.ntnu.no/~hoc "I didn't spend all those years playing Dungeons and Dragons without learning a bit about courage" -Fox Mulder Use Proportional Font: true Previous From: HOC @ SMTP (Haavard Roenne Faanes) {hoc@nvg.ntnu.no} Previous To: MYSTARA- @ SMTP {mystara-l@lists.io.com} ------------------------------ End of mystara-digest V2 #4 *************************** mystara-digest Sunday, February 23 1997 Volume 02 : Number 005 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 20 Feb 1997 16:47:14 -0500 (EST) From: Mouse Subject: Re: [Mystara] MChina project? Hello. I am both new and old to the list. I have enjoyed, and still expect to enjoy, the posts that have been presented. The question I pose, with luck, shouldn't be too hard to answer. My question, what -is- the MChina project and/or how does it relate to Mystara? Thank you for your time. Mouse - ----------------------------------------------------------------------- > Just wondering what the status of the MChina project is currently. Not > trying to rush anyone! ;) I'm mainly curious as I am wondering how I > might be able to fit ideas about Rakasta cultural interchange with > Mystara in with whatever ideas that the MChina crowd has floating about- > coordination at this point will help prevent future inconsistencies. :) ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 20 Feb 1997 15:29:47 -0700 From: "Patrick" Subject: Re: [Mystara] MChina project? > Hello. > > I am both new and old to the list. I have enjoyed, and still > expect to enjoy, the posts that have been presented. > > The question I pose, with luck, shouldn't be too hard to answer. My > question, what -is- the MChina project and/or how does it relate > to Mystara? > > Thank you for your time. > > Mouse Hi Mouse:) A group of MML members (I believe there are 15 of us right now) have been working on developing an Oriental setting to place on Skothar, the continent east of Alphatia. We are developing cultures based on China, Japan, and a number of other Oriental nations. Patrick ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 20 Feb 1997 17:43:19 -0700 (MST) From: "Cthulhudrew, The Great Old One" Subject: Re: [Mystara] MChina project? On Thu, 20 Feb 1997, Mouse wrote: > The question I pose, with luck, shouldn't be too hard to answer. My > question, what -is- the MChina project and/or how does it relate > to Mystara? A while back, a question was posed as to why there weren't more Oriental-type cultures on Mystara (save for Ethengar, Ochalea, and to a lesser extent, Sind- depending on your definition). A few of the listers decided to undertake a project whereby we would develop the continent of Skothar (which is mentioned as having an Empire of the Great Khan- though Haldemar denies this; it's still a good place to start) and connect it with an old Oriental type culture that existed before the Alphatian arrival (explaining Ochalea's very different culture from Alphatian standard). I recently proposed trying to tie the MChina project (M for Mystara) in with the Rakasta on Myoshima- currently we're looking into the subject. Hopefully we can coordinate something, and have two new places to present to the list soon- MChina and Myoshima (more developed). Which brings up a question: PWA's mention that Myoshima hasn't had much contact with the Known World, but it is entirely possible they have had extended contact with MChina- after all, until 1015 or so, MChina won't have had much contact with the rest of the Known World either. Here's another possible theory for the cultural exchange process then- whereby Myoshima and MChina have had extended contact for many many years. I'll run this by the MChina people when I've finished figuring out my other proposal. :) ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 20 Feb 1997 21:05:47 -0500 (EST) From: Jonathan Devaprasad <96devapr@scar.utoronto.ca> Subject: [Mystara] Mystara Setting Since I am new to this Mailing list. I might ask some questions previously asked, so please forgive me. Since the Mystara setting has been cancelled by TSR, and they don't have a active TSR section on their WEB page, where do you get your stuff for Mystara from? Other than writing it yourself that is. I am asking this because I am in need of the Karameikos Map, and I can't find a single publication anywhere in the stores that has the map. And I can't find the map anywhere online. Any suggestions? I am up in Toronto, so close to home suggestions preferred. Jonathan ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 20 Feb 1997 21:18:37 -0500 From: Kennerdells Subject: [Mystara] Mystara Setting I'd like to know how the Mystara Setting is all about. My DM's not too creative, and he's searching for a world. I think I read one of the novels a long time ago, but either I didn't like it, or I forgot what it is about. How much magic is in Mystara? How is the general feel of Mystara? Things like that. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 22 Aug 1995 19:30:30 -0600 From: Leroy Van Camp III Subject: Re: [Mystara] Mystara Setting > I am asking this because I am in need of the Karameikos Map, and I can't > find a single publication anywhere in the stores that has the map. And I > can't find the map anywhere online. Any suggestions? I am up in Toronto, > so close to home suggestions preferred. Your best bet is buying the stuff used. Three possibilities are... rec.games.frp.marketplace (a Usenet newsgroup) http://www.dragontrove.com/basic.html http://www.titan-games.com/ - -- Leroy Van Camp III | "You know, not kneeing you in the groin malacoda@lesbois.com | is a constant struggle." owner-mystara-l@io.com | MST3K ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 20 Feb 1997 19:54:22 -0700 From: "Patrick" Subject: Re: [Mystara] Mystara Setting > Since the Mystara setting has been cancelled by TSR, and they don't have a > active TSR section on their WEB page, where do you get your stuff for > Mystara from? Other than writing it yourself that is. > > I am asking this because I am in need of the Karameikos Map, and I can't > find a single publication anywhere in the stores that has the map. And I > can't find the map anywhere online. Any suggestions? I am up in Toronto, > so close to home suggestions preferred. > > Jonathan Used sources are probably your best bet. Check around at various comics or used book stores. A number of sources have maps of Karameikos in one hex=8 miles scale. The D&D Rules Cyclopedia, D&D Gazetteer 1: The Grand Duchy of Karameikos, and AD&D's Karameikos: Kingdom of Adventure all have color maps. The rulebook from the old D&D expert set and B1-9: In Search of Adventure each has a black and white map, that is equally detailed, if that will suffice. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 21 Feb 1997 00:03:31 -0800 (PST) From: David Melik Subject: Re: [Mystara] MChina project? This whole Myoshima-MOrient contact thing sounds like a good idea, here's one of my own. You know those rockets and fireworks they used to have in China? Maybe some Mystarans came to Myoshima on one of those, like a huge Chinese rocket that was a voidship. I guess it would have to be enchanted instead of having gunpowder, because even if it did, and was allowed, it wouldn't be powerful enough. "Always _// / _/ | \ Always Rebel Ever / / | / \_ | Ever Was |/O_ |/ o \ / Will Be /|_|- -|- O | / Will Be Different Never / | \ / \ /|-\/ Never Different Twisting | \_ _ |\/\ Turning \_ \ \\_ _/ / Through The \ | _\_|0 \_\_/ | Doesn't Escape Never"--James Hetfield \| \ \___/ The Never David Melik (aka DM the DM) darwin@nwinfo.net ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 21 Feb 1997 09:27:58 -0600 From: Reg Subject: [none] Is the mystara board down and I miss it or something? ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 21 Feb 1997 13:34:11 -0500 (EST) From: TSRBruce@aol.com Subject: Re: [Mystara] Mystara Setting In a message dated 97-02-20 22:14:18 EST, you write: >A number of sources have maps of Karameikos in one hex=8 >miles scale. The D&D Rules Cyclopedia, D&D Gazetteer 1: The Grand Duchy of >Karameikos, and AD&D's Karameikos: Kingdom of Adventure all have color >maps. The rulebook from the old D&D expert set and B1-9: In Search of >Adventure each has a black and white map, that is equally detailed, if that >will suffice. Not to mention TM1 Trail Map of the Known World... GenCon auction is also a possible source of material, sometime brand new and still in the original shrinkwrap. Bruce Heard ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 21 Feb 1997 13:34:10 -0500 (EST) From: TSRBruce@aol.com Subject: Re: [Mystara] Talasar's symbol >On Thu, 20 Feb 1997, Rob Rickard wrote: > >> In Champions of Mystara & in Dragon Magizine, Princess Ark - every >> picture of Talasar he has a Black Lion on his tunic over his armor. The >> symbol of his Immortal, Razud, is a Granite Tree. The lion was the artist's interpretation of my guidelines (I had not mentioned a lion or any symbol at all, as far as I remember). At this point, we can only assume then that the lion is a family symbol. Bruce Heard ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 21 Feb 1997 14:55:33 -0500 (EST) From: Jonathan Devaprasad <96devapr@scar.utoronto.ca> Subject: [Mystara] Re: your mail - -Jonathan Devaprasad - -96Devapr@fissure.scar.utoronto On Fri, 21 Feb 1997, Reg wrote: > Is the mystara board down and I miss it or something? > > Hmmm, I don't quite get what you asked. But I know TSR has cancelled any future publications on TSR. But they will put out Modules on their Web page. And some scanned stuff if people are willing to scan the stuff for them (ie: Scan and upload to them to put online). JD ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 21 Feb 1997 14:59:31 -0500 (EST) From: Jonathan Devaprasad <96devapr@scar.utoronto.ca> Subject: Re: [Mystara] Mystara Setting > Used sources are probably your best bet. Check around at various comics > or used book stores. A number of sources have maps of Karameikos in one I have checked every comic store/game stor in Toronto atleast 2X. > hex=8 miles scale. The D&D Rules Cyclopedia, D&D Gazetteer 1: The Grand > Duchy of Karameikos, and AD&D's Karameikos: Kingdom of Adventure all I have the Cyclopedia, but I want a more detailed map that covers the whole kingdom, plus gives layouts of the major cities such as Specularum, Kelvin and etc. I would love to get teh Gazetter, only problem is that it is out of print, and they don't sell em anywhere. As for the AD&D thing, I don't want that because that's after the War of the Immortals, my campaign skipped over the War of the Immortals, so would like the old map. > have color maps. The rulebook from the old D&D expert set and B1-9: In > Search of Adventure each has a black and white map, that is equally > detailed, if that will suffice. > Hmm, I'll have to look for them. Thanx. JD ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 21 Feb 1997 15:06:50 -0500 (EST) From: Jonathan Devaprasad <96devapr@scar.utoronto.ca> Subject: Re: [Mystara] Mystara Setting > > Not to mention TM1 Trail Map of the Known World... GenCon auction is also a > possible source of material, sometime brand new and still in the original > shrinkwrap. > > Bruce Heard > but all those stuff that you have mentioned are out of Print, that's the problem. If they were in print, I would not have any problems. I will be happy with it. But the GAZ's, TM1, all those basic/expert set stuff are out of Print. There is nothing, I repeat nothing connected with Mystara that is in print since T$R cancelled the AD&D version of Mystara. If I could find those stuff I would not be bother to send mail here. I searched in all the possible stores in Toronto that carry anything remotely concerned with RPG's, and did not find a single thing. I asked Sean (TSR) if he would scan. All he did was defer me to this and that rules page, and here. Ok, here is a good question. Is anyone willing to SCAN it and send it to me. The map of karameikos from GAZ 1, which includes the city maps. Since TSR is accepting scans', you can send a copy to me, and another to TSR for them to put online?? how does that sound? As you noticed, I am frustrated from all the people telling me to do things I have already tried. Jonathan ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 21 Feb 1997 13:18:21 -0700 (MST) From: "Cthulhudrew, The Great Old One" Subject: Re: [Mystara] Mystara Setting On Fri, 21 Feb 1997, Jonathan Devaprasad wrote: > but all those stuff that you have mentioned are out of Print, that's the > problem. If they were in print, I would not have any problems. I will be > happy with it. But the GAZ's, TM1, all those basic/expert set stuff are > out of Print. There is nothing, I repeat nothing connected with Mystara > that is in print since T$R cancelled the AD&D version of Mystara. Try the Dragon's Trove- http://www.dragontrove.com I've gotten a lot of stuff from Michael Cox via mail order there. He pretty much has anything you could want (the only things I haven't seen yet are X10, and... that's pretty much it, actually.) Reasonable prices, and varying qualities of what you want. It's a great place for out of print stuff. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 21 Feb 1997 14:55:33 -0500 (EST) From: Jonathan Devaprasad <96devapr@scar.utoronto.ca> Subject: [Mystara] Re: your mail - -Jonathan Devaprasad - -96Devapr@fissure.scar.utoronto On Fri, 21 Feb 1997, Reg wrote: > Is the mystara board down and I miss it or something? > > Hmmm, I don't quite get what you asked. But I know TSR has cancelled any future publications on TSR. But they will put out Modules on their Web page. And some scanned stuff if people are willing to scan the stuff for them (ie: Scan and upload to them to put online). JD ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 21 Feb 1997 21:46:21 +0100 (MET) From: Haavard Roenne Faanes Subject: re: [Mystara] Dymrak Dread On Thu, 20 Feb 1997, GUILLORY: BRANT wrote: > The Dymrak Dread is, in fact, the sequel to the Eye of Traldara. They are > both bare-bones basic-level modules. Since I'm at work, I don't have the > stuff in front of me, but I'll try and look it up at home for you. > about the Eye of Traldara artifact. I would be very greatful if you could send me a summary of the plot. Thankyou. Haavard R. Faanes Email: hoc@nvg.unit.no hoc@nvg.nuts.edu http://www.nvg.ntnu.no/~hoc "I didn't spend all those years playing Dungeons and Dragons without learning a bit about courage" -Fox Mulder ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 21 Feb 1997 15:56:49 -0500 (EST) From: Mouse Subject: Re: [Mystara] Mystara Setting Perhaps I may be of assistance. I live about 45 minutes away from Toronto. In between the two cities, there are numerous places I have found that -have- D&D gaming supplies. The supplies are mainly used, from people not wanting them anymore. I usually frequent them to see what they have to offer. The listings below are the stores that I know of. I don't know the actual addresses, but I can supply you with names: Mississuaga -- Bushman's Game & Comic's. Erin Mills -- The Game Room Brampton -- The Grey Region (In Square One) Toronto -- The Silver Snail I hope that I have been able to help in someway. Mouse P.s. I may be able to scan the available maps that I have. But, I thought TSR only allowed it for personal use? P.p.s. About the frustration. Breath in through the nose, and out through the mouth..; ) - -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > but all those stuff that you have mentioned are out of Print, that's the > problem. If they were in print, I would not have any problems. I will be > happy with it. But the GAZ's, TM1, all those basic/expert set stuff are > out of Print. There is nothing, I repeat nothing connected with Mystara > that > is in print since T$R cancelled the AD&D version of Mystara. If I could > find those stuff I would not be bother to send mail here. I searched in > all the possible stores in Toronto that carry anything remotely concerned > with RPG's, and did not find a single thing. I asked Sean (TSR) if he > would scan. All he did was defer me to this and that rules page, and > here. Ok, here is a good question. Is anyone willing to SCAN it and send > it to me. The map of karameikos from GAZ 1, which includes the city maps. > Since TSR is accepting scans', you can send a copy to me, and another to > TSR for them to put online?? how does that sound? > > As you noticed, I am frustrated from all the people telling me to do > things I have already tried. > > Jonathan Life is pain...!! Anyone who says differently is selling something. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 21 Feb 1997 17:18:29 -0500 (EST) From: Dleggend@aol.com Subject: Re: [Mystara] Mystara Setting I am looking for maps of Gaz10: The Orcs Of Thar and the maps of GAZ13: The Shadow elves I brought Gaz10 but it didn't bring any maps. I thankyou for your help ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 21 Feb 1997 21:13:57 -0700 From: "Patrick" Subject: [Mystara] Cruth Lowlands Hi everyone! I have a question. Did TSR ever release anything that described the Cruth Lowlands, or much of anything else in Northwestern Karameikos? I know there were a few sentences in GAZ1 and the AD&D boxed set, but unless I missed something set there, it's woefully underdeveloped. I kind of made up my own description of the area, but I was wondering if there's anything official. Thanks! Patrick ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 22 Feb 1997 02:53:48 -0500 (EST) From: Jonathan Devaprasad <96devapr@scar.utoronto.ca> Subject: Re: [Mystara] Mystara Setting On Fri, 21 Feb 1997, Mouse wrote: > Perhaps I may be of assistance. > > I live about 45 minutes away from Toronto. In between the two cities, there > are numerous places I have found that -have- D&D gaming supplies. > The supplies are mainly used, from people not wanting them anymore. I usually > frequent them to see what they have to offer. The listings below are the stores > that I know of. I don't know the actual addresses, but I can supply you with > names: > > Mississuaga -- Bushman's Game & Comic's. > Erin Mills -- The Game Room > Brampton -- The Grey Region (In Square One) > Toronto -- The Silver Snail > Hmm, I tried Grey region, and Silver Snail, they don't have the ones I need. I will look at the Mississuaga place. Thanx > I hope that I have been able to help in someway. Appreciate it. > > P.s. I may be able to scan the available maps that I have. But, I > thought TSR only allowed it for personal use? > If you visit their homepage at www.tsrinc.com They are scanning stuff and putting it online. (I got the whole Savage Coast map scanned from there). And TSR also accepts scans from the public which they will put online. So I don't see anything wrong with it. If you can scan, I really appreciate if you could. Thanx. Just got frustrated because I go and buy the thing, and it does not have a map inside it. I have been hunting for it for a couple of months now, and all I get is deferrals to all the sources I had previously checked. THanx. j ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 22 Feb 1997 02:57:08 -0500 (EST) From: Jonathan Devaprasad <96devapr@scar.utoronto.ca> Subject: Re: [Mystara] Mystara Setting > Try the Dragon's Trove- http://www.dragontrove.com > > I've gotten a lot of stuff from Michael Cox via mail order there. He > pretty much has anything you could want (the only things I haven't seen > yet are X10, and... that's pretty much it, actually.) > > Reasonable prices, and varying qualities of what you want. It's a great > place for out of print stuff. > ehhhh!!! I like playing D&D and all, but I don't trust mail order and giving my credit card over the phone. If they could ship it to a company in TO, and I pick it from there it might be better. I'll ask them I From ???@??? Mon Feb 24 11:39:24 1997 Return-Path: Received: from lists.io.com by bohm.anu.edu.au (SMI-8.6/SMI-SVR4) id JAA12057; Mon, 24 Feb 1997 09:51:14 +1100 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by lists.io.com (8.8.5/8.8.5) id QAA17812 for mystara-digest-outgoing; Sun, 23 Feb 1997 16:53:18 -0600 Date: Sun, 23 Feb 1997 16:53:18 -0600 Message-Id: <199702232253.QAA17812@lists.io.com> From: (mystara-digest) To: mystara-digest@lists.io.com Subject: mystara-digest V2 #5 Reply-To: mystara-l@lists.io.com Precedence: bulk X-UIDL: 034dccbccebec84d87dd6e52cb142c9f guess. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 23 Feb 1997 10:35:44 -0500 From: "Khelbon Blackstaff" Subject: Re: [Mystara] Talasar's symbol This is a little off topic but do you have reliable addresses to sign on for other mailing lists concerning other TSR product lines. I have sent subscription messages to addresses I have but apparently they are no good. Don - ---------- > From: TSRBruce@aol.com > To: mystara-l@lists.io.com > Subject: Re: [Mystara] Talasar's symbol > Date: Friday, February 21, 1997 1:34 PM > > >On Thu, 20 Feb 1997, Rob Rickard wrote: > > > >> In Champions of Mystara & in Dragon Magizine, Princess Ark - every > >> picture of Talasar he has a Black Lion on his tunic over his armor. The > >> symbol of his Immortal, Razud, is a Granite Tree. > > The lion was the artist's interpretation of my guidelines (I had not > mentioned a lion or any symbol at all, as far as I remember). At this point, > we can only assume then that the lion is a family symbol. > > Bruce Heard > ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 23 Feb 1997 10:50:11 -0500 From: "Khelbon Blackstaff" Subject: Re: [Mystara] Mystara Setting They don't ask for your credit card though. You send them email telling them what you want after looking at their list, they quote you a price back including shipping, then you send them a check or money order. Go check it out don - ---------- > From: Jonathan Devaprasad <96devapr@scar.utoronto.ca> > To: mystara-l@lists.io.com > Subject: Re: [Mystara] Mystara Setting > Date: Saturday, February 22, 1997 2:57 AM > > > > > Try the Dragon's Trove- http://www.dragontrove.com > > > > I've gotten a lot of stuff from Michael Cox via mail order there. He > > pretty much has anything you could want (the only things I haven't seen > > yet are X10, and... that's pretty much it, actually.) > > > > Reasonable prices, and varying qualities of what you want. It's a great > > place for out of print stuff. > > > > ehhhh!!! I like playing D&D and all, but I don't trust mail order and > giving my credit card over the phone. If they could ship it to a company > in TO, and I pick it from there it might be better. I'll ask them I > guess. > > ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 22 Feb 1997 16:17:38 -0700 (MST) From: "Cthulhudrew, The Great Old One" Subject: Re: [Mystara] Cruth Lowlands On Fri, 21 Feb 1997, Patrick wrote: > Did TSR ever release anything that described the Cruth Lowlands, or much of > anything else in Northwestern Karameikos? I know there were a few > sentences in GAZ1 and the AD&D boxed set, but unless I missed something set > there, it's woefully underdeveloped. I kind of made up my own description > of the area, but I was wondering if there's anything official. I don't think so. The closest I can figure would be the Lost Valley of the Hutaaka, described in B10- Night's Dark Terror, but even that is more centrally located (north of Threshold, more or less). I'd suggest a large gnollish population there. Also, I think that area is close to the dominion described in CM9- Legacy of Blood. That dominion is actually in Darokin, but it is close to the Cruth mtns (IIRC, it overlaps the southwestern edge of the Canolbarth and the valley connecting to the northern part of the Cruth). If so, there is a large swamp on it's northern fringes. In any case, at least on the Darokin side, that area is borderland territory, so it's a pretty lawless area (most likely even on the Karameikan side). Probably very monster infested (Gnolls, as I suggested), with any civilized areas therein probably very lawless. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 23 Feb 1997 11:42:12 -0500 From: Rob Rickard Subject: [Mystara] Race Description Has anyone out there created a list of all the races in Mystara with their descriptions. ie...culture, languages, physical description, orgin..... I have most of the almanacs and all of the gazetteers (include Hollow World setting) but struggle when finding descriptions of cultures. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 23 Feb 1997 14:43:04 -0800 (PST) From: David Melik Subject: [Mystara] giant info I am posting several giants that I created some years ago. I am now revising, expanding, and typing them in AD&D's superior monster format, with a touch of D&D format (but I can't say much for AD&D weapon mastery). Soon I will post the rest, one is for immortal campaigns. I've put D&D conversions to the right, if nothing is there then it's basically the same. The THAC0's are adjusted for strength (We've got to be fair to the monsters too!). If you want to know more about this, I have included a chart. I haven't seen mountain giants in AD&D, but made an educated guess at what their strength would be (If anyone knows what it is, please inform me.) Note that these are in 1st, not 2nd ed., the AD&D xp seems awkward, especially on the one for immortal campaigns. I don't know if 2nd ed. has a better xp system or not, and don't plan to buy new AD&D rulebooks because of course I have to get *Mystara* stuff first. Does anyone know if the xp is a problem? As far as I know, AD&D1 had no "special" treasure like D&D, so I've adjusted their AD&D treasure, and have included a special treasure table here for other 1st ed. players. If AD&D2 has special treasure, if anyone can post TT conversions that would be helpful to 2nd ed. players. Enjoy! Giant Strength Chart Type of giant Equivalent giant Strength Plains Hill 19 Swamp Hill 1 Cliff Stone 20 Desert Frost 21 Forest Fire 22 Jungle Cloud 23 Horse Storm 24 Death Mountain 25 Gargantuan - 100* *This is D&D strength, AD&D doesn't accurately represent the power of these creatures. Special Treasure Table 1D100 Item Enc (cn) Value (gp) 1-10 Book, rare 2D100 1D100 x 10 Fur, common*: 11-12 Pelt 1D6 x 10 1d4 13-17 Cape 1D8 + 4 x 10 1D6 x 100 18-20 Coat 2D6 + 8 x 10 3D4 x 100 Fur, rare**: 21-22 Pelt 1D6 x 10 2D6 23-27 Cape 1D8 + 4 x 10 4D6 x 100 28-30 Coat 2D6 + 8 x 10 1D6 x 100 31-35 Incense, rare 1 cn/stick 5D6/stick 36-40 Perfume, rare 1 cn/vial 1D10 + 5 x 10/vial 41-55 Rug or tapestry*** 1D6 x 100 2D10 56-65 Silk*** 1D6 x 10 1D8 66-75 Skin, animal 5D4 x 100 1D10 76-85 Skin, monster 1D100 x 500 1D10 x 100 86-90 Statuette 1D100 4D4/cn enc 91-95 Spice, rare 1D100 1D10 x 100 96-00 Wine, rare 1D6 + 3 x 10 1D6/bottle * Common furs include beaver, fox, marten, muskrat, and seal. ** Rich furs include ermine, mink, and sable *** Prices and encumbrances are for each square yard. /--|--\ /-\/-\ /----\ / | \ / \ / o o \ | | | | | | | \ /|\ / \ / \ \__/ / \/_|_\/ , \ / , \____/ \/ Peace, Love, & Happiness, David Melik (aka DM the DM) Darwin@.nwinfo.net ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 23 Feb 1997 14:46:59 -0800 (PST) From: David Melik Subject: [Mystara] giant info I am posting several giants that I created some years ago. I am now revising, expanding, and typing them in AD&D's superior monster format, with a touch of D&D format. (But I can't say much for AD&D weapon mastery) Soon I will post the rest, one is for immortal campaigns. I've put D&D conversions to the right, if nothing is there then it's basically the same. The THAC0's are adjusted for strength. (We've got to be fair to the monsters too!) If you want to know more about this, I have included a chart. I haven't seen mountain giants in AD&D, but made an educated guess at what their strength would be. (If anyone knows what it is, please inform me.) Note that these are in 1st, not 2nd ed., the AD&D xp seems awkward, especially on the one for immortal campaigns. I don't know if 2nd ed. has a better xp system or not, and don't plan to buy new rulebooks because of course I have to get *Mystara* stuff first. Does anyone know if the xp is a problem? As far as I know, AD&D1 had no "special" treasure like D&D, so I've adjusted their AD&D treasure, and have included a special treasure table here for other 1st ed. players. If AD&D2 has special treasure, if anyone can post TT conversions that would be helpful to 2nd ed. players. Enjoy! :-) Giant Strength Chart Type of giant Equivalent giant Strength Plains Hill 19 Swamp Hill 1 Cliff Stone 20 Desert Frost 21 Forest Fire 22 Jungle Cloud 23 Horse Storm 24 Death Mountain 25 Gargantuan - 100* *This is D&D strength, AD&D doesn't accurately represent the power of these creatures. Special Treasure Table 1D100 Item Enc (cn) Value (gp) 1-10 Book, rare 2D100 1D100 x 10 Fur, common*: 11-12 Pelt 1D6 x 10 1d4 13-17 Cape 1D8 + 4 x 10 1D6 x 100 18-20 Coat 2D6 + 8 x 10 3D4 x 100 Fur, rare**: 21-22 Pelt 1D6 x 10 2D6 23-27 Cape 1D8 + 4 x 10 4D6 x 100 28-30 Coat 2D6 + 8 x 10 1D6 x 100 31-35 Incense, rare 1 cn/stick 5D6/stick 36-40 Perfume, rare 1 cn/vial 1D10 + 5 x 10/vial 41-55 Rug or tapestry*** 1D6 x 100 2D10 56-65 Silk*** 1D6 x 10 1D8 66-75 Skin, animal 5D4 x 100 1D10 76-85 Skin, monster 1D100 x 500 1D10 x 100 86-90 Statuette 1D100 4D4/cn enc 91-95 Spice, rare 1D100 1D10 x 100 96-00 Wine, rare 1D6 + 3 x 10 1D6/bottle * Common furs include beaver, fox, marten, muskrat, and seal. ** Rich furs include ermine, mink, and sable *** Prices and encumbrances are for each square yard. /--|--\ /-\/-\ /----\ / | \ / \ / o o \ | | | | | | | \ /|\ / \ / \ \__/ / \/_|_\/ , \ / , \____/ \/ Peace, Love, & Happiness, David Melik (aka DM the DM) Darwin@.nwinfo.net ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 23 Feb 1997 14:47:32 -0800 (PST) From: David Melik Subject: [Mystara] new monster: cliff giant Giant, Cliff AD&D: D&D: CLIMATE/TERRAIN: Any land, cliff/gorge caves FREQUENCY: Uncommon Rare ORGANIZATION: Tribe ACTIVITY CYCLE: Nocturnal DIET: Omnivore INTELLIGENCE: Low to average (7-9) 8 TREASURE: E + 5,000 gp + 15% 1D2 special E + 5,000 gp ALIGNMENT: Chaotic Neutral NO. APPEARING: 1D10 (1D20) SAVE AS: F (level = HD) ARMOR CLASS: 3 MOVEMENT: 12' 120' (40') HIT DICE: 9* to 15* THAC0: 9 HD: 9 9: 6 10 HD: 8 10 or 11: 5 11 HD: 7 12 or 13: 4 12-13 HD: 6 14 or 15: 3 14-15 HD: 5 NO. OF ATTACKS 2 (stone club/mace) DAMAGE/ATTACK: 3D6 or 3D8 ea. SPECIAL ATTACKS: Throw SPECIAL DEFENSES: Nil MAGIC RESISTANCE: Nil SIZE: L to H (10 to 16') MORALE: Champion (15) 9 XP VALUE: 9 HD: 900 + 12/HP 9: 1,600 10 HD: 1,350 + 14/HP 10: 1,750 11 or 12 HD: 2,000 + 16/HP 11: 1,900 13 or 14 HD: 2,750 + 18/HP 12: 2,125 15 HD: 3,650 + 20/HP 13: 2,300 14: 2,500 15:2,700 Appearance:Cliff giants are hunter-gatherer inhabitants of groups of caves in cliffs and gorges. They are peaceful, but are not to be trifled with. A wiry and agile race, cliff giants are adapted to their terrain. They are exceptionally skilled at moving on the cliffs (+ 50% climbing rating, 2x climbing movement rate). Their skin colors are: pale to pinkish gray, light sandy to dark basalt brown, light clayish red, and an orange-tinted loess yellow. They have human hair and eye colors. They dress in hides, cloth, and bone armor and jewelry (also with metal and gems). Combat:The cliff giant's favorite weapon is their stone club, which is normally made of a stalactite or stalagmite from their cave. They usually break off more than they need at the time, and leave them strewn around inside. (Not only does this practice provide them with a weapon, but sometimes it clears more living space for them.) If they can obtain any hard rock, such as flint, once they have broken off their club, they carve edges and spikes on it to transform it into a mace. Depending on the type of rock in the area, it could be ready-made. Their main missile attack is hurling rocks (ranges 100/200/300), and clubs and maces (twice the specified range for the appropriate level of weapon mastery). Occasionaly they fashion other rock weapons, such as spears and arrows, but prefer bashing with brute force. Although cliff giants enjoy a good brawl, they try to beat their opponent in any way they can. First, they aggresively rush their opponents. If they are outnumbered and the battle begins to go bad for them, they will try to lure their opponents away. If they are above their cliff, they may try to trick their pursuers into falling in. If they are below their cave(s), they may run towards it shouting to alert any giants inside. Then they quickly back against the wall and roar, hoping to stall the pursuers. The ones inside would then proceed to hurl rocks down on their opponents below. They often smash the rock underneath their dwellings, and spread it inside or pile it at the top of the cliff. This gives them more ammunition, and makes their entrance ledge jut out just enough so that when they run from their opponents they can be sheltered from friendly fire. If they are hurt, they may just climb home, and then pummel anyone who follows with rocks. If anyone reaches the top, they will either push them off the precipice, or hide inside to suprise their opponents, and possibly try to trap them. They have been known to construct very crude traps, of falling rocks, or unstable ones above steep, deep areas of their caves, but this is rare. Most don't have the intelligence or inclination for such things. Habitat/Society:Cliff Giant organization is similar to a wolf pack. Whoever can best the rest in combat leads. However, no one has has absolute authoritry. They almost never try to force each other to do things, and if other races do this they will resist violently. They try to agree on things, and the ones with higher status have a lot of influence on the others, who agree with the more prominent ones to make group decisions. They have up to 6th level shamans (clerics) and 4th level wokans (magic-users), but wokans are extremely rare. They have no written language, which they think is sort of pointlessly crazy, and dangerous magic. One or two families usually inhabits each cave in the complex, but it depends on the size. The leader gets the largest cave of course, sharing it with the best warriors and their mates and children. They prefer caves with natural sources of water. Including family caves, other rooms may include: a storeroom for food and drink; meat-smoking room; a fungi-farming room; a beverage-brewing room; a primitive tanning and sewing room; a shaman's room; occasionaly a simple forge. There is a story of one cliff giant community that had a big enough river inside for a water wheel, some friendly adventurers bartered with them and built it. They set up places to store flour and make bread, and eventually began farming the plateau above. In a typical family's cave, their would be a carefully laid, even layer of rocks, covered with animal hides. In the center is a fire pit. There would be a couple of rockpiles in each side of the door, and maybe one outside. They sleep in furs, and sometimes blankets from so-called civilization. Deep under these furs, the head of the family might hide his pouch of "shinies". They like shiny things like metals and gems, and these are symbols of wealth and status, and are used to trade with nearby races. They will often do a lot of work for these. Cliff giants sleep during the day. Their communities are alive with activity at night. The hunters get up before twilight to hunt. Back in the caves, many of the women, and the children and weak old men begin work. They light a fire for cooking all day, and to make the cave warm during the night. Later, there are the tasks of preparing the kills: tanning and sewing, cooking and smoking, bone-carving tools, armor, decorative and religious items. The shaman uses the parts they don't like eating, in religious ceremonies, potions, salves, and other cures. They also brew beverages and farm fungi. These tasks take up much of the night. In their spare time, they play primitive board and dice games, paint on walls and hides, and gather in the early morning with the shaman to worship their gods, they mainly worship Kagyar the Flasheyes as Guh-Gruk, "Old Man of the Rock". Ecology:In the region they inhabit, they hunt whatever animals live there, and gather fruit and berries. They have learned to ferment these into alcoholic drinks. If these resources are plentiful they like sharing the area with other tribes, for protection. They are peaceful, when not molested, and keep to themselves. Even though they are chaotic, their society has a natural order, but no one tells them what to do. Generally, they don't go out of their way to help others, but aren't self-centered. They will trade with other races, except shadow elves, whom they hate. They are friendly with stone and mountain giants, distrust forest giants, and hate hill giants. They think dwarves are nice, elves are silly and goblins are annoying. Since humans are often quite aggresive, they will sometimes be found in conflict with them. A cliff giant cerebellum can be used to make a potion of climbing. Variants: Some cliff giant in higher altitudes herd mountain goats, and are on good terms with mountain giants. A few are to be found in the cliffs of the Underdark. These have developed infravision of course. Fungi is their main source of food. Due to the harsh environment, and the dangerous denizens of the place, they are a whole lot meaner than their outer-world cousins. /--|--\ /-\/-\ /----\ / | \ / \ / o o \ | | | | | | | \ /|\ / \ / \ \__/ / \/_|_\/ , \ / , \____/ \/ Peace, Love, & Happiness, David Melik (aka DM the DM) Darwin@.nwinfo.net ------------------------------ End of mystara-digest V2 #5 *************************** mystara-digest Wednesday, March 5 1997 Volume 02 : Number 006 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 23 Feb 1997 20:02:10 -0500 (EST) From: Kaviyd@aol.com Subject: Re: [Mystara] new monster: cliff giant If you are going to adjust THAC0 for strength, you should do the same for damage. In the case of the cliff giant, you should specify the giant's strength and unarmed damage (as an unarmed giant should still be capable of inflicting considerable damage. For the weapons, base damage should be reduced fro 3d6 or 3d8 to 2d6 or 2d8 -- but including the strength bonus would more than compensate for that loss! ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 23 Feb 1997 19:33:16 -0800 (PST) From: David Melik Subject: Re: [Mystara] new monster: cliff giant At 08:02 PM 2/23/97 -0500, you wrote: >If you are going to adjust THAC0 for strength, you should do the same >for damage. In the case of the cliff giant, you should specify the giant's >strength and unarmed damage (as an unarmed giant should still be >capable of inflicting considerable damage. For the weapons, base >damage should be reduced fro 3d6 or 3d8 to 2d6 or 2d8 -- but including >the strength bonus would more than compensate for that loss! > Yeah, I guess you're right. To keep them congruent with other giants, I think I'll just post stats in the traditional way then, even though I think it doesn't quite make sense. I hate how the rules systems stereotype monsters. I guess AD&D2 might have an advantage with their THAC0 as well as damage stat because then you can adjust these standards for the average strength of the race (right?) instead of it being the same for every monster of equal HD (but that certainly doesn't make AD&D2 combat close to the fun of OD&D with weapon mastery). Pardon the foolish sounding question, but how should you calculate THAC0 and damage for AD&D2 then? So, does anyone want me to redo and repost the cliff giant in a while? /--|--\ /-\/-\ /----\ / | \ / \ / o o \ | | | | | | | \ /|\ / \ / \ \__/ / \/_|_\/ , \ / , \____/ \/ Peace, Love, & Happiness, David Melik (aka DM the DM) Darwin@.nwinfo.net ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 23 Feb 1997 23:16:51 -0500 (EST) From: Kaviyd@aol.com Subject: Re: [Mystara] new monster: cliff giant In a message dated 97-02-23 22:36:04 EST, darwin@nwinfo.net (David Melik) writes: << Pardon the foolish sounding question, but how should you calculate THAC0 and damage for AD&D2 then? >> Your 1st edition info should be up to the task, especially if you have access to "Deities and Demigods" for the high strength values. If not, look up the "Potion of Giant Strength" and "Girdle of Giant Strength" entries in the DMG -- 2nd edition AD&D uses the same values. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 23 Feb 1997 23:18:06 EST From: nbamba@juno.com (Nicholas C Bambakidis) Subject: Re: [Mystara] Mystara Setting On Fri, 21 Feb 1997 13:18:21 -0700 (MST) "Cthulhudrew, The Great Old One" writes: >On Fri, 21 Feb 1997, Jonathan Devaprasad wrote: > >> but all those stuff that you have mentioned are out of Print, that's >the >> problem. If they were in print, I would not have any problems. I >will be >> happy with it. But the GAZ's, TM1, all those basic/expert set stuff >are >> out of Print. There is nothing, I repeat nothing connected with >Mystara >> that is in print since T$R cancelled the AD&D version of Mystara. > >Try the Dragon's Trove- http://www.dragontrove.com > >I've gotten a lot of stuff from Michael Cox via mail order there. He >pretty much has anything you could want (the only things I haven't >seen >yet are X10, and... that's pretty much it, actually.) > Including X11? I can't find that adventure anywhere. > > ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 23 Feb 1997 21:05:06 -0800 (PST) From: David Melik Subject: Re: [Mystara] new monster: cliff giant At 11:16 PM 2/23/97 -0500, you wrote: >In a message dated 97-02-23 22:36:04 EST, darwin@nwinfo.net (David Melik) >writes: > ><< Pardon the foolish sounding question, but how > should you calculate THAC0 and damage for AD&D2 then? >> > >Your 1st edition info should be up to the task, especially if you have >access to "Deities and Demigods" for the high strength values. If not, >look up the "Potion of Giant Strength" and "Girdle of Giant Strength" >entries in the DMG -- 2nd edition AD&D uses the same values. > Great. :) So for an average monster you do take the base number from the hit roll table and adjust it with strength, eh? I don't recall anywhere that says how to do damage though. For large monsters, it seems like they /approximately/ multiply the normal weapon damage by the hit adjustment (or damage adj/2 if one wants to get technical). What do you think about that? /--|--\ /-\/-\ /----\ / | \ / \ / o o \ | | | | | | | \ /|\ / \ / \ \__/ / \/_|_\/ , \ / , \____/ \/ Peace, Love, & Happiness, David Melik (aka DM the DM) Darwin@.nwinfo.net ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 23 Feb 1997 22:57:06 -0700 (MST) From: "Cthulhudrew, The Great Old One" Subject: Re: [Mystara] Mystara Setting On Sun, 23 Feb 1997, Nicholas C Bambakidis wrote: > >I've gotten a lot of stuff from Michael Cox via mail order there. He > >pretty much has anything you could want (the only things I haven't > >seen > >yet are X10, and... that's pretty much it, actually.) > > > Including X11? I can't find that adventure anywhere. Oh, my bad. I got that one at a bookstore here in town, but it's missing one page (two actually- the first and the NPC page), so I've been looking for another copy. Unfortunately, as you mentioned, the Dragon's Trove doesn't have this one. :( ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 24 Feb 1997 05:56:56 -0500 (EST) From: BZuber5988@aol.com Subject: Re: [Mystara] giant info In a message dated 97-02-23 17:47:21 EST, you write: << Does anyone know if the xp is a problem? >> Well, its not a *problem* cause you can do it anyway you want if it works! But the experience systems between D&D, AD&D, and AD&D2 is a bit different, in fact TSR has revised 2nd ed. experience more than once I believe. For the latest info on calculating experience, check out the Monstrous Compendium Annual #1 (there are three). If you are thinking of making the "jump" with your Mystara campaign to AD&D, I would highly recommend purchasing the new 2nd ed. rulebooks. All you need is the Player's Handbook, the DM's Guide, and the Monstrous Manual -- the other stuff is cool and useful but can wait until you decide what you like :) Then I would recommend picking up the Monstrous Compendium Mystara Appendix, and the Mark of Amber adventure (both 2nd ed.), the rest of the AD&D Mystara line is mediocre at best. Then you might think about the Red Steel (aka Savage Coast) products, because they are really cool, but if you are familar with the Princess Ark series, you know the Savage Coast is in an entirely different part of Mystara than the Known World. Delarius ------------------------------ Date: 24 Feb 1997 16:27:25 GMT From: Andrew_McKinstry@westtown.edu (Andrew McKinstry) Subject: Re: Re: [Mystara] Mystara Setting > Try the Dragon's Trove- http://www.dragontrove.com > > I've gotten a lot of stuff from Michael Cox via mail order there. He > pretty much has anything you could want (the only things I haven't seen > yet are X10, and... that's pretty much it, actually.) > > Reasonable prices, and varying qualities of what you want. It's a great > place for out of print stuff. > ehhhh!!! I like playing D&D and all, but I don't trust mail order and giving my credit card over the phone. If they could ship it to a company in TO, and I pick it from there it might be better. I'll ask them I guess. I've been one of Mike's customers for about two years and I've been extremely satisfied. I've always gotten the order quickly, and the products are often in excellent condition. I've ordered everything from old Blackmoor modules to Gazeteers to new Birthright stuff and had no complaints. I would highly recommend it. Andrew McKinstry ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 24 Feb 1997 15:48:12 +0500 From: Aron Reif Subject: Re: [Mystara] Mystara Setting At 10:57 PM 2/23/97 -0700, you wrote: >On Sun, 23 Feb 1997, Nicholas C Bambakidis wrote: > >> >I've gotten a lot of stuff from Michael Cox via mail order there. He >> >pretty much has anything you could want (the only things I haven't >> >seen >> >yet are X10, and... that's pretty much it, actually.) >> > > >> Including X11? I can't find that adventure anywhere. > >Oh, my bad. I got that one at a bookstore here in town, but it's missing >one page (two actually- the first and the NPC page), so I've been looking >for another copy. > >Unfortunately, as you mentioned, the Dragon's Trove doesn't have this >one. :( > I've bought $700-800 worth of stuff from him since the beginning of the fall, and I've never had a problem. I now own every OD&D book, except for B10 and M(solo)2, largely because of him. If he does not have the book you're looking for now, check back in a month or two to see if he's gotten it in. Apparently, he buys whole collections from people, so if you're looking for old stuff, he's probably the man to see. I wouldn't be worried about fraud (although if he decides to skip town, don't come looking for me). Like I said, I have bought hundreds of dollars worth of stuff from him in the last 6 months, and he's always been quick to get the products to me. You don't give him your credit card, you just mail a check or money order before the products are shipped. (Although this might make you feel better about it, you are actually safer giving your credit card number out than sending a check because credit cards are insured against fraud, while a check can just be cashed and nobody would know the difference). Aron Reif areif@vt.edu ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 25 Feb 1997 00:41:13 -0500 (EST) From: Dleggend@aol.com Subject: Re: [Mystara] Mystara Setting I have found the 1014AC almanac on the web. I was wondering if any body knows were I can find the 1015AC almanac or if there is even a 1015AC almanac? ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 24 Feb 1997 22:55:39 -0700 (MST) From: "Cthulhudrew, The Great Old One" Subject: Re: [Mystara] Mystara Setting On Tue, 25 Feb 1997 Dleggend@aol.com wrote: > I have found the 1014AC almanac on the web. I was wondering if any body > knows were I can find the 1015AC almanac or if there is even a 1015AC > almanac? I don't think we've created one yet for 1015. I believe that Michael Roy was putting the finishing touches on the 1014 AC almanac, prior to posting it (he posted a preliminary draft back around August or September or October or something). I was just going to ask if he had completed it yet, but you beat me to the punch. :) ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 25 Feb 1997 09:26:43 -0500 From: Rob Rickard Subject: [Fwd: [Mystara] Race Description] Received: from lists.io.com (majordom@lists.io.com [199.170.88.15]) by pearl.mhtc.net (8.8.5/8.6.12) with ESMTP id LAA13436 for ; Sun, 23 Feb 1997 11:51:09 -0600 (CST) Received: (from majordom@localhost) by lists.io.com (8.8.5/8.8.5) id LAA05794 for mystara-l-outgoing; Sun, 23 Feb 1997 11:37:19 -0600 Received: from deliverator.io.com (deliverator.io.com [199.170.88.17]) by lists.io.com (8.8.5/8.8.5) with ESMTP id LAA05791 for ; Sun, 23 Feb 1997 11:37:17 -0600 Received: from pearl.mhtc.net (pearl.mhtc.net [208.135.157.10]) by deliverator.io.com (8.8.5/8.8.5) with ESMTP id LAA19629 for ; Sun, 23 Feb 1997 11:31:48 -0600 (CST) Received: from 208.135.140.101 (pdc1-cs-4.dial.mhtc.net [208.135.140.101]) by pearl.mhtc.net (8.8.5/8.6.12) with SMTP id LAA12783 for ; Sun, 23 Feb 1997 11:30:25 -0600 (CST) Message-ID: <33107360.6ECB@mhtc.net> Date: Sun, 23 Feb 1997 11:42:12 -0500 From: Rob Rickard Organization: Common World X-Mailer: Mozilla 3.0 (Macintosh; I; 68K) MIME-Version: 1.0 To: Mysrara mail list Subject: [Mystara] Race Description Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Sender: owner-mystara-l@lists.io.com Precedence: bulk Reply-To: mystara-l@lists.io.com Has anyone out there created a list of all the races in Mystara with their descriptions. ie...culture, languages, physical description, orgin..... I have most of the almanacs and all of the gazetteers (include Hollow World setting) but struggle when finding descriptions of cultures. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 25 Feb 1997 18:19:49 +0100 From: Deathwatch Subject: Re: [Mystara] Mystara Setting At 15:48 24-02-97 +0500, Aron Reif wrote: >At 10:57 PM 2/23/97 -0700, you wrote: >>On Sun, 23 Feb 1997, Nicholas C Bambakidis wrote: >> >>> >I've gotten a lot of stuff from Michael Cox via mail order there. He >>> >pretty much has anything you could want (the only things I haven't >>> >seen >>> >yet are X10, and... that's pretty much it, actually.) >>> > >> >>> Including X11? I can't find that adventure anywhere. >> >>Oh, my bad. I got that one at a bookstore here in town, but it's missing >>one page (two actually- the first and the NPC page), so I've been looking >>for another copy. >> >>Unfortunately, as you mentioned, the Dragon's Trove doesn't have this >>one. :( >> > >I've bought $700-800 worth of stuff from him since the beginning of the >fall, and I've never had a problem. I now own every OD&D book, except for >B10 and M(solo)2, largely because of him. If he does not have the book >you're looking for now, check back in a month or two to see if he's gotten >it in. Apparently, he buys whole collections from people, so if you're >looking for old stuff, he's probably the man to see. > >I wouldn't be worried about fraud (although if he decides to skip town, >don't come looking for me). Like I said, I have bought hundreds of dollars >worth of stuff from him in the last 6 months, and he's always been quick to >get the products to me. You don't give him your credit card, you just mail >a check or money order before the products are shipped. (Although this >might make you feel better about it, you are actually safer giving your >credit card number out than sending a check because credit cards are insured >against fraud, while a check can just be cashed and nobody would know the >difference). > >Aron Reif >areif@vt.edu I ordered several things at the Dragons Trove, and I had no problems what so ever, and I live in Europe. Bas van Doornspeek ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 25 Feb 1997 15:34:43 -0800 (PST) From: David Melik Subject: Re: [Mystara] giant info ><< Does anyone know if the xp is a problem? >> > >Well, its not a *problem* cause you can do it anyway you want if it works! > But the experience systems between D&D, AD&D, and AD&D2 is a bit different, >in fact TSR has revised 2nd ed. experience more than once I believe. For the >latest info on calculating experience, check out the Monstrous Compendium >Annual #1 (there are three). > Frankly, I don't see why anyone would want to buy those when they could just use the Monstrous Manual. I mean, when you have an imagination, along with several hundred pages of monsters, there's possibly already more than you'll ever use. All these MC's seem nice for collectors, but it has to get to a point when the benefits for active roleplayer's just stop increasing. I'm don't mean to insult TSR, but get real. IMO TSR could use their resources better by making quality material to save classic worlds like Mystara from death due to mistakes like too much lame, simple beginners stuff and the DM Survival Kit. If they had continued making more stuff in the intermediate/advanced OD&D Mystara style, but in AD&D, I bet people like me that start using more advanced rules (or all) would actually /like/ it, and older gamers might go back to the world they began on. Someone might say, it's because they put much of their work into popular worlds like The Realms. My best friend, who has been collecting FR stuff for years, and is well-versed in it, believes that on the /average/ new FR stuff too, isn't as good the old. (This was last year, now he does say he may see a positive trend.) I don't know, maybe we're both just die-hards or something. Well, I'd better stop raving on this subject. >If you are thinking of making the "jump" with your Mystara campaign to AD&D, >I would highly recommend purchasing the new 2nd ed. rulebooks. All you need >is the Player's Handbook, the DM's Guide, and the Monstrous Manual -- the >other stuff is cool and useful but can wait until you decide what you like :) > Then I would recommend picking up the Monstrous Compendium Mystara Appendix, >and the Mark of Amber adventure (both 2nd ed.), the rest of the AD&D Mystara >line is mediocre at best. > >Then you might think about the Red Steel (aka Savage Coast) products, because >they are really cool, but if you are familar with the Princess Ark series, >you know the Savage Coast is in an entirely different part of Mystara than >the Known World. > Well, thanks for mentioning those things, but as I said, Mystara sruff comes first. What I'm saying is, if I post these in 1st ed xp, is it going to be inconvenient for anyone? If so, I'd happily calculate 2nd ed. xp for everyone, if someone emails me the chart. If not, and if anyone wants me to do so, it may take a few weeks, when I play in a campaign with people that have 2nd ed., and remember to copy it down. (there aren't many roleplayers here in Yakima. :( ) (By the way, the way I was able to use the elements of 2nd ed. format as well, was by looking in my MC Mystara.) Huh, just my luck, I get most of the mediocre stuff so when they did come out with Mark of Amber I couldn't afford it. The Red Steel boxed set is superb, but what about Savage Baronies? Wasn't there someone out there who had the online Savage Coast text files actually formatted? I downloaded some and was disappointed to see that the spaces. paragraphs, and tabs are all screwed over. What a pity. /--|--\ /-\/-\ /----\ / | \ / \ / o o \ | | | | | | | \ /|\ / \ / \ \__/ / \/_|_\/ , \ / , \____/ \/ Peace, Love, & Happiness, David Melik (aka DM the DM) Darwin@.nwinfo.net ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 26 Feb 1997 11:08:17 +0200 (EET) From: Anias Pasi Subject: [Mystara] prizes (was; tangs and...) John Yu Wrote: > If possible, I would like to take a look of your new price list, as > I'm thinking of doing the same thing myself. Ok. And sorry it took so long... And sorry for all the spelling errors following, I'll have to translate from Finland as I write... Weapon (specials, damage) Weight/cost/cost for excellent Knife (working tool, 1d3) 8/1-3/20-30 Dagger 10/6-12/50-100 Silver Dagger 11/50-100/250-400 Shortsword 30/25-50/100-200 Sword 60/50-100/300-800 Bastard-sword 80/60-120/350-900 2 handed sword 100/90-180/600-1200 club (wooden, 1d4) 50/5-10/25-40 Mace (iron) 30/10-20/50-100 Warhammer 50/13-26/60-100 Handaxe 30/4-8/50-100 Battleaxe 60/20-40/80-400 Spear 30/10-20/50-100 Javelin 20/6-12/50-100 Trident 25/15-30/80-160 Lance (normal, 1d10) 150/25-50/100-250 Lance (heavy, 1d12) 180/40-80/200-400 Staff (light, 1d6) 15/4-10/30-60 staff (heavy, 1d8) 25/8-14/50-80 Whip (numbers are per .5 yards) 1,5/2/10 Bola 5/8-16/60-100 Black Jack 5/8-10/50-80 ShortBow 20/50-90/200-400 -arrow -/0.2-0.4/1-2 Longbow 30/80-160/350-600 -arrow -/0.3-0.5/1.5-2.5 Crossbow 50/60-100/250-500 -bolt -/0.3-0.5/1.5-2.5 Heavy Crossbow 80/100-180/450-800 -bolt -/0.3-0.5/2-3 Blowpipe 6/4-6/20-30 -arrow(without poison) -/0.5-1/3-5 From ???@??? Fri Mar 07 09:09:57 1997 Return-Path: Received: from lists.io.com by bohm.anu.edu.au (SMI-8.6/SMI-SVR4) id CAA19688; Thu, 6 Mar 1997 02:20:02 +1100 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by lists.io.com (8.8.5/8.8.5) id IAA18111 for mystara-digest-outgoing; Wed, 5 Mar 1997 08:32:00 -0600 Date: Wed, 5 Mar 1997 08:32:00 -0600 Message-Id: <199703051432.IAA18111@lists.io.com> From: (mystara-digest) To: mystara-digest@lists.io.com Subject: mystara-digest V2 #6 Reply-To: mystara-l@lists.io.com Precedence: bulk X-UIDL: 51c512ccb43ae89f2ad137bb8af607a5 All the weapons are made to use, not to be pretty. If one wants an pretty one it will cost extra. 10% will make it prettier, but it may cost anything, depending on order (say, I'd like to inset 7 diamonts of 10000 a piece, here...) Excellent weapons are better than normal. They also tend to look better than normal. An Excellent weapon is either A) +1 to hit. Thats excellently ballanced or charpened or B) +1 to damage. Barbed, heavier or something. Usually these weapons also show their deadliness (look at oll those spikes..) Bows dont give +1 damage bonuses, but the arrows do. Instead excellent bows can give either +1 to hit (the arrows can too) or more often longer range, +10. +20 or +30 % depending on the str bonus needed to shut the bow with the bonus range. The bonuses are not magical. There is said to be also weapons of both +1 to hit and damage, but they are even more rare than magical weapons. Also you van make an normal weapon to be +1 to hit for 1d6 hits if you charpen it well. Armor name bonus/weight/prize/spec. Metal Cap 0/20/15 Chain helmet 0/20/15 Full helmet 1/25/40/-1r Small shield 1/100/10 Large shield 2/150/20/-1r Leather -shoft 1/100/15/for thieves too -shoft, stuffed 2/150/15/ -"- -shoft, studded 2/200/35/ -"- -Hard 2/150/40/ -"- -Hard, studded 3/250/60/-1r,-1d Scale -weak, flexible 2/200/80 -weak, riggid 3/350/120/-1r,-1d -hard,flexible 3/300/250 -hard, riggid 4/400/200/-1r,-1d Chain -weak, f 3/300/200 -weak, r 4/400/300/-1r,-1d -hard, f 4/350/400 -hard, r 5/450/350/-1r,-1d Banded -weak, f 4/350/350/-1r,-1d -weak, r 5/500/500/-2r,-2d -hard, f 5/450/800/-1r,-1d -hard, r 6/500/650/-2r,-2d Plate -weak, thin 5/450/900/-2r,-2d -weak, thick 6/600/1200/-3r,-3d -hard, thin 6/500/2000/-2r,-2d -Hard, thick 7/700/2500/-3r,-3d -Dwarven 8/1000/5000/-2r,-2d(dwarves),-6r,-6d(humans) -Jousting 9/900/10000/-4r,-4d - -*r means the wearer gets a -* neg. bonus to ranged attac to hit rolls - -*d means the wearer gets a -* neg. bonus to dexterity (lowers the dex bonus to armor value sometimes :) Hard leather is boiled in oil and molded for the user. Weak and hard determine the material used (iron, steel...) Flexible and riggid are determined by the workmanship. Thin and thick tell the thickness of the plate. You can also layer the armors: You can have a soft leather armor, or a chain under your plate, giving you even more armorvalue. for ex. A knight with a full helmet, small shield, a hard and thick plate and a soft leather under it, with dex 12 has an armor value of (9-1-1-7-1) -1. and dex of 12-3=9, and a -4 bonus for ranged weapon to hit rolls. There. I'll continue on the next post. Pasi - -- X Pasi Anias X p.03 - 2533536 X \\|// X X Sammonkatu 28 A 18 X a122286@proffa X (o o) X X 33540 Tampere X .cc.tut.fi X o000--(_)--000o X ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 26 Feb 1997 11:57:50 +0200 (EET) From: Anias Pasi Subject: [Mystara] prizes II (was; tangs and...) And the next part to the prize-list. (Or price actually, isnt it :) the list isn't at all complete but I hope it gives you some clues... Buildings & wehicles I use the list in the blue Book. traveling fares I use the list in trail maps Living: rented room with food (1 month): -beggars and such 4 -peasant, poor student 8 -middle class 12-15 -rich 30 A room in an inn (1 day, 2 persons, with horses with 2 meals) -peasant 0,5 -middle class 1 -rich 2 a pipefull of tobacco 0.01-0.2 a bed in the common room 0,05-0.1 breakfast 0.01-0.2 Dinner 0.03-0.5 a feast 0.5-10 /person Wine -common 0.03 a glass or 0.2 a bottle (plus .5-1 for the bottle) -good 0.1-0.3 or 1-3 -excellet 0.2-1. or 3-10 Ale 0.01-0.03 a pint trail rations - -normal 2-4 a week - -iron 8-15 a week Clothing normal clothes -beggar 0.01-0.1 -peasant 0.1-1 -middle class 1-15 -rich 10-100 Hired Help: Mundane help: - -Dagger/sword sharpening 0.01-0.2 - -messangerboy 0.01-1 - -shaving 0.01-0.2 - -haircut 0.1-1 - -bath 0.1-0.5 - -clothes washed 0.03-1 - -foretelling 0.1-5 Professional works: - -wounds bandaged 0.1-5 - -Horse shoed 0.1-5 a shoe - -treasured appraised 1-100 - -Letter written 0.1-10 - -Armor tended 0.5-50 - -broken armor repaired 1-25% of the original value Special Help - -Wounds tended by a cleric 10-500 - -magical item identified 10-500 -with commands told etc 100-1000 - -Foretelling 10-100 Ask more if you will... Pasi - -- X Pasi Anias X p.03 - 2533536 X \\|// X X Sammonkatu 28 A 18 X a122286@proffa X (o o) X X 33540 Tampere X .cc.tut.fi X o000--(_)--000o X ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 26 Feb 97 16:47:01 EST From: emayers@cosi.stockton.edu (Eric Mayers) Subject: [Mystara] Campaign idea Hey everybody. I've recently played in a great game set in the Norhtern Reaches. We were a group of vikings out on a mission to destroy an evil cult of dragons (Linnorm of couse: Norse Dragons) and also pillage and rape and all that other good stuff. Feel free to use this idea in any campaigns you may want to run. Eric Mayersky ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 Feb 1997 07:50:49 EST From: Neal Daskal Subject: [Mystara] Hello? Test post - I've seen no traffic for several days. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 Feb 1997 10:23:32 -0500 (EST) From: BZuber5988@aol.com Subject: Re: [Mystara] Hello? In a message dated 97-02-27 07:56:04 EST, Neal writes: << I've seen no traffic for several days.>> Well, look out your window a bit instead of gluing your face to the computer screen! :) Seriously though, I've been getting posts these past few days . . . not many, but a few. If you've been getting none whatsoever . . . then you're probably not getting this one, so never mind. Delarius ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 Feb 1997 10:26:01 -0500 (EST) From: BZuber5988@aol.com Subject: Re: [Mystara] Campaign idea In a message dated 97-02-26 17:17:31 EST, Eric writes: << I've recently played in a great game set in the Norhtern Reaches. We were a group of vikings out on a mission to destroy an evil cult of dragons (Linnorm of couse: Norse Dragons) and also pillage and rape and all that other good stuff. Feel free to use this idea in any campaigns you may want to run. >> Use what exactly? Hopefully not the rape and pillage part, in my campaign we play heroes. The dragons? Evil dragons are always fun to hunt down and destroy. Has anyone else used Linnorms in their Mystara campaigns? I'm curious how well they work. Did anybody try and fit them into the Law vs. Chaos axis of the more traditional chromatic and metallic dragons? Delarius ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 Feb 1997 12:11:54 +0500 From: Aron Reif Subject: Re: [Mystara] Hello? At 07:50 AM 2/27/97 EST, you wrote: >Test post - I've seen no traffic for several days. > That happened to me a few weeks ago. I waited for a week or two and there weren't any posts. I ended up re-subscribing, and that seemed to work. Missed a few weeks of posts, tho... Aron Reif areif@vt.edu ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 Feb 1997 17:44:16 -0800 (PST) From: David Melik Subject: [Mystara] Who is the Khan Who's this Khan fellow in Glantri (or nearby?)? I was looking through the FNN stuff lately and saw this: Council of Mages declares total crackdown on priests "deluding" the people and set out magic wards to detect priest spells and send out guards. Prince Jaggar von Drachenfels has declared volition to lead his armies against the Khan's heretics, and to cleanse the Known World of this religionus nonsense. At least three uprisings have been quelled in Glantri since the decision. However, all of them have been very minor. It seems most of the populace just doesn't care. /--|--\ /-\/-\ /----\ / | \ / \ / o o \ | | | | | | | \ /|\ / \ / \ \__/ / \/_|_\/ , \ / , \____/ \/ Peace, Love, & Happiness, David Melik Darwin@.nwinfo.net ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 Feb 1997 17:42:23 -0800 (PST) From: David Melik Subject: [Mystara] Who is the Khan Who's this Khan fellow in Glantri (or nearby?)? I was looking through the FNN stuff lately and saw this: Cleric Crackdown in Glantri Glantri City, Glantri Council of Mages declares total crackdown on priests "deluding" the people and set out magic wards to detect priest spells and send out guards. Prince Jaggar von Drachenfels has declared volition to lead his armies against the Khan's heretics, and to cleanse the Known World of this religionus nonsense. At least three uprisings have been quelled in Glantri since the decision. However, all of them have been very minor. It seems most of the populace just doesn't care. Ian Clysdale: ag757@yfn.ysu.edu /--|--\ /-\/-\ /----\ / | \ / \ / o o \ | | | | | | | \ /|\ / \ / \ \__/ / \/_|_\/ , \ / , \____/ \/ Peace, Love, & Happiness, David Melik Darwin@.nwinfo.net ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 Feb 1997 19:20:25 -0700 (MST) From: "Cthulhudrew, The Great Old One" Subject: Re: [Mystara] Who is the Khan On Thu, 27 Feb 1997, David Melik wrote: > Who's this Khan fellow in Glantri (or nearby?)? I was looking through the > FNN stuff lately and saw this: That is probably referring to either a) Jherek Virayana, Prince/"Khan" of Krinagar in Glantri, or else (more likely) b) Moglai Khan, Great Khan of Ethengar, who sends his clerical agents the "Ten Thousand Fists of Khan" across the border into Glantri to try and subvert the magocracy. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 28 Feb 1997 12:04:36 GMT From: rolfs@netway.at (Rolf Schoefnagel) Subject: Re: [Mystara] Who is the Khan On Thu, 27 Feb 1997 19:20:25 -0700 (MST), you wrote: >On Thu, 27 Feb 1997, David Melik wrote: > >> Who's this Khan fellow in Glantri (or nearby?)? I was looking through the >> FNN stuff lately and saw this: > >That is probably referring to either a) Jherek Virayana, Prince/"Khan" of >Krinagar in Glantri, or else (more likely) b) Moglai Khan, Great Khan of >Ethengar, who sends his clerical agents the "Ten Thousand Fists of Khan" >across the border into Glantri to try and subvert the magocracy. > If you look at the original gazetter, the reference pretty clearly shows that Moglai Khan is the one. There´s this short transcript of a council session where Jaggar von Drachenfels (sorry Bruce, but that name mixture is poor, we native german speakers are pretty much fed up with everyone militaric or racist getting a german sounding name) tries to talk all others into the war against Ethengar. If I remember correctly, the "Ten Thousand Fists of Khan" are more of an underground organisation in Glantri than the Glantrian part of a much bigger, Ethengarian based organisation. Don´t quote me on that, I don´t know all of the Gazetter by heart. <_< Rolf Schoefnagel >_> <_< E-Mail: rolfs@netway.at >_> <_< "I will take the Ring," he said, "though I do not know the way." >_> ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 28 Feb 1997 12:40:14 -0700 (MST) From: "Cthulhudrew, The Great Old One" Subject: Re: [Mystara] Who is the Khan On Fri, 28 Feb 1997, Rolf Schoefnagel wrote: > If you look at the original gazetter, the reference pretty clearly shows > that Moglai Khan is the one. There´s this short transcript of a council > session where Jaggar von Drachenfels (sorry Bruce, but that name mixture is > poor, we native german speakers are pretty much fed up with everyone > militaric or racist getting a german sounding name) tries to talk all others > into the war against Ethengar. My take on Jaggar is that he's from a Hattian/Alphatian family, hence his German sounding/Hattian name. But your point is taken, though, in those regards. As for Moglai, you are right, but the ambiguity of the FNN journal could very well allow the Khan to be Jherek- neither one is big on Jaggar's fan list. It depends on how you want things to develop in your campaign- civil war or just war. > If I remember correctly, the "Ten Thousand Fists of Khan" are more of an > underground organisation in Glantri than the Glantrian part of a much > bigger, Ethengarian based organisation. Don´t quote me on that, I don´t know > all of the Gazetter by heart. That's exactly what they are. Just a bunch of wandering, itinerant Ethengarian Clerics that try to preach their beliefs and spread dissent against the Magocracy (and heavy anti-clericism) of Glantri. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 03 Mar 1997 11:51:12 +0000 From: dalmonte@dsc.unibo.it Subject: [Mystara] PC3 Has any of you noticed that at page (don't remember) of PC3, where it is stated that submarine creatures don't use shields because they're uneffective underwater, there is a small picture just above those lines showing a merrow carrying a shield in his left arm???? Hey, i think designers and artists should talk to each other some times, so they could avoid these kind of mistakes (the one about Talasar's black lion coat of arms is another example) DM ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 03 Mar 1997 09:43:09 -0500 From: Rob Rickard Subject: [Mystara] Princess Ark What do you think happened to the Princess Ark after Alphatia sank. And what do you think Berylith's Quest(goal) is that her Immortal put her? ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 03 Mar 1997 12:19:20 EST From: Neal Daskal Subject: Re: [Mystara] Princess Ark >What do you think happened to the Princess Ark after Alphatia sank. > The TSR canon on post-sinking Known World was published as the Poor Wizard's Almanacs. I only bought the first three. To that point, the Princess Ark and crew had been instrumental in discovering the new Alphatia as a floating continent in the Hollow World, deposing Zandor, and bringing him to Eriadna for judgement. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 3 Mar 1997 16:22:42 -0500 (EST) From: Dleggend@aol.com Subject: Re: [Mystara] Princess Ark I wonder what happened to Zandor after the Princess Ark brought him to Eriadna. The Alamanac stops there. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 03 Mar 1997 17:00:13 -0700 (MST) From: "Cthulhudrew, The Great Old One" Subject: Re: [Mystara] Princess Ark On Mon, 3 Mar 1997, Rob Rickard wrote: > What do you think happened to the Princess Ark after Alphatia sank. It played some part in the War (exactly what isn't ever stated). After Alphatia sank, Haldemar docked her in Floating Ar, in order to try and restore order to the Empire. He was approached by emissaries of Alphatia (in the Hollow World) and set off at once to contact the Empire. After he did so, he returned, helping a revolution in the Kingdom of Skyfyr, and becoming an instrumental part of the restoration of the Alphatian Empire. Currently, Haldemar and crew are returning Eriadna's wayward son to her. Of course, all of this is in the PWA's and Joshuan's Almanac. > And what do you think Berylith's Quest(goal) is that her Immortal put > her? To serve Haldemar. :) ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 03 Mar 1997 17:07:14 -0700 (MST) From: "Cthulhudrew, The Great Old One" Subject: Re: [Mystara] Princess Ark On Mon, 3 Mar 1997 Dleggend@aol.com wrote: > I wonder what happened to Zandor after the Princess Ark brought him to > Eriadna. The Alamanac stops there. I'm sure he was put up in some nice little padded tower room somewhere in the Imperial Palace, where he could throw tantrums all day long. Oh, and be experimented on to see how his magic failed, and if it could be restored. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 4 Mar 1997 12:42:26 +0200 (EET) From: Aleksej Andrievskij Subject: Re: [Mystara] Princess Ark On Mon, 3 Mar 1997, Rob Rickard wrote: > What do you think happened to the Princess Ark after Alphatia sank. > > And what do you think Berylith's Quest(goal) is that her Immortal put > her? > Further adventures of Princess Ark and Haldemar are described in Poor Wizard's Almanacs. For example, she plays a large role in overthrowing Xanthus, King of Skyfyr. Aleksei ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 5 Mar 1997 11:15:03 +0100 From: dalmonte@dsc.unibo.it Subject: [Mystara] Viruses Attack! >>Virus Info >>~~~~~~~~~~ >> >>Updates on viruses that are around. >>1. DEEYENDA -- This virus will have "Deeyenda" in the subject line. Don't >>open it, it must be deleted immediately, or it'll really mess up the hard >>drive. >> >>2. PENPAL GREETINGS - This is a trojan horse virus that has "Penpal >>Greetings" on the subject line. It must be deleted immediately. If you open >>it, the virus will spread to your hard drive and ruin everything. By the >>time you finish reading the letter, it will be forwarded to all the >>addresses you have in your mailbox as well. >> just to let you know there are things worse than chaotic dragons out there... DM ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 5 Mar 1997 13:58:50 +0100 From: dalmonte@dsc.unibo.it Subject: [Mystara] Undead revolt? I read somewhere that in 1014 an asteroid crashes in Skothar and then throughout the world all the dead seem to return from the grave and the undead attacks multiply. What's going on here? Has anyone a clue on this topic? DM ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 5 Mar 1997 10:54:50 +0100 (MET) From: "Oystein H. Lund" Subject: Re: [Mystara] Viruses Attack! Ooh, those memetic viruses are really scary ;) (Memetic virus - while nothing like "Good Times", "Deeyenda", or "Penpals" actually exist, the IDEA gets spread in a viruslike manner - it takes over the host's brain, and forces him to replicate the idea by warning others about the possibility too. I'm sure there's a game idea in there somewhere - how about a strange form of life that procreates through taking over a host's brain via sound waves ? Some fellow comes up to you and starts on the standard priest spiel about Immortals - and the next thing you know, the Memetic Monster has you making saves vs. spells or be taken over by one of the Monster's children... thus making you join the cult, give away all your money to the Granfather Monster who first posessed a mortal, and the go about trying to procreate yourself. Or the Idea living in your head does anyway. You are "evicted" from your body if the Memetic Monster manages to take you over ;) ) _______________________________________________________________________ | Oeystein H. Lund ,kj160@lhg.hib.no | | "Who are we, why are we here ?" | | - Forget the questions, someone gimme another beer. | |_____________________________________________________________________| ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 5 Mar 1997 15:30:30 +0100 (MET) From: Haavard Roenne Faanes Subject: Re: [Mystara] Undead revolt? On Wed, 5 Mar 1997 dalmonte@dsc.unibo.it wrote: > I read somewhere that in 1014 an asteroid crashes in Skothar and then > throughout the world all the dead seem to return from the grave and the > undead attacks multiply. What's going on here? Has anyone a clue on this topic? I havent a clue. I was just thinking. The planet Damocles in Mystaras solar system is going to blow up in the near or not so near future. The asteroid could be part of the planet. Anyone had any ideas about whats really going on on Damocles? Haavard Haavard R. Faanes Email: hoc@nvg.unit.no hoc@nvg.nuts.edu http://www.nvg.ntnu.no/~hoc "I didn't spend all those years playing Dungeons and Dragons without learning a bit about courage" -The X-Files ------------------------------ End of mystara-digest V2 #6 *************************** mystara-digest Thursday, March 6 1997 Volume 02 : Number 007 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 5 Mar 1997 13:07:09 +0100 (MET) From: "Oystein H. Lund" Subject: Re: [Mystara] Undead revolt? I remember that undead revolt thingy - it's from the Fantasy News Network, right ? It's some sort of completely non-canon bits of someone's campaign that's been posted there... I'm not knocking posting about happenings in your campaign of course (Just about everything in the FNN is based on contributor's campaigns) but there are some incredibly boneheaded bits in there sometimes (The Black eagle kidnapping the Stephan, sending him to the Isle of Dread, and performing a Ritual of Disintregation on him - a ritual that seems to have started whenthe characters knocked on the room's door ? Hmm. The Black Eagle I've read about would either drown Stephan in acid, hand him over to Bargle to dispose of immediately, or just slit his throath, depending on whether he'd taken his medication that day or not... Then again, there was the time I was playing X10, and Stephan had lost the Karameikan civil war and disappeared. Turned out Ludwig had Bargle polymorph him into a parrot, and then stuck the bird in a cage in his own rooms. Fairly twisted, but I'm still in doubt abou the GM ;) _______________________________________________________________________ | Oeystein H. Lund ,kj160@lhg.hib.no | | "Who are we, why are we here ?" | | - Forget the questions, someone gimme another beer. | |_____________________________________________________________________| ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 5 Mar 1997 13:21:36 +0000 From: "Mike Harvey" Subject: [Mystara] Question Just out of curiosity, do people on this list use the D&D rules or AD&D? No reason, except I've never met anyone who used D&D for a major campaign. If you *do* use D&D, why do you prefer it to AD&D? Mike - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- bing@iccom.com (formerly mike@cs.pdx.edu) Mike Harvey HTTP://www.iccom.com/usrwww/bing/home.html Beaverton, Oregon ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 5 Mar 97 22:29:17 UT From: "Alan Jones" Subject: RE: [Mystara] Question I play/DM using the basic D&D rules. Why? 'Cause that's what we came across first in the form of the Rule's Cyclopedea. I also play (awful word but it's late and I'm tired) in several AD&D campaigns. I like them both but D&D has a simplicity that appeals. Also I like Mystara & the Hollow World as a setting. Enough to get your teeth into but plenty of space for 'Here be Dragons' on the map. Alan Just out of curiosity, do people on this list use the D&D rules or AD&D? No reason, except I've never met anyone who used D&D for a major campaign. If you *do* use D&D, why do you prefer it to AD&D? Mike ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 05 Mar 1997 17:28:57 -0500 From: Rob Rickard Subject: Re: [Mystara] Undead revolt? Oystein H. Lund wrote: > > I remember that undead revolt thingy - it's from the Fantasy News > Network, right ? It's some sort of completely non-canon bits of > someone's campaign that's been posted there... I'm not knocking posting > about happenings in your campaign of course (Just about everything in the > FNN is based on contributor's campaigns) but there are some incredibly > boneheaded bits in there sometimes (The Black eagle kidnapping the > Stephan, sending him to the Isle of Dread, and performing a Ritual of > Disintregation on him - a ritual that seems to have started whenthe > characters knocked on the room's door ? Hmm. The Black Eagle I've read > about would either drown Stephan in acid, hand him over to Bargle to > dispose of immediately, or just slit his throath, depending on whether > he'd taken his medication that day or not... Then again, there was the > time I was playing X10, and Stephan had lost the Karameikan civil war and > disappeared. ****Turned out Ludwig had Bargle polymorph him into a parrot, and then stuck the bird in a cage in his own rooms.**** > Fairly twisted, butI'm still in doubt abou the GM ;) I love this Idea. I ran a campaign where Karameikos exploded with a minor civil war. The Black Eagle Baron (LugWig) had just about lost the war but with the help of Bargle had kidnapped the Duke and his family. A PC adventure(hero of the Traladar poeple) almost saved Stephen but the crule Baron killed the Duke and his kin as the heros(PC's) stormed FortDoom. The PC's led the Baron down the streets of Specularum for a public execution(Bargle escaped the fort and left his partner for death). A true civil war broke out with every titled lord. The Traladaran families fueded against the Thyatin poeple, lords and against themselves. It was ulgy. The Thyatin empire started to move in to take control. The PC's thought that that was too much. The main hero was Traladari. He united the Traladaran families to rebel. Soon after even the Karameikos lords with Thyatin blood joined the PC's to keep the Empire's grip out of Karameikos. The Empire not ready to go to war so close to their capital city decided to just let it be. The PC was supported by the people and the lords of the old Karameikos geve their alliance. The PC is now King of Afenland (old Karameikos). I never saw the down fall of Karameikos comming but it ended up well. It was a great game year that took over halv a year to do. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 05 Mar 1997 18:17:50 -0500 From: Rob Rickard Subject: Re: [Mystara] Question > Just out of curiosity, do people on this list use the D&D rules or > AD&D? No reason, except I've never met anyone who used D&D for a > major campaign. If you *do* use D&D, why do you prefer it to AD&D? > > Mike I play D&D (HOME RULES). IT lets me warp rules the way I like them. It is also what I started with in Mystara. I dont like change. I just like to expand & grow. I am thinking about creating my own rules adn a totaly new world. Its the time thing that stops me. I dont have enough of it. Mystara is a great world, But it will never truly be mine. I have a fear thta years down the line after I have changed Mystara, TSR will republish it diferent, and I will be too far into my own version to turn back or add what their work. Right now it works with the published material. As Mystara's timeline turns in my campaign it grows away from TSR. I love the work of Bruce & Co. if they published the material I would use their timeline. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 5 Mar 1997 19:26:54 -0500 (EST) From: Kaviyd@aol.com Subject: Re: [Mystara] Viruses Attack! In a message dated 97-03-05 05:32:38 EST, dalmonte@dsc.unibo.it writes: << >>Virus Info >>~~~~~~~~~~ >> >>Updates on viruses that are around. >>1. DEEYENDA -- This virus will have "Deeyenda" in the subject line. Don't >>open it, it must be deleted immediately, or it'll really mess up the hard >>drive. >> >>2. PENPAL GREETINGS - This is a trojan horse virus that has "Penpal >>Greetings" on the subject line. It must be deleted immediately. If you open >>it, the virus will spread to your hard drive and ruin everything. By the >>time you finish reading the letter, it will be forwarded to all the >>addresses you have in your mailbox as well. >> just to let you know there are things worse than chaotic dragons out there... DM >> These are hoaxes -- in fact, you can safely disregard any virus warnings of the form given here (notice that both follow the same pattern -- they warn of an e-mail virus that has a certain word or phrase in the subject line). For more information, I would recommend consulting the Web page http://www.kumite.com/myths. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 05 Mar 1997 17:48:22 -0700 (MST) From: "Cthulhudrew, The Great Old One" Subject: Re: [Mystara] Undead revolt? On Wed, 5 Mar 1997 dalmonte@dsc.unibo.it wrote: > I read somewhere that in 1014 an asteroid crashes in Skothar and then > throughout the world all the dead seem to return from the grave and the > undead attacks multiply. What's going on here? Has anyone a clue on this > topic? I'm not positive, but I think that comes from the FNN adventurer's journal. FNN is a net journal of events; it is not canon. Feel free to use it or ignore it, as suits your mood. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 05 Mar 1997 18:07:22 -0700 (MST) From: "Cthulhudrew, The Great Old One" Subject: Re: [Mystara] Question On Wed, 5 Mar 1997, Mike Harvey wrote: > Just out of curiosity, do people on this list use the D&D rules or > AD&D? No reason, except I've never met anyone who used D&D for a > major campaign. If you *do* use D&D, why do you prefer it to AD&D? I prefer using OD&D when campaigning in Mystara, though I have some house rules that are based on things from AD&D (I play both, btw, just not both on Mystara). As for why? I don't know. Personal preference. I've been playing OD&D since the days of the first red box, before Mystara even had a name (before it was even "the Known World"). To me, OD&D and Mystara are inseparable. Halflings are a race, elves are a race, dwarves are a race, and ne'er the twain shall intermingle with the class system used for humans (within certain limits- I use the optional rules for dwarf-clerics, etc.) Why? Just because that's what I like. I prefer the flavor of OD&D for Mystara. I also prefer the weapon mastery system, the War Machine rules, etc, to AD&D versions of same. Could Mystara be converted to AD&D- certainly. It has been. But, IMO, you lose some of the flavor of that world, it loses some of its uniqueness. It's just a personal thing. :) ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 06 Mar 1997 00:16:36 +0100 From: Ivar Brath Lien Subject: Re: [Mystara] Question - ------------70A470B469C00 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Hi! We use the AD&D rules with skills & powers and all that. Really works well. - -- BratH iblien@online.no Ivar Brath Lien 11A312 Kringsjĺ studentby Sognsvn. 218 0864 Oslo ____ .--´----`\ `--O---O-~¨¨¨~~¨¨ Levandi - -- Levandi T Hades loremaster shadowmagic, The Great School of magic Minister of Justice, Ringmoor - ------------70A470B469C00 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Type: text/html; charset=us-ascii
Hi!
 
We use the AD&D rules with skills & powers and all that. Really works well.
- -- 
BratH

iblien@online.no

Ivar Brath Lien
11A312 Kringsjå studentby
Sognsvn. 218
0864 Oslo

       ____
   .--´----`\
   `--O---O-~¨¨¨~~¨¨


Levandi
- -- 
Levandi T Hades
loremaster shadowmagic, The Great School of magic
Minister of Justice, Ringmoor
 
- ------------70A470B469C00-- ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 06 Mar 1997 00:21:42 +0100 From: Ivar Brath Lien Subject: Re: [Mystara] Undead revolt? - ------------30D32A6348BE1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Hi The campaign I'm playin right now, it's actually four asteroids that have fallen. (One in balack peaks, one in Illarum, one near Fire Island (isle in sea of dread) The last one, I don't know where has fallen.) - -- Brigoux iblien@online.no Ivar Brath Lien 11A312 Kringsjĺ studentby Sognsvn. 218 0864 Oslo ____ .--´----`\ `--O---O-~¨¨¨~~¨¨ Levandi - -- Levandi T Hades loremaster shadowmagic, The Great School of magic Minister of Justice, Ringmoor - ------------30D32A6348BE1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Type: text/html; charset=us-ascii
Hi
 
The campaign I'm playin right now, it's actually four asteroids that have fallen. (One in balack peaks, one in Illarum, one near Fire Island (isle in sea of dread) The last one, I don't know where has fallen.)

- -- 
Brigoux

iblien@online.no

Ivar Brath Lien
11A312 Kringsjå studentby
Sognsvn. 218
0864 Oslo

       ____
   .--´----`\
   `--O---O-~¨¨¨~~¨¨


Levandi
- -- 
Levandi T Hades
loremaster shadowmagic, The Great School of magic
Minister of Justice, Ringmoor
 
- ------------30D32A6348BE1-- ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 06 Mar 1997 00:31:17 +0100 From: Rafiel Subject: [Mystara] Shadow elves - ------------3C454CFC63CC3 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Hi! I'm wondering if any of you uses the Joshuan's almanac. If so, do you use the happenings there in the playing? It is mentioned there that The city of stars will raise to the surface after a war between Human and Beastmen. Karameikos and Darokin will then be so weak after the war, that it will be easy for the Shadow-elves to take control. Not very optimistic signs for the future.... - -- Brigoux iblien@online.no Ivar Brath Lien 11A312 Kringsjĺ studentby Sognsvn. 218 0864 Oslo ____ .--´----`\ `--O---O-~¨¨¨~~¨¨ Levandi - -- Levandi T Hades loremaster shadowmagic, The Great School of magic Minister of Justice, Ringmoor - ------------3C454CFC63CC3 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Type: text/html; charset=us-ascii
Hi!
 
I'm wondering if any of you uses the Joshuan's almanac. If so, do you use the happenings there in the playing?
 
It is mentioned there that The city of stars will raise to the surface after a war between Human and Beastmen. Karameikos and Darokin will then be so weak after the war, that it will be easy for the Shadow-elves to take control.
 
Not very optimistic signs for the future....
 

- -- 
Brigoux

iblien@online.no

Ivar Brath Lien
11A312 Kringsjå studentby
Sognsvn. 218
0864 Oslo

       ____
   .--´----`\
   `--O---O-~¨¨¨~~¨¨


Levandi
- -- 
Levandi T Hades
loremaster shadowmagic, The Great School of magic
Minister of Justice, Ringmoor
 
- ------------3C454CFC63CC3-- ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 05 Mar 1997 10:17:18 -0600 From: Enrique Pacheco Subject: Re: [Mystara] Question When I started playing D&D we wera a group with no idea of the rules but with a DM who had a great imagination and we had luts of fun (that was more than a decade ago). Now, we play about once a week and have at least three campaigns (different players but same 4 person core group) in Mystara, Greyhawk and FR. Over the years I tool up the mantle of DM and we have had many campaigns. In the beginign we used only the D&D rules but in the last 4 years there have been some changes. Even though all of us (meaning me and at least 7 other regular players) have played AD&D we have all found one thing that we dislike about AD&D: there are too many rules, game speed is sacrificed int mechanics and record keeping becomes a mayor haul. Examples: D&D initiative: roll 1d6 (if you have a two-handed weapon you lose initiative) AD&D initiative: roll 1d10 plus weapon speed, casting time, etc. D&D spell casting: almost all spells have verbal and somatic components, only high level spells have materal components. AD&D spell casting: Try finding the components for a jump, augury and hold person spell. We do not continue to play with only the basic rules of D&D. We use the General skills rules and have actually prefered to use weapon proficency (second edition) over the weapon mastery rules (which were to cumbersome). The general rule for the game is: rules exist to assist role playing while mantaining game balance and making the game run smoothly. If a rule is not helping to achive this end then it must be changed by vote from everyone sitting at the table at that moment. A rule can be improved or removed if after some sessions it is found lacking. We still use the advencement tables (experience, spells, etc.), clases, experince point tables, monsters, race modifiers from the Rules Cyclopedia. We now use all races from the players handbook, weapon specialization and all spells from any AD&D or D&D source (including but not restricted to players hadbook -both editions-, Tome of Magic, dragon Magazine, the Internet, etc) having them changed in level to the appropiate D&D spell level. We have never found anything comparable to the War machine. If the campaign is not being played in Mystara priests may choose to either take the spells from the cyclopedia plus those of the cleric spheres' (with all restrictions and bonusess of the normal cleric class) or play a preist having access to the powers and spheres given by the deity. Do not suppose that the rules are changed every time to suit either the DM or the players each ocassion. Rules changes are so infrecuent that I do not think there have been more than 3 changes to our rules for the last year and all rules are written down (ussually in the cyclopedia). - -- "If I was given every opportunity I'd kill for your love." I was born to love you. Queen, 1995. Enrique Pacheco. Email: pach@mail.geocities.com http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Arcade/2426/index.html ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 05 Mar 1997 22:50:11 EST From: nbamba@juno.com (Nicholas C Bambakidis) Subject: Re: [Mystara] Question > >Just out of curiosity, do people on this list use the D&D rules or >AD&D? No reason, except I've never met anyone who used D&D for a >major campaign. If you *do* use D&D, why do you prefer it to AD&D? > >Mike > OD&D offers: quick advancement to high levels of play good useable rules for dominion rulership and fighting mass combat (war machine) an outstanding weapon mastery option which allows for more choices in weapon type and combat options for players a relatively small list of spells which speeds up game play, limits the amount of book searching required during play, and therefore makes the DM's job easier and allows him to concentrate on true role playing, instead of being an encyclopedist because of the possibility for high level advancement, heroes can take on epic quests and be involved with the fate of nations and great populations (Birthright apparently offers many of the same elements with AD&D, but at lower levels) provides detailed rules for guiding a character to immortality and, before TSR ruined it by switching to AD&D, an outstandingly detailed game world, rich with detail and fascinating characters and locales ripe with adventuring possibilities AD&D offers: much more flexibility with respect to PC choices of character class, spells, etc. more detailed rules, from everything from combat to morale to movement demands much more attention to detail from DM's and players alike provides more of a sense of realism, and is weighted much more towards lower level play and the standard "dungeon crawl" Having played both, I have found that there are elements of both games that I enjoy, but I must admit that OD&D is the better game system, both in terms of playability and enjoyment. (I should also point out that all From ???@??? Fri Mar 07 10:45:51 1997 Return-Path: Received: from lists.io.com by bohm.anu.edu.au (SMI-8.6/SMI-SVR4) id KAA13808; Fri, 7 Mar 1997 10:42:30 +1100 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by lists.io.com (8.8.5/8.8.5) id RAA28605 for mystara-digest-outgoing; Thu, 6 Mar 1997 17:37:16 -0600 Date: Thu, 6 Mar 1997 17:37:16 -0600 Message-Id: <199703062337.RAA28605@lists.io.com> From: (mystara-digest) To: mystara-digest@lists.io.com Subject: mystara-digest V2 #7 Reply-To: mystara-l@lists.io.com Precedence: bulk X-UIDL: 889d4368b3a10a86bf9f5a5cafd95b2e three of my players concur, even though they all play multi-classed or dual-classed characters) Currently however, we are playing AD&D because TSR has seen fit to eliminate all OD&D product lines and converting to OD&D is just too time consuming (going the other direction, I have found, is not as difficult) ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 5 Mar 1997 23:39:07 -0500 (EST) From: Dleggend@aol.com Subject: Re: [Mystara] Shadow elves If you get 1014AC Almanac on-line, The Shadow Elves do raise a city to the surface. They raised Aengmor or known as the city formally named Oenkmar to the Orcs. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 05 Mar 1997 23:35:05 -0500 From: Rob Rickard Subject: Re: [Mystara] Question Cthulhudrew, The Great Old One wrote: > I prefer using OD&D when campaigning in Mystara, though I have some house > rules that are based on things from AD&D (I play both, btw, just not both > on Mystara). > > As for why? I don't know. Personal preference. I've been playing OD&D > since the days of the first red box, before Mystara even had a name > (before it was even "the Known World"). To me, OD&D and Mystara are > inseparable. Halflings are a race, elves are a race, dwarves are a race, > and ne'er the twain shall intermingle with the class system used for > humans (within certain limits- I use the optional rules for > dwarf-clerics, etc.) Why? Just because that's what I like. I prefer the > flavor of OD&D for Mystara. I also prefer the weapon mastery system, the > War Machine rules, etc, to AD&D versions of same. > > Could Mystara be converted to AD&D- certainly. It has been. But, IMO, you > lose some of the flavor of that world, it loses some of its uniqueness. > It's just a personal thing. :) I feel the exact same way! It is just the rules Mysatra was created for. It fits. I have been using it for 12 years now. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 6 Mar 1997 11:41:33 +0200 (EET) From: Aleksej Andrievskij Subject: Re: [Mystara] Question On Wed, 5 Mar 1997, Mike Harvey wrote: > Just out of curiosity, do people on this list use the D&D rules or > AD&D? No reason, except I've never met anyone who used D&D for a > major campaign. If you *do* use D&D, why do you prefer it to AD&D? > I use D&D rules in my campaign because it's still in AC 1005, and all accessories for that time are written in D&D rules. I don't have the time or desire to convert everything to AD&D. However, when we reach AC 1012, I'm considering switching to AD&D rules. Aleksei ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 05 Mar 1996 07:49:23 +0100 From: Jorn-Roger Steen Subject: Re: [Mystara] Question WE use ad&d rules I persenaly think they work better, but then again I havent played to much d&d. I can understand why ppl chose to use the original rules tho because when u have rules u r familiar with and like its hard to go over to a new system. I also wondered what site on the www that has the best mystara stuff on it any suggestions? At 13:21 05.03.97 +0000, you wrote: >Just out of curiosity, do people on this list use the D&D rules or >AD&D? No reason, except I've never met anyone who used D&D for a >major campaign. If you *do* use D&D, why do you prefer it to AD&D? > >Mike > >---------------------------------------------------------------------- >bing@iccom.com (formerly mike@cs.pdx.edu) Mike Harvey >HTTP://www.iccom.com/usrwww/bing/home.html Beaverton, Oregon > > ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 6 Mar 1997 05:32:00 -0600 (CST) From: Daniel Reece Buhler Subject: [Mystara] Joshuan's Almanac Sorry, but I'v never heard of this before now. Could someone elaborate on what it is and where I can find it? Later, D.R. Buhler ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 6 Mar 1997 13:06:20 +0100 (MET) From: Haavard Roenne Faanes Subject: Re: [Mystara] Joshuan's Almanac On Thu, 6 Mar 1997, Daniel Reece Buhler wrote: > > Sorry, but I'v never heard of this before now. Could someone > elaborate on what it is and where I can find it? The Joshuan Almanac is the fourth of the Poor Wizards Almanacs. It a bit different than the others. It contains litle new information and is more interesting for PCs wanting to get a taste of the campaign flavour rather than GM Campaign info, as I and many others had hoped for. As for the events described therin, I do not have the Almanac where I am right now. Maybe someone else can help you out there. Haavard Haavard R. Faanes Email: hoc@nvg.unit.no hoc@nvg.nuts.edu http://www.nvg.ntnu.no/~hoc "I didn't spend all those years playing Dungeons and Dragons without learning a bit about courage" -The X-Files ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 6 Mar 1997 13:50:42 +0100 From: dalmonte@dsc.unibo.it Subject: Re: [Mystara] Undead revolt? At 15.30 05/03/97 +0100, you wrote: > >I havent a clue. >I was just thinking. The planet Damocles in Mystaras solar system is going >to blow up in the near or not so near future. The asteroid could be part >of the planet. Anyone had any ideas about whats really going on on >Damocles? > >Haavard Hey, finally one person that uses the old Immortal set astronomic setting! Congratualtions! Anyway, i think this could be good as a starting point for an intriguing adventure... Originally i thought it referred to "Tale of the Comet" supplement that is going to be published this year (if TSR repairs its printer, of course...:(), but this idea is far better... Keep adding on! DM ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 6 Mar 1997 14:01:14 +0100 From: dalmonte@dsc.unibo.it Subject: [Mystara] Priest benefits If you look at Wrath of the Immortals set (DM's book), you'll see that each major immortal grants his priests some benefits in term of spells, characteristics imporvement, weapon choice or general skills. What i cannot figure out is: do only priest receive those bonuses, or also Paladins and Avengers??? DM ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 6 Mar 1997 14:10:49 +0100 From: dalmonte@dsc.unibo.it Subject: Re: [Mystara] Question At 22.50 05/03/97 EST, you wrote: >> >>Just out of curiosity, do people on this list use the D&D rules or >>AD&D? No reason, except I've never met anyone who used D&D for a >>major campaign. If you *do* use D&D, why do you prefer it to AD&D? I use MD&D, that is to say Modified D&D (as everyone else out there does, i think) >OD&D offers: > -quick advancement to high levels of play > -good useable rules for dominion rulership and fighting mass > combat (war machine) Mmmhh... the rules regarding dominion rulership are not so good as you might think, i assure you... > -an outstanding weapon mastery option which allows for more > choices in weapon type and combat options for players veery dangerous but very interesting (i use it)... provided u upgrade certain powers of the weapons described in Expert and Companion set (think about the damage that a Great Master in Longsword with an intelligent weapon with the power of x4 damage can do (i have not to think about it because i have witnessed it!!!) > -a relatively small list of spells which speeds up game play, > limits the amount of book searching required during play, > and therefore makes the DM's job easier and allows him to > concentrate on true role playing, instead of being an > encyclopedist This depends on the DM (who has not introduced some of HIS own designed spells in the game?) but it is basically true > -because of the possibility for high level advancement, heroes can > take on epic quests and be involved with the fate of > nations and great populations (Birthright apparently > offers many of the same elements with AD&D, but at lower > levels) Well, i think that also AD&D offers this opportunity > -provides detailed rules for guiding a character to immortality > and, before TSR ruined it by switching to AD&D, an outstandingly > detailed game world, rich with detail and fascinating > characters and locales ripe with adventuring possibilities That is definitely the cornerstone that IMHO places OD&D and especially Mystara high above any of the other AD&D worlds (except maybe Ravenloft, but this is another story)! Long live Mystara! DM ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 6 Mar 1997 14:32:55 +0100 (MET) From: Haavard Roenne Faanes Subject: Re: [Mystara] Priest benefits On Thu, 6 Mar 1997 dalmonte@dsc.unibo.it wrote: > If you look at Wrath of the Immortals set (DM's book), you'll see that each > major immortal grants his priests some benefits in term of spells, > characteristics imporvement, weapon choice or general skills. What i cannot > figure out is: do only priest receive those bonuses, or also Paladins and > Avengers??? Its a DMs call I guess. I think it was intended for priests only, but I dont see why Paladins/avangers shouldn't get any special benefits from their Immortals... Haavard. Haavard R. Faanes Email: hoc@nvg.unit.no hoc@nvg.nuts.edu http://www.nvg.ntnu.no/~hoc "I didn't spend all those years playing Dungeons and Dragons without learning a bit about courage" -The X-Files ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 06 Mar 1997 15:05:30 +0000 From: dalmonte@dsc.unibo.it Subject: Re: [Mystara] Priest benefits >At 14.32 06/03/97 +0100, you wrote: >> >>Its a DMs call I guess. I think it was intended for priests only, but I >>dont see why Paladins/avangers shouldn't get any special benefits from >>their Immortals... >>Haavard. Actually, i do see a reason: it's called XPs! They already get priestly spells without having to earn more xps for this, and if we throw also the bonus in, well, why to be a mere cleric then, if you can be a Paladin or Avenger, wielding spells and weapons at the same time! Provided you think that Paladins are not required to use only the weapons cleric are forced to use by their deity (that is to say, A Paladin of Thor has the opportunity to use every weapon, not only warhammer and mace... or not? What about this issue?) Also: why Neutral Fighters are not allowed to become followers of an Immortal and to gain spells as Paladins and Avengers do? It seems unfair and unmotivated to me... DM ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 06 Mar 1997 15:04:44 +0000 From: Alanik Ray Subject: Re: [Mystara] Priest benefits At 14.32 06/03/97 +0100, you wrote: > >Its a DMs call I guess. I think it was intended for priests only, but I >dont see why Paladins/avangers shouldn't get any special benefits from >their Immortals... >Haavard. Actually, i do see a reason: it's called XPs! They already get priestly spells without having to earn more xps for this, and if we throw also the bonus in, well, why to be a mere cleric then, if you can be a Paladin or Avenger, wielding spells and weapons at the same time! Provided you think that Paladins are not required to use only the weapons cleric are forced to use by their deity (that is to say, A Paladin of Thor has the opportunity to use every weapon, not only warhammer and mace... or not? What about this issue?) Also: why Neutral Fighters are not allowed to become followers of an Immortal and to gain spells as Paladins and Avengers do? It seems unfair and unmotivated to me... DM ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 06 Mar 1997 15:11:29 +0000 From: dalmonte@dsc.unibo.it Subject: [Mystara] Adventure idea i am planning this adventure and would like some suggestions: An evil being, son of an evil deity, has conjured up 7 monsters that bear the name of man's fears: Death Pain Madness Disease Famine Violence (Hatred) Addiction (or Slavery) Each one is completely immune to normal damage and spells, has powers connected with its name and can be defeated only using something that is the very opposite of its name ex: Death is immune to every spell that does damage or destroys instantly, and thus also to weapons, but suffer from Raise Dead, Reincarnation and Raise Dead Fully (not from the Cure spells, those are for Pain). What could be used to destroy it permanently? Maybe a newborn's cry after he has been somehow reduced to 0 hit points? Thanks! DM ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 6 Mar 1997 15:00:57 +0100 (MEZ) From: Peter Balazs Subject: Re: [Mystara] Question Hi! > Mmmhh... the rules regarding dominion rulership are not so good as you might > think, i assure you... Hmm, but on the other hand, are there any better rules for dominions? I don't think that the Birthright-rules are good! The OD&D-rules plus the "updates" in the Dragon-magazines (by Bruce Heard) make IMHO a very good rules-system. > veery dangerous but very interesting (i use it)... provided u upgrade > certain powers of the weapons described in Expert and Companion set (think > about the damage that a Great Master in Longsword with an intelligent weapon > with the power of x4 damage can do (i have not to think about it because i > have witnessed it!!!) Do you mean x4 and not +4? That's awful, and way too much! A +4 sword is a very potent weapon, but with a x4 weapon you could nearly kill everything with one hit! Peter Balazs ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 05 Mar 1996 17:28:21 +0100 From: Jorn-Roger Steen Subject: [Mystara] accesories Hi I was wondering about a cuple of things. Did TSR ever publish The Mighty Argos and the other book The Iron Ring . Does anyone know where to get the Gazettes Glantri , Broken Lands , Athrugin Clans . Any help i can get I will be grateful for. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 06 Mar 1997 10:59:54 EST From: Neal Daskal Subject: Re: [Mystara] accesories >Hi > I was wondering about a cuple of things. Did TSR ever publish The Mighty >Argos and the other book The Iron Ring . Does anyone know where to get the >Gazettes Glantri , Broken Lands , Athrugin Clans . Any help i can get I >will be grateful for. > For contact info for out-of-print stuff: http://people.delphi.com/ndaskal/dndindex.html ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 6 Mar 1997 17:06:03 +0100 (MET) From: Haavard Roenne Faanes Subject: Re: [Mystara] Priest benefits On Thu, 6 Mar 1997 dalmonte@dsc.unibo.it wrote: > >At 14.32 06/03/97 +0100, you wrote: > >> > >>Its a DMs call I guess. I think it was intended for priests only, but I > >>dont see why Paladins/avangers shouldn't get any special benefits from > >>their Immortals... > >>Haavard. > > Actually, i do see a reason: it's called XPs! They already get priestly > spells without having to earn more xps for this, and if we throw also the > bonus in, well, why to be a mere cleric then, if you can be a Paladin or > Avenger, wielding spells and weapons at the same time! Provided you think > that Paladins are not required to use only the weapons cleric are forced to > use by their deity (that is to say, A Paladin of Thor has the opportunity to > use every weapon, not only warhammer and mace... or not? What about this issue?) > Also: why Neutral Fighters are not allowed to become followers of an > Immortal and to gain spells as Paladins and Avengers do? It seems unfair and > unmotivated to me... > DM yup. If you think the paladin/avenger is too powerful then thats another problem. I created a general class called holy warrior. Its the same thing as paladin mostly only alignment is determined by the Immortal you follow.. Haavard R. Faanes Email: hoc@nvg.unit.no hoc@nvg.nuts.edu http://www.nvg.ntnu.no/~hoc "I didn't spend all those years playing Dungeons and Dragons without learning a bit about courage" -The X-Files ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 6 Mar 1997 11:13:58 -0500 (EST) From: CRlPTONITE@aol.com Subject: Re: [Mystara] accesories >I was wondering about a cuple of things. Did TSR ever publish The Mighty >Argos and the other book The Iron Ring . tsr planned on publishing a few products before they killed mystara they ended up deciding not to produce these i know the iron ring was one of them the mighty argos was probably the other one >Does anyone know where to get the >Gazettes Glantri , Broken Lands , Athrugin Clans . Any help i can get I >will be grateful for. i played in mystara for over a year without any information on the known world because i played in davania finnally it was obvious i needed to get the gazetters in my quest i found some in a local comic book store the others i ordered from 3 places over the internet badmike3 posts a monthly list of his products in the product exchange folder in tsr online on aol sagesguild has a website at http://www.sagesguild.com and dragontrove has a website at http://www.dragontrove.com ive made many orders with all them and i recommend each of them all three have been very helpful, dependable and honest good luck ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 06 Mar 1997 11:12:57 -0800 From: Enrique Pacheco Subject: Re: [Mystara] Shadow elves where can I get the 1014AC online almanac? - -- "I'm caught in a dream And my dream's come true." I was born to love you. Queen, 1995. Enrique Pacheco. Email: pach@mail.geocities.com http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Arcade/2426/index.html ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 06 Mar 1997 11:22:26 -0800 From: Enrique Pacheco Subject: Re: [Mystara] Priest benefits Acoording to me only priests recieve this bonusses. Actually, I only give them to priest that are really good players and these are the first things that the character losses if he starts behaving in a manner unliked by his deity - -- "I'm caught in a dream And my dream's come true." I was born to love you. Queen, 1995. Enrique Pacheco. Email: pach@mail.geocities.com http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Arcade/2426/index.html ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 06 Mar 1997 20:44:41 +0100 From: Deathwatch Subject: Re: [Mystara] Viruses Attack! At 11:15 5-03-97 +0100, dalmonte@dsc.unibo.it wrote: >>>Virus Info >>>~~~~~~~~~~ >>> >>>Updates on viruses that are around. >>>1. DEEYENDA -- This virus will have "Deeyenda" in the subject line. Don't >>>open it, it must be deleted immediately, or it'll really mess up the hard >>>drive. >>> >>>2. PENPAL GREETINGS - This is a trojan horse virus that has "Penpal >>>Greetings" on the subject line. It must be deleted immediately. If you open >>>it, the virus will spread to your hard drive and ruin everything. By the >>>time you finish reading the letter, it will be forwarded to all the >>>addresses you have in your mailbox as well. >>> >just to let you know there are things worse than chaotic dragons out there... >DM This is crap. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 6 Mar 1997 17:13:50 -0500 (EST) From: Dleggend@aol.com Subject: Re: [Mystara] Shadow elves You can get the on-line Almanac 1014AC at: SHAWN'S MYSTARA SITE Address: http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/5304/index.html ~(=DLeggend=> ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 7 Mar 1997 09:51:13 +0000 From: s9406058@bohm.anu.edu.au (Stan) Subject: Re: [Mystara] Shadow elves >You can get the on-line Almanac 1014AC at: SHAWN'S MYSTARA SITE > Address: http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/5304/index.html I'll second that :) The Almanac at my site is not only the postings of Micheal Roy that he did. It also contains events by Herve Musseau concerning the events of the NACE and also the return of the Karameikan Polar Expedition. It contains events by Cthuludrew about humanoids from the Broken Lands and what they're up to. It contains events by me for Gombar and Suma'a. Shawn Stanley, Department of Geology, Australian National University. (s9406058@student.anu.edu.au) (http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/5304) ------------------------------ End of mystara-digest V2 #7 *************************** Date: Sun, 9 Mar 1997 07:39:34 -0600 From: (mystara-digest) To: mystara-digest@lists.io.com Subject: mystara-digest V2 #8 Reply-To: mystara-l@lists.io.com Precedence: bulk mystara-digest Sunday, March 9 1997 Volume 02 : Number 008 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 07 Mar 1997 02:24:42 +0200 From: Georgios Dimitrios Milonas Subject: [Mystara] ZOMBIES Please,could anyone say how two PCs turned to zombies can be returned into the world of living again,and while they are zombies what are their hit points and their casting spell abilities?(The PC's are a Magic-User and aCleric). Thankx ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 06 Mar 1997 17:38:59 -0700 (MST) From: "Cthulhudrew, The Great Old One" Subject: Re: [Mystara] ZOMBIES On Fri, 7 Mar 1997, Georgios Dimitrios Milonas wrote: >Please,could anyone say how two PCs turned to zombies can be returned into the world of living again,and while they are zombies what are their hit points and their casting spell abilities?(The PC's are a Magic-User and aCleric). Spell-casting abilities: According to the Cyclopedia, lesser undead (ie, anything lesser than a Vampire) cannot maintain their spellcasting abilities... save Mummies, when prepared correctly. This is due mainly to the fact (IMO) that Zombies, Skeletons, Wights, Spectres, and Wraiths are mindless undead- at least more mindless than Vampires and other 'free-willed' undead. They may retain some degree of intelligence (particularly in the case of the Wight: animal cunning, Wraith and Spectre: animal cunning + some more complex strategy). Of course, if you decide to allow them to retain their spellcasting, that is your option. I would probably allow it, _if_ somehow the now-undead PCs were able to retain their former intellect, or portions of it. If the PCs are now Zombies, and still smart (which would be some feat, but, hey, this is fantasy), I'd allow them to retain their powers. Another option, alluded to above, and one I think is particularly nasty- if they only retain part of their intellect (ie, they are about as intelligent as your average Wight, maybe). THey could occasionally have flashes of insight/instinct in which they suddenly tossed off a spell they had memorized before they were turned undead. Makes for an interesting encounter- "Let's get 'em! They're just a couple of 2HD Zombies!" (Fighter disappears in a burst of fire and light that springs from one of the Zombie's hand) "Ummm... or they could be 10HD Liches! Runnnnn!!!!!" As for stats, well, a Zombie is considered a 2HD monster. I'm assuming this is based on raising your average Joe's corpse, so I'd probably grant Zombie PCs an extra HD when created- a 2nd level Zombie would have 3HD; a 14th level Zombie would have 10HD. Any benefits of levels (THAC0, weapon mastery, etc) would be lost unless the Zombie retains its smarts. In other words, a non-intelligent 14th level Zombie attacks as a 10HD creature; an intelligent 14th level Zombie attacks at 14th level as whatever class it was in life. To Re-Turn the Dead: There's never really been anything said on this. The Cyclopedia mentions that only spell-casting Undead can be returned to life, but I don't recall offhand how (I think you have to 'kill' them, cast Dispel Evil, and then Raise Dead). In M1- Into the Maelstrom, the PCs have to return a dead man to life in order to question him, and it suggests 'killing' him, and casting Raise Dead or Raise Dead Fully on the corpse... I think there's more to it than that, but you get the gist. I'd probably go with the 'kill', Dispel Evil, Raise Dead theory. Hope this helps. :) ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 06 Mar 1997 17:41:10 -0700 (MST) From: "Cthulhudrew, The Great Old One" Subject: Re: [Mystara] accesories On Tue, 5 Mar 1996, Jorn-Roger Steen wrote: >I was wondering about a cuple of things. Did TSR ever publish The Mighty Argos and the other book The Iron Ring . They were never published, though there was suggestion that they might be put online on TSR's homepage. I think even this suggestion has been abandoned, however, and these products will probably never see the light of day. If they were ever made, I'm sure TSR will put them online; if not, they're not going to show up. :( ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 6 Mar 97 16:49:42 PST From: "David 'Azure' Leland" Subject: Re: [Mystara] ZOMBIES At 05:38 PM 3/6/97 -0700, you wrote: >On Fri, 7 Mar 1997, Georgios Dimitrios Milonas wrote: >>Please,could anyone say how two PCs turned to zombies can be returned into the world of living again,and while they are zombies what are their hit points and their casting spell abilities?(The PC's are a Magic-User and aCleric). Two potential sources: 1) OD&D DM's Master's Rules. The claim is that undead who were spellcasters can be brought back to life through a multi-step process involving something like killing them, having a 25+ level caster cast remove curse, then raise dead. 2) One of the Master's level adventures, Talons of Night, has a whole situation where the PCs gradually become undead while adventuring on the Isle of Night, a miniature and undead caricatured version of the Isle of Dawn on Mystara. There are probably interesting rules there for what happens to their abilities, stats, minds, and how they are brought back to living. /~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~\ ~| David "Azure" Leland ~|~ Email: dleland@cogsci.ucsd.edu |~ ~| UCSD Cognitive Science ~|~ Phone/Fax: (619) 642-6709 |~ ~| Oberlin class of 1996 ~|~ Web: http://cogsci.ucsd.edu/~dleland |~ ~| Amateur conguero; Q(O+H)Q(G+W)AEEEBGKUS Mystaran; P75 on Ethernet |~ \~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~/ ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 06 Mar 1997 17:20:27 -0700 (MST) From: "Cthulhudrew, The Great Old One" Subject: Re: [Mystara] Priest benefits On Thu, 6 Mar 1997 dalmonte@dsc.unibo.it wrote: >Actually, i do see a reason: it's called XPs! They already get priestly spells without having to earn more xps for this, and if we throw also the bonus in, well, why to be a mere cleric then, if you can be a Paladin or Avenger, wielding spells and weapons at the same time! Provided you think that Paladins are not required to use only the weapons cleric are forced to use by their deity (that is to say, A Paladin of Thor has the opportunity to use every weapon, not only warhammer and mace... or not? What about this issue?) Personally, I don't see a problem with granting Paladins, et al, the powers that Immortals grant their clerics- provided they use the same drawbacks (ie, can only use certain types of weapons, et al). Hence, a Paladin of Valerias would be able to use swords as a regular fighter, but a Paladin of Asterius wouldn't. In response to the obvious question- what about the fact that the Paladin used a sword up until 9th level, when he decided to become a Paladin? My answer: when he became a Paladin, he revokes the privileges he once had. Being a Paladin isn't all cakes and roses, you know. There are sacrifices to be made. On the obverse, if one decided not to grant Paladins and Avengers the clerical benefits, then allow them to keep their weapon usage, et al. >Also: why Neutral Fighters are not allowed to become followers of an Immortal and to gain spells as Paladins and Avengers do? It seems unfair and unmotivated to me... Bruce Heard made up a class of Neutral Paladin types in his article on Robrenn, in Dragon Magazine. It was basically like the Paladin, except substitute druid magic for pure clerical magic. There were one or two other differences, but I don't recall offhand. As to the rest- if you want Neutral Paladin types, feel free to make them. Just as any alignment can become a Knight, so to can any alignment become a clerical type, if you allow it. Just make it similar to the Paladin/Avengers; ie, clerical spell use at 1/3 level, maybe some followers of neutral alignment, or something similar. I think Bruce suggested something similar for a Neutral type- call it a Ranger, or something like that (I don't recall what Bruce suggested, sorry). It could be done pretty easily, and without causing too many problems of imbalance. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 6 Mar 1997 17:44:31 -0800 (PST) From: David Melik Subject: Re: [Mystara] Question At 10:17 AM 3/5/97 -0600, you wrote: >When I started playing D&D we wera a group with no idea of the rules but with a DM who had a great imagination and we had luts of fun (that was more than a decade ago). Now, we play about once a week and have at least three campaigns (different players but same 4 person core group) in Mystara, Greyhawk and FR. >Over the years I tool up the mantle of DM and we have had many campaigns. In the beginign we used only the D&D rules but in the last 4 years there have been some changes. >Even though all of us (meaning me and at least 7 other regular players) have played AD&D we have all found one thing that we dislike about AD&D: there are too many rules, game speed is sacrificed int mechanics and record keeping becomes a mayor haul. >Examples: >D&D initiative: roll 1d6 (if you have a two-handed weapon you lose initiative) >AD&D initiative: roll 1d10 plus weapon speed, casting time, etc. >D&D spell casting: almost all spells have verbal and somatic components, only high level spells have materal components. AD&D spell casting: Try finding the components for a jump, augury and hold person spell. >We do not continue to play with only the basic rules of D&D. We use the General skills rules and have actually prefered to use weapon proficency (second edition) over the weapon mastery rules (which were to cumbersome). >The general rule for the game is: rules exist to assist role playing while mantaining game balance and making the game run smoothly. If a rule is not helping to achive this end then it must be changed by vote from everyone sitting at the table at that moment. A rule can be improved or removed if after some sessions it is found lacking. Just a comment that may be useful to someone on the list: if you use a programmable calculator (which are almost like small computers), such as certain Texas Instruments or Hewlett Packard ones, you can decrease all of the above problems. For example I made a timekeeping program, which kept track of everything from the year down to the second, and you could enter a name like AC or AY, and keep track of a few of spell durations, etc. It would be simple to make a program for more detailed initiative, if you're willing to sacrifice dice-rolling. I find a mix of xD&D and my own rules is best. I use a lot of AD&D 1st ed. rules, like the better detailed ability scores (but I don't like it the way it is, I'm thinking of combining this with WoTi's 100-point system.) As well as some AD&D, I use mostly D&D skills and spells, and forget spell components, but I prefer more "open" magic that the caster can shape the way they want as they go along, so have a really cheap, undeveloped but different spell point system, because I'm still developing it. I like war machine a lot, it seems fine the way it is. Both weapon mastery systems weren't right for me so I revised the D&D one, with a little inspiration from AD&D's table about what armor resists what weapons. Face it everybody, they're guidelines, not rules, meant to be messed with. P P l u justice = time ---------------- centralization^2 David Melik, an OMOGATFFGGKUS Mystaran darwin@nwinfo.net ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 7 Mar 1997 08:35:37 +0200 (EET) From: Anias Pasi Subject: Re: [Mystara] ZOMBIES >Please,could anyone say how two PCs turned to zombies can be returned into the world of living again,and while they are zombies what are their hit points and their casting spell abilities?(The PC's are a Magic-User and aCleric). >Thankx Hmm... I wouldn't let them be truly raised with no less than wish. A NPC witch or an Necromancer might 'kind of raise' them with something less. Or a cleric of Hel (goddess of reincarnation). I would not go with the kill-purify-raise sceme. Mainly because it seems too easy. Or at least if I would allow it I would use some restrictions: 1. I would only allow the higher level raise dead fully- spell (or what ewer that was) 2. As there are the restrictions for the time of death in the spells, one should count the time from the true death of the victim, not the destruction of the animated corpse. 3. Only a wery high level in a high position in the religion could have enough power to raise the once-undead. Also I would be wery carefull with choosing the healer. I would think that most clerics would not choose to raise an undead. They would want to destroy him. Maby even purify the corpse to give the dead the rest of grave. But to give life to an undead... not. Of cource in some religions they might give it a chance (Hel, Asterius (if you pay enough), Thanatos (with an evil backhand), etc). Most religions would rather deem his soul lost and beyond saving. And it would be hard for the undead to go to the cleric asking for help. Impossible maybe. The undead would propably be right to be scared for his 'life' in such a meeting... "What? You said what? You want me to heal this raving undead? This madman? This unholy beast? An undead? Me? A holy cleric? Dont be ridiculous! I could destroy it for you. I can even grant it a grave and peace, with the help of my Lord. But to heal it... no. It's impossible. His soul is gone my children. Lost in the darkness. I couldt give this man his life... Besides, why would you want it alive? He must have been an evil man to become like that. What is your intention here... " Just thinking aloud... Pasi - -- X Pasi Anias X p.03 - 2533536 X \\|// X X Sammonkatu 28 A 18 X a122286@proffa X (o o) X X 33540 Tampere X .cc.tut.fi X o000--(_)--000o X ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 7 Mar 1997 10:37:13 +0100 From: Peter Balazs Subject: Re: [Mystara] ZOMBIES Hi! >Please,could anyone say how two PCs turned to zombies can be returned into the world of living again,and while they are zombies what are their hit points and their casting spell abilities?(The PC's are a Magic-User and aCleric). IMC: Not easily and none! If would be extremly difficult to get back PCs that have been turned into Zombies (or skeleton), depending at the circumstances at least a wish is necessary, and I would probably demand some kind of ritual! As Zombies are non-intelligent, they have no spell-casting power! >As for stats, well, a Zombie is considered a 2HD monster. I'm assuming this is based on raising your average Joe's corpse, so I'd probably grant Zombie PCs an extra HD when created- a 2nd level Zombie would have 3HD; a 14th level Zombie would have 10HD. As the only thingh that matters for a zoimbie is the body, I would say that experience has no influence on the stats whatsoever, so a 0.Lvl. Cleaning Woman would make the same kind of zombie as a 30th Lvl. Fighter! *************************************************************************** Peter Balazs (a9003307@unet.univie.ac.at) http://radon.mat.univie.ac.at/~pbalazs *************************************************************************** ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 7 Mar 1997 11:37:54 +0100 From: dalmonte@dsc.unibo.it Subject: Re: [Mystara] Question At 15.00 06/03/97 +0100, you wrote: >Hmm, but on the other hand, are there any better rules for dominions? I don't think that the Birthright-rules are good! Don't know Birthright so i assume your opinion is well based and i'll accept it for truth >The OD&D-rules plus the "updates" in the Dragon-magazines (by Bruce Heard) make IMHO a very good rules-system. Wish to have those guidelines written by Bruce Heard... do you know where i can find them on the net (if they're on..) >Do you mean x4 and not +4? That's awful, and way too much! A +4 sword is a very potent weapon, but with a x4 weapon you could nearly kill everything with one hit! >Peter Balazs I mean a x4 sword, it's a special power of Intelligent swords (Expert set), and i know what it can do: it killed a Tarrasque in 2 rounds (the character was Expert in longsword)!!!!!! Also, take a look at the special Talent "Slicing"... DM ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 7 Mar 1997 11:53:00 +0100 From: dalmonte@dsc.unibo.it Subject: Re: [Mystara] ZOMBIES At 02.24 07/03/97 +0200, you wrote: >Please,could anyone say how two PCs turned to zombies can be returned into the world of living again,and while they are zombies what are their hit points and their casting spell abilities?(The PC's are a Magic-User and aCleric). Ahem... actually there is the adventure M5, Talons of Night, that delves with this topic. Also, if u want to let them play undead PCs, i advice you to get a copy of Requiem: the Grim Harvest supplement/adventure published for Ravenloft, which talks about that (it's a mediocre supplement as fa as RL is concerned, but the rules are a good starting point -even though they need some work by the DM). As guidelines: HPs: equal to their HPs when they lived THAC0: use the one based on their previous level or the one used by Fighters of the same level(as per Requiem rules) Magic: theoretically, they can cast spells (according to M5), but the cleric could lose his spells if the god doesn't like the new undead form. Requiem rules state that the PC can cast spells only if he allocate a number of slots equal to the max spell level he wants to cast (it's complicated, you should read the rules extensively, for each undead has the opportunity to choose his special abilities as if they were proficiencies): as for your case, let's make them roll a proficiency check (Spellcraf or Honor Immortal) for EVERY spell they cast; if it fails, the spell fails too Hope this helps DM ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 7 Mar 1997 11:59:12 +0100 From: dalmonte@dsc.unibo.it Subject: Re: [Mystara] Priest benefits & Defenders At 17.20 06/03/97 -0700, you wrote: >Bruce Heard made up a class of Neutral Paladin types in his article on Robrenn, in Dragon Magazine. It was basically like the Paladin, except substitute druid magic for pure clerical magic. There were one or two other differences, but I don't recall offhand. Is it the Defender kit published in the Red Steel boxed set? If so, can a Defender of a neutral deity become a Defender of a chaotic one? Also, must a Defender be only of Neutral alignment or can ha also be Chaotic or Lawful? Bruce? DM ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 7 Mar 1997 12:18:19 +0100 From: dalmonte@dsc.unibo.it Subject: Re: [Mystara] ZOMBIES At 02.24 07/03/97 +0200, you wrote: >>Please,could anyone say how two PCs turned to zombies can be returned into the world of living again,and while they are zombies what are their hit points and their casting spell abilities?(The PC's are a Magic-User and aCleric). I forgot this one: to revive an undead character you need a Raise Dead Fully or a Wish cast on him: then he makes a ST vs Death Ray (or a System Shock if u use it) and if it fails, the soul is lost forever and the PC is gone (unretrievable, take dices and new sheets and roll another one), otherwise he's back and alive. Other methods are: a Raise Dead 2 times with a Dispel Evil between them (first one kills the undead, Dispel purify the soul, and the second Raise Dead reunites body andDate: Sun, 9 Mar 1997 07:39:34 -0600 From: (mystara-digest) To: mystara-digest@lists.io.com Subject: mystara-digest V2 #8 Reply-To: mystara-l@lists.io.com Precedence: bulk soul: the PC must make a System Shock/ST vs Death Ray when they receive the first Raise to survive the process -and a second one if u use AD&D rules) a Reincarnation, provided you kill first the undead and purify his soul (Dispel Evil on the corpse, with a required System Shock/Save vs Ray) a Clone: in this case the character returns as he was when the body slice for the spell was taken, that is to say living if he still was, otherwise undead. All right? DM ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 7 Mar 1997 13:16:37 +0100 From: Peter Balazs Subject: Re: [Mystara] Question Hi! >Don't know Birthright so i assume your opinion is well based and i'll accept it for truth I´ve never really played it, just have read the rules, and they didn´t really impress me! >>The OD&D-rules plus the "updates" in the Dragon-magazines (by Bruce Heard) make IMHO a very good rules-system. >Wish to have those guidelines written by Bruce Heard... do you know where i can find them on the net (if they're on..) Sorry, I don´t know, if they have been put to the net! I´m just writing on a compliation of them with some of my thoughts. But I will not be ready for quite a long time! *************************************************************************** Peter Balazs (a9003307@unet.univie.ac.at) http://radon.mat.univie.ac.at/~pbalazs *************************************************************************** ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 7 Mar 1997 13:30:10 +0100 From: dalmonte@dsc.unibo.it Subject: [Mystara] PC3 Hey, has anybody ever noticed that in PC3 it is written: "shields are useless underwater, cause the attrition makes them slow and bulky to move and to use as protections" and then, just above these lines there is a picture of a merrow wielding a strange kelp-made shield!!!!! That's what happens when designers and artists at TSR don't talk (also Talasar's coat of arms -the black lion- could have been caused by this incommunicability issue) DM ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 7 Mar 1997 13:44:01 +0100 From: dalmonte@dsc.unibo.it Subject: [Mystara] MOrient project How is this MO-file going on and when will we see it accomplished? Also, does anyone know when "Tale of the Comet" will be released? Thanks DM ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 7 Mar 1997 13:48:27 +0100 From: dalmonte@dsc.unibo.it Subject: Re: [Mystara] Question At 13.16 07/03/97 +0100, you wrote: >>Sorry, I don´t know, if they have been put to the net! I´m just writing on a compliation of them with some of my thoughts. But I will not be ready for quite a long time! Take your time, i'll wait (until the end of the world...) DM PS: you couldn't have found a more difficult e-mail address in a million years.. nicht wahr? PPS: i tried to send this one directly to you, but i must have misspelled the address (strange...) so i send you again via Mystara list PPPS: Sorry everybody for this useless letter (please do not kick me off the list!!!) ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 07 Mar 1997 13:58:48 +0100 From: Fabrizio Paoli Subject: Re: [Mystara] Question At 13.21 05/03/97 +0000, you wrote: >Just out of curiosity, do people on this list use the D&D rules or AD&D? No reason, except I've never met anyone who used D&D for a major campaign. If you *do* use D&D, why do you prefer it to AD&D? I use D&D rules for Mystara because when I started playing RPG there was nothing about AD&D here in Italy. I started with the red box, now I have the RC and I think that RC + Gaz make a very good set of rules. On the other hand I also play in an AD&D Forgotten Realm campaign, I like those rules too and I don't find them too different from the D&D ones. Fabrizio Paoli ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 07 Mar 1997 13:58:52 +0100 From: Fabrizio Paoli Subject: Re: [Mystara] Shadow elves At 00.31 06/03/97 +0100, you wrote: >Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii >X-MIME-Autoconverted: from 8bit to quoted-printable by lists.io.com id WAA03789 >Hi! >I'm wondering if any of you uses the Joshuan's almanac. If so, do you use the happenings there in the playing? >It is mentioned there that The city of stars will raise to the surface after a war between Human and Beastmen. Karameikos and Darokin will then be so weak after the war, that it will be easy for the Shadow-elves to take control. The city that will raise to the surface is Oenkmar, not The City of the Stars. For more info about the raising of Oenkmar take a look at the upcoming AC 1014 almanac by Micheal Roy. Fabrizio Paoli DM in City of the Stars ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 07 Mar 1997 13:58:55 +0100 From: Fabrizio Paoli Subject: Re: [Mystara] Shadow elves At 11.12 06/03/97 -0800, you wrote: >where can I get the 1014AC online almanac? Herve Musseau told me that the Almanac is ready. When Micheal Roy will send me a copy I'll send it to the mailing list immediately. Maybe you can get a draft of the almanac in the Mystara Mailing List Home Page, but I'm no sure. Fabrizio Paoli ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 7 Mar 1997 14:15:18 +0100 From: DM Subject: Re: [Mystara] Shadow elves At 13.58 07/03/97 +0100, you wrote: >Herve Musseau told me that the Almanac is ready. When Micheal Roy will send me a copy I'll send it to the mailing list immediately. Maybe you can get a draft of the almanac in the Mystara Mailing List Home Page, but I'm no sure. >Fabrizio Paoli Err... i have it at home in my PC (PWA1014 by Michael Roy), i am seure i have downloaded it from one site... about 3-4 months ago... is it the same thing you're referring to? DM ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 7 Mar 1997 14:22:20 +0100 From: DM Subject: [Mystara] Top 3 & Worst 3 Ok, keep adding to my personal file! This is the situation so far: Top 3 OD&D products: 1. GAZ3: Glantri 2. Champions of Mystara 3. Poor Wizards Almanac II: AC1011 Worst 3 OD&D products: 1. Joshuan Almanac 2. GAZ4: Kingdom of Ierendi 3. DM Survival Kit PS: surprisingly enough, it seems we very much agree on the Worst OD&D stuff released by TSR (and Joshua rules!), whereas for the best things everybody has more or less his own idea. I'd also like some comments on the products you mention (again, Red Steel/Savage Coast is not part of old OD&D, so do not mention it -i know it's really good, though) DM ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 7 Mar 1997 14:34:33 +0100 From: DM Subject: [Mystara] GAZ14: Hule (?) This one is really directed to the TSR guys: now that Mystara has been closed and so on, you can tell us Bruce: did you think about writing something specific on Hule as you did for example for Glantri? I have always thought Hule was more part of the Known World than we really think, so i would have been really pleased if u had done something like a Hulean Gazetteer... (and also something about the Heldannic Knights, to speak it all) You see, aside from the campaign info, the main problem i now have is this: i have a well detailed book of rules about wizards and mages' ruled countries (Alpahtia & Glantri gazetteers), but i lack something regarding clerics and their powers, especially regarding the magic items they are able to craft and the methods used! I have come up with personal ideas that reflect what Bruce H. Heard (btw: i've always wondered, what does the "H" stand for?) wrote in GAZ3, but this is really puzzling and problematic. If somebody out there has something useful for me to solve this issue, please reply! DM ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 7 Mar 1997 10:14:53 -0500 (EST) From: BZuber5988@aol.com Subject: Re: [Mystara] accesories In a message dated 97-03-06 21:08:00 EST, Cthulhudrew writes: << They were never published, though there was suggestion that they might be put online on TSR's homepage. >> The products were never actually written, so we will never see them released, online or in print. Nothing more exists other than some conceptual notes and such. The decision to cancel the Mystara product line came before these two projects went into development. Delarius ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 7 Mar 1997 10:15:23 -0500 (EST) From: BZuber5988@aol.com Subject: Re: [Mystara] Priest benefits & Defenders In a message dated 97-03-07 05:55:46 EST, dalmonte@dsc.unibo.it writes: << Is it the Defender kit published in the Red Steel boxed set? If so, can a Defender of a neutral deity become a Defender of a chaotic one? Also, must a Defender be only of Neutral alignment or can ha also be Chaotic or Lawful? Bruce? >> The Defender kit from Red Steel (aka Savage Coast) is an AD&D kit based off the D&D class introduced by Heard in one of his "Princess Ark" articles in Dragon magazine. The Red Steel defender can be of any alignment, basically his alignment and ethos is determined by the Immortal or philosophy he follows. I would rule once a PC created a defender, that if he changes alignment he loses all special abilities of his kit. If he wants to become a defender of another Immortal (and alignment) then I would make him start over at level 1. Delarius ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 7 Mar 1997 09:40:26 -0600 From: Reg Subject: Re: [Mystara] ZOMBIES At 11:53 AM 3/7/97 +0100, you wrote: >At 02.24 07/03/97 +0200, you wrote: >>Please,could anyone say how two PCs turned to zombies can be returned into the world of living again,and while they are zombies what are their hit points and their casting spell abilities?(The PC's are a Magic-User and aCleric). According to Complete Book of Necromancers, Zombies newly animated have their intelligence intact. As they decomposs, their intelligence decreases. I would allow the Characters to exist as they are, but every day make a saving throw vs Death, or loss a INT or WIS point. Either they figure out a way to preserve their bodies, become a more powerful undead, return to life, or exist as a mindless zombie. (The point loss is permament.) ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 07 Mar 1997 18:11:50 +0100 From: Deathwatch Subject: Re: [Mystara] Question At 13:21 5-03-97 +0000, Mike Harvey wrote: >Just out of curiosity, do people on this list use the D&D rules or AD&D? No reason, except I've never met anyone who used D&D for a major campaign. If you *do* use D&D, why do you prefer it to AD&D? >Mike >---------------------------------------------------------------------- bing@iccom.com (formerly mike@cs.pdx.edu) Mike Harvey >HTTP://www.iccom.com/usrwww/bing/home.html Beaverton, Oregon I used AD&D because I got no D&D stuff. (I can't seem to find anything, except through ordering) Bas ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 07 Mar 1997 19:38:53 +0100 From: Fabrizio Paoli Subject: Re: [Mystara] ZOMBIES At 02.24 07/03/97 +0200, you wrote: >Please,could anyone say how two PCs turned to zombies can be returned into the world of living again,and while they are zombies what are their hit points and their casting spell abilities?(The PC's are a Magic-User and aCleric). >Thankx A nice reference for Undead is the article about Limbo by Bruce Heard (Dragon Magazine #180). In that article is says that Zombies are remains of dead bodies that were animated by someone on the Prime Plane, while the souls of the victims are not affected at all and may wander "freely" in Limbo. Usually to return home from Limbo the PCs have to quest to find a gate between Limbo and the Prime Plane, but if their original body is no more available they cannot re-enter it and thus they are forced to go back to Limbo ot to turn into ghosts trapped on the Prime Plane (they have to make a Wisdom check...). So I think the only way to have them returned to the world of living is trough a Wish spell. Fabrizio Paoli brizio@lunet.it ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 07 Mar 1997 14:31:54 -0500 From: Ron Glasmann Subject: Re: [Mystara] ZOMBIES Wow! Could make for a facinating ethereal/astral adventure where the pc's spirits must seek an exit from Limbo only to find out that their bodies are missing! A little searching turns up that some evil necromancer is using their bodies for some twisted purpose. How will they regain control of their physical shells when they are but ghostly apparitions? Sounds like fun! - --Ron At 07:38 PM 3/7/97 +0100, you wrote: >At 02.24 07/03/97 +0200, you wrote: >>Please,could anyone say how two PCs turned to zombies can be returned into the world of living again,and while they are zombies what are their hit points and their casting spell abilities?(The PC's are a Magic-User and aCleric). >>Thankx >A nice reference for Undead is the article about Limbo by Bruce Heard (Dragon Magazine #180). >In that article is says that Zombies are remains of dead bodies that were animated by someone on the Prime Plane, while the souls of the victims are not affected at all and may wander "freely" in Limbo. Usually to return home from Limbo the PCs have to quest to find a gate between Limbo and the Prime Plane, but if their original body is no more available they cannot re-enter it and thus they are forced to go back to Limbo ot to turn into ghosts trapped on the Prime Plane (they have to make a Wisdom check...). >So I think the only way to have them returned to the world of living is trough a Wish spell. >Fabrizio Paoli >brizio@lunet.it ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 07 Mar 1997 17:20:48 -0700 (MST) From: "Cthulhudrew, The Great Old One" Subject: Re: [Mystara] Question On Fri, 7 Mar 1997 dalmonte@dsc.unibo.it wrote: >>The OD&D-rules plus the "updates" in the Dragon-magazines (by Bruce Heard) make IMHO a very good rules-system. >Wish to have those guidelines written by Bruce Heard... do you know where i can find them on the net (if they're on..) Princess Ark- issues 181, 182, and 184 (IIRC). A lot of info on dominions- size, population, income; info on NPC's- mercenaries, hirelings, costs of employment. I'm not exactly sure of the issue numbers, but I'll check tonight and verify. I don't think you can find them anywhere online. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 08 Mar 1997 14:13:19 +0100 From: Fabrizio Paoli Subject: Re: [Mystara] Shadow elves At 14.15 07/03/97 +0100, you wrote: >At 13.58 07/03/97 +0100, you wrote: >>Herve Musseau told me that the Almanac is ready. When Micheal Roy will send me a copy I'll send it to the mailing list immediately. Maybe you can get a draft of the almanac in the Mystara Mailing List Home Page, but I'm no sure. >>Fabrizio Paoli >Err... i have it at home in my PC (PWA1014 by Michael Roy), i am seure i have downloaded it from one site... about 3-4 months ago... is it the same thing you're referring to? >DM Yes. The one you've dowloaded is the draft of the almanac. The final thing should have both a list of events (a la PWA) and a few reports (a la JA). ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 08 Mar 1997 16:38:24 +0100 From: Deathwatch Subject: Re: [Mystara] Adventure idea At 15:11 6-03-97 +0000, you wrote: >i am planning this adventure and would like some suggestions: >An evil being, son of an evil deity, has conjured up 7 monsters that bear the name of man's fears: >Death >Pain >Madness >Disease >Famine >Violence (Hatred) >Addiction (or Slavery) >Each one is completely immune to normal damage and spells, has powers connected with its name and can be defeated only using something that is the very opposite of its name >ex: Death is immune to every spell that does damage or destroys instantly, and thus also to weapons, but suffer from Raise Dead, Reincarnation and Raise Dead Fully (not from the Cure spells, those are for Pain). What could be used to destroy it permanently? Maybe a newborn's cry after he has been somehow reduced to 0 hit points? >Thanks! >DM If possible, I'm interested in the adventure, if you finish it. It looks fun. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 08 Mar 1997 16:38:23 +0100 From: Deathwatch Subject: Re: [Mystara] Undead revolt? At 13:50 6-03-97 +0100, dalmonte@dsc.unibo.it wrote: >At 15.30 05/03/97 +0100, you wrote: >>I havent a clue. >>I was just thinking. The planet Damocles in Mystaras solar system is going to blow up in the near or not so near future. The asteroid could be part of the planet. Anyone had any ideas about whats really going on on Damocles? >>Haavard >Hey, finally one person that uses the old Immortal set astronomic setting! Congratualtions! Anyway, i think this could be good as a starting point for an intriguing adventure... Originally i thought it referred to "Tale of the Comet" supplement that is going to be published this year (if TSR repairs its printer, of course...:(), but this idea is far better... Keep adding on! DM Hehe.. I didn't even know there were other planets, I only knew about the 2 moons (well..I knew there were moons, and one is hidden, but nothing more, maybe someone can explain it somewhat to me.) :) Bas ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 09 Mar 1997 00:46:42 +0200 From: Georgios Dimitrios Milonas Subject: [Mystara] ZOMBIES Anyone with an idea about Limbo?What does it look like and how a PC can escape from it? ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 9 Mar 1997 01:57:17 -0500 (EST) From: Kaviyd@aol.com Subject: [Mystara] Damocles blows up.... >>I was just thinking. The planet Damocles in Mystaras solar system is going to blow up in the near or not so near future. The asteroid could be part of the planet. Anyone had any ideas about whats really going on on Damocles? Here is an idea -- maybe Damocles blew up in the early 1000s -- a sign of the "Wrath" that was to come, ignored by all but the most observant. One piece of this planet landed on the Glantri/Darokin border -- other pieces are still falling every few years. A variation on that idea -- Damocles was inhabited by some as yet unknown race with spelljamming capability. A select few knew of the catastrophe to come and escaped to Mystara. Where did they land, and what did they do once there? I am picturing these invaders as being more advanced -- and perhaps much more sinister -- relatives of the Emerondians, who are (I think) clearly indicated as being of extraterrestrial (or is that extra-Mystaran?) origin. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 9 Mar 1997 14:35:33 +0100 (MET) From: Haavard Roenne Faanes Subject: [Mystara] (Mystara) Planets (was:Undead revolt?) On Sat, 8 Mar 1997, Deathwatch wrote: >Hehe.. >I didn't even know there were other planets, I only knew about the 2 moons (well..I knew there were moons, and one is hidden, but nothing more, maybe someone can explain it somewhat to me.) :) >Bas okay here it goes: According to the Old Immortals Set the Mystaran Solar system is quite similar to the one of Earth. Except: No Mercury and no Pluto. Also there is one planet called Damocles located in the Asteroid belt , and one called Charon(?) where Pluto is in our system. Damocles however is supposed to blow up due to something going on on the planet. Its all a bit vague Im afraid. It has been suggested to give the planets names after the greek gods. More on this later. Haavard Haavard R. Faanes Email: hoc@nvg.unit.no hoc@nvg.nuts.edu http://www.nvg.ntnu.no/~hoc "I didn't spend all those years playing Dungeons and Dragons without learning a bit about courage" -The X-Files ------------------------------ End of mystara-digest V2 #8 *************************** Date: Wed, 12 Mar 1997 15:09:24 -0600 From: (mystara-digest) To: mystara-digest@lists.io.com Subject: mystara-digest V2 #9 Reply-To: mystara-l@lists.io.com Precedence: bulk mystara-digest Wednesday, March 12 1997 Volume 02 : Number 009 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 9 Mar 1997 14:46:55 +0100 (MET) From: Haavard Roenne Faanes Subject: Re: [Mystara] Damocles blows up.... On Sun, 9 Mar 1997 Kaviyd@aol.com wrote: >>>I was just thinking. The planet Damocles in Mystaras solar system is going to blow up in the near or not so near future. The asteroid could be part of the planet. Anyone had any ideas about whats really going on on Damocles? >Here is an idea -- maybe Damocles blew up in the early 1000s -- a sign of the "Wrath" that was to come, ignored by all but the most observant. One piece of this planet landed on the Glantri/Darokin border -- other pieces are still falling every few years. >A variation on that idea -- Damocles was inhabited by some as yet unknown race with spelljamming capability. A select few knew of the catastrophe to come and escaped to Mystara. Where did they land, and what did they do once there? I am picturing these invaders as being more advanced -- and perhaps much more sinister -- relatives of the Emerondians, who are (I think) clearly indicated as being of extraterrestrial (or is that extra-Mystaran?) origin. I like this. The Damocleans then look like green skinned humans with silver hair...Maybe they wear Facial tatoos to illustrate status and profession. The Emerondians were outlawed from the planet due too their criminal behavoir and forced to live as space pirates in the asteroid field. Later they ventured far off and discovered Mystara. The Damocleans' Voidships were primitive, so they havent untill recently been able to reach Mystara (or they didn't care/lacked resources for such an expedition) However when the planet exploded, those who were off planet survived, and were force to find another place to stay. I dont know if my campaign is ready for a space invasion at the moment, but they could land in southern Davania, interracting with the icegnomes and barbaric elves etc... I dont know about technology? should they be more advanced? Fire arms? More later. Haavard. Haavard R. Faanes Email: hoc@nvg.unit.no hoc@nvg.nuts.edu http://www.nvg.ntnu.no/~hoc "I didn't spend all those years playing Dungeons and Dragons without learning a bit about courage" -The X-Files ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 10 Mar 1997 20:10:21 +0100 From: Fabrizio Paoli Subject: Re: [Mystara] ZOMBIES At 00.46 09/03/97 +0200, you wrote: >Anyone with an idea about Limbo?What does it look like and how a PC can escape from it? The best thing you can do to get info about Limbo is to find a copy of Dragon Magazine #180 or write to Bruce Heard (TSRBruce@aol.com), maybe he's willing to tell you more about it. BTW: Bruce, can you convince the TSR boss to put online the entire Princess Ark and Grimoire series? I'm trying to gather all those magazines and I've found about 20 of them, but it's a very hard quest. Bruce, help us ! Back to your questions. It's very difficult to tell in short you how Limbo looks, because Limbo is a very strange place: time runs differently from the Prime Plane, hp are used instead of money, there're many new "monsters" (Masters of Chaos and Minions of Chaos), some spells doesn't work, there're souls, fiends, undeads, archons... How can a PC escape from Limbo? It's easy! He has to find a gate (usually well hidden and haunted by evil creatures) to the Prime Plane. If the PC soul reaches the Prime Plane it will appear, totally incorporeal and unable to affect anything, in the same spot where it was killed. Now the PC has to find his/her body and attempt to reanimate it (if possible) making a successful Constitution check. That's all, in short. If you're the DM, make sure to to make the journey to the gate as hard and unforgettable as you can. Fabrizio Paoli ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 10 Mar 1997 15:37:11 +0500 From: Aron Reif Subject: Re: [Mystara] Top 3 & Worst 3 >Top 3 OD&D products: >1. GAZ3: Glantri >2. Champions of Mystara >3. Poor Wizards Almanac II: AC1011 >Worst 3 OD&D products: >1. Joshuan Almanac >2. GAZ4: Kingdom of Ierendi >3. DM Survival Kit >PS: surprisingly enough, it seems we very much agree on the Worst OD&D stuff released by TSR (and Joshua rules!), whereas for the best things everybody has more or less his own idea. I'd also like some comments on the products you mention (again, Red Steel/Savage Coast is not part of old OD&D, so do not mention it -i know it's really good, though) Technically, both Joshuan's Almanac and the DM Survival Kit are also for AD&D, so they should probably not be included. Personally, I liked all three of the things that you listed as worst. Ok, I'll admit that they weren't the best products produced, but I found all three useful. I guess I'll add my own picks: Top 3: 1) GAZ3: Principalities of Glantri 2) GAZ1: Grand Duchy of Karameikos 3) Wrath of the Immortals Honorable Mentions: GAZ10 and the PC series (yes, I like playing "oddball" characters) Worst 3: 1) Anything from the Thunder Rift setting 2) GAZ2: Emirates of Ylarum 3) GAZ7: The Northern Reaches Aron Reif areif@vt.edu ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 10 Mar 1997 19:03:54 EST From: nbamba@juno.com (Nicholas C Bambakidis) Subject: Re: [Mystara] Top 3 & Worst 3 On Mon, 10 Mar 1997 15:37:11 +0500 Aron Reif writes: >Top 3: >1) GAZ3: Principalities of Glantri >2) GAZ1: Grand Duchy of Karameikos >3) Wrath of the Immortals >Honorable Mentions: GAZ10 and the PC series (yes, I like playing "oddball" >characters) >Worst 3: >1) Anything from the Thunder Rift setting 2) GAZ2: Emirates of Ylarum >3) GAZ7: The Northern Reaches Since we're rating things, I was wondering if anyone had played the Hollow World modules (BLood Brethren Trilogy)? I have the opportunity to run my PC's through some secondhand copies. On cursory inspection they seem excellent. ANy thoughts? N.B. nbamba@juno.com ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 10 Mar 1997 17:38:39 -0700 (MST) From: "Cthulhudrew, The Great Old One" Subject: [Mystara] Blood Brethren On Mon, 10 Mar 1997, Nicholas C Bambakidis wrote: >Since we're rating things, I was wondering if anyone had played the Hollow World modules (BLood Brethren Trilogy)? I have the opportunity to run my PC's through some secondhand copies. On cursory inspection they seem excellent. ANy thoughts? When I originally bought them, I thought they were excellent. I still like them a lot- particularly in that they are so free-form and not as linear as most modules- but I don't care overmuch for the Immortal plot. Specifically (as the Immortal plot is the driving force of the modules), I don't like the fact that _all_ the Immortals, save for Thanatos and Asterius, drop off the face of the Prime Plane. I don't care for the fact that they are so easily tricked by Thanatos, and that they only leave behind one of their number, and not even one of the most powerful. I haven't thought of any ways around this, as yet, so I haven't run it in any of my most recent campaigns. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 10 Mar 1997 22:22:15 -0500 From: Rob Rickard Subject: [Mystara] Invisibility A player of mine has come up with a question about invisibility. The rules state- when you shoot an arrow you become visible, but if you shot an invisible arrow could you stay invisible. The rules of invisibility are a touchy subject in our campaigns. Everybody has his own opinion ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 10 Mar 1997 23:29:03 -0500 From: MRJohnson Subject: Re: [Mystara] Blood Brethren Cthulhudrew, The Great Old One wrote: >On Mon, 10 Mar 1997, Nicholas C Bambakidis wrote: >>Since we're rating things, I was wondering if anyone had played the Hollow World modules (BLood Brethren Trilogy)? I have the opportunity to run my PC's through some secondhand copies. On cursory inspection they seem excellent. ANy thoughts? >When I originally bought them, I thought they were excellent. I still like them a lot- particularly in that they are so free-form and not as linear as most modules- but I don't care overmuch for the Immortal plot. >Specifically (as the Immortal plot is the driving force of the modules), I don't like the fact that _all_ the Immortals, save for Thanatos and Asterius, drop off the face of the Prime Plane. I don't care for the fact that they are so easily tricked by Thanatos, and that they only leave behind one of their number, and not even one of the most powerful. >I haven't thought of any ways around this, as yet, so I haven't run it in any of my most recent campaigns. I've recently been running the trilogy in my own campaign and I have the exact same problem with it that you have. I find it very difficult to believe that every single Immortal would fall for Thanatos's trick. I came up with a way to get around this, however. Wrath of the Immortals is currently occurring in my own campaign, so I decided that since many of the Immortals are distracted by these events, Thanatos simply decided to start his plan without sending the Immortals into the past. Immortals involved in WOTI are too caught up in their own schemes to notice what Thanatos is up to, and other Immortals just dismiss any bizarre events in the Hollow World as more WOTI-induced hysteria. Asterius, in his quest to uncover the Brotherhood of the Shadow, accidentally stumbled onto Thanatos's plot and so Thanatos captured him. The adventures work quite well like this. Very little needs to be changed in them, except for the ending. For the ending, the characters just need to rescue Asterius instead of all the Immortals (which is still a worthy task, I think). Of course, this version means that spells don't vanish, but I've found that this really makes very little difference in the playing of the adventures. Michael Ray Johnson. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 10 Mar 1997 23:49:15 EST From: nbamba@juno.com (Nicholas C Bambakidis) Subject: Re: [Mystara] Blood Brethren Some adventure suggestions. Take 'em or leave 'em: For those DM's who are interested in adventuring in Glantri, I've found that Boldavia is a great area which allows itself to be adapted to many Ravenloft adventures. For example, the classic House of Strahd adventure (possibly one of the best modules ever written) works great if one substitutes Morphail for Strahd, and making the Tatyana Morphail's sister Tatyana (an unwilling pawn of Morphail, and in love with the fallen Paladin Claude d'Ambreville). In my campaign, my PC's were led to the hilt of the Sunsword (alluded to in the module) on the person of Sergei Wutyla (see the Glantri Boxed set). By the end of the module, they had managed to kill Morphail and replace him with Tatyana as Princess and Claude as consort (after killing them and using dispel evil and raise dead, a method suggested in the Mark of Amber adventure). I've also found that the Children of the Night : Vampires supplement has four or five really excellent short scenarios dealing with vampires in it, allowing my PC's to continue vampire hunting in Boldavia while using it as a base of operations for other adventures. In fact, currently we are in the middle of the Rod of Seven Parts Boxed set, which is also very, very good and allows one to provide an excuse to send the PC's to any area of Mystara you want to in search of the Rod Pieces! (I've already sent them to the Hollow World and back, to Aquas,across Ethengar, Esterhold on Skothia, and across the Plain of Fire and into the caverns of Graakhalia!) N.B. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 28 Aug 1995 09:06:21 -0700 From: Leroy Van Camp III Subject: [Mystara] House of Strahd in Mystara >Some adventure suggestions. Take 'em or leave 'em: >For those DM's who are interested in adventuring in Glantri, I've found that Boldavia is a great area which allows itself to be adapted to many Ravenloft adventures. For example, the classic House of Strahd adventure (possibly one of the best modules ever written) works great if one substitutes Morphail for Strahd, and making the Tatyana Morphail's sister Tatyana (an unwilling pawn of Morphail, and in love with the fallen Paladin Claude d'Ambreville). An intersting idea. I have alwasy wanted to run HoS in Karameikos, placing the module in Koriszegy Keep. - -- Leroy Van Camp III | "By the way, this may look like a slab of liver, malacoda@lesbois.com | but its an external brain pack." owner-mystara-l@io.com | Ratbert ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 11 Mar 1997 01:32:17 -0500 (EST) From: Kaviyd@aol.com Subject: Re: [Mystara] Invisibility In a message dated 97-03-11 00:07:02 EST, cmnwrld@mhtc.net (Rob Rickard) writes: << A player of mine has come up with a question about invisibility. The rules state- when you shoot an arrow you become visible, but if you shot an invisible arrow could you stay invisible. The rules of invisibility are a touchy subject in our campaigns. Everybody has his own opinion >> Firing an invisible arrow is still an attack, so the shooter would become visible. However, the arrow would remain invisible until it hits. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 11 Mar 1997 01:32:17 -0500 (EST) From: Kaviyd@aol.com Subject: Re: [Mystara] Invisibility In a message dated 97-03-11 00:07:02 EST, cmnwrld@mhtc.net (Rob Rickard) writes: << A player of mine has come up with a question about invisibility. The rules state- when you shoot an arrow you become visible, but if you shot an invisible arrow could you stay invisible. The rules of invisibility are a touchy subject in our campaigns. Everybody has his own opinion >> Firing an invisible arrow is still an attack, so the shooter would become visible. However, the arrow would remain invisible until it hits. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 11 Mar 1997 00:09:51 -0700 (MST) From: Ron Lundeen Subject: [Mystara] Blood Brethren Trilogy On Mon, 10 Mar 1997, Nicholas C Bambakidis wrote: >Since we're rating things, I was wondering if anyone had played the Hollow World modules (BLood Brethren Trilogy)? I have the opportunity to run my PC's through some secondhand copies. On cursory inspection they seem excellent. ANy thoughts? When I ran the trilogy, it was the second time my PCs had been to the Hollow World, so they had a little bit of knowledge about the place (they had been on a lengthy quest to bring Falanen the Shadow-Elf to the Lighthouse during his Time Of Wandering). They really liked it. In fact, they liked it so much that I ran a short spin-off campaign where the players played Hollow World characters, and I ran most of the Hollow World race-specific adventures (The Milenian Scepter, and the Azcan one). As a different, surprising, interesting place to discover and adventure in, the Hollow World is tops. And the Blood Brethren trilogy introduces it very nicely. Ron .................................................................. . . . And I am frightened by the corrupted ways of this land . . If only I could meet the Maker . . And I am fascinated by the spiritual man . . I'm humbled by his humble nature . . - Alanis Morissette, "All I Really Want" . .................................................................. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 11 Mar 1997 00:13:27 -0700 (MST) From: Ron Lundeen Subject: Re: [Mystara] Blood Brethren On Mon, 10 Mar 1997, MRJohnson wrote: >Wrath of the Immortals is currently occurring in my own campaign, so I decided that since many of the Immortals are distracted by these events, Thanatos simply decided to start his plan without sending the Immortals into the past. Immortals involved in WOTI are too caught up in their own schemes to notice what Thanatos is up to, and other Immortals just dismiss any bizarre events in the Hollow World as more WOTI-induced hysteria. Asterius, in his quest to uncover the Brotherhood of the Shadow, accidentally stumbled onto Thanatos's plot and so Thanatos captured him. >The adventures work quite well like this. Very little needs to be changed in them, except for the ending. For the ending, the characters just need to rescue Asterius instead of all the Immortals (which is still a worthy task, I think). Of course, this version means that spells don't vanish, but I've found that this really makes very little difference in the playing of the adventures. I used precisely the same fix you did. At the end, when the PCs are given temporary Immortal status, they made quite a name for themselves in the Immortal's War (since all of the PCs had definite sides in the conflict). The Immortal allies and enemies they made (some they knew about, some they did not) were the driving force behind my campaign from that time forward. Ron .................................................................. . . . And I am frightened by the corrupted ways of this land . . If only I could meet the Maker . . And I am fascinated by the spiritual man . . I'm humbled by his humble nature . . - Alanis Morissette, "All I Really Want" . .................................................................. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 11 Mar 1997 00:15:56 -0700 (MST) From: Ron Lundeen Subject: [Mystara] Where on Mystara? On Mon, 10 Mar 1997, Nicholas C Bambakidis wrote: >Pieces! (I've already sent them to the Hollow World and back, to Aquas,across Ethengar, Esterhold on Skothia, and across the Plain of Fire and into the caverns of Graakhalia!) I consider myself well-versed in Mystaran geography, but Aquas and Esterhold don't ring a bell. Where are they? Ron .................................................................. . . . And I am frightened by the corrupted ways of this land . . If only I could meet the Maker . . And I am fascinated by the spiritual man . . I'm humbled by his humble nature . . - Alanis Morissette, "All I Really Want" . .................................................................. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 11 Mar 1997 02:31:52 -0500 (EST) From: Kaviyd@aol.com Subject: Re: [Mystara] Where on Mystara? In a message dated 97-03-11 02:20:02 EST, Ron.Lundeen@m.cc.utah.edu (Ron Lundeen) writes: << I consider myself well-versed in Mystaran geography, but Aquas and Esterhold don't ring a bell. Where are they? >> Aquas is an underwater kingdom off the southern coast of Alphatia (and it stayed in the Known World after Alphatia sank). Esterhold is the peninsula off of northwestern Skothar (the big eastern continent) that was occupied by the Alphatians. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 11 Mar 1997 00:40:16 -0700 (MST) From: "Cthulhudrew, The Great Old One" Subject: Re: [Mystara] Blood Brethren On Mon, 10 Mar 1997, MRJohnson wrote: >Wrath of the Immortals is currently occurring in my own campaign, so I decided that since many of the Immortals are distracted by these events, Thanatos simply decided to start his plan without sending the Immortals into the past. Immortals involved in WOTI are too caught up in their ownDate: Wed, 12 Mar 1997 15:09:24 -0600 From: (mystara-digest) To: mystara-digest@lists.io.com Subject: mystara-digest V2 #9 Reply-To: mystara-l@lists.io.com Precedence: bulk >schemes to notice what Thanatos is up to, and other Immortals just dismiss any bizarre events in the Hollow World as more WOTI-induced hysteria. Asterius, in his quest to uncover the Brotherhood of the Shadow, accidentally stumbled onto Thanatos's plot and so Thanatos captured him. I had a thought about doing something similar, myself. I agree that the WotI would likely be sufficiently distracting that Thanatos might jump on the bandwagon and start up his own plots- it also helps explain why he was so quiet during the events in WotI. Along the same lines, I have tried to think up ways to involve other Immortals- directly or indirectly- in WotI. I realize the adventure could only give so much info, but it seems like most of the Immortals and their interests were simply ignored. Anyone else do something similar? >The adventures work quite well like this. Very little needs to be changed in them, except for the ending. For the ending, the characters just need to rescue Asterius instead of all the Immortals (which is still a worthy task, I think). Of course, this version means that spells don't vanish, but I've found that this really makes very little difference in the playing of the adventures. Spells could still vanish- if Thanatos were to capture a few Immortals (those that might still take an exception to his tasks, and weren't otherwise involved)- and don't forget that there is the Week of No Magic- depending on when you start the trilogy, that might have an effect on things. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 11 Mar 1997 13:41:50 GMT From: rolfs@netway.at (Rolf Schoefnagel) Subject: Re: [Mystara] Blood Brethren Trilogy On Mon, 10 Mar 1997 19:03:54 EST, you wrote: >I was wondering if anyone had played the Hollow World modules (BLood Brethren Trilogy)? I have the opportunity to run my PC's through some secondhand copies. On cursory inspection they seem excellent. ANy thoughts? >N.B. >nbamba@juno.com I DM´d them with my group a couple of years ago (when they came out). In my opinion they are much more than just some kind of quick adventure (though not as much of a campaign as the Wrath of the Immortal Adventure). I, at that time, made the big mistake to not dig enough into Hollow World and the modules. If you plan on fleshing the modules out, if you create your own mini-adventures in between, it might be a great resource. I had another problem with them, though: After the characters meet practically all of the major immortals at the end of the third module and actually _become_ immortal for some time being (or at least get the powers), I headed for problems in getting the PC´s back into some 'normal' campaign afterwards. In the end, I sent my group into the Wrath of the Immortals campaign and set all of the side stories so that the PC´s can make use of their vastly improved knowledge about the Immortals and the way the multiverse works (Remember - the Blood Brethren Trilogy is definitely not for _real_ experienced characters). In short - for me this trilogy brought a great story thats needs some fleshing out (I´d say that a completely fleshed out story would need 4-5 modules instead of the 3 existing), but watch where it leads your campaign to. <_< Rolf Schoefnagel >_> <_< E-Mail: rolfs@netway.at >_> <_< "I will take the Ring," he said, "though I do not know the way." >_> ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 11 Mar 1997 16:31:32 +0200 (EET) From: Aleksej Andrievskij Subject: Re: [Mystara] Where on Mystara? On Tue, 11 Mar 1997, Ron Lundeen wrote: >On Mon, 10 Mar 1997, Nicholas C Bambakidis wrote: >>Pieces! (I've already sent them to the Hollow World and back, to Aquas,across Ethengar, Esterhold on Skothia, and across the Plain of Fire and into the caverns of Graakhalia!) >I consider myself well-versed in Mystaran geography, but Aquas and Esterhold don't ring a bell. Where are they? Aquas is the underwater city, just off the southern coast of (former) Alphatia. Esterhold is a big peninsula in western Skothar, also owned by Alphatia. Aleksei ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 11 Mar 1997 10:48:51 -0500 (EST) From: StarHawk Subject: Re: [Mystara] Blood Brethren On Mon, 10 Mar 1997, MRJohnson wrote: >Cthulhudrew, The Great Old One wrote: >>On Mon, 10 Mar 1997, Nicholas C Bambakidis wrote: >>>Since we're rating things, I was wondering if anyone had played the Hollow World modules (BLood Brethren Trilogy)? I have the opportunity to >>I don't like the fact that _all_ the Immortals, save for Thanatos and Asterius, drop off the face of the Prime Plane. I don't care for the fact that they are so easily tricked by Thanatos, and that they only leave behind one of their number, and not even one of the most powerful. >I've recently been running the trilogy in my own campaign and I have the exact same problem with it that you have. I find it very difficult to believe that every single Immortal would fall for Thanatos's trick. I came up with a way to get around this, however. Wrath of the Immortals is currently occurring in my own campaign, so I decided that since many of the Immortals are distracted by these events, Thanatos simply decided to start his plan without sending the Immortals into the past. Immortals involved in WOTI are too caught up in their own schemes to notice what Thanatos is up to, and other Immortals just dismiss any bizarre events in the Hollow World as more WOTI-induced hysteria. Asterius, in his quest to uncover the Brotherhood of the Shadow, accidentally stumbled onto Thanatos's plot and so Thanatos captured him. I was considering something similar for my own campaign, but instead of leaving the Immortals around, using WotI as an excuse for all the Immortals to go into the past. I believe the module says they voluntarily left to investigate some important events in the past, planning to retun before any mortals noticed their abscence. Perhaps the events are the Blackmoor Cataclysm, the alteration of the engines, maybe even the Beagle's landing. Asterius stays behind to find evidence of the Brotherhood of the Shadow while no one can interfere with his investigations. But Thanatos captures him, perhaps just as he gets or is about to get his evidence. Also _all_ the Immortals would leave since they don't fully trust each other, especially not during WotI, and wouldn't want any of their rivals to take actions against them when they are gone. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 11 Mar 1997 13:04:53 -0300 (EST) From: Andre Cavalcanti Rocha Martins {S Subject: Re: [Mystara] Blood Brethren On Tue, 11 Mar 1997, StarHawk wrote: >I was considering something similar for my own campaign, but instead of leaving the Immortals around, using WotI as an excuse for all the Immortals to go into the past. I believe the module says they voluntarily left to investigate some important events in the past, planning to retun before any mortals noticed their abscence. Perhaps the events are the Blackmoor Cataclysm, the alteration of the engines, maybe even the Beagle's landing. Asterius stays behind to find evidence of the Brotherhood of the Shadow while no one can interfere with his investigations. But Thanatos captures him, perhaps just as he gets or is about to get his evidence. >Also _all_ the Immortals would leave since they don't fully trust each other, especially not during WotI, and wouldn't want any of their rivals to take actions against them when they are gone. Sorry, but I can't agree with this. I mean, Immortals have avatars, Thanatos even uses one in the trilogy, so he could be with the time travelling Immortals and in the normal time. Why was he the only one to do it was always my biggest problem there. I can't see Khoronus, Odin and any other Immortal who is considered wise and experienced making such a mistake. There is no simple way to get all the Immortals disappear, even for a fe minutes, when you come to think about it. Andre Martins ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 11 Mar 1997 11:18:41 -0500 (EST) From: Mouse Subject: Re: [Mystara] Invisibility >A player of mine has come up with a question about invisibility. The rules state- when you shoot an arrow you become visible, but if you shot an invisible arrow could you stay invisible. >The rules of invisibility are a touchy subject in our campaigns. Everybody has his own opinion Here's my opinion. The way I deal with invisibility is that it is tied closely with emotion. Mostly anger or hatred, when used in attacking. In your case it might be that the invisible person became visible, possibly after shooting the invisible arrow. The arrow, however, would remain invisible because it contains no emotions (because it's an inanimate object). Mouse Life is pain...!! Anyone who says differently is selling something. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 11 Mar 1997 17:35:41 EST From: nbamba@juno.com (Nicholas C Bambakidis) Subject: Re: [Mystara] Blood Brethren Trilogy On Tue, 11 Mar 1997 00:09:51 -0700 (MST) Ron Lundeen writes: >they liked it so much that I ran a short spin-off campaign where the players played Hollow World characters, and I ran most of the Hollow World race-specific adventures (The Milenian Scepter, and the Azcan >one)................................................................. Which Azcan - specific adventure are you talking about? The one in the Hollow WOrld Boxed Set? N.B. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 11 Mar 1997 17:54:50 -0500 From: Rob Rickard Subject: Re: [Mystara] Invisibility Mouse wrote: >>A player of mine has come up with a question about invisibility. The rules state- when you shoot an arrow you become visible, but if you shot an invisible arrow could you stay invisible. >>The rules of invisibility are a touchy subject in our campaigns. Everybody has his own opinion >Here's my opinion. >The way I deal with invisibility is that it is tied closely with emotion. Mostly anger or hatred, when used in attacking. In your case it might be that the invisible person became visible, possibly after shooting the invisible arrow. The arrow, however, would remain invisible because it contains no emotions (because it's an inanimate object). >Mouse >Life is pain...!! >Anyone who says differently is selling something. The way we play invisibility is that the spell just bends the light rays around what is invisible. However, if you were to look directly at a spot for the invisible person you could see it: when an invisible person hits you you notice it (pay attention to the area)......an arrow appears from a conor of the room the person appears (pay attention to the area). The higher wisdom you have the better you are at spotting it (if you are looking for it). It is a not the best rule we came up with but it works. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 11 Mar 1997 20:02:05 -0500 (EST) From: Shin Chyang Yu Subject: Re: [Mystara] Invisibility Rob Rickard pontificated: >A player of mine has come up with a question about invisibility. The rules state- when you shoot an arrow you become visible, but if you shot an invisible arrow could you stay invisible. >The rules of invisibility are a touchy subject in our campaigns. Everybody has his own opinion For the sake of game balance, invisibility drops off once you attacks someone. And attacking with an invisible arrow is still an attack. Whether some other actions counts as attack or not will be up to your GM. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 11 Mar 1997 15:41:14 -0700 (MST) From: "Cthulhudrew, The Great Old One" Subject: Re: [Mystara] Blood Brethren Trilogy On Tue, 11 Mar 1997, Nicholas C Bambakidis wrote: >On Tue, 11 Mar 1997 00:09:51 -0700 (MST) Ron Lundeen writes: >>they liked it so much that I ran a short spin-off campaign where the players played Hollow World characters, and I ran most of the Hollow World race-specific adventures (The Milenian Scepter, and the >>Azcan one) >Which Azcan - specific adventure are you talking about? The one in the Hollow WOrld Boxed Set? He might mean one of the adventures in the Sons of Azca Gazetteer. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 12 Mar 1997 04:41:23 -0300 (EST) From: Andre Cavalcanti Rocha Martins {S Subject: [Mystara] Hutaakans I am about to introduce the hutaakans in my campaign and I would like to know if anybody has worked anything about thier culture, habits, etc. All I have about them comes from the Creature Catalog and the Montrous Compedium. Andre Martins ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 12 Mar 1997 08:02:14 EST From: Neal Daskal Subject: Re: [Mystara] Hutaakans >I am about to introduce the hutaakans in my campaign and I would like to know if anybody has worked anything about thier culture, habits, etc. All I have about them comes from the Creature Catalog and the Montrous Compedium. The Hutaakans were introduced in B10, Night's Dark Terror (one of my top five modules). There is also info in the HW boxed set as they are one of the defined HW cultures. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 13 Mar 1997 14:23:14 +0100 From: Diego Calugi Subject: Re: [Mystara] Hutaakans Andre Cavalcanti Rocha Martins {S wrote: >I am about to introduce the hutaakans in my campaign and I would like to know if anybody has worked anything about thier culture, habits, etc. All I have about them comes from the Creature Catalog and the Montrous Compedium. If you are going to introduce Hutaakans, take a look at the module B10: Night's Dark Terror (TSR No.: 9149). It's the "official" adventure about Hutaakans and their lost valley. It also introduce some goblin's tribe and the Vailya Elfs. In my opinion B10 is the best adventure for low level characters. GAZ 1 and HW Boxed Set have some informations too. And one last thing. When the PCs will discover the Hutaakans, there will be some repercussions in Karameikos... Many people will be interessed in their lost valley... ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 12 Mar 1997 08:57:00 -0600 From: "GUILLORY: BRANT" Subject: [Mystara] best/ worst 3 Form: Memo Text: (23 lines follow) Just a reminder, the best/worst OD&D products should NOT include Joshuan's Almanac or the DM/ Player's survival guide. They were AD&D2 products. best 3: B10: Night's Dark terror X6/9: Original Savage Coast Wrath of the Immortals honorable mention: HWR3 Milenian Empire, TM 1& 2 Trail Maps worst 3: Gaz 4 Irendi X7 War Rafts of Kron the Immortals Box set (dis)Honorable Mention:remaking Mystara into AD&D LT Brant D. Guillory 3rd Platoon, TF 1-40 AR TF Supply Officer CAH2774@texcom-hood.army.mil PH (408) 386-2137 DSN 686-2710/2137 Use Proportional Font: true ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 12 Mar 97 12:53:19 EST From: Jody Duncan Subject: [Mystara] Ierendi Why does no one like the Ierendi Gazeteer? Personally I loved it, I don't see what the big deal is... If you want to see a *VERY* badly done supplement try figuring out the Kingdom Of Nithia hollow world supplement, ick!!! *NOW* that supplement really sucks. The Ierendi gaz had a lot of really good stuff in it, the part about being an old prison colony really gave some colour to the background, the annual ( or however often they hold it ) adventure to get famous is really great for adventure ideas etc.., the "paradise island" aspect works really well to give PC's some R&R when they need it, and those big metal ships are just frigging *AWESOME*. How can someone honestly *NOT* like the Ierendi Gaz? I don't get it... - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- "Just Glad To Be Here Happy To Be Alive!" Carleton U. Computer Science, Software Email addresses: jduncan2@chat.carleton.ca cq793@freenet.carleton.ca - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 12 Mar 1997 13:35:54 EST From: Neal Daskal Subject: Re: [Mystara] Ierendi >Why does no one like the Ierendi Gazeteer? Personally I loved it, I don't see what the big deal is... If you want to see a *VERY* badly done supplement try figuring out the Kingdom Of Nithia hollow world supplement, ick!!! *NOW* that supplement really sucks. The Ierendi gaz had a lot of really good stuff in it, the part about being an old prison colony really gave some colour to the background, the annual ( or however often they hold it ) adventure to get famous is really great for adventure ideas etc.., the "paradise island" aspect works really well to give PC's some R&R when they need it, and those big metal ships are just frigging *AWESOME*. How can someone honestly *NOT* like the Ierendi Gaz? I don't get it... It depends on what you want to do with your campaign. I ran a "high fantasy" campaign. I used as plain-vanilla an interpretation of the published rules as I could manage and was trying to match the "feel" of LotR. For my purposes GAZ1 was great. Ierendi had too much stuff that did not map well to a medieval world to be useful. FWIW, I didn't like most of the stuff in the Gazetters, including many folk's beloved Glantri. I had a use for background material about regions, but if it broke the "feel" it wasn't useful to me. I had no use for additional game mechanics like Glantri's Seven Secret Crafts. The Glantri political/historical/NPC stuff was useful, but the no-clerics stuff (rescinded during the "plague" of WotI) required too many dumb work-arounds to get the adventuring party in and out of the country. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 12 Mar 1997 16:05:34 +0500 From: Aron Reif Subject: Re: [Mystara] Ierendi At 12:53 PM 3/12/97 EST, you wrote: >Why does no one like the Ierendi Gazeteer? Personally I loved it, I don't see what the big deal is... If you want to see a *VERY* badly done supplement try figuring out the Kingdom Of Nithia hollow world supplement, ick!!! *NOW* that supplement really sucks. The Ierendi gaz had a lot of really good stuff in it, the part about being an old prison colony really gave some colour to the background, the annual ( or however often they hold it ) adventure to get famous is really great for adventure ideas etc.., the "paradise island" aspect works really well to give PC's some R&R when they need it, and those big metal ships are just frigging *AWESOME*. How can someone honestly *NOT* like the Ierendi Gaz? I don't get it... Actually, I liked it, for the most part. I could have done without the tourism stuff (Only the extremely wealthy could afford to travel in Medieval Europe, and I don't expect that's it is much different in Mystara), but the rest of it was worth keeping. Granted, I've never been to the tropical pacific (which I believe it was based on), but it seemed like a pretty good representation to me. I would have like to know more about the natives (Makai, I think) and less about the tourist attractions (fake adventures and the like). Overall I think it was done pretty well, especially since it was done before most of the other GAZ series could add their own background material. At least it was entertaining to read, compared to some of the other GAZs produced. GAZ 2, 7, & 11 I found kind of dry reading -- I didn't even finish reading any of those before I got bored with them (which is rare for me). Aron Reif areif@vt.edu ------------------------------ End of mystara-digest V2 #9 *************************** Date: Fri, 14 Mar 1997 00:52:30 -0600 From: (mystara-digest) To: mystara-digest@lists.io.com Subject: mystara-digest V2 #10 Reply-To: mystara-l@lists.io.com Precedence: bulk mystara-digest Friday, March 14 1997 Volume 02 : Number 010 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 13 Mar 1997 00:31:30 +0200 From: Georgios Dimitrios Milonas Subject: [Mystara] Joshuan's almanac I own Joshuan's Almanac and I think it's great.It has a timeline from 1000 bc to 1013 ac.It also has information about many countries,and a lot of ideas for adventures.Could someone tell me,why you think as one fo the worst 3? ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 12 Mar 1997 19:35:04 -0500 (EST) From: Jonathan Devaprasad <96devapr@scar.utoronto.ca> Subject: Re: [Mystara] Invisibility >Mouse wrote: >>>A player of mine has come up with a question about invisibility. The rules state- when you shoot an arrow you become visible, but if you shot an invisible arrow could you stay invisible. >>>The rules of invisibility are a touchy subject in our campaigns. Everybody has his own opinion Invisibility rules state that you become visible after "a" attack. Since shooting a invisible arrow is the same as shooting an arrow which you carried on you while invisibility was cast is the same thing. It should not make a difference. Generally, any attack should make you visible. N o matter what. Anyways, you are the DM, make up your own mind. IF the players have a problem .... TOO BAD:) ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 13 Mar 1997 12:12:06 +0000 From: DM Subject: Re: [Mystara] Priest benefits & Defenders At 10.15 07/03/97 -0500, you wrote: >I would rule once a PC created a defender, that if he changes alignment he loses all special abilities of his kit. If he wants to become a defender of another Immortal (and alignment) then I would make him start over at level 1. >Delarius Wow... too bad... i suggest he loses 10% of his current Xps (in fact, i did this when the rakasta defender of Pax Bellanica of one of my players was cloned and became chaotic, since it's not a human or demi-human but only a humanoid -see the spell in the Master rules- and he was converted to the faith of Rathanos!) DM ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 13 Mar 1997 12:58:05 +0000 From: DM Subject: Re: [Mystara] Undead revolt? (Astronomy) At 16.38 08/03/97 +0100, you wrote: >I didn't even know there were other planets, I only knew about the 2 moons (well..I knew there were moons, and one is hidden, but nothing more, maybe someone can explain it somewhat to me.) :) >Bas Ok, here we are again: this is Mystara solar system Old Immortal Rules Real Name (Proposed one) Venus (Valerias) Earth (Mystara) Mars (Tarastia) Damocles (Alphaks -it will explode and 2 planets will be created, taking the orbit of Mercury -Rathanos- and Pluto -Hel-) Jupiter (Vanya) Saturn (Khoronus) Uranus (Asterius) Neptune (Proteus) Charon (Thanatos) Wrath of the Immortal rules Real Name (Proposed one) Mercury (Valerias) Venus (Proteus) Earth (Mystara) Mars (Tarastia) Jupiter (Vanya) Saturn (Khoronus) Uranus (Asterius, or Odin) Neptune (everybody's guess, maybe some sea or Time Immortal) Pluto (Thanatos) Choose the one you like most... i won't explain you the whys and wheres of the names... if you're interested, check in the digest for previous letters on the topic. I have just one advice: i'll have Damocles (Alphaks, or some other immortal of doom) explode after the result of WotI, beign a remarkable sign of the Gods' wrath forever there in the sky (but the option of the meteor causing the Crater come from Damocles is good too), and its inhabitants will now land on Mystara and make themselves know.... it's only a matter of time! DM ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 13 Mar 1997 13:14:44 +0000 From: DM Subject: Re: [Mystara] Top 3 & Worst 3 At 15.37 10/03/97 +0500, you wrote: >Technically, both Joshuan's Almanac and the DM Survival Kit are also for AD&D, so they should probably not be included. Mmhh... yes, it's a good point, but maybe i didn't explain myself clearly: the list is about the 3 best and 3 worst products about MYSTARA - KNOWN WORLD (Red Steel campaign excluded), not specifically referred to OD&D or AD&D >Honorable Mentions: GAZ10 and the PC series (yes, I like playing "oddball" characters) Yeah, the PC series did a great work, even though some XPs are really too much! >Worst 3: >1) Anything from the Thunder Rift setting 2) GAZ2: Emirates of Ylarum >3) GAZ7: The Northern Reaches I clearly see you didn't much like poor Ken Rolston's work about the norsemen and the arabian-oriental settings: IMHO these two had great potential and were thoroughly well-written, maybe it's just we feel a little detached from these cultures to deeply integrate them in our campaigns with the best results (GAZ2 was my first gazetteer and i loved it! -even though it was not exceptional, it was far better than GAZ4) ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 13 Mar 1997 13:23:43 +0000 From: DM Subject: Re: [Mystara] Invisibility At 22.22 10/03/97 -0500, you wrote: >A player of mine has come up with a question about invisibility. The rules state- when you shoot an arrow you become visible, but if you shot an invisible arrow could you stay invisible. >The rules of invisibility are a touchy subject in our campaigns. Everybody has his own opinion Of course i couldn't loose the opportunity to tell may opinion on the subject. My rule is this one (a slightly modificated version): Every time a person that is invisible - -tries to attack (i.e. to harm) another person, even if he doesn't hit the target - -is wounded by someone or something - -cast a spell then he becomes visible In your case, even if the arrow is invisible, the archer becomes visible once he shoots (and btw, how can an arrow remain invisible, if the rules is "every item invisible touched becomes visible" and you need touch an arrow to point it and to fire it!?) I would also assume that an invisible character breaking a door or trapping another one with a net doesn't become visible: any comments? NB: in GAZ5, the Elves of Alfheim, it is stated that the elven archers are nearly unstoppable, since the fact that they hide in trees, use bows and wear Elven Cloaks make them impossible to be seen, and i think it states also that they don't become visible for they use bows, thus implying that only melee attacks break the invisibility... Now, that is really baffling! DM ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 13 Mar 1997 13:28:13 +0000 From: DM Subject: Re: [Mystara] Blood Brethren At 00.13 11/03/97 -0700, you wrote: >I used precisely the same fix you did. At the end, when the PCs are given temporary Immortal status, they made quite a name for themselves in the Immortal's War (since all of the PCs had definite sides in the conflict). The Immortal allies and enemies they made (some they knew about, some they did not) were the driving force behind my campaign from that time forward. >Ron Ok, Ok... this has always intrigued me, but i never bought it cause my players don't play in HW.... but now you're stirring up my curiosity. What is this Blood Brethern Trilogy about, and specifically: 1) level of the characters 2) can the modules be played separately? 3) main plot and campaign hooks 4) main drawbacks and flaws 5) difficulties during the sessions 6) regarding the last one, does it give much info about Sajhapur or just the same found in PWA2? 7) what's this story about PCs earning Immortal status????? I think it's all for now.... DM ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 13 Mar 1997 13:46:41 +0000 From: DM Subject: Re: [Mystara] Ierendi At 12.53 12/03/97 EST, you wrote: >Why does no one like the Ierendi Gazeteer? Personally I loved it, I don't see what the big deal is... If you want to see a *VERY* badly done supplement try figuring out the Kingdom Of Nithia hollow world supplement, ick!!! *NOW* that supplement really sucks. Ok, ok... let's talk about Ierendi and Nithia: first of all, i am pro-Nithia and a detractor of Ierendi, but i admit that in Nithia's gaz there are some BIG flaws: 1) they don't give the statistics for new armors and their heat exhaustion rate (the new rule introduced with the supplement that was pivotal to understand how to play a character in the hot desert) 2) the weapon specialization is organized like AD&D rules and not like OD&D weapon mastery, and that is disappointing... 3) the history section doesn't detail much Nithia's history in the Known World as i thought, and that's a pity 4) they don't give statistics for Burrowers But Nithia is Nithia, and every Mystara fan definitely wants to know more about that doomed and fabled kingdom, and that gazeteers recreates majestically the atmosphere of Egypt, with his powerful pharaohs and all its mysteries. There are also good kits foe every class and a detailed description of the country and its habits (the map is also very detailed), especially regarding the variuos faiths. >The Ierendi gaz had a lot of >really good stuff in it, the part about being an old prison colony really gave some colour to the background, the annual ( or however often they hold it ) adventure to get famous is really great for adventure ideas etc.., the "paradise island" aspect works really well to give PC's some R&R when they need it, and those big metal ships are just frigging *AWESOME*. How can someone honestly *NOT* like the Ierendi Gaz? I don't get it... I have never liked Ierendi personally, because i have never found a particular strong feeling of Ierendi as a country.... i mean, it's Hawaiian in style, but it is more a fun park than other things... i always compare it to the Tanegioth Archipelago, but this one seems more detailed and interesting to me than Ierendi. I also have the idea Ierendi was written without any ties to the other nations, so that it remains a sort of stand-alone country in the otherwise very liked Known World. The isle of Mr. Coarke and Matou is really funny, and the White Isle is also intriguing... but that's all... Even Honor Isle is nothing more than a research lab like those seen in submarine cartoons in the 80s... only this one studies the Etheral and Plane of Fire rather than the ocean.... Even the army: i don't get the idea it's that much powerful, really... but i cannot say why... i think it's mainly a style issue: i didn't like the style used to describe it! It could be funny for an adventure or two Magnum PI's style, but then it offers nothing more than relax and fiction... and that's not what adventurers are looking for! That's my opinion, and you're free to disagree... DM ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 13 Mar 1997 13:54:41 +0000 From: DM Subject: Re: [Mystara] Joshuan's almanac At 00.31 13/03/97 +0200, you wrote: >I own Joshuan's Almanac and I think it's great.It has a timeline from 1000 bc to 1013 ac.It also has information about many countries,and a lot of ideas for adventures.Could someone tell me,why you think as one fo the worst 3? If you also had the other 3 PWAs, i think you could understand why Joshuan is THE worst of them all.... It's just it's pretentious and nothing more: no stats, no analytical descriptions, no good drawings (even though the inside maps are OK), nothing but sociological hints... nothing very useful Funny, but not competent nor useful DM ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 13 Mar 1997 14:08:07 +0000 From: DM Subject: [Mystara] PC rulebooks Don't you think they exaggerated a bit with the XPs for some "monsters"? - -For example the Sphinx: it's nearly impossible to play such a character, so why you made any rules for it if they were so unplayable and restricting. - -Another one: tritons! Has any of you ever counted how many XP Tarovra needed to become a 21th level Triton Mage? I'll tell you: about 8 millions XP!!! And where the heck did she find them: under the pillow???????????? And imagine if she was reincarnated in another class/race or if she was to become an Immortal: she would start from the 36th level (in the first case) or as a Temporal!!! - -Another one: i assure you that a poor lycanthrope fellow that has to earn his XPs only by roleplaying and slaying cattle is not so pleased (that's why they are always so feral and in a bad mood when you meet them): why cannot he earn XPs from treasures???? - -Also, another flaw in one of the best PC guides was not giving the age cathegories and max. age for critters described in PC2... and talking about PC2, why they don't have detailed the cloud giant instead of the Sphinx or the Harpy? - -Another thing: maybe you don't have notived it, but the sea giant's strength top is actually 21, and not 18 (min 15, +2 as a rule, +4 hit points damage at normal monster means he has between 19 and 21 of Strength, and since he deals more damage with his sword than a fire giant (str 20), than his str must be 21!) - -Also, what the heck does it mean that the racial maximum are always 18, only they apply to beings of the same race???? That a Sphinx deals more damage than a human, but since Gygax said no characteristics above 18! it only does +3 damage maximum???? It's nonsense! DM ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 13 Mar 1997 08:12:15 EST From: Neal Daskal Subject: Re[2]: [Mystara] Blood Brethren >At 00.13 11/03/97 -0700, you wrote: >Ok, Ok... this has always intrigued me, but i never bought it cause my players don't play in HW.... but now you're stirring up my curiosity. What is this Blood Brethern Trilogy about, and specifically: These answers are off the top of my head. I ran the adventure years ago during an on-going campaign. I think the trilogy is excellent: Allan Varney did a great job with the brain-dead Hollow World setting. Recall that the Milenian Scepter (also a good play) is the ONLY other published module for HW. My players enjoyed the story and the party MU shuddered ever-after at the mention of the HW. The group returned during the shaft adventure during WotI but their stay was short enough then that further opinions did not develop. >1) level of the characters Three modules for 5-8, 6-9, 7-10. >2) can the modules be played separately? Yes, but they lose something if you don't use them together. >3) main plot and campaign hooks A complex and well-developed attempt by Thanatos to destroy the the sanctuary aspect of the HW. >4) main drawbacks and flaws The HW itself. Sorry the "land of the red sun" and weakened magic is dumb. I was in conference on GEnie with Aaron Alston and Allan Varney at a time after I ran the adventures. Aaron said HW was TSR's attempt to set up "lost world" setting for OD&D. Everyone realized that it didn't work out as a product. If there was no HW, I'm sure Alston could have placed the relevant cultures (Azca, Nithia, and Sharjaphur) on the surface and Varney could have designed the adventure for that setting. >5) difficulties during the sessions Nothing out of the ordinary. >6) regarding the last one, does it give much info about Sajhapur or just the same found in PWA2? More detail in the module. >7) what's this story about PCs earning Immortal status????? The final encounter is a fight against Thanatos in a magic-draining dimension named, I believe, Nightstorm, which would also be the title of the third module. At that point Thanatos is fleeing the wrath of the other Immortals (hmmm .. Wrath of the Immortals .. maybe a title here ;) ). The other Immortals fear the magic drain so they power up the party to act as their agents against Thanatos. One of my players rolled initiative and won six rounds in a row. Thanatos was hit each time, disrupting his selected spell (Dispel Good, which if he got it off would have basically ended the encounter) and against all odds the party won. This had considerable ramifications later in the campaign in ways unrelated to the trilogy. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 13 Mar 1997 14:12:04 +0000 From: DM Subject: [Mystara] Immortals Has any of you ever noticed that in GAZ HWR2: Nithia it is mentioned a pharaoh that has become immortal (whose name i don't recall now), but that is not cited in WotI? Also, the Immortal named Orisis in GAZ4 could very well be Isiris (Valerias) as told in Nithia gazetteer, rather than a new so far forgotten deity. Oh, another issue: who gives the People Temple's clerics and The Church of Karameikos' priests their spells, if their religion is more a code of ethics than a real faith in some specific Immortal?? DM ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 13 Mar 1997 10:18:17 -0500 (EST) From: Shin Chyang Yu Subject: Re: [Mystara] Top 3 & Worst 3 DM pontificated: >I clearly see you didn't much like poor Ken Rolston's work about the norsemen and the arabian-oriental settings: IMHO these two had great potential and were thoroughly well-written, maybe it's just we feel a little detached from these cultures to deeply integrate them in our campaigns with the best results (GAZ2 was my first gazetteer and i loved it! -even though it was not exceptional, it was far better than GAZ4) I personally don't like GAZ 2 because it omitted some very important infomation such as the make-up of their army. I remember there are a couple of other things missed in there too, but can't remember what right now. John Yu ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 13 Mar 1997 10:22:11 -0500 (EST) From: Shin Chyang Yu Subject: Re: [Mystara] Invisibility DM pontificated: >In your case, even if the arrow is invisible, the archer becomes visible once he shoots (and btw, how can an arrow remain invisible, if the rules is "every item invisible touched becomes visible" and you need touch an arrow to point it and to fire it!?) An invisibility spell could be casted directly on the arrow itself. >NB: in GAZ5, the Elves of Alfheim, it is stated that the elven archers are nearly unstoppable, since the fact that they hide in trees, use bows and wear Elven Cloaks make them impossible to be seen, and i think it states also that they don't become visible for they use bows, thus implying that only melee attacks break the invisibility... Now, that is really baffling! I don't think those elves are invisible due to magic, they just have very, very good camofluge. (Ever seen Clear and Present Danger? Where a commando was able to keep firing his gun at a target while remain unseen in a field. I think that is what those elves are doing.) John Yu ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 13 Mar 1997 10:26:41 -0500 (EST) From: Shin Chyang Yu Subject: Re: [Mystara] PC rulebooks DM pontificated: >-Also, what the heck does it mean that the racial maximum are always 18, only they apply to beings of the same race???? That a Sphinx deals more damage than a human, but since Gygax said no characteristics above 18! it only does +3 damage maximum???? It's nonsense! I think what they tried to say is the strength characteristic is scaled for that one race. So the max strength for all races is 18 but an 18 strength Giant is much much stronger than an 18 strength pixie. And the damage that those extra strength would increase are included in the natural damage value of the monster. I don't think it is the best way to handle this, but I guess they want to keep it sample. John Yu ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 13 Mar 1997 10:52:07 +0500 From: Aron Reif Subject: Re: [Mystara] Top 3 & Worst 3 >>Worst 3: >>1) Anything from the Thunder Rift setting 2) GAZ2: Emirates of Ylarum >>3) GAZ7: The Northern Reaches >I clearly see you didn't much like poor Ken Rolston's work about the norsemen and the arabian-oriental settings: IMHO these two had great potential and were thoroughly well-written, maybe it's just we feel a little detached from these cultures to deeply integrate them in our campaigns with the best results (GAZ2 was my first gazetteer and i loved it! -even though it was not exceptional, it was far better than GAZ4) I guess I didn't notice that Ken Rolston had written both GAZ2 and GAZ7. I wonder if I have anything else that he's written that I liked. I've got too many books to go through them all right now, but maybe I'll look into it sometime. The major complaint that I had about both books were that they tended to be dry reading (at least IMO). I know that there are parts of each book that I enjoyed, but overall they put me to sleep. I don't think that I everDate: Fri, 14 Mar 1997 00:52:30 -0600 From: (mystara-digest) To: mystara-digest@lists.io.com Subject: mystara-digest V2 #10 Reply-To: mystara-l@lists.io.com Precedence: bulk finished reading either one (and GAZ11 fits this category too). What can I say? Some books grab your attention and keep it, and others are only good if you're already interested in that culture. I'll admit, I'm not too interested in Norse or Arabian culture, so maybe that's why they weren't as interesting as some of the other ones. Who knows? The important thing is that I thought they were good enough to pay for them, even if I didn't think they were the best ones I've seen. Aron Reif areif@vt.edu ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 13 Mar 1997 17:55:23 +0100 From: Fabrizio Paoli Subject: Re: [Mystara] Ierendi At 12.53 12/03/97 EST, you wrote: >Why does no one like the Ierendi Gazeteer? Personally I loved it, I don't see what the big deal is... If you want to see a *VERY* badly done supplement try figuring out the Kingdom Of Nithia hollow world supplement, ick!!! *NOW* that supplement really sucks. The Ierendi gaz had a lot of really good stuff in it, the part about being an old prison colony really gave some colour to the background, the annual ( or however often they hold it ) adventure to get famous is really great for adventure ideas etc.., the "paradise island" aspect works really well to give PC's some R&R when they need it, and those big metal ships are just frigging *AWESOME*. How can someone honestly *NOT* like the Ierendi Gaz? I don't get it... Yes, those ships are very nice, the annual adventure is a good idea and Honor Island is really an interesting place, but it's the whole feeling of that Gazthat I don't like. The Ierendi Gaz is completely detached from the rest of the Gaz series. Need examples ? What's the "People's Temple" ? What about the war against Thyatis, I don't remember if it is even reported in thhe big synopsis in Dawn of the Emperors. IIRC Gaz4 lacks also many important details about the Ierendian government. Try to compare it with the Minrothad Gaz and you'll see the difference. About the Kingdom of Nithia supplement: I liked those product, though a bit too AD&Desque. The only problem is that a few charts were missed, but TSR published them in Dragon Magazine a few months later. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 13 Mar 97 15:29:29 EST From: Jody Duncan Subject: Re: [Mystara] Ierendi DM writes: >At 12.53 12/03/97 EST, you wrote: >>Why does no one like the Ierendi Gazeteer? Personally I loved it, I don't see what the big deal is... If you want to see a *VERY* badly done supplement try figuring out the Kingdom Of Nithia hollow world supplement, ick!!! *NOW* that supplement really sucks. >Ok, ok... let's talk about Ierendi and Nithia: first of all, i am pro-Nithia and a detractor of Ierendi, but i admit that in Nithia's gaz there are some BIG flaws: >1) they don't give the statistics for new armors and their heat exhaustion rate (the new rule introduced with the supplement that was pivotal to understand how to play a character in the hot desert) Not to mention all the other statistics given for new equipment was either mislabeled or contradictory... >2) the weapon specialization is organized like AD&D rules and not like OD&D weapon mastery, and that is disappointing... Their skills involving these were very confusing, not to mention incompatible.. >3) the history section doesn't detail much Nithia's history in the Known World as i thought, and that's a pity >4) they don't give statistics for Burrowers But Nithia is Nithia, and every Mystara fan definitely wants to know more about that doomed and fabled kingdom, Not really, I've played OD&D since I was about 10 and had never really heard about Nithia until I bought the Hollow World supplement. >and that gazeteers recreates >majestically the atmosphere of Egypt, with his powerful pharaohs and all its mysteries. There are also good kits foe every class and a detailed description of the country and its habits (the map is also very detailed), especially regarding the variuos faiths. I liked the kits, I liked the history, I liked most of the "atmosphere" stuff, but it was technically done very poorly. There are other errors aside from the ones mentioned above ( but i don't have it with me to check right now ) not to mention spelling mistakes etc... and paragraph titles out of place. The whole thing is just a big confusing mess, the organization is very bad. The Ierendi Gaz had *NONE* of these flaws it was very well done, very well presented and consistent. The background material and setting is a matter of opinion, but the actual product was much better than the one for Nithia... - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- "Just Glad To Be Here Happy To Be Alive!" Carleton U. Computer Science, Software Email addresses: jduncan2@chat.carleton.ca cq793@freenet.carleton.ca - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 13 Mar 1997 22:31:05 +0100 From: Fabrizio Paoli Subject: Re: [Mystara] Invisibility Another question about invisibility. Imagine you're invisible because of something you're wearing (it can be a cloack or a ring) and you attack someone, thus losing invisibility. After how many rounds (or turns) you become invisible again ? ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 13 Mar 1997 17:14:03 -0700 (MST) From: "Cthulhudrew, The Great Old One" Subject: Re: [Mystara] Blood Brethren On Thu, 13 Mar 1997, DM wrote: >Ok, Ok... this has always intrigued me, but i never bought it cause my players don't play in HW.... but now you're stirring up my curiosity. What is this Blood Brethern Trilogy about, and specifically: 1) level of the characters Expert level characters- from 5-8/9th levels. >2) can the modules be played separately? Yes, or they can be played as a trilogy. IMO, you lose some of the flavor by playing them individually. >3) main plot and campaign hooks Thanatos tricks the Immortals into leaving the Prime, and attempts to corrupt the Spell of Preservation in the Hollow World. A weakened Asterius draws the heroes into the flow of things, to stop Thanatos' fiendish plot. Campaign hooks- make a major enemy out of Thanatos; make ties with the Immortals, for higher level campaign hooks; explore the Hollow World. >4) main drawbacks and flaws IMO- the ease with which the Immortals are tricked out of the Prime Plane. It just shouldn't be that easy. Tying this in with WotI, as some have suggested, might be a more interesting option. It could also then be run concurrently with the other Hollow World module, the Milenian Scepter. >6) regarding the last one, does it give much info about Sajhapur or just the same found in PWA2? It is the first book that ever mentions Shajapur. It gives far more detail than any of the PWA's or the few mentions of it in Champions of Mystara. Some modifications were made to it's history between the release of this module and that of the PWA's/CoM. There are also some very detailed maps of both the continent it is on, and of the capital city. >7) what's this story about PCs earning Immortal status????? Temporarily. It's in the last of the modules. Personally, I am split on the issue. I think they are given this status too easily, but I also sort of like the idea of using the Immortals rules (Gold box) with this option. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 13 Mar 1997 17:19:23 -0700 (MST) From: "Cthulhudrew, The Great Old One" Subject: Re: [Mystara] Ierendi On Thu, 13 Mar 1997, DM wrote: >1) they don't give the statistics for new armors and their heat exhaustion rate (the new rule introduced with the supplement that was pivotal to understand how to play a character in the hot desert) Stats for new armors, etc., were supplied by Bruce Heard in one of the Princess Ark fill ins (the Princess Ark was on vacation, so Bruce answered a bunch of questions. :) >2) the weapon specialization is organized like AD&D rules and not like OD&D weapon mastery, and that is disappointing... Again, see the Dragon article. I forget which # offhand, though. >3) the history section doesn't detail much Nithia's history in the Known World as i thought, and that's a pity I agree with this. :( >4) they don't give statistics for Burrowers There are all sorts of Burrowers- from the Annelids, which are described in both the Blood Brethren trilogy and the new Creature Catalog; to more powerful Burrowers, almost reaching Immortal level status. The reason, I figure, for their lack of stats is due to the fact that the most powerful Burrowers (such as those in Nithia) are not only far more powerful than most PC's (except at Master levels, and even then they'd more than give 'em a run for their money), but also due to the fact that they are currently immobile. They cannot do anything, save influence people subliminally- think Cthulhu in R'lyeh. He is currently dead beneath the sea, and cannot rise until certain conditions are met. Until then, all he can do is spread his evil influence subconsciously. If you do use the Burrowers as monsters, they'd be hella powerful. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 13 Mar 1997 17:24:05 -0700 (MST) From: "Cthulhudrew, The Great Old One" Subject: Re: [Mystara] PC rulebooks On Thu, 13 Mar 1997, DM wrote: >Don't you think they exaggerated a bit with the XPs for some "monsters"? -For example the Sphinx: it's nearly impossible to play such a character, so why you made any rules for it if they were so unplayable and restricting. Agreed. PC3 is definitely my least favorite of the four Creature Crucible series. Both the Sphinx and the Nagpa are highly imbalanced, IMO. Not to mention certain oversights- the Pegataurs are natural spellcasters (as elves), but they can train to become Wokans? And to a level much lower than they could naturally achieve? >-Another one: i assure you that a poor lycanthrope fellow that has to earn his XPs only by roleplaying and slaying cattle is not so pleased (that's why they are always so feral and in a bad mood when you meet them): why cannot he earn XPs from treasures???? Perhaps this explains why so many people fear lycanthropes? Most of them are unable to earn the experience necessary to be better able to control their transformations. I think the lycanthrope rules are fine, myself. >-Also, another flaw in one of the best PC guides was not giving the age cathegories and max. age for critters described in PC2... and talking about PC2, why they don't have detailed the cloud giant instead of the Sphinx or the Harpy? Can you imagine how many xp's the Cloud Giant would need? A helluva lot. I've done the xps for a Hill Giant (using the same rules) and they need to earn a lot- I can't imagine a Cloud Giant's xp tables... ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 13 Mar 1997 17:27:52 -0700 (MST) From: "Cthulhudrew, The Great Old One" Subject: Re: [Mystara] PC rulebooks On Thu, 13 Mar 1997, DM wrote: >-Also, what the heck does it mean that the racial maximum are always 18, only they apply to beings of the same race???? That a Sphinx deals more damage than a human, but since Gygax said no characteristics above 18! it only does +3 damage maximum???? It's nonsense! FWIW, I usually allow scores above and below the 3/18 limits, if they are adjusted as such. For instance, a PC werewolf in one of my campaigns had an 18 STR, but as a lycanthrope he gets a +1. I allowed him the 19 STR while a werewolf, to simulate the incredible strength of his were form. Not that it made much difference, bonus wise, but it definitely made him stronger than a normal human. As someone else pointed out, those scores are relative to one another- I believe they mentioned the 18 STR Pixie vs. the 18 STR Giant or Ogre. There's a 17 STR bugbear in a campaign I used to run- but, ceteris paribus, he was probably about as strong or stronger than an 18 STR human fighter. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Mar 1997 17:50:24 +1000 From: s9406058@bohm.anu.edu.au (Stan) Subject: [Mystara] Draft timeline for the Wendar/Denagoth region As the title suggests I am working on a timeline for the region which contains Wendar and the misnamed Denagoth. But due to many reasons I have hit several problems. These problems come about mainly because of the rewriting of history that has gone on in between the original modules which take place in these areas and the later PWA stuff. I am hoping for some help to identify which information is the most correct, and also mainly to gain justification to perhaps disregard even more information from the old modules or perhaps even to rewrite some of the PWA information - because basically as it stands the two basic strands of information cannot be rejoined. OK, to start the whole early history of Essuria, Denagoth, Geffron and all that region is not dated at all in X11 or the subsequent PWAs. All the dates are basically given relative to what I shall call module-time, that is the year in which the module takes place. Therefore we have year X - module takes place year X-30 - Bensarian gives the Elvenstar to Gylharen and all other events take place as told in Bensarians speeches. The next source of information is the first re-write of history. The PWA's say that Gylharen is an elf born in AC 679 whilst in X11 he is human. The doesn't at first really cause any problems with any dating but it may be the cause of later problems. Next we have the two PWA descriptions of when the Elvenstar was given to Gylharen. The country description of Wendar says that it was given 200 years ago, whilst the description of Gylharen states that is was given around AC 900. (this might be vice versa I don't have my PWAs here with me at the moment) Regardless of whether this is vice versa or not we now have two possible dates for the X-30 above, these being c. 812 or c. 900 Therefore the events of X11 take place in either c. 842 or c. 930 Ah, but there's a problem with this, a rather major problem. At the end of X11 Landryn is dead. I guess it could be finished without Landryn's death but any rate he was decaying pretty quickly there, he wouldn't really survive much longer. So I am making an assumption that after c. 842 or c. 930 that Landryn would either be dead or die pretty quickly unless something special happened. But in the PWA's Landryn is still said to exist up to AC 1012 and he is still being called the Shadow Lord. The other major problem with the above is that the country description for Wendar does not say that there was a period where the Elvenstar was stolen, and you'd assume that this is a pretty major thing. There was a year of famine, and other general catastrophe and armies masing on the borders etc - you'd think that it would be mentioned as having occurred in the PWAs. Another piece of evidence we have is the module X13. The assumption made in this module particularly from the pregenerated PCs is that this module takes place pretty shortly after X11. OK, so when did X13 take place. Egad that's another problem! Again the PWAs contradict outside evidence. In X13 there is no indication as to what time the module takes place. In the Gazetters it is said to taken place in AC 1050 (I think that is, something wierd like that any rate), although of course the Gazetters, particularly GAZ7 seems to offer no good or real explanation for this. The PWAs say that the module takes place during the current king of Vestland's childhood. OK, so what date does this give us for X11. OK, Harald Gudmundson was born is AC 954. X13 takes place when Tenitar was 25 which makes it AC 979. Therefore this indicates that X11 took place in AC 978 and therefore that Gylharen was given the Elvenstar in AC 945 at about the earliest and that is playing around with dates. Now AC 945 is by no means c. 812 or c. 900. So therefore X13 doesn't really help the problems at all. Now, if I was going to change anything in X11 it would be the thiry years thing. I propose that this is now not necessary now that Gylharen is a long lived elf. There is no need for things to occur within his human lifetime which I believe the thirty years was doing, ie he was a happy little adventurer in his earlier youth who ended up with the Elvenstar and a kingdom. Then thirty years later when he's in his fifties or sixities he has a whole new problem to deal with. Of course this change of the thirty year thing allows either of two things to take place. Then X13 can be true and follow straight on from X11 and the Gylharen would have the Elvenstar for either 75 or 163 years. Of course this is all assuming that the events of X13 have already happened unlike the Gazetters claim them to happen in AC 1050 which would place X11 around AC 1049 or so and therefore strictly going by X11 Gylharen wouldn't be getting the Elvenstar until AC 1019 which we know isn't true he had at least by AC 1010. Of course this is all assuming that X13 has to directly follow X11 by a fairly short period of time which is another assumption one may want to destroy. Or the PWAs can be correct in their claim that Landryn is still around and hasn't even stolen the Elvenstar yet which gives Gylharen the Elvenstar for another 34 years. Of course this would then still leave us with the problem that the PWAs give us in that Gylharen was given the Elvenstar both two hundred years ago or around AC 900. The resolution of this one cannot seem to be done by any means as neither c. 812 or c. 900 fits in with any other evidence as a plausible date for Gylharen gaining the Elvenstar assuming that the thirty year thing still holds. OK, now that I've put forward all the evidence I think I can find I'll put forward my two most favoured options for the resolution of these problems. I'll start each by saying which assumptions I am going by then trying to give my reason for the choice. Firstly X13 does follow on from X11. The thiry year thing doesn't hold. The PWAs are wrong in saying that Landryn still exists. The PWAs failed to mention the period of time in which the Elvenstar was removed from Wendar. Gylharen is an elf, not human. X13 does not place in the future. Gylharen could still have recieved the Elvenstar in either c. 812 or c. 900 I don't think there is any problem with that. That gives us the following timeline AC 679 Gylharen is born. c. AC 812/900 Bensarian gives the Elvenstar to Gylharen. Gylharen becomes the King of Wendar. AC 954 Harald Gudmundson is born. AC 977 Camla steals the Elvenstar from the City of Wendar and takes it to Landryn. AC 977 A plague befalls Wendar. AC 978 A serious drought withers crops and deplets the water supply in Wendar. This brings on civil disorder. AC 978 Landryn is killed by adventurers and the Elvenstar is returned to Gylharen. These events are played out in the module X11 Saga of the Shadow Lord. AC 979 Harald Gudmundson, known as Tenitar is found and crowned the King of Vestland. These events are played out in the module X13 Crown of Ancient Glory. Now, I don't really know why I like these sequence of events except that it is a plausible option. I guess this allows us to place some new (and let's admit it better) terror to inhabit Denagoth. Secondly X13 does not follow on from X11 and in fact happens before it. The thiry year thing doesn't hold. The PWAs are correct in saying that Landryn still exists. The PWAs did not fail to mention the period of time in which the Elvenstar was removed from Wendar. Gylharen is an elf, not human. X13 does not place in the future. (I just added this because I believe this regardless of anything else) Gylharen could still have recieved the Elvenstar in either c. 812 or c. 900 I don't think there is any problem with that. The joy of these assumptions is that it allows the events in X11 still to be played out, preferably in AC 1014 and carrying over to AC 1015. I would really appreciate peoples suggestions (at things I may have missed, or holes in my reasoning) and opinions for which set of "facts" to disregard and which ones to accept as canon, because basically everything at the moment does _not_ fit together even though presumably it's all canon. Shawn Stanley, Department of Geology, Australian National University. (s9406058@student.anu.edu.au) (http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/5304) ------------------------------ End of mystara-digest V2 #10 **************************** Date: Sat, 15 Mar 1997 12:46:23 -0600 From: (mystara-digest) To: mystara-digest@lists.io.com Subject: mystara-digest V2 #11 Reply-To: mystara-l@lists.io.com Precedence: bulk X-UIDL: eb4d1681c99f6ab2369be3e6a93e580c mystara-digest Saturday, March 15 1997 Volume 02 : Number 011 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 14 Mar 1997 11:38:52 +0200 (EET) From: Aleksej Andrievskij Subject: Re: [Mystara] Ierendi On Wed, 12 Mar 1997, Jody Duncan wrote: >Why does no one like the Ierendi Gazeteer? Personally I loved it, I don't see what the big deal is... If you want to see a *VERY* badly done supplement try figuring out the Kingdom Of Nithia hollow world supplement, ick!!! *NOW* that supplement really sucks. The Ierendi gaz had a lot of really good stuff in it, the part about being an old prison colony really gave some colour to the background, the annual ( or however often they hold it ) adventure to get famous is really great for adventure ideas etc.., the "paradise island" aspect works really well to give PC's some R&R when they need it, and those big metal ships are just frigging *AWESOME*. How can someone honestly *NOT* like the Ierendi Gaz? I don't get it... I don't dislike it, but it simply does not contain enough info. It describes ten islands, every one of them only superficially. The general Ierendi info is little better. For example it mentions the annual Crown Tournament, but it doesn't say exactly what people are supposed to be doing in that competition. Aleksei ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Mar 1997 11:44:06 +0200 (EET) From: Aleksej Andrievskij Subject: Re: [Mystara] Ierendi On Wed, 12 Mar 1997, Neal Daskal wrote: >It depends on what you want to do with your campaign. I ran a "high fantasy" campaign. I used as plain-vanilla an interpretation of the published rules as I could manage and was trying to match the "feel" of LotR. For my purposes GAZ1 was great. Ierendi had too much stuff that did not map well to a medieval world to be useful. FWIW, I didn't like most of the stuff in the Gazetters, including many folk's beloved Glantri. I had a use for background material about regions, but if it broke the "feel" it wasn't useful to me. I had no use for additional game mechanics like Glantri's Seven Secret Crafts. The Glantri political/historical/NPC stuff was useful, but the no-clerics stuff (rescinded during the "plague" of WotI) required too many dumb work-arounds to get the adventuring party in and out of the country. Actually, clerics were allowed already in AC1001 (or thereabouts). They were strictly watched, though. Aleksei ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Mar 1997 12:45:53 +0200 (EET) From: Aleksej Andrievskij Subject: Re: [Mystara] Top 3 & Worst 3 On Thu, 13 Mar 1997, Shin Chyang Yu wrote: >DM pontificated: >>I clearly see you didn't much like poor Ken Rolston's work about the norsemen and the arabian-oriental settings: IMHO these two had great potential and were thoroughly well-written, maybe it's just we feel a little detached from these cultures to deeply integrate them in our campaigns with the best results (GAZ2 was my first gazetteer and i loved it! -even though it was not exceptional, it was far better than GAZ4) >I personally don't like GAZ 2 because it omitted some very important infomation such as the make-up of their army. I remember there are a couple of other things missed in there too, but can't remember what right now. They didn't give the names of the sultans!!! I didn't know them until PWA came out. Aleksei ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 15 Mar 1997 15:24:27 +0100 From: Diego Calugi Subject: Re: [Mystara] Invisibility Fabrizio Paoli wrote: >Another question about invisibility. >Imagine you're invisible because of something you're wearing (it can be a cloack or a ring) and you attack someone, thus losing invisibility. After how many rounds (or turns) you become invisible again ? This is my opinion: The person you attacked will be able to see you until the end of the fight. If you flee, he will still see you but he has to stare at your direction. As soon as the fight ends, your invisibility is restored. However those who saw you loosing your invisibility will be able to see you, though they will need a wisdom check at +2. Those who are simply aware of your presence can have a wisdom check too, but with a penality of -2. - -Diego ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Mar 1997 11:36:02 -0700 (MST) From: "Cthulhudrew, The Great Old One" Subject: Re: [Mystara] Draft timeline for the Wendar/Denagoth region On Fri, 14 Mar 1997, Stan wrote: >I am hoping for some help to identify which information is the most correct, and also mainly to gain justification to perhaps disregard even more information from the old modules or perhaps even to rewrite some of the PWA information - because basically as it stands the two basic strands of information cannot be rejoined. I'm with you on this one. If it's justification you want, you have my justification (FWIW) to rewrite 'recent' history (as given in the PWA's) to fit 'past' history (that being originally written). IMO, fitting and/or retrofitting the old modules into current history is very important. In some cases, I'd be inclined to go with current history over module history, but in cases where the source material is so well written, such as X11 and it's followup, X13, I'd be more inclined to go with the source material (which brings up even more problems when you get to X13; if you own the module, you'll know what I mean.) >The next source of information is the first re-write of history. >The PWA's say that Gylharen is an elf born in AC 679 whilst in X11 he is human. The doesn't at first really cause any problems with any dating but it may be the cause of later problems. I remember a discussion we had on this long ago, where it was mentioned that the Wendar of the source material wasn't nearly as elf oriented as it is presented currently. I think the discrepancy slipped in around the time of the publishing of the first Trail Map- either that, or else in one of the early Gazetteers. My solution, preferring him as a human Wizard-King, would be to say that perhaps, Gylharen is the name of all the Kings of Wendar, and the current king is just one of a long line of kings. Or, it's possible he's powerful enough that he kept himself young all this time. If one prefers the elf theory, then it all works fine. >The country description of Wendar says that it was given 200 years ago, whilst the description of Gylharen states that is was given around AC 900. (this might be vice versa I don't have my PWAs here with me at the moment) I'd be inclined to go with the more recent date, myself, IIR the events of the module. >Regardless of whether this is vice versa or not we now have two possible dates for the X-30 above, these being c. 812 or c. 900 >Therefore the events of X11 take place in either c. 842 or c. 930 Sounds plausible thus far... >Ah, but there's a problem with this, a rather major problem. D'OH! >At the end of X11 Landryn is dead. I guess it could be finished without Landryn's death but any rate he was decaying pretty quickly there, he wouldn't really survive much longer. So I am making an assumption that after c. 842 or c. 930 that Landryn would either be dead or die pretty quickly unless something special happened. >But in the PWA's Landryn is still said to exist up to AC 1012 and he is still being called the Shadow Lord. This needn't necessarily be a problem. I can see a number of solutions, if one wants to keep current continuity. 1) Landryn is dead, and the Shadow Lord is just a rumor. 2) 'Landryn Teriak', aka the Shadow Lord, is someone else adopting the former SL's identity, in a bid for power. 3) Landryn has come back from the dead once more, somehow (perhaps by bargaining with the Immortals?) >The other major problem with the above is that the country description for Wendar does not say that there was a period where the Elvenstar was stolen, and you'd assume that this is a pretty major thing. There was a year of famine, and other general catastrophe and armies masing on the borders etc - you'd think that it would be mentioned as having occurred in the PWAs. How long was it stolen for? I forget, offhand. Also, I am missing the very first page of X11- I got it used. That's the cool page with Wendar info, and background... :( >Another piece of evidence we have is the module X13. The assumption made in this module particularly from the pregenerated PCs is that this module takes place pretty shortly after X11. OK, so when did X13 take place. Egad that's another problem! Again the PWAs contradict outside evidence. Ahhh! I was wondering if you'd bring this up. I'd be inclined to place this one closer to the AC 900 date. It should definitely be pre-960 AC, when the Hattians take control of the Freeholds. The only problem (not for me, as I did the writeup, and am rather fond of him) is that the worship of Forsetta is much more widespread in Vestland than is indicated in GAZ7. He isn't even mentioned there!! Again, not a problem for me, but maybe for others... >In X13 there is no indication as to what time the module takes place. In the Gazetters it is said to taken place in AC 1050 (I think that is, something wierd like that any rate), although of course the Gazetters, particularly GAZ7 seems to offer no good or real explanation for this. The PWAs say that the module takes place during the current king of Vestland's childhood. OK, so what date does this give us for X11. Another thing about this- in X13, at one point it mentions the King in that module as being the seventh or something (I forget, I'll check later) descendant in the line. I also think it mentions being descended from Forsetta (which would work well with my Forsetta=Ottar the Just theory). Just to keep that in mind. >OK, Harald Gudmundson was born is AC 954. X13 takes place when Tenitar was 25 which makes it AC 979. Therefore this indicates that X11 took place in AC 978 and therefore that Gylharen was given the Elvenstar in AC 945 at about the earliest and that is playing around with dates. Now AC 945 is by no means c. 812 or c. 900. So therefore X13 doesn't really help the problems at all. (See above for my thoughts on this- I agreed) >Now, if I was going to change anything in X11 it would be the thiry years thing. I propose that this is now not necessary now that Gylharen is a long lived elf. There is no need for things to occur within his human lifetime which I believe the thirty years was doing, ie he was a happy little adventurer in his earlier youth who ended up with the Elvenstar and a kingdom. Then thirty years later when he's in his fifties or sixities he has a whole new problem to deal with. Seems a plausible option. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Mar 1997 12:56:20 -0500 From: Rob Rickard Subject: Re: [Mystara] Invisibility Diego Calugi wrote: >Fabrizio Paoli wrote: >>Another question about invisibility. >>Imagine you're invisible because of something you're wearing (it can be a cloack or a ring) and you attack someone, thus losing invisibility. After how many rounds (or turns) you become invisible again ? >This is my opinion: >The person you attacked will be able to see you until the end of the fight. If you flee, he will still see you but he has to stare at your direction. >As soon as the fight ends, your invisibility is restored. >However those who saw you loosing your invisibility will be able to see you, though they will need a wisdom check at +2. Those who are simply aware of your presence can have a wisdom check too, but with a penality of -2. >-Diego I try to make all of my items of invisibility have a way to activate them. (turn the ring on the finger, lift a hood up over the PC's head on a cloak....) ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Mar 1997 14:23:49 EST From: Neal Daskal Subject: Re[2]: [Mystara] Draft timeline for the Wendar/Denagoth region FWIW, the way I handled X13 was to ignore GAZ7 info on Vestland. I placed the adventure in the 1002-4 timeframe and ruled that after Tenitar=Harold Gudmunsun was returned to the throne by the adventurers he established a medieval Karameikos-like kingdom on an X3 (unplayed in my campaign)/x13 background. The PCs became Barons of Vestland and in the X10 timeframe (about 1007 as I recall) their diplomatic mission to Vestland was quick and easy - "Of course I will support you, my friends (to whom I owe my thrown), in your efforts to forge a good alliance to resist the Master's attack on Darokin." Like a previous poster, I prefer the older, better-written, more campaign-useful (i.e. adventure modules) source material and freely ignore the newer stuff of the Gazetter/conversion to AD&D vintage when there is a conflict between TSR products. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Mar 1997 17:03:15 -0500 (EST) From: Dleggend@aol.com Subject: [Mystara] Campaign idea needed I'm DMing a one player campaign for a Glantri wizard (Military Kit) and I need some ideas. I don't want only a military campaign. ~(=DLeggend=> ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Mar 1997 19:16:05 -0500 (EST) From: Jonathan Devaprasad <96devapr@scar.utoronto.ca> Subject: Re: [Mystara] XP Just an offhand question that I thought of. How do other DM's go about giving out XP? I personally divide the monsters xp into characters. For example, if a monster gave 1000xp, and there were 4 persons participating in battle (including NPC's), each person gets 250 XP plust whatever bonuses. Is this good? I ask this I played in a campaign where the DM gave each PC the monsters XP, for example, in the before mentioned case, each person would get 1000xp plus bonuses. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Mar 1997 17:48:30 -0700 (MST) From: "Cthulhudrew, The Great Old One" Subject: Re: [Mystara] XP On Fri, 14 Mar 1997, Jonathan Devaprasad wrote: >Just an offhand question that I thought of. How do other DM's go about giving out XP? I personally divide the monsters xp into characters. For example, if a monster gave 1000xp, and there were 4 persons participating in battle (including NPC's), each person gets 250 XP plust whatever bonuses. Is this good? AFAIK, this is exactly the way to do it. Unless the rules have changed recently, this is the way xp division was always intended to occur. Given that OD&D xp rates for monsters are so low, and much of the xp is gained from treasure, I usually give bonus xps for roleplay, unusual actions (trying something different than a standard attack- I DM'ed for a mystic once, who would use his acrobatics to come up with all sorts of new and interesting combat maneuvers; he was rewarded well). I also give bonuses for class related activities- similar to the AD&D xp awards for same. I also use the mage xp rules presented in the Glantri gazetteer for magic users- meaning mages get more xp for doing magic related stuff than combat stuff. >I ask this I played in a campaign where the DM gave each PC the monsters XP, for example, in the before mentioned case, each person would get 1000xp plus bonuses. This is one way to do it, I suppose, if you keep in mind that xp and level progression is going to be rather quick. Characters will reach higher levels much faster, but if that's fine, then I say go for it. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Mar 1997 17:52:28 -0700 (MST) From: "Cthulhudrew, The Great Old One" Subject: Re: [Mystara] Campaign idea needed On Fri, 14 Mar 1997 Dleggend@aol.com wrote: >I'm DMing a one player campaign for a Glantri wizard (Military Kit) and I need some ideas. I don't want only a military campaign. How about politics? It should be very easy for a military type wizard to get involved in all the political skulduggery in Glantri. He could stumble across some insidious plot during one of his assignments- say a mysterious murder happening on his watch- and be forced to do some investigating, either on or off the clock. He could be assigned as a bodyguard for some diplomat, and depending on his degree of success in that role, it may lead him to other possibilities- the one that comes to mind is the diplomat gets killed, leaving the PC to assume ambassadorial duties. All sorts of things come to mind. More specifics about his location in Glantri would make it easier to come up with some specific ideas for you, if that's what you're looking for. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Mar 1997 16:56:25 -0800 (PST) From: David Melik Subject: Re: [Mystara] Top 3 & Worst 3 At 01:14 PM 3/13/97 +0000, you wrote: >At 15.37 10/03/97 +0500, you wrote: >>Technically, both Joshuan's Almanac and the DM Survival Kit are also for AD&D, so they should probably not be included. MMmhh... yes, it's a good point, but maybe i didn't explain myself clearly: the list is about the 3 best and 3 worst products about MYSTARA - KNOWN WORLD (Red Steel campaign excluded), not specifically referred to OD&D or AD&D Then why even have the list? It excludes all 3 PWAs, since they deal with Mystara in its entirety; WoTI since it deals with the Multiverse as well as other continents; and of course all the Hollow world stuff; practically all of the CM adventures, since most take place in Norwold; much of the X-series: the 2 Desert Nomads ones - in Hule, The Savage Coast (I don't need to say where that is), Quagmire - in the Serpent Peninsula, Saga of the Shadowlord - in Wendar; Champions of Mystara, which deals with the Great Waste and the Serpent Peninsula, just to name a few. Some of these are just other parts of Brun, not parts of the Known World. In the Companions players book there's a map that has rectangles for different campaign regions, one of which is the Known World, and some of which are above. The actual location of the Known World is also shown in the Rules Cyclopedia. I hope you see what I'm saying. If you only want people to say things from the Known World, that excludes almost half of all Mystara products I'd guess, maybe evan half of all OD&D ones, among which are some great, high quality, classic creations. Are you going to compile this list or what? If the purpose is to inform people of what Mystara stuff is good, but only includes the Known World, it will do an incomplete job. What's the point? Why have restrictions? If you have to exclude something for some strange reason, then why not just exclude AD&D. However, that might not be good because then it would be too hard to fill the 3 worst things list (not that all AD&D Mystara stuff is poor). Here's what could be my favorites, but I don't know if it works for your list or not. Top 3 1. Wrath of The Immortals (Ok, maybe the rules aren't too great, but they inspired me enough to make them better, and the Mystara stuff is good.) 2. Hollow World (great history of Mystara!) 3. CM1 Test of the Warlords (a really nice campaign to integrate other CM adventures in) honorable mention. Poor Wizard's Almanac III (I needed the up-to-date Skothar information for MOrient.) Worst 3 1. Hail The Heroes (It strikes me as a cheap, expensive attempt at an adventure, with a CD that gets in the way. It has some useable Mystara info though, and can of course be modified.) 2. AC1 Shady Dragon Inn (nothing much about an inn, just an unusable amount of NPCs. It sounds worse than #1, but I guess I'm prejudiced against AD&D stuff.) 3. Dragon's Den adventure pack (Yeah, as in pack it away and do your own. 1st level characters having magic items and killing Dragons, my @$$.) dishonorable mention. Creature Catalog (The 2nd version, not the original Creature Catalogue. It Date: Sat, 15 Mar 1997 12:46:23 -0600 From: (mystara-digest) To: mystara-digest@lists.io.com Subject: mystara-digest V2 #11 Reply-To: mystara-l@lists.io.com Precedence: bulk X-UIDL: eb4d1681c99f6ab2369be3e6a93e580c annoys me how they exclude a couple cool older monsters and change their names, such as "Death Demon" to "Death Fiend.") P P l u justice = time ---------------- centralization^2 David Melik, an OMOGATFFGGKUS Mystaran darwin@nwinfo.net ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 15 Mar 1997 12:17:18 +1100 From: s9406058@bohm.anu.edu.au (Stan) Subject: Re: [Mystara] Draft timeline for the Wendar/Denagoth region >>I am hoping for some help to identify which information is the most correct, and also mainly to gain justification to perhaps disregard even more information from the old modules or perhaps even to rewrite some of the PWA information - because basically as it stands the two basic strands of information cannot be rejoined. >I'm with you on this one. If it's justification you want, you have my justification (FWIW) to rewrite 'recent' history (as given in the PWA's) to fit 'past' history (that being originally written). Yeah well justification is really what I want. Because it is going to end up with either the PWA information being disregarded or the module information being disregarded - or a mix of the both. I know what I would ideally like to disregard but since that is by enlarge the most recent information then that makes my position the hardest to justify. Why I would like justification is because I want to come up with an answer that other people can use - basically I don't want to waste my time coming up with a timeline if most people hate it because it disregards the information they prefer. I mean a possible Wendar gazetter is one of the many grand scale things that it seems that some on this list would like to see achieved but I don't see how such a thing can be written until the problems brought up by the clarification of events brought up by the timeline are resolved. Hmmm, things were so much easier when TSR produced things which the average fan could take as canon ... >IMO, fitting >and/or retrofitting the old modules into current history is very important. In some cases, I'd be inclined to go with current history over module history, but in cases where the source material is so well written, such as X11 and it's followup, X13, I'd be more inclined to go with the source material (which brings up even more problems when you get to X13; if you own the module, you'll know what I mean.) I'm a bit like you on that part as well, it doesn't matter whether it's the most recent version of canon or not, it just depends whether it makes a good story or not. >>The next source of information is the first re-write of history. >>The PWA's say that Gylharen is an elf born in AC 679 whilst in X11 he is human. The doesn't at first really cause any problems with any dating but it may be the cause of later problems. >I remember a discussion we had on this long ago, where it was mentioned that the Wendar of the source material wasn't nearly as elf oriented as it is presented currently. I think the discrepancy slipped in around the time of the publishing of the first Trail Map- either that, or else in one of the early Gazetteers. Yeah I looked at all the old Wendar/Denagoth postings to also try and find resolutions to the numerous problems which I brought up or as it were re-brought up. I generally couldn't find what I thought of as satisfactory resolutions. The Wendar now presented is probably a little more elf oriented but that seems to be only superficially really. Apart from the change of what Gylharen is we still have the population being 50/50 humans/elves and I guess the town names or whatever are more elf-like (in the cute sort of Oakwall type way) but then again the new history does state that the elves were there first which could explain it. >My solution, preferring him as a human Wizard-King, would be to say that perhaps, Gylharen is the name of all the Kings of Wendar, and the current king is just one of a long line of kings. Or, it's possible he's powerful enough that he kept himself young all this time. Well good old Bensarian is so why not make Gylharen a bit older too? The bit about Gylharen being more like the title of the king rather than any one kings' name could work though. I guess the king of X11 could have been human and the current one is an elf ... >>At the end of X11 Landryn is dead. I guess it could be finished without Landryn's death but any rate he was decaying pretty quickly there, he wouldn't >>really survive much longer. So I am making an assumption that after c. 842 or >>c. 930 that Landryn would either be dead or die pretty quickly unless something special happened. >>But in the PWA's Landryn is still said to exist up to AC 1012 and he is still being called the Shadow Lord. >This needn't necessarily be a problem. I can see a number of solutions, if one wants to keep current continuity. >1) Landryn is dead, and the Shadow Lord is just a rumor. fair enough >2) 'Landryn Teriak', aka the Shadow Lord, is someone else adopting the former SL's identity, in a bid for power. fair enough, again >3) Landryn has come back from the dead once more, somehow (perhaps by bargaining with the Immortals?) I don't really think he was a good enough villian in the first place, so I wouldn't really prefer that but YMMV. >>The other major problem with the above is that the country description for Wendar does not say that there was a period where the Elvenstar was stolen, and you'd assume that this is a pretty major thing. There was a year of famine, and other general catastrophe and armies masing on the borders etc - you'd think that it would be mentioned as having occurred in the PWAs. >How long was it stolen for? I forget, offhand. Also, I am missing the very first page of X11- I got it used. That's the cool page with Wendar info, and background... :( You could probably stretch it for up to about four to five years. It really depends on howlong you assume it would take an adventuring party to recover it during X11. As a minimum though you could say no less than two years. A long enough period to warrant it having gone in a country description. >>Another piece of evidence we have is the module X13. The assumption made in this module particularly from the pregenerated PCs is that this module takes place pretty shortly after X11. OK, so when did X13 take place. Egad that's another problem! Again the PWAs contradict outside evidence. >Ahhh! I was wondering if you'd bring this up. I'd be inclined to place this one closer to the AC 900 date. It should definitely be pre-960 AC, when the Hattians take control of the Freeholds. The only problem (not for me, as I did the writeup, and am rather fond of him) is that the worship of Forsetta is much more widespread in Vestland than is indicated in GAZ7. He isn't even mentioned there!! >Again, not a problem for me, but maybe for others... Yeah but assuming that the PWAs are correct in saying that Tenitar = Gudmundson then X13 _has_ to take place in AC 979. But then again there really seems to be no good reason to do this except that the PWAs say so. >>Now, if I was going to change anything in X11 it would be the thiry years thing. I propose that this is now not necessary now that Gylharen is a long lived elf. There is no need for things to occur within his human lifetime which I believe the thirty years was doing, ie he was a happy little adventurer in his earlier youth who ended up with the Elvenstar and a kingdom. Then thirty years later when he's in his fifties or sixities he has a whole new problem to deal with. >Seems a plausible option. Yeah keeping the thirty year thing is only plausible IMHO if Gylharen goes back to being human as the module intended. Shawn Stanley, Department of Geology, Australian National University. (s9406058@student.anu.edu.au) (http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/5304) ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Mar 97 21:45:16 EST From: Geoff Gander Subject: [Mystara] XPS Well, I normally use standard XPs as per the Cyclopedia, divided evenly among the PCs. I also award 1 XP per platimum piece worth of treasure gained. Magic items don't count. Geoff - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Geoff Gander Political Science IV Carleton University General wanderer by principle, adventurer by profession Email address: ggander@chat.carleton.ca - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Mar 1997 18:54:15 -0800 (PST) From: David Melik Subject: [Mystara] NEWS FLASH!, Re: MChina project? ****NEWS FLASH**** A while ago Joe was going to ask the list if anyone else wants to join. A while before that I was supposed to ask. I haven't seen a post from Joe yet so I'll just say, if anyone wants to, just ask Joe so you can be added to our list, and get the current list, and start participating whenever you want. That's it on this topic, now for info on the project. - ----- Since people on the list ask questions about MOrient every so often, here's what I have to say. I'm not sure which questions were answered already as I'm focusing a lot of my Mystara time more on MOrient than the Mystara-l right now. Maybe Jody Duncan is our spokesperson as well as compiler, but our group is decentralized, focuses on creativity, so maybe we haven't decided such a position or don't care. What I'm saying is, this is how I see it, but not necessarily the group. Also I hope this post saves Joe some time to compile stuff instead. >Just wondering what the status of the MChina project is currently. Not trying to rush anyone! ;) I'm mainly curious as I am wondering how I might be able to fit ideas about Rakasta cultural interchange with Mystara in with whatever ideas that the MChina crowd has floating about- coordination at this point will help prevent future inconsistencies. :) I now have the Matera and Patera info from Shawn Stanley's page (since you mean Myoshiman Rakasta, right?), and I think that would be great if the MOrient group and the people working on Matera could work more closely together on this, so lets tell each other who we are. Here's the MOrient group list, as far as I know (but if we start working more closely someone should keep you people updated on our list): jduncan2@chat.carleton.ca Dennis.Sullivan.Family@PostOffice.WorldNet.att.net Darwin@.nwinfo.net fif3336@iperbole.bologna.it plegrand@pratique.fr scy2g@virginia.edu estlor@geocities.com strawberry@jamm.com acrmarti@snfma1.if.usp.br Kaviyd@aol.com zagyg@io.com rolfs@netway.at george@msn.fullfeed.com deathw@xs4all.nl Our project seems to be going at a slow pace right now, a little too slow for my liking. We're wrapping up brief (paragraph or 2 long, for the minor ones) national descriptions (We've got places based on Asian cultures from the arctic to the equator, but I won't spoil it for you.) and a preliminary timeline (I think we all think it would be cool if a our friendly mailing-list Mystaran history&timeline expert(s) would look at it at least once or twice and make suggestions on how to make it mesh with Mystara's world history the best.) It seems to me that we have reached a general consensus to break into smaller groups to detail the main countries, Jikushiru (MJapan) and Chung-Eun (MChina.) (Depending on how they turn out, perhaps one could call these "the Thyatis and Alphatia of the East") As far as I know, only myself and one other person have decided to be a part of a smaller group. This is why I say I think it's going too slow, many people have made detailed posts pertaining to one of these countries, and truly seem interested in deciding to be in a smaller group. I've just made a post with new ideas about this, so hopefully we can at least decide soon. As you see, we're nearing a new stage, a certain member wants to start overall maps, and it ought to be time for another compilation to be sent out from our compiler in a while (no rush of course if you're reading this). Ai-eee, my realm is razed. I made gross mathematical and philosophical errors in my signature, here's the revised one. P P l u justice = (free-willed cooperation) * ---------------- centralization^2 David Melik, an OMOGATFFGGKUS Mystaran darwin@nwinfo.net ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Mar 1997 22:03:34 -0800 (PST) From: David Melik Subject: Re: [Mystara] Another timeline :) (from Chthuludrew's Blackmoor/Thonia timeline) 44000 BC: Emperor Iyx I begins his reign.(DA1) HHaving successfully created a militant matriarchical society, Zugzul sends his Afridhi followers east, towards the Empire of Thonia.(DA4) Could someone refresh our memories? Who is Zugzul? I remember, back in the dawn of the MOrient discussion, just after it had emerged from discussion of mystics I think, we were actively discussing MJapan and someone pointed out Zugzul sounded like Zxyl, where we were basing it. P P l u justice = (free-willed cooperation) * ---------------- centralization^2 David Melik, an OMOGATFFGGKUS Mystaran darwin@nwinfo.net ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 15 Mar 1997 01:07:23 -0500 (EST) From: Shin Chyang Yu Subject: Re: [Mystara] XP Jonathan Devaprasad pontificated: >Just an offhand question that I thought of. How do other DM's go about giving out XP? I personally divide the monsters xp into characters. For example, if a monster gave 1000xp, and there were 4 persons participating in battle (including NPC's), each person gets 250 XP plust whatever bonuses. Is this good? I ask this I played in a campaign where the DM gave each PC the monsters XP, for example, in the before mentioned case, each person would get 1000xp plus bonuses. Based on the official rule, the xp is divided, but with NPC only gets half a share. But most campaign I know don't follow the rule exactly. Alot reduced (or elimnate) xp for gaining treasure and killing monster, instead award xp for role playing and perform acts that is appropreat to the character class. John Yu ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 15 Mar 1997 03:28:27 -0300 (EST) From: Andre Cavalcanti Rocha Martins {S Subject: Re: [Mystara] Another timeline :) On Fri, 14 Mar 1997, David Melik wrote: >Could someone refresh our memories? Who is Zugzul? I remember, back in the dawn of the MOrient discussion, just after it had emerged from discussion of mystics I think, we were actively discussing MJapan and someone pointed out Zugzul sounded like Zxyl, where we were basing it. I believe Zugzul was the Afridhi god in DA4, The Duchy of Ten. His folowers were a matriarchy and I believe somebody in the list have been discussing him recently. To tell you more, I would have to find where my copy is and after a moving that would be no easy task. Andre Martins ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 15 Mar 1997 09:37:32 -0500 From: necromancer@vabch.com Subject: Re: [Mystara] XP MY>Just an offhand question that I thought of. How do other DM's go about MY>giving out XP? I personally divide the monsters xp into characters. For MY>example, if a monster gave 1000xp, and there were 4 persons participating MY>in battle (including NPC's), each person gets 250 XP plust whatever MY>bonuses. Is this good? I ask this I played in a campaign where the DM MY>gave each PC the monsters XP, for example, in the before mentioned case, MY>each person would get 1000xp plus bonuses. I do the same thing. Monster XP divided among the party equally (and, yes, even among the thief who was hiding next to the wall). I don't do this if the fight is one-on-one. For example, IMC the fighter challenged a bandit chief to one-on-one combat for safety of passsage. The fighter one. He got the XP (65 I believe). Necromancer ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 16 Mar 1997 18:33:12 +0100 From: Diego Calugi Subject: Re: [Mystara] XP >Just an offhand question that I thought of. How do other DM's go about giving out XP? I personally divide the monsters xp into characters. For example, if a monster gave 1000xp, and there were 4 persons participating in battle (including NPC's), each person gets 250 XP plust whatever bonuses. Is this good? I ask this I played in a campaign where the DM gave each PC the monsters XP, for example, in the before mentioned case, each person would get 1000xp plus bonuses. I divide the total amount of XP among the players (even if someone fled...). However I usually give bonuses to those player who distingushed themself in the fight, usually 5/10 xp per HD of the opponent. Tresures worth only 1 XP every 10 gp. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 15 Mar 1997 12:27:13 -0500 From: Rob Rickard Subject: Re: [Mystara] Top 3 & Worst 3 Top 3 1. Gaz 1 - Karameikos (good amount of Info, and I love the fact you cna warp any campaign or adventure into it. Gaz 1 sets the GM up with a great foundation to build on. I have set many modules up in Karameikos. 2.Wrath of the Immortals ( I brought needed information about the immortals to my campaign. It was a nice replacement to the old Immortal Bos set. 3. Hollow World (I dont game there much, and hide if from most campaigns but I love the the thought of Mystara hollow. However, DO do wish that TSR built on the outter world alittle more than the hollow world.) honorable mention. Poor Wizard's Almanacs (good info, but too much events in one year.) Box Set Dawn of the Emperors (I use in all the time) PC 3 the Sea People (love that map) ***I just noticed that all but one that I listed is by Aaron Allston*** Worst 3 1. All the adventure packs (with porducts like this, no wounder mystara died) 2. Box set Immortals rules. (o.k. info on mystara, horrid rules.) 3. AC9 Creature Catalogue (the sad truth is: I keep on trying to use it too) dishonorable mention. Gaz 4 Kingdom of Irendi Top 3 Modules 1. X13 Crown of Ancient Glory (Good Module, I put Thor in as a pushy Immortal with attitude, Odin made an appearce too.) 2. X12 Skarda, Mirror ( I put this in Karameikos) 3. CM1 Test of the Warloards Worst 3 Modules 1. CM 6 Where Chaos Reigns (this was not created for Mystara) 2. IM 1 The Immortal Storm (I opened it, saw a map of Chicago, and closed it. None of my characters are Immortal anyway) 3. X1 Isle of Dread ------------------------------ Date: 14 Mar 1997 13:03:00 +0200 From: Kostarsus@sagor.prima.ruhr.de (Thomas Feldkamp) Subject: [Mystara] Conquer of Alfheim Hello Mystarafans, I am playing my campaign in the year of 1007. Alheim is conquered shortly ago. My PC want to free Alfheim, because most of them are Elves. Now I have some questions: 1. I 've read, that the trees of the forest attacked the elves of Alfheim. is it true and if it is true, how long are they affected by this Spell. 2. I 've read, the forest is dying, too. How long has the forest to live? 3. I 've heard, there is one livetree left. Is it true? 4. How is the opinion of the expellee? Would they go back, if they have a strong ruler, or have they sworn never come back? 5. How is the opinion of the governments of the neighborhood about the conquer. I hope that someone can answer my questions. In sicerely Kostarsus ## CrossPoint v3.11 ## ------------------------------ End of mystara-digest V2 #11 **************************** Date: Sun, 16 Mar 1997 06:51:44 -0600 From: (mystara-digest) To: mystara-digest@lists.io.com Subject: mystara-digest V2 #12 Reply-To: mystara-l@lists.io.com Precedence: bulk X-UIDL: c2217c1ee3a118b7e01e5d5d1056a44a mystara-digest Sunday, March 16 1997 Volume 02 : Number 012 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 15 Mar 1997 17:21:51 -0300 (EST) From: Andre Cavalcanti Rocha Martins {S Subject: Re: [Mystara] Conquer of Alfheim On 14 Mar 1997, Thomas Feldkamp wrote: >Hello Mystarafans, >I am playing my campaign in the year of 1007. Alheim is conquered shortly ago. My PC want to free Alfheim, because most of them are Elves. Now I have some questions: >1. I 've read, that the trees of the forest attacked the elves of Alfheim. is it true and if it is true, how long are they affected by this Spell. 2. I 've read, the forest is dying, too. How long has the forest to live? 3. I 've heard, there is one livetree left. Is it true? 4. How is the opinion of the expellee? Would they go back, if they have a strong ruler, or have they sworn never come back? 5. How is the opinion of the governments of the neighborhood about the conquer. I have been discussing these questions with Herve, Fabrizio and Michael last year and you can find part of the discussion (before it went private) in the digests of the list. Fabrizio has done a good work about the details of the invasion that could certainly help you. It includes details about how the elves were convinced to leave and how many and where are the surviving Trees of Life. My idea about the war was that sooner or later the Alfheim Elves would try to reconquer Alfheim, but some of us didn't agree on this one. We had a vote on the list about it and the war has won, but it won't happen before 1020. I will start sending some contributions to Michael, related to the events that will lead to the war, for the 1015 AC almanac, as soon as he send us the final version for the 1014 one. If you want to see my files on the discussions we had, I will send them to you. They are very big and that was basically the reason we started arguing privately, so that the whole list wouldn't have to read all the discussions. We will just post the final work, when it is done. You are certainly welcome to join the discussion when we start it again. Btw, does anybody know when Michael's work should be appearing. I know it involved lots of work and I fully understand it must be more than Michael can handle presently, I'd just like to know if there is some prediction for the final release. Andre Martins ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 15 Mar 1997 13:44:32 -0800 (PST) From: David Melik Subject: [Mystara] some Wendar ideas Here's a few ways you could resolve the timeline, and other stuff. Shapechange into an elf and permanence for example, potions of longevity, 10th level magic. Stuff like this happens, and it seems like a pretty epic place where it would, especially if Gylharen is a "Wizard-King." Maybe the Elvenstar changes people into elves, or maybe it makes them live longer. Maybe it's an artifact. Actually, I think Gylharen should be an elf, or at least changed into one. Or it could have been a plot of his to become an elf so he could be the king. Even heroes shouldn't be perfect after all. If Wendar is an elf nation, it only makes sense to have an elf as the king. Why would they let a mere human rule them? Not that they hate humans, but this strikes me as being a Lord of the Rings type place where elves would have their very *own* nation. I like elves anyway. As for the details of the timeline itself, it seems very confusing, but it looks like you're doing a great job. I agree, Landryn Teriak should be dead, a really powerful villain of exalted status would be better, more on par with Sauron, you know. Of course Landryn Teriak could have been one of the many henchman or pawns of the real villain's schemes. P P l u justice = (free-willed cooperation) * ---------------- centralization^2 David Melik, an OMOGATFFGGKUS Mystaran darwin@nwinfo.net ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 15 Mar 1997 13:45:05 -0800 (PST) From: David Melik Subject: [Mystara] Penhaligon Trilogy First, several people have said that the Penhaligon trilogy can not be considered canon, because of the abelaat attacks that happpen in the books or something. Also, some people think it's not very well written. Well everything that happens on Mystara doesn't have to be extremely interesting now, does it? Also, I recall at least part of it was journals written by Sir Greybow. Where did it ever say he had to be an excellent writer? After doing some reading and thinking, I don't see why this can't be considered canon. It is published by TSR after all, come on. I did some research into when it takes place. There was a post on this, but it was a long time ago, so here's what I found out. I haven't looked at every source, like GAZ1, and and it's been a while since I read the series, so if the information there or in other sources conflicts with what I have to say, please say so. In the trilogy, Specularum is still called Specularum, so it happens before AC 1012, when it was renamed Mirros. In the new Karameikos boxed set, it says Arteris Penhaligon got her position and title 4 years ago, after her father's death. So this means it starts no earlier than AC 1008 and ends no later than AC 1012. In my own campaign, I'd place the series during the Wrath of the Immortals war, before the first almanac, because there's already plenty of events for 1010 to 1012 (so maybe this can be integrated into a timeline for 1008 or 1009, let's work backwards as well as forwards), and the razing of Armstead sounds like the sort of random destruction thing that would happen during the WoTI war. Armstead is on the map in the Karameikos boxed set, so it seems like by AC 1012 it should be rebuilt. In the Darokin gazeteer, it says that the clothes produced in Armstead are among the best in Darokin. Logically, it would be a good place to raise sheep, and so people would rebuild the town so they can continue to herd there. Did the trilogy specify that some, or even many people didn't escape the attacks? Of course there were people out herding, and Armstead merchants out travelling, who could have escaped. Also it's near the Canolbarth forest I think, so more people might move in to build a walled town to protect Darokin against the shadow elves, maybe even vengeful elven refugees. If none of this stuff seems to work, since I remember they razed a large realm, not just Armstead, there's still the immortals, and the Old Ones. If this is during WoTI anything could happen... I don't recall seeing the new immortals, who were named Fain Flinn, Braddoc Briarblood, and Dayin the wildboy in mortal life on the immortals list. I know Flinn and Dayin were supposed to be locked in eternal struggle at some dimensional gate, but IMO that's kind of lame, other immortals or Old Ones should eventually step to set things right and close the gate. I think they're cool characters, and also it's the time that new immortals are appearing. In conclusion, this has no conflict with the gazeteers, it happened 8 years after their time! And it works great with WoTI, and things can be closer to normal by the time of the AD&D material. When the new Karameikos set first came out, I didn't like how they changed the name to Mirros, but I realized, when time passes, things change. Anyone have any ideas on how other Mystara books relate to D&D, like the First Quest ones and Dark Knight of Karameikos? P P l u justice = (free-willed cooperation) * ---------------- centralization^2 David Melik, an OMOGATFFGGKUS Mystaran darwin@nwinfo.net ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 15 Mar 1997 16:33:20 -0700 (MST) From: "Cthulhudrew, The Great Old One" Subject: Re: [Mystara] Another timeline :) On Fri, 14 Mar 1997, David Melik wrote: >(from Chthuludrew's Blackmoor/Thonia timeline) 444000 BC: Emperor Iyx I begins his reign.(DA1) HHHaving successfully created a militant matriarchical society, Zugzul sends his Afridhi followers east, towards the Empire of Thonia.(DA4) >Could someone refresh our memories? Who is Zugzul? I remember, back in the dawn of the MOrient discussion, just after it had emerged from discussion of mystics I think, we were actively discussing MJapan and someone pointed out Zugzul sounded like Zxyl, where we were basing it. Zugzul is the 'God' of the Afridhi peoples of the DA series- the mountain men who have trekked for years across the plains of Brun to get to Blackmoor in order to enslave the Empire of Thonia. Along with the Empire, the Skandaharian raiders, and the Egg of Coot, the Afridhi are the major opponents in a Blackmoor campaign. In DA4 it is revealed that Zugzul is an immortal of Energy, and that he was responsible for developing the matriarchical Afridhi peoples- he is credited with giving them fire, and inspiring their crusade; he is also rumored to be a lover of the high-priestess (or is that the other way around?) It also mentions that there are two aspects to his character- the Zug, which is the fire aspect, and the Zul, the ice aspect. This division between his aspects haas led to an underground movement among the men in the Afridhi tribes who have come (after contact with non-afridhi cultures) to resent the matriarchy, and want to have more power. As for Zugzul=Zyxl, that was my thought, if anyone cared to develop it more. Given that Zyxl at one point was suggested as a matriarchical/amazonian culture, that's why I suggested it. Also, since outside of the DA series, the mysterious Zugzul has not been heard from, I thought a good explanation might be that he was simply uninterested in the 'Known World' and might be more active elsewhere. Hope this helps! :) ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 15 Mar 1997 17:06:08 -0700 (MST) From: "Cthulhudrew, The Great Old One" Subject: Re: [Mystara] NEWS FLASH!, Re: MChina project? On Fri, 14 Mar 1997, David Melik wrote: >I now have the Matera and Patera info from Shawn Stanley's page (since you mean Myoshiman Rakasta, right?), and I think that would be great if the MOrient group and the people working on Matera could work more closely together on this, so lets tell each other who we are. Here's the MOrient group list, as far as I know (but if we start working more closely someone should keep you people updated on our list): AFAIK- the only ones who are doing anything with the Myoshima/Patera development project are Daniel Boese and I. I got a preliminary timeline for the MOrient that I am working off of. I think Daniel is working on the astronomy/calendar of Patera. As for myself- like I said, I'm trying to do a preliminary timeline or two that I can run by the MOrient guys, to see where we can fit things together. Other things are going rather slow at the moment, mainly just a bunch of notes scattered around- it's been a busy semester thus far. :( ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 16 Mar 1997 16:27:17 +1000 From: s9406058@bohm.anu.edu.au (Stan) Subject: Re: [Mystara] some Wendar ideas >Here's a few ways you could resolve the timeline, and other stuff. Shapechange into an elf and permanence for example, potions of longevity, 10th level magic. Stuff like this happens, and it seems like a pretty epic place where it would, especially if Gylharen is a "Wizard-King." Maybe the Elvenstar changes people into elves, or maybe it makes them live longer. Maybe it's an artifact. Hey that is actually a really good idea. I've always considered the Elvenstar and immortal artifact and those things always have side effects, don't they? Becoming an elf and having the associated longevity may be one of those side effects. Hey, Bensarian had the Elvenstar for a while and he even has "elf-blood" according to X11 and longevity to boot. Even though the module sort of explains away how Besnarian got his longevity it doesn't actually say how the elves of Geffron did it, perhaps his getting the Elvenstar was how it happened. Of course then the only change that would need to be made would be Gylharen's year of birth. But the year given may be just his apparent year of birth as an elf or the Elvenstar could have acutally changed him into an elf who for all intense purposes was born in that year. Pretty good suggestion there, neat. >Actually, I think Gylharen should be an elf, or at least changed into one. Or it could have been a plot of his to become an elf so he could be the king. Even heroes shouldn't be perfect after all. If Wendar is an elf nation, it only makes sense to have an elf as the king. Why would they let a mere human rule them? Not that they hate humans, but this strikes me as being a Lord of the Rings type place where elves would have their very *own* nation. Well, the population _is_ 50% elves and 50% humans. Your probably just thinking of LOR because of the capital of Denagoth being Gereth Minar, I have to admit that one name (and all the different elves in the story, I mean the Wendar elves, the elves from Geffron, the elves of the Lothenar forest - sheesh) always gave me a really Tolkienesque feel to Wendar and Denagoth. >I like elves anyway. Hmmm, Tolien didn't quiet leave me with that feeling. >As for the details of >the timeline itself, it seems very confusing, but it looks like you're doing a great job. I agree, Landryn Teriak should be dead, a really powerful villain of exalted status would be better, more on par with Sauron, you know. I'm glad someone else agrees that Landryn was a bit wimpy. I think Bensarian just talked him up a bit too much. >Of course Landryn Teriak could have been one of the many henchman or pawns of the real villain's schemes. Well from what the PWAs indicate (by saying that there is rumour of the Shadow Lord still in power) that does leave a lot of room for some other villian to take over the reigns of the misnamed Denagoth. Maybe this villian can even make the misnamed Denagoth, really Denagoth. Shawn Stanley, Department of Geology, Australian National University. (s9406058@student.anu.edu.au) (http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/5304) ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 15 Mar 1997 21:01:45 -0700 From: "Patrick" Subject: Re: [Mystara] Penhaligon Trilogy These books do not fit into Mystaran canon without some alteration. 1) As written, they must occur in or before 1010 AC, because Ludwig von Hendriks is still ruling the Black Eagle Barony. 2) Lady Penhaligon is already well-established in her rule. I don't know if the books ever explicitly say so, but she must have been the ruler for more than a year, and the trilogy takes at least a couple of years of game time, IIRC. 3) Penhaligon is a much larger, more developed town than it is in 1010. It supports a great number of knights, and they have a long tradition. 4) I don't remember where, but I believe one of the books refers to Alfheim, which ceases to exist in 1007. In my opinion, the best way to handle the trilogy is to simply change Specularum to Mirros, eliminate the Black Eagle or substitute someone else, and place the entire story around 1025 AC. As for the other books, the Dragonlord trilogy fits very well in Mystaran history and is pretty well-written (even if I detest the way that Diamond is created). I haven't read any of the others yet. Patrick ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 15 Mar 1997 19:13:17 -0800 (PST) From: David Melik Subject: [Mystara] giant #2 of 9: death* Giant, Death* AD&D: D&D: CLIMATE/TERRAIN: Any land, caverns, ruins FREQUENCY: Very rare ORGANIZATION: Pack ACTIVITY CYCLE: Nocturnal DIET: Carnivore INTELLIGENCE: Very to High(11 - 13) 12 TREASURE: A x 4 + 10,000 gp 10% 1D2 special A x 4 + 10,000 gp ALIGNMENT: Chaotic Evil NO. APPEARING: 1D2 (1D8) SAVE AS: F (level = HD) ARMOR CLASS: -1 MOVEMENT: 12' 120' (40') HIT DICE: 15** to 25*** THAC0 15 HD: 9 16+: 6 NO. OF ATTACKS 2 (weapon) DAMAGE/ATTACK: 8D8/8D8 SPECIAL ATTACKS: Throw, fear SPECIAL DEFENSES: 5 % resist necromancy MAGIC RESISTANCE: Nil SIZE: G (30 to 50') MORALE: Fanatic (18) 11 XP VALUE: 15 or 16 HD: 7,750 + 20/HP 15: 3,750 17 or 18 HD: 9,650 + 25/HP 16: 4,050 19 or 20 HD: 12,800 + 30/HP 17: 4,300 21 to 24 HD: 15,800 + 35/HP 18: 5,350 25 HD: 18,800 + 35/HP 19: 5,975 20: 6,500 21: 7,000 22: 7,500 23: 8,000 24: 8,500 25: 9,250 Appearance: Death giants, marauding murderers who live for death, randomly bring doom to communities when they feel the urge to kill. They are among the rarest, most feared of all giants. Actually some of them don't live at all. Some of them are undead. They have pallid skin, red eyes, and are dressed in rags and black iron and leather armor. They are fearsome and look already dead, like white zombie (error intended). Combat: Death giants can only be hit by magical weapons. There is one flaw to this ability. "Weapon" is the key, they can be hit with any mundane item as long as it was not made as a weapon. A death giant with 25 HD has the power to cause fear once per turn, in a 60' radius, as per wand of fear. Death giants enjoy using many different weapons, and like to slay people in new ways. They seek new ways to kill and hurt, that is their "life." They could be found using practically every weapon, torture implements, magic item, and tactic in the book, and more. Death giants are tricky opponents in battle, rarely using conventional means, changing their tactics from one round to the next. They often quaff potions, read scrolls, zap rods, staves and wands, douse their weapons in poison, throw various things mundane and magical (including boulders ranges 150/300/450), not to mention setting up traps and ambushes, etc.. If a fighter in the party thinks he's hot stuff, and has weapon mastery, just wait until he meets a death giant, he may think of a new definition of "fighter" if he survives. The DM should use their imagination and play these monsters to their fullest, and if the players play their characters wisely and escape, they should feel suprised and harrowed. Habitat/Society: Death giant society is brutally totalitarian, with everyone competing for power or submitting to those stronger than them. "The one with the most powerful magic item" rules, and those who don't do as they say or look funny to them, die horribly. Their dictators normally don't kill their followers for stupid reasons though. Their societal structure contributes to their rarity. Death Giant Shamans and wokans are almost as common as human clerics and wizards, and some have thieving abilities. They can both reach 25th level. Death Giants inhabit ruins and caverns, preferring places of evil and darkness. Around their lairs are often strewn or impaled corpses and skeletons, and bones are piled about the entranceways. They each have separate rooms, locked if possible, and they like to sleep on the cold stone floor. The dictator often inhabits a secret room, and sometimes has loyal guards with him. In a large area they store carcasses of various dead creatures to eat, even eating them after months at a time, relishing the moldy and rotted flesh, and crunching on their bones. In here is also found alcoholic drinks made from bodily fluids of creatures they have killed. They hoard valuables and use them to buy new magic and weapons from those who will sell them to them. There are sometimes one or more rooms containing sorted magic items, with cursed ones purposely mixed in. They also have whatever rooms they deem necessary for the creation of new instruments of death. There may be a temple to an infernal god, especially one whom they call Zingfro, a wizards laboratory and library. During the night, the death giants journey out to ravage and plunder the land. They discreetly take the lesser-travelled paths. They strike hard, enjoy the fight, steal fast, and are gone. They want to keep their lairs Date: Sun, 16 Mar 1997 06:51:44 -0600 From: (mystara-digest) To: mystara-digest@lists.io.com Subject: mystara-digest V2 #12 Reply-To: mystara-l@lists.io.com Precedence: bulk X-UIDL: c2217c1ee3a118b7e01e5d5d1056a44a hidden for they know they have the hatred of most sentient beings. When they have really razed up an area they move on. They war without end, and have no remorse and no repent, "another day another death" is their motto. They eat at various times when they want and when food is accessible. They return to their lairs in the early morning to celebrate their slaying, and drink their disgusting liquors. At the end of the night sometimes they research how to become undead. Ecology: Death giants decimate the environment surrounding them. They kill anything that moves for the fun of it, and eat it. They can stomach pretty much anything. The mere presence of death giants in an area doesn't seem to go well with nature. Of course, this doesn't make druids and the like very happy. They hate and kill every race except fellow evil creatures that will trade with them. If they won't, they might as well kill them too. A heart of a death giant can be used to brew a deadly poison. Variants: Another goal of death giants is to become undead. They seek this information with a passion. Up to a quarter of encountered death giants are undead. Most of them are lesser ones, animated by ones that manage to achieve intelligent, spell-casting undead status. They have the powers and abilites of the undead type they are, and 5 more hit dice than they had in life. Only rarely do they achieve the status of lich. These are what they often become dpending on their hit dice: 20 or 21 HD: Skeleton or Zombie, 22 or 23 HD: Wight or Wraith, 24 or 25: Elder Ghoul or Mummy, 26 to 29: Grey Philosopher or Nosferatu Vampire, 30: Lich. Also, there are rumors of powerful death giants creating strange, new, terrible monsters called High Wyrds out of the corpses of forest giants. P P l u justice = (free-willed cooperation) * ---------------- centralization^2 David Melik, an OMOGATFFGGKUS Mystaran darwin@nwinfo.net ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 15 Mar 1997 19:16:01 -0800 (PST) From: David Melik Subject: [Mystara] giant #3 of 9: desert Giant, Desert AD&D: D&D: CLIMATE/TERRAIN: Any Desert Desert FREQUENCY: Uncommon Rare ORGANIZATION: Solitary ACTIVITY CYCLE: Twilight DIET: Omnivore INTELLIGENCE: very (11 - 12) 11+ TREASURE: E x 2 + 5,000 gp + 30% 1D3 special E x 2 + 5,000 gp ALIGNMENT: Neutral Evil NO. APPEARING: 2 (1D4) SAVE AS: F (level = HD) ARMOR CLASS: 4 MOVEMENT: 12' 120' (40') HIT DICE: 12* to 20* THAC0 12-13 HD: 9 14-15 HD: 8 16 + HD: 7 NO. OF ATTACKS 1 (scimitar) DAMAGE/ATTACK: 4D8 SPECIAL ATTACKS: Throw SPECIAL DEFENSES: 5% resist fire-based attacks MAGIC RESISTANCE: Nil SIZE: H (12 to 18') MORALE: Elite (13) 8 XP VALUE: 9 HD: 900 + 12/HP 9: 1,400 10 HD: 1,350 + 14/HP 10: 1,750 11 or 12 HD: 2,000 + 16/HP 11: 1,900 13 or 14 HD: 2,750 + 18/HP 12: 2,125 15 or 16 HD: 3,650 + 20/HP 13: 2,500 17 or 18 HD: 4,550 + 25/HP 14: 2,700 19 or 20 HD: 6,100 + 30/HP 15: 2,950 16: 3,150 17: 3,475 18: 3,800 19: 4,175 20: 4,500 Appearance: Desert giants are greedy, malicious bandits who inhabitant castles in remote desert oases. Unless it is a shady desert, they are dark-skinned due to the sun. They normally have brown eyes and black hair. They wear white robes because of the heat, but wear a lot of jewelry underneath or when indoors. A scimitar and several daggers are often strapped to their belts. The females are rarely encountered outside of their castles, they stay inside, wearing veils instead of weapons (but may have hidden ones.) This monster is inspired by the tale "Cododad and his Brothers" from The One-thousand and One Nights Combat: Desert giants primarily fight on giant horseback with scimitars. They charge their enemy and try to cut them down. If unsuccessful they ride away a little and try again. They don't like to fight on foot, but will do so if the situation warrants it. Desert giants can hurl boulders (ranges 60/130/200) and they also throw daggers (thrice the specified range for the appropriate level of weapon mastery.) Sometimes they do this when charging, but often they do it when they are on foot before they are within melee range of their opponents. They sometimes assassinate people, if they can sneak up on them that is. Habitat/Sociaty: Desert giants strongly believe in the caste system but usually there aren't enough of them around to fill more than two or three castes, except in the rare desert giant cities. Their religion says that males should rule, and they almost always do. The females are often indoctrinated into their religion (as well as the males,) and are glad to have the males do all the dangerous work for them, but if they disagree with their religion, the males try to suppress, and even kill them. They have up to 7th level shamans (clerics) and 6th level wokans (magic-users), some have thieving abilities, and at the DM's option, there can be desert giant mystics (which would be more frequent than shamans.) A desert giant castle is anything from an Arabian to Indian one, but not European. It also has some palace features, and domes, spires, and geometrical designs. There are a several bedrooms, one for the castle's lord and his wife, one or two for their children, and three or four for guests. In each of these is a large bed and various furniture. There is a dining hall, underneath which is a huge dungeon (as in castle, not RPG). There are grates in the room where they can see prisoners below and hear their cries, for amusement. They have stables for giant horses, as well as for stolen ones, and camels. They often don't have many giant ones unless they are rich or can cast spells to supplement the little equine food there is in the desert. They have storerooms for their own food as well, and they like lots of spices. Treasure and goods are strewn all over their rooms, robbed from merchants or taken from adventurers, whom are locked in the dungeon below. Desert giants wake very early in the morning, sleep during the heat of the day, and get up again in the evening before going to bed after dark. The males randomly raid merchant caravans and animal herds, and the stronger ones occasionaly raid towns in groups. They get most of their resources in these ways, but also necessities from other large monsters. The women and children do a little bit of cooking and sewing after they get up, but since they steal most of what they get, or buy it with stolen treasure, they don't have too much work to do. Ecology: Desert giants occasionaly hunt in the area they live in. They extract water from cacti but try to conserve them. They enjoy eating cows and oxen, so could be considered infidel barbarians by the smaller humanoid civilizations in the area. They are prejudiced and wary of most other races, although they will trade with races they cannot prey upon, if they have to. A complete epidermis of a desert giant can be used to make a potion of fire resistance. Variants: The rare city-dwelling desert giant is the main "variant," all that's really different is their lair and lifestyle, they share the same culture. P P l u justice = (free-willed cooperation) * ---------------- centralization^2 David Melik, an OMOGATFFGGKUS Mystaran darwin@nwinfo.net ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 15 Mar 1997 19:04:53 -0800 (PST) From: David Melik Subject: [Mystara] giant #1 of 9: cliff (redone normally) Giant, Cliff AD&D: D&D: CLIMATE/TERRAIN: Any land, cliff/gorge caves FREQUENCY: Uncommon Rare ORGANIZATION: Tribe ACTIVITY CYCLE: Nocturnal DIET: Omnivore INTELLIGENCE: Low to average (7-9) 8 TREASURE: E + 5,000 gp + 15% 1D2 special E + 5,000 gp ALIGNMENT: Chaotic Neutral NO. APPEARING: 1D10 (1D20) SAVE AS: F (level = HD) ARMOR CLASS: 3 MOVEMENT: 12' 120' (40') HIT DICE: 9* to 15* THAC0: 9 HD: 12 10-11 HD: 10 12-13 HD: 9 14-15 HD: 8 NO. OF ATTACKS 2 (stone club/mace) DAMAGE/ATTACK: 3D6 or 3D8 ea. SPECIAL ATTACKS: Throw SPECIAL DEFENSES: Nil MAGIC RESISTANCE: Nil SIZE: L to H (10 to 16') MORALE: Champion (15) 9 XP VALUE: 9 HD: 900 + 12/HP 9: 1,600 10 HD: 1,350 + 14/HP 10: 1,750 11 or 12 HD: 2,000 + 16/HP 11: 1,900 13 or 14 HD: 2,750 + 18/HP 12: 2,125 15 HD: 3,650 + 20/HP 13: 2,300 14: 2,500 15:2,700 Appearance:Cliff giants are hunter-gatherer inhabitants of groups of caves in cliffs and gorges. They are peaceful, but are not to be trifled with. A wiry and agile race, cliff giants are adapted to their terrain. They are exceptionally skilled at moving on the cliffs (+ 50% to climbing rating, twice climbing movement rate). Their skin colors are: pale to pinkish gray, light sandy to dark basalt brown, light clayish red, and an orange-tinted loess yellow. They have human hair and eye colors. They dress in hides, cloth, and bone armor and jewelry (also with metal and gems). Combat:The cliff giant's favorite weapon is their stone club, which is normally made of a stalactite or stalagmite from their cave. They usually break off more than they need at the time, and leave them strewn around inside. (Not only does this practice provide them with a weapon, but sometimes it clears more living space for them.) If they can obtain any hard rock, such as flint, once they have broken off their club, they carve edges and spikes on it to transform it into a mace. Depending on the type of rock in the area, it could be ready-made. Their main missile attack is hurling boulders, (ranges 100/200/300) clubs and maces (twice the specified range for the appropriate level of weapon mastery). Occasionaly they fashion other rock weapons, such as spears and arrows, but prefer bashing with brute force. Although cliff giants enjoy a good brawl, they try to beat their opponent in any way they can. First, they aggresively rush their opponents. If they are outnumbered and the battle begins to go bad for them, they will try to lure their opponents away. If they are above their cliff, they may try to trick their pursuers into falling in. If they are below their cave(s), they may run towards it shouting to alert any giants inside. Then they quickly back against the wall and roar, hoping to stall the pursuers. The ones inside would then proceed to hurl rocks down on their opponents below. They often smash the rock underneath their dwellings, and spread it inside or pile it at the top of the cliff. This gives them more ammunition, and makes their entrance ledge jut out just enough so that when they run from their opponents they can be sheltered from friendly fire. If they are hurt, they may just climb home, and then pummel anyone who follows with rocks. If anyone reaches the top, they will either push them off the precipice, or hide inside to suprise their opponents, and possibly try to trap them. They have been known to construct very crude traps, of falling rocks, or unstable ones above steep, deep areas of their caves, but this is rare. Most don't have the intelligence or inclination for such things. Habitat/Society:Cliff Giant organization is similar to a wolf pack. Whoever can best the rest in combat leads. However, no one has has absolute authoritry. They almost never try to force each other to do things, and if other races do this they will resist violently. They try to agree on things, and the ones with higher status have a lot of influence on the others, who agree with the more prominent ones to make group decisions. They have up to 6th level shamans (clerics) and 4th level wokans (magic-users), but wokans are extremely rare. They have no written language. One or two families usually inhabits each cave in the complex, but it depends on the size. The leader gets the largest cave of course, sharing it with the best warriors and their mates and children. They prefer caves with natural sources of water. Including family caves, other rooms may include: a storeroom for food and drink; meat-smoking room; a fungi-farming room; a beverage-brewing room; a primitive tanning and sewing room; a shaman's room; occasionaly a simple forge. There is a story of one cliff giant community that had a big enough river inside for a water wheel, some friendly adventurers bartered with them and built it. They set up places to store flour and make bread, and eventually began farming the plateau above. In a typical family's cave, their would be a carefully laid, even layer of rocks, covered with animal hides. In the center is a fire pit. There would be a couple of rockpiles in each side of the door, and maybe one outside. They sleep in furs, and sometimes blankets from so-called civilization. Deep under these furs, the head of the family might hide his pouch of "shinies". They like shiny things like metals and gems, and these are symbols of wealth and status, and are used to trade with nearby races. They will often do a lot of work for these. Cliff giants sleep during the day. Their communities are alive with activity at night. The hunters get up before twilight to hunt. Back in the caves, many of the women, and the children and weak old men begin work. They light a fire for cooking all day, and to make the cave warm during the night. Later, there are the tasks of preparing the kills: tanning and sewing, cooking and smoking, bone-carving tools, armor, decorative and religious items. The shaman uses the parts they don't like eating, in religious ceremonies, potions, salves, and other cures. They also brew beverages and farm fungi. These tasks take up much of the night. In their spare time, they play primitive board and dice games, paint on walls and hides, and gather in the early morning with the shaman to worship their gods, they mainly worship Kagyar the Flasheyes as Guh-Gruk, "Old Man of the Rock". Ecology:In the region they inhabit, they hunt whatever animals live there, and gather fruit and berries. They have learned to ferment these into alcoholic drinks. If these resources are plentiful they like sharing the area with other tribes, for protection. They are peaceful, when not molested, and keep to themselves. Even though they are chaotic, their society has a natural order, but no one tells them what to do. Generally, they don't go out of their way to help others, but aren't self-centered. They will trade with other races, except shadow elves, whom they hate. They are friendly with stone and mountain giants, distrust forest giants, and hate hill giants. They think dwarves are nice, elves are silly and goblins are annoying. Since humans are often quite aggresive, they will sometimes be found in conflict with them. A cliff giant cerebellum can be used to make a potion of climbing. Variants: Some cliff giant in higher altitudes herd mountain goats, and are on good terms with mountain giants. A few are to be found in the cliffs of the Underdark. These have developed infravision of course. Fungi is their main source of food. Due to the harsh environment, and the dangerous denizens of the place, they are a whole lot meaner than their outer-world cousins. P P l u justice = (free-willed cooperation) * ---------------- centralization^2 David Melik, an OMOGATFFGGKUS Mystaran darwin@nwinfo.net ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 16 Mar 1997 00:18:35 -0800 (PST) From: David Melik Subject: Re: [Mystara] Penhaligon Trilogy >These books do not fit into Mystaran canon without some alteration. Awww man, it almost works normally except for one fact you just stated. >1) As written, they must occur in or before 1010 AC, because Ludwig von Hendriks is still ruling the Black Eagle Barony. >2) Lady Penhaligon is already well-established in her rule. I don't know if the books ever explicitly say so, but she must have been the ruler for more than a year, and the trilogy takes at least a couple of years of game time, IIRC. It would work with these 2, if it was in AC 1008 to 1010. >3) Penhaligon is a much larger, more developed town than it is in 1010. It supports a great number of knights, and they have a long tradition. That's ok because at the end I remember the realm of Penhaligon is razed, so it would be smaller after it was rebuilt anyway. >4) I don't remember where, but I believe one of the books refers to Alfheim, which ceases to exist in 1007. Aaaah! Then it doesn't work since Arteris became baroness in AC 1008! >In my opinion, the best way to handle the trilogy is to simply change Specularum to Mirros, eliminate the Black Eagle or substitute someone else, and place the entire story around 1025 AC. I agree, that would be a good way. Howeber, if one wanted it to happen when it sounds like it's happening though, you could also just ignore the new Karameikos boxed set and say Arteris became Baroness several years earlier. Then it might just fit into place. Personally, I consider the OD&D stuff more canon than the AD&D stuff... >As for the other books, the Dragonlord trilogy fits very well in Mystaran history and is pretty well-written (even if I detest the way that Diamond is created). I haven't read any of the others yet. Patrick What do you mean about Diamond? If it's something in the 3rd book don't tell me since I haven't got around to reading it yet... P P l u justice = (free-willed cooperation) * ---------------- centralization^2 David Melik, an OMOGATFFGGKUS Mystaran darwin@nwinfo.net ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 16 Mar 1997 13:48:13 +0100 (MET) From: Haavard Roenne Faanes Subject: Re: [Mystara] Immortals On Thu, 13 Mar 1997, DM wrote: >Has any of you ever noticed that in GAZ HWR2: Nithia it is mentioned a pharaoh that has become immortal (whose name i don't recall now), but that is not cited in WotI? Also, the Immortal named Orisis in GAZ4 could very well be Isiris (Valerias) as told in Nithia gazetteer, rather than a new so far forgotten deity. >Oh, another issue: who gives the People Temple's clerics and The Church of Karameikos' priests their spells, if their religion is more a code of ethics than a real faith in some specific Immortal?? This is what Bruce Heard wrote in Dragon The Peoples Temple's Clerics get spells from Diulanna patroness of will. I am not sure how much influence she has on their religion. According to Bruce Heard the Chuch of Karameikos follows several Immortals. These being Asterius (Head Patron), Valerias, Vania, Kagyar and Ilsundal. The Karameikos boxed set contradicts this claiming that the church is made up by philosophers following Law, Chaos or neutrality. I dont think this fits very much with other information printed on the Church of Karameikos. I prefer the former variant, and I am planning on developing that idea. I might post some more info on the Chruch of Karameikos when I find time. Haavard R. Faanes Email: hoc@nvg.unit.no hoc@nvg.nuts.edu http://www.nvg.ntnu.no/~hoc "I didn't spend all those years playing Dungeons and Dragons without learning a bit about courage" -The X-Files ------------------------------ End of mystara-digest V2 #12 **************************** Date: Mon, 17 Mar 1997 16:55:53 -0600 From: (mystara-digest) To: mystara-digest@lists.io.com Subject: mystara-digest V2 #13 Reply-To: mystara-l@lists.io.com Precedence: bulk X-UIDL: b2d703fc7cf3adfdaa327d97bd369431 mystara-digest Monday, March 17 1997 Volume 02 : Number 013 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 16 Mar 1997 19:57:35 +0100 From: Fabrizio Paoli Subject: Re: [Mystara] XP At 01.07 15/03/97 -0500, John Yu wrote: >Based on the official rule, the xp is divided, but with NPC only gets half a share. This thing about NPC gaining half the XP gained by PC is a rule I never understood and (obviously) the first rule I changed in my games. Can someone give me a reasonable explanation for NPC getting half a share ? Fabrizio Paoli ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 16 Mar 1997 20:30:14 +0100 From: Fabrizio Paoli Subject: Re: [Mystara] Conquer of Alfheim At 13.03 14/03/97 +0200, you wrote: >Hello Mystarafans, >I am playing my campaign in the year of 1007. Alheim is conquered shortly ago. My PC want to free Alfheim, because most of them are Elves. Now I have some questions: >1. I 've read, that the trees of the forest attacked the elves of Alfheim. is it true and if it is true, how long are they affected by this Spell. 2. I 've read, the forest is dying, too. How long has the forest to live? 3. I 've heard, there is one livetree left. Is it true? 4. How is the opinion of the expellee? Would they go back, if they have a strong ruler, or have they sworn never come back? 5. How is the opinion of the governments of the neighborhood about the conquer. >I hope that someone can answer my questions. IIn sicerely Kostarsus Me and Herve wrote a complete timeline of the Alfheim Invasion, you can find Herve's homepage: http://www.esiee.fr/~musseauh or I can send you a copy (it's a .doc file, quite long). Fabrizio Paoli ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 16 Mar 1997 14:27:52 EST From: nbamba@juno.com (Nicholas C Bambakidis) Subject: Re: [Mystara] XP On Sun, 16 Mar 1997 19:57:35 +0100 Fabrizio Paoli writes: >This thing about NPC gaining half the XP gained by PC is a rule I never >understood and (obviously) the first rule I changed in my games. Can someone give me a reasonable explanation for NPC getting half a share ? >Fabrizio Paoli I think its just part of the philosophy of the rules, that NPCs don't advance as quickly as PCs in levels or experience (I mean, why is Richard d'Ambreville only 12th level?) I believe its purpose is to emphasize the importance and special natures of the PCs in tha game world. I think there's also the excuse given that NPC henchmen are only following orders, after all, and therefore only earn half the XP of the PC bosses. (Although in truth I also award full XP to henchmen on occasion, when I take over their actions from the PC for whatever reason). N. Bambakidis ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 16 Mar 1997 20:30:19 +0100 From: Fabrizio Paoli Subject: Re: [Mystara] Conquer of Alfheim At 17.21 15/03/97 -0300, Andre Martins wrote: >Btw, does anybody know when Michael's work should be appearing. I know it involved lots of work and I fully understand it must be more than Michael can handle presently, I'd just like to know if there is some prediction for the final release. Herve wrote me that Micheal's work was completed and proofreaded (ny Herve himself). This means that he should appear soon, at least that's what I hope. Fabrizio Paoli ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 16 Mar 1997 14:32:22 -0500 (EST) From: Kaviyd@aol.com Subject: Re: [Mystara] XP In a message dated 97-03-16 13:59:19 EST, brizio@lunet.it (Fabrizio Paoli) writes: << This thing about NPC gaining half the XP gained by PC is a rule I never understood and (obviously) the first rule I changed in my games. Can someone give me a reasonable explanation for NPC getting half a share ? I think that rule was meant for NPCs who are henchmen or hirelings -- they gain fewer XPs because they are acting under orders from a player character, not on their own. The intent of this rule is to ensure that a player character's henchmen do not catch up in level with their master too quickly. Now, if an NPC joins a party of player characters as an equal participant, that NPC should receive a full share of XPs. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 16 Mar 1997 12:35:22 -0700 From: "Patrick" Subject: Re: [Mystara] Penhaligon Trilogy Looking back in GAZ1, I noticed something strange. When they wrote the AD&D Boxed set, they copied the description of Penhaligon almost word for word. In GAZ1, Arteris is said to have been the ruler since her father's death four years ago, which sets his death in 996, rather than 1008! Soon after Arteris takes the throne (around 1000 AC), the events of B11 and B12 take place in and near Penhaligon. IMO, these should be rectified by 1001, and Arteris establishes her order of knights after that (before this, they were simply the loyal fighters of the estate). Penhaligon should slowly grow, and the story should simply be altered so that it can occur around 1015. Remember, the characters in the story have a long tradition in the knighthood, and Joanna heard stories about Fain Flinn in Specularum in her childhood, so the books can't be too early. Arteris is 29 in GAZ1, and the books portray her as middle-aged, so it seems that she should be at least in her forties. I think you are also under- estimating the changes that the trilogy brings about in the world, so it should be later than the PWAs. >What do you mean about Diamond? If it's something in the 3rd book don't tell me since I haven't got around to reading it yet... Yeah, it's in Dragonmage (which is a really a great book overall; you should read it) Patrick ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 16 Mar 1997 23:42:41 +0100 From: Peter Balazs Subject: Re: [Mystara] XP >Just an offhand question that I thought of. How do other DM's go about giving out XP? I personally divide the monsters xp into characters. For example, if a monster gave 1000xp, and there were 4 persons participating in battle (including NPC's), each person gets 250 XP plust whatever bonuses. Is this good? I ask this I played in a campaign where the DM gave each PC the monsters XP, for example, in the before mentioned case, each person would get 1000xp plus bonuses. First: I play AD&D in mystara, and have played it in the Known World for quite some time! XPs: I certainly divide the XPs for monsters between the Pcs and the Henchmen(NPCs), but the last only get a half share! I reward more XPs for roleplaying, increasing the pleasure of gaming and for ideas. The PCs get about 1 point for each action, which falls in the above categories. They receive up to 5 points for really important ideas or really good acts of roelplaying. In a whole RPG evening they get about 30 of these points (depending on how active they are!) Each of these points is worth 1/100 of the XPs needed for the next level (measured with the PC, who needs the most XPs!) One fourth of these points they get at the end of the evening, the other part is sumed up, and they get it, when they reach a point, where you could say that they now have concluded an adventure or at least a part of it. I also use the Rule for Special XP Awards for Classes! And the Xps for fights are divided depending on how important the character was for the fight! I normally don´t award XPs for treasure (except for thieves stealing it!) >Can someone give me a reasonable explanation for NPC getting half a share I can try: The NPCs fighting with the PCs also do their worth to defeat the enemy, so they should get some of the XPs, they are not the Pcs, so they get half! Else a PC fighting with an army would get an ENORMOUS ammount of XPs, with NPCs not gaining anything! >I believe its purpose is to emphasize the importance and special natures of the PCs in tha game world. I think there's also the excuse given that NPC henchmen are only following orders, after all, and therefore only earn half the XP of the PC bosses. (Although in truth I also award full XP to henchmen on occasion, when I take over their actions from the PC for whatever reason). I do so too! The NPCs get only half, because they are not so active and inventive as the PCs. But if I play a NPC for some time, he will get more XPsa. *************************************************************************** Peter Balazs (a9003307@unet.univie.ac.at) http://radon.mat.univie.ac.at/~pbalazs *************************************************************************** ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 16 Mar 97 15:05:51 PST From: "David 'Azure' Leland" Subject: Re: [Mystara] XP >>Just an offhand question that I thought of. How do other DM's go about giving out XP? I used to use all sorts of elaborate schemes to award XP based a little on monsters, a little on treasure, some on goal-attainment, some for role-playing, some for creative skill use, etc. Now, I don't even USE experience points. I don't award them and I don't calculate them. Having a general idea of the relative experience value of different things as I perceive them, and of the relative rates of advancement for different classes, I use a mostly subjective method. In other words, when I feel that a PC has gained enough experience (in the qualitative sense), I up them a level. It seems to work fine so far and has saved me hours of boring and annoying bookkeeping. /~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~\ ~| David "Azure" Leland ~|~ Email: dleland@cogsci.ucsd.edu |~ ~| UCSD Cognitive Science ~|~ Phone/Fax: (619) 642-6709 |~ ~| Oberlin class of 1996 ~|~ Web: http://cogsci.ucsd.edu/~dleland |~ ~| Amateur conguero; Q(O+H)Q(G+W)AEEEBGKUS Mystaran; P75 on Ethernet |~ \~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~/ ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 16 Mar 1997 21:43:08 -0500 From: necromancer@vabch.com Subject: [Mystara] Penhaligon Trilogy David, I read the Pen. trilogy myself and thought they were pretty good stories. You are correct in saying they weren't that well written, but oh well, no one is perfect! I do have a complaint though. You said, "I don't see why this can't be considered canon. It is published by TSR after all, come on." Were you being facetious? IMO, a lot of the TSR stuff is kinda, well, dumb. Just because TSR made it, it shouldn't be considered canon. It's kind of like the discussion as to go with the old module storylines or the newer GAZ story lines. You can choose one or the other, try to mix them, or just make your own story. If everything TSR put out is considered canon then we all have headaches trying to consolidate the information!!! My two cents, Necromancer MY>First, several people have said that the Penhaligon trilogy can not be MY>considered canon, because of the abelaat attacks that happpen in the books MY>or something. Also, some people think it's not very well written. Well MY>everything that happens on Mystara doesn't have to be extremely interesting MY>now, does it? Also, I recall at least part of it was journals written by MY>Sir Greybow. Where did it ever say he had to be an excellent writer? After MY>doing some reading and thinking, I don't see why this can't be considered MY>canon. It is published by TSR after all, come on. I did some research into MY>when it takes place. There was a post on this, but it was a long time ago, MY>so here's what I found out. I haven't looked at every source, like GAZ1, MY>and and it's been a while since I read the series, so if the information MY>there or in other sources conflicts with what I have to say, please say so. l u MY>justice = (free-willed cooperation) * ---------------- MY> centralization^2 MY>David Melik, an OMOGATFFGGKUS Mystaran MY>darwin@nwinfo.net ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 16 Mar 1997 21:58:22 -0500 From: necromancer@vabch.com Subject: Re: [Mystara] XP MY>In a message dated 97-03-16 13:59:19 EST, brizio@lunet.it (Fabrizio Paoli) MY>writes: MY><< This thing about NPC gaining half the XP gained by PC is a rule I never MY> understood and (obviously) the first rule I changed in my games. MY> Can someone give me a reasonable explanation for NPC getting half a share ? MY> >> MY>I think that rule was meant for NPCs who are henchmen or hirelings -- MY>they gain fewer XPs because they are acting under orders from a player MY>character, not on their own. The intent of this rule is to ensure that a MY>player character's henchmen do not catch up in level with their master MY>too quickly. MY>Now, if an NPC joins a party of player characters as an equal participant, MY>that NPC should receive a full share of XPs. Sounds good to me. I do the same. Necromancer ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 16 Mar 97 22:28:05 EST From: Dave Brohman Subject: [Mystara] New Alphatian Empire Anyone have any info on the new (post WOTI) Alphatian Empire? The party in the game I am running has just landed on Monster Island (formerly the mountain range in the far west of Alphatia) to find the old Dwarven city of Denwarf-Hurgon to locate a rare mineral that was only mined there (plot device, not canon). What I know is that the 6th legion (I think) of Seashield is encamped there to claim the Island for the New Alphatian Empire. However, I need more info than that. Any info on the N.A.E. in general, or the Island and the legion in particular, is greatly appreciated. Also, does anyone have any info on the city of Denwarf-Hurgon (especially maps) or of any large Dwarven City for that matter? Thanks. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Dave Brohman E-Mail : dbrohman@chat.carleton.ca Carleton University Featuring Alexi Sayle as the Balowski Family. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 16 Mar 1997 10:47:08 -0600 From: Enrique Pacheco Subject: [Mystara] Fonts The Magic shop now has a some Fonts for Fantasy Role playing games at: http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Arcade/2426/fonts.html Check it out and contribute if you have any more fonts! - -- "If I was given every opportunity I'd kill for your love." I was born to love you. Queen, 1995. Enrique Pacheco. Email: pach@mail.geocities.com http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Arcade/2426/index.html ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 03 Sep 1995 09:33:56 -0700 From: Leroy Van Camp III Subject: [Mystara] [ADMIN] Updated Member Registry Page I have recieved several new submitions to the registry page, and they have been added. So, if you sent me some info, it should be up. I recommend checking it for errors. The registry can be found through the MML homepage at... http://www.io.com/~oryon/mysthome.htm I encourage anyone who does not have a listing to send in one. - -- Leroy Van Camp III | "By the way, this may look like a slab of liver, malacoda@lesbois.com | but its an external brain pack." owner-mystara-l@io.com | Ratbert ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 17 Mar 1997 07:56:07 EST From: Neal Daskal Subject: Re: [Mystara] New Alphatian Empire >Also, does anyone have any info on the city of Denwarf-Hurgon (especially maps) or of any large Dwarven City for that matter? The only OD&D map of a Dwarven City I'm aware of is the map of Dengar in GAZ6 ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 17 Mar 1997 17:01:54 +0200 (EET) From: Aleksej Andrievskij Subject: [Mystara] Specularum A question: Why Specularum was renamed to the "traditional" Mirros when it states clearly in GAZ1 that it's old name was Marilenev? Aleksei ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 17 Mar 1997 17:19:27 +0200 (EET) From: Aleksej Andrievskij Subject: [Mystara] Mystara map I have heard that the map of Mystara is basically the map of Middle-Earth upside-down. Dengar is Moria, Alfheim is Mirkwood, Darokin is Rhovanion, Lake Amsorak is Sea of Rhun, and Glantri is Mordor. Anyone know anything about this? Aleksei ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 17 Mar 1997 17:49:58 +0200 From: Georgios Dimitrios Milonas Subject: Re: [Mystara] XP In my campaign NPCs get half share XP,but one character always try to kill the NPCs at the end of the adventure,because he wants the PCs to get all the XP from the adventure.This thing is getting annoying and I want to stop him from killing my favorite NPCs.Anybody with an idea? ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 17 Mar 1997 17:37:32 +0100 From: DM Subject: Re: [Mystara] GAZ Flaws At 12.45 14/03/97 +0200, you wrote: >>I personally don't like GAZ 2 because it omitted some very important infomation such as the make-up of their army. I remember there are a couple of other things missed in there too, but can't remember what right now. >They didn't give the names of the sultans!!! I didn't know them until PWA came out. >Aleksei Ok, i know, but i liked the flavour of the campaign... Anyway, talking about BIG flaws of Gazetteers, i think these 3 are the top ones: 1) Alphatia & Thyatis Boxed set: NOTHING ABOUT THEIR MILITARY!!!!!! No War Machine statistics!!!! They tell you what they eat, drink or dress, but not how they conquer and defend their lands!! 2) GAZ6: Dwarves of Rockhome: NOTHING ABOUT THE FORGE OF POWER!!!!! Gaz5 and Gaz8 (this one is really good) delves into the mysteries of the Sacred Relics... but not Gaz6! Why?? 3) Gaz2: Emirates of Ylaruam: NOTHING ABOUT THE SULTANS AND THE MILITARY!!!! As you've noticed.... but i think this is mainly due to the fact Ken Rolston was interested in creating an Oriental Adventures' flavour rather then giving statistics and technical details DM ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 17 Mar 1997 17:38:19 +0100 (MET) From: Haavard Roenne Faanes Subject: Re: [Mystara] XP On Mon, 17 Mar 1997, Georgios Dimitrios Milonas wrote: >In my campaign NPCs get half share XP,but one character always try to kill the NPCs at the end of the adventure,because he wants the PCs to get all the XP from the adventure.This thing is getting annoying and I want to stop him from killing my favorite NPCs.Anybody with an idea? Tell your player that XP aint what really matters. Ask him why the character wants to kill the NPC. If he cant come up with a good answer he is a poor _role_player. Thats a bigger problem. If you want the NPCs to survive, give them a sword +5 of slicing. and cheat. Haavard R. Faanes Email: hoc@nvg.unit.no hoc@nvg.nuts.edu http://www.nvg.ntnu.no/~hoc "I didn't spend all those years playing Dungeons and Dragons without learning a bit about courage" -The X-Files ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 17 Mar 1997 17:51:50 +0100 From: DM Subject: Re: [Mystara] Top 3 & Worst 3 At 16.56 14/03/97 -0800, you wrote: >Then why even have the list? It excludes all 3 PWAs, since they deal with Mystara in its entirety; WoTI since it deals with the Multiverse as well as other continents; and of course all the Hollow world stuff; practically all of the CM adventures, since most take place in Norwold; much of the X-series: the 2 Desert Nomads ones - in Hule, The Savage Coast (I don't need to say where that is), Quagmire - in the Serpent Peninsula, Saga of the Shadowlord - in Wendar; Champions of Mystara, which deals with the Great Waste and the Serpent Peninsula, just to name a few. Some of these are just other parts of Brun, not parts of the Known World. >Why have restrictions? If you have to exclude something for some strange reason, then why not just exclude AD&D. However, that might not be good Date: Mon, 17 Mar 1997 16:55:53 -0600 From: (mystara-digest) To: mystara-digest@lists.io.com Subject: mystara-digest V2 #13 Reply-To: mystara-l@lists.io.com Precedence: bulk X-UIDL: b2d703fc7cf3adfdaa327d97bd369431 >because then it would be too hard to fill the 3 worst things list (not that all AD&D Mystara stuff is poor). Ok ok, i do see your point... i was only trying to limit to the Known World cause i surmise it's the most used setting, but you can quote anything you like about Mystara... OK? ;) DM ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 17 Mar 1997 12:26:42 -0500 (EST) From: Shin Chyang Yu Subject: Re: [Mystara] GAZ Flaws DM pontificated: >1) Alphatia & Thyatis Boxed set: NOTHING ABOUT THEIR MILITARY!!!!!! No War Machine statistics!!!! They tell you what they eat, drink or dress, but not how they conquer and defend their lands!! That really upsetted me. Which is why I consider that to be the worst Gaz., which was very disappointing consider how long we waited for the Thyatis gaz. The box set also lack information on the government, such as Thyatis' senate and Alphatia's 1000 mages. All those what seems to me to be very important information was covered in one or two sentences. >3) Gaz2: Emirates of Ylaruam: NOTHING ABOUT THE SULTANS AND THE MILITARY!!!! As you've noticed.... but i think this is mainly due to the fact Ken Rolston was interested in creating an Oriental Adventures' flavour rather then giving statistics and technical details IIRC, it also didn't give skills for the NPCs John Yu ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 17 Mar 1997 12:38:25 -0500 (EST) From: Shin Chyang Yu Subject: Re: [Mystara] XP Georgios Dimitrios Milonas pontificated: >In my campaign NPCs get half share XP,but one character always try to kill the NPCs at the end of the adventure,because he wants the PCs to get all the XP from the adventure.This thing is getting annoying and I want to stop him from killing my favorite NPCs.Anybody with an idea? As long as the NPCs were alive and acting during the encounters of the adventure, they will receive the share of XP. Killing them will just giving the PC XP for fighting and killing that NPC, not the XPs that NPC has already earned during the adventure. Calculating XP at end of the adventure is just a convenenace, the right way to do it is probably calculated after every party action that generate XP, but that obviously can get very tedious. Also, if PC start to killing NPC like that, his alignment AND the alignment of all other PCs that didn't prevent him from doing so will change to Chaoic Evil. Finally, if the story of PC killing their aid gets out, not many people will be willing to help out the PC in adventure, and if they do, they might try to kill the PC before the PC can do the same to them. John Yu ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 17 Mar 1997 12:45:08 -0500 From: necromancer@vabch.com Subject: Re: [Mystara] XP MY>In my campaign NPCs get half share XP,but one character always try to MY>kill the NPCs at the end of the adventure,because he wants the PCs to MY>get all the XP from the adventure.This thing is getting annoying and I MY>want to stop him from killing my favorite NPCs.Anybody with an idea? Yeah, kill the PC! Always works for me. Unless he is evil, then let him go with it for a while...then kill him. Necromancer ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 17 Mar 1997 18:50:15 +0100 From: DM Subject: Re: [Mystara] PC rulebooks At 17.24 13/03/97 -0700, you wrote: >On Thu, 13 Mar 1997, DM wrote: >>Don't you think they exaggerated a bit with the XPs for some "monsters"? -For example the Sphinx: it's nearly impossible to play such a character, so why you made any rules for it if they were so unplayable and restricting. >Agreed. PC3 is definitely my least favorite of the four Creature Crucible series. Both the Sphinx and the Nagpa are highly imbalanced, IMO. But this is PC2, not PC3...:) >Not to mention certain oversights- the Pegataurs are natural spellcasters (as elves), but they can train to become Wokans? And to a level much lower than they could naturally achieve? Yeah, i noticed this one and had to reread it at least 3 times before i figured it out... The main difference is that if they choose to be wicca they can become 12th Wizards, thus gaining more spells (but only at levels above 9th... and they have to earn much more Xps... useless! Definitely a bad flaw in the rules!) >>-Also, another flaw in one of the best PC guides was not giving the age cathegories and max. age for critters described in PC2... Does anyone know if Bruce filled this gap in his Dragon articles? Or have you got your own hypothesis about the age cathegories of those critters? >Can you imagine how many xp's the Cloud Giant would need? A helluva lot. I've done the xps for a Hill Giant (using the same rules) and they need to earn a lot- I can't imagine a Cloud Giant's xp tables... I have statistics and xp for Sea Giant and i agree it's a lot! I was indeed about to change the XP values for the new Character classes/races described in PC2 and PC3 (not for all of them, just some)... it is something i wouldn't do normally, cause there is anything holier than XPs for DMs, but i cannot stand a poor Triton has to earn 500.000 xps to advance after 9th level!!!!!!!!!! DM ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 17 Mar 1997 18:50:02 +0100 From: DM Subject: [Mystara] Mystery in Champions of Mystara I don't know if you recall the Princess Ark episode about the Neh-Thalgghu, but it has always puzzled me for one thing basically. When Haldemar meets the Neh-Thalgghu in the Bayou and asks it about the brains it had collected, at the end it speaks with a distinctive Thothian accent (that is a Nithian wizard's brain) saying: "It's breached! It's breached! The Old One comes!" Now, i made 2 hypothesis 1. the Nithian is referring to something or someone that is not what we know as the Old Ones 2. the Nithian is referring to the coming of a mysterious Old One (the upper deities that dwell beyond the Vortex), possibly to the one that is mentioned at the end of WotI campaign In the first case: what is exactly the Old One the Nithian is referring to and what comes with him? Why is the Nithian so frightened? In the second case: how can a mere mortal know about the existence of Old Ones? How has he managed to know that this Old One is coming? Who is the Old One and why is he coming? Why is the Nithian so scared? I have my ideas, among whose the possibility that this Old One is the same one that appeared in WotI and later known as Gareth... Any ideas?? Bruce? DM ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 17 Mar 97 12:56:10 EST From: Jody Duncan Subject: Re: [Mystara] Mystery in Champions of Mystara DM writes: >wizard's brain) saying: >"It's breached! It's breached! The Old One comes!" Now, i made 2 hypothesis >1. the Nithian is referring to something or someone that is not what we know as the Old Ones >2. the Nithian is referring to the coming of a mysterious Old One (the upper deities that dwell beyond the Vortex), possibly to the one that is mentioned at the end of WotI campaign >In the first case: what is exactly the Old One the Nithian is referring to and what comes with him? Why is the Nithian so frightened? >In the second case: how can a mere mortal know about the existence of Old Ones? How has he managed to know that this Old One is coming? Who is the Old One and why is he coming? Why is the Nithian so scared? >I have my ideas, among whose the possibility that this Old One is the same one that appeared in WotI and later known as Gareth... Any ideas?? Bruce? Later known as Gareth? Please explain that to me... - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- "Just Glad To Be Here Happy To Be Alive!" Carleton U. Computer Science, Software Email addresses: jduncan2@chat.carleton.ca cq793@freenet.carleton.ca - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 17 Mar 1997 19:00:07 +0100 From: DM Subject: Re: [Mystara] Immortals At 13.48 16/03/97 +0100, you wrote: >According to Bruce Heard the Chuch of Karameikos follows several Immortals. These being Asterius (Head Patron), Valerias, Vania, Kagyar and Ilsundal. The Karameikos boxed set contradicts this claiming that the church is made up by philosophers following Law, Chaos or neutrality. >Haavard R. Faanes The Karameikos boxed set is something that shouldn't have been done, but aside from this, it is very strange that Asterius, Vanya and Ilsuandal are among the revered Immortals of the Church of Karameikos... I think the idea of the clique of Immortals being revered by the so-called Churches of X-Realm is good, but you must pay attention to which Immortals are revered Asterius: why is he the head patron? I would have seen better Halav or maybe Koryis, while Asterius is the head patron of the Church of Darokin (see Gaz5 where this church is mentioned along with the Church of Thyatis) Ilsundal: strange.... DM ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 17 Mar 1997 13:18:45 -0500 (EST) From: TSRBruce@aol.com Subject: Re: [Mystara] Specularum In a message dated 97-03-17 10:04:40 EST, Alekseiev writes: << A question: Why Specularum was renamed to the "traditional" Mirros when it states clearly in GAZ1 that it's old name was Marilenev? >> Some TSR staff members of a different gender (than mine) felt that the word Specularum reminded them too much of a metal device commonly used for medical observation, a thought which made them shiver. Thus the new name... :) Bruce Heard ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 17 Mar 97 13:34:55 EST From: Jody Duncan Subject: Re: [Mystara] Specularum TSRBruce@aol.com writes: >In a message dated 97-03-17 10:04:40 EST, Alekseiev writes: ><< A question: Why Specularum was renamed to the "traditional" Mirros when it sstates clearly in GAZ1 that it's old name was Marilenev? >> >Some TSR staff members of a different gender (than mine) felt that the word Specularum reminded them too much of a metal device commonly used for medical observation, a thought which made them shiver. Thus the new name... :) Ok, but why a *NEW* name rather than re-instating the old one ( namely Marilenev? ) - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- "Just Glad To Be Here Happy To Be Alive!" Carleton U. Computer Science, Software Email addresses: jduncan2@chat.carleton.ca cq793@freenet.carleton.ca - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 17 Mar 1997 14:26:34 -0500 (EST) From: TSRBruce@aol.com Subject: Re: [Mystara] Specularum In a message dated 97-03-17 14:13:59 EST, you write: << Ok, but why a *NEW* name rather than re-instating the old one ( namely Marilenev? ) >> If I remember well, the House of Marilenev is a fallen house. My guess is that the folks who developed the AD&D version figured it would not have made sense to use that name as a result. They just switched names -- without wanting to involve any historical complications. Bear in mind that the AD&D version of Mystara was not intended to really connect with the original D&D world either. These were supposed to be separate campaign worlds -- so in this way, it really does not matter whether it is Specularum or Mirros. Bruce Heard ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 17 Mar 1997 14:36:41 -0500 (EST) From: Mouse Subject: Re: [Mystara] Specularum >A question: Why Specularum was renamed to the "traditional" Mirros when it states clearly in GAZ1 that it's old name was Marilenev? I believe, the now, king Karameikos renamed the city to Mirros as a formal seperation from Thyatis "rule", and also to act as a symbolic representation to the new Karamiekans. The actual name Mirros was chosen because of the mirror like qualities the bay within the capital possess. I also think the reason for not reserecting the older name, Marilenev, was to not bring up past memories. That is to say, "The Marilenev Revolt". (I think that's what it was?) Mouse Life is pain...!! Anyone who says differently is selling something. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 17 Mar 1997 16:57:25 +0500 From: Aron Reif Subject: Re: [Mystara] XP At 05:49 PM 3/17/97 +0200, you wrote: >In my campaign NPCs get half share XP,but one character always try to kill the NPCs at the end of the adventure,because he wants the PCs to get all the XP from the adventure.This thing is getting annoying and I want to stop him from killing my favorite NPCs.Anybody with an idea? Since when is murder worth experience??? If anything, the player should be penalized experience. Remember that the idea is to be a hero. You're supposed to fight the villians, not be the villians. If your players are killing off their Henchmen, don't give them any more. Keep the adventures just as hard, so when they start dying, remind them that they killed off all their allies. Alternatively, you could add some new NPCs that are the same level (or higher) as the PCs, and when it's time for them to be attacked, have them really wallop the PCs. That might teach them a lesson. Aron Reif areif@vt.edu ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 18 Mar 1997 09:02:17 +1000 From: s9406058@bohm.anu.edu.au (Stan) Subject: Re: [Mystara] Mystara map >I have heard that the map of Mystara is basically the map of Middle-Earth upside-down. Dengar is Moria, Alfheim is Mirkwood, Darokin is Rhovanion, Lake Amsorak is Sea of Rhun, and Glantri is Mordor. Anyone know anything about this? Well I hadn't heard that one although the planetary map is similar/the same as Earth at some time which I haven't gotten round to finding exactly yet. Davania is Gondwana, Brun is Laurasia and Skothar is Europe/Baltica etc. Shawn Stanley, Department of Geology, Australian National University. (s9406058@student.anu.edu.au) (http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/5304) ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 17 Mar 1997 15:33:16 -0700 (MST) From: "Cthulhudrew, The Great Old One" Subject: Re: [Mystara] New Alphatian Empire On Sun, 16 Mar 1997, Dave Brohman wrote: >Anyone have any info on the new (post WOTI) Alphatian Empire? The party in the game I am running has just landed on Monster Island (formerly the mountain range in the far west of Alphatia) to find the old Dwarven city of Denwarf-Hurgon to locate a rare mineral that was only mined there (plot device, not canon). There is info on the NACE (New Alphatian Confederated Empire) on, I believe, Herve Musseau's page. Also, lots of info in the PWA's. >Also, does anyone have any info on the city of Denwarf-Hurgon (especially maps) or of any large Dwarven City for that matter? If you have GAZ6, a good option would be to use the maps for the modulated city blocks to piece something together. Since the Dwarves of Denwarf-Hurgon are descendants of Rockhome dwarves, I wouldn't be at all surprised if their constructions were similar. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 17 Mar 1997 15:37:21 -0700 (MST) From: "Cthulhudrew, The Great Old One" Subject: Re: [Mystara] Mystara map On Mon, 17 Mar 1997, Aleksej Andrievskij wrote: >I have heard that the map of Mystara is basically the map of Middle-Earth upside-down. Dengar is Moria, Alfheim is Mirkwood, Darokin is Rhovanion, Lake Amsorak is Sea of Rhun, and Glantri is Mordor. Anyone know anything about this? To my knowledge, this isn't the case. The map of Mystara, IIRC, is based on old maps of earth- Brun is North America, Davania is South America, etc. If the maps of Middle Earth were based on maps of the world (I know Tolkien was trying to create a mythology for England...) then this might explain the similarity. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 17 Mar 1997 15:46:32 -0700 (MST) From: "Cthulhudrew, The Great Old One" Subject: Re: [Mystara] Mystery in Champions of Mystara On Mon, 17 Mar 1997, DM wrote: >I don't know if you recall the Princess Ark episode about the Neh-Thalgghu, but it has always puzzled me for one thing basically. When Haldemar meets the Neh-Thalgghu in the Bayou and asks it about the brains it had collected, at the end it speaks with a distinctive Thothian accent (that is a Nithian wizard's brain) saying: >"It's breached! It's breached! The Old One comes!" There is more about this that is disturbing than his statement, but we'll get to that later... :) >2. the Nithian is referring to the coming of a mysterious Old One (the upper deities that dwell beyond the Vortex), possibly to the one that is mentioned at the end of WotI campaign This is exactly what I believe he is referring to. Recall that for the past I don't know how many episodes, Haldemar has been recieving hints that something big is going to happen on Mystara soon, and will involve Alphatia. The Brain Eater in this episode is a big clue to what is going on. >In the second case: how can a mere mortal know about the existence of Old Ones? How has he managed to know that this Old One is coming? Who is the Old One and why is he coming? Why is the Nithian so scared? The Nithians were powerful people, who had ties with things that most cultures of Mystara have not equalled since. The existence of the Old Ones need not necessarily be completely unknown to mortals- doubtless there are some powerful mortals who have either deduced their existence over time, or else been clued into their possible existence by Immortals. As for his knowledge of the Old One's coming- some sort of precognitive foresight is my guess. Probably part of what drives the Brain Eater insane. Now for the real problem: One of the Neh-Thalggu's brains is that of one of the Glantrian nobles (I can't recall her name offhand- she is the elven one, who had her dominion on the southeastern border). Given that Bruce created the NPC, in GAZ3, that is doubtless where he got the name, however: 1) The Neh-Thalggu is mentioned to have been imprisoned for a long time- I think something like twenty years or so? 2) GAZ3, which has this Baroness still in power, is set in AC 1000. 3) See what I'm getting at...? ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 17 Mar 1997 15:51:55 -0700 (MST) From: "Cthulhudrew, The Great Old One" Subject: Re: [Mystara] PC rulebooks On Mon, 17 Mar 1997, DM wrote: >>Not to mention certain oversights- the Pegataurs are natural spellcasters (as elves), but they can train to become Wokans? And to a level much lower than they could naturally achieve? YYeah, i noticed this one and had to reread it at least 3 times before i figured it out... The main difference is that if they choose to be wicca they can become 12th Wizards, thus gaining more spells (but only at levels above 9th... and they have to earn much more Xps... useless! Definitely a bad flaw in the rules!) Still- I'd think a better idea would be to allow them the possibility of studying with the Treekeepers and reaching higher levels (such as in GAZ5) This was just one example of the bad writing in this supplement. >Does anyone know if Bruce filled this gap in his Dragon articles? Or have you got your own hypothesis about the age cathegories of those critters? Nope. Never 'fixed' this in the Dragon mag articles. I'd probably make the categories similar to the ones in PC3- The Sea People. Use similar rankings to the age categories in there, but of course, the names will be different. And, given the varied nature of the creatures, I don't even think the names would be similar between groups. I'd say that, maybe, the Nagpa, Harpy, and Faenare could have similar names- like, hatchling, etc. (bird type names), but Gremlins and Pegatuars and Sphinxes would have different names. ------------------------------ End of mystara-digest V2 #13 **************************** Date: Tue, 18 Mar 1997 04:32:19 -0600 From: (mystara-digest) To: mystara-digest@lists.io.com Subject: mystara-digest V2 #14 Reply-To: mystara-l@lists.io.com Precedence: bulk X-UIDL: a2b75fe81b78eb4aab8cae0e9c25de43 mystara-digest Tuesday, March 18 1997 Volume 02 : Number 014 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 17 Mar 1997 15:53:56 -0700 (MST) From: "Cthulhudrew, The Great Old One" Subject: Re: [Mystara] Specularum On Mon, 17 Mar 1997 TSRBruce@aol.com wrote: >Some TSR staff members of a different gender (than mine) felt that the word Specularum reminded them too much of a metal device commonly used for medical observation, a thought which made them shiver. Thus the new name... :) Ahhhhh! At long last, the mystery is solved! Political Correctness strikes again... :( I always thought the change was a bit odd. It's still Specularum, as far as I'm concerned. Funny little anecdote, at any rate. :) ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 18 Mar 1997 10:44:31 +1000 From: s9406058@bohm.anu.edu.au (Stan) Subject: Re: [Mystara] Mystara map >>I have heard that the map of Mystara is basically the map of Middle-Earth upside-down. Dengar is Moria, Alfheim is Mirkwood, Darokin is Rhovanion, Lake Amsorak is Sea of Rhun, and Glantri is Mordor. Anyone know anything about this? >To my knowledge, this isn't the case. The map of Mystara, IIRC, is based on old maps of earth- Brun is North America, Davania is South America, etc. You're American aren't you Cthuludrew? Shawn Stanley, Department of Geology, Australian National University. (s9406058@student.anu.edu.au) (http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/5304) ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 17 Mar 1997 16:56:50 -0700 (MST) From: "Cthulhudrew, The Great Old One" Subject: Re: [Mystara] Mystara map On Tue, 18 Mar 1997, Stan wrote: >>To my knowledge, this isn't the case. The map of Mystara, IIRC, is based on old maps of earth- Brun is North America, Davania is South America, etc. >You're American aren't you Cthuludrew? Am I that obvious? :) ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 17 Mar 1997 16:12:34 -0800 (PST) From: David Melik Subject: Re: [Mystara] XP At 05:49 PM 3/17/97 +0200, you wrote: >In my campaign NPCs get half share XP,but one character always try to kill the NPCs at the end of the adventure,because he wants the PCs to get all the XP from the adventure.This thing is getting annoying and I want to stop him from killing my favorite NPCs.Anybody with an idea? My first thought was have the NPC's kill his character, but you may be able to correct the behavior and improve his roleplaying without causing bitterness or frustration, which could make him quit. Just state it to him (privately, long before the game) that he won't get *any* XP from the adventure by killing NPC's The reason he shouldn't get any because it's extremely poor roleplaying which needs a drastic penalty. Now if his *character* has a reason to kill an NPC, like some wizard casts a command spell on him and tells him to, that's a different story - but try to avoid letting him know this for now or he may try to make excuses for killing them. His character doesn't know what the heck XP is (unless he plays Papers & Paychecks, the game about workers and students in an industrialized and technological society, ;) but that's irrelevent...), and doesn't know that he's being played by the player, he thinks he's just a real person that goes adventuring, and that's how he's supposed to be played. It sounds like he thinks he's playing monopoly or something, and needs to learn what roleplaying actually is. If he starts quoting the "rules", inform him of The Rule - the DM decides the *rules*, the books are just *guidelines* for convenience. Just talk to him about it, and hopefully you can get it solved. If he doesn't like what you tell him, then tough, maybe RPG's aren't for him. If worst comes to worst, you could tell him he's not gaming with you anymore. A couple of books that may help you with this, and just about everything else are Role-Playing Mastery, and Master of the Game, by Gary Gygax - great reference books for novice to probably even master gamers. Hope this helps. :) P P l u justice = (free-willed cooperation) * ---------------- centralization^2 David Melik darwin@nwinfo.net ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 17 Mar 1997 16:12:42 -0800 (PST) From: David Melik Subject: Re: [Mystara] Specularum At 02:26 PM 3/17/97 -0500, you wrote: >In a message dated 97-03-17 14:13:59 EST, you write: ><< Ok, but why a *NEW* name rather than re-instating the old one ( >namely Marilenev? ) >> >If I remember well, the House of Marilenev is a fallen house. My guess is that the folks who developed the AD&D version figured it would not have made sense to use that name as a result. They just switched names -- without wanting to involve any historical complications. Bear in mind that the AD&D version of Mystara was not intended to really connect with the original D&D world either. These were supposed to be separate campaign worlds -- so in this way, it really does not matter whether it is Specularum or Mirros. That's strange that they were supposed to be different worlds because in the Geographic Overview of the PWA III, which was AD&D, it says to refer to many OD&D products for more info on the areas... perhaps the folks who developed it intended that they are separate so they wouldn't have to look back through lots of previous stuff to ensure continuity. Oh well, the OD&D is better anyway so I'm not complaining. P P l u justice = (free-willed cooperation) * ---------------- centralization^2 David Melik darwin@nwinfo.net ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 17 Mar 1997 19:15:15 -0800 (PST) From: David Melik Subject: Re: [Mystara] Penhaligon Trilogy At 12:35 PM 3/16/97 -0700, you wrote: >Looking back in GAZ1, I noticed something strange. When they wrote the AD&D Boxed set, they copied the description of Penhaligon almost word for word. In GAZ1, Arteris is said to have been the ruler since her father's death four years ago, which sets his death in 996, rather than 1008! Soon after Arteris takes the throne (around 1000 AC), the events of B11 and B12 take place in and near Penhaligon. IMO, these should be rectified by 1001, and Arteris establishes her order of knights after that (before this, they were simply the loyal fighters of the estate). Penhaligon should slowly grow, and the >story should simply be altered so that it can occur around 1015. Remember, the >characters in the story have a long tradition in the knighthood, and Joanna heard stories about Fain Flinn in Specularum in her childhood, so the books can't be too early. Arteris is 29 in GAZ1, and the books portray her as middle-aged, so it seems that she should be at least in her forties. I think you are also underestimating the changes that the trilogy brings about in the world, so it >should be later than the PWAs. Well what a pity, maybe my speculation about why D&D and AD&D Mystara is different has more merit than I thought - or maybe it was executives not giving creators the time to do their research. Oh well not like it makes any difference now. I thought her father Arturus might have been baron in GAZ1, but I haven't got it (thanks to some r.g.frp auctioneers who didn't say when the auction was over.) so thanks for clearing this up. You're probably right about the changes if you remember them enough to say that. It sounds like it still could happen in late WoTI, but do you think maybe it's a close one? Perhaps it has no general acceptable explanation. IMO it's just one of those debatable things. What I was trying to do was fit it in before AC1012 because it came out before AD&D Mystara. >>What do you mean about Diamond? If it's something in the 3rd book don't tell me since I haven't got around to reading it yet... YYeah, it's in Dragonmage (which is a really a great book overall; you should read it) Well I know I'll get a chance to do so after we finish MOrient. ;) P P l u justice = (free-willed cooperation) * ---------------- centralization^2 David Melik darwin@nwinfo.net ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 17 Mar 1997 19:15:21 -0800 (PST) From: David Melik Subject: Re: [Mystara] Penhaligon Trilogy At 09:43 PM 3/16/97 -0500, you wrote: >David, >I read the Pen. trilogy myself and thought they were pretty good stories. You are correct in saying they weren't that well written, but oh well, no one is perfect! I do have a complaint though. You said, "I don't see why this can't be considered canon. It is published by TSR after all, come on." Were you being facetious? IMO, a lot of the TSR stuff is kinda, well, dumb. Just because TSR made it, it shouldn't be considered canon. It's kind of like the discussion as to go with the old module storylines or the newer GAZ story lines. You can choose one or the other, try to mix them, or just make your own story. If everything TSR put out is considered canon then we all have headaches trying to consolidate the information!!! >My two cents, >Necromancer Well, I wasn't being facetious, I liked the stories, and even more just because they were the only Mystara novels out at the time. That's basically why I said it. Also, from my research it seemed like maybe they could be fit in. It's been a long time since the last discussion on this, but I think I recall someone really not liking the stories and saying they couldn't be considered canon (if this is true then they're entitled to their opinion of course.) Since I enjoyed the trilogy I wanted to disagree. You're very correct about some of the stuff TSR makes. Actually I think what you said was an understatement until recently. I think much of the early 90's stuff really sucked. That may not be nice to say but it's sad but true. Finally, with the Savage Coast and the new optional rules, etc., there's some really good stuff coming out again. I don't totally agree with what you mean about canon though. I think generally TSR stuff is canon. However, maybe it's just hard to define, and even pointless, because canon stuff sometimes contradicts itself, for example sources cited in the Wendar discussion, and what you said. Anyone know what canon Mystara stuff really is? P P l u justice = (free-willed cooperation) * ---------------- centralization^2 David Melik darwin@nwinfo.net ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 17 Mar 1997 19:15:27 -0800 (PST) From: David Melik Subject: Re: [Mystara] Top 3 & Worst 3 >Ok ok, i do see your point... i was only trying to limit to the Known World cause i surmise it's the most used setting, but you can quote anything you like about Mystara... OK? ;) When I said it might be hard to fill the 3 worst things list without AD&D it was sort of a joke. ;) I don't know what many people often use, but I use OD&D Mystara of not just the Known World but many settings *way* more than AD&D. I did see people posting ones from outside of the Known World and thought I should post my 2 Kopec's worth. I don't know if you're making a list or not but if so, and what I said appeared to be more than that, remember it's up to you. P P l u justice = (free-willed cooperation) * ---------------- centralization^2 David Melik darwin@nwinfo.net ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 17 Mar 1997 19:15:32 -0800 (PST) From: David Melik Subject: Re: [Mystara] Mystery in Champions of Mystara At 06:50 PM 3/17/97 +0100, you wrote: >I don't know if you recall the Princess Ark episode about the Neh-Thalgghu, but it has always puzzled me for one thing basically. When Haldemar meets the Neh-Thalgghu in the Bayou and asks it about the brains it had collected, at the end it speaks with a distinctive Thothian accent (that is a Nithian wizard's brain) saying: >"It's breached! It's breached! The Old One comes!" Now, i made 2 hypothesis >1. the Nithian is referring to something or someone that is not what we know as the Old Ones >2. the Nithian is referring to the coming of a mysterious Old One (the upper deities that dwell beyond the Vortex), possibly to the one that is mentioned at the end of WotI campaign >In the first case: what is exactly the Old One the Nithian is referring to and what comes with him? Why is the Nithian so frightened? >In the second case: how can a mere mortal know about the existence of Old Ones? How has he managed to know that this Old One is coming? Who is the Old One and why is he coming? Why is the Nithian so scared? >I have my ideas, among whose the possibility that this Old One is the same one that appeared in WotI and later known as Gareth... Any ideas?? Bruce? I haven't read that article but here's what I suddenly thought of. "Breach" could be a breach in the hull of their ship (since this is dealing with airships, right?) Maybe the Neh-Thalgghu is the "Old One" referred to, just as it makes a hole in their ship with spells or its bite. Oops, now I realize he doesn't necessarily say that before the brain collector kills him. Still, mortals knowing about Old Ones, or immortals saying that on the Prime Plane, or Old Ones appearing and the immortal knowing it, this whole thing, etc., seems rather far-fetched. Well, something like that happened in the WoTI adventure so maybe not. I guess I'd have to read the article, but I think it does refer to Old Ones then. This is very intriguing... Not that it says anywhere that immortals won't talk about Old Ones to mortals (just sort of a general guess), but maybe whoever he was talking to was/were immortal(s) also. Who else would know what an Old One is or care that it is coming, to the degree that there is an exclamation point on the end. My guess is certainly not a mere mortal... P P l u justice = (free-willed cooperation) * ---------------- centralization^2 David Melik darwin@nwinfo.net ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 17 Mar 1997 19:15:39 -0800 (PST) From: David Melik Subject: Re: [Mystara] some Wendar ideas (long) At 04:27 PM 3/16/97 +1000, you wrote: >>Here's a few ways you could resolve the timeline, and other stuff. Shapechange into an elf and permanence for example, potions of longevity, 10th level magic. Stuff like this happens, and it seems like a pretty epic place where it would, especially if Gylharen is a "Wizard-King." Maybe the Elvenstar changes people into elves, or maybe it makes them live longer. Maybe it's an artifact. >Hey that is actually a really good idea. I've always considered the Elvenstar and immortal artifact and those things always have side effects, don't they? Becoming an elf and having the associated longevity may be one of those side effects. Hey, Bensarian had the Elvenstar for a while and he even has "elf-blood" according to X11 and longevity to boot. Even though the module sort of explains away how Besnarian got his longevity it doesn't actually say how the elves of Geffron did it, perhaps his getting the Elvenstar was how it happened. Of course then the only change that would need to be made would be Gylharen's year of birth. But the year given may be just his apparent year of birth as an elf or the Elvenstar could have acutally changed him into an elf who for all intense purposes was born in that year. Pretty good suggestion there, neat. Thanks, and I hope they're useful. It sounds like it is, but I'd have to read up on this or go back over your post, maybe I will. Besides X11 & 13, PWA III is the other source, correct? Artifacts have side effects, yes, but they're generally baneificial, aren't they? The shapechange could be a side effect but the longevity is more of a helpful thing so it should be one of its powers. I don't know if a power of this potency would be okay for an artifact really. One would have to read about it. Well maybe it is, Empress Eriadna and/or other people kept themself young for a long time with potions of longevity didn't they? But maybe that doesn't justify it, for after all, an artifact should be considered more permanent than a mortal with a continuously extended life, it might unbalance the game or not seem real enough even for fantasy. I guess if this is to be used it needs some more thinking and discussion, and research too. >>Actually, I think Gylharen should be an elf, or at least changed into one. Or it could have been a plot of his to become an elf so he could be the king. Even heroes shouldn't be perfect after all. If Wendar is an elf nation, it only makes sense to have an elf as the king. Why would they let a mere human rule them? Not that they hate humans, but this strikes me as being a Lord of the Rings type place where elves would have their very *own* nation. >Well, the population _is_ 50% elves and 50% humans. Ok then, that rules everything but a possible plot out. >Your probably just thinking of LOR because of the capital of Denagoth being Gereth Minar, I have to admit that one name (and all the different elves in the story, I mean the Wendar elves, the elves from Geffron, the elves of the Lothenar forest - sheesh) always gave me a really Tolkienesque feel to Wendar and Denagoth. I got the same feeling a little before I read about the elves I think, probably because of Gereth Minar as you say. I like this setting a lot! >>I like elves anyway. (Which is why I went off on elves above. :) ) >Hmmm, Tolien didn't quiet leave me with that feeling. Me neither, but Wendy & Richard Pini's ElfQuest sure left me with that feeling! >>As for the details of >>the timeline itself, it seems very confusing, but it looks like you're doing a great job. I agree, Landryn Teriak should be dead, a really powerful villain of exalted status would be better, more on par with Sauron, you know. >I'm glad someone else agrees that Landryn was a bit wimpy. I think Bensarian just talked him up a bit too much. I was sort of disappointed with him actually. Here they had this great Tolkienesque place, and if I recall the storyline was somewhat epic. And then there's this not-so-great villain behind it all, and the heroes actually get to face him and even kill him. Of course, I should say, he's *supposedly* behind it all... >>Of course Landryn Teriak could have been one of the many henchman or pawns of the real villain's schemes. >Well from what the PWAs indicate (by saying that there is rumour of the Shadow Lord still in power) that does leave a lot of room for some other villian to take over the reigns of the misnamed Denagoth. Maybe this villian can even make the misnamed Denagoth, really Denagoth. Maybe it's really THE Shadow Lord, and Landryn was an impostor or a fake, like the humanoid that is paid to pretend he's Jabba the Hutt in the old Star Wars movie comics and Tales from Jabba's palace, if you know what I mean. Or he could be some wannabe, or another fake. Were you thinking of doing something with that him in the actual timeline or is that some speculation? Could you elaborate on Denagoth? It's actually misnamed? P P l u justice = (free-willed cooperation) * ---------------- centralization^2 David Melik darwin@nwinfo.net ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 17 Mar 1997 19:15:48 -0800 (PST) From: David Melik Subject: [Mystara] Re: Conquer of Alfheim At 08:30 PM 3/16/97 +0100, you wrote: >At 13.03 14/03/97 +0200, you wrote: >>Hello Mystarafans, >>I am playing my campaign in the year of 1007. Alheim is conquered shortly ago. My PC want to free Alfheim, because most of them are Elves. Now I have some questions: >>1. I 've read, that the trees of the forest attacked the elves of Alfheim. is it true and if it is true, how long are they affected by this Spell. 2. I 've read, the forest is dying, too. How long has the forest to live? 3. I 've heard, there is one livetree left. Is it true? 4. How is the opinion of the expellee? Would they go back, if they have a strong ruler, or have they sworn never come back? 5. How is the opinion of the governments of the neighborhood about the conquer. >>I hope that someone can answer my questions. IIIn sicerely Kostarsus >Me and Herve wrote a complete timeline of the Alfheim Invasion, you can find Herve's homepage: http://www.esiee.fr/~musseauh or I can send you a copy (it's a .doc file, quite long). Is there anything there about after the invasion or PWAs BTW? Date: Tue, 18 Mar 1997 04:32:19 -0600 From: (mystara-digest) To: mystara-digest@lists.io.com Subject: mystara-digest V2 #14 Reply-To: mystara-l@lists.io.com Precedence: bulk X-UIDL: a2b75fe81b78eb4aab8cae0e9c25de43 Speaking of elves, there's elves in MOrient of course. I'm just wondering where would be the best place to find out how to make their history mesh with previous elven history (Very sadly, I don't have the Alfheim GAZ :( ). Is it on Herve's page or would I have to search something like DoE/HW/Daniel Boese's timeline? I just posted this to the list because I don't know if we have any elven history experts in the MOrient team, and maybe we'll should ask questions. I like elves a whole lot and I'd like to make sure we do a real good job on MOriental elves. P P l u justice = (free-willed cooperation) * ---------------- centralization^2 David Melik darwin@nwinfo.net ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 18 Mar 1997 15:28:31 +1000 From: s9406058@bohm.anu.edu.au (Stan) Subject: Re: [Mystara] some Wendar ideas (long) >Thanks, and I hope they're useful. It sounds like it is, but I'd have to read up on this or go back over your post, maybe I will. Besides X11 & 13, PWA III is the other source, correct? Yeah, they're the only sources for Wendar and Denagoth, with X13 even being a remote source. >Artifacts have side effects, yes, but they're generally baneificial, aren't they? Baneificial - is that a word? >The shapechange could be a side effect but the longevity is more of a helpful thing so it should be one of its powers. Well longevity may not necessarily be a good thing. >I don't know if a power of >this potency would be okay for an artifact really. One would have to read about it. Well maybe it is, Empress Eriadna and/or other people kept themself young for a long time with potions of longevity didn't they? But maybe that doesn't justify it, for after all, an artifact should be considered more permanent than a mortal with a continuously extended life, it might unbalance the game or not seem real enough even for fantasy. I guess if this is to be used it needs some more thinking and discussion, and research too. I agree with you in terms of looking into the possible repercussions of making longevity a side effect of the Elvenstar. But then again maybe it doesn't even after give longevity - I don't know why I thought of that in the first place - why it had to. >>I'm glad someone else agrees that Landryn was a bit wimpy. I think Bensarian just talked him up a bit too much. >I was sort of disappointed with him actually. Here they had this great Tolkienesque place, and if I recall the storyline was somewhat epic. And then there's this not-so-great villain behind it all, and the heroes actually get to face him and even kill him. Of course, I should say, he's *supposedly* behind it all... Well yeah, I guess someone had to give him that Wish spell that he used to extricate himself from the heroes at the end of the first part of the adventure (since I'm going off memory I hope it doesn't say how he came across the wish spell) >>>Of course Landryn Teriak could have been one of the many henchman or pawns of the real villain's schemes. >>Well from what the PWAs indicate (by saying that there is rumour of the Shadow Lord still in power) that does leave a lot of room for some other villian to take over the reigns of the misnamed Denagoth. Maybe this villian can even make the misnamed Denagoth, really Denagoth. >Maybe it's really THE Shadow Lord, and Landryn was an impostor or a fake, like the humanoid that is paid to pretend he's Jabba the Hutt in the old Star Wars movie comics and Tales from Jabba's palace, if you know what I mean. No, haven't seen the movie yet or read the comics etc. >Or he could be some wannabe, or another fake. Were you thinking of doing something with that him in the actual timeline or is that some speculation? Well I was originally offering that piece of evidence from the PWAs to indicate that maybe X11 takes place after AC 1012. Of course since the rumours could be false or as you say another person could be filling Landryns shoes then it really depends upon which of these two paths that I choose to go down. >Could you elaborate on Denagoth? It's actually misnamed? Well maybe not misnamed but the map even as given in X11 is wrong. In the module you have as part of "Denagoth" Denagoth Essuria the Plains of Avien - which appear to be different from the above two* Lothenar Forest - which seems to have been a separate entitiy but by the time of the module appears to have been invaded by orcs with all the elves fleeing. Forest of Geffron - which blends to the east into Essuria the region around the village of Geron - which is probably part of Denagoth, which would mean that Lothenar Forest would have to be as well the mountains surrounding the plateau - which would really just end up remaining unclaimed really. the unknown area to the north of the map - don't know what to do with this really. * in the module it states that when Landryn was fleeing from Drax Tallen that "he fled from Essuria across the Plains of Avien to Denagoth" - it sorts of insinuates that Denagoth isn't as large as it should be. Shawn Stanley, Department of Geology, Australian National University. (s9406058@student.anu.edu.au) (http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/5304) ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 17 Mar 1997 23:43:44 -0500 From: necromancer@vabch.com Subject: Re: [Mystara] XP MY>Since when is murder worth experience??? If anything, the player should be MY>penalized experience. Remember that the idea is to be a hero. You're MY>supposed to fight the villians, not be the villians. If your players are MY>killing off their Henchmen, don't give them any more. Keep the adventures MY>just as hard, so when they start dying, remind them that they killed off all MY>their allies. Alternatively, you could add some new NPCs that are the same MY>level (or higher) as the PCs, and when it's time for them to be attacked, MY>have them really wallop the PCs. That might teach them a lesson. MY>Aron Reif MY>areif@vt.edu Not all players play "good-guys", hence the evil alignments. Necromancer ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 18 Mar 1997 00:06:04 -0500 From: necromancer@vabch.com Subject: Re: [Mystara] Penhaligon Trilogy MY>At 09:43 PM 3/16/97 -0500, you wrote: MY>>David, MY>>I read the Pen. trilogy myself and thought they were pretty good MY>>stories. You are correct in saying they weren't that well written, but MY>>oh well, no one is perfect! I do have a complaint though. You said, MY>>"I don't see why this can't be considered canon. It is published by TSR MY>>after all, come on." Were you being facetious? IMO, a lot of the TSR MY>>stuff is kinda, well, dumb. Just because TSR made it, it shouldn't be MY>>considered canon. It's kind of like the discussion as to go with the MY>>old module storylines or the newer GAZ story lines. You can choose one MY>>or the other, try to mix them, or just make your own story. If MY>>everything TSR put out is considered canon then we all have headaches MY>>trying to consolidate the information!!! MY>> MY>>My two cents, MY>>Necromancer MY>> MY>Well, I wasn't being facetious, I liked the stories, and even more just MY>because they were the only Mystara novels out at the time. That's basically MY>why I said it. Also, from my research it seemed like maybe they could be MY>fit in. It's been a long time since the last discussion on this, but I MY>think I recall someone really not liking the stories and saying they MY>couldn't be considered canon (if this is true then they're entitled to their MY>opinion of course.) Since I enjoyed the trilogy I wanted to disagree. MY>You're very correct about some of the stuff TSR makes. Actually I think MY>what you said was an understatement until recently. I think much of the MY>early 90's stuff really sucked. That may not be nice to say but it's sad MY>but true. Finally, with the Savage Coast and the new optional rules, etc., MY>there's some really good stuff coming out again. MY>I don't totally agree with what you mean about canon though. I think MY>generally TSR stuff is canon. However, maybe it's just hard to define, and MY>even pointless, because canon stuff sometimes contradicts itself, for MY>example sources cited in the Wendar discussion, and what you said. Anyone MY>know what canon Mystara stuff really is? MY> P P MY> l u MY>justice = (free-willed cooperation) * ---------------- MY> centralization^2 MY>David Melik MY>darwin@nwinfo.net Very true, very true. I haven't bought much from TSR since the early 90's. I prefer the old-skool stuff myself. Necromancer ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 18 Mar 1997 00:39:22 EST From: nbamba@juno.com (Nicholas C Bambakidis) Subject: Re: [Mystara] New Alphatian Empire >>Also, does anyone have any info on the city of Denwarf-Hurgon ((especially >>maps) or of any large Dwarven City for that matter? >If you have GAZ6, a good option would be to use the maps for the modulated city blocks to piece something together. Since the Dwarves of >Denwarf-Hurgon are descendants of Rockhome dwarves, I wouldn't be at all >surprised if their constructions were similar. The Dragon Mountain AD&D boxed set (a very good dungeon adventure, by the way) is in fact an old dwarven citadel and city overrun with monsters. YOu could use it as an alternative if you have access to it. N. Bambakidis ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 18 Mar 1997 03:32:36 -0500 (EST) From: Kaviyd@aol.com Subject: Re: [Mystara] XP In a message dated 97-03-17 11:32:05 EST, you write: << In my campaign NPCs get half share XP,but one character always try to kill the NPCs at the end of the adventure,because he wants the PCs to get all the XP from the adventure.This thing is getting annoying and I want to stop him from killing my favorite NPCs.Anybody with an idea? >> First off -- for such purposes I would impose a rule that dead characters get a full share of XPs, thus eliminating that motive (although the treasure motive would remain). Second -- award no XPs for killing anyone or anything without reason. Third -- What is this character's alignment? There might be some penalties that are appropriate here. Fourth -- NPCs will talk. If this character generally fails in his attempts to kill the NPCs, they might go find some buddies and come back after this character. Depending on how you "read" the other player characters, they might even try to recruit other player characters to help them -- but that is only if they have shown enough discomfort with what this other character is doing that it is plausible for them to help with such a plan. Otherwise, they become extra targets for the "hit squad". On the other hand, if most of these killing attempts succeed, others will start to notice that a certain party keeps losing their hirelings. Before long, nobody will wish to join them any more. Finally -- I recall reading a thread a while back about a DM who introduced NPCs that his players absolutely hated. Do your players have the option of telling your NPCs, "No thanks, we don't want you along"? If you provide that bit of realism, it might be easier to persuade the players to treat the NPCs as though they were people. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 18 Mar 1997 03:41:13 -0500 (EST) From: Kaviyd@aol.com Subject: Re: [Mystara] Re: Conquer of Alfheim In a message dated 97-03-17 22:22:17 EST, darwin@nwinfo.net (David Melik) writes: << Speaking of elves, there's elves in MOrient of course. I'm just wondering where would be the best place to find out how to make their history mesh with previous elven history (Very sadly, I don't have the Alfheim GAZ :( ). Is it on Herve's page or would I have to search something like DoE/HW/Daniel Boese's timeline? I just posted this to the list because I don't know if we have any elven history experts in the MOrient team, and maybe we'll should ask questions. I like elves a whole lot and I'd like to make sure we do a real good job on MOriental elves. >> Nothing in "Elves of Alfheim" mentions anything about Elves on the continent of Skothar. My guess is that any such Elves would be unrelated to the Alfheim Elves -- perhaps they are distant relatives of the Shiye Lawr Elves of Alphatia? In any case, they probably have some similarities to the "Spirit Folk" of "Oriental Adventures". Now -- if somebody on the MOrient team has access to whatever legends these "Spirit Folk" are based on, we can really do some great things in describing them. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 18 Mar 1997 10:21:06 +0000 From: DM Subject: Re: [Mystara] Mystery in Champions of Mystara At 15.46 17/03/97 -0700, you wrote: >Now for the real problem: >One of the Neh-Thalggu's brains is that of one of the Glantrian nobles (I can't recall her name offhand- she is the elven one, who had her dominion on the southeastern border). Given that Bruce created the NPC, in GAZ3, that is doubtless where he got the name, however: Her name is Aliana Nyraviel, Countess of Soth-Kabree (this one i know by memory) >1) The Neh-Thalggu is mentioned to have been imprisoned for a long time- I think something like twenty years or so? >2) GAZ3, which has this Baroness still in power, is set in AC 1000. >3) See what I'm getting at...? Yes, i do see this point... and actually that's one of the other problems i was trying to solve about that episode. Well, i assume that probably the Countess has been replaced by a relative and since she was not pivotal in the Glantri campaign, nobody mentioned the fact. What do you say Bruce? DM ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 18 Mar 1997 10:32:27 +0000 From: DM Subject: [Mystara] Elves on Skothar At 19.15 17/03/97 -0800, you wrote: >Speaking of elves, there's elves in MOrient of course. I'm just wondering where would be the best place to find out how to make their history mesh with previous elven history (Very sadly, I don't have the Alfheim GAZ :( ). Is it on Herve's page or would I have to search something like DoE/HW/Daniel Boese's timeline? I just posted this to the list because I don't know if we have any elven history experts in the MOrient team, and maybe we'll should ask questions. I like elves a whole lot and I'd like to make sure we do a real good job on MOriental elves. >David Melik Well, it's a pity you don't have gaz5, but if you're really interested i think u can get it at dragontrove site (order by e-mail). The other opportunity is to ask someone about the details you're interested about... me for example! I am not a sage in elven matters, but i happen to own everything that talks about elves (the solo adventure O1 too!!!), so feel free to ask. About the topic of elves on Skothar, i think you have two possible explanations: 1. they are descendants of the e'aar, the winged elves (Skothar is not that far from Immortals' Arm, if geography is not an opinion and Mystara is not flat). I don't know if you planned the elves to be winged ones, but this is the first hypothesis, members of an expedition party to find a long lost artifact or something else that lost contact with the e'aar fatherland and decided to settle in Skothar 2. they are descendants of the sylvan elves (elves from the Sylvan Realm), that fled across the sea instead of using Mealiden's RAinbow Path when the forces of Moorkroft overthrew the realm. Other possibility is that they fled from the Sylvan Realm because their leader did not get along with Ilsundal and so his clan moved to another region (across the sea) to find the lost brethern who had settled near Blackmoor or for other reasons. 3. elves coming from another dimension or reality or plane. In this case on Skothar (as opposite to the rest of Mystara), elves and humans could breed the fabled half-elves, that cannot be breed normally by Mystaran elves and Mystaran humans (according to Gaz5) these are my hypothesis, feel free to reply me personally at dalmonte@dsc.unibo.it DM ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 18 Mar 1997 10:40:43 +0000 From: DM Subject: [Mystara] X13 and Vestland if u look at page 86 of PWA1: AC1010, at the end of the Vestland entry you'll find this line: "The present king, Harald Gudmundson, was also known by thyatian hystorians as Prince Tenitar, son of the late king Maramet, during his youth some 35 years ago" This settles the matter about X13, IHMO. Only one thing i would rather point out: Maramet: this sounds more as an Arabian/Turkish name than a Northern one Gudmundson: according to Norse (Northern reaches) tradition, the male takes his name from the father's surname + the suffix -son. It should then be "Marametson" and not "Gudmundson", unless the thyatian hystorians changed also the father's name from Gudmund to Maramet DM ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 18 Mar 1997 11:33:22 +0000 From: DM Subject: [Mystara] Wendar and Denagoth History (long) The problems are many, and i will treat them one by one. First of all, X11 time frame. X11 (the first official supplement about Wendar and Denagoth) says that Bensarian gave Gylharen the Elvenstar "about 30 years before the events depicted in the module" (in order to stop the first attempted invasion of Wendar by Landryn Teriak), so this makes us infer that the Kingdom of Wendar has been existing only for 30 years. PWAs says that (PWA1 page 88):"Wendar truly became a nation about 200 years ago, when a sympathetic sage named Bensarian gave the Immortal artifact known as the Elvenstar to an elf-mage and town leader named Gylharen", and that means that Wendar has been founded around AC 810 But then, PWAs talking about Gylharen report that (PWA1 page 141): "Around the year 900, the mysterious mage named Bensarian bestowed upon Gylharen the Elvenstar [...]" and this is puzzling, since it openly contradicts what is written in the same supplement (and in those coming after) only some 80 pages before. Therefore, we are left with x possible solutions: 1. Bensarian gave the Elvenstar to Gylharen in AC 810, and the events depicted in X11 took place in AC 840 (30 years after Gylharen received the Elvenstar, as the module says) 2. Bensarian gave the Elvenstar to Gylharen in AC 810, and the events depicted in X11 took place in modern days Wendar (the reference to the "30 years of reign" in X11 was just a flaw) 3. Bensarian gave the Elvenstar to Gylharen in AC 900, and so everything written about Wendar, Denagoth and these NPCs is a fake, since no data seem to be similar. Personally, i tend to refuse the third hypothesis, and so we're left with the first 2. If the first is true, then the voices about the modern days Shadow Lord are either a fake (a legend spread by orcs or other darklords of the Denagoth region) or the truth, and in this case Landryn Teriak must be a LICH! (something nobody seemed to have taken into consideration) If the second one is the truth, then i would place the events depicted in X11 around 1000 to 1005 (i played it in AC 1001). Second Part: the History of the Region X11 tells us that Wendar is inhabited by elves who have no ties to Alfheim elves, and humans from the Norwold region. Now, the presence of the humans dates back to the Antalians, who i think moved beyond the Mongul Mountains to escape Nithian overlords that were conquering their lands (around BC 1500-1000). As for the elves, PWAs suggest they could be descendants of the elves that lived near Blackmoor and that they survived the Rain of Fire, returning then to stone age and forgetting this early part of their history. I think this is not the case. If you look at GAZ5, at the map depicting Ilsundal's migration from Davania to Brun, you'll see that he passes near Glantri, and this is also reported in the history section of Glantri, Alfheim and Hollow World supplements, around BC 2200. What i think it really happened is this: a clan of these elves settled in Glantri (and later was forced to flee into the underground caverns when the Blackmoor device left in the Broken Lands exploded), whereas other 3 clans parted from Ilsundal and settled in Wendar and Denagoth (one in Wendar, one in the Forest of Lothenar and the third one in the Great Forest of Geffron). These clans survived the Glantri catastrophe and the Wendar elves eventually merged with the humans that later came to this region from the east (the Antalians). Now, let's talk about Denagoth. As hinted in X11, the oldest realm in Denagoth is Essuria, which has been founded by Nebunar many years ago (date unknown). Then X11 tells us that Essuria went through the reign of 9 kings (the last one being Landryn Teriak, whose rule eventually brought the downfall of Essuria, which is no more a united kingdom nowadays), so presuming each king ruled for about 20-25 years, this means that Essuria existed for about 200 years, and since Teriak tried to conquer Wendar for the first time after his downfall (in AC 810 -see above), this means that Essuria must have been founded around AC 550 or 600. And that's all for now about history. I hope this helps somebody. DM ------------------------------ End of mystara-digest V2 #14 **************************** Date: Tue, 18 Mar 1997 18:28:04 -0600 From: (mystara-digest) To: mystara-digest@lists.io.com Subject: mystara-digest V2 #15 Reply-To: mystara-l@lists.io.com Precedence: bulk X-UIDL: f45a9dfc42c2ea716b1f02b5f5f696fc Status: RO mystara-digest Tuesday, March 18 1997 Volume 02 : Number 015 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 18 Mar 1997 11:49:12 +0000 From: DM Subject: [Mystara] Gylharen Let's talk about this mysterious figure. X11 says in one line that he is "an old man", but in PWAs he is referred as a Wizard King and an elf, born in AC 679. Now what is the truth? That's my view: Gylharen was born in AC 679 as a human and then he began to study the arcane arts of magic (maybe under the guidance of Bensarian of Kevar), becoming an experienced wizard and later a town leader. He extended his life with some potions of Longevity, reaching the age of 130 (apparent age 80), until Landryn Teriak attempted to invade Wendar with his hordes in AC 809. At that time, Bensarian bestowed upon him the Elvenstar to protect Wendar, and he used it wisely and effectively to repel the hordes and to found the Elven Kingdom of Wendar (AC 810). Unfortunately, since the Elvenstar was an Immortal arifact, it carried with it some handicaps and penalties (see Master set and WotI), and one of those was to slowly change the user of the Elvenstar into an elf after a certain period! So, when the adventure X11 took place (AC 830), he was still an old man (apparent age 80), and he was turned into a veritable elf in AC 850!! This explains perfectly what is written both in PWAs and in X11, IMHO. Also, bear in mind that Gylharen was a powerful wizard (maybe 14th level), and when he was turned into an elf i think he became an elf-mage (see Gaz5) of maybe 11th level, and today (AC 1010-13) he is probably 15th level in power. Satisfied? DM ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 18 Mar 1997 12:46:49 +0000 From: DM Subject: [Mystara] Landryn Teriak (long) File 2 about the main personalities in the Wendar-Denagoth region Landryn is the last of the Essurian Kings, the one who caused the downfall of the kingdom. After he fled Drax Tallen when the invading barbarians where conquering it, he run across the Plains of Avien pursued by a gold dragon, until it finally roasted the wizard, leaving his corpse rotting under the sun. Then a goodhearted fellow came upon his corpse, and fo no obvious reason he Raised Teriak from the dead. The mage immediately thanked him using a Magic Jar to transfer the priest into his burned body, while he took the cleric's healthy one and slayed the priest soon after. Then he traveled throughout Denagoth until he rallied enough humanoids to form a horde, and he ruled them from Gereth Minar, beyond the Forest of Lothenar. But he discovered then that a curse was upon him (maybe the dying cleric or his patron) and that his body was slowly rotting away. So he did a lot of research in the next years and discovered that the Elvenstar had curing properties and he arranged a plan to steal it from Gylharen, taking advantage of this to also conquer Wendar (AC 830 -this is when X11 should be staged). Unfortunately, some heroes thwarted his plan and he was then transformed into the Lord of Lost Souls, retreating back into Denagoth. Now, that's what i think is happening now: X11 depicted Teriak as a 10th level wizard, but i think it's impossible that a puny 10th lvl wizard could become the head of such a great horde of humanoids (about 2.000 as it's hinted in the first part of the adventure). So i think this could have happened: when he fled from Essuria he was 10th level, but then he was raised and traveled for 30 years throughout Denagoth, and by the time he attempted to invade Wendar he had raised to 20th level. So, when he finally was defeated by the adventurers and teleported to Drax Tallen, he became an undead because of the curse... and which kind of undead do you think he has become? A 20-21th level wizard very evil... c'mon! A LICH! X11 described his undead status as nothing more than a spectre or wraith, but this was due to his low level: now that i've assumed he was 20th level it's obvious he should have become a Lich. And now the present days Obviously, Teriak is the Shadow Lord and he is powerful indeed (about 22th-30th level -for more info on Liches and how they can gain levels see "Van Richten's Guide to the Lich": the BEST for this kinda guys)! What i did when i played X11 in 1001 with my PCs was to adjust the statistics for the bad guys (Teriak became a 22th lvl lich mage, Gevren a 13th lvl warrior and Camla a 10th lvl priest), and not suprisingly they failed the first part(average 10th level PCs, full of magical stuff and experienced, but still 10 levels less than the Bad Guy). How did i run the adventure? Simple: X11 took place in AC 830, but after 170 years of planning, Teriak decided to try again his masterplan, while searching for the Black Staff in the meantime (he had discovered about it during his magical researches in these years), so what i did is to restage the invasion, but to power it up a bit. He had retaken Gereth Minar from the barbarians and settled there: everything is in the right place! The first group failed in the spring of 1001, but then one of the survivors parted from the group and after rallying a few of his former friends (he had been member of 2 companies), he returned there to oppose Teriak's plans and free Wendar (which has been conquered in the coming months). By summer AC 1001, half of Wendar was conquered, and the resistant forces were stationed along the Oakwall-Woodgate line, with the orcs and ogres raiding the other part of Wendar and trying to breach into the defenses organized by Gylharen (who fled to Oakwall). I am about to play this adventure, but i will try to make it end in favour of Wendar, so that even if Teriak is slayed or defeated he won't be dead (his life essence returns into his philactery in Drax Tallen and he will raise again one day!) and Wendar will become a free nation again by the end of 1002 (and this will also explain why it didn't side with its ally, Glantri, in the WotI: Gylharen had to reshape it after the war and couldn't afford to send troops outside. Hope this helps. Look for file 3: Bensarian of Kevar DM PS: do you still think Teriak is a puny insignificant villain now? ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 18 Mar 1997 14:12:25 +0200 (EET) From: Aleksej Andrievskij Subject: Re: [Mystara] XP On Mon, 17 Mar 1997, Georgios Dimitrios Milonas wrote: >In my campaign NPCs get half share XP,but one character always try to kill the NPCs at the end of the adventure,because he wants the PCs to get all the XP from the adventure.This thing is getting annoying and I want to stop him from killing my favorite NPCs.Anybody with an idea? Have a powerful NPC help them. When the character tries to kill the NPC later, the NPC whacks him good. Aleksei ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 18 Mar 1997 13:21:19 +0000 From: DM Subject: [Mystara] Bensarian File 3 about the main personalities of the Wendar-Denagoth region This one is really interesting as a figure: i think it is D&D Merlin or Gandalf. We never know how old he is or which race does he belong, but 2 things we do know for sure: 1. he has elven blood even though he does look human (X11-2nd part of the adventure, there is a cler reference to this fact) 2. he is highly respected by both elves and humans 3. he does know the elves that dwell in the Great Forest of Geffron and has written their true history (he probably knew also the elves of the Lothenar Forest, but they were exterminated by Teriak in AC 820-830) 4. X11 tells us he is a 3rd level Mage: it's a fake! Think about it as a typing error: they wanted to write 36MU, but they printed 3MU! ;) So, i have come up with this history (feel free to disagree): he was born in BC 2500, the son of an elven maiden and a denizen of the Outer Planes (think of it as an Angel or an Avatar of some Immortal of Time, maybe Khoronus or more likely Ordana). Thus, he was granted precognition (as he always boasts) and a seemigly endless lifespan, maybe connected with that of the elven race as a whole ("you will walk this world until the last one of your descendants will be able to see the sun"). He took part in Ilsundal's migration from Grunland and eventually traveled to Wendar, where he remained with his mother's clan. Soon it became clear that he was no ordinary being, having survived the youngest among those who fled from Davania, and he was first feared than shunned by his fellow friends, the Wendar elves. So he walked away from his clan, and began to roam across Wendar, Denagoth, Glantri and Norwold, to acquire experience and find clues about the history of those lands and the fate of Ilsundal's expedition. The cenuries went by, and when he had acquired enough experience of the world around, he settled in Wendar, becoming a renowned and trusted sage for both elves and men. There, in his little house he began to write the whole history of the world, and earned also the sympathy of the Geffron Elves, who gave him the Elvenstar in return for the chronicles of their race. Then it came Teriak and Gylharen, and the rest is widely known by us. So, as you see, i portray him as a crossbreed between Merlin (whose origins and age are also unknown, even though he is often referred as the son of a woman and a Fallen Angel), Gandalf (a wise and powerful mage respected by humans and elves alike, and also appropriate for the setting -someone suggested the comparison between Mordor and Teriak, well why not Bensarian-Gandalf), and Astinus of Palanthus (he is also a historian and has the power to see thoroughout time). Let me know your impression about my files (u can reply directly to me if u think it won't add to the list). E-mail at: dalmonte@dsc.unibo.it DM ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 18 Mar 1997 14:16:54 +0200 (EET) From: Aleksej Andrievskij Subject: Re: [Mystara] GAZ Flaws On Mon, 17 Mar 1997, DM wrote: >At 12.45 14/03/97 +0200, you wrote: >>>I personally don't like GAZ 2 because it omitted some very important infomation such as the make-up of their army. I remember there are a couple of other things missed in there too, but can't remember what right now. >>They didn't give the names of the sultans!!! I didn't know them until PWA came out. >>Aleksei >Ok, i know, but i liked the flavour of the campaign... Anyway, talking about BIG flaws of Gazetteers, i think these 3 are the top ones: 1) Alphatia & Thyatis Boxed set: NOTHING ABOUT THEIR MILITARY!!!!!! No War Machine statistics!!!! They tell you what they eat, drink or dress, but not how they conquer and defend their lands!! Fortunately, they game some info in the Legions of Thyatis adventure. >2) GAZ6: Dwarves of Rockhome: NOTHING ABOUT THE FORGE OF POWER!!!!! Gaz5 and Gaz8 (this one is really good) delves into the mysteries of the Sacred Relics... but not Gaz6! Why?? Yes, this is an error. At least they talk about dwarves making magical items. >3) Gaz2: Emirates of Ylaruam: NOTHING ABOUT THE SULTANS AND THE MILITARY!!!! As you've noticed.... but i think this is mainly due to the fact Ken Rolston was interested in creating an Oriental Adventures' flavour rather then giving statistics and technical details I wouldn't call names of country's rulers "technical details". Add to the above GAZ flaws: 4)Gaz11: The Republic of Darokin: The merchant system is good, yet incomplete. They talk about road mishap table, but there isn't one anywhere! Aleksei ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 18 Mar 1997 14:29:46 +0200 (EET) From: Aleksej Andrievskij Subject: Re: [Mystara] Mystery in Champions of Mystara On Mon, 17 Mar 1997, DM wrote: >I don't know if you recall the Princess Ark episode about the Neh-Thalgghu, but it has always puzzled me for one thing basically. When Haldemar meets the Neh-Thalgghu in the Bayou and asks it about the brains it had collected, at the end it speaks with a distinctive Thothian accent (that is a Nithian wizard's brain) saying: >"It's breached! It's breached! The Old One comes!" Now, i made 2 hypothesis >1. the Nithian is referring to something or someone that is not what we know as the Old Ones >2. the Nithian is referring to the coming of a mysterious Old One (the upper deities that dwell beyond the Vortex), possibly to the one that is mentioned at the end of WotI campaign >In the first case: what is exactly the Old One the Nithian is referring to and what comes with him? Why is the Nithian so frightened? >In the second case: how can a mere mortal know about the existence of Old Ones? How has he managed to know that this Old One is coming? Who is the Old One and why is he coming? Why is the Nithian so scared? >I have my ideas, among whose the possibility that this Old One is the same one that appeared in WotI and later known as Gareth... Any ideas?? Bruce? I'm more in the favor of the second case. I think that this episode was there merely for the storyline, to predict the world-shaking events yet to come. However, it might be explained thus: Nithians/Thothians are an ancient culture, and their wizards can probably use divination magic to glimpse the coming events (even Atruaghin shamans could do that), possibly aided by the priests. After casting some spell, the wizard saw the coming of an incredibly powerful being, who is to Immortals as Immortals are to mortals. He probably didn't get any more info, but was understandably frightened. Aleksei ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 18 Mar 1997 13:38:42 +0000 From: DM Subject: [Mystara] Denagoth geography At 15.28 18/03/97 +1000, you wrote: >Well maybe not misnamed but the map even as given in X11 is wrong. In the module you have as part of "Denagoth" >-Denagoth IMHO, Denagoth refers two things: the name of the region comprising the whole plateau and the area north of the Naga River (Geron and the hills around the plateau); the name of an ancient kingdom north of Drax Tallen that had probably its capital city where now Gereth Minar lies (it must have been so important that the whole region was named after it) --Essuria Essuria was basically a kingdom that stretched from the Geffron Forest to the Plains of Avien, thus encompassing the south-eastern half of the plateau --the Plains of Avien - which appear to be different from the above two* this region stretches from the end of the Geron Forest to Gereth Minar (and maybe even further, who knows: you can identify it because it is the only patch of land not filled with trees or swamps) --Lothenar Forest - which seems to have been a separate entitiy but by the time of the module appears to have been invaded by orcs with all the elves fleeing. yes, it is the forest in the western part of Denagoth --Forest of Geffron - which blends to the east into Essuria yes, it is mainly the southern part of the plateau tthe region around the village of Geron - which is probably part of Denagoth, which would mean that Lothenar Forest would have to be as well the mountains >surrounding the plateau - which would really just end up remaining unclaimed >really. see above at the beginning >-the unknown area to the north of the map - don't know what to do with this really. >Shawn Stanley maybe there's only the artic circle: snow, tundra, feral beasts and giants DM ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 18 Mar 1997 13:48:25 +0000 From: DM Subject: [Mystara] Denagoth and Idris In X11 it is also mentioned the evil church of Idris, a deity associated with dragons and swamps. I have 2 possible solutions for this Immortal: 1. it's Opal, the Dragon ruler of Chaotic Dragons (surprisingly enough, it has some followers also among humans) 2. it's Loki, who is trying to spread its mischievous influence over those populations of Wendar and Denagoth (one of the main characteristic of Idris' followers is indeed mischief and lie) 3. it's Demogorgon, who is trying to bring death and destruction to those people for some reason we don't know (well, it just doesn't need a good reason after all, if u know the Immortal) 4. it's some lesser Demon (Fiend, call it whatever you want), maybe a Swamp Demon (Croaking) who is trying to enter Mystara by giving false promises to its followers... Which one would you choose? DM ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 18 Mar 1997 14:50:01 +0200 (EET) From: Aleksej Andrievskij Subject: Re: [Mystara] Mystara map On Tue, 18 Mar 1997, Stan wrote: >>I have heard that the map of Mystara is basically the map of Middle-Earth upside-down. Dengar is Moria, Alfheim is Mirkwood, Darokin is Rhovanion, Lake Amsorak is Sea of Rhun, and Glantri is Mordor. Anyone know anything about this? >Well I hadn't heard that one although the planetary map is similar/the same as Earth at some time which I haven't gotten round to finding exactly yet. Davania is Gondwana, Brun is Laurasia and Skothar is Europe/Baltica etc. Yes, I have noticed. Anyone see the similarity between Alphatia and Atlantis? Both are very advanced, both sink beneath the ocean. Aleksei ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 18 Mar 1997 13:58:53 +0100 (MET) From: Haavard Roenne Faanes Subject: Re: [Mystara] Mystara map On Tue, 18 Mar 1997, Aleksej Andrievskij wrote: >On Tue, 18 Mar 1997, Stan wrote: >>>I have heard that the map of Mystara is basically the map of Middle-Earth upside-down. Dengar is Moria, Alfheim is Mirkwood, Darokin is Rhovanion, Lake Amsorak is Sea of Rhun, and Glantri is Mordor. Anyone know anything about this? >>Well I hadn't heard that one although the planetary map is similar/the same as Earth at some time which I haven't gotten round to finding exactly yet. Davania is Gondwana, Brun is Laurasia and Skothar is Europe/Baltica etc. >Yes, I have noticed. Anyone see the similarity between Alphatia and Atlantis? Both are very advanced, both sink beneath the ocean. Yes. Actually Alphatia was referred to as Atlantis in some of the old D&D modules. Another similarity: Alphatians come from outer space. Dont the Antlanteans too? At least some sources say that... Haavard R. Faanes Email: hoc@nvg.unit.no hoc@nvg.nuts.edu http://www.nvg.ntnu.no/~hoc "I didn't spend all those years playing Dungeons and Dragons without learning a bit about courage" -The X-Files ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 18 Mar 1997 13:51:46 +0000 From: DM Subject: Re: [Mystara] GAZ Flaws At 14.16 18/03/97 +0200, you wrote: >Add to the above GAZ flaws: >4)Gaz11: The Republic of Darokin: The merchant system is good, yet incomplete. They talk about road mishap table, but there isn't one anywhere! >Aleksei Where is it this reference? I'm sure they dealt with how weather conditions influence travel by road (it's not a table, but they discuss it for 2-3 columns giving technical rules), maybe you are referring to this one (which is in the last pages of the players' section) DM ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 18 Mar 1997 14:03:58 +0000 From: DM Subject: [Mystara] Re: Mystery in Champions of Mystara OK guys, that's the official solution to the issue by Bruce Heard: <<< In the second case: how can a mere mortal know about the existence of Old OOnes? How has he managed to know that this Old One is coming? Who is the Old One and why is he coming? Why is the Nithian so scared? >> >Geez -- you're asking me to go back to stuff I wrote years ago. Seems like ancient archeology! >Okay, get this -- this is the brain of a genuine ancient Nithain priest. The priest had been captured by a Neh-Thalggu of the University of Jawag-Uf prior to the destruction of the original Nithia. The hapless Nithian priest's brain had been stored and preserved magically until this Neh-Thalggu eventually "loaded it" into its own head (yuck) for research purposes. DDuring an attempt to commune with his patron Immortal, this priest accidentally pried into the other Immortal affairs, an unfortunate vision if anything. What he observed, was a vision of a distant future which saw Etienne d'Ambreville being taken away by an Old One. The priest, of course, Date: Tue, 18 Mar 1997 18:28:04 -0600 From: (mystara-digest) To: mystara-digest@lists.io.com Subject: mystara-digest V2 #15 Reply-To: mystara-l@lists.io.com Precedence: bulk X-UIDL: f45a9dfc42c2ea716b1f02b5f5f696fc Status: RO >would have been totally incapable of interpreting the vision, but this is neither here nor there since the experience left him with a somewhat shaken psyche. >The priest therefore did not know who these beings were or why they were there. He was scared because he could sense the fear from Etienne/Rad, and the whole idea of stumbling upon a vision of Immortals and even greater beings is just plain scary to any mortal, Nithian priest or not. He knew about the "Old One" because an Immortal who witnessed this event (take your pick) mentioned the term "Old One" during the priest's vision. TThere really wasn't much meaning in what the Neh-Thalggu was referring to. It was a total fluke. Fate decided that this Neh-Thalggu would eventually wash up on the Haldemar's adventurous path. >Happy? :) >Bruce Heard ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 18 Mar 97 05:04:51 PST From: "David 'Azure' Leland" Subject: Re: [Mystara] Mystara map >Yes, I have noticed. Anyone see the similarity between Alphatia and Atlantis? Both are very advanced, both sink beneath the ocean. >Aleksei CM1 Test of the Warlords includes an encounter with the three crones who reveal the 'true name' of Alphatia to be Atlantis. Notice also the importance of the kingdom of Aquas when most of Alphatia sinks. /~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~\ ~| David "Azure" Leland ~|~ Email: dleland@cogsci.ucsd.edu |~ ~| UCSD Cognitive Science ~|~ Phone/Fax: (619) 642-6709 |~ ~| Oberlin class of 1996 ~|~ Web: http://cogsci.ucsd.edu/~dleland |~ ~| Amateur conguero; Q(O+H)Q(G+W)AEEEBGKUS Mystaran; P75 on Ethernet |~ \~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~/ ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 18 Mar 1997 15:21:28 +0200 (EET) From: Anias Pasi Subject: Re: [Mystara] Penhaligon Trilogy >>4) I don't remember where, but I believe one of the books refers to Alfheim, which ceases to exist in 1007. >Aaaah! Then it doesn't work since Arteris became baroness in AC 1008! I wouln't say so yet. You know, one CAN refer to a nation that has ceased existing. At least, I still sometimes speak about USSR when I mean Russia. Also i think the referring to Alfheim might have been in past sense. You know, like I was in A' 5 years ago. all together. I think it's easy to put P.Trilogy to Mystaran history, but I dont quite understand why one should. I did use the description of Penhaligon myself, but left the rest away. Pasi P.S. Did anyone get the messages I mailed a while ago about prizes and such? - -- X Pasi Anias X p.03 - 2533536 X \\|// X X Sammonkatu 28 A 18 X a122286@proffa X (o o) X X 33540 Tampere X .cc.tut.fi X o000--(_)--000o X ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 18 Mar 1997 15:25:47 +0200 (EET) From: Aleksej Andrievskij Subject: Re: [Mystara] GAZ Flaws On Tue, 18 Mar 1997, DM wrote: >At 14.16 18/03/97 +0200, you wrote: >>Add to the above GAZ flaws: >>4)Gaz11: The Republic of Darokin: The merchant system is good, yet incomplete. They talk about road mishap table, but there isn't one anywhere! >>Aleksei >Where is it this reference? I'm sure they dealt with how weather conditions influence travel by road (it's not a table, but they discuss it for 2-3 columns giving technical rules), maybe you are referring to this one (which is in the last pages of the players' section) IDHTBIFOM, but there is supposed to be a table for mishaps such as the wagon breaks down or something. Aleksei ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 18 Mar 97 10:39:37 EST From: Jody Duncan Subject: Re: [Mystara] Elves on Skothar DM writes: >At 19.15 17/03/97 -0800, you wrote: >>Speaking of elves, there's elves in MOrient of course. I'm just wondering where would be the best place to find out how to make their history mesh with previous elven history (Very sadly, I don't have the Alfheim GAZ :( ). Is it on Herve's page or would I have to search something like DoE/HW/Daniel Boese's timeline? I just posted this to the list because I don't know if we have any elven history experts in the MOrient team, and maybe we'll should ask questions. I like elves a whole lot and I'd like to make sure we do a real good job on MOriental elves. Well, I compiled a timeline of the elven migrations a while ago... It's still just on paper, but I could post it to the list... I tried to include all the major branches and trace the movements of all the clans and trees of life. I've been planning on typing it in for a while but there's some conflict between the Hollow World set and Gaz14. I'll see what I can do... - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- "Just Glad To Be Here Happy To Be Alive!" Carleton U. Computer Science, Software Email addresses: jduncan2@chat.carleton.ca cq793@freenet.carleton.ca - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 18 Mar 97 10:47:11 EST From: Jody Duncan Subject: Re: [Mystara] Mystery in Champions of Mystara >>I have my ideas, among whose the possibility that this Old One is the same one that appeared in WotI and later known as Gareth... Any ideas?? Bruce? Who called the Old One Gareth? What supplement was this in? - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- "Just Glad To Be Here Happy To Be Alive!" Carleton U. Computer Science, Software Email addresses: jduncan2@chat.carleton.ca cq793@freenet.carleton.ca - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 18 Mar 1997 17:32:21 +0100 (MET) From: Haavard Roenne Faanes Subject: Re: [Mystara] Landryn Teriak On Tue, 18 Mar 1997, DM wrote: >Now, that's what i think is happening now: >And now the present days >Obviously, Teriak is the Shadow Lord and he is powerful indeed (about 22th-30th level -for more info on Liches and how they can gain levels see "Van Richten's Guide to the Lich": the BEST for this kinda guys)! What i did >PS: do you still think Teriak is a puny insignificant villain now? When I read about the New Shadowlord in the almanacs..I started thinking. My thought was that he could be a Shadow Knight. Shadow Knights were mentioned earlier in some mail as the celestial servants of Thanatos. After all If we want this to be a bit Tolkien-ish I thought it would be nice to bring the big BAD guy into the stage. If he is a lich, Thanatos can turn him into a Shadow Knight when Teriak accomplishes some quest for big boss evil. I was thinking about an alternate scenario where Teriak, or some other dead villain lost in Limbo, is approached by Thanatos, and given the chance to live again as an undead servant of the Entrophic Hierarch. What is a Shadow Knight? They were described as being similar to the Ringwraiths. They are Thanatos' version of Demons (Fiends). I picture them as a bit more knightly perhaps. They are dark exalted beings wearing black cloaks and wielding knightly weapons. She Shadow Lord would be a very powerful such. He would probably have some other Shadow Knights at his command. these would make excellent opponents for Heldannic heroes(?) who will sooner or later encounter people from Denagoth. Idris and Thanatos? whoever Idris is she is certainly not Thanatos. If he is into the game, he will manipulate or force Idris to serve his will. What does Thanatos want with Denagoth? It would probably not be Thanatos' way to invade the known world and kill everybody. Though he would appreciate that outcome it isnot his style, and too risky. However, there are certain advantages in having a realm where evil can thrive, and possibly help spreading evil into the known world... Haavard R. Faanes Email: hoc@nvg.unit.no hoc@nvg.nuts.edu http://www.nvg.ntnu.no/~hoc "I didn't spend all those years playing Dungeons and Dragons without learning a bit about courage" -The X-Files ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 18 Mar 1997 12:57:52 -0500 From: necromancer@vabch.com Subject: [Mystara] Gylharen Also, bear in mind that Gylharen was MY>a powerful wizard (maybe 14th level), and when he was turned into an elf i MY>think he became an elf-mage (see Gaz5) of maybe 11th level, and today (AC MY>1010-13) he is probably 15th level in power. MY>Satisfied? MY>DM How would he drop three levels. Yes, I understand that the xp would be different, but dropping three levels would require him to lose knowledge of his spells, hit points, etc. This doesn't seem too right to me. IMO he would be the same level, but with maybe the least amount of xp needed to be at that level, or something like that. Just butting in! Necromancer ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 18 Mar 1997 16:48:27 -0300 (EST) From: Andre Cavalcanti Rocha Martins {S Subject: Re: [Mystara] Denagoth and Idris On Tue, 18 Mar 1997, DM wrote: >In X11 it is also mentioned the evil church of Idris, a deity associated with dragons and swamps. I have 2 possible solutions for this Immortal: 1. it's Opal, the Dragon ruler of Chaotic Dragons (surprisingly enough, it has some followers also among humans) >2. it's Loki, who is trying to spread its mischievous influence over those populations of Wendar and Denagoth (one of the main characteristic of Idris' followers is indeed mischief and lie) >3. it's Demogorgon, who is trying to bring death and destruction to those people for some reason we don't know (well, it just doesn't need a good reason after all, if u know the Immortal) 4. it's some lesser Demon (Fiend, call it whatever you want), maybe a Swamp Demon (Croaking) who is trying to enter Mystara by giving false promises to its followers... I don't have X11, so what I say might not fit into that module, but, while reading the posts about it, an idea has occured to me. What if those happenings are somewhat related with the appearance of Synn. Now that you mention there is an evil church associated with dragons, I believe such association is even more likely. Nobody knows where Synn comes from, but she could be associated (maybe a pawn, that would be scary) of whomever is in power as Shadow Lord. Andre Martins acrmarti@fma.if.usp.br ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 15 Mar 1997 17:24:24 -0300 From: Victor Caminha Subject: Re: [Mystara] Denagoth and Idris Hi! First of all, congratulations for your msg about Wendar and Denagoth (i once played much of my campaign there and we always stumbled when trying to figure that lbscure region). About your proposal: >In X11 it is also mentioned the evil church of Idris, a deity associated with dragons and swamps. I have 2 possible solutions for this Immortal: 1. it's Opal, the Dragon ruler of Chaotic Dragons (surprisingly enough, it has some followers also among humans) Hmmm.. i prefer to think the D.R. s detailed differently than the average immortal (i.e i use the old immortals boxed set data instead of the new hen trying to put them in the Sphere Hierarchy), and i do not view any of them creating a cult in such fashion; perhaops they do not care or do not need (the dragon population can readily serve for that). BTW: The name of the Lesser chaotic dragon ruler is Pearl (Opal is of neutrality) >2. it's Loki, who is trying to spread its mischievous influence over those populations of Wendar and Denagoth (one of the main characteristic of Idris' followers is indeed mischief and lie) Could be, but i think loki had already too much sect to add another one; especially if in WotI tell he is not particularly ambitious ;) >3. it's Demogorgon, who is trying to bring death and destruction to those people for some reason we don't know (well, it just doesn't need a good reason after all, if u know the Immortal) 4. it's some lesser Demon (Fiend, call it whatever you want), maybe a Swamp Demon (Croaking) who is trying to enter Mystara by giving false promises to its followers... Most likeoy i support these too. Demons and their worshipping had its importance and its hard to count the number of Chaotic cults published that had any relation to them []s Victor Caminha ps: sorry for this hurried and superficial msg "Receive the bounty of your hero's deed Tainting thy life by the gift of the dead Eternally running from a priestly bead Unable to bear the Orb in your head You'll walk in the darkness so alluring Without Hope to cleanse your sin Away from the joy of the living Forever to serve your Twin" ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 18 Mar 1997 21:38:11 +0100 From: Fabrizio Paoli Subject: Re: [Mystara] Elves (was Conquer of Alfheim) >Nothing in "Elves of Alfheim" mentions anything about Elves on the continent of Skothar. My guess is that any such Elves would be unrelated to the Alfheim Elves -- perhaps they are distant relatives of the Shiye Lawr Elves of Alphatia? In any case, they probably have some similarities to the "Spirit >Folk" of "Oriental Adventures". Now -- if somebody on the MOrient team has access to whatever legends these "Spirit Folk" are based on, we can really do some great things in describing them. About elves and their history. When I wrote the timeline of Alfheim invasion I had to make a little research in order to know which clans have a Tree of Life (i.e. which clans followed Ilsundal to the Sylvan Realm) and thus led me to draw a sort of elvish genealogy, from Evergrun to 1000 AC. If you want I can try to post it to the mailing list. The major problem, as someone pointed out months ago, is about the relationship between Schattenalfen, Sahdow Elves and Wendar Elves. ************** Fabrizio Paoli brizio@lunet.it s153349@studenti.ing.unipi.it DM in City Of The Stars - PC in the Forgotten Realms Leader of Privateers - Trip Bomb Master - Lord of Firewalkers Home Page:http://www.ing.unipi.it/~s153349/index.html ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 18 Mar 1997 18:04:41 EST From: nbamba@juno.com (Nicholas C Bambakidis) Subject: Re: [Mystara] Mystara map On Tue, 18 Mar 1997 14:50:01 +0200 (EET) Aleksej Andrievskij writes: >Yes, I have noticed. Anyone see the similarity between Alphatia and Atlantis? Both are very advanced, both sink beneath the ocean. >Aleksei This is in fact fortold in the adventure CM2, Death's Ride, when the Alphatian wizard is also known as coming from Atlantis. N. Bambakidis ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 18 Mar 1997 19:13:19 -0500 (EST) From: StarHawk Subject: Re: [Mystara] XP On Mon, 17 Mar 1997, Georgios Dimitrios Milonas wrote: >In my campaign NPCs get half share XP,but one character always try to kill the NPCs at the end of the adventure,because he wants the PCs to get all the XP from the adventure.This thing is getting annoying and I want to stop him from killing my favorite NPCs.Anybody with an idea? Easy, stop having NPC do any favors for the party, they've heard about their reputation, also change his alignment to evil or chaotic if it isn't already. Also you could give the NPC's their share anyway since they were there for the actual events that they are getting the experience for. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 18 Mar 1997 17:12:57 -0700 (MST) From: "Cthulhudrew, The Great Old One" Subject: Elves in MOrient (Was:[Mystara] Conquer of Alfheim) On Tue, 18 Mar 1997 Kaviyd@aol.com wrote: >Nothing in "Elves of Alfheim" mentions anything about Elves on the continent of Skothar. My guess is that any such Elves would be unrelated to the Alfheim Elves -- perhaps they are distant relatives of the Shiye Lawr Elves of Alphatia? In any case, they probably have some similarities to the "Spirit Folk" of "Oriental Adventures". Now -- if somebody on the MOrient team has access to whatever legends these "Spirit Folk" are based on, we can really do some great things in describing them. They could very easily be an earlier migration, from Vulcania, that ended up in Skothar. There are literally any number of points at which the elves could have ended up in Skothar. Another suggestion might be that the elves of Skothar are somehow related to the N'djatwa- the elf/ogres of Davania. They seem rather oriental in flavor, and might blend in well in the MOrient. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 18 Mar 1997 17:17:59 -0700 (MST) From: "Cthulhudrew, The Great Old One" Subject: Re: [Mystara] Gylharen On Tue, 18 Mar 1997, DM wrote: >X11 says in one line that he is "an old man", but in PWAs he is referred as a Wizard King and an elf, born in AC 679. Now what is the truth? That's my view: I am suddenly reminded of Moorkroft Elvenbane, a human mage who, through the use of elvish blood/potions has extended his lifespan far beyond what it should be, but as a result has taken on the appearance of an elf (albeit an elderly one). See module CM7 for more. Just an idea to keep in mind for those who are in favor of the Gylharen was a human but is now an elf, theory. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 18 Mar 1997 16:24:19 -0800 From: David Keyser Subject: Re: [Mystara] Mystery in Champions of Mystara >>From: "Cthulhudrew, The Great Old One" >>Now for the real problem: >>One of the Neh-Thalggu's brains is that of one of the Glantrian nobles (I can't recall her name offhand- she is the elven one, who had her dominion on the southeastern border). Given that Bruce created the NPC, in GAZ3, that is doubtless where he got the name, however: >>1) The Neh-Thalggu is mentioned to have been imprisoned for a long time- I think something like twenty years or so? >>2) GAZ3, which has this Baroness still in power, is set in AC 1000. >>3) See what I'm getting at...? >From: DM >Yes, i do see this point... and actually that's one of the other problems i was trying to solve about that episode. Well, i assume that probably the Countess has been replaced by a relative and since she was not pivotal in the Glantri campaign, nobody mentioned the fact. What do you say Bruce? I went and looked up the Dragon mag(#185) and I checked up GAZ3. The woman is Lady Aliana Nyraviel Countess of Soth-Kabree, Dragonmaster of the Second Circle. She is an elf who maintains a force of elven knights mounted on griffons. Haldemar confronts the Nel-Thaggu in 1001 AC, so Lady Aliana's demise could happen sometime between 1000 and 1001 AC. The problem is that the Nel-Thaggu has been in a Herathian prison for "many years" just prior to facing Haldemar, so he did not have time to drop by Glantri between 1000 and 1001 AC. Saying that the character in 1000AC is a close relative, or even a clone of the first is possible. Another possibility is that the Nel-Thaggu can travel time as well as dimensions, so he could have nabbed her at some time in the future. This is a bit too farfetched for me. One solution that I like is that Lady Aliana visits the Savage Coast during the year 1000AC. She is lured to Herath, on her own or by the Wizard-King of Herath. She is quickly captured, and the Wizard-King interrogates her on what she knows about the magic drain on Mystara that is occuring in Glantri. Later, he dumps her in the same cell as the Nel-Thaggu, to see how the creature absorbs a brain, and what knowledge and abilities it acquires in the process. He knows the Nel-Thaggu is still looking for a Glantrian and Alphatian brain. Alternatively, Herathians can kidnap her, mistakenly thinking that she knows something of the magic drain. She still winds up being brain food for the Nel-Thaggu. I did not check to see if she is in the Glantri boxed set, but if she is not, than this explanation will work. Dave Keyser ------------------------------ End of mystara-digest V2 #15 **************************** Date: Thu, 20 Mar 1997 07:39:06 -0600 From: (mystara-digest) To: mystara-digest@lists.io.com Subject: mystara-digest V2 #16 Reply-To: mystara-l@lists.io.com Precedence: bulk X-UIDL: c98e0f252da912dbdeb4c3451a3ce490 mystara-digest Thursday, March 20 1997 Volume 02 : Number 016 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 18 Mar 1997 19:26:08 -0500 (EST) From: StarHawk Subject: Re: [Mystara] Mystery in Champions of Mystara >Now for the real problem: >One of the Neh-Thalggu's brains is that of one of the Glantrian nobles (I can't recall her name offhand- she is the elven one, who had her dominion on the southeastern border). Given that Bruce created the NPC, in GAZ3, that is doubtless where he got the name, however: >1) The Neh-Thalggu is mentioned to have been imprisoned for a long time- I think something like twenty years or so? >2) GAZ3, which has this Baroness still in power, is set in AC 1000. >3) See what I'm getting at...? If you assume the AD&D spell list then a Clone spell will resolve the problem, perhaps Restoration or Regeneration as well. Clone creates a replica of the character from a skin sample, but the replica is at the level, age, etc. the skin sample was taken. It makes you insane in a week if your still alive, but you could Contingency it to be cast upon your death. A Ring of Regeneration, one of the ones that will bring a character back from the dead, will work. Or Resurrection. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 18 Mar 1997 17:25:29 -0700 (MST) From: "Cthulhudrew, The Great Old One" Subject: Re: [Mystara] Mystara map On Tue, 18 Mar 1997, Aleksej Andrievskij wrote: >Yes, I have noticed. Anyone see the similarity between Alphatia and Atlantis? Both are very advanced, both sink beneath the ocean. Matter of fact, Alphatia was supposed to be similar to Atlantis. From it's very first description, back in CM1- Test of the Warlords, the comparison between the two was made. Alphatia was always intended to be like Atlantis- though I don't know that it was supposed to sink like it did... at least, not in the beginning. Personally, I prefer it unsunk, and don't sink it in my campaigns, though it is hardly untouched by the war... ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 18 Mar 1997 17:34:35 -0700 (MST) From: "Cthulhudrew, The Great Old One" Subject: Re: [Mystara] Mystery in Champions of Mystara On Tue, 18 Mar 1997, David Keyser wrote: >Haldemar confronts the Nel-Thaggu in 1001 AC, so Lady Aliana's demise could happen sometime between 1000 and 1001 AC. The problem is that the Nel-Thaggu has been in a Herathian prison for "many years" just prior to facing Haldemar, so he did not have time to drop by Glantri between 1000 and 1001 AC. This is the problem, yes. :) >One solution that I like is that Lady Aliana visits the Savage Coast during the year 1000AC. She is lured to Herath, on her own or by the Wizard-King of Herath. She is quickly captured, and the Wizard-King interrogates her on what she knows about the magic drain on Mystara that is occuring in Glantri. Later, he dumps her in the same cell as the Nel-Thaggu, to see how the creature absorbs a brain, and what knowledge and abilities it acquires in the process. He knows the Nel-Thaggu is still looking for a Glantrian and Alphatian brain. I like this one. It seems more plausible than most theories, and eliminates having to find a replacement Baroness for her dominion. >I did not check to see if she is in the Glantri boxed set, but if she is not, than this explanation will work. Her dominion is destroyed by the meteor in 1005 (or 1006? whatever), and she is presumed dead, so it should work out fine. It's some other poor slob who gets obliterated by the meteor. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 18 Mar 1997 19:11:07 -0500 (EST) From: StarHawk Subject: Re: [Mystara] Mystara map On Mon, 17 Mar 1997, Aleksej Andrievskij wrote: >I have heard that the map of Mystara is basically the map of Middle-Earth upside-down. Dengar is Moria, Alfheim is Mirkwood, Darokin is Rhovanion, Lake Amsorak is Sea of Rhun, and Glantri is Mordor. Anyone know anything about this? >Aleksei Nope. As far as I know Mystara is Earth about 10 or 20 million years ago or something. Whenever most of the continents were still together. Of course that doesn't mean Middle Earth isn't Ancient Earth upside down. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 18 Mar 1997 19:47:29 -0500 (EST) From: StarHawk Subject: Re: Elves in MOrient (Was:[Mystara] Conquer of Alfheim) On Tue, 18 Mar 1997, Cthulhudrew, The Great Old One wrote: >On Tue, 18 Mar 1997 Kaviyd@aol.com wrote: >>Nothing in "Elves of Alfheim" mentions anything about Elves on the continent of Skothar. My guess is that any such Elves would be unrelated to the Alfheim Elves -- perhaps they are distant relatives of the Shiye Lawr Elves of Alphatia? In any case, they probably have some similarities to the "Spirit Folk" of "Oriental Adventures". Now -- if somebody on the MOrient team has access to whatever legends these "Spirit Folk" are based on, we can really do some great things in describing them. >They could very easily be an earlier migration, from Vulcania, that ended up in Skothar. There are literally any number of points at which the elves could have ended up in Skothar. >Another suggestion might be that the elves of Skothar are somehow related to the N'djatwa- the elf/ogres of Davania. They seem rather oriental in flavor, and might blend in well in the MOrient. Elf/Ogres ? Where are the mentioned? Can any one post the basic stats? ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 18 Mar 1997 17:56:15 -0700 (MST) From: "Cthulhudrew, The Great Old One" Subject: [Mystara] Re: Elves in MOrient On Tue, 18 Mar 1997, StarHawk wrote: >Elf/Ogres ? Where are the mentioned? Can any one post the basic stats? The N'djatwa are a race of elf/ogres from the Green Bay area on the southern continent of Davania. They are first met by Haldemar while exploring the region aboard the Princess Ark. The issue in which they are introduced is one of the early issues of the series, though I don't recall exactly which one, offhand. I think it was around... let's see, it was the issue after the Nagpa of the Vulture Peninsula, and the issue before the Princess Ark takes off beyond the skyshield... it's somewhere in the 160's. Anyway, they are shorter than ogres, with features of both races, and spellcasting similar to elves. They were created when clans of both races on the southern continent were dying due to warfare, and a peace was made between them. They shared blood on an artifact of some kind, and eventually they bred true into a new race. They ride giant pelicans, and are cannibals. They know of the Heldanners (from the Heldannic outpost on the southern continent) and, IIRC, seemed to know of Alphatia. At any rate, Haldemar opened up diplomatic ties with them. If they do know of Alphatia, it could be due to them staying in touch with relatives in the MOrient region. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 18 Mar 1997 22:13:36 +0500 From: Aron Reif Subject: Re: [Mystara] XP >MY>Since when is murder worth experience??? If anything, the player should be MY>penalized experience. Remember that the idea is to be a hero. You're MY>supposed to fight the villians, not be the villians. If your players are MY>killing off their Henchmen, don't give them any more. Keep the adventures MY>just as hard, so when they start dying, remind them that they killed off all MY>their allies. Alternatively, you could add some new NPCs that are the same MY>level (or higher) as the PCs, and when it's time for them to be attacked, MY>have them really wallop the PCs. That might teach them a lesson. >Not all players play "good-guys", hence the evil alignments. yes, that's true. I guess I was thinking about MOST parties, who are made up of heroes. Even if you had evil characters, the both alternatives would still work. Additionally, you can assume that evil PCs would attract evil henchmen, so there's nothing wrong with having a henchman or two stab your characters in the back (literally or not, your choice) at inopportune times. After all, they would be after a big share of treasure/experience as well, and what easier way than to take advantage of someone who trusts you? Aron Reif areif@vt.edu Not to mention all the complications with the law that could take place after a murder... ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 18 Mar 1997 23:19:18 -0500 (EST) From: Dleggend@aol.com Subject: Re: [Mystara] Landryn Teriak Where can I find info on the Shadow Lord and his Knights? I find this interesting. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 19 Mar 1997 13:56:48 +0800 (WST) From: Jason MURPHY Subject: Re: [Mystara] XP On Tue, 18 Mar 1997, Aron Reif wrote: Actually i am running a campaign where the characters are the villainous scoundrels. It is a hell of a lot of fun. I particularly like having heroic npc come along and foil there plans. Everyone is enjoying the change and i can thoroughly recommend it as a campaign. Of course the level of realism, and where the moral line should be drawn is an issue unto itself. Our villainous characters tend to limit their activities to political and military subterfuge and otherwise remain classical villains. Jason ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 19 Mar 1997 03:13:35 -0500 (EST) From: Kaviyd@aol.com Subject: Re: Elves in MOrient (Was:[Mystara] Conquer of Alfheim) In a message dated 97-03-18 19:18:40 EST, jsmill@IMAP1.ASU.EDU (Cthulhudrew, The Great Old One) writes: << Another suggestion might be that the elves of Skothar are somehow related to the N'djatwa- the elf/ogres of Davania. They seem rather oriental in flavor, and might blend in well in the MOrient. >> They do resemble Ogre Magi, don't they? Another idea to consider -- Haldemar negotiated an alliance between N'djatwa and Alphatia. Skotharians in general seem to dislike Alphatians. So any race that would ally with them must be an evil race, right? Of course, the fact that they actually are cannibals gives that idea some weight. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 19 Mar 1997 13:17:56 +0100 (MET) From: Haavard Roenne Faanes Subject: [Mystara] Mystaras? (was: Specularum) On Mon, 17 Mar 1997 TSRBruce@aol.com wrote: >If I remember well, the House of Marilenev is a fallen house. My guess is that the folks who developed the AD&D version figured it would not have made sense to use that name as a result. They just switched names -- without wanting to involve any historical complications. Bear in mind that the AD&D version of Mystara was not intended to really connect with the original D&D world either. These were supposed to be separate campaign worlds -- so in this way, it really does not matter whether it is Specularum or Mirros. okay..so now there are three Mystaras? 1)Mystara based on the old Modules using the Gazs and the ad&D stuff as suplementary info. 2) Mystara based on the Gazs using the modules and the AD&D stuff as suplementary info. (Which is what I use) 3)Mystara AD&D using the D&D stuff as supplementary info. neat. Haavard R. Faanes Email: hoc@nvg.unit.no hoc@nvg.nuts.edu http://www.nvg.ntnu.no/~hoc "I didn't spend all those years playing Dungeons and Dragons without learning a bit about courage" -The X-Files ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 19 Mar 1997 13:45:04 +0100 (MET) From: Haavard Roenne Faanes Subject: Re: [Mystara] Landryn Teriak On Tue, 18 Mar 1997 Dleggend@aol.com wrote: >Where can I find info on the Shadow Lord and his Knights? I find this interesting. The Shadow Knights were briefly mentioned in an earlier posting on this list concerning Immortals and their servants. In this posting it was suggested tht Thanatos used Shadow Knights ("..like nazguls only less shadowy and with more power...") I dont recall who posted this, but I found it intriguing to link it with the Shadow Lord. Suggested D&D characteristics... Sphere: Entrophy Status: Immortal (or maybe Exalted) Power Points: 250 Anti-Magic: 25% AC: -3 HD: 15 attacks: 2 fists or 1 weapon or 1 magical effect DMG: 2d6 each or by weapon or by magical effect #ap: 1 (varies) Save AS: IM1 Morale: 11 Treasure: NIL Int: 1d8+17 Align: Chaotic (Using D&D, AD&D would probably be LE) XP: ? This is just a scetchy idea yet using the statistics for Titans. The knights also may have special powers like powerword kill, etc.. They are most likely at least masters with long swords, and experts with other knightly weapons.... Haavard R. Faanes Email: hoc@nvg.unit.no hoc@nvg.nuts.edu http://www.nvg.ntnu.no/~hoc "I didn't spend all those years playing Dungeons and Dragons without learning a bit about courage" -The X-Files ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 19 Mar 1997 14:06:09 +0100 (MET) From: Haavard Roenne Faanes Subject: [Mystara] Immortals of Wendar (was: some Wendar ideas) As this list was dicussing the Wendar region I started thinking about the immortals of the region. And since I had nothing else to do, my thoughts tured into a mail... Ilsundal: The Elves of the region followed Ilsundal before they came to Wendar, and thus they probably follow him still. Ilsundal is the protector of the elves after all. The Humans of wendar who have been living with the elves may have adopted this immortal as well...Mealiden may also have some following... Eiryndul: this mischievious immortal may have tricked some elves away from Ilsundals wise teachings, although I doubt his following would be too extensive. Odin: One of the most important immortals of the Antillans(ancestors of the Wendarian Humans). He represents kings and rulers, and Gylharen would be wise to encourage worhip of this immortal. Other norse immortals may also be popular, especially Thor for his fighting abilities. Frey/Freyja may be less important due to the fact that Ilusundal also is an immortal of nature. The Korrigans: >From Shawn Stanleys Home Page: "Korrigans, The:Empyreal(21), Sphere of Energy. TheKorrigans are a group of nine elves who lived in the forest areas in the area which would become Wendar, although they lived there a long time ago even before the coming of the Antalians. They all adventured together in mortal life but parted when each chose to attain immortality. Unbeknownst to them they were all being sponsored by the same immortal who enjoyed the precedence that he was setting. The nine elves all achieved immortality within a few centuries of each other and then resumed their friendship. (Original Immortals set, DM's Guide, page 41, and Master DM's book Artifacts chapter)" Since they are from the region, it is likely that they have a following here. The Great One: The Dragonlord Chronicles mention that the elves of the region worshipped this immortal around year 500AC. As the dragons dont interact as much with the elves as they used to, having retired into the Wyrmsteeth Range, his following has decreesed. Haavard R. Faanes Email: hoc@nvg.unit.no hoc@nvg.nuts.edu http://www.nvg.ntnu.no/~hoc "I didn't spend all those years playing Dungeons and Dragons without learning a bit about courage" -The X-Files ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 19 Mar 1997 14:40:45 +0100 (MET) From: Haavard Roenne Faanes Subject: Re: [Mystara] Immortals On Mon, 17 Mar 1997, DM wrote: >At 13.48 16/03/97 +0100, you wrote: >>According to Bruce Heard the Chuch of Karameikos follows several Immortals. These being Asterius (Head Patron), Valerias, Vania, Kagyar and Ilsundal. The Karameikos boxed set contradicts this claiming that the church is made up by philosophers following Law, Chaos or neutrality. >The Karameikos boxed set is something that shouldn't have been done, but aside from this, it is very strange that Asterius, Vanya and Ilsuandal are among the revered Immortals of the Church of Karameikos... I think the idea of the clique of Immortals being revered by the so-called Churches of X-Realm is good, but you must pay attention to which Immortals are revered Asterius: why is he the head patron? I would have seen better Halav or maybe Koryis, while Asterius is the head patron of the Church of Darokin (see Gaz5 where this church is mentioned along with the Church of Thyatis) Ilsundal: strange.... I agree. It is a bit strange, however I am only refering to what Bruce wrote in the Dragon article. Perhaps Bruce would like to comment on this? Some attempts to explain it. Halav is not suited for the job since he is the Patron of the Traldarans. Koryis is an Alphatian Immortal, and although he has some following among Thyatians, especially in the colonies, real warroirs of Thyatis sneer at him. Lord Oliver Jowett, Patriarch of Specularum, Master of the Order of the Griffon, constructed the Church of Karameikos in 970AC, when Karameikos became an autonomous Grand Duchy. The Church was modeled after the Church of Thyatis, which already at that time had been fragmented into several chuches. Lord Jowett took immortals which he liked and put the into his own philosophies. Asterius, Valerias and especially Vanya are popular immortals in Thyatis. Kagyar and Ilsundal, also have a great following in the empire due to the presence of the demihuman races. They were possibly included in the hope of comverting the demihumans to the Karameikan faith. Jowett's idea was to construct a Church that would make the Karameikans one people. Jowett was probably a Cleric of Asterius. Although the Gazeteer gives Jowett most of the credit for the Church of Karameikos, this could have been a gigantic plot of Asterius' to create a group; the Guadrians of Karameikos, with Asterius as the leader. Asterius is not the most powerful of the Immortals, but he has a clever tongue. Besides if the group was founded because the humans worshipped them, it was easier for the other immortals to accept Asterius as their leader. Asterius is an eternal, which makes him quite powerful, and he is probably good at finding compromises. The Guardians of Karameikos. Asterius (Eternal of Thought), Leader Kagyar (Eternal of Matter) Ilsundal (Hierarch of Thought) Valerias (Hierarch of Matter) Vanya (Empyreal of Time) Comments are welcome. Haavard R. Faanes Email: hoc@nvg.unit.no hoc@nvg.nuts.edu http://www.nvg.ntnu.no/~hoc "I didn't spend all those years playing Dungeons and Dragons without learning a bit about courage" -The X-Files ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 19 Mar 97 9:47:26 EST From: Jody Duncan Subject: Re: [Mystara] Immortals of Wendar (was: some Wendar ideas) Haavard Roenne Faanes writes: >As this list was dicussing the Wendar region I started thinking about the immortals of the region. And since I had nothing else to do, my thoughts tured into a mail... >Ilsundal: The Elves of the region followed Ilsundal before they came to Wendar, and thus they probably follow him still. Ilsundal is the protector of the elves after all. The Humans of wendar who have been living with the elves may have adopted this immortal as well...Mealiden may also have some following... Well, the elves of Wendar have been there since before the Great Rain of Fire... I doubt they'd follow Ilsundal, it's more likely they'd follow some older immortals like Ordana and other nature immortals... >Eiryndul: this mischievious immortal may have tricked some elves away from Ilsundals wise teachings, although I doubt his following would be too extensive. They probably wouldn't follow Eiryndul for the same reason... >Odin: One of the most important immortals of the Antillans(ancestors of Date: Thu, 20 Mar 1997 07:39:06 -0600 From: (mystara-digest) To: mystara-digest@lists.io.com Subject: mystara-digest V2 #16 Reply-To: mystara-l@lists.io.com Precedence: bulk X-UIDL: c98e0f252da912dbdeb4c3451a3ce490 >the Wendarian Humans). He represents kings and rulers, and Gylharen would be wise to encourage worhip of this immortal. Other norse immortals may also be popular, especially Thor for his fighting abilities. Frey/Freyja may be less important due to the fact that Ilusundal also is an immortal of nature. Actually they might actually be more important than Ilsundal, considering the elves of Wendar have very little connection with Ilsundal. - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- "Just Glad To Be Here Happy To Be Alive!" Carleton U. Computer Science, Software Email addresses: jduncan2@chat.carleton.ca cq793@freenet.carleton.ca - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 19 Mar 1997 12:59:22 -0500 (EST) From: TSRBruce@aol.com Subject: Re: [Mystara] Mystaras? (was: Specularum) In a message dated 97-03-19 07:17:44 EST, Haavard Faanes writes: << okay..so now there are three Mystaras? >> Welcome to the land of democracy, of freedom, and of plentiful game worlds! :) Bruce Heard Speculo, Speculas, Specula, Speculamos, Speculais, Speculan Oh no! I'm sliding into the Sliders dimension!!! Help me! ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 19 Mar 1997 22:41:15 +0100 From: Fabrizio Paoli Subject: Re: [Mystara] XP >yes, that's true. I guess I was thinking about MOST parties, who are made up of heroes. Even if you had evil characters, the both alternatives would still work. Additionally, you can assume that evil PCs would attract evil henchmen, so there's nothing wrong with having a henchman or two stab your characters in the back (literally or not, your choice) at inopportune times. Or you can substitute the henchmen with Thugs... ************** Fabrizio Paoli brizio@lunet.it s153349@studenti.ing.unipi.it DM in City Of The Stars - PC in the Forgotten Realms Leader of Privateers - Trip Bomb Master - Lord of Firewalkers Home Page:http://www.ing.unipi.it/~s153349/index.html ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 19 Mar 1997 22:41:20 +0100 From: Fabrizio Paoli Subject: Re: [Mystara] Immortals At 14.40 19/03/97 +0100, you wrote: >The Guardians of Karameikos. >Asterius (Eternal of Thought), Leader >Kagyar (Eternal of Matter) >Ilsundal (Hierarch of Thought) >Valerias (Hierarch of Matter) >Vanya (Empyreal of Time) >Comments are welcome. I'm going by memory here so I may be totally wrong. IIRC Asterius and Vanya sided with Rad during WotI, while Valerias and Ilsundal sided with Ixion, with Kagyar remaining neutral. This may be another reason for Karameikos not siding with anybody, despite the agreement with Alphatia. Moreover this may lead to a crack in the Church of Karameikos with the pro-Glantri against the pro-Alphatia. Anyone willing to develop some nice story along these lines ? ************** Fabrizio Paoli brizio@lunet.it s153349@studenti.ing.unipi.it DM in City Of The Stars - PC in the Forgotten Realms Leader of Privateers - Trip Bomb Master - Lord of Firewalkers Home Page:http://www.ing.unipi.it/~s153349/index.html ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 19 Mar 1997 17:16:51 -0700 (MST) From: "Cthulhudrew, The Great Old One" Subject: Re: [Mystara] Immortals of Wendar (was: some Wendar ideas) On Wed, 19 Mar 1997, Haavard Roenne Faanes wrote: >As this list was dicussing the Wendar region I started thinking about the immortals of the region. And since I had nothing else to do, my thoughts tured into a mail... This is something I was thinking about last night myself, after going over X11 again. >Ilsundal: The Elves of the region followed Ilsundal before they came to Wendar, and thus they probably follow him still. Ilsundal is the protector of the elves after all. The Humans of wendar who have been living with the elves may have adopted this immortal as well...Mealiden may also have some following... I don't know- if we consider that the elves of the region were survivors of the original Blackmoor migration of elves (the ones that eventually become the Shadowelves and/or Schattenalfen), they might be more followers of Ordana. >Eiryndul: this mischievious immortal may have tricked some elves away from Ilsundals wise teachings, although I doubt his following would be too extensive. Possibly migrants from the Shiye-Lawr of nearby Norwold. >Odin: One of the most important immortals of the Antillans(ancestors of the Wendarian Humans). He represents kings and rulers, and Gylharen would be wise to encourage worhip of this immortal. Other norse immortals may also be popular, especially Thor for his fighting abilities. Frey/Freyja may be less important due to the fact that Ilusundal also is an immortal of nature. More on this in a later post (if that isn't ominous, I don't know what. ;) Actually, this refers to the past of Essuria/Denagoth- where from, etc. See later post. >The Korrigans: >From Shawn Stanleys Home Page: "Korrigans, The:Empyreal(21), Sphere of Energy. TheKorrigans are a group of nine elves who lived in the forest areas in the area which would become Wendar, although they lived there a long time ago even before the coming of the Antalians. They all adventured together in mortal life but parted when each chose to attain immortality. Unbeknownst to them they were all being sponsored by the same immortal who enjoyed the precedence that he was setting. The nine elves all achieved immortality within a few centuries of each other and then resumed their friendship. (Original Immortals set, DM's Guide, page 41, and Master DM's book Artifacts chapter)" Since they are from the region, it is likely that they have a following here. I would even go so far as to suggest they might be the creators of the Elvenstar, which protects that region. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 19 Mar 97 19:20:25 EST From: Geoff Gander Subject: Re: [Mystara] Mystara map Cthulhudrew, The Great Old One writes: >Alphatia was always intended to be like Atlantis- though I don't know that it was supposed to sink like it did... at least, not in the beginning. >Personally, I prefer it unsunk, and don't sink it in my campaigns, though it is hardly untouched by the war... I agree, Alphatia is too interesting to sink. I've decided to have the empire collapse into civil war with the destruction of Sundsvall (instead of sinking the whole thing), and the supposed "death" of Eriadna. That way, one could still have all the breakaway kingdoms of Belissaria (and more) come about. Geoff> - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Geoff Gander Political Science IV Carleton University General wanderer by principle, adventurer by profession Email address: ggander@chat.carleton.ca - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 19 Mar 1997 17:28:32 -0700 (MST) From: "Cthulhudrew, The Great Old One" Subject: [Mystara] Wendar, Denagoth, and Essuria While going over the X11 stuff last night, some thoughts occurred to me, namely, the age of Essuria. Essuria, founded by Nebunar 'hundreds of years ago' (according to Bensarian), became a great kingdom in the north. Next to the elvish forest of Geffron, with it's capital at Drax Tallen, this kingdom flourished for a long time. (I'd give it an area of app. 15,000 sq.mi., based on the map). There were eleven kings of Essuria- Nebunar the first, Halvan the eighth, and his great grandson, Landryn Teriak, being the eleventh. Essuria was destroyed (for all intents and purposes) during Teriak's reign, by barbarians from the west (located on the Denagothian plateau? or from the Northern Wildlands area?) Considering about a 70 year lifespan, with overlap, I'd say Essuria was around for c. 500 yrs, and fell into ruin and anarchy fairly recently- either c. 800 or c. 900, depending on the dates we have discussed in other threads. In any event, this means that Essuria was being colonized probably around the time of Glantri's earliest non-elven colonization. Where did the Essurians come from? GAZ7 has Ostlanders colonizing the mainland c. 500 AC; they could be displaced Heldanners from either the freeholds or the Vestland/Soderfjord territories. They could be Thyatian in descent (if one wants to consider their oft disputed ties to the Empire). They could be Heldanners from the Norwold region. Or they could be wandering barbarians from the western lands- around Hule, or north. Possibly descendents (or sharing common ancestors with) the Urduk tribesmen of the Sind region. In any case, Essuria is said to have had a long history, and IMO it has been rather neglected in the histories, etc, of the other surrounding nations. On another note, I don't have the first page of X11- used copy. Does it have info on the approximate history of Wendar? Time founded, etc.? Wendar is seemingly much younger than Essuria is/was, and approximate dates would help. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 19 Mar 1997 17:43:58 -0700 (MST) From: "Cthulhudrew, The Great Old One" Subject: Re: [Mystara] Mystara map On Wed, 19 Mar 1997, Geoff Gander wrote: >I agree, Alphatia is too interesting to sink. I've decided to have the empire collapse into civil war with the destruction of Sundsvall (instead of sinking the whole thing), and the supposed "death" of Eriadna. TThat way, one could still have all the breakaway kingdoms of Belissaria (and more) come about. That's exactly my take. I had Sundsvall nuked (with all the nasty radiation, etc, that goes with it), and the Empire divided into civil wars. Arogansa, etc (the southern kingdoms) were already apparently on the brink even in peace times- they go full tilt after Eriadna's death (BTW, I prefer not to bring her back; IMO, things work fine without her.) Zandor is backed by one faction; the Shiye-Lawr and Blackheart both go independent; some of the northern Kings decide to push their own claim. It's all an ugly mess, but interesting. :) ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 19 Mar 1997 18:28:45 -0700 From: "Patrick" Subject: Re: [Mystara] XP ><< In my campaign NPCs get half share XP,but one character always try to kkill the NPCs at the end of the adventure,because he wants the PCs to get all the XP from the adventure.This thing is getting annoying and I want to stop him from killing my favorite NPCs.Anybody with an idea? >> >First off -- for such purposes I would impose a rule that dead characters get >a full share of XPs, thus eliminating that motive (although the treasure motive >would remain). I'm not sure about AD&D, but OD&D rules state very clearly that dead characters receive their share of all experience earned on an adventure, since they will need them if raised. NPCs count as characters, so this rule is really already in place. Patrick ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 19 Mar 1997 20:56:27 -0500 From: Joe Duncan Subject: Re: [Mystara] Wendar, Denagoth, and Essuria >On another note, I don't have the first page of X11- used copy. Does it have info on the approximate history of Wendar? Time founded, etc.? Wendar is seemingly much younger than Essuria is/was, and approximate dates would help. Well, the elves of Wendar have been around since the Blackmoor era. They've lived in the same region for a *LONG* time, but I get the feeling that it was just scattered tribes and isolated villages. The second almanac states that Wendar didn't officially become a nation until about 200 years ago, when Bensarian gave the ElvenStar to Gylharen. The humans had already been there for a while as well. - ----------------------------------------------------------------------- "Just Glad To Be Here Happy To Be Alive" Joe Duncan, Computer Science, Carleton University jduncan2@chat.carleton.ca cq793@freenet.carleton.ca - ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 19 Mar 1997 19:16:33 -0700 From: "Patrick" Subject: Re: [Mystara] Mystara map >>I have heard that the map of Mystara is basically the map of Middle-Earth >>upside-down. Dengar is Moria, Alfheim is Mirkwood, Darokin is Rhovanion, >>Lake Amsorak is Sea of Rhun, and Glantri is Mordor. Anyone know anything >>about this? >Nope. As far as I know Mystara is Earth about 10 or 20 million years ago or something. Whenever most of the continents were still together. >Of course that doesn't mean Middle Earth isn't Ancient Earth upside down. I can see the similarities between the map of the Known World and Middle Earth. I don't think this suggestion is talking about Mystara on a planetary scale, but rather a fairly small portion of Brun, just as Tolkien's stories were all set in a fairly small area of Middle Earth. Patrick ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 19 Mar 1997 10:57:18 -0600 From: Enrique Pacheco Subject: [Mystara] check Just wondering if the list is down! Also, does anyone has something resembling a Logo or identification for Mystara? - -- "If I was given every opportunity I'd kill for your love." I was born to love you. Queen, 1995. Enrique Pacheco. Email: pach@mail.geocities.com http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Arcade/2426/index.html ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 20 Mar 1997 12:48:28 +0000 From: DM Subject: Re: [Mystara] Mystery in Champions of Mystara At 10.47 18/03/97 EST, you wrote: >>>I have my ideas, among whose the possibility that this Old One is the same one that appeared in WotI and later known as Gareth... Any ideas?? Bruce? >Who called the Old One Gareth? What supplement was this in? If you notice, i have stated at the beginning of the line: "I have MY ideas [etc]", and this means that it's me the one who called the Old One Gareth... it's only a personal opinion and a possibility, not the official one at least.. DM ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 20 Mar 1997 13:14:39 +0000 From: DM Subject: Re: [Mystara] Mystery in Champions of Mystara At 19.26 18/03/97 -0500, you wrote: >>Now for the real problem: >>One of the Neh-Thalggu's brains is that of one of the Glantrian nobles (I can't recall her name offhand- she is the elven one, who had her dominion on the southeastern border). Given that Bruce created the NPC, in GAZ3, that is doubtless where he got the name, however: >If you assume the AD&D spell list then a Clone spell will resolve the problem, perhaps Restoration or Regeneration as well. Clone creates a replica of the character from a skin sample, but the replica is at the level, age, etc. the skin sample was taken. It makes you insane in a week if your still alive, but you could Contingency it to be cast upon your death. >Starhawk The Clone solution is also mentioned by David Keyser is good, but someone else must have cast Clone on lady Aliana Nyraviel, cause elves do not get that far in magic prowess (8th level spell). As for the Contingency solution, it's impossible, because IIRC you cannot cast it on spells of 8th level (as Clone is) >A Ring of Regeneration, one of the ones that will bring a character back from the dead, will work. You probably mean Reincarnation, that's most probable... >Or Resurrection. Not easy if you don't have the brain.....:) DM ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 20 Mar 1997 14:37:48 +0000 From: DM Subject: Re: [Mystara] Landryn Teriak At 17.32 18/03/97 +0100, you wrote: >When I read about the New Shadowlord in the almanacs..I started thinking. My thought was that he could be a Shadow Knight. Shadow Knights were mentioned earlier in some mail as the celestial servants of Thanatos. After all If we want this to be a bit Tolkien-ish I thought it would be nice to bring the big BAD guy into the stage. It's a nice hypothesis, but i don't think it could be possible for mainly 2 reasons: 1. Teriak is much more a "wizardish" than "fighterish" type, and personally i don't see him wielding a sword or a scythe and slaughtering his enemies on the battlefield. He is a subtle plotter, an evil schemer who uses his henchmen to do his biddings and these kinda slaughterings. 2. why should a lich accept to be turned into a Shadow Knight? He is already very powerful and well versed in magic, he is independent (not obliged to serve anyone) and he has different "hobbies" than those of a Shadow Knight.. I don't think Teriak would have acceppted such a deal with Thanatos >If he is a lich, Thanatos can turn him into a Shadow Knight when Teriak accomplishes some quest for big boss evil. I was thinking about an alternate scenario where Teriak, or some other dead villain lost in Limbo, is approached by Thanatos, and given the chance to live again as an undead servant of the Entrophic Hierarch. If Teriak has become a Lich, than he is not dead (even if the heroes manage to slay his body, his soul goes to his phylactery waiting to possess the body of antoher unlucky- see VR Guide to the Lich) and thus he won't need Thanatos' help >The Shadow Lord would be a very powerful such. He would probably have some other Shadow Knights at his command. these would make excellent opponents for Heldannic heroes(?) who will sooner or later encounter people from Denagoth. It is much more probable that Teriak is still an independent lich and that he has "diplomatic ties" with Shadow Knights representative of Thanatos, who work in Denagoth obeying alternatively to Thanatos and to Teriak. Or maybe Teriak opposes the Shadow Knights who are trying to wrestle away the power he has on those humanoids to become the new rulers of Denagoth (in Thanatos' name) >Idris and Thanatos? >whoever Idris is she is certainly not Thanatos. If he is into the game, he will manipulate or force Idris to serve his will. This is sure, i agree 100% >What does Thanatos want with Denagoth? >It would probably not be Thanatos' way to invade the known world and kill everybody. Though he would appreciate that outcome it is not his style, and too risky. However, there are certain advantages in having a realm where evil can thrive, and possibly help spreading evil into the known world... >Haavard R. Faanes An interesting hypothesis this last one... i think it could be better developed maybe in the future by the list members... DM ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 20 Mar 1997 14:42:37 +0000 From: DM Subject: Re: [Mystara] Gylharen At 12.57 18/03/97 -0500, you wrote: >Also, bear in mind that Gylharen was >MY>a powerful wizard (maybe 14th level), and when he was turned into an elf i MY>think he became an elf-mage (see Gaz5) of maybe 11th level, and today (AC MY>1010-13) he is probably 15th level in power. MY>Satisfied? >MY>DM >How would he drop three levels. Yes, I understand that the xp would be different, but dropping three levels would require him to lose knowledge of his spells, hit points, etc. This doesn't seem too right to me. IMO he would be the same level, but with maybe the least amount of xp needed to be at that level, or something like that. >Just butting in! >Necromancer I see your point, but that's also an inconvenient of artifacts' handicaps: they're supposed to be handicaps to those who use artifacts!!! ;) DM ------------------------------ End of mystara-digest V2 #16 **************************** Date: Thu, 20 Mar 1997 21:40:28 -0600 From: (mystara-digest) To: mystara-digest@lists.io.com Subject: mystara-digest V2 #17 Reply-To: mystara-l@lists.io.com Precedence: bulk X-UIDL: d775f767dda7898f59ae653c958cfea2 mystara-digest Thursday, March 20 1997 Volume 02 : Number 017 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 20 Mar 1997 14:47:08 +0100 (MET) From: Haavard Roenne Faanes Subject: [Mystara] The N'djatwa Someone wanted info about the N'djatwa, so last night I dug up my old copy of Dragon #158. Hope this helps. They are a mix of the ogres of the Nunjar Horde and the Hatwa elves. After years of war, the Orge shaman Utaba received a vision and a relic. The Altar of the Stars. Each member of the clans took part in a ritual wich invgolved mixing their blood on the holy altar. Racial intermarriage was enforced and soon the N'djatwa race was born. D&D statistics: AC:5,;HD:3*;MV: 120'(40');#AT 1 fist or 1 weapon; Dmg: 1d6 per fist or by weapon; #AP: 1d12 (any);Save: E3; ML 10; AL N or C;XP: 115. Adult (3HD) Ndjatwas can cast one 1st lvl magical spell Haavard R. Faanes Email: hoc@nvg.unit.no hoc@nvg.nuts.edu http://www.nvg.ntnu.no/~hoc "I didn't spend all those years playing Dungeons and Dragons without learning a bit about courage" -The X-Files ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 20 Mar 1997 14:53:14 +0000 From: DM Subject: Re: [Mystara] Denagoth and Idris At 17.24 15/03/97 -0300, you wrote: >Hi! First of all, congratulations for your msg about Wendar and Denagoth (i once played much of my campaign there and we always stumbled when trying to figure that lbscure region). About your proposal: Gee, thanx... but be prepared for a complete timeline of the region in the following days! >>In X11 it is also mentioned the evil church of Idris, a deity associated with dragons and swamps. I have 2 possible solutions for this Immortal: 1. it's Opal, the Dragon ruler of Chaotic Dragons (surprisingly enough, it has some followers also among humans) >Hmmm.. i prefer to think the D.R. is detailed differently than the average immortal (i.e i use the old immortals boxed set data instead of the new one trying to put them in the Sphere Hierarchy), and i do not view any of them creating a cult in such fashion; perhaps they do not care or do not need (the dragon population can readily serve for that). BTW: The name of the Lesser chaotic dragon ruler is Pearl (Opal is of neutrality) Whoops... bad mistake, sorry! :) >>3. it's Demogorgon, who is trying to bring death and destruction to those people for some reason we don't know (well, it just doesn't need a good reason after all, if u know the Immortal) 4. it's some lesser Demon (Fiend, call it whatever you want), maybe a Swamp Demon (Croaking) who is trying to enter Mystara by giving false promises to its followers... >Most likeoy i support these too. Demons and their worshipping had its importance and its hard to count the number of Chaotic cults published that had any relation to them >[]s >Victor Caminha I too support the 3rd option (see previous answer in the list) DM ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 20 Mar 1997 14:50:33 +0000 From: DM Subject: Re: [Mystara] Denagoth and Idris At 16.48 18/03/97 -0300, you wrote: >I don't have X11, so what I say might not fit into that module, but, while reading the posts about it, an idea has occured to me. What if those happenings are somewhat related with the appearance of Synn. Now that you mention there is an evil church associated with dragons, I believe such association is even more likely. Nobody knows where Synn comes from, but she could be associated (maybe a pawn, that would be scary) of whomever is in power as Shadow Lord. >Andre Martins >acrmarti@fma.if.usp.br Well, that is definitely a good solution, i didn't remember about Synn (how could have i been so numb!) There is only 1 main problem with this theory: according to Haldemar's chronicles, Synn originally appeared in Cestia, where she was the ruler of the Night Dragons that dwelt there, and she has only recently come to the Known World, so it seems not probable that she is the being venerated by the Idris' priests, for this cult is veery ancient (it was Nebunar, the first Essurian King, the first important follower of this sect, and this places the faith's roots back in AC 500, and i don't think Synn was ever on this plane at that time.. but then, maybe i'm mistaking). For this reason, i think it is more probable that the actual Immortal followed by Idris' priests is Demogorgon, the Lizard King, but if you can actually deny my previous arguments i would be most glad, cause i really liked your idea of Synn being under the Idris' cult...;) DM ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 20 Mar 1997 14:56:43 +0000 From: DM Subject: [Mystara] Shadow Knights At 13.45 19/03/97 +0100, you wrote: >Shadow Knights >Suggested D&D characteristics... >Sphere: Entrophy >Status: Immortal (or maybe Exalted) >Power Points: 250 >Anti-Magic: 25% >AC: -3 >HD: 15 >attacks: 2 fists or 1 weapon or 1 magical effect DMG: 2d6 each or by weapon or by magical effect #ap: 1 (varies) >Save AS: IM1 >Morale: 11 >Treasure: NIL >Int: 1d8+17 >Align: Chaotic (Using D&D, AD&D would probably be LE) XP: ? >This is just a scetchy idea yet using the statistics for Titans. The knights also may have special powers like powerword kill, etc.. They are most likely at least masters with long swords, and experts with other knightly weapons.... >Haavard R. Faanes Do they also have Power Points limitations regarding spellcasting, as for normal D&D Fiends (Demons)? It could be useful to develop these monsters a bit more... PS: does it remind you the Death Knights as it does to me?? DM ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 20 Mar 1997 15:06:49 +0000 From: DM Subject: [Mystara] Traldars and Nithians One thing has always puzzled me: it is stated that the Traldar clan that colonized Traladara region was originally from Nithia (everybody agrees?). Then the Traldar separated from Nithia and became independent, and lived happily until the gnoll invasion, during which king Milen guided his followers across the Sea of Dread to Davania, where they founded the Milenian Empire. Now, this is what i really cannot understand: Nithians were short, dark-skinned, dark-haired and dark-eyed people, whereas the "common Traldar guy" as described in Hollow World is a tall, light haired (from blond to red hair) man/woman, with a light complexion! How can this change have occurred, if no other important human race was mentioned living in the Traladara region when the Traldar clan arrived, and so this cannot be the result of intermarriage between races (as happened in the case of Milenians -their olive skin tone is the result of marriages between light skinned Traldars and dark skinned Oltec descendants)? Hope somone will answer... DM ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 20 Mar 1997 16:31:49 +0200 (EET) From: Aleksej Andrievskij Subject: Re: [Mystara] Mystara map On Wed, 19 Mar 1997, Patrick wrote: >>>I have heard that the map of Mystara is basically the map of MMiddle-Earth >>>upside-down. Dengar is Moria, Alfheim is Mirkwood, Darokin is RRhovanion, >>>Lake Amsorak is Sea of Rhun, and Glantri is Mordor. Anyone know aanything >>>about this? >>Nope. As far as I know Mystara is Earth about 10 or 20 million years ago or something. Whenever most of the continents were still together. >>Of course that doesn't mean Middle Earth isn't Ancient Earth upside down. II can see the similarities between the map of the Known World and Middle Earth. I don't think this suggestion is talking about Mystara on a planetary scale, but rather a fairly small portion of Brun, just as Tolkien's stories were all set in a fairly small area of Middle Earth. Yes, that's what I meant. Specifically the Rockhome-Alfheim-Darokin area is almost like Moria-Mirkwood-Rhovanion upside down. Aleksei ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 20 Mar 1997 15:21:09 +0000 From: DM Subject: Re: [Mystara] Immortals of Wendar (was: some Wendar ideas) At 14.06 19/03/97 +0100, you wrote: >As this list was dicussing the Wendar region I started thinking about the immortals of the region. And since I had nothing else to do, my thoughts tured into a mail... Well done: this is what the list is for...:) >Ilsundal: The Elves of the region followed Ilsundal before they came to Wendar, and thus they probably follow him still. Ilsundal is the protector of the elves after all. The Humans of wendar who have been living with the elves may have adopted this immortal as well...Mealiden may also have some following... Nope, i don't even think Wendar elves had seen a tree of life until Alfheim refugees arrived, and that's because they were in fact followers of Ilsundal... but prior his ascent to Immortality! And since they split (according to my theory, at least) before he reached the Sylvan Realm and created the Tree of Life, they cannot possibly know him, nor Mealiden... >Eiryndul: this mischievious immortal may have tricked some elves away from Ilsundals wise teachings, although I doubt his following would be too extensive. It may be that some Shyie elves found their way to Wendar when they migrated from Shyie-Lawr to Norwold, but i find this possibility very unlikely, because of the long and impervious trek they should have done (and why should have they traveled so far instead of staying with their bretherns in the Foresthomes up in Norwold? This would require a major plan by Eyrindul, but we do not know anything about it...) >Odin: One of the most important immortals of the Antalians(ancestors of the Wendarian Humans). He represents kings and rulers, and Gylharen would be wise to encourage worhip of this immortal. Other norse immortals may also be popular, especially Thor for his fighting abilities. Frey/Freyja may be less important due to the fact that Ilusundal also is an immortal of nature. This is very likely indeed, for half the population is of Antalian stock. I agree that Wendar share the Northern Reaches pantheon of good gods, but i doubt that Denagoth also follows these Immortals... >The Korrigans: >>From Shawn Stanleys Home Page: "Korrigans, The:Empyreal(21), SSphere of Energy. TheKorrigans are a group of nine elves who lived in the forest areas in the area which would become Wendar, although they lived there a long time ago even before the coming of the Antalians. They all >adventured together in mortal life but parted when each chose to attain iimmortality. Unbeknownst to them they were all being sponsored by the same immortal who enjoyed the precedence that he was setting. The nine elves all achieved immortality within a few centuries of each other and then resumed >their friendship. Now, this is a really interesting hypothesis! Very Good!! I think that these Korrigans are the proper Immortal followed by Wendar and Denagoth elves, and that probably they manufactured the Elvenstar as a part of their quest for immortality! But remeber, it is stated in WotI, DM's book, that the Korrigans are not 9 different elves, but 1 Elven Immortal that suffered from split personalities, and so this means there are no 9 elf friends, but only 1 elf that undertook the Path of the Paragon: your story is just an elven legend,folklore, or better, it is the elves' version of the true story (which Bensarian could know) >The Great One: The Dragonlord Chronicles mention that the elves of the region worshipped this immortal around year 500AC. As the dragons dont interact as much with the elves as they used to, having retired into the Wyrmsteeth Range, his following has decreesed. >Haavard R. Faanes If the Old One was revered by the elves, it is then possible for the Idris Church being devoted to Pearl (the ruler of Chaotic -read Evil- Dragons), otherwise, as you rightly said, the followers of the Old One among the elves are really few. DM ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 20 Mar 1997 13:25:15 -0300 (EST) From: Andre Cavalcanti Rocha Martins {S Subject: Re: [Mystara] Traldars and Nithians On Thu, 20 Mar 1997, DM wrote: >One thing has always puzzled me: it is stated that the Traldar clan that colonized Traladara region was originally from Nithia (everybody agrees?). Then the Traldar separated from Nithia and became independent, and lived happily until the gnoll invasion, during which king Milen guided his followers across the Sea of Dread to Davania, where they founded the Milenian Empire. Now, this is what i really cannot understand: Nithians were short, dark-skinned, dark-haired and dark-eyed people, whereas the "common Traldar guy" as described in Hollow World is a tall, light haired (from blond to red hair) man/woman, with a light complexion! How can this change have occurred, if no other important human race was mentioned living in the Traladara region when the Traldar clan arrived, and so this cannot be the result of intermarriage between races (as happened in the case of Milenians -their olive skin tone is the result of marriages between light skinned Traldars and dark skinned Oltec descendants)? Hope somone will answer... Maybe that was they have left Nithia. The old traladarans were a tribe with a light complexion living in the mountains north of the Nithian Empire, near what today are the Northern Reaches. They had problems, because they didn't look like the ordinary nithian and it came to a point they decided to go away and settle somewhere else. Andre Martins ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 20 Mar 97 13:29:24 EST From: Jody Duncan Subject: Re: [Mystara] The N'djatwa Haavard Roenne Faanes writes: >Someone wanted info about the N'djatwa, so last night I dug up my old copy of Dragon #158. Hope this helps. >They are a mix of the ogres of the Nunjar Horde and the Hatwa elves. After Where did the Hatwa elves come from? I've never heard of them before... Could someone please tell me where the came from... - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- "Just Glad To Be Here Happy To Be Alive!" Carleton U. Computer Science, Software Email addresses: jduncan2@chat.carleton.ca cq793@freenet.carleton.ca - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 20 Mar 97 13:37:19 EST From: Jody Duncan Subject: Re: [Mystara] Immortals of Wendar (was: some Wendar ideas) >>Ilsundal: The Elves of the region followed Ilsundal before they came to Wendar, and thus they probably follow him still. Ilsundal is the protector of the elves after all. The Humans of wendar who have been living with the elves may have adopted this immortal as well...Mealiden may also have some following... >Nope, i don't even think Wendar elves had seen a tree of life until Alfheim refugees arrived, and that's because they were in fact followers of Ilsundal... but prior his ascent to Immortality! And since they split (according to my theory, at least) before he reached the Sylvan Realm and created the Tree of Life, they cannot possibly know him, nor Mealiden... Actually several sources state that the elves of Wendar have been there ever since The Great Rain Of Fire. When Blackmoor blew up, some scattered survivors fled north to where Wendar is today. They lived there ecer since. The Wendar elves have never heard of Ilsundal ( well maybe as an immortal, but not as one they follow ) >>Eiryndul: this mischievious immortal may have tricked some elves away from Ilsundals wise teachings, although I doubt his following would be too extensive. >It may be that some Shyie elves found their way to Wendar when they migrated from Shyie-Lawr to Norwold, but i find this possibility very unlikely, because of the long and impervious trek they should have done (and why should have they traveled so far instead of staying with their bretherns in the Foresthomes up in Norwold? This would require a major plan by Eyrindul, but we do not know anything about it...) It's possible, but highly unlikely... >>Odin: One of the most important immortals of the Antalians(ancestors of the Wendarian Humans). He represents kings and rulers, and Gylharen would be wise to encourage worhip of this immortal. Other norse immortals may also be popular, especially Thor for his fighting abilities. Frey/Freyja may be less important due to the fact that Ilusundal also is an immortal of nature. >This is very likely indeed, for half the population is of Antalian stock. I agree that Wendar share the Northern Reaches pantheon of good gods, but i doubt that Denagoth also follows these Immortals... I agree whole-heartedly with this. The elves of Wendar would be very likely to follow Norse immortals. Another thought I had was that they might also still follow some of the older Blacmoorian era immortals.... >>The Korrigans: >>>From Shawn Stanleys Home Page: "Korrigans, The:Empyreal(21), SSSphere of Energy. TheKorrigans are a group of nine elves who lived in the forest areas in the area which would become Wendar, although they lived there a long time ago even before the coming of the Antalians. They aall >adventured together in mortal life but parted when each chose to attain iiimmortality. Unbeknownst to them they were all being sponsored by the same immortal who enjoyed the precedence that he was setting. The nine elves all achieved immortality within a few centuries of each other and then rresumed >their friendship. >Now, this is a really interesting hypothesis! Very Good!! I think that these Korrigans are the proper Immortal followed by Wendar and Denagoth elves, and that probably they manufactured the Elvenstar as a part of their quest for immortality! But remeber, it is stated in WotI, DM's book, that the Korrigans are not 9 different elves, but 1 Elven Immortal that suffered from split personalities, and so this means there are no 9 elf friends, but only 1 elf that undertook the Path of the Paragon: your story is just an elven legend,folklore, or better, it is the elves' version of the true story (which Bensarian could know) - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- "Just Glad To Be Here Happy To Be Alive!" Carleton U. Computer Science, Software Email addresses: jduncan2@chat.carleton.ca cq793@freenet.carleton.ca - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 12 Mar 1997 18:54:38 -0300 From: Victor Caminha Subject: Re: [Mystara] Denagoth and Idris >Gee, thanx... but be prepared for a complete timeline of the region in the following days! I can hardly wait :) sometimes i love to seea obscure campaign scenario described in a module gaining much strenght when detailing (as in X11, M3 Twilight Calling, and i hope someday a player with interest of detailing the world of Aelos, described in Cm8 Where Chaos Reigns) >>Most likeoy i support these too. Demons and their worshipping had its importance and its hard to count the number of Chaotic cults published that had any relation to them >I too support the 3rd option (see previous answer in the list) Good. Its hard to see demons plotting in Mystara..after the D&D devil worshiipping hysteria, suddenly they all but disappeared, with much of malignity and "badness" going to Thanatos (i liek the Immortal, but sometimes i think his importance was overstressed; HW perhaps marks me most; just a opinion ;)) []s Victor Caminha "Receive the bounty of your hero's deed Tainting thy life by the gift of the dead Eternally running from a priestly bead Unable to bear the Orb in your head You'll walk in the darkness so alluring Without Hope to cleanse your sin Away from the joy of the living Forever to serve your Twin" ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 20 Mar 1997 17:36:02 -0500 (EST) From: StarHawk Subject: Re: [Mystara] Mystery in Champions of Mystara On Thu, 20 Mar 1997, DM wrote: Date: Thu, 20 Mar 1997 21:40:28 -0600 From: (mystara-digest) To: mystara-digest@lists.io.com Subject: mystara-digest V2 #17 Reply-To: mystara-l@lists.io.com Precedence: bulk X-UIDL: d775f767dda7898f59ae653c958cfea2 >At 19.26 18/03/97 -0500, you wrote: >>>Now for the real problem: >>>One of the Neh-Thalggu's brains is that of one of the Glantrian nobles (I can't recall her name offhand- she is the elven one, who had her dominion on the southeastern border). Given that Bruce created the NPC, in GAZ3, that is doubtless where he got the name, however: >>If you assume the AD&D spell list then a Clone spell will resolve the problem, perhaps Restoration or Regeneration as well. Clone creates a replica of the character from a skin sample, but the replica is at the level, age, etc. the skin sample was taken. It makes you insane in a week if your still alive, but you could Contingency it to be cast upon your death. >>Starhawk >The Clone solution is also mentioned by David Keyser is good, but someone else must have cast Clone on lady Aliana Nyraviel, cause elves do not get that far in magic prowess (8th level spell). As for the Contingency solution, it's impossible, because IIRC you cannot cast it on spells of 8th level (as Clone is) I forgot about those limits thanks for reminding me. >>A Ring of Regeneration, one of the ones that will bring a character back from the dead, will work. >You probably mean Reincarnation, that's most probable... No. Regeneration, one that keeps giving hit points even if you die. I remember seeing it somewhere before, though it may be an AD&D item. >>Or Resurrection. >Not easy if you don't have the brain.....:) Not easy, but you don't need the whole body, or any body for that matter. I'm more familiar with the AD&D version, but I don't think it was that much difference. Of course barring all other options there is always Wish. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 20 Mar 1997 16:13:33 -0700 (MST) From: "Cthulhudrew, The Great Old One" Subject: Re: [Mystara] Traldars and Nithians On Thu, 20 Mar 1997, Andre Cavalcanti Rocha Martins {S wrote: >Maybe that was they have left Nithia. The old traladarans were a tribe with a light complexion living in the mountains north of the Nithian Empire, near what today are the Northern Reaches. They had problems, because they didn't look like the ordinary nithian and it came to a point they decided to go away and settle somewhere else. This was my understanding- that the Traladarans were a sort of mixed Antalian/Nithian offshoot, arrived at from Antalian/Heldannic slaves of the Nithians who interbred over the years. Eventually they threw off the collar of oppression, and founded their own nation. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 21 Mar 1997 09:38:51 +0000 From: s9406058@bohm.anu.edu.au (Stan) Subject: Re: [Mystara] The N'djatwa >Haavard Roenne Faanes writes: >>Someone wanted info about the N'djatwa, so last night I dug up my old copy of Dragon #158. Hope this helps. >>They are a mix of the ogres of the Nunjar Horde and the Hatwa elves. After >Where did the Hatwa elves come from? I've never heard of them before... Could someone please tell me where the came from... I've been fairly busily trying to compile replies as a fallout from all this Denagoth and Wendar stuff. As a result of this process, which isn't finished yet, I have been looking at what elves come from where. The reason I am doing this is that I don't think that we really know where the Wendar/Denagoth elves come from - we think we do but we really don't, more on this in another post. Meanwhile, the Hatwa Elves. The Dragon magazine article doesn't say where these people come from but there are a number of possibilities. The best possibility as far as I see it is from the second migration which left Grunland. The effects of this migration are only mentioned in one place that being that some elves from this migration ended up in Glantri and there joined up with elves who had already broken off from the Ilsundal migration and were already living in Glantri. Yet from this second migration there seems to be a lack of account for what any of the other elves did. The second possibility would be that perhaps part of the Ilsundal migration or the other bit of the Ilsundasl migration which travelled through the Adakkia region (I believe) might have broken off. Of course the Hatwa Elves could also have been some other splinter group which had left Grunland at some other time and were not mentioned (unlikely or at least we may as well think of them as part of the migration where one part reached Glantri), or they could have even been part of a group which left Evergrun originally (which it will transpire was also, I believe, what the Wendar/Denagoth region Elves did). Shawn Stanley, Department of Geology, Australian National University. (s9406058@student.anu.edu.au) (http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/5304) ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 20 Mar 1997 16:23:20 -0700 (MST) From: "Cthulhudrew, The Great Old One" Subject: Re: [Mystara] Denagoth and Idris On Thu, 20 Mar 1997, DM wrote: >Well, that is definitely a good solution, i didn't remember about Synn (how could have i been so numb!) There is only 1 main problem with this theory: according to Haldemar's chronicles, Synn originally appeared in Cestia, where she was the ruler of the Night Dragons that dwelt there, and she has only recently come to the Known World, so it seems not probable that she is the being venerated by the Idris' priests, for this cult is veery ancient Keep in mind that Haldemar encountered Synn in 960 AC, where she had been residing in Cestia for many hundreds of years (having been the leader of those dragons that drove the Cestians out), possibly even thousands of years. So it is possible that she is involved with the cult of Idris, though I'd not place her as head honcho (ie, Idris herself). She may be powerful, but as they say on the talk shows, she ain't all that. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 20 Mar 1997 16:25:20 -0700 (MST) From: "Cthulhudrew, The Great Old One" Subject: Re: [Mystara] Immortals of Wendar (was: some Wendar ideas) On Thu, 20 Mar 1997, DM wrote: >Now, this is a really interesting hypothesis! Very Good!! I think that these Korrigans are the proper Immortal followed by Wendar and Denagoth elves, and that probably they manufactured the Elvenstar as a part of their quest for immortality! But remeber, it is stated in WotI, DM's book, that the Korrigans are not 9 different elves, but 1 Elven Immortal that suffered from split personalities, and so this means there are no 9 elf friends, but only 1 elf that undertook the Path of the Paragon: your story is just an elven legend,folklore, or better, it is the elves' version of the true story (which Bensarian could know) I don't recall exactly, but I think you have the Korrigans confused with the Twelve Watchers, the Immortal patron of craftsmen. He was originally believed to be twelve individuals, but in WotI was shown to be one man with MPD. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 20 Mar 1997 16:26:54 -0700 (MST) From: "Cthulhudrew, The Great Old One" Subject: Re: [Mystara] The N'djatwa On Thu, 20 Mar 1997, Jody Duncan wrote: >Where did the Hatwa elves come from? I've never heard of them before... Could someone please tell me where the came from... They're one of the Davanian clans of elves, who didn't go on the great migration with Ilsundal. They stayed in the Green Bay area, where they had wars with the ogres of the region for many years, until they both declared a truce, and merged their races. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 20 Mar 1997 18:40:52 -0500 (EST) From: BZuber5988@aol.com Subject: Re: [Mystara] Traldars and Nithians In a message dated 97-03-20 09:42:48 EST, DM writes: << One thing has always puzzled me: it is stated that the Traldar clan that colonized Traladara region was originally from Nithia (everybody agrees?). . . . Now, this is what i really cannot understand: Nithians were short, dark-skinned, dark-haired and dark-eyed people, whereas the "common Traldar guy" as described in Hollow World is a tall, light haired (from blond to red hair) man/woman, with a light complexion! . . . >> I remember reading that the "main" race of Nithians (i.e. the Nithians themselves) were short and dark-skinned, but that (as in any large empire) there were many subject races that had been assimilated into Nithian culture. The ancient Traldars were the descendents of a people the Nithians conquered, assimilated, until the Traldars had the same culture (mostly) as the Nithians themselves. Then a group of Traldars (not necessarily all of them) migrated to what is now Karameikos and are the descendents of the Traladara. So the ancient Traldars were light-skinned Nithians, just as the books say! Delarius ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 21 Mar 1997 10:59:18 +0000 From: s9406058@bohm.anu.edu.au (Stan) Subject: Re: [Mystara] The N'djatwa >On Thu, 20 Mar 1997, Jody Duncan wrote: >>Where did the Hatwa elves come from? I've never heard of them before... Could someone please tell me where the came from... >They're one of the Davanian clans of elves, who didn't go on the great migration with Ilsundal. They stayed in the Green Bay area, where they had wars with the ogres of the region for many years, until they both declared a truce, and merged their races. The elves which didn't go with Ilsundal and didn't join the second migration, which I mentioned in my previous post, stayed where they were ASFAIK and when they were threatened by volcanic activity or whatever it was were transported into the Hollow World becoming the Blacklore Elves. I might have missed something though. Shawn Stanley, Department of Geology, Australian National University. (s9406058@student.anu.edu.au) (http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/5304) ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 20 Mar 1997 17:13:08 -0700 (MST) From: "Cthulhudrew, The Great Old One" Subject: Re: [Mystara] The N'djatwa On Fri, 21 Mar 1997, Stan wrote: >The elves which didn't go with Ilsundal and didn't join the second migration, which I mentioned in my previous post, stayed where they were ASFAIK and when they were threatened by volcanic activity or whatever it was were transported into the Hollow World becoming the Blacklore Elves. I might have missed something though. Not all of them- some migrated into the Hollow World, becoming the Icevale Elves, and there is precedent that many still remain in Vulcania. In one of the Princess Ark articles, Haldemar encounters a band of barbaric elves who have lost the use of their magic (they live in the region of anti-magic). These seem unrelated to the Icevale Elves, and are likely descendants of the Grunland elves who have devolved into barbarism. I'd say it's likely that many of the elvish clans of that region are still around, in one form or another, having simply migrated away from the major disaster areas. That is my hypothesis for the Hatwa elves- following the desecration of Grunland, they migrated a bit further north, to the Green Bay area (which was more stable, perhaps) and settled. There they encountered their troubles with the ogres. Just one hypothesis. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 20 Mar 1997 18:26:25 -0700 (MST) From: "Cthulhudrew, The Great Old One" Subject: [Mystara] Another Wendar tidbit One other note that caught my eye as I was going over X11 the other day. Wendar is the human name for the region; the elves have another name for it (something that begins with a G- Geffalen? something like that). That's it. That's all there is to see here; move along, move along... ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 20 Mar 1997 21:24:06 -0500 (EST) From: Shin Chyang Yu Subject: Re: [Mystara] Specularum Aleksej Andrievskij pontificated: >A question: Why Specularum was renamed to the "traditional" Mirros when it states clearly in GAZ1 that it's old name was Marilenev? I think it is traditional because it is a Traladaran name. John Yu ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 20 Mar 97 21:32:39 EST From: Jody Duncan Subject: Re: [Mystara] The N'djatwa Cthulhudrew, The Great Old One writes: >On Thu, 20 Mar 1997, Jody Duncan wrote: >>Where did the Hatwa elves come from? I've never heard of them before... Could someone please tell me where the came from... >They're one of the Davanian clans of elves, who didn't go on the great migration with Ilsundal. They stayed in the Green Bay area, where they had wars with the ogres of the region for many years, until they both declared a truce, and merged their races. Hrm, I thought all those elves used Blackmoor technology and eventually died out, with the survivors ( The Blacklore ) being transplanted into the Hollow World. If they are survivors, then they'd be the only living species that might have any real knowledge of Blackmoor era technology... As it has been stated, all the elves with Ilsundal were "Back to Nature" elves that believed in order to be saved they needed to abandon technology. Those that stayed behind believed that their technology would save them... - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- "Just Glad To Be Here Happy To Be Alive!" Carleton U. Computer Science, Software Email addresses: jduncan2@chat.carleton.ca cq793@freenet.carleton.ca - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 20 Mar 97 21:34:53 EST From: Jody Duncan Subject: Re: [Mystara] The N'djatwa Cthulhudrew, The Great Old One writes: >On Fri, 21 Mar 1997, Stan wrote: >>The elves which didn't go with Ilsundal and didn't join the second migration, which I mentioned in my previous post, stayed where they were ASFAIK and when they were threatened by volcanic activity or whatever it was were transported into the Hollow World becoming the Blacklore Elves. I might have missed something though. >Not all of them- some migrated into the Hollow World, becoming the Icevale Elves, and there is precedent that many still remain in Vulcania. Actually the Icevale elves come from the elves that detonated the Blackmoor device and went underground, not from the Grunland Survivors. - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- "Just Glad To Be Here Happy To Be Alive!" Carleton U. Computer Science, Software Email addresses: jduncan2@chat.carleton.ca cq793@freenet.carleton.ca - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 20 Mar 97 21:40:24 EST From: Jody Duncan Subject: Re: [Mystara] The N'djatwa Stan writes: >>Haavard Roenne Faanes writes: >>>Someone wanted info about the N'djatwa, so last night I dug up my old copy of Dragon #158. Hope this helps. >>>They are a mix of the ogres of the Nunjar Horde and the Hatwa elves. After >>Where did the Hatwa elves come from? I've never heard of them before... Could someone please tell me where the came from... >I've been fairly busily trying to compile replies as a fallout from all this Denagoth and Wendar stuff. As a result of this process, which isn't finished yet, I have been looking at what elves come from where. The reason I am doing this is that I don't think that we really know where the Wendar/Denagoth elves come from - we think we do but we really don't, more on this in another post. It says so in the second Almanac.... >Meanwhile, the Hatwa Elves. The Dragon magazine article doesn't say where these people come from but there are a number of possibilities. The best possibility as far as I see it is from the second migration which left Grunland. The effects of this migration are only mentioned in one place that being that some elves from this migration ended up in Glantri and there joined up with elves who had already broken off from the Ilsundal migration and were already living in Glantri. Yet from this second migration there seems to be a lack of account for what any of the other elves did. Actually the second migration from Grunland joined the first (Ilsundal's ) at Addakian sound. I'll post my elven history/migration timeline in a couple of days... >reached Glantri), or they could have even been part of a group which left Evergrun originally (which it will transpire was also, I believe, what the Wendar/Denagoth region Elves did). The Wendar elves have been where they are since Blackmoor blew up. They're what's left of the 4 clans that settled near Blackmoor ( the same 4 clans that formed the Shadow Elves... ) and *DIDN'T* burrow underground to survive. Instead they went north in scattered groups ( there weren't very many of them... ). - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- "Just Glad To Be Here Happy To Be Alive!" Carleton U. Computer Science, Software Email addresses: jduncan2@chat.carleton.ca cq793@freenet.carleton.ca - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 21 Mar 1997 14:34:18 +0000 From: s9406058@bohm.anu.edu.au (Stan) Subject: Re: [Mystara] Elven migrations from (The N'djatwa) >>I've been fairly busily trying to compile replies as a fallout from all this Denagoth and Wendar stuff. As a result of this process, which isn't finished yet, I have been looking at what elves come from where. The reason I am doing this is that I don't think that we really know where the Wendar/Denagoth >>elves come from - we think we do but we really don't, more on this in another post. >It says so in the second Almanac.... Doesn't mean it's correct, or moreover doesn't mean it agrees with everything written before hand. >>Meanwhile, the Hatwa Elves. The Dragon magazine article doesn't say where these >>people come from but there are a number of possibilities. The best possibility >>as far as I see it is from the second migration which left Grunland. The effects of this migration are only mentioned in one place that being that some >>elves from this migration ended up in Glantri and there joined up with elves who had already broken off from the Ilsundal migration and were already living >>in Glantri. Yet from this second migration there seems to be a lack of account >>for what any of the other elves did. >Actually the second migration from Grunland joined the first (Ilsundal's ) at Addakian sound. No, you're definitely wrong there, there was a second migration. >I'll post my elven history/migration timeline in a couple of days... Egad does everyone want to do things that I'm doing at the moment. Anyone want to take over on Gombar and Suma'a? >>reached Glantri), or they could have even been part of a group which left Evergrun originally (which it will transpire was also, I believe, what the Wendar/Denagoth region Elves did). >The Wendar elves have been where they are since Blackmoor blew up. They're what's left of the 4 clans that settled near Blackmoor ( the same 4 clans that formed the Shadow Elves... ) and *DIDN'T* burrow underground to survive. Instead they went north in scattered groups ( there weren't very many of them... ). Not exactly, I don't have the documentation here to support my case at the moment but I believe that there isn't really any provision for those elves that settled near Blackmoor to actually be the elves that made up Wendar, especially since it seems thhat the Wendar elves have always been where they are and Wendar AFAIK is nowhere near Blackmoor. Shawn Stanley, Department of Geology, Australian National University. (s9406058@student.anu.edu.au) (http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/5304) ------------------------------ End of mystara-digest V2 #17 **************************** Date: Sat, 22 Mar 1997 20:08:50 -0600 From: (mystara-digest) To: mystara-digest@lists.io.com Subject: mystara-digest V2 #18 Reply-To: mystara-l@lists.io.com Precedence: bulk mystara-digest Saturday, March 22 1997 Volume 02 : Number 018 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 21 Mar 1997 01:27:31 -0500 From: Joe Duncan Subject: Re: [Mystara] Elven migrations from (The N'djatwa) >>>doing this is that I don't think that we really know where the Wendar/Denagoth >>>elves come from - we think we do but we really don't, more on this in another >>>post. >>It says so in the second Almanac.... >Doesn't mean it's correct, or moreover doesn't mean it agrees with everything written before hand. Where? Do you have a reference for this? Anything I've ever seen either says or implies that they've been there all along. >>as far as I see it is from the second migration which left Grunland. The effects of this migration are only mentioned in one place that being that some elves from this migration ended up in Glantri and there joined up with elves >>who had already broken off from the Ilsundal migration and were already living >>in Glantri. Yet from this second migration there seems to be a lack of account >>for what any of the other elves did. >>Actually the second migration from Grunland joined the first (Ilsundal's ) at Addakian sound. >No, you're definitely wrong there, there was a second migration. Yes, if you noticed I never said there wasn't a second migration from Grunland. I said there *WAS*. BUT they JOINED with the first migration in 2300 BC near Addakian Sound. Here's a quote from the CoM Explorer's Manual "Around 2800 BC two groups of elves left their ancestral lands. Some, led by Ilsundal, crossed western Davania. By 2300 BC they had crossed the Strait of Izonda to the Immortal's Arm then headed east along the Savage Coast. Another group, whose leader's name is lost, took another route through the Adakkian Sound, where they rejoined Ilsundal's band and continued with them." >>I'll post my elven history/migration timeline in a couple of days... >Egad does everyone want to do things that I'm doing at the moment. Anyone want to take over on Gombar and Suma'a? Uhm before you get too presumptious, I've *ALREADY* done it. A couple of months ago. I just haven't posted it that's all, it's written down on paper. >>>reached Glantri), or they could have even been part of a group which left Evergrun originally (which it will transpire was also, I believe, what the Wendar/Denagoth region Elves did). >>The Wendar elves have been where they are since Blackmoor blew up. They're what's left of the 4 clans that settled near Blackmoor ( the same 4 clans that formed the Shadow Elves... ) and *DIDN'T* burrow underground to survive. Instead they went north in scattered groups ( there weren't very many of them... ). >Not exactly, I don't have the documentation here to support my case at the moment but I believe that there isn't really any provision for those elves that settled near Blackmoor to actually be the elves that made up Wendar, especially since it seems thhat the Wendar elves have always been where they are and Wendar >AFAIK is nowhere near Blackmoor. Blackmoor was somewhere near where Glantri is now. There is a lot of debate about it, but that's the most likely place. North of there is Wendar. Here's a direct quote from the Almanac ][ "Many waves of Evergrun elves emigrated to the lands near Blackmoor and settled there, and many elven communities perished when Blackmoor was destroyed. The elves of Wendar survived, though they faced daily struggles to survive the resulting ice age." Seems pretty clear to me. I'll post my timeline of the migrations as soon as I get some things cleared up with Fabrizio. - ----------------------------------------------------------------------- "Just Glad To Be Here Happy To Be Alive" Joe Duncan, Computer Science, Carleton University jduncan2@chat.carleton.ca cq793@freenet.carleton.ca - ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 21 Mar 1997 13:07:54 +0100 From: DM Subject: Re: [Mystara] Immortals of Wendar (was: some Wendar ideas) At 16.25 20/03/97 -0700, you wrote: >I don't recall exactly, but I think you have the Korrigans confused with the Twelve Watchers, the Immortal patron of craftsmen. He was originally believed to be twelve individuals, but in WotI was shown to be one man with MPD. By the Holy Blade! You're damn right! Gee... I'm really sorry for this one, but you i hope you'll forgive me for my mistake: you know, with all the things i've been on lately, my brain is a mess..:) Thanx for the clarification:) DM ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 21 Mar 1997 13:15:42 +0100 From: DM Subject: Re: [Mystara] Another Wendar tidbit At 18.26 20/03/97 -0700, you wrote: >One other note that caught my eye as I was going over X11 the other day. >Wendar is the human name for the region; the elves have another name for it (something that begins with a G- Geffalen? something like that). Hey, you've got keen sight! It's actually Genalleth, while Geffronell is probably the elven name that means "Geffron forest". And that is what i am basing upon my idea on the first elves that settled in Wendar-Denagoth region: they were 3 elven clans that abandoned Ilsundal's migration and: - - Genalleth clan settled in what is known as Wendar - - Geffron clan settled in what is known as the Geffron Forest - - Lothenar clan settled in what is known as the Lothenar Forest Simple and i think logic. DM ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 21 Mar 1997 13:30:29 +0100 From: DM Subject: Re: [Mystara] Elven migrations from (The N'djatwa) At 01.27 21/03/97 -0500, you wrote: >Yes, if you noticed I never said there wasn't a second migration from Grunland. I said there *WAS*. BUT they JOINED with the first migration in 2300 BC near Addakian Sound. Here's a quote from the CoM Explorer's Manual >"Around 2800 BC two groups of elves left their ancestral lands. Some, led by Ilsundal, crossed western Davania. By 2300 BC they had crossed the Strait of Izonda to the Immortal's Arm then headed east along the Savage Coast. Another group, whose leader's name is lost, took another route through the Adakkian Sound, where they rejoined Ilsundal's band and continued with them." Yes you're right here... >>>The Wendar elves have been where they are since Blackmoor blew up. They're what's left of the 4 clans that settled near Blackmoor ( the same 4 clans that formed the Shadow Elves... ) and *DIDN'T* burrow underground to survive. Instead they went north in scattered groups ( there weren't very many of them... ). >>Not exactly, I don't have the documentation here to support my case at the moment but I believe that there isn't really any provision for those elves that settled near Blackmoor to actually be the elves that made up Wendar, especially since it seems thhat the Wendar elves have always been where they >>are and Wendar AFAIK is nowhere near Blackmoor. i definitely agree with Stan here >Blackmoor was somewhere near where Glantri is now. There is a lot of debate about it, but that's the most likely place. North of there is Wendar. Here's a direct quote from the Almanac ][ >"Many waves of Evergrun elves emigrated to the lands near Blackmoor and settled there, and many elven communities perished when Blackmoor was destroyed. The elves of Wendar survived, though they faced daily struggles to survive the resulting ice age." >Seems pretty clear to me. Ok, we have to solve this matter once and for all before it gets too convoluted. IIRC, there are actually 2 possible locations given to Blackmoor in 2 sourcebook i think everyone owns: - - Hollow World boxed set places Balckmoor in northern Skothar, and DA adventures seem to confirm this theory - - GAZ10 Orcs of Thar places Blackmoor in the very middle of Brun, near what is probably Lake Tros (thus in current Hule, but here i'm probably mistaking) and numerous references throughout the various supplements adhere to this vision Now, which one is the correct one???? This issue must be solved by those authors who gave birth to Mystara and Blackmoor, so until they don't tell us the truth we cannot go further into our assumptions (it would only be pretentious and useless). If everybody agrees, then i'd like to hear Bruce Heard's opinion on this (and this is why i'm sending this message to his e-mail address as well). DM ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 21 Mar 1997 13:56:11 +0100 From: DM Subject: Re: [Mystara] Traldars and Nithians & New question At 16.13 20/03/97 -0700, you wrote: >On Thu, 20 Mar 1997, Andre Cavalcanti Rocha Martins {S wrote: >>Maybe that was they have left Nithia. The old traladarans were a tribe with a light complexion living in the mountains north of the Nithian Empire, near what today are the Northern Reaches. They had problems, because they didn't look like the ordinary nithian and it came to a point they decided to go away and settle somewhere else. >This was my understanding- that the Traladarans were a sort of mixed Antalian/Nithian offshoot, arrived at from Antalian/Heldannic slaves of the Nithians who interbred over the years. Eventually they threw off the collar of oppression, and founded their own nation. Thanx to both Cthulhudrew and Andre for their answers: they were exactly what i was looking for. Thank you again :) And talking about ancient things, does any of you have an idea of how the general skill "Shield Back" (which is cited many times in HWR2: Nithia) works? As i have previously stated, there are big flaws in Nithia, and one of them is that some of the general skills (or proficiencies) description fails... Thanx for reading DM ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 21 Mar 1997 13:10:32 +0100 (MET) From: Haavard Roenne Faanes Subject: Re: [Mystara] Immortals of Wendar (was: some Wendar ideas) On Thu, 20 Mar 1997, Cthulhudrew, The Great Old One wrote: >On Thu, 20 Mar 1997, DM wrote: >>Now, this is a really interesting hypothesis! Very Good!! I think that these Korrigans are the proper Immortal followed by Wendar and Denagoth elves, and that probably they manufactured the Elvenstar as a part of their quest for immortality! But remeber, it is stated in WotI, DM's book, that the Korrigans are not 9 different elves, but 1 Elven Immortal that suffered from split personalities, and so this means there are no 9 elf friends, but only 1 elf that undertook the Path of the Paragon: your story is just an elven legend,folklore, or better, it is the elves' version of the true story (which Bensarian could know) >I don't recall exactly, but I think you have the Korrigans confused with the Twelve Watchers, the Immortal patron of craftsmen. He was originally believed to be twelve individuals, but in WotI was shown to be one man with MPD. That is correct. The Korrigans are not mentioned in WotI. The Korrigans are 9 elves according to the Old Immortals set. The Twekve Watchers are one person. Haavard R. Faanes Email: hoc@nvg.unit.no hoc@nvg.nuts.edu http://www.nvg.ntnu.no/~hoc "I didn't spend all those years playing Dungeons and Dragons without learning a bit about courage" -The X-Files ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 21 Mar 1997 14:25:29 +0100 From: DM Subject: [Mystara] Names: Ethengar Talking about strange things, this is another puzzle (to me at least): where does Ethengar got its name from? I presume it was an ancient warlord of those tribes, but there is nothing mentioned about an "Ethengar" guy in GAZ12, so maybe it's just the Ethengarian word for "earth" or "steppes" Any clues? And btw, you say ethngarian (tongue) and ethengarians (people), or ethengar and ethengars? DM ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 21 Mar 1997 14:28:22 +0100 From: DM Subject: [Mystara] Names: Skothar Maybe it's just a silly thing, but i'd prefer to say "Skotharese" instead of "Skotharian"... it's more esotic (and also the -ese form reminds us of the terms Chinese or Japanese, which are very tied to the Skothar region according to the MOrient project) Just a little thought for the MOrient guys... DM ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 21 Mar 1997 14:35:55 +0100 From: DM Subject: [Mystara] Yamuga, Tubak & Cretia OK, in WotI it is stated that Yamuga is Terra and Tubak is Ixion... but then in the PWAs Tubak and Yamuga are listed separately from Terra and Ixion (whereas it is said about the Sun Prince that he is also known as Himayeti etc. in Sind). What does this mean: that they are 4 different immortals or that they made a mistake? Also according to GAZ12, Yamuga, Tubak and Cretia are 3 Spirits that achieved immortality when they migrated to Mystara after the creation of the land of the Black Sand, and thus they're not related to Ixion or Terra. It seems to me that those ones who worked at WotI didn't read GAZ12 careful... A final note on the spirit plane: IMHO it is not a plane but a different dimension (see the difference in WotI entry).... just a personal opinion DM ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 21 Mar 1997 15:15:12 +0200 (EET) From: Anias Pasi Subject: Re: [Mystara] Yamuga, Tubak & Cretia DM wrote: >OK, in WotI it is stated that Yamuga is Terra and Tubak is Ixion... but then in the PWAs Tubak and Yamuga are listed separately from Terra and Ixion (whereas it is said about the Sun Prince that he is also known as Himayeti etc. in Sind). What does this mean: that they are 4 different immortals or that they made a mistake? I believe PWAs told the major immortals according to the humans. It would then meen, that the Himayeti of sind is known to be the same god as Ixion. Whereas most peoples wouldnt know that Tubak is the same as Ixion... >Also according to GAZ12, Yamuga, Tubak and Cretia are 3 Spirits that achieved immortality when they migrated to Mystara after the creation of the land of the Black Sand, and thus they're not related to Ixion or Terra. It seems to me that those ones who worked at WotI didn't read GAZ12 careful... Again this data is according to humans I believe. The ethengars could easily believe it and destcript it as you said, even though it wouldnt be quite right. And why would the gods mind? It can be even more safe for them to have many separate groups of followers. >A final note on the spirit plane: IMHO it is not a plane but a different dimension (see the difference in WotI entry).... just a personal opinion Hmmm... interesting idea... But I dont think so. You couldt get to there so 'easily' if it was a dimension... (imho) - -- X Pasi Anias X p.03 - 2533536 X \\|// X X Sammonkatu 28 A 18 X a122286@proffa X (o o) X X 33540 Tampere X .cc.tut.fi X o000--(_)--000o X ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 21 Mar 1997 14:26:24 +0100 (MET) From: Haavard Roenne Faanes Subject: [Mystara] Spirit Plane (was: Yamuga, Tubak & Cretia) On Fri, 21 Mar 1997, Anias Pasi wrote: >>A final note on the spirit plane: IMHO it is not a plane but a different dimension (see the difference in WotI entry).... just a personal opinion >Hmmm... interesting idea... But I dont think so. You couldt get to there so 'easily' if it was a dimension... (imho) shouldn't the spirit plane be accessible from all planes? Also how does it relate to limbo? Haavard R. Faanes Email: hoc@nvg.unit.no hoc@nvg.nuts.edu http://www.nvg.ntnu.no/~hoc "I didn't spend all those years playing Dungeons and Dragons without learning a bit about courage" -The X-Files ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 21 Mar 1997 17:26:54 +0200 (EET) From: Aleksej Andrievskij Subject: Re: [Mystara] Names: Ethengar On Fri, 21 Mar 1997, DM wrote: >Talking about strange things, this is another puzzle (to me at least): where does Ethengar got its name from? I presume it was an ancient warlord of those tribes, but there is nothing mentioned about an "Ethengar" guy in GAZ12, so maybe it's just the Ethengarian word for "earth" or "steppes" Any clues? >And btw, you say ethngarian (tongue) and ethengarians (people), or ethengar and ethengars? I think that foreigners speak about Ethengarians, while the natives call themselves Ethengars. I have no idea where the name comes from, though. Probably TSR just invented it on the spot (it doesn't sound very Mongol). Aleksei ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 21 Mar 97 11:36:30 EST From: Jody Duncan Subject: Re: [Mystara] Another Wendar tidbit >At 18.26 20/03/97 -0700, you wrote: >>One other note that caught my eye as I was going over X11 the other day. >>Wendar is the human name for the region; the elves have another name for it (something that begins with a G- Geffalen? something like that). >Hey, you've got keen sight! It's actually Genalleth, while Geffronell is probably the elven name that means "Geffron forest". And that is what i am basing upon my idea on the first elves that settled in Wendar-Denagoth region: they were 3 elven clans that abandoned Ilsundal's migration and: - Genalleth clan settled in what is known as Wendar - Geffron clan settled in what is known as the Geffron Forest - Lothenar clan settled in what is known as the Lothenar Forest >Simple and i think logic. Not necessarily. There are no clans named "Canolbarth" yet that remains the name of the great Alfheim forest. There's not necessarily a connection between elven place names and elven clan names. There are no "Evergrun" clans, no "Grunland" clans etc... In fact clan names seem to be quite independent of there forest or place names and the canon states that the Wendar elves have been there since the time of Blackmoor. - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- "Just Glad To Be Here Happy To Be Alive!" Carleton U. Computer Science, Software Email addresses: jduncan2@chat.carleton.ca cq793@freenet.carleton.ca - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 21 Mar 97 11:45:52 EST From: Jody Duncan Subject: Re: [Mystara] Elven migrations from (The N'djatwa) >>>>They're what's left of the 4 clans that settled near Blackmoor ( the same 4 clans that formed the Shadow Elves... ) and *DIDN'T* burrow underground to survive. Instead they went north in scattered groups ( there weren't very many of them... ). >>>Not exactly, I don't have the documentation here to support my case at the moment but I believe that there isn't really any provision for those elves that settled near Blackmoor to actually be the elves that made up Wendar, especially since it seems thhat the Wendar elves have always been where >they >>are and Wendar AFAIK is nowhere near Blackmoor. >i definitely agree with Stan here >>Blackmoor was somewhere near where Glantri is now. There is a lot of debate about it, but that's the most likely place. North of there is Wendar. Here's a direct quote from the Almanac ][ >>"Many waves of Evergrun elves emigrated to the lands near Blackmoor and settled there, and many elven communities perished when Blackmoor was destroyed. The elves of Wendar survived, though they faced daily struggles to survive the resulting ice age." >>Seems pretty clear to me. >Ok, we have to solve this matter once and for all before it gets too convoluted. IIRC, there are actually 2 possible locations given to Blackmoor in 2 sourcebook i think everyone owns: >- Hollow World boxed set places Balckmoor in northern Skothar, and DA adventures seem to confirm this theory >- GAZ10 Orcs of Thar places Blackmoor in the very middle of Brun, near what is probably Lake Tros (thus in current Hule, but here i'm probably mistaking) and numerous references throughout the various supplements adhere to this vision Well, it depends. The second Thonia was founded on Skothar by refugees from the first. The Comeback Inn is in the broken lands in 1000AC and was in Blackmoor in 3000BC. The second Almanac states that the elves of Wendar settled near Blackmoor and went north after the GRoF. Wendar is north of the Known World. The Glantri device/explosion was a left over Blackmoor artifact and it was found in Glantri. The Radiance comes from a left over piece of the Beagle that is directly below Glantri. The Beagle crashed near Blackmoor. The mirror in The Wrath Of The Immortals is found in the known world and is another left over piece of the Beagle. Some survivors of the 4 clans that settled near Blackmoor escaped into the caverns undergound, beneath Blackmoor. When they re-surface years later it is in the Known World. It seems to me that there is *MUCH* more evidence to suggest that Blackmoor was where the Known World is today. - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- "Just Glad To Be Here Happy To Be Alive!" Carleton U. Computer Science, Software Email addresses: jduncan2@chat.carleton.ca cq793@freenet.carleton.ca - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 21 Mar 97 11:50:31 EST From: Jody Duncan Subject: Re: [Mystara] Another Wendar tidbit Jody Duncan writes: >>basing upon my idea on the first elves that settled in Wendar-Denagoth region: they were 3 elven clans that abandoned Ilsundal's migration and: - Genalleth clan settled in what is known as Wendar - Geffron clan settled in what is known as the Geffron Forest - Lothenar clan settled in what is known as the Lothenar Forest >>Simple and i think logic. >Not necessarily. There are no clans named "Canolbarth" yet that remains the name of the great Alfheim forest. There's not necessarily a connection between elven place names and elven clan names. There are no "Evergrun" clans, no "Grunland" clans etc... In fact clan names seem to be quite independent of there forest or place names and the canon states that ^^^^^^^ DOH! ||||| I should spell check more often....>the Wendar elves have been there since the time of Blackmoor. - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Just Glad To Be Here Happy To Be Alive!" Carleton U. Computer Science, Software Email addresses: jduncan2@chat.carleton.ca cq793@freenet.carleton.ca - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 21 Mar 1997 12:45:05 -0500 (EST) From: Shin Chyang Yu Subject: [Mystara] Location of Blackmoor Jody Duncan pontificated: >The Comeback Inn is in the broken lands in 1000AC and was in Blackmoor in 3000BC. >The Radiance comes from a >left over piece of the Beagle that is directly below Glantri. The Beagle crashed near Blackmoor. Both the Comeback Inn and the Radiance was said to have been moved from their original location. I think it is done intentially so the location of Blackmoor couldn't be pinned down. John Yu ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 21 Mar 97 12:56:28 EST From: Geoff Gander Subject: Re: [Mystara] Elven migrations from (The N'djatwa) >Blackmoor was somewhere near where Glantri is now. There is a lot of debate about it, but that's the most likely place. North of there is Wendar. Here's a direct quote from the Almanac ][ >"Many waves of Evergrun elves emigrated to the lands near Blackmoor and settled there, and many elven communities perished when Blackmoor was destroyed. The elves of Wendar survived, though they faced daily struggles to survive the resulting ice age." >Seems pretty clear to me. Actually, there is also strong evidence to show that Blackmoor was in northern Skothar - the part now lying in the sunless region between the outer and hollow worlds. Remember that after the Great Rain of Fire, Blackmoor found itself at, or near, the north pole, and thus was frozen over. This is further supported by documentation of Beastmen migrations (in the HW supplement), in which they spent time in the darkened region that was once Blackmoor on their way to the HW. In GAZ3 (the Glantri one), the writers mention that the immortals moved the Nucleus of the Spheres (formerly the reactor core of the F.S.S. Beagle) to an underground location beneath what is now Glantri city. This supports the Skothar hypothesis. Although we must reckon with the map in GAZ10, which shows Blackmoor to be somewhere north of modern Hule, I assume it to be incorrect, as the information in later supplements provides far more detail. As for DA1, I simply say that the Inn was moved by natural forces (glaciers, etc.) and by Immortal wishes to the location it currently occupies in the Broken Lands. Now, taking this into account, one can see how the Wendar elves could have survived. Before the cataclysm, Brun was at the north pole, though Wendar and lands eastwards would have had a cold, but habitable climate (unlike Glantri, which was mostly under glaciers). Due to their distance from the blast itself, they would have been better protected, but still they suffered (hey, it would be like having every 1000 nuclear warheads detonate at once). Anyhow, there's my two cents' worth, Geoff ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Geoff Gander Political Science IV Carleton University General wanderer by principle, adventurer by profession Email address: ggander@chat.carleton.ca - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 21 Mar 1997 12:23:54 -0700 (MST) From: "Cthulhudrew, The Great Old One" Subject: Re: [Mystara] Elven migrations from (The N'djatwa) On Fri, 21 Mar 1997, Stan wrote: >Not exactly, I don't have the documentation here to support my case at the moment but I believe that there isn't really any provision for those elves that settled near Blackmoor to actually be the elves that made up Wendar, especially since it seems thhat the Wendar elves have always been where they are and Wendar AFAIK is nowhere near Blackmoor. It all depends on whether we want to start another Blackmoor in Skothar or on Brun thread. ;) I think most of you know my thoughts on the issue by now, so I'll just step out of this before it starts... ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 21 Mar 97 14:56:28 EST From: Jody Duncan Subject: Re: [Mystara] Location of Blackmoor Shin Chyang Yu writes: >Jody Duncan pontificated: >>The Comeback Inn is in the broken lands in 1000AC and was in Blackmoor in 3000BC. >>The Radiance comes from a >>left over piece of the Beagle that is directly below Glantri. The Beagle crashed near Blackmoor. >Both the Comeback Inn and the Radiance was said to have been moved from their original location. I think it is done intentially so the location of Blackmoor couldn't be pinned down. Yes, but they never said *HOW FAR*. All the evidence still supports Blackmoor having been on the Known World. BTW, where does it say that the Comeback Inn was moved? I know it was unk and came back up etc.. But IIRC it doesn't explicitly say that it was MOVED from it's orginal location, just that it's whole original location moved. In that case it would mean that the lands that actually were Blackmoor moved as well. So the position would be relative. So if it was the whole geologic plate that contained the Inn, the Wendar elves and the original location of Blackmoor that was moved, then Blackmoor would still be in the same place relative to where the Wendar elves are, which is north of the known world. - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- "Just Glad To Be Here Happy To Be Alive!" Carleton U. Computer Science, Software Email addresses: jduncan2@chat.carleton.ca cq793@freenet.carleton.ca - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 21 Mar 97 15:04:13 EST From: Jody Duncan Subject: Re: [Mystara] Elven migrations from (The N'djatwa) Geoff Gander writes: >>Blackmoor was somewhere near where Glantri is now. There is a lot of debate about it, but that's the most likely place. North of there is Wendar. Here's a direct quote from the Almanac ][ >>"Many waves of Evergrun elves emigrated to the lands near Blackmoor and settled there, and many elven communities perished when Blackmoor was destroyed. The elves of Wendar survived, though they faced daily struggles to survive the resulting ice age." >>Seems pretty clear to me. >Actually, there is also strong evidence to show that Blackmoor was in northern Skothar - the part now lying in the sunless region between the outer and hollow worlds. Remember that after the Great Rain of Fire, Blackmoor found itself at, or near, the north pole, and thus was frozen over. This is further supported by documentation of Beastmen migrations (in the HW supplement), in which they spent time in the darkened region that was once Blackmoor on their way to the HW. >In GAZ3 (the Glantri one), the writers mention that the immortals moved the Nucleus of the Spheres (formerly the reactor core of the F.S.S. Beagle) to an underground location beneath what is now Glantri city. This supports the Skothar hypothesis. Not necessarily. It could have been moved from anywhere. Even somewhere else on Brun. I'd also be willing to accept that the location of Blackmoor is the northmost reaches of Brun, as that would seem to support both theories. It would be an area near where the Wendar elves are, AND Blackmoor would be near the north pole. It would just mean that the Wendar elves went south, rather than north after the GRoF. >Although we must reckon with the map in GAZ10, which shows Blackmoor to be somewhere north of modern Hule, I assume it to be incorrect, as the information in later supplements provides far more detail. As for DA1, I simply say that the Inn was moved by natural forces (glaciers, etc.) and by Immortal wishes to the location it currently occupies in the Broken Lands. >Now, taking this into account, one can see how the Wendar elves could have survived. Before the cataclysm, Brun was at the north pole, though Wendar and lands eastwards would have had a cold, but habitable climate (unlike Glantri, which was mostly under glaciers). Due to their distance from the blast itself, they would have been better protected, but still they suffered (hey, it would be like having every 1000 nuclear warheads detonate at once). >Anyhow, there's my two cents' worth, As I said, there's a lot of debate about it. I think the best possible compromise would be to say that it's in the far northern reaches of Brun, which is north of Hule, close to Wendar, AND under the icecap. I hope that's a reasonable solution/compromise. - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- "Just Glad To Be Here Happy To Be Alive!" Carleton U. Computer Science, Software Email addresses: jduncan2@chat.carleton.ca cq793@freenet.carleton.ca - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 21 Mar 1997 14:39:40 -0700 (MST) From: "Cthulhudrew, The Great Old One" Subject: [Mystara] Blackmoor Location? (was Re: [Mystara] Elven migrations) On Fri, 21 Mar 1997, Jody Duncan wrote: >As I said, there's a lot of debate about it. I think the best possible compromise would be to say that it's in the far northern reaches of Brun, which is north of Hule, close to Wendar, AND under the icecap. I hope that's a reasonable solution/compromise. I just want to go on record as saying that I had nothing to do with this latest round of 'Where's Blackmoor?'- something I can't say for the last two times we've had this discussion (although I had a feeling we'd end up here, what with all the Wendar elf discussion). And I'm keeping myself from getting involved this time, though it pains me. I don't think we're ever going to come to a mass consensus, so maybe we can all find some way to agree to disagree? :) ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 21 Mar 1997 17:11:48 -0700 (MST) From: "Cthulhudrew, The Great Old One" Subject: Re: [Mystara] Elven migrations from (The N'djatwa) On Fri, 21 Mar 1997, Geoff Gander wrote: >Now, taking this into account, one can see how the Wendar elves could have survived. Before the cataclysm, Brun was at the north pole, though Wendar and lands eastwards would have had a cold, but habitable climate (unlike Glantri, which was mostly under glaciers). Due to their distance from the blast itself, they would have been better protected, but still they suffered (hey, it would be like having every 1000 nuclear warheads detonate at once). Here are my final thoughts on this issue: I see the location of Blackmoor as being not at all significant to the discussion at hand, that being, where the Wendar elves came from. We know for a fact that the elvish clans that settled near Blackmoor were the ancestors of the Shadowelves of the Broken Lands, and that they lived in the Glantri/Broken Lands region. Hence, 'Near Blackmoor' can be taken in two senses, as I see it: geographically close (if Blackmoor is on Brun, to the Northwest of Glantri), or geographically closer to Blackmoor than Grunland, if we place BM on Skothar (ie, the Brun elves were nearer to BM than the Grunlanders). Either definition would seem to work in the case of determining the origin of the elves of Wendar, and IMO, the location of BM can thus continue to be left vague, for us to place as we see fit. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 23 Mar 1997 13:03:57 +0800 From: s9406058@bohm.anu.edu.au (Stan) Subject: Re: [Mystara] Elven migrations from (The N'djatwa) >>>as far as I see it is from the second migration which left Grunland. The effects of this migration are only mentioned in one place that being that some elves from this migration ended up in Glantri and there joined up >with elves >>>who had already broken off from the Ilsundal migration and were already living >>>in Glantri. Yet from this second migration there seems to be a lack of account >>>for what any of the other elves did. >>>Actually the second migration from Grunland joined the first (Ilsundal's ) at Addakian sound. >>No, you're definitely wrong there, there was a second migration. >Yes, if you noticed I never said there wasn't a second migration from Grunland. I said there *WAS*. BUT they JOINED with the first migration in 2300 BC near Addakian Sound. Here's a quote from the CoM Explorer's Manual >"Around 2800 BC two groups of elves left their ancestral lands. Some, led by Ilsundal, crossed western Davania. By 2300 BC they had crossed the Strait of Izonda to the Immortal's Arm then headed east along the Savage Coast. Another group, whose leader's name is lost, took another route through the Adakkian Sound, where they rejoined Ilsundal's band and continued with them." Writing in capital letters with the asterisks thrown in for good measure does not mean that your argument is correct, it probably just means that you should try a low sugar diet. As my two pieces of evidence I'll use your quote above and another one In BC 2500, a second separatist group of southern elves begins the long march northward (HW: DM's Sourcebook, 11). So we have in 2800 BC Ilsundal's Migration from Grunland in two parts. And then three hundred years later another group leaves Grunland. Shawn Stanley, Department of Geology, Australian National University. (s9406058@student.anu.edu.au) (http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/5304) ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 23 Mar 1997 13:07:31 +0800 From: s9406058@bohm.anu.edu.au (Stan) Subject: [Mystara] Elven Migrations ELVEN MIGRATIONS - INTRODUCTION These are the list of elves of unknown origin. Paragraphs started with an * indicate areas of my conjecture which offers answers for where these elves come from. Aquarendi Elves Hatwa Elves Wendar/Denagoth Elves Belcadiz Elves various Savage Coast elves Ee'aar * I really have no idea where the Ee'aar come into the picture. They're followers of Ilsundal which means that they are most likely post-Ilsundal time or contemporaries of Ilsundal. ELVEN MIGRATIONS The childhood of the elves is over; the forest spirits stop sheltering them, forcing them to leave paradise and to seek their own futures. The first great elf civilisation, Evergrun, develops on the southern continent (HW, 10) Evergrun Elves start to explore the world 3500 years ago (GAZ 5, 5) but this is wrong and should say BC 3500 as it at this time when the Blackmoor civilisation is flourishing and GAZ 5, 6 says that the elves met the Blackmoor civilisation when it and elven one was at the height of their cultures. Elves settle in (GAZ13, 8; GAZ5, 7) and/or near (HW, 11) Blackmoor with elves migrating to the Blackmoor area also the Evergrun elves embrace technology (GAZ5, 6). * nothing is mentioned about any other elven colonies at this time, it may be assumed that such do exist though. If other colonies do exist then anywhere where you find elves that cannot be placed anywhere else may be attributed to these migrations. * One such group appears to be the Wendar/Denagoth elves. PWA3, 61 states that many elven communities perished during the Great Rain of Fire, but the Wendar elves survived. Now let's assume that the Wendar elves are one of these "other" colonies that I mentioned above, other as in not part of the colony which was settled in/near Blackmoor - there is also only evidence of only one colony in/near Blackmoor. I cannot say how many "other" colonies may have existed at this time as most of the elves that have been documented on and in Mystara have a heritage leading back to the Ilsundal migration. One of these "other" colonies may have been Grunland if you believe GAZ5. I doubt that there was many "other" colonies and I seriously doubt whether they had any contact with the other elven colonies. I doubt this because the Blackmoor colony had a significant effect on the Evergrun elves (and also on the Grunland colony) by bringing technology to them. There is no mention of technology being interspersed anywhere else around Mystara and there is a reasonable expectation that it would have been since we know that technology was taken back to the Evergrun elves. * Therefore I contest that the Wendar/Denagoth elves were one of these colonies. They then had no contact with Evergrun, the Blackmoor colony or any other colony which may or may not have existed. The colony may have been expecting contact but for some reason it wasn't forthcoming. If this colony was one of the earlier Evergrun colonies then they may have left without things such as records of Evergrun or the likes, this may help to explain why the Wendar elves have forgotten the early part of their history. The Wendar colony may then have broken up and moved around a little bit ending up with forming the Wendar elves, Lothenar forest elves and Geffron forest elves - giving something for Bensarian to write about. * The Hatwa elves may also be such a colony from Evergrun, also presumably not affected by technology. * The Aquarendi elves can pretty much only be one of these Evergrun colonies. It is stated that in BC 3100 the Aquarendi elves entered the sea seeking the guardianship of Manwara (PC3, 42). I contend that these elves did have contact with the Blackmoor colony but were disgusted by the technology that was overtaking seemingly all the elves they knew. Perhaps giving up on Ordana for allowing the elves to end up as they were the Aquarendi turned to Manwara and entered the sea, beginning a new life - without technology. The Great Rain of Fire occurs in BC 3000, the Evergrun elves migrate to Grunland (HW, 11). GAZ5, 6 at this time states that Evergrun was destroyed and Grunland was a pre-existing colony of elves which survived, this migration to Grunland occurred c. BC 3000. Survivors of the elven colony in (GAZ 13, 8; GAZ5, 7) or near (HW, 11) Blackmoor flee to the Broken Lands and go underground, these elves become the Shadow Elves. Now I will follow the migrations resulting from the Grunland colony of elves. 1 Two migrations leave Grunland in BC 2800 Ilsundal's migration takes a route via the Arm of Immortals and Savage Coast while another goes through the Adakkian Sound (CoM, 35) and rejoin with Ilsundal's migration around BC 2200 as at this time the group appears to be whole again for the Glantri elves to break off the migration but the rejoining of the two groups occurs after BC 2300 as at this time Ilsundal's migration were beginning to head east along the Savage Coast (CoM, 35). Migration reaches the Sylvan Realm BC 2100 (HW, 12). I'll take migrations from the Sylvan Realm as a separate topic below. * Presumably the various Savage Coast elven populations also broke off from Ilsundal's migration as it passed through the area, although I cannot find a direct quote to this. 1.1 Sheyallia Elves break off from Ilsundal's migration (CoM, 35) 1.1.1 In BC 528 a group of Sheyallia Elves flee into tunnels under the Plain of Fire. Join up with gnolls and become Graakhalians. 1.1.1.1 In AC 1011 some of the Graakhalians are transported to the Hollow World because of incursions under the Plain of Fire by humanoids. 1.1.1.2 Some Graakhalians still wander in the tunnels under the Plain of Fire. 1.2 A group of elves break off from migration and head to Glantri reaching there in BC 2200 (GAZ3, 5). Joined by elves from the second Grunland migration 2.1 1.2.1 Glantrian Catastrophe in 1700 BC elves head underground splitting off into four groups. Presumably all the elves disappeared from Glantri at this time (GAZ3, 5) * I initially presumed that the Belcadiz elves merely survived the catastrophe or came back up again from underground but there seems to be no provision for this. Because of their Spanish culture it seems likely that the Belcadiz elves migrating from the Savage Coast at some time or another. 1.2.1.1 Truedyl Elves come back from underground to the south of Glantri near the coast. In BC 1000 they were transported to the Hollow World when hordes of gnolls and orcs threatened them. They became known as the Gentle Folk. 1.2.1.2 One group of eves travelled through the crust ending up in the Hollow World. They became known as the Icevale Elves. 1.2.1.3 These elves joined up with the Shadow Elves. Later some of the Shadow Elves including many from the Schattenalfen clan were corrupted by Atzanteotl and they left the Shadow Elves (HW, 83-4). 1.2.1.3.1 Some of these elves travel to the Hollow World becoming the Schattenalfen (HW, 84) 1.2.1.3.2 Some go to the area under the Broken Lands and build Aengmor which was finished in BC 1352 (GAZ10, 20). In BC 1290 Aengmor was affected by volcanic activity, some of the elves survived abandoning the city (GAZ10, 20). * I don't know what happened to these elves next. 1.2.1.4 This group of elves perished and were only survived by their leader at this time, Atziann. 1.3 Meditor and Verdier Elves break off from migration and settle in Traldar lands. 2 Second separatist group of elves leave Vulcania BC 2500. 2.1 Some of these elves find their way to Glantri and join group 1.2 (HW, 12) * Nothing else of any more of these elves appears to be mentioned. The Hatwa elves could have been part of this second migration that broke off early. 3 Surviving elves that stay in Grunland are transported to the Hollow World and become the Blacklore Elves as a result of increased volcanic activity. - ---- 1 Sylvan Realm Elves. 1.1 A group of elves lead by Mealiden leave the Sylvan Realm. 1.1.1 The Callarii Elves settle in Traladara. 1.1.2 The rest of the elves settle in what will be called Alfheim. 1.1.3 The Shiye Elves under the guidance of Eiryndul move to Alphatia. 1.2 The Feadiel Elves leave the Sylvan Realm and end up in Alfheim. Shawn Stanley, Department of Geology, Australian National University. (s9406058@student.anu.edu.au) (http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/5304) ------------------------------ End of mystara-digest V2 #18 **************************** Date: Mon, 24 Mar 1997 13:05:23 -0600 From: (mystara-digest) To: mystara-digest@lists.io.com Subject: mystara-digest V2 #19 Reply-To: mystara-l@lists.io.com Precedence: bulk X-UIDL: d42a81b612ae5b5d5d0bd9d9ea2dfb46 mystara-digest Monday, March 24 1997 Volume 02 : Number 019 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 23 Mar 1997 09:17:08 -0700 From: "Patrick" Subject: Re: [Mystara] Elven Migrations >These are the list of elves of unknown origin. Paragraphs started with an * >indicate areas of my conjecture which offers answers for where these elves >come from. >Aquarendi Elves >Hatwa Elves >Wendar/Denagoth Elves >Belcadiz Elves >various Savage Coast elves Of course Wendar is debatable, but you are right for the most part. As for the Savage Coast Elves, they are the descendants of individuals who left Ilsundal's band to settle in the area, according to the on-line Savage Coast accessory. Patrick ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 23 Mar 1997 11:35:50 -0500 From: Rob Rickard Subject: Re: [Mystara] Blackmoor Location? (was Re: [Mystara] Elven migrations) I can see everyones facts about where BlackMoor was...... But on the hollow world precataclysmic map it states were BlackMoor was right on the map. Also in DA1 (Adventures in BlackMoor) it states on the 2nd page that BlackMoor was in Thonia (now ice covered). I like this because if my players every figure out what BlackMoor was and where it was they will have a hard time obtaining artifacts (if any are still working) I personaly think that if BlackMoor was in Glantri/Thar; the Wendar Elves in Wendar would of been destroyed by the cataclysm. I also think that so many BlackMoor artifacts are in the known world because it was the first published D&D material for the game. To each his own. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 23 Mar 1997 13:03:08 -0500 (EST) From: Mischa E Gelman Subject: Re: [Mystara] Traldars and Nithians & New question >Thanx to both Cthulhudrew and Andre for their answers: they were exactly what i was looking for. Thank you again :) And talking about ancient things, does any of you have an idea of how the general skill "Shield Back" (which is cited many times in HWR2: Nithia) works? As i have previously stated, there are big flaws in Nithia, and one of them is that some of the general skills (or proficiencies) description fails... Also absent from the HWR book were alot of key things like stats for the new armor system..some monsters lacked descriptions or stats..several conflicts with the scant info available for Nithia in the boxed set..it was just not well done well. I know they later published some of these corrections in one of the TSR magazines. The book as a whole had a few nice ideas, especially the new magic systems, but I think it could have used a total rewrite. The Reagan and Bush administrations borrowed more money than all the previous US administrations combined. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 23 Mar 97 13:21:05 EST From: Geoff Gander Subject: [Mystara] Re: Your Last >Not necessarily. It could have been moved from anywhere. Even somewhere else on Brun. I'd also be willing to accept that the location of Blackmoor is the northmost reaches of Brun, as that would seem to support both theories. It would be an area near where the Wendar elves are, AND Blackmoor would be near the north pole. It would just mean that the Wendar elves went south, rather than north after the GRoF. This is possible, my only concern is that if we persist in putting everything on Brun, why bother going anywhere else on the planet? I realize that there has been a lot of hard work on MOrient, but placing Blackmoor in Skothar would give that region the extra flavour I think it needs. But as you say, anything is possible. >As I said, there's a lot of debate about it. I think the best possible compromise would be to say that it's in the far northern reaches of Brun, which is north of Hule, close to Wendar, AND under the icecap. I hope that's a reasonable solution/compromise. It's reasonable, but from now on let's just agree that there are many possible alternatives. Your theory has its merits, just as I believe that mine does. Otherwise, we'll be debating this point forever... Geoff - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Geoff Gander Political Science IV Carleton University General wanderer by principle, adventurer by profession Email address: ggander@chat.carleton.ca - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 23 Mar 97 13:24:44 EST From: Geoff Gander Subject: [Mystara] Nithian stuff Hey guys, Does anyone know which issue of Dragon contained the corrections and information missing from the Nithian supplement? Geoff - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Geoff Gander Political Science IV Carleton University General wanderer by principle, adventurer by profession Email address: ggander@chat.carleton.ca - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 23 Mar 97 13:32:03 EST From: Geoff Gander Subject: [Mystara] Re: Alphatian Civil War Cthulhudrew, The Great Old One writes: >That's exactly my take. I had Sundsvall nuked (with all the nasty radiation, etc, that goes with it), and the Empire divided into civil wars. This would be a perfect scenario! Bandits fighting amongst the lethal ruins of Sundsvall, desperate to find any surviving magical items that could help them in their wars. >Arogansa, etc (the southern kingdoms) were already apparently on the brink even in peace times- they go full tilt after Eriadna's death (BTW, I prefer not to bring her back; IMO, things work fine without her.) Yeah, good point. I see the mountainous kingdoms (dwarven Stoutfellow and goblinoid Trollhattan) having a private war amongst themselves, with fighter-dominant Draco taking the side of the dwarves, while Blackheart might aid Trollhattan - proxy wars! >Zandor is backed by one faction; the Shiye-Lawr and Blackheart both go independent; some of the northern Kings decide to push their own claim. It's all an ugly mess, but interesting. :) Definite adveture opportunities! PCs could find themselves an opportunity to carve out their own kingdoms on prime real estate! Stable nations, out of honest concern for their fellow Mystarans, would, of course, be obliged to intervene militarily. All in the interest of security. They're honest about this. Geoff> - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Geoff Gander Political Science IV Carleton University General wanderer by principle, adventurer by profession Email address: ggander@chat.carleton.ca - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 23 Mar 1997 22:40:37 +0100 From: Fabrizio Paoli Subject: [Mystara] New Almanac (Leroy read it, please) The long waited Almanac for 1014 AC is finally ready. Micheal Roy sent me the files (479 Kb total) today asking me to post the to the mailing list. Should I attach them to a message or should I post them as several messages ? I ask this because a few months ago Leroy wrote not to attach files to our messages because it caused problems. Another option is of putting them in the Mystara mailing list homepage so that everyone can dowload them. Tell me what to do, but please don't bury me under a heap of mails. ************** Fabrizio Paoli brizio@lunet.it s153349@studenti.ing.unipi.it DM in City Of The Stars - PC in the Forgotten Realms Leader of Privateers - Trip Bomb Master - Lord of Firewalkers Home Page:http://www.ing.unipi.it/~s153349/index.html ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 23 Mar 1997 17:59:58 -0700 (MST) From: "Cthulhudrew, The Great Old One" Subject: [Mystara] AC 1014 Almanac I've already sent my congratulations on this to Michael Roy, and my thanks for all his hard work and dedication. Impressive, I thought. I had no idea that it was going to be this massive and thorough an undertaking, but I am incredibly impressed by the end product (and I'm not just saying that 'cause I had some small part to play in it). I am going to post a few things in the next couple of days, as supplementary material (notably, my writeup on the Orclands), but overall I thought it was a great job. There's so much to take in; I've just barely scanned it thus far. My congratulations and thanks to everyone who helped to make this almanac possible, and thus to continue to bring Mystara to life. I'm already starting on my contributions for next year's almanac. :) ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 23 Mar 1997 18:07:11 -0700 (MST) From: "Cthulhudrew, The Great Old One" Subject: Re: [Mystara] Re: Alphatian Civil War On Sun, 23 Mar 1997, Geoff Gander wrote: >Cthulhudrew, The Great Old One writes: >>That's exactly my take. I had Sundsvall nuked (with all the nasty radiation, etc, that goes with it), and the Empire divided into civil wars. >This would be a perfect scenario! Bandits fighting amongst the lethal ruins of Sundsvall, desperate to find any surviving magical items that could help them in their wars. I kind of like it, myself. 'Course, I was always a big Gamma World fan... ;) I also like the fact that not all of Sundsvall's magical secrets need be destroyed, and there may even be one or two survivors- not entirely untouched, mind you- and new and unusual monsters from the magical radiation. Plus, it's an excuse to come up with new magic. Anti-Radiation Shield, anyone? >Yeah, good point. I see the mountainous kingdoms (dwarven Stoutfellow and goblinoid Trollhattan) having a private war amongst themselves, with fighter-dominant Draco taking the side of the dwarves, while Blackheart might aid Trollhattan - proxy wars! I could see this. >Definite adveture opportunities! PCs could find themselves an opportunity to carve out their own kingdoms on prime real estate! Stable nations, out of honest concern for their fellow Mystarans, would, of course, be obliged to intervene militarily. All in the interest of security. They're honest about this. Absolutely. And as you mentioned before, there is still all the hullaballoo on Belissaria, etc. to take care of. And you can bet that Baron Norlan won't sit idly while his first chance for real power in ages comes along- not that he'll find any backers, mind you. :) ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 23 Mar 1997 23:56:52 -0500 From: Joe Duncan Subject: Re: [Mystara] Elven migrations from (The N'djatwa) >>>>as far as I see it is from the second migration which left Grunland. The effects of this migration are only mentioned in one place that being that some elves from this migration ended up in Glantri and there joined up wwwith elves >>>>who had already broken off from the Ilsundal migration and were already living >>>>in Glantri. Yet from this second migration there seems to be a lack of account >>>>for what any of the other elves did. >>>>Actually the second migration from Grunland joined the first (Ilsundal's ) at Addakian sound. >>>No, you're definitely wrong there, there was a second migration. >>Yes, if you noticed I never said there wasn't a second migration from Grunland. I said there *WAS*. BUT they JOINED with the first migration in 2300 BC near Addakian Sound. Here's a quote from the CoM Explorer's Manual >>"Around 2800 BC two groups of elves left their ancestral lands. Some, led by Ilsundal, crossed western Davania. By 2300 BC they had crossed the Strait of Izonda to the Immortal's Arm then headed east along the Savage Coast. Another group, whose leader's name is lost, took another route through the Adakkian Sound, where they rejoined Ilsundal's band and continued with them." >Writing in capital letters with the asterisks thrown in for good measure does not mean that your argument is correct, it probably just means that you should try a low sugar diet. Look, I don't want any kind of immature slandering here but insulting other people doesn't mean your argument is correct either. >As my two pieces of evidence I'll use your quote above and another one >In BC 2500, a second separatist group of southern elves begins the long march northward (HW: DM's Sourcebook, 11). >So we have in 2800 BC Ilsundal's Migration from Grunland in two parts. And then >three hundred years later another group leaves Grunland. Well, it never said that the two groups were Ilsundal's group, in fact in specifically says that the leader's name ( of the second group ) was lost in history. A lot of the dates in the Hollow World box set are a little off, just look at the Schattenalf and Shadow Elf timelines from there and from GAZ 13. Actually in all the canon there are several conflicting dates, but the EVENTS are the important thing. This is the attitude I have taken in developing my time line. I check the relative times of events mentioned in different source books and then see which dates correspond better, in order to solve the conflicts in the material. Every other reference I've seen referring to "two migrations" has meant the one led by Ilsundal, and the second one leaving after him, led by someone whose identity is unknown. Assuming that it was Ilsundal's migration that split in two leads to having a lot of things unaccounted for. If we assume that somewhere in the mountain of material that writers at TSR have to wade through in an attempt to maintain continuity, someone got a date a little off, then all the events mesh almost perfectly and everything is accounted for. Both scenarios are assumptions, but one creates questions, while the other one answers them. It makes sense that the scenario that makes things mesh nicely would be closer to the one that designers had in mind than the one that creates holes in the history. - ----------------------------------------------------------------------- "Just Glad To Be Here Happy To Be Alive" Joe Duncan, Computer Science, Carleton University jduncan2@chat.carleton.ca cq793@freenet.carleton.ca - ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 23 Mar 1997 23:56:56 -0500 From: Joe Duncan Subject: Re: [Mystara] Elven Migrations >* nothing is mentioned about any other elven colonies at this time, it may be assumed that such do exist though. If other colonies do exist then anywhere where you find elves that cannot be placed anywhere else may be attributed to these migrations. That makes sense. The sea-elves would be one example of such. >* One such group appears to be the Wendar/Denagoth elves. PWA3, 61 states that many elven communities perished during the Great Rain of Fire, but the Wendar elves survived. Now let's assume that the Wendar elves are one of these "other" colonies that I mentioned above, other as in not part of the colony which was settled in/near Blackmoor - there is also only evidence of only one colony in/near Blackmoor. >* Therefore I contest that the Wendar/Denagoth elves were one of these colonies. They then had no contact with Evergrun, the Blackmoor colony or The Hollow World box set states that 4 clans colonize in and around the Blackmoor region. The Alfheim Gaz states that elves colonize in and around the Blackmoor region. It seems that they'd be the same group to me. There could have been several colonies in the area around Blackmoor, as it never says there was only one, those four clans could have formed many colonies in the area around Blackmoor. I have no doubt that there were other elven colonies in the world, but of the ones that settled near Blackmoor and points around it there were only 4 clans. Many elven communities did indeed perish during the Great Rain of Fire, but the only reference that we have to the history of Wendar states that they are descendants of elves that emigrated to the lands near Blackmoor. As mentioned above those elves that Date: Mon, 24 Mar 1997 13:05:23 -0600 From: (mystara-digest) To: mystara-digest@lists.io.com Subject: mystara-digest V2 #19 Reply-To: mystara-l@lists.io.com Precedence: bulk X-UIDL: d42a81b612ae5b5d5d0bd9d9ea2dfb46 settled and colonized the areas around Blackmoor were comprised of only 4 clans. They might have migrated from their original location at some point but it seems that they are indeed related to the Shadow Elves. >* The Hatwa elves may also be such a colony from Evergrun, also presumably not affected by technology. >* The Aquarendi elves can pretty much only be one of these Evergrun colonies. It is stated that in BC 3100 the Aquarendi elves entered the sea seeking the guardianship of Manwara (PC3, 42). I contend that these elves did have contact with the Blackmoor colony but were disgusted by the technology that was overtaking seemingly all the elves they knew. Perhaps giving up on Ordana for allowing the elves to end up as they were the Aquarendi turned to Manwara and entered the sea, beginning a new life - without technology. This makes sense. >Now I will follow the migrations resulting from the Grunland colony of elves. >1 Two migrations leave Grunland in BC 2800 Ilsundal's migration takes a route vvia the Arm of Immortals and Savage Coast while another goes through the Adakkian Sound (CoM, 35) and rejoin with Ilsundal's migration around BC 2200 as at this time the group appears to be whole again for the Glantri elves to break off the migration but the rejoining of the two groups occurs after BC 2300 as at this time Ilsundal's migration were beginning to head east along the Savage Coast (CoM, 35). Migration reaches the Sylvan Realm BC 2100 (HW, 12). I'll take migrations from the Sylvan Realm as a separate topic below. I still say that the two groups that met up at Adakkian sound were the two groups from Grunland, not Ilsundal's group spilt into two. ( See my other post on this. ) >* Presumably the various Savage Coast elven populations also broke off from Ilsundal's migration as it passed through the area, although I cannot find a direct quote to this. That seems to be logical. >* I initially presumed that the Belcadiz elves merely survived the catastrophe or came back up again from underground but there seems to be no provision for this. Because of their Spanish culture it seems likely that the Belcadiz elves migrating from the Savage Coast at some time or another. Hrm, I'm still discussing this with Fabrizio. It seems that it's impossible for the Belcadiz to have come from the Savage Coast as the spanish culture didn't develop on the Savage Coast until 900 AC. I'll post more on this later. - ----------------------------------------------------------------------- "Just Glad To Be Here Happy To Be Alive" Joe Duncan, Computer Science, Carleton University jduncan2@chat.carleton.ca cq793@freenet.carleton.ca - ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 24 Mar 1997 17:10:29 +1100 From: s9406058@bohm.anu.edu.au (Stan) Subject: Re: [Mystara] Elven Migrations >>* One such group appears to be the Wendar/Denagoth elves. PWA3, 61 states that many elven communities perished during the Great Rain of Fire, but the Wendar elves survived. Now let's assume that the Wendar elves are one of these "other" colonies that I mentioned above, other as in not part of the colony which was settled in/near Blackmoor - there is also only evidence of only one colony in/near Blackmoor. >>* Therefore I contest that the Wendar/Denagoth elves were one of these colonies. They then had no contact with Evergrun, the Blackmoor colony or >The Hollow World box set states that 4 clans colonize in and around the Blackmoor region. The Alfheim Gaz states that elves colonize in and around the Blackmoor region. It seems that they'd be the same group to me. There could have been several colonies in the area around Blackmoor, as it never says there was only one, those four clans could have formed many colonies in the area around Blackmoor. I have no doubt that there were other elven colonies in the world, but of the ones that settled near Blackmoor and points around it there were only 4 clans. Many elven communities did indeed perish during the Great Rain of Fire, but the only reference that we have to the history of Wendar states that they are descendants of elves that emigrated to the lands near Blackmoor. As mentioned above those elves that settled and colonized the areas around Blackmoor were comprised of only 4 clans. They might have migrated from their original location at some point but it seems that they are indeed related to the Shadow Elves. What I was trying to say by making the Wdnar elves a colony not near Blackmoor (BTW I consider Blackmoor to placed as the Outer World Postcataclysmic Map from the Hollow World boxed set places it) to account for the way that the Wendar Elves weren't wiped out by the GRoF, also to explain how they weren't affected by technology and also to perhaps explain why they have such a dim view of their early history. >>* I initially presumed that the Belcadiz elves merely survived the catastrophe or came back up again from underground but there seems to be no provision for this. Because of their Spanish culture it seems likely that the Belcadiz elves migrating from the Savage Coast at some time or another. >Hrm, I'm still discussing this with Fabrizio. It seems that it's impossible for the Belcadiz to have come from the Savage Coast as the spanish culture didn't develop on the Savage Coast until 900 AC. I'll post more on this later. Well that would create a problem then. Maybe they came across earlier but since they had similar ancestral histories as it were then they both developed a spanish type culture independantly - it's not impossible. Shawn Stanley, Department of Geology, Australian National University. (s9406058@student.anu.edu.au) (http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/5304) ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 10 Sep 1995 10:19:09 -0700 From: Leroy Van Camp III Subject: Re: [Mystara] New Almanac (Leroy read it, please) mystara-l@lists.io.com wrote: >The long waited Almanac for 1014 AC is finally ready. Micheal Roy sent me the files (479 Kb total) today asking me to post the to the mailing list. Should I attach them to a message or should I post them as several messages ? I ask this because a few months ago Leroy wrote not to attach files to our messages because it caused problems. >Another option is of putting them in the Mystara mailing list homepage so that everyone can dowload them. >Tell me what to do, but please don't bury me under a heap of mails. I don't recommend attachments. They are notoriously unreliable through mailing lists. The best way to go is to break it up into sections and send them to the list. - -- Leroy Van Camp III | "By the way, this may look like a slab of liver, malacoda@lesbois.com | but its an external brain pack." owner-mystara-l@io.com | Ratbert ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 23 Mar 1997 23:23:08 -0700 (MST) From: "Cthulhudrew, The Great Old One" Subject: Re: [Mystara] New Almanac (Leroy read it, please) On Sun, 10 Sep 1995, Leroy Van Camp III wrote: >I don't recommend attachments. They are notoriously unreliable through mailing lists. >The best way to go is to break it up into sections and send them to the list. That's the way I'd probably do it, too. It looks like it's already nicely sectioned out, and so can be posted in a couple of (some of them albeit fairly long) sections. When I sent out my earlier post on the state of the 1014 almanac, I didn't realize it hadn't yet been posted to the list- Michael had sent me a copy to show how it had turned out, and I'm happy to report that it looks great. Funny what happens when you read headers... and here I was wondering why everyone hadn't yet sent in their thoughts on the whole undertaking... I'm so dense sometimes, I amaze me... :( ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 24 Mar 1997 02:37:19 -0500 (EST) From: BZuber5988@aol.com Subject: Re: [Mystara] Elven Migrations <> I like the idea of the Belcadiz coming from the Savage Coast. I solve the cultural/time problem this way: The Belcadiz began as a "movement" among elves of the Savage Baronies to regain their lost elven culture. These elves decided to leave the Savage Coast and researched a spell to open a magical pathway that would take them to a new paradise (not unlike Mealiden's Rainbow Bridge). This spell was drawn to the power of the Radiance in Glantri, and somehow not only transported the Belcadiz across geographical space, but through time as well. Delarius ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 24 Mar 1997 08:35:09 EST From: Neal Daskal Subject: Re: [Mystara] New Almanac (Leroy read it, please) >The long waited Almanac for 1014 AC is finally ready. Micheal Roy sent me the files (479 Kb total) today asking me to post the to the mailing list. Should I attach them to a message or should I post them as several messages ? I ask this because a few months ago Leroy wrote not to attach files to our messages because it caused problems. >Another option is of putting them in the Mystara mailing list homepage so that everyone can dowload them. >Tell me what to do, but please don't bury me under a heap of mails. BTW, has TSR said something new about copyright? What's their take on putting something like this on the web? Bruce, you there or do you have to play Sgt. Shultz on this one? ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 24 Mar 97 11:16:22 EST From: Jody Duncan Subject: Re: [Mystara] Elven Migrations Stan writes: >>>* One such group appears to be the Wendar/Denagoth elves. PWA3, 61 states that many elven communities perished during the Great Rain of Fire, but the Wendar elves survived. Now let's assume that the Wendar elves are one of these "other" colonies that I mentioned above, other as in not part of the colony which was settled in/near Blackmoor - there is also only evidence of only one colony in/near Blackmoor. >>>* Therefore I contest that the Wendar/Denagoth elves were one of these colonies. They then had no contact with Evergrun, the Blackmoor colony or >>The Hollow World box set states that 4 clans colonize in and around the Blackmoor region. The Alfheim Gaz states that elves colonize in and around the Blackmoor region. It seems that they'd be the same group to me. There could have been several colonies in the area around Blackmoor, as it never says there was only one, those four clans could have formed many colonies in the area around Blackmoor. I have no doubt that there were other elven colonies in the world, but of the ones that settled near Blackmoor and points around it there were only 4 clans. Many elven communities did indeed perish during the Great Rain of Fire, but the only reference that we have to the history of Wendar states that they are descendants of elves that emigrated to the lands near Blackmoor. As mentioned above those elves that settled and colonized the areas around Blackmoor were comprised of only 4 clans. They might have migrated from their original location at some point but it seems that they are indeed related to the Shadow Elves. >What I was trying to say by making the Wdnar elves a colony not near Blackmoor (BTW I consider Blackmoor to placed as the Outer World Postcataclysmic Map from the Hollow World boxed set places it) to account for the way that the Wendar Elves weren't wiped out by the GRoF, also to explain how they weren't affected by technology and also to perhaps explain why they have such a dim view of their early history. Well, "Near to Blackmoor", as someone else mentioned earlier, is entirely relative. Being on the continent of Brun, during the Blackmoor era ( with Blackmoor on Skothar ) could be considered "near" to Blackmoor compared to Grunland and Evergrun, which were on the other side of the planet. It might be a subjective view, but I personally like the idea of the Wendar elves being closely related to the Shadow Elves. It explains the Shadow Elves impersonation of Wendar elves to infiltrate Alfheim. A shadow elf claiming he/she belongs to a Wendarian clan, the Gelbalf, for example, wouldn't be lying if he/she did indeed belong to the Gelbalf clan. The alfheim elves, knowing of the only Gelbalf elves being from Wendar would be inclined to believe the infiltrator... >>>* I initially presumed that the Belcadiz elves merely survived the catastrophe or came back up again from underground but there seems to be no provision for this. Because of their Spanish culture it seems likely that the Belcadiz elves migrating from the Savage Coast at some time or another. >>Hrm, I'm still discussing this with Fabrizio. It seems that it's impossible for the Belcadiz to have come from the Savage Coast as the spanish culture didn't develop on the Savage Coast until 900 AC. I'll post more on this later. >Well that would create a problem then. Maybe they came across earlier but since they had similar ancestral histories as it were then they both developed a spanish type culture independantly - it's not impossible. I don't have the Savage Baronies set, but the answer is probably in there. There's a people ( the Espan or Ispan ) that are the spanish-like influence on the Savage Coast. Their arrival apparently dates back only 100 years. So where did they come from? They must have had their spanish-like culture before they got to the Savage Coast, so perhaps the Belcadiz got their spanish-like culture from the original Espan culture and not the Savage Coast one... So it remains to be seen where the Espan came from, and how the Belcadiz got there before ending up in Glantri... Again this is just my conjecture... It is possible that two spanish-like cultures developed independently... - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- "Just Glad To Be Here Happy To Be Alive!" Carleton U. Computer Science, Software Email addresses: jduncan2@chat.carleton.ca cq793@freenet.carleton.ca - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 24 Mar 1997 18:36:24 +0100 (MET) From: Haavard Roenne Faanes Subject: Re: [Mystara] Nithian stuff On Sun, 23 Mar 1997, Geoff Gander wrote: >Hey guys, >Does anyone know which issue of Dragon contained the corrections and information missing from the Nithian supplement? >Geoff Hey, there. The info you are looking for can be found in Dragon #182 - --- Haavard R. Faanes Email: hoc@nvg.unit.no hoc@nvg.nuts.edu http://www.nvg.ntnu.no/~hoc "I didn't spend all those years playing Dungeons and Dragons without learning a bit about courage" -The X-Files ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 24 Mar 1997 19:59:29 +0100 From: Fabrizio Paoli Subject: Re: [Mystara] New Almanac At 10.19 10/09/95 -0700, you wrote: >I don't recommend attachments. They are notoriously unreliable through mailing lists. >The best way to go is to break it up into sections and send them to the list. And this what I'll do now. I divided the Almanac in 19 sections: Part 1: Introduction Parts 2 to 4: KW Atlas Parts 5, 6: HW Atlas Part 7: SC Atlas Part 8: Event of the year Parts 9, 10: Miscellanea Parts 11, 12: Events for Winter 1014 Parts 13, 14: Events for Spring 1014 Parts 15, 16: Events for Summer 1014 Parts 17, 18: Events for Fall 1014 Part 19: End Please remember that the author of this almanac is Micheal Roy , not me, though me, Herve and Cthulhudrew cooperated with him. Micheal is no more on the mailing list (maybe he is on the digest, but I'm not sure), so if you want to congratulate with him send your messages directly to . Have an happy 1014 AC ! ************** Fabrizio Paoli brizio@lunet.it s153349@studenti.ing.unipi.it DM in City Of The Stars - PC in the Forgotten Realms Leader of Privateers - Trip Bomb Master - Lord of Firewalkers Home Page:http://www.ing.unipi.it/~s153349/index.html Date: Mon, 24 Mar 1997 13:05:23 -0600 From: (mystara-digest) To: mystara-digest@lists.io.com Subject: mystara-digest V2 #19 Reply-To: mystara-l@lists.io.com Precedence: bulk X-UIDL: d42a81b612ae5b5d5d0bd9d9ea2dfb46 ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 24 Mar 1997 19:59:33 +0100 From: Fabrizio Paoli Subject: [Mystara] AC 1014 Almanac Part 1 MMM MMM YY YY SSSS TTTTTT AAAA RRRRR AAAA NN NN MMMM MMMM YY YY S TT AA AA RR R AA AA NNN NN MM MMM MM YYYY SSS TT AAAAAA RRRRR AAAAAA NN N NN MM M MM YY S TT AA AA RR R AA AA NN NNN MM MM YY SSSS TT AA AA RR R AA AA NN NN AAAA LL MMM MMM AAAA NN NN AAAA CCCC AA AA LL MMMM MMMM AA AA NNN NN AA AA CC AAAAAA LL MM MMM MM AAAAAA NN N NN AAAAAA CC AA AA LL MM M MM AA AA NN NNN AA AA CC AA AA LLLLL MM MM AA AA NN NN AA AA CCCC & BOOK of FACTS Volume V, AC 1014 Published by Joshuan Gallidox Halfling Adventurer and Entrepreneur within the City of Mirros in the Kingdom of Karameikos in the Year After Crowning 1015 NOTE: This material is not endorsed or approved by TSR. Although the setting (places, characters, features, calendar...), as well as the rules of D&D and AD&D are the creation of TSR, the events, attitudes, beliefs, descriptions, and all the rest in this material are those of the writers and are in no way supported by TSR. The intent behind the Mystaran Almanac is to continue to keep alive the wonderful world of Mystara. It is therefore the compilation of ideas and suggestions from all members of the Mystara Mailing List (unofficial), and not the staff or management of TSR. The mailing list can be found at: http://www.io.com/~oryon/mysthome.htm This manual has very little in terms of game stats, as it does not want to infringe on TSR's copyright (meaning: you want the stats of NPCs and such, buy the appropriate book/references by TSR). We hope that TSR sees this merely as the work put in by those who love Mystara and wish to see it grow rather than any attempt at stealing their setting and infringing on their copyrights. TABLE OF CONTENTS - ----------------- Preface A word from Belzamith Fingertackles A word from Dorrik Stonecleaver Introduction to Our Correspondants Ursula Bremen Alasdhair MacCallum Elidor Murtagh Rikard Prospero Astrid Ragnisdottir Favionus Viator Faisel ibn Yasir Atlas of the Known World Alpha (kingdom of) The Arch of Fire (geographical feature) Caerdwicca (barony of; Empire of Thyatis) Dunadale (duchy of; Empire of Thyatis) Helskir (kingdom of) Ionace (Imperial District of; NACE) Oceansend (city-state of) Ochalea (kingdom of) Redstone (county of; Empire of Thyatis) Thothia (kingdom of) Westrourke (grand duchy of) West Portage (barony of; Empire of Thyatis) Atlas of the Hollow World Azcan Empire Nithia (kingdom of) *Timeline for the Hollow World, AC 1013 Atlas of the Savage Coast *Acquiring a Curse Almarr˘n (estado de) Cimarron County Gargo¤a (baronia de) *Timeline for the Savage Coast, AC 1010-1013 Event of the Year History of Alphatia New Alphatian Confederate Empire (NACE) Interview with Commander in Chief Broderick *Timeline for the New Alphatian Empire, AC 1013 Famous Folks Adventurers, Mages, and Heroes Most Wanted Infamous Villains Eligible Bachelors and Heiresses Mystaran Miscellanea The Mystaran Year Mystaran Horoscope Economica Immortals Current Events: AC 1014 Winter *Strange Magic in Canoldbarth Spring *The Hardanger Fiends Summer *The Rising of Aengmor Fall *A New Sultan on the Throne Predictions and Prognostications Classifieds PREFACE - ------- Dear Reader The wonderful book you now hold in your hands is the fifth in a series of rich volumes intent on describing the amazing world of Mystara. As with the last volume, this year there is much that is new in this little book. The main change has to do with the fact that, once more, the Almanac has a new editor; two to be precise. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Belzamith Fingertackles, a gnomish illusionist of Highforge in the great kingdom of Karameikos. My exciting hobbies include tinkering, poetry, mystery solving, and political sciences. I enjoy discovering things that were previously hidden and searching for the truth behind what is always presented to us. I for one believe that there is much going on in this world that we should know about, but the powers behind the scenes keep hidden from us. Anyway, I am babbling on now. As was mentioned, I am one of the two new editors of the Mystaran Almanac. You see, in last year's edition, Joshuan Gallidox, the owner of the Almanac, made a statement claiming that the Hollow World was nothing but a hoax; a fiction novel written by the adventuress Claransa the Seer. But brave explorers from Karameikos returned from that world, bringing proof that the fantastic Hollow World was real. Upset over his own public statement in Joshuan's, which is now proven wrong, Joshuan did what he believed was right and retired as Editor of the Almanac. As such, he handed the job over to me, as well as the great dwarf Dorrik Stonecleaver, who has his own words for you just below. I must inform you, the reader, that Joshuan still owns the Almanac however, and has merely released the position of editor over to us. He is currently off wandering and relaxing on the beautiful islands of Ierendi, and might return to take control of next year's edition once more. Now, you must be wondering what changes have been made with the new editors. Well, I enjoyed Joshuan's style and opted to continue with the on-sight correspondents and letters to describe places and events. I believe that such presentations make the descriptions all the more lively and interesting, giving the reader a better perspective on things, as well as insight on the people who present them to you. I tried to encourage our writers to dig more behind the scene, but I must admit I am forced to agree with what they see as common sense and not press too deeply, otherwise, unwanted attention might be drawn back our way. Another change is the addition of interviews. The Mystaran Almanac is pleased to announce a live interviews with one of the most talked about and important people of our time. What he has to say has been added to our collections of correspondents, and is now available for everyone to read. The Atlas of the Known World and Famous Folk sections will concentrate on places and people who have not been described in our last volume. It is our desire to add new information instead of continuously repeating the same old things over and over again. Once more, we have a detailed history of major events that have become known across our world, including some of our correspondents giving comments and details on things as they happened as well as their repercussions. The history gives events in the Hollow World (HW) as well as the Known World (KW). There is even a brief section on the far off Savage Coast (SC), but I must be the first to inform you that the information is far from complete or confirmed as accurate. One small complaint I have is the lateness of which the transfer of editors took place. Much of the Almanac publishing had been thrown into complete chaos, which took forever to get back in order. Because of this, the Almanac does not have nearly as much information as I would have hoped for. But one must settle with limitations. Still, what is here is of the best quality, and quantity will definitely improve in the next volume as well. Therefore, it is with great pleasure that I present to you the new and improved Mystaran Almanac, AC 1014 edition. It would also be my pleasure to hear from you, gentle readers, on your opinions of our presentation and content. Belzamith Fingertackles, Co-Editor Mystaran Almanac Mirros, Karameikos Nuwmont, AC 1015 - -------------------------------------------------------------- To the reader As mentioned by my partner, I'm Dorrik Stonecleaver, one of the two new editors of the Mystaran Almanac. I won't bother boring you by repeating the details of how I became a co-editor. I've traveled and adventured with Joshuan several times, and felt obliged to help him with his Almanac when he asked me to take over. Had I known about the gnome, I might have thought it over twice however. I'm also from Highforge, and used to be a caravan guard for several decades. I retired over a decade ago and wandered the world for a while. I've always believed that one should get to the point, and therefore suggested the name change of Joshuan's Almanac to the Mystaran Almanac. I find the new title a lot more accurate as to its contents. I don't like big texts and wasting breath, so I give the information that you really need. Numbers, dates, places. They give you what you want or need to know, quickly. I've therefore made sure to include exact dates, locations, populations, taxes, currency, and all the details that have been left out in Joshuan's Almanac. In other words, I've brought over the best part of Prospero's Poor Wizard's Almanacs back into the newest edition. I would have loved to include description of the military forces and their tactics as well, but most governments took a dim view at seeing such information published and made sure we didn't. Finally, a chapter is dedicated to recount events that took place last year in the Hollow World. Think of it as an apology for overlooking it last year. Anyway, I've said the important stuff, so it's time to start reading the Mystaran Almanac. If you have anything important to tell us, let us know. Make sure it's important, because with all our correspondents, we don't have time for useless letters. Dorrik Stonecleaver, Co-Editor Mystaran Almanac Mirros, Karameikos Nuwmont, AC 1015 OUR CORRESPONDENTS - ------------------ Here is our list of correspondents that give us detailed information on the nations, places, and events of the Known World of Mystara. However, the Mystaran Almanac would like to increase its field of knowledge and cadre of correspondents, by that gaining access to information from around the world. Currently, we are sadly lacking in information from the regions of the New Alphatian Confederate Empire, the Savage Coast, and the ever hard to reach Hollow World. Should you or anyone you know be interested in joining our group of main correspondents, simply send us letters detailing a place or event. If we like it enough, it will be included in the next Mystaran Almanac. If you continue to produce great articles, then you'll be soon able to find your name here in our list of major correspondents. Ursula Bremen Ursula is a smart and experienced member of the Darokin Diplomatic Corps, giving her great insights into the political goings-on in Darokin and surrounding nations. Her connections also allow her inside information on the military activities in Darokin, Aengmor, and the Orclands, making her an invaluable asset to this Almanac. A very ambitious woman in her mid-30s, Ursula always manages to keep her ambitions in check. The duties of her job always come first. This year, Ursula makes reports on the goblinoids of the Orclands, as well as activities going on in the nation of Aengmor. Alasdhair MacCallum The swashbuckling rogue known as Alasdhair MacCallum is a young Glantrian that enjoys emphasizing his own cleverness while subtly insulting those around him. Luckily for him, he's highly skilled with a rapier, which has more than likely kept him alive after his usual comments (shall we say insults) on the fashions of various members of the high society. His own fondness for elaborate dress gives others the impression of him being an empty-headed young fop. Alasdhair traveled up in the far reaches of Norwold during AC 1014, and has written to us about the far nations of the north, as well as a geographical feature in the area. The editors of the Almanac would like to apologize to Alasdhair for mispelling his name several times in last year's Almanac. His name is indeed Alasdhair, and not Alastair as was written in both the table of contents and the section on correspondents in AC 1013. Elidor Murtagh As the First Mate of the Callista, Elidor's love of sailing marks him as a typical Minrothad sea elf. His love of travel has brought him throughout the Sea of Dread and the Sea of Dawn. Elidor is also an accomplished adventurer, having wandered extensively during his first century or so of life. He has visited the undersea nation of Aquas (although that was in AC 950, just after Seashield's founding). Elidor has also visited the Undersea regions near Minrothad and Ierendi, and has friends among the aquatic elves and merrow (mermen) there. While people afraid of water are not unusual, Elidor is the first person I've met who is afraid of land. He will never travel more than a day's walk inland, preferring to keep the open sea in sight at all times. During AC 1014, Elidor visited several nations in the New Alphatian Sea and describes Ionace for the readers. Rikard Prospero We are pleased to announce that the former owner of the Almanacs is now one of our cadre of main correspondents. Born in Thyatis, Prospero was adept at magic from a young age and was sent to learn by the best wizards money can buy thanks to his rich merchant father. Learning from his father, Prospero also acquired the knack to write down every detail and to be as precise as possible (as readers of the old Poor Wizard's Almanac can attest). It seems that after a long journey, Prospero has made a new home for himself on the Savage Coast, and therefore sends us the first written reports on events taking place to the far west. Astrid Ragnisdottir Born in Ostland, Astrid Ragnisdottir is a young skald of Odin, a wandering priestess and storyteller. She is fascinated with history and is well-versed in folk tales of the Northern Reaches. During her journeys, Astrid has also studied the religious beliefs of her homeland as well as neighboring nations, including Wendar, Ethengar, and the Heldannic Territories. It is with distress that I must announce that Astrid was severely wounded last year during the invasion of the Falun Caverns in the Hardanger Mountains. The editors of this Almanac do not know her current condition, but wish her a speedy recovery and hope that Odin sees fit to keep such a worthy skald alive and well. Favonius Viator The second son of a well-to-do Thyatian senator, Favionus is a bit of a rogue uninterested in the politics that his father takes part in. Instead, Favonius took up the trade of a merchant with the help of a very rich uncle. His mercantile experience gives him much understanding on the Empire of Thyatis, as well as the various inland trade routes and coastal sea trade routes. The editors of the Mystaran Almanac would like to indicate that Favonius Viator has disappeared last year while exploring trade opportunities in the Thyatian Hinterlands. Senator Viator has offered a 25,000 Lucins (gp) reward for anyone who finds his son. Faisel ibn Yasir Born in the Emirates of Ylaruam as the younger son of a merchant, Faisel has displayed both the skills of an accomplished warrior and learned scholar. Faisel epitomizes the ideal citizen of the Emirates. He honors the Way of the Eternal Truth and the Nameh every possible way he can. The man also quotes liberally from the Nameh and similar religious writings of Al-Kalim. At the moment, Faisel is the Almanac's best source of information of what is going on within the Emirates. Unfortunately, it has taken great convincing to get Faisel to write to the Almanac once more, as he has accepted the nation's current view and disdain of foreigners and non- believers. It is the belief of the editors that we shall soon lose Faisel as a correspondent. ------------------------------ End of mystara-digest V2 #19 **************************** Date: Mon, 24 Mar 1997 13:06:03 -0600 From: (mystara-digest) To: mystara-digest@lists.io.com Subject: mystara-digest V2 #20 Reply-To: mystara-l@lists.io.com Precedence: bulk X-UIDL: 992c44aa1f1e014e7c66d60fd8aae0a0 mystara-digest Monday, March 24 1997 Volume 02 : Number 020 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 24 Mar 1997 19:59:40 +0100 From: Fabrizio Paoli Subject: [Mystara] AC 1014 Almanac Part 2 ATLAS OF THE KNOWN WORLD - ------------------------ Once again, dear readers, you arrive at the section of the Almanac that details the geography, countries, and famous places of the Known World. This year, we have concentrated on the Isle of Dawn and Norwold, leaving the mainland behind. Expect the Bellissarian nations in our next volume. It has come to our attention, however, that this area is no longer as valid as it once was. I do not mean that it is no longer accurate or valueless. Instead, I believe that it is badly organized. After all, just look at the chapter's title once more: Atlas of the Known World. Just what exactly is the Known World? Our knowledge of Mystara has increased tremendously over that past several years. We are now in relatively good contact with the nations of the Savage Coast and tavern stories have made sure that almost everyone is aware that there is a Hollow World beneath their feet. It is my belief that the first editor of this Almanac, because of his egocentric (although they would rather call it patriotic) Thyatian upbringing, decided that wherever Thyatis could reach is the World and the rest does not exist; hence we have the Known World. Also, the area called the Known World is simply getting too big to be handled in one section. More than likely, in the next almanac, this chapter will be divided into two separate chapters; one dealing with the coast of the Sea of Dread (Five Shires, Glantri, Karameikos, Thyatis, ...), and the other with the nations of the Alphatian Sea (Norwold, Isle of Dawn, Bellissaria, Esterhold Peninsula, ...). The editors of this Almanac would therefore like to propose a name change to the area, and we invite you, the reader, to give us your opinions. Send us a letter suggesting the names you would like to give to these areas, as well as the reason you think those names are the best. Perhaps next year, you'll find your names in the Almanac! With all that said and done, let us continue with the Atlas to the Known World. B.F. ALPHA (Kingdom of) Location: Known World, continent of Brun, northeastern reaches, area of Norwold. Area: 9,478 sq. mi. Population: 90,000, including 2,000 halflings. Languages: Alphatian (official), Elvish (Shiye-Lawr dialect), Halfling (Lalor dialect), Heldannic, Thyatian. Coinage: Alphatian Standard: Crown (gp), mirror (sp), judge (cp). Coins of many other nations are in common circulation here. Taxes: 20% income tax, collected yearly. Government Type: Independent monarchy part of the New Alphatian Empire. Industries: Agriculture (grows barely enough for its own use), fishing, logging, mining, and trapping. Important Figures: King Ericall (Human, male, F20) Flora and Fauna: Alpha features the plants and animals one expects of the northern wilderness. The Peninsula claimed by Alpha is devoid of monsters thanks to the Regent Pass, but cold- climate creatures (such as snow apes, white dragons, frost giants, frost salamanders, and sasquatches) fill the rest of Norwold, as well as several scattered goblinoid tribes. Description: by Alasdhair MacCallum After the long trek through the Icereach Range, I was glad to finally make it back to civilization here in the city of Alpha. [Ed. Note: Alasdhair writes his articles to us in chronological order, yet in the Almanac, we placed them in alphabetical order. For details on why he was in the Icereach Range, read his article on the Arch of Fire.] Having decided to take a boat back home instead of walking, well, for the majority of the trip anyways, the ports of Alpha became the logical choice as my next stop. Alpha is blocked off from the inland by a large, rugged stretch of mountains that cut off the entire peninsula at the neck. There is only one way through these mountains; a small, twisting path known as Regent Pass. This narrow gap is guarded by a fortress garrisoned with an entire unit of the King's Guard. The Land From atop the hills of Regent Pass, the splendid deep-water port of the city is easily visible, with ships from around the world docked in its large harbor. Numerous fishing boats can also be seen scattered throughout the Great Bay. The city itself appears to be one huge castle or fortress, with several layers of high walls surrounding the city like various layers of an onion. Atop a large hill in the center of the fortified area lies one of the largest palaces I have ever seen. There must be at least a dozen huge buildings all interconnected to each other with arches and bridges and walls. Dozens of chimneys dot the rooftops of the palace, more than likely keeping the place comfortably warm during the cold winter nights here up north. Various small parks and woodlands can be seen within the palace grounds as well, suggesting that great care is taken to maintain its beauty and appearance. Still, despite the architectural decorations, the thick walls and several dozen towers clearly indicate that the main purpose of the palace is indeed defense. The old section of the city has its own, central wall dotted with towers, ballistae, and catapults. This wall used to be the other wall of the long abandoned Thyatian fortress that once occupied this very area. A more recent wall, thicker and higher than the others, surrounds the rest of the city. All these overlapping walls and towers make the defenses of the city a very formidable obstacle to any enemy. It must help the Alphans sleep well at night, knowing that they are well defended despite the Heldannic Knights being only several hundred miles away. The other sections of the city also have a larger than normal share of parks and trees compared to most modern cities of the Known World. Besides the palace, two other buildings draw in the attention of any visitor to the area. The first is the Hardball Arena. This large marble structure was commissioned by King Ericall in AC 1007, in the hopes of drawing more people to Alpha. Unfortunately, with the destruction of Alphatia, the arena hasn't been as successful as he hoped. Still, there are a few games between minor local teams played here, and it's also used for various other social functions and reunions by the nobility and upper class who don't have access to the palace. On the bright side, it seems that there will indeed be a hardball season in AC 1014, so the local teams are training hard to see who will get to represent Alpha this year. Such "friendly" practice matches are very competitive and worth watching if one gets the chance. The last structure of note is a temple dedicated to Zirchev. A large temple made out of strong and sturdy oak, this shrine stands just over three stories high. A large brass bell tops the tallest spire, which can be heard throughout the city. What makes the temple so beautiful is its sheer simplicity. There are no fancy decorations, extravagant use of gold or silver, or even tasteless statues used to honor Immortals (Rad forbid anyone would want to anyway!). The only thing indicating that it is a house of Zirchev is a carving of his face just above the main double doors. It seems the Forest Immortal has gained quite a bit of popularity here in Alpha, and there are almost daily ceremonies held to honor him. The high priest even has a choral of trained birds who "sing" the hymns during the prayers. Even I, who detests prayers and such religious nonsense, must admit that the presentation of the ceremony was marvellous. I would say one should disregard his religious beliefs (or lack thereof) for a brief moment and participate to at least one such ceremony, if just to see and listen to the show. The land between the garrison at Regent Pass and the city of Alpha is almost completely converted into farmland, with just the occasional patch of evergreens here and there. The soil is rich in nutrients, apparently deposited by a glacier long ago, or so I've been told anyway. The farmers don't seem to care where it came from, just that it's there. Various natural lakes and small streams make sure that every farm has an adequate supply of fresh water. The People The inhabitants of Alpha are mostly Alphatian, although many of Heldannic and Thyatian ancestry are also very visible. The vast majority are happy to have a King Ericall to rule them, adding what they believe is a needed form of government and order to their lives. Most are simple farmers or fishermen who do not have the typical Alphatian disdain of mundanes; those unable to use magic. Being removed from the former Alphatian mainland, magic did not become so mainstream in Alpha as to affect their lives very much. Alphans therefore have more or less the same ridiculous fear of the arcane as most peasants from around the Known World, besides Glantri, that is. Besides that, they are polite and welcome strangers eagerly in exchange for courtesy and the occasional stories about your travels. Most believe in minding their own business, do not interfere with your plans, and are content to simply do their work and not get involved in politics and "important" things. There are three current major topics going around the taverns of Alpha. The first is the previously mentioned religious ceremony to Zirchev. Many people here are those who helped colonize the area or are their direct descendants. Alphans therefore have a greater respect for nature than most city- dwellers, as the numerous city parks and the wildlands in the area can attest to. I would say that Alpha could almost be called the City of Rangers and Foresters. Another subject whispered every now and then concerns the encroaching Heldannic Knights to the south. The fall of Oceansend has caused even the most doubtful to believe that Alpha is next target of the Knights of Vanya. Despite the superb defenses of the city, many are making plans on means of escape should the inevitable come to happen. Finally, on a more joyful note, a certain Christina Marie Alanira is the third most talked about subject. I must admit, I have met this beautiful young lady (how I managed to attend such a high classed reception is another story!), and I cannot blame anyone for talking about her. It seems that this young daughter of a minor noble from Bellissaria has managed to catch the eye of King Ericall. Her own love of the outdoors and zest for life has allowed her to adjust rather well in Alpha, and earned her the respect of many of the nobles here. Needless to say, most rumors have to do with a royal wedding happening in the near future. If such rumors are true, then I envy those lucky enough to receive invitations. The lands around Alpha is beautiful to behold, and the Grand Ballroom of the palace, where the ceremonies are sure to take place, is rumored to be one of the architectural wonders of the Known World. I'm sure such a night will be one that would be impossible to forget. ARCH OF FIRE, THE (Geographical feature) Location: Known World, continent of Brun, northeastern reaches, area of Norwold, Icereach Range. Area: app. 5,000 sq. mi. (about 2,500 sq. mi. around each volcano). Population: unknown number of creatures from the Elemental Plane of Fire. Languages: Unknown languages from elemental plane of fire. Coinage: Unknown, if any at all. Taxes: Unkown, if any at all. Government Type: Unknown. Industries: Unknown. Important Figures: None known. Flora and Fauna: small plants and animals common in more southern regions than Norwold. Description: by Alasdhair MacCallum Well, for those of you who read Joshuan's Almanac last year, you might recall that I mentioned I would be visiting the Great Crater and New Kolland to give the world's first human report on everything that goes on in the humanoid lands. Unfortunately, I've been side-tracked from those plans. It seems I have since managed to irritate a mage of some renown within the Great School of Magic and was forced to perform a small task for her, or suffer some "accidental mishaps" she would foreshadow with her divination magic. Still, there is some time left yet during this year, so who knowns, the New Kolland Travelogue might still see publication before next spring. Anyways, this quest of hers brought me up into the frozen reaches of the Icereach Range in far away Norwold. On one of the cold nights, and it does get cold up there, I spotted a huge bright light within the sky. Closer inspection revealed a line of red flames arching through the sky. My curiosity evidently was picked, and so I approached this phenomenon to get a better look. And it is about this Arch of Fire that I write my next article for the Almanac. The Arch of Fire The Arch of Fire is situated approximately half-way between the large swamp along the swift White Bear Rive and the large, foreboding Icereach Mountains. For those who do not know the region of Norwold, that is approximately 300 miles west of the hin city of Leeha. The Arch itself seems to be some sort of conduit or vortex for the Elemental Plane of Fire. The northern end of the arch starts from a volcano known as Northern Mount Cantrinus, named after the Thyatian explorer who first discovered this special geographical feature. The northern volcano is the outflowing portal, spilling fire for the Plane of Fire here into the Prime Plane. From there, the flames leap up dramatically in the form of a tube roughly 300 feet in diameter. This jet of flames lands 75 miles southward, into the second volcano called Southern Mount Cantrinus (needless to say, Thyatians lack imagination). The other volcano is the inflowing portal, where the stream of lava flows back into the Plane of Fire. The maximum point of the Arch must reach at least 5 or 6 miles in height. The Arch of Fire is visible from about 50 miles away during the day, and at least 75 miles during the darkness of night. At night, the glow of the flames gives a beautiful orange/red color to the night sky. It is definitely worth a trip into the frozen northland just to see this at least once. The Land The land around the volcanoes are wastelands of fire. The area is relatively flat considering how mountainous the rest of the area is. The whole area is crisscrossed by flowing streams of molten lava, which in turn melt all the snow on the mountain peaks and create rivers and lakes of meltwater. These rivers just as easily lead to rivers or lakes of lava, plunging into the molten rock. This creates rushing gouts of steam which gives the whole area a look similar to fog-shrouded Klantyre back in Glantri. Some of these gouts of steam are from beneath the ground, and steam geysers are relatively common as well. Vegetation is rather unusual for Norwold. Because of the intense heat in the areas directly around the volcanoes, species that are normally not present in the north are thriving here. Even small mammals that normally avoid the cold and snow can be found scurrying about. This is not to say that a jungle is present here, however. On the contrary, vegetation is scarce and almost non-existent. The heat is just too intense, and the rivers of lava often change course, burning up whatever is in the way. Most areas are also covered in solid rock, obviously old volcanic deposits, and have no soil for anything to grow or live on. Many small cave mouths dot the rocks that surround both mountains. Although most of these openings lead nowhere, some connect to fissures deep within the earth. The formerly mentioned gouts of steam occasionally scald these caves as well, making them a somewhat hazardous shelter. The People Even more surprising is the fact that the area is inhabited. Yet no humans live here; instead, we have two races which are native to the Elemental Plane of Fire. At Northern Mount Cantrinus, a society of efreet has been formed. Admittedly, I was not sure what species these beings were, but once back in Glantri, I conferred with specialists on the Plane of Fire, and they confirmed that it was indeed the evil efreet. These creatures have created what seems to be a city of basalt and obsidian stones around the mouth of the volcano crater. Because of its relatively small size and the fact that they were continuing in the construction, I would assume that the efreet are new arrivals and have just taken over the area. The efreet had many slaves working for them, from humans, fire giants, fire elementals, to even the occasional red dragon whose wings had been clipped to prevent flight. By the eagerness behind the slave master's whipping, I could tell that visiting their city would not be a wise decision. Still, from away, I could see military activity which suggests that they are preparing for a war of some kind. Construction seems to be limited to walls and defensive positions. A quick head count of certain areas allows me to guess at a total population of 4 to 6 thousand efreet. Further investigating would definitely be worth doing by a larger and better prepared group. Southern Mount Cantrinus is controlled by fire elementals. Here, my spying was discovered and I was brought to meet their leader. This elemental stands at huge height of 25 feet. Thanks to their magic, I was able to communicate with the leader, and learned that the efreet had indeed conquered the northern volcano from them just a few months ago. The efreet now seem to have plans of taking over the southern volcano as well. The fire elementals have no love for humans, but do not slay Date: Mon, 24 Mar 1997 13:06:03 -0600 From: (mystara-digest) To: mystara-digest@lists.io.com Subject: mystara-digest V2 #20 Reply-To: mystara-l@lists.io.com Precedence: bulk X-UIDL: 992c44aa1f1e014e7c66d60fd8aae0a0 them outright. In fact, it seems that right now they are trying to recruit help from us, as their own reinforcements have been blocked off since the efreet have control of the incoming portal from the Plane of Fire. Still, when I refused to join their armies, I was immediately asked to leave, and brought to the borders of what they claim as their lands. I therefore have little to say about the fire elementals, since I could not explore more. Their numbers still remain a mystery. As for their culture, I doubt I would have understood much of it anyways. It is something probably best left to mages and sages who understand more about the Plane of Fire and its inhabitants. Don't Miss Well, the Arch itself is one of the wonders of the world, a beautiful sight that is definitely not to be missed if one has the occasion to visit. Unfortunately, everything else there is definitely not worth seeing, especially the inhabitants. However, each of these creatures are from another plane of existence. This makes them, and their artifacts and magic, rare and unique. This means they are worth quite a bit of gold if brought to the right collectors and sages. CAERDWICCA (Barony of; Empire of Thyatis) Location: Known World, Isle of Dawn (east of the continent of Brun; southwest of the New Alphatian Sea), southern tip. Area: 17,459 sq. mi. Population: 2,000, including 500 in the capital Caerdwicca. Languages: Thyatian (official), Alphatian. Coinage: Thyatian Standard: Emperor (pp), lucin (gp), asterius (sp), denarius (cp). Coins of many other nations are in common circulation here. Taxes: 25% income tax collected quarterly (Va. 1, Ya. 1, Fy. 3, Ei. 1). Citizens abroad must still pay. 5% sales tax on all but food and clothing. Government Type: Barony under the jurisdiction of the Empire of Thyatis. Industries: Trade. Important Figures: Baron Uthgaard McRhomaag (human, male, F16). Flora and Fauna: Standard for its climate. Dangerous monsters include goblinoid hordes scattered throughout the Isle of Dawn as well as bandits. Description: by Elidor Murtagh Now here be a port worth mentionin' ta anyone who reads this book. Caerdwicca be a town built by a sailor for sailors, and ye can't ask for much better. First o' all, there be nothing ta do with anything but ships and sailin' and the basic nesecities for a town ta live. Everybody that's somebody here knows something about a ship, proving that they ain't no land-lubbers. The city be pretty simple to. No big fancy walls or port masters and bunch of 'em regulations that make ye waste your time dockin' yer boat. Fact, it's this lack o' regulations that make Caerdwicca the pirate haven it is today. Baron McRhomaag was once a pirate 'imself, so he knows what it be like. Not ta say that Caerdwicca is a bunch of lawless thugs and killers. Nay. The Baron follows all 'em Thyatian laws in his town, but he don't be pressin' against the ships that dock at his ports. There's no searches for stolen goods or questions asked as ta were they came from. But once on solid ground, 'em pirates gotta behave just like anyone else. The only business in Caerdwicca therefore be one of tradin'. The town is filled with taverns an' inns for all 'em sailors that dock here. There be not much else... not even a wall or pallisade ta protect in case of an attack. The streets aren't even paved like most Thyatian city street be. Course, a few folks get wood from the nearby forests to try and start their own business, but so far that be small business here indeed. McRhomaag Castle be a funny sight ta see. Don't look like no castle that I be use to. It's a simple two story building built atop a dirt hill, with a crude wooden wall around it. Oh yeah, and a ditch he be calling a moat. Now why does the Emperor allow this obvious pirate haven ta stay? Because Baron McRhomaag controls 'em pirates, that's why. When he be in trouble, he just asks his pirate captains for hand an' they be coming to the rescue. Just look at all 'em pirate raids against the Alphatians during the war. Think that be a coincidence? 'nyways, Caerdwicca be ta place ta rest if ye be looking for a nice town that be friendly to sailors o' any kind. DUNADALE (Duchy of; Empire of Thyatis) Location: Known World, Isle of Dawn (east of the continent of Brun; southwest of the New Alphatian Sea), northeaster corner. Area: 168,605 sq. mi. Population: 61,000, including 19,500 in Dunadale, the capital. Languages: Thyatian (official), Alphatian. Coinage: Thyatian Standard: Emperor (pp), lucin (gp), asterius (sp), denarius (cp). Coins of many other nations are in common circulation here. Taxes: 25% income tax collected quarterly (Va. 1, Ya. 1, Fy. 3, Ei. 1). Citizens abroad must still pay. 5% sales tax on all but food and clothing. Government Type: Duchy under the jurisdiction of the Empire of Thyatis. Industries: Agriculture, lumber, fishing. Important Figures: Duke Edmondo Tiberia (human, male, F11), Tastalgarth Lunn (ex-king, now hermit, human, male, M14). Flora and Fauna: Standard for its climate. Dangerous monsters include goblinoid hordes scattered throughout the Isle of Dawn as well as bandits. Description: by Favionus Viator The province of Dunadale was conquered by the mighty Thyatian legions in AC 1010. The Thyatian claim to the area was confirmed and reinforced with the Isle of Dawn Treaty signed on Klarmont 13, AC 1012, by a fearful Thothian King wishing to pacify our leaders and prevent his kingdom from falling. Thus did Edmondo Tiberia become the Duke of Thyatis' new Duchy of Dunadale. The Land The vast majority of the landscape of Dunadale was unexplored by the former Alphatian inhabitants. Most of the land is therefore covered with virgin forests and unknown resources or treasures. The area along the coast of the New Alphatia Sea is relatively flat and ideal for farming. In fact, most of the rural population is scattered in various villages and homesteads along this coast, with only the occasional hermit more inland that 75 miles. More inland, large hills start to dominate the landscape, creating a maze-like network of valleys and passes. To the far north, past the bogs and near the border of the Kingdom of Helskir, lies the Herdane Escarpment. This 500-foot high cliffside is known for the large number of caverns and entrances to the underworld present on its face. Dunadale is also famous for the vast number of swamps and peat bogs, where numerous types of insects and monsters make their home, preying on travellers. These bogs fill up all the valleys between the hills, creating rivers of swampland with the occasional island of dry land. In fact, imperial prospectors believe that almost 50% of the land is one huge bog, unsuitable for inhabitation. Despite this, the Emperor continues to send Thyatian colonists in the area to increase the population, securing our hold in the area for eternity. The People The inhabitants of Dunadale are an even mix of Alphatians and Thyatians. Before, the Alphatians were more numerous, but with the signing of the Treaty of Dawn [Also called Isle of Dawn Treaty. Ed.], many of the Alphatians left for territories remaining under Alphatian control. The number of Thyatians is on a steady rise, however. This is mainly due to the Emperor's wise decision to increase the colonization of the Isle of Dawn and other Thyatian dominions. To date, the new inhabitants have been able to fill in the empty places left by the departing Alphatians, so there is no pressure on communities to expand nor is there any shortages of supplies or room. The former inhabitants, however, are not completely pleased with their new status of Duchy. They ungratefully complain about their lack of influence with the government compared to when Dunadale was a confederacy under Alphatian control. Back when Alphatia was in command, nothing ever happened; Dunadale remained stagnant. Can't they see that now, with proper Thyatian rulership, Dunadale shall grow into a great Duchy? Already the population is climbing and the land is being explored. And they have their say by voting for the Senators for the region. What more could they possibly want? The only bad part about such a vast and uninhabited territory is the lack of proper control. Many bandits and deserters have fled into the swamps, preying on helpless Thyatians. It is even rumored that the infamous Mario's Marauders are somewhere within the borders of Dunadale. Travellers be warned. Don't Miss The main attraction of Dunadale is its raw, natural beauty untouched by man. As mentioned, most of it is virgin forest, so anyone who desires the feeling of exploration and discovery can enjoy his stay in the area. Another sight is the Herdane Escarpment. When atop the high cliff, one can see the New Alphatian Sea to the East. This, along with a rising sun in the early hours of the morning, makes a golden/orange ocean covering the horizon line. From what I hear (since I have not visited myself), for those with the patience and endurance to hike the several hundred miles overland for this sight, it is well worth it. Unfortunately, the Herdane Escarpment is not very well known by the locals and, in fact, hardly ever appears on any map. The only map I have seen with the escarpment is the one given with the Dawn of The Emperors novel [boxed set. Ed], detailing the history of the Thyatian Empire (obviously a Thyatian publishing). However, it is not named on this map. Simply take the map of the Isle of Dawn, and the long cliffside to the southeast of Helskir is the Herdane Escarpment. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 24 Mar 1997 19:59:56 +0100 From: Fabrizio Paoli Subject: [Mystara] Ac 1014 Almanac Part 4 REDSTONE (County of; Empire of Thyatis) Location: Known World, Isle of Dawn (east of the continent of Brun; southwest of the New Alphatian Sea), western-central area. Area: 57,864 sq. mi. Population: 50,000, including 25,000 in the capital of Redstone. Languages: Thyatian (official), Alphatian. Coinage: Thyatian Standard: Emperor (pp), lucin (gp), asterius (sp), denarius (cp). Coins of many other nations are in common circulation here. Taxes: 25% income tax collected quarterly (Va. 1, Ya. 1, Fy. 3, Ei. 1). Citizens abroad must still pay. 5% sales tax on all but food and clothing. Government Type: County under the jurisdiction of the Empire of Thyatis. Industries: Armor, weapons, military training. Important Figures: Countess Stefania Torion (human, female, F5/T14), Count Anaxibius Torion (human, male, F20). Flora and Fauna: Standard for its climate. Dangerous monsters include goblinoid hordes scattered throughout the Isle of Dawn as well as bandits. Description: by Favonius Viator Redstone was made into an actual dominion at the end of the Alphatian-Thyatian war in AC 1009. Thincol granted the town and the surrounding land to his daughter Stefania, changing Redstone's status from town to County. The Land This Thyatian province is a tempestuous-looking land filled with a wide variety of landscapes. The northwestern part of the county is a huge plateau hugging the coastline. This plateau is covered with grasslands known as the Sutherlands. On it, various cattle herders make their living, trading with the only two real villages of the area: Lar and Vildis. The cliffs of the plateau drop straight down into the Western Sea of Dawn. It is riddled with caves, many of which can only be seen when the tide is low. This naturally makes the area a haven for pirates and other outlaws. To the northeast lies mainly farmland which produces food for the rest of the County as well as for the city of Newkirk in the Grand Duchy of Westrourke. The largest village in the area is Lodar, at a fork in the Lod River near the Carryduff Hills. The Count and Countess are currently debating whether they should turn Lodar into a barony to help better manage the area. The central area of Redstone County is mostly uninhabited. To the east are dense forests, namely the Ashton Woods and Lurben Forest. Theses woods are inhabited by giant wolves which attack all trespassers. Rumors claim that dire wolves are controlled by evil faeries. The only safe passage in the area is on the patrolled Westrourke Road which goes from Dungannon all the way to the Grand Duchy. The west side of the central area is almost completely wetland, with the two largest swamps being the Fengallen Marshes and the Kilyleagh Curragh. This area is controlled by bugbears, and Count Anaxibius often leads Legionnaires into the region for training. So far, the bugbears have managed to maintain their hold on the region thanks to their control of special lizard mounts that enable them to cross the swamp quickly and safely. The southern region of the County of Redstone is dominated by the Neagh Flats and various hills and ridges [Hills of Dooagh, Ballydonegan Hills, and the Bastion Ridge. Ed.]. This area is mostly cleared of dangerous monsters, and many fishing villages as well as farms are scattered all along the coast. The People There are two main cultures of people living in Redstone. The first is the military culture. Redstone is the main training headquarters for the great Legions of Thyatis. Almost everyone in the military has performed at least one tour of duty at Redstone Castle. They speak only Thyatian as part of their military discipline. This section of the population is generally young, overconfident and foolhardy. During the nights and off- duty, they become the rowdiest bunch in town. The local inhabitants, although Thyatian (and some Alphatians), have a culture all of their own. It seems that everywhere you go, each village has its own share of ghosts and faeries hidden among the villagers. Almost everyone can swear on their grandmother's grave that they've seen a ghost or have been helped or cursed by a faery. Just look at the names of some of the places. Forest of Sidhes: anyone care to guess what was seen there? Let us not forget the leprechauns and their pots of gold. Did I mention that there is also a Redstone's Lough monster? Suffice to say that no authentic Thyatian explorer, sage, expert or official has ever seen it. Don't Miss There is one great site in Redstone to see, at that's Redstone Castle itself. This enormous castle was ordered to be built in AC 2, and construction was only completed at the end of AC 5. It has been standing since, for over 1000 years [I suspect dwarves must have helped in the design. Ed.]. The walls to the castle itself are at least 50 feet tall, and various towers reach at least 100 feet. The tallest spire in the castle, where the Count and Countess make their room, peaks just below 450 feet. This magnificent Thyatian fortress can easily accommodate up to 15,000 soldiers and staff, as well as the mounts for half of them. Throughout its entire history, Redstone Castle has only been conquered once, in the year AC 1007, by the Alphatians. To say Redstone was defeated, however, would be an exaggeration. The commanders surrendered when the rest of the surrounding territories fell to the Alphatians. And it took the combined Alphatian armies of General Bentharzim, General Joshtintan and General Martigan to obtain that result. Redstone Castle has therefore never been taken by force since its creation. If visiting the County of Redstone, I also recommend visiting their taverns which the locals call pubs. There, they serve their ale and whisky, and all tell tall tales of the Wee Folks and the magic of the faeries. It might be little children stories for the seasoned traveler or adventurer, but they're still fun to hear. THOTHIA (Kingdom of) Location: Known World, Isle of Dawn (east of Brun, southwest of the New Alphatian Sea), southeastern corner. Area: 458,157 sq. mi. (95,277 sq. mi. of Thothia proper, and 362,880 sq. mi. of the Great Escarpment, now part of Thothia). Population: 80,000. Languages: Thothian (dialect of Nithian), Alphatian (official). Coinage: Alphatian Standard: Crown (gp), mirror (sp), judge (cp). Taxes: 15% income tax, collected yearly. Government Type: Independent monarchy part of the New Alphatian Empire. Industries: Agriculture, fishing, trade. Important Figures: Pharaoh Ramenhotep XXIV (human, male, Pr10 of Rathanos). Flora and Fauna: In the mainland Thothia, standard desert wildlife can be found. Also, various undead and golem/statues protect the numerous ruins and tombs lost beneath the sands. On the Thothian Plateau, the exact wildlife is still relatively unknown, but there is a known presence of phanatons, centaurs, treants, and aranea. Description: by Elidor Murtagh Edairo be the name o' the capital of Thothia, the strange land o' ancient magic and the walkin' dead. Just ask any Thyatian soldier who had ta face 'em zombies an' mummies and worse. The capital be about a day sailin' inland up the Aurora river. The mouth o' the river be a huge delta with farmin' and other land work goin' on there, but once the delta ends, that be pretty much the end o' the farms too. Aroun' Edairo be dry an' arid, hardly a tree in sight. Course I ain't the one ta explore normal dry land, even less when it be a empty desert. From what I hear, the place be filled with ruins an' such stuff, filled with treasures fer those brave enoug' ta risk the journey. The city be filled with huge, giant statues an' triangular shaped buildin's called pyramids. Seems ta me that the Thothians like ta build big things that don't do much 'cept ta be used ta burry a dead or two. Than again, they can use 'em afterwards in Date: Mon, 24 Mar 1997 13:06:03 -0600 From: (mystara-digest) To: mystara-digest@lists.io.com Subject: mystara-digest V2 #20 Reply-To: mystara-l@lists.io.com Precedence: bulk X-UIDL: 992c44aa1f1e014e7c66d60fd8aae0a0 their armies ta defend the place, so what do I know. When I die, t'will be in the warm embraces of the sea, that's fer sure. One sight ta see would be the palace, if ye could get anywhere near it as a commoner or foreigner. Seems only the nobles or priest can get anywher' near that place. Another would'a been the library, but seems that burned down a few years ago... durin' the war, me thinks. Not much else ta Tothia beside a bunch o' farmin' villages here an' dar. Most of 'em can be found alon' the Aurora or the delta, but there be a few of 'em scattered in that desert o' theirs. The only notable sight of the land be the Great Escarpment, now called Thothian Escarpment in their honor. Seems the last treaty with Thyatis gave'em the rights to own all o' it [Isle of Dawn Treaty. Ed.]. Lemme tell ye, there be quite a few angry Thyatian colonists up on that plateau there. The Emperor o' Thyatis made this law ta force people ta move there, and then abandoned 'em all ta Thothia afterwards. Didn't even give any of 'em the means ta get home if they wanted to. Don't help that the Thothian's don't want 'em either. Ye see, the Thothiana have this belief that only 'em an' the Alphatians are civilized people. Everyone else, 'cluding 'em Thyatian colonists in their care, are mere barbarians who don't deserve their attention. Pff.. an' these Thothians don't even know how to sail properly. Wonder what makes 'em think they're civilized. 'Course, now that Alphatia is gone an' can't deal with the savages for 'em, the Pharaoh is forced ta deal with 'em himself. Not that he can't handle it, as he showed the Thyatians who tried ta invade a few years ago. The Thothians try ta ignore foreigners as much as they can. The Thothians have this strange meditative behavior, which means they like goin' into these trance-like things. They call themselves mystic priests, followin' the preachings o' their Immortal Rathanos. 'Nother weird thing be their like o' tis game called Spider's Web. Seems that everyone can play it, but I ain't managed to quite get how it works yet. Funny thing is, that Pharaoh o' theirs wants 'em ta stop playin' this game or follow other superstitious nonsense. Guess they ain't all so bad after all. Anyways, that about sums up the Thothians. If ye ask me, stick ta the capital docks, in the good old taverns with other foreign merchants an' sailors, and ya won't be treated like a nobody by the locals... unless yer Alphatian, anyways. WESTROURKE (Grand Duchy of) Location: Known World, Isle of Dawn (east of the continent of Brun; southwest of the New Alphatian Sea), north-western area. Area: 97,272 sq. mi. Population: 55,000, including 25,000 in the capital of Newkirk. Languages: Thyatian (official), Alphatian. Coinage: Thyatian Standard: Emperor (pp), lucin (gp), asterius (sp), denarius (cp). Coins of many other nations are in common circulation here. Taxes: 25% income tax collected quarterly (Va. 1, Ya. 1, Fy. 3, Ei. 1). Citizens abroad must still pay. 5% sales tax on all but food and clothing. Government Type: Independent Grand Duchy under the jurisdiction of the Empire of Thyatis. (Its ties to Thyatis are merely a formality.) Industries: Agriculture, armor, dyes and pigments. Important Figures: Duke Thrainkell Firestorm (human, male, Pr12 of Vanya), Duchess Holva Firestorm (human, female, T13). Flora and Fauna: Standard for its climate. Dangerous monsters include goblinoid hordes scattered throughout the Isle of Dawn as well as bandits. Description: by Favonius Viator The large dominion of Westrourke is now approximately half the size it was before the war with Alphatia. General Martigan of the Alphatian forces spearheaded the assault into Newkirk where he slew Duke Donegal Firestorm and conquered the Grand Duchy for the sunken Empire. In AC 1009, when the land was reclaimed by Thyatis, Thrainkell Firestorm, Donegal's heir, was forced to give up some of his northern lands to Helskir as well as the large peninsula containing Redstone to form a new County for the Empire. Westrourke still remains one of the largest dominions on the Isle of Dawn. The Land Westrourke is blessed with a variety of landscapes and lesser dominions. The southern-most area containing the Duchy of Newkirk, the capital itself, is delimited with the Southern Kauth Hills, a light forest on its eastern border, and grasslands marking the northern borders. Most of the coast of this Duchy is one large cliff face into the Bay of Newkirk, leaving it unlikely to be attacked by Northmen raiders. The City of Newkirk is famous for its armorers capable of making the most extraordinary suits of plate and chain. Just north of the Duchy of Newkirk lies the Dust Reaches. This huge plateau is covered with nothing but desert and badlands. It is also overflowing with goblinoids. The two largest groups seem to be a horde of kobolds living at the southern foot of the plateau and orcs making their lairs on the northern edge. The western edge of the Dust Reaches lies approximately 20 miles inland from the Gulf of Westrourke. This narrow strip is covered with a largely uninhabited forest known as Sveikassli Woods. Further up north we arrive to the mainland of what is now the Grand Duchy of Westrourke. The southern coastal area around the Gulf of Westrourke is well forested and home to many lumberers and foresters. It is also in this area where just enough food is grown to keep the Grand Duchy self-sufficient. The northern area currently has four baronies and two counties. The baronies are Blido, Guddal, Tromsheim, and Ytre Ystrebo. Each consists of a small village and the land approximately 20 miles in all directions around the village. [Map lovers will find these places on the Thyatian Trail Map 2: The Eastern Countries. Ed.] The largest of the lesser dominions is the County of Nordvik. This county encompasses all the land around the Erdals Fjellet River as well as the Geittinden Mountains [which contain Finnegar's Watch, alt. 2,100 feet. Ed.]. Nordvik makes its economy from a small gold mine found in the mountains and from its major industry of dyes and pigments. There's also the County of Viksdalen along the Dalselva River. Its borders contain the Glotta Forest as well as the Fyresvatn Bogs. This town is always fully on duty as the orcs from the Dust Reaches, as well as lizard men from the bogs, continuously harass the inhabitants of the area. Viksdalen is a major trade town as most overland journeys to Newkirk must pass through its area. Finally, there is a marvellous signalling system all along the coast of Westrourke, starting from the keep on Finnegar's Watch all the way down to Newkirk. Several towers dot the coast every 100 miles or so. Within these towers are large, magical chimneys which can send a pillar of smoke into the air which is clearly visible by the occupants of the next tower. Through this method, a message quickly gets back to the capital of an arriving fleet. Just as importantly, any inhabitant of the area can also see the smoke signal and rush to safety themselves, saving the trouble of sending out riders to warn about an attack. Apparently the Duke is currently seeking out potential new Barons for the regions along the Tromsa River and The Arm. Those areas are infested with goblins, and Duke Firestorm will gladly grant sections of the Svorkomo Forest (along those rivers) to anyone who can clear it of goblinoids and keep it that way. The People The inhabitants of the Grand Duchy of Westrourke are a mix of Thyatian, Alphatian, and Ostlander colonists from centuries back. As with most people on the Isle of Dawn, they grow weary of the constant invasions from Alphatia and would rather just be left alone. There is a marked prejudice against Alphatians in the area, as many people here suffered tremendously during the war, and have yet to forgive their tormentors. Even the Alphatians who have lived among the Westrourkites for years are now distrusted and looked down upon. I am glad to say that many of them have left toward Alphatian dominions. After all, who needs the remains of a destroyed empire. Its seems that the people are happy about Duke Firestorm's recently acquired semi-independency from the Empire. They foolishly believe that their lives will now be better because of it. I find that rather ridiculous. Besides, Westrourke is still part of Thyatis, regardless what any agreements might say. After all, if the Emperor asks for his help, the Duke will rush to his aid. If that is not the role of a vassal, I do not know what is. As was mentioned, the whole agreement was merely a formality anyways. Finally, it seems that Newkirk is attracting a fair host of bounty hunters. Duke Firestorm has offered a reward of 250,000 lucins (gp) to anyone who can bring him General Martigan alive. It appears the Duke is seeking revenge for the death of his father. General Martigan was a count in the lands of Norwold, but became independent after the sinking of Alphatia, and then abandoned the court life altogether to go adventuring. He and his party are very powerful [18th level+, Ed.], and it is believed they have left Mystara altogether to wander the outer planes. Don't Miss There are two main attractions to Westrourke that come to my mind. The first involves Finnegar's Watch. Many hiking trails cover the Geittinden Mountains leading up to the famous peak. As you reach the higher altitudes, pine forests start to surround you, and rushing streams from various springs can keep any thirst satisfied. Many an outdoor-lover starts his journey from the small village of Okstad at the foot of the mountains and works his way up. The view from Finnegar's Watch is just fantastic. Also, thanks to the military garrison at in the area, it is also clear of any dangerous monsters. Also, near Gund's Tower in the Duchy of Newkirk, many men practice a somewhat unusual sport. They dive off the cliff, almost hundreds of feet high, into the shallow waters of the Gulf of Newkirk. Although it may sound like nothing much, one's heart does race to see someone plummet to what looks like certain death only to come out unscathed. I must say that to see such bravery in a fellow man shows how great the Thyatian people really are. WEST PORTAGE (Barony of; Empire of Thyatis) Location: Known World, Isle of Dawn (east of the continent of Brun; southwest of the New Alphatian Sea), west-central area. Area: 9,977 sq. mi. Population: 5,000, including 1,000 in the capital West Portage. Languages: Thyatian (official), Alphatian. Coinage: Thyatian Standard: Emperor (pp), lucin (gp), asterius (sp), denarius (cp). Coins of many other nations are in common circulation here. Taxes: 25% income tax collected quarterly (Va. 1, Ya. 1, Fy. 3, Ei. 1). Citizens abroad must still pay. 5% sales tax on all but food and clothing. Government Type: Barony under the jurisdiction of the Empire of Thyatis. Industries: Trade and ship transportation. Important Figures: Baroness Periandra Docerius (human, female, F12), Captain Jules Docerius (human, male, F12), Dresel Ratchethook (gnome, male, T6/M(il)5). Flora and Fauna: Standard for its climate. Dangerous monsters include goblinoid hordes scattered throughout the Isle of Dawn as well as bandits. Description: by Belzamith Fingertackles Hello dear readers. At first we had asked Elidor Murtagh to describe the barony of West Portage for us since he often sailed by the area on the Callista. However, to put it nicely, Elidor refused to go anywhere near a port that would dare commit the sacrilege of bringing a ship onto dry land. It is therefore my pleasure to present the province to you myself, from my observations on our journey to Ionace to talk to Commander Broderick. The Land West Portage is a relatively small province in an area almost totally devoid of any great resource or advantage. The region is very hilly and not very useful for agriculture. Prospectors also claim that the area is devoid of any useful mineral deposits or mining possibilities. The community of West Portage, the capital of the province with the same name, is a small town of barely 5,000 people, mostly human. West Portage is rather poor, and the look of the buildings shows it clearly. The only buildings that are in good condition are the palace and the Thyatian Legionnaire's garrison. The place doesn't even have a wall to help defend in case of an invasion, although the Baroness is currently saving up the money to build some. West Portage does have one noteworthy advantage though; position. Located on the northern shores of calm Seawolf Bay, West Portage happens to lie on the shortest overland pass from one side to the other of the Isle of Dawn. Those merchants who prefer not to sail all the way around the huge Isle of Dawn can put in at West Portage and cart their cargoes across to East Portage. This overland transportation costs an arm and a leg, in my opinion anyways, but some merchants still prefer to pay the price since they believe they easily make it back with the time they save from avoiding a long detour. In fact, even whole ships have been lifted onto huge wagons and brought across the island. The overland road is a winding one through the hills at the center of the island, but is well used and easy to follow. Our guide claims that the road is exactly one hundred miles long, from city to city, but I'm sure it must be off by a little. Exactly one hundred miles... sure, and I'm a beardless dwarf. This trail, known as the Crossdawn Road, however, is one of the most dangerous places on the Isle, besides, perhaps, the Thothian Escarpment which is still largely unexplored. With the constant warfare that has occurred in the area for the past decade, many people have been made homeless, desperate, and angry, which means that many have started the life of banditry. Raids on caravans between the towns have increased considerably in the past decades. And these bandits seem to be getting better and more organized as time goes on. Last month, a whole ship and its crew disappeared along the trail, never reaching its destination of East Portage. Officials have yet to find any trace of it in the wilderness. The People The inhabitants of West Portage are simple people who just want to get on with their lives and be left alone. Being a relatively poor place, thievery is very high in the city. In fact, up until AC 1009, when Docerius was crowned Baroness by Emperor Thincol I, the province of West Portage was unofficially known as the City of Thieves. Still, despite the rumors, West Portage had always had a very low crime rate. The former ruler, Lareth Kubek, was replaced by Docerius, then commander of the Thyatian garrison, because he was unable to deal with the invading Alphatians. At that point, it seems the thieves came out of their holes, and everyone became a victim to one rogue or another. It took the Baroness almost 2 years to get things back under control. This would lead me to believe that Lareth Kubek was somehow involved with the thieves' guild of the city. However, Kubek disappeared shortly after being replaced as ruler, and his current whereabouts are still unknown. Most people work either at the docks, or as guards and guides for the Crossdawn Road. The fact that the city often changes from Thyatian to Alphatian hands is rather irrelevant to them. Most can speak both languages, and think of themselves as West Portagers rather than Thyatians or Alphatians. Of a peculiar note, which I deem worthy of mentioning, is Captain Jules Docerius, the Baroness's nephew. The man is known for his fighting prowess, but not for his personal integrity. He is overweight, and his large nose is permanently red from too much hard drinking. Also, the man constantly wears expensive and elegant clothing rather out of his salary range. Although I have no proof, I am almost positive that the Captain has his connections with the thieves' guild and is probably taking bribes. If you have problems with thieves while in West Portage, don't go and see him. [If you ask me, the gnome is delusional. DS.] Don't Miss The only sight worth seeing in West Portage is by far the marvellous docks. Or more precisely, the mechanism at the docks which allows entire sailing ships to be raised onto large wagons. The device, which was constructed by Dresel Ratchethook, a fellow gnome I'm proud to say, is a large tower at least 10 floors in height. Dresel calls his machine a "krane." The top floor of the krane has several solid beams extending out into the air for about 40 feet. Large counterweights and magic help make sure these beams don't fall. Attached to the beams are several pulleys and ropes, which are lowered down onto the ship and tied to the hull in various places. Over a hundred horses then pull on the ropes, lifting the ship out of the water and into the air. I must say, it is quite the sight to see a large sailing ship just swinging in the air over the water. Then, the top of the krane turns around, thanks to steam-powered machineries, various cranks and wheels, as well as the power of over a hundred men pulling ropes along the shore, until the ship is resting over these large berth-like wagons, also made by Dresel. The horses then move back, lowering the ship onto the wagon. Most of the horses are then attached to the berth-wagons, and pull it across the Isle of Dawn. It is mainly because so many horses and men are involved that the cost for such a voyage is exorbitant. But I must say, it does indeed include a good show with the trip. ------------------------------ End of mystara-digest V2 #20 **************************** Date: Mon, 24 Mar 1997 13:06:12 -0600 From: (mystara-digest) To: mystara-digest@lists.io.com Subject: mystara-digest V2 #20 Reply-To: mystara-l@lists.io.com Precedence: bulk X-UIDL: a2f668cef61092f80580f2d68a3afbbe mystara-digest Monday, March 24 1997 Volume 02 : Number 020 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 24 Mar 1997 19:59:48 +0100 From: Fabrizio Paoli Subject: [Mystara] AC 1014 Almanac Part 3 HELSKIR (Kingdom of) Location: Known World, Isle of Dawn (east of the continent of Brun; southwest of the New Alphatian Sea), northern tip. Area: 28,932 sq. mi. Population: 40,000, including 15,000 in the capital Helskir. Languages: Thyatian (official), Alphatian. Coinage: Thyatian Standard: Emperor (pp), lucin (gp), asterius (sp), denarius (cp). Coins of many other nations are in common circulation here. Taxes: 20% income tax collected quarterly (Va. 1, Ya. 1, Fy. 3, Ei. 1). 5% customs tax on all but food and clothing. Government Type: Independent kingdom under the jurisdiction of the Empire of Thyatis (it's ties to Thyatis are merely a formality). Industries: Trade and fishing. Important Figures: King Eruul Zaar (human, male, F18), Queen Asteriela Torion (human, female, M12). Flora and Fauna: Standard for its climate, including sheep and goats. Dangerous monsters include goblinoid hordes scattered throughout the Isle of Dawn as well as bandits. Description: by Alasdhair MacCallum The town of Helskir is a rather odd sight here in the war-torn lands of the Isle of Dawn. It is the first city I see without any city walls. Admittedly, there is a wooden palisade surrounding the town, but compared to the massive stone walls that most other cities have, it makes Helskir look defenseless. The Land Compared to most kingdoms, the nation of Helskir is relatively small. The city itself lies on arable land, well suited for farms and livestock. This farmland follows the coast of the Sea of Dawn, covering about a third of the nation's lands. To the south of the nation lies to huge Demeran's Moor. Fell lizards and monsters of all sorts thrive within the murky waters far away from any civilization. Demeran's Moor is even more dangerous because a low fog often rolls in, hiding the inhabitants, as well as the various sinkholes and natural dangers of any moor. This giant moor takes up another third of the land claimed by Helskir. The last third is rocky ground which the people of Helskir use to herd sheep and goats. As one moves toward the southwest, the ground becomes more uneven and rises higher and higher until it stops at a huge, unamed cliffside several miles just past the border. [Ed. Note: Alasdhair seems to be referring to the Herdane Escarpment mentioned in Favionus Viator's description on Dunadale.] The city itself was but a small fishing village 40 years ago. King Eruul Zaar has since transformed it into one of the most thriving economical trade centers in this part of the Known World. Helskir is lucky enough to have a deep harbor with the capacity to handle several ships with ease. Although there are areas of shallow water here and there, a large, stone lighthouse guides ships safely through the bay and to the docks. Currently, only a wooden palisade protects the city, but the foundation for a stone wall has been laid in various places. The work is expected to be completed by the summer of AC 1015. Key buildings within the city, such as the Fishing and Sailing Guildhall, the Palace, and the lighthouse, are built on a steep hill with their own wooden palisade around them. The People The people of Helskir have learned to ignore most rulers and simply continue on with their lives. The city has changed from Alphatian hands to Thyatian control to independence so many times that most have stopped bothering to even try to count. Now it seems that Helskir is once more a part of the Empire of Thyatis, although it remains a semi-autonomous kingdom under the rulership of King Zaar. With all the political maneuvering that took place during the Thyatian-Alphatian war, most inhabitants expected Helskir to be one of the first cities to fall and be destroyed. Much to their relief, they have actually prospered except for a brief period of raiding the past few years. Now with the full presence of Thyatian Legions, the economy is once more on the rise. The inhabitants are of Alphatian descent, although they have long ago abandoned all ties to their Alphatian culture. Don't Miss Unfortunately, there's not much to see in the land of Helskir. Myself, being from the inland nation of Glantri, I was rather intrigued with the lighthouse, so I paid it a visit. This stone tower stands what must be 12 to 15 stories in height, with a base of at least 50 feet in diameter. At the top lies a huge, magical fire that can be seen far out at sea, a fact I can testify to from my sailing trip here from Oceansend. Many other places also have lighthouses, but from what I hear, this is one of the biggest ones found anywhere. Of course, despite all that, it is still just a lighthouse. The only other place to see in Helskir is the market. In itself, the market is nothing spectacular, but when you consider that almost every ship that sails in the waters of the Sea of Dawn or the New Alphatian Sea stops here, it becomes evident that almost anything can be found in the market. Helskir is a great place to collect coins and currency from various sea-faring nations of the world. I would imagine only Minrothad can claim a bigger market. IONACE (a.k.a. Isle Of the NACE) (Island and Imperial District) Location: Known World, New Alphatian Sea. Area: 128,199 sq. mi. plus many small islands that were once part of Alphatia (including Nuntar Island, the Vertiloch Islands, the Aasla Isles, the Grey Islands, Mount Thera, Eagret Island, Arogansa Island, Eadrin Island). Population: 3,000, including 1,000 soldiers of the Alphatian 6th-Army. Languages: Alphatian. Coinage: Alphatian Standard: Crown (gp), mirror (sp), judge (cp). Taxes: 15% income tax, collected yearly. Government Type: Imperial District under the direct control of the Alphatian Council of Kings and Queens of the NACE. Industries: None; imports all it needs from the rest of the NACE. Small mining of Mnemonic Minerals, still sought out by mages despite the drawbacks. Important Figures: Commander in Chief Broderick (human, male, F17). The various Kings and Queens of the NACE also visit rather regularly. Flora and Fauna: Ionace is filled with various monsters of all sorts. Most are not even natural to the area, or even the Prime Plane. The first level of the underground city is secured, but the deeper one goes, the worse the monsters become. Description: by Elidor Murtagh So, fer those of ye who wanted ta know what's goin' on in faraway Alphatia, lemme tell ye I've been sailin' the seas 'round there fer the last year. I managed ta find that ol' wizard who provided the previous owner of the almanac with all his information on Alphatia. Ye should get his archive fer the year ta come an' the previous one, an', me thinks, some kinda geographical survey too. Tho' my plans were ta head ta Bellissaria, Alphatian marines I've met at various ports o' call throughout the Isle o' Dawn told me o' great political changes in the empire. 't was not clear whether 't was an empire or a confederation o' some sort, but they all seemed happy with it. So we set sail fer the New Alphatian Sea, where that new capital o' theirs should stand, on Monster Island, or, as they call it now, I' o' NACE, a weird name if ye ask me. The Callista dropped anchor in the small, temporary harbor outside the capital. It stands in a natural bay, so that it reminds me o' those harbors typical o' the Northern Reaches, built inside a fjord. Looks like the sinkin' of Alphatia created that weird landscape o' high mountains risin' out o' the waters. Then we took the steep, tortuous road ta Denwarf-Hurgon and Ionace. Tho' I could spend my life in rigging, I hate such roads that take ye far away from the sea into the mountains. There be no roads leadin' directly ta Ionace yet. The road splits in two : there's a new one leadin' north ta Sanctuary, whereas the remnants of the old road lead south ta Denwarf-Hurgon. So we went ta that dwarf city o' 'em, an ugly, mostly deserted ghost town. There I spent time with the sole denizens o' the city : soldiers o' Aquas. They're kinda like me, used ta live with water all 'round 'em, 'n they ended up garrisoned here in diminutive buildings surrounded by tall mountains. We spent most of the night in a tavern, drinkin' as only sailors an' marines can do. Tho' part o' the conversation's shrouded in dark mists, I be sure they warned me 'gainst walkin' alone at night in the city or tryin' ta go in the lower levels o' the city. No chance I ever do that anyway, can ye imagine me burrowed in the ground like a dwarf? No way. They also warned me 'gainst travelin' without a strong guard 'round the island. Seems the mountains and the underground be both infested with all sorts o' terrible monsters. In fact, they even nicknamed the whole isle the biggest dungeon in the world, an' they probably be right. I also took a glance at the city of Ionace proper. Brand-new buildings that host the government. Totally impersonal, if ye ask my opinion, almost as ugly as the dwarf town. [Ed. Note: These are obviously the opinions of the writer as everyone knows a dwarf town is not ugly. DS.] I tried ta enter a building, but the guys seem completly paranoid 'bout spies, an' they kicked me out. Seein' no business here, we left the city 'n went ta Sanctuary. Now, that's a real city, the way I like 'em. Livin', bustlin', with merchants an' taverns. Not very dif'rent from a port city back in Minrothad, or anywhere else on the continent, altho' it's no harbor. The men o' Aquas patrol the city, protectin' it 'gainst all those monsters, but in fact the city seems to rule itself : trade and minin', not bureaucrats from Ionace. I heard they mine a strange mineral that's said to enhance one's spellcastin' abilities, but I couldn't find an ounce o' it fer sale. We spent a few days in the city, but we didn't venture in the countryside, then went back to ta Callista, ta sail the New Alphatian Sea. We'll probably be takin' a look at that Sundsvall Maelstrom very soon. OCEANSEND (City-State of; Heldannic Territories) Location: Known World, continent of Brun, northeastern reaches, area of Norwold. Area: 9,977 sq. mi. Population: 45,000, including 4,000 halflings, 3,000 dwarves, and 1,200 elves. Languages: Heldannic (official), Thyatian, Alphatian, Elvish (Shiye-Lawr dialect), Halfling (Lalor dialect). Coinage: Heldannic Standard: groschen (5 gp), gelder (gp), erzer (ep), markschen (sp), fenneg (cp). The former coins of Oceansend ( heart (gp), blade (sp), and wall (cp) ) are now illegal within the city. Taxes: 20% income tax, 5% sales tax, 10% tithe to Order of Vanya. Government Type: Currently occupied by the Heldannic Knights. Industries: Agriculture (grows barely enough for its own use), fishing, mining, and trapping. Important Figures: Councilor Olaf Yarrvikson (former king, human, male, F10), Governor-General Hermann Adalard (human, male, Pr9 of Vanya). Flora and Fauna: The animals and plants one would expect in a northern area. There are also several goblinoids in the Final Range to the west. Description: by Alasdhair MacCallum The approach to the city of Oceansend, now under Heldannic control, was rather fearful and filled with tension. The captain was not sure how the Heldannic Knights would react to a boat sailing out of Alpha. It seems the captain's fear was well founded; a Heldannic warship came out to meet and escort us into port. The search of the entire galleon, as well as the long questioning of everyone on board was rather unpleasant, so I will not bore you readers with the details. Still, it is enough that I wish none of you should ever suffer such indignities. I must mention, as I find the following important to anyone travelling to Oceansend, that all weapons were confiscated upon entering the city, and that they were only returned on our departure. It seems that the Knights are fearful of a rebellion now that their clerical magic has left them. I could never understand how anyone could use such cheap magic anyways. They should all go to Glantri to learn what real magic is. The Land Oceansend is a large, walled city along a deep-water beach into the Alphatian Sea, making it an ideal port. Unlike many other cities, this one lacks grand buildings or great architecture to boast about or make fine touristic attractions. At least the Heldannic Knights have placed many of their black lion banners throughout the main streets, clearly indicating their presence to everyone, and adding somewhat of a sight to see. Their military parades, although somewhat filled with dread, are, I must admit, well performed, and worth seeing, if one can stand the presence of the Knights. Like many cities here in the wildlands of Norwold, Oceansend is well fortified. Catapults and ballistae top every tower as well as several sections of the city walls. I was shocked to see that some of the large siege weapons atop the walls were pointed into the city as well as out. It seems that the Heldanners fear uprisings from within as well as sieges from without. The fields around Oceansend are filled with farms and small villages only now starting to recover from the long siege the Heldannic Knights laid upon the city a few years ago. Most of the crops are very healthy this year, as the ash and other remains of the war have rendered the soil rather rich. The houses and villages were once beautiful and well maintained, but are now rather make-shift and improvised. Most of them had been destroyed by the Knights, and the peasants had been forced to start their lives over from scratch. Needless to say, this did not help the Heldanners acquire the love of the conquered. Finally, about 4 days journey west of Oceansend lies the huge foothills of the Final Range. I would dare say that "foothill" is not the correct term, as these hills are long ridges of rocks that can be called mountains back in Glantri. This area is important because it is the home of the Rocktooth Dwarves. It seems that the Heldannic Knights have been unable to capture Kildorkak, the stronghold of these pesky little beasts [A reminder that this is the opinion of the writer and not the editors. Ed.]. Their mountain fortress is still a point of resistance against the invaders. The People The people of Oceansend live in fear of the ruling Knights, their every word and action closely monitored by the conquerors. The farmers around the city toil endlessly to meet the Knights' demands in taxes and tribute, and many have been turned into veritable slaves. The Heldanners do not want to give them the chance to rebel, especially now that they no longer seem to have Vanya's support. But still, there appears to be an underground movement forming. I have promised not to reveal any names because more than likely several Knights will likely purchase copies of this Almanac once it is printed, therefore I do not want to place my new found friends in any danger. I met them in a tavern, whispering about their plans of returning King Olaf Yarrvikson to the throne. Upon noticing that I was Glantrian, and hence no ally to the clerical Heldanners, I managed to join their group briefly. It seems that various important citizens of Oceansend have rallied followers to them, making a veritable army inside the city walls. Even more impressive, the dwarves of Kildorkak have somehow managed to smuggle weapons into the city right under the nose of the Knights. I have no fear of revealing this information because the Knights are already aware that weapons are entering the city, hence the confiscation upon entering the port. Unfortunately for them, they have yet to discover how. The Knights therefore suspect any dwarf within the city walls, and have imprisoned, tortured and killed many. The dwarven population is half of what it used to be before the conquest of the Heldannic Knights. I myself would have loved to learn their method, but prior duties called, and I soon had to leave the port city of Oceansend. OCHALEA (Kingdom of) Location: Known World, Sea of Dawn, southwest of the Isle of Dawn. Area: 190,054 sq. mi. Population: 125,000, including the capital city of Beitung (pop. 50,000). Languages: Alphatian, Thyatian. Coinage: King (a.k.a. Teng, 5 gp), one (gp), tenth (sp), hundredth (cp) (Ochalean coins are octagonal with square holes in the middle). Taxes: Income tax of 15%, inheritance tax of 10% Government Type: Monarchy. Industries: Agriculture (wheat and rice), textiles (silk production). Important Figures: King Teng Lin-Dieu (human, male, Pr20 of Korys). Flora and Fauna: Ochalea is mostly free of monsters. Dangerous creatures encountered include ghouls, weretigers, tigers, panthers and the rare purple worm. Also common are sheep, goats, and snakes. Description: by Favonius Viator In the blue waters of the Sea of Dread lies a large island that is home to the Ochaleans. Once part of the great Thyatian Empire, King Teng Lin-Dieu has managed to successfully rebel and keep his island to himself. The Ochaleans have yet to produce anything useful since that fateful day back in AC 1007, and one wonders why they even wanted to leave all the benefits associated with the Empire. Am I letting my national pride get in the way of an impartial observation? Perhaps, but then, who can ever give a Date: Mon, 24 Mar 1997 13:06:12 -0600 From: (mystara-digest) To: mystara-digest@lists.io.com Subject: mystara-digest V2 #20 Reply-To: mystara-l@lists.io.com Precedence: bulk X-UIDL: a2f668cef61092f80580f2d68a3afbbe completely unbiased answer to anything. Still, I am now here as a foreign merchant to work out a trade agreement, and it is from this journey that the description of Ochalea will be available to the readers. The Land The large island is a rocky crag sticking out of the Sea of Dread. The vast majority of the land is too rocky or hilly to be of any agricultural use. Once a volcanic island, the remains of volcanoes dot the islands, but these mountains, although still rather big, are too small to be considered true mountains. Hence, most official Thyatian maps will mark the kingdom as filled with hills. Still, one must be in good shape to hike these hills, as they are far from gentle and rolling. There are exceptions to this, however. First of all, between the hills, the valleys are well protected from the elements and the water runoffs create fertile land. The largest of these valleys houses the Shino-gawa River. This huge river crosses almost the entire nation, starting from the hills around the town of Wongzhao Tsuhao, then moves down to the lake around the town of Chungklang. From this lake, the largest one in Ochalea, the Shino-gawa then pours into the Sea of Dread another 70 or so miles away. Various areas along the shores of this river are forested and very productive for agriculture; productive enough to feed the entire population as well as leave some for export. Also, two huge grasslands steppes cover a certain amount of the island. One, on the western shore, is also the location of Beitung, the capital. The second grassland, called the Grasslands of Chi, covers the southern shore of Ochalea. The most southern portion of the flat terrain is actually a tropical jungle thanks to the southerly ocean currents that warm the shores. The People The Ochaleans are a strange lot indeed. Of course, that should be obvious to anyone since they willfully wanted to separate from the Empire of Thyatis. Ochaleans are a reserved and religious people who place great importance on manners and proper behavior. The long- standing following of the traditions of the Immortal Korys has also made them very quiet, polite, and peaceful. Normal recreational activities in the rest of the Known World, such as drinking and gambling, are illegal here. They do not like violence and prefer to solve all their problems through negotiation. How they will survive as a nation without the Thyatian military is beyond me. One of the greatest mysteries of the Ochaleans, however, is their very own traditions. Because of their peaceful ways, Ochaleans believe in the equality of all men. There is no distinction between the respect shown to members of different social classes. But as mentioned above, it is in the equality of MEN that is followed. By Ochalean tradition, the woman has a lesser role in society, placing her just above that of a convicted slave back in Thyatis. Admitedly, some places in Thyatis are not much better, but at least that is just the behavior of certain citizens and not an actual law, as it is here in Ochalea. Females are therefore required to stay at home and perform family duties and household chores. There are more arranged marriages in Ochalea than in the entire Empire. A woman has very little choice regarding anything. The one thing I can admire of these people is that their peaceful nature has made them rather scholarly. The large number of priests, whom are held in high regard here, has helped turned this nation into one of the most educated on the Known World, ranking third behind Glantri and Darokin. Don't Miss There is not much to see specifically in Ochalea, but lots to see in general. The entire architecture of the kingdom is exotic compared to the standard Thyatian structure. The wooden buildings are tiered and sloped-roofed, with a small bamboo fence surrounding them. Stepping stones lead around the houses to a little garden with a few trees and perhaps a shrubbery or two. Their gardens are designed to give a feeling of quiet and peace. The most beautiful of these buildings, are of course the temples and shrines dedicated to Korys. Besides the beauty of the place, Ochalea is, well, rather dull. And that's just how the Ochaleans like it. Of interest to any readers who might also be scholars, it seems that the historians of Ochalea have found some interesting scrolls to debate over the original inhabitants of the island. Up until now, it was believed that Alphatians without any magical talents colonized the island and developed the clerical worshipping culture now present. Recent evidence seems to indicate that the Empire of Alphatia actually used the island to drop off undesireables, including non-mage Alphatians as well as another group of colonists that the Alphatians found on "their" continent. These two groups lived together peacefully, where the Alphatian coppery skin coloration soon dominated over that of the second culture (whatever appearance they had). It would seem that the architecture of the Ochaleans comes from this other mysterious culture, which is apparently a colony from somewhere on the continent of Skotar. Whether these new-found scrolls are accurate or not remains to be seen, and is sure to be the cause for debate for the next decade. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 24 Mar 1997 20:00:04 +0100 From: Fabrizio Paoli Subject: [Mystara] AC 1014 Almanac Part 5 ATLAS OF THE HOLLOW WORLD - ------------------------- We are pleased to introduce to the dear readers a new section of our Mystaran Almanac; the Atlas of the Hollow World. In this chapter, we shall detail the information gathered about the various nations and empires found within the mysterious Hollow World that lies thousands of miles beneath our very feet. Unfortunately, the Hollow World has just been proven real during the past year, and we therefore do not have very much information regarding the area yet. As mentioned in the chapter on correspondents, we will gladly take any information regarding this strange new world. Even now, we are trying to arrange interviews with the various members of the famous Karameikan Polar Expedition. For now, we hope that you, the reader, will be satisfied with the description of the Kingdom of Nithia and the Azcan Empire which we have extracted and pieced together, with permission, from various sections of "Claransa's Travels to the Center of the World." For those of you who are fans of the literature, you will notice that what we have below seems to cannibalize her book. Indeed it does, and we make no apologies for it. The purpose of the Mystaran Almanac is to detail places and events, not Claransa's adventures (a fact that Claransa agrees, and even insists upon). Much of it has been edited out with only the pertinent information regarding Nithia or the Azcans kept. If you would like a real sample of Claransa's writing capabilities or just wish to read about her adventures, her book is available through most book merchants and libraries for the mere price of 10 gold pieces. Just a reminder to the reader, the directions of East and West are reversed within the Hollow World so that they match those of the surface world. This is important when attempting to figure out the locations of the various nations. Also, the information provided by Claransa is from almost a decade ago. The editors do not claim responsibility for any facts that are no longer valid due to the changes that have occurred in the past 10 years. More up to date information will be provided in future Almanacs as we receive it. B.F. AZCAN EMPIRE Location: Hollow World, continent of Iciria, northern hemisphere, western coast. Area: Unknown. Estimated to be between 500,000 and 900,000 sq. mi. Population: Estimated to be approximately 3,000,000. Languages: Oltec (Azcan dialect), Neathar. Coinage: None (barter only). Taxes: Forced military or other duties. Government Type: Theocracy, with the King being a priest of Atzanteotl. Industries: Agriculture (beans, corn, peppers). Important Figures: King/Emperor Azcotica (human, male, Pr12 of Atzanteotl). Flora and Fauna: Dinosaurs, monkeys, swine, snakes (including the azcan feathered viper), and great cats (especially the jaguar). Description: by Claransa the Seer, during her visit in AC 1005. Note that only parts deemed important for you the reader were taken, and sections have been edited, deleted, and even rearranged from their previous order for brevity and/or clarity. If you would like to read more, I recommend purchasing a copy of "Claransa's Travels." "As I travel through the lush jungle, I cannot help but imagine what these people must look like. I have heard many descriptions from the Neathar about the short, dark, burly humans called Azcans, and most of them seem to indicate that they are extremely savage and brutal, even to their own people and the land they live upon. Still, at the moment, my main concern should be to get there alive. Right now, the jungle I am crossing is filled with various large reptiles, most of which could easily kill me by merely stepping upon me." The Land "This is my fourth day in this jungle, and nothing has changed very much. The area seems very flat, without any significant hills or mountain. Luckily, the vine-covered trees do not block the reddish sunlight from the stationary star above, preventing me from getting lost in the underbrush." "It also rains every day or two, making the climate very warm and humid. Fortunately for the Azcans, this allows them to cultivate maize and vegetables from the very poor soils cleared from the jungle by their slash and burn techniques." "The most northern part of the nation reaches far enough in latitude to include temperate forest. Here, the Azcans are fortunate enough to have rich soils and can harvest more than enough for their northern cities to thrive and even export food." "Here in the foothills of the World Spine, the southern border of the so-called Azcan Empire draws near. I find it only fitting that my journey through their nation finishes with a complete change in scenery as well as nation. The mountains are tall, the terrain rocky and jagged. Yet, despite the climate change, the Azcans are still present. In this area also claimed by the Schattenalfen elves, the Azcans maintain several gold mines, as well as mines for other precious metals. Considering that they use this gold only for jewellery, since they do not possess any coinage or currency, I find that this only tops the list of the things they do for pride and personal prestige. To risk war with an enemy so close just to be able to wear more jewellery is suicidal. Then again, the Azcans are nothing if not fatalistic." The People "The Azcans are a savage and cruel bunch. I see now that this reputation, spoken so much about by the various peoples of the Hollow World, is well deserved. This race participates fully and whole-heartedly in human sacrifices to their Immortal Atzanteotl. In fact, just as often as not, the victims are volunteers who believe that such a sacrifice will guarantee them a great place in the afterlife." "The Azcans enjoy a game called Tlachtli, where commoners and slaves are forced to play. The game consists of getting a ball through a hoop at the other end of the field, and players are allowed to use any means necessary, and I do mean ANY means. Fatalities are not unknown, as the players play for keeps since the losing team is usually sacrificed to Atzanteotl." "They seem to have a very strict and detailed hierarchy within their society, yet at the same time, anyone of any social class can rise from the lowest to the highest, or vice versa, rather easily. This has mainly to do with combat and fighting prowess, which is in high regard by all Azcans. Another sure-fire way to gain prestige is to join the ranks of the priests of Atzanteotl." "Most of the commoners wear breechlouts, or a short tunic-like dress for the females. Sandals are very rare, unless in a rocky region. Such simple clothing is permissible because their climate requires nothing more from them to survive. Many also like to wear headbands. Colors are simple; almost everyone wears an off-white cloth. It seems to do otherwise is a signal of rank. Bright colors, such as red and turquoise are a sure sign of nobility. The nobles also wear excessive decorations, such as furs, gold, silver, exotic feathers, and the like." "The goal of every Azcan, besides attaining personal wealth and glory, is to fulfil the Azcan dream. This is, of course, nothing short of world domination." "And nothing gets in their way. The current King, Azcotica, received the crown upon assassinating his father Moctaplan and his older brother Tenpocatliotl just a few months ago. There is no proof of such deeds, but everyone seems to know it. The fact that the Azcans can follow such a ruler despite knowing what he has done goes a long way to show what cruelty they can tolerate." Don't Miss [The editors of the Almanac would recommend missing the entire Azcan Empire at all cost. It seems that they sacrifice almost all visitors to their nation for the glory of Atzanteotl. Claransa was only able to visit because her magic enabled her to pass as one of them, thereby eliminating most potential problems. Still if one insists on going, the following extracts seem to indicate a few things worth seeing. Ed.] "Finally, there I was, but a few more minutes from Chitlacan, the capital of the Azcan Empire." "The largest and most impressive building [in Chitlacan. Ed.] is a stepped pyramid dedicated to Atzanteotl. This is where the daily sacrifices to Atzanteotl take place. The building must be at least 200' tall and probably twice as long along the base. At the top is the actual shrine to their Immortal which contains the sacrificial altar and basin. I would love to get a closer look, but there are several squads of Azcan warriors guarding every possible access to the pyramid." "I must say, I enjoyed watching this game of Tlachtli. The eagerness and desire to win by all players makes it a very exciting game without any dull moments or stops in activity. The huge Tlachtli court is also a sight to see, capable of holding several hundred spectators, as well as the occasional visit from the King himself and his court." [Ed. Note: This was her opinion of the game before learning what happened to the losers.] NITHIA (Kingdom of) Location: Hollow World, continent of Iciria, southern hemisphere, eastern reaches. Area: 687,277 sq. mi. Population: 4,000,000, including 350,000 in the capital of Tarthis. Languages: Nithian, Neathar. Coinage: Eye (gp), hawk (sp), beetle (cp). Taxes: 25% income tax, 5% salt tax (sale tax) on water. Government Type: Monarchy, but all Kings and Queens must be clerics. Industries: Agriculture (Nithia has abundant growing seasons; it produces enough grain to feed the nation and have surplus for trade), gold mining. Important Figures: Pharaoh Ramose IV (human, male, Pr15 of Rathanos), Queen Tafiri (human, female, Pr12 of Pflarr) [Ed. Note: Current information seems to indicate that Tafiri is now dead and that the following people have attained positions of importance: Queen Senkha (human, female, M12/Pr4 of Rathanos), King Al-Belak (human, male, T12), Djemun (human, female, T15), Vizier of Internal Security Nikita-Ahmed (human, female, F18), King Khnemet-urt (human, male, Pr9 of Pflarr), and Permon (human, male, C8, the only non-specialty priest in Rathanos's clergy).]. Flora and Fauna: Among the many monsters and animals are animal herds (oxen, horses, sheep, goats), giant ants, rock baboons, bandits, giant (scarab) beetles, camels, carrion crawlers, lions, dragons, efreet, gargantuans, gargoyles, gelatinous cubes, ghouls, gnolls, liches, giant lizards, manscorpions, mummies, purple worms, rats, rocs, flame salamanders, scorpions, skeletons, snakes, sphinxes, living statues, stirges, and zombies. Description: by Claransa the Seer, during her visit in AC 1006. Note that only parts deemed important for you the reader were taken, and sections have been edited, deleted, and even rearranged from their previous order for brevity and/or clarity. If you would like to read more, I recommend purchasing a copy of "Claransa's Travels." "After the long talk with Trubiyar [A Jennite friend Claransa met on her travels. Ed.] about the lands surrounding the plains of his people, I decided that Nithia would be the next place for me to visit. The story of how the land was once green, but then the sun came crashing into it and turned it into a desert is one that any mage or sage in mythology and history cannot ignore. It seems that after the area became a desert, a civilization of dark-skinned people called the Nithians appeared just as mysteriously." "They apparently have huge stone monuments, most of which are used to entomb their dead as well as all his living relatives. Could this be another sacrificial culture similar to the Azcans I visited... well, way back. With these never ending days, I have lost all track of time." "It was agreed then, and the next day the two of us set off toward the land of Trubiyar's enemies. I hope that he will keep his word and behave while there, as the last thing I need is to be caught in the middle of a racial war." The Land "The land of Nithia is a bleak and scorched place. Despite the eternal red sun being in the exact same position as it is for anywhere else within the Hollow World, the climate here is Date: Mon, 24 Mar 1997 13:06:12 -0600 From: (mystara-digest) To: mystara-digest@lists.io.com Subject: mystara-digest V2 #20 Reply-To: mystara-l@lists.io.com Precedence: bulk X-UIDL: a2f668cef61092f80580f2d68a3afbbe tremendously warmer that just several miles west. The sky is completely clear of clouds, and I doubt is has rained here in days...err sleeps. Vegetation is practically non-existent, but there is more to this desert than just sand. There are several rocky outcroppings, forming walls and canyons, as well as badlands and barren broken lands. Exposed rocks have been eroded by hundreds and thousands of years of wind and sand, taking unique and sometimes interesting shapes." "The farmlands and grasslands surround us now. It seems we are but a march away from the famous River Nithia which apparently cuts the kingdom of Nithia in two. This large river is the source of all life for the Nithians, as well as everything else that lives in this desert." "It seems that along the shores of this huge river, a normal, agriculture-sustaining land is available for the peasants and slaves to work on. Despite their claim to the vast area of desert beyond, here lies the true nation of Nithia." "Tarthis is built on the banks of the River Nithia, right where the first division of the huge delta takes place. The city has a sun-dried brick wall surrounding it, ample defense in case of an attack from the neighboring Jennites or Tanagoro. "Most dwellings are also made with the same mud bricks, as well as the occasional stone, and thatched roofs. The rich, however, live in huge stone palaces with giant statues of sphinxes or their Immortals everywhere." "I find it truly impressive that such a primitive culture has mastered such techniques of irrigation. The fact that water can be attained from various wells within the city, as well as a sewer system to take care of the refuse and waste is a clear sign of excellent scholars, engineers, and leadership." The People "Like all the other cultures I've encountered so far, the Nithians are rather unique in their customs and habits." "The commoner among the Nithians wears a simple loin cloth or a sleeveless linen dress if female. Some unfortunate slaves wear nothing at all but a belt. The upper classes, including the priests, wear more or less the same garments, just with better fabric and brighter colors. They also wear an immense amount of gold and jewellery, of which the Nithians have managed to create various interesting specimens. I have acquired one of their bracelets, which I think I shall keep." "The Pharaoh of the Nithians is always a cleric, and is considered by the people to be an actual Immortal avatar of the Immortal in question. The religion also holds power elsewhere, as they are responsible for collecting the taxes and performing the death rights upon the burial of the dead. In fact, it is believed that the truly faithful to the Immortals will one day return among the living, hence the fact that they perform special ceremonies to keep their bodies intact and the burial of their belongings with them." "The rich of Nithia build gigantic pyramids whose only purpose is to serve as their tomb once they are dead. Apparently, this helps achieve a greater place in the afterlife and hence improves the chances of returning to the living on the "great day" to come. Once dead, the rich man is buried with everything he holds dear, from his valuables to his relatives and favorite slaves. In fact, most consider it an honor to be buried alive in such pyramids with their master. Of a peculiar note, they also store food in the pyramid, so that the souls will not starve on their journey into the afterlife." Don't Miss "The one building that I truly miss, having been forced to leave Tarthis, is the Library of Mysteries. This huge stone building is filled with ancient scrolls and books that must date back for at least 3 or 4 thousand years. So much could be learned from extensive studies of the information that might be within the halls of the library. Rumors abound that some of them are even magical and show the secrets to great power. One thing that amazes me, however, is the similarities between the Nithians and the Alphatian Thothians back on the Isle of Dawn. Even their language is very similar. I cannot help but wonder if the Thothians and Nithians are somehow related." "The Great Pyramid housing the tomb of Rasiris, stands just over 500 feet into the air. The structure appears a bright white under the sun as a layer of white limestone covers the blocks of granite the actually make it up. And that is just one pyramid here in the Necropolis of Tarthis, burial ground of the Pharaohs." "When I was told that anything could be found in the Grand Marketplace, for a price, I didn't believe him. Now I can see the truth in Trubiyar's words. This huge, open-air market, must cover several hundred square feet and have merchant stalls or tents everywhere. Various merchants from other cultures seem almost welcome here, selling their goods just like any Nithian merchant. Another commodity that can be bought here at the Grand Marketplace is information. Apparently, word gets around quickly in the hand of the right people, and, with the proper contacts, which can all be found in the marketplace, one can also be privileged with the information, for a price, of course." TIMELINE FOR THE HOLLOW WORLD, AC 1013 Since there is lacking in detail of the nations in this section, we have therefore found a substitute to fill in the void. We now have at least two brave souls who have journeyed to the Hollow World and returned with information on what has happened for the past two years. These individuals, however, wish to remain anonymous, as they fear reprisal from the Alphatians, who have claimed the North Polar Opening as theirs, which is the route they use to get to the Hollow World. Of interest to the editors of this Almanac, however, is the fact that the first owner, Rikard Prospero, had access to information on what befell in the Hollow World. If anyone can manage to discover what his source of information was, the editors of this Almanac would be very pleased to learn of it. Anyways, here is a shortened timeline to detail events which occurred during the year AC 1013 within the Hollow World. We hope that you, the reader, will accept this as an apology for not publishing this information in last year's Almanac. Events in the Hollow World for the year AC 1014 can be found in the chapter of Current Events: AC 1014 along with the events from all around the world of Mystara. NUWMONT AC 1013 "Emperor" Zandor, freed from temporal stasis thanks to the Day of Dread, demands that the guards holding him prisoner release him. Eventually, he is brought before Empress Eriadna. The sight of his mother drives him crazy, and he collapses to the ground, crying and screaming in terror as if his nightmares came true. Eriadna has him once more confined in a cell (which is proof against magical tampering despite Zandor having lost his spellcasting abilities) with heavy guard until she decides what to do with him. NUWMONT AC 1013 Saau-ur Uhem is tried for impersonating the dead Pharaoh Ramose IV. Nikita-Ahmed, the vizier of Internal Security, and Permon, a cleric of Rathanos and close friend of Ramose, testify that he is indeed the Pharaoh. Plus, Ramose is carrying the Pharaoh's Crook and Flail, two artifacts that are handed down from Pharaoh to Pharaoh (see HWR2: The Kingdom of Nithia). Saau-ur Uhem is found guilty, the Crook and Flail evidence that he must have somehow been responsible for the death of the real Pharaoh. Ramose is sentenced to the mines for the rest of his life since Nithia has no death sentence as death brings you to the paradise afterlife, and is hence a gift, not a punishment (see HWR2). Still, the Pharaoh has the right of life or death on anyone at anytime, unlike standard magistrates and local rulers. But in this case, there is so much controversy and rumors of civil war that Senkha orders Ramose to the mines to avoid outbreaks of violence. The Crook and Flail are returned to Senkha. Senkha came to the decision after deliberation with various other nobles, including King Al-Belak (who secretly wants to be Pharaoh himself), and various other nobles related to Ramose who are still upset at him for having executed Queen Tafiri. Also, Ramose was unable to cast any clerical spell despite the fact that he is a cleric of Rathanos (which he claims he lost because of his sentencing of Tafiri). The main factor was, however, the voices in her head that kept insisting he was an imposter. Tension begins to rise in Tarthis and the kingdom of Nithia since many of the nobles were also convinced that it was indeed the true Ramose who has been sentenced to the mines. A civil war seems to be in the making. NUWMONT, AC 1013 Empress Eriadna asks Prince Haldemar to explore the Hollow World and establish relationships with the nations below. She gives him all the various maps and notes that have been taken since AC 1010 when Alphatia first arrived in the Hollow World. Although Eriadna has sent exploration missions several times since the arrival of Alphatia in the Hollow World, she had ordered her explorers not to contact the natives and simply learn all they can from them as, having seen the Neathar's reaction to the Alphatians, she didn't want Alphatia to have even more enemies. Now, she believes it's necessary to make peaceful relations with all the nations below; the Karameikans escaped last year, and Eriadna believes it's only a matter of time before armies from the surface world arrive to try and conquer the lands. She wishes to have alliances with the various nations so they can all work together to safekeep the Hollow World. Haldemar was chosen because of the excellent job he did along the Savage Coast back on the surface world. PCs can get involved thanks to the fact that Haldemar must replace a few crew members who quit/retire. This would mean that they take part in all further adventures of the Princess Ark. Among the new crew are a few Alphatians who can speak Neathar, the common tongue of the Hollow World. Since communication magic fails here in the hollow world, Haldemar begins to learn the language of the Neathar himself. NUWMONT, AC 1013 The Princess Ark arrives in the city of Baraga, the "capital" of the Merry Pirates' nation. There, Haldemar makes a few trade agreements with Necco the Black and is assured that Baraga, as well as all the other Merry Pirate ports, is a free port in which Alphatians can come and trade when they want. Another Pirate Lord, however, eyes the Princess Ark and wants the flying ship for himself as it would make him the most powerful pirate in the area (boats being used by pirates, and with the Spell of Preservation having a looser hold on the Merry Pirates, this is acceptable in terms of the Bias of the Merry Pirates; see HW box set). Haldemar is warned about the plot by Sebek-Komnut, a young Nithian male who joined the pirates, but found it not to his liking (because of cultural bias). He wishes to return to his homeland and asks for passage aboard the Princess Ark as repayment for his help. Haldemar agrees, but states that the Ark will stop at all the nations between here and Nithia. Sebek-Komnut doesn't mind about the delay. Haldemar eventually learns that Sebek-Komnut is the son of some minor noble back in his homeland. VATERMONT, AC 1013 Djemun, a close friend of Senkha (see HWR2: Nithia), has noticed that Senkha has been acting strange the past few cycles. Convinced that someone is manipulating Senkha to not accept Ramose for who he really is, she decides to help free the Pharaoh. She talks with Nikita-Ahmed, who then makes a public announcement to Senkha for Djemun(since Djemun prefers to be behind the scene). Nikita-Ahmed claims she can prove that Ramose is indeed who he claims to be. She will find the Book of Amon, which only Pharaohs can read (artifact presented in HWR2). If Ramose can read it, then he is indeed the Pharaoh. If he goes insane, then he is not the Pharaoh. Unable to refuse such a proposal because of the unrest in Nithia, Senkha agrees to the test. But Nikita-Ahmed must find the sacred book on her own, which has been lost for centuries, without help of royal funds. Until then, Ramose will be held prisoner in a cell, safe from injuries in the mines, but still unable to go anywhere or cause trouble. Nikita-Ahmed agrees. Djemun and Permon join Nikita-Ahmed in her quest, and although the trio are rather powerful, they are also rather old (youngest being in his 50's). So Nikita-Ahmed gathers younger adventurers and heroes to help her (PC involvement at this point is possible). Their first task is to find the possible location of the Book of Amon. For that, they contact the Priesthood of Pflarr (experts on magical items) and do research in the Library of Mysteries. Ahmed leaves a few of her trusted officers in charge as she doesn't plan on performing her duties until her quest is done. She leaves explicit instructions to protect Ramose in his cell as she believes that unknown forces will try to have him killed before she returns with the Book of Amon (she's right; Thanathos and Ranivorus will do all they can to have the Pharaoh killed). VATERMONT, AC 1013 The Princess Ark flies over the Schattenalfen Caverns to the east (HW directions) of the Merry Pirates and Traldar (having mistakenly believed the Traldar were part of the Merry Pirates). There, the Ark is approached by a squad of flapsail-riders. The Schattenalfen captain of the squad, Trylthyn (presented in HW boxed set), demands that the Princess Ark leave the Schattenalfen territories. Haldemar manages to convince the air-captain to escort the Princess Ark to the capital so that he can talk with the Queen of the Schattenalfen on behalf of the Empire of Alphatia. Along the way, the group is attacked by a red dragon desiring to claim control of the air they are flying in. The dragon proves to be no match for the Princess Ark and her magical weapons, and soon flees. Trylthyn is impressed by the abilities of the humans, and envies their camaraderie which is not present in his own race. At Issarthyl, Prince Haldemar and his party descend into the capital city a mile below ground. There, after attempting peaceful discussions and proposals, Queen Catriata throws one of her tantrums when she learns that there are elves in Alphatia who enjoy living on the "surface" world. She orders that Haldemar and his escorts be imprisoned, then executed. Trylthyn, having seen a glimpse of the life of the humans, decides that he likes their ways over the ways of Atzanteotl and his fellow Schattenalfen. He frees Haldemar and his group, and they make it back to the surface and the Princess Ark. Haldemar accepts Trylthyn in his group as he once did, long ago, for Myojo. The Princess Ark flees northeastward with several flapsails and Schattenalfen in pursuit. VATERMONT, AC 1014 Al-Belak, King of the Southern Kingdom of Nithia, begins courting Pharaoh Senkha. He believes that marrying her will give him the power he needs to make himself the next Pharaoh. THAUMONT, AC 1013 The Princess Ark manages to evade its pursuers. However, the Ark was damaged by several spells from the spellcasting elves who chased them. Haldemar orders the ship to land for repairs. They land at the edge of the Malpheggi Swamp. After a few days of repairs, a group of lizardmen approaches the ship. The two groups seem to get along peacefully until the lizardmen spot Sebek-Komnut. At the sight of the Nithian, they are instantly reminded of the plague that struck them back in AC 1012 (PWA2). They attack the crew of the Ark, believing that they will bring the plague back to their people again. Haldemar is forced to take the Ark to the air again. They set sail toward the northeast again, this time for the town of Haldemar where they can finish repairing the Princess Ark in a proper skyship berth. Haldemar is rather disappointed by his lack of success for peaceful relations twice in a row. They land in Haldemar and repair the Ark. THAUMONT, AC 1013 Nikita-Ahmed and her group discover clues about the Book of Amon that seem to lead to the town of Ranak, the ancient capital of the Nithian Empire. They head for the town by the means of Nikita-Ahmed's floating chariot (HWR2). Once there, the group begins exploring the libraries of Ranak, as well as visiting the centers of magical research that are present there. After a long search and finding the right contacts, they learn of an ancient magical storage area deep beneath the city in the ruins of the old Ranak which the current one is built over. They eventually find the room after roaming the underground catacombs and discover many ancient magical items and spells, but not the Book of Amon. Still, they find evidence that the Book of Amon was in Ranak, but was taken away during the height of the Tarthis-Ranak war. It is believed that fiends summoned by Hathep stole the book during the fighting in Ranak and fled with it. The final papers indicate that Pharaoh Kifara had managed to relocate the Book of Amon in the Tower of Sekhaba and was planning on retrieving it. There is no further mention of the artifact or anything else afterwards (Kifara, as well as the entire city of Ranak, was then destroyed by the magic of the followers of Hathep, ending the Tarthis-Ranak war, before she could reclaim the artifact). The group then begins their search in locating the Tower of Sekhaba. ------------------------------ End of mystara-digest V2 #20 **************************** Date: Mon, 24 Mar 1997 13:06:35 -0600 From: (mystara-digest) To: mystara-digest@lists.io.com Subject: mystara-digest V2 #21 Reply-To: mystara-l@lists.io.com Precedence: bulk X-UIDL: f4959ee9d95ed56a56c972ee78009395 mystara-digest Monday, March 24 1997 Volume 02 : Number 021 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 24 Mar 1997 20:00:24 +0100 From: Fabrizio Paoli Subject: [Mystara] AC 1014 Almanac Part 6 FLAURMONT, AC 1013 Having finished repairs on the Princess Ark, Haldemar once again sets course for Nithia. He plans on passing through the lands of the Oltecs and Kogolor dwarves first. They pass over the Oltec Hills and talk to the locals in the first village they spot (Bitac). From them, they learn about the local customs and the location of Manac, the capital of their Kingdom. The Ark sets course for Manac. There, Haldemar meets with Monpac the Sunwatcher, The Oltec (King). After peaceful talks and participation in a few local customs of story-telling as well as playing wooden musical instruments, The Oltec declares that they accept anyone in their lands that comes in peace. FLAURMONT, AC 1013 Having heard rumors that the Tower of Sekhaba is located in the Realm of Silence, Nikita-Ahmed and her party equip themselves and travel out into the broken lands northeast of Ranak. On the way out of town, they are attacked by mercenaries, but manage to defeat/evade them. Unknown to them, the mercenaries were sent by the ruler of Ranak, King Al-Belak, as he wants the old Pharaoh out of his way so he can be the new Pharaoh. In the Realm of Silence, the group encounters various desert creatures, strange monoliths, and abandoned pyramids, but still do not manage to find the Tower of Sekhaba yet. FLAURMONT, AC 1013 The Princess Ark passes by the huge Mt. Ronani and approaches the dwarven realm of Kogolor. An away team goes down to visit the kingdom below. Much to the surprise of the Alphatians, the dwarven cities are mostly above ground and easy to spot. They head to the capital city of Kolmstat and talk with the receptive, friendly, and open dwarves (another surprise to the Alphatians). Kolmstat is then attacked by a daring raid of a war-party from the Krugel Hordes. Haldemar and the Princess Ark help in the defense of the dwarven city, and hence King Bilfric III declares that Alphatians will be warmly accepted allies of the Kogolor Dwarves. YARTHMONT, AC 1013 The Princess Ark flies above the Brute-Men lands. Since these neandertals do not make any villages or structures, the Ark fails to locate any signs of civilization, so moves on toward the south and Nithia. YARTHMONT, AC 1013 Nikita-Ahmed and her party discover the Tower of Sekhaba. There, they confront the priests of Thanatos. After various clashes and a hair-raising battle, the group manages to flee with the Book of Amon. But not without cost; various members of the party have been killed, including Permon, Ramose's close friend. Djemun has also succumbed to the maddening effects of the Tower (actually a Burrower; see HWR2). Nikita-Ahmed is forced to take care of her insane companion as they flee back through the desert. Eventually, they make it back to the River Nithia, and to the village of Ker-nome. Nikita-Ahmed leaves the mad Djemun in the hand of the villagers as she rushes back to Tarthis. YARTHMONT, AC 1013 The Princess Ark arrives at Tarthis, the capital of Nithia. There, Haldemar learns that Sebek-Komnut is one of Pharaoh Ramose IV's sons. Sebek-Komnut learns what has happened and demands to see his father. He has forgiven him after all those years for the execution of his mother. Meanwhile, Pharaoh Senkha is reluctant to make any deals with Haldemar, and hence Alphatia, because the voices in her head warn her against it. Agents of Ranivorus kidnap Sebek-Komnut, and secretly send word to Ramose that if he does not kill himself, they will kill his son (since they are unable to bypass Nikita-Ahmed's guards to kill him themselves). The crew of the Ark learns of Sebek-Komnut's disappearance and free him from the evil priests, hence saving Ramose. YARTHMONT, AC 1013 Nikita-Ahmed arrives back in Tarthis and presents the Book of Amon to Pharaoh Senkha and the nobles of Nithia. Prince Haldemar of Alphatia is also there to witness the events unfolding. Ramose is brought to the royal court, and is presented with the Book of Amon, which he reads. He does not go insane, proving that he is indeed the real Pharaoh. He demands that Senkha relinquish the title of Pharaoh at once, returning the rightful rulership of Nithia to him. However, Senkha takes the Book of Amon and reads it as well. Having been declared the rightful Pharaoh in ceremonies given by the priests of Pflarr and Rathanos, she is also unaffected by the book. There now appears to be two Pharaohs, and many of the nobles begin taking sides. The priesthoods back Senkha, as Ramose has apparently lost favor with Rathanos, and therefore does not deserve to rule Nithia. King Al-Belak also supports Senkha (although for hopes of personal gain rather than any loyalty). Ramose has most of the military support because of Nikita-Ahmed, as well as the support of King Khnemet-urt of the Delta Region. Ramose also gains the support of many of the lesser nobles and commoners as he has returned from the dead, and that should be proof enough he has the blessings of the Immortals. Sebek-Komnut asks Haldemar, and Alphatia, to join the side of his father. Haldemar informs that he cannot take sides in an internal conflict. Sebek-Komnut is disappointed in him, and Alphatia. Despite the fact that Haldemar will not support him, Ramose does not hold a grudge, having become a calmer man over the years. He states that he understands Alphatia's position, and asks him to leave Nithia. Ramose will be glad to make negotiations with Alphatia once the internal problems are over and asks that he return later. Haldemar thanks Ramose, and the Princess Ark leaves Tarthis. Although Ramose has the guards necessary to capture/kill the usurpers right now, he does not act as he loves Senkha and believes she is simply misguided somehow. He tries to talk her out of an armed conflict, but fails. Senkha and her group leave Tarthis, unopposed by Ramose, and head for Ranak. Civil war seems about to break loose on the nation once more. KLARMONT, AC 1013 As feared, Nithia falls into civil war as the Delta Region Kingdom and the Southern Kingdom fight to put their own Pharaoh on the throne. Ramose is saddened by the way things have turned out, as he despises the pointless deaths that will be caused by the needless fighting. The war is a long one and continues to this day. KLARMONT, AC 1013 The Princess Ark arrives over the area of the Tanagoro Plains. An away team, including Haldemar, goes down to the ground below and explores around (reason: flying ships tend to scare primitive natives). They are greeted in a small village defensively, but peacefully. After talks with the local ruler, they learn of the location of the Togoro (great king of Tanagoro). The Ark leaves and locates the village of the Togoro. There, Haldemar (with his away team again) talks with Korolo Togoro. The Togoro seems to be interested in finding ways to store food and water more efficiently. Leo, the gnome engineer of the Princess Ark, attempts to show them various methods, but Korolo dislikes all of them (because of cultural bias). Still, Korolo Togoro appreciates the help the Alphatians have tried to give the Tanagoro. He welcomes Alphatians to his lands provided they obey their customs and come in peace. Haldemar exchanges various items of interest to the Tanagoro (such as food and water) for a batch of their wheat-beer, which the crew finds very potent and enjoyable! From Korolo Togoro, Haldemar learns of the other great warriors to the south called the Jennites. Not shown on any of the maps given to him by Empress Eriadna, he decides to explore the southern plains. KLARMONT, AC 1013 The Princess Ark hovers over the Jennite Plains. An away team led by Haldemar goes down and explores around and locates the Jennite village of Saniladar, named after their chieftain. Upon being given gifts by Saniladar, Haldemar offers something of his in return, and is accepted by the village. The village is then raided by another village which it had raided a few sleeps ago. Jennites being worshippers of Tarastia always get revenge when they can, and so feuds tend to last forever. The crew of the Ark are forced to help defend the village from the Jennite cavalry just to stay alive. Their help earns them the respect of the villagers of Saniladar. Haldemar is view with awe and some fear at his display of the control of the forces of nature, such as fire and lightning (as combat magic is not available in the Hollow World). FELMONT, AC 1013 Haldemar and his team attempt to visit another Jennite village only to discover that their helping the clan of Saniladar has earned them the enmity of the other clans around them as the Saniladar has raided all of them various times. His team is attacked, and a few crew members are taken prisoner. Haldemar brings the Princess Ark directly to the village which has his captured men, only to find out that they have already been executed, as the Jennites do with prisoners of war. Disgusted with the barbaric and savage ways of the Jennites, Haldemar orders the Princess Ark to head west, toward what his maps indicate should be the Milenian Empire. FELMONT, AC 1013 While sailing over the Sea of Yr, the Princess Ark passes several islands that they decide to investigate. There, they encounter a culture of Broken Ones (described in the AD&D Monstrous Manual, p.30) These creatures, humanoids made out of animal parts, were the creation of an Alphatian mage in Blackheart about 250 years ago. They wound up hating their Alphatian master and killed him. The other mages of Blackheart soon encountered these raiding Broken Ones and banded together to exterminate them. An unknown Immortal took pity on them and transported them here to this island in the Hollow World were they could live in peace. The Broken Ones have a deep hatred for their creators, and hence tormentors (according to them), the Alphatians. Prince Haldemar, when identified as an Alphatian, is attacked by the creatures. The Princess Ark away team barely makes it back to the Ark. They then leave this island, hoping to never have to return. FYRMONT, AC 1013 The Princess Ark passes over a Nithian-style town on the western coast of the Sea of Yr. Intrigued, Haldemar orders the Ark in to investigate and make contact. There, Haldemar meets with Uart-neter Semsu, the ruler of the town of Lothar. The lord of Lothar learns about the civil war brewing back in Tarthis. He had lost all contact with Ramose IV when he was captured by Senkha's guards for impersonating the Pharaoh. Within Lothar, Haldemar encounters a Nithian who asks him various questions about his flying ship and Alphatia. At first, Haldemar is happy to talk about his homeland, but then begins to become suspicious as this stranger wants to know all he possibly can. He has some of his men follow the scholar back to his place. They discover he is indeed a scholar of various lands and cultures, as well as history. His symbol, which is carved over his front door, is a lighthouse. Haldemar then leaves Lothar and continues on his way to the Milenian Empire, despite warning from Uart-neter Semsu claiming that the Milenians are all barbarians that cannot be trusted. Uart-neter Semsu sends troops back to help Pharaoh Ramose, whom he truly believes has Immortal support in his rulership. FYRMONT, AC 1013 A village in the Traldar lands is destroyed by a huge 12- headed hydra. The neighboring villagers quickly grab their weapons and go on a hydra hunt, like any brave hero would do. To the Traldar, this is just another opportunity for their adventurers to prove that they are great heroes! FYRMONT, AC 1013 The Princess Ark arrives at Corisa, the capital of the Milenian Empire. At first, things are a little hectic, as the Milenians believe that the Princess Ark is a Heldannic Warbird, having returned once more to cause trouble (events described in HWR3: Milenian Empire). It is soon discovered that they are from Alphatia, and not Heldannic Knights. Trade negotiations are made with the Senate, which are only too happy to agree with Alphatia's policies of keeping the Heldannic Knights and other nations (Haldemar does not mention they are from the surface) from taking over the Hollow World. AMBYRMONT, AC 1013 Before leaving Corisa, Haldemar is approached by an old man calling himself Trokalikos of Laroun (HW boxed set). The man claims he simply wants to learn more about the world and asks to join the Ark for her voyages around the Hollow World. When asked what he will give in return, Trokalikos mentions his vast knowledge of the various cultures around here, as well as his ability to speak most of the languages. Haldemar, having had to learn Neathar and use that primitive language to communicate with everyone is rather interested in this advantage, so he hires the old Milenian. The Princess Ark heads northward, toward the Traldar Kingdoms, since Trokalikos has corrected him, indicating that they are not part of the Merry Pirate cities. Haldemar is impressed at the knowledge of the old Milenian. AMBYRMONT, AC 1013 King Dogrel of the Alphatian Neatharum, having picked enough loyal troops to his rule, and not the Alphatian Empire, sets his long awaited plan into motion. He sends his soldiers out into the Neathar Lands, far enough from the town of Haldemar so as not to be noticed by other Alphatians, to capture and enslave as many Neathar as possible. He wants to use them to make a larger and more prosperous nation than the Alphatian Neatharum which has been denied expansion, and hence power, because of Empress Eriadna when she made a peace treaty with the Neathar. He has secretly hated the Empress ever since. Now he wants to try and make his own kingdom independent from Alphatia. The location chosen by Dogrel and his men is at the lake where the Torolai River meets the Great Mud River. One skyship is given to them to retain easy contact with the new town. There, they begin enslaving the Torolai Neathar in the plains to the north, as well as Valgrai Neathar in the forests to the northwest, around the mountain chain. AMBYRMONT, AC 1013 The Princess Ark flies over the lands of the Kubitts, not knowing there is a culture of diminutive people hidden in the trees below. SVIFTMONT, AC 1013 The Princess Ark arrives in the Traldar Kingdoms. Trokalikos directs them to the city of Coresco. Before King Tiradon of Coresco will deal with Haldemar, he has to prove to them that he is a respectable hero, and is therefore asked to participate in a hydra hunt. The 12-headed hydra that destroyed one of the smaller villages a couple of months ago has yet to be destroyed. It turned out that the hydra was a Lernaean hydra (for each head severed, two more grow back, unless flames are applied to seal the wound. They have a maximum of 12 heads.), and they have been unable to defeat it. It just kept regrowing its heads. Also, this particular specimen seems to be rather cunning (INT 8), and can even spit out poisonous gases from each head. The Traldar believe that the hydra must be the creation of some evil curse, as they have never seen one with such powers before. Because of its uniqueness, the locals quickly call the beast the Coresco Hydra. The crew of the Ark participates in the hunt. The creature is soon brought down thanks to the advanced magic of the Alphatians, including the good use of a Fireball spell to seal off all the heads and prevent them from regrowing. King Tiradon gives the Alphatians respect for their acts of bravery, and accepts to trade with them. Trokalikos warns Haldemar that the Traldar are fickle people, and their leaders, usually warlords, come and go. This village might be peaceful now, but could just as easily declare war on the Alphatians the next time they come by, especially if another leader has seized the throne since then. The Princess Ark sets sail westward, intent on following the islands that belt the equator of the ocean (Anathy Archipelago), since the Alphatians already know about the Azcans to the north who continuously raid the Alphatian Neatharum. EIRMONT, AC 1013 Traldar adventurers, curious as to where the famous Coresco Hydra came from, begin backtracking the creature's trail to its original lair. KALDMONT, AC 1013 The Traldar discover that the hydra was released from an ancient shrine to Halav. The shrine has apparently been desecrated by Schattenalfen, and hence the Coresco Hydra attacked the elves. Carefully searching the shrine shows that an artifact is apparently missing. A count of the footprints and Schattenalfen elf bodies reveals that some of them survived. The Traldar believe that the Schattenalfen must have that artifact, whatever it might be, and the hydra was to punish them for not protecting it. The adventurers return to Coresco and inform everyone about their findings. Many bands of heroes decide to take on a quest to find that artifact and return it to its rightful resting place. The various groups all head out toward the land of the underground elves. King Tiradon prepares the city of Coresco for a possible war against the Schattenalfen. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 24 Mar 1997 20:00:49 +0100 From: Fabrizio Paoli Subject: [Mystara] AC 1014 Almanac Part 9 FAMOUS FOLK - ----------- Most readers not only enjoy reading about places to visit, but also who they might meet on such journeys. Accordingly, the editors of this Almanac have therefore gathered the following information on various "famous folks" of Mystara. Old readers will no doubt recognize that we have concentrated on new people in this volume rather than repeat the same information over and over again. For the new reader who wishes to learn more about the various rulers and their families, we recommend purchasing previous editions of this Almanac. The following abbreviations are used to determine the profession of the people below: F Fighter C Cleric (general) Pa Paladin Pr Priest (specialty) R Ranger D Druid M Mage T Thief M(il) Illusionist... B Bard The number after the letter represents the level of skill that person has (ex: F3 means Fighter 3). If a ? follows the letter (such as R?), then the editors of this almanac have been unable to obtain accurate information concerning that person's skills. So read on to learn who is the famous hero, who is the evil villain, and who is seeking their heart's desire. D.S. ADVENTURERS, MAGES, AND HEROES Anand Brishnapur: Anand is a fighting mystic of the Shehid Order in Sind. He has travelled throughout the land with the Prophet Sitara, righting wrongs and doing good. Although he dislikes politics and wars, the current situation in Sind has forced him to act as a military advisor and trainer for the Freedom Warriors. Born: AC 980. Hair: Brown. Eyes: Clear, pale brown. Height: 6'. Appearance: Thin, with muscles like steel cords. Bears a scar on his chest from a past conflict with a member of Sind's ruling class. Always wears a serious expression. Anand dresses in beggar's rags to show that he is not ashamed to be mistaken for a Kuliya (the lowest caste in Sind). Combat Notes: AL LG; AC 1; MV 12; human male Fighting-Monk of Date: Mon, 24 Mar 1997 13:06:35 -0600 From: (mystara-digest) To: mystara-digest@lists.io.com Subject: mystara-digest V2 #21 Reply-To: mystara-l@lists.io.com Precedence: bulk X-UIDL: f4959ee9d95ed56a56c972ee78009395 Gareth 11; hp 40, THAC0 14; #AT 2; Dmg special (as per Martial Art) or 1d6+4 (quarterstaff +3); S17 D14 C11 I12 W16 Ch12; ML 15. Weapon Specialization: martial arts, 3 slots (+3 to hit and damage, +3 chart bonus). Magical Items: Ring of quickness, quarterstaff +3, gloves of missile snaring. Chukri of the Manasir: Chukri is a young Makistani warrior of the Manasir tribe who has shown his bravery and battle prowess during the civil war in Ylaruam. He sided with the Kin faction, which eventually won the war. Chukri has now left the army, but still receives the respect and honor of his former rank. He now wanders on his own, looking for more glory, treasure, and honor for himself and his tribe. Born: AC 995. Hair: Black, worn long and braided with bits of leather. Eyes: Brown. Height: 5'8". Appearance: He is short and heavy-boned, with epicanthic eye folds. His nose is large, from an injury which never properly healed; he often rubs it. Combat Notes: AL LN; AC 7 (leather, Dexterity bonus); MV 12; human male F8; hp 76, THAC0 13; #AT 2; Dmg: 1d8+8 (scimitar +3, STR, specialized); S18(54) D15 C15 I15 W10 Ch10; ML 14. Weapon Specialization: scimitar. Magical Items: Scimitar +3 flames on command. Geoffrey of Grunturm: Born in the Heldannic town of Grunturm, Geoffrey had many disagreements with the Heldannic Knights in his youth. He therefore adventured in Norwold, becoming a hero of renown for his good deeds and great kindness. He has since returned to his homeland to help overthrow the tyrannical Heldannic Knights. Born: AC 962. Hair: Gray; beard and mustache. Eyes: Blue. Height: 6'1". Appearance: Geoffrey is a tall, well-built, imposing man. Although he keeps fairly fit and looks about a decade younger than he is, he's developed a slight paunch. Combat Notes: AL LG, AC -4/0 (platemail +3, shield +3); MV 12, human male C20; hp 87; THAC0 8; #AT 1; Dmg 1d6+4 (footman's mace +3, +5 vs. undead); S10 D11 C17 I10 W15 Ch9; ML 18. Magical Items: Platemail +3, shield +3, footman's mace +3(+5 vs. undead), scarab of protection. Haldemar of Haaken: Haldemar is a Prince of Floating Ar and Captain of the skyship Princess Ark. He is an unpredictable Alphatian aristocrat who does everything with style. Prince Haldemar has travelled throughout - and in - Mystara. He was last seen travelling on a mission through the Hollow World. His current whereabouts are unknown. Born: AC 911 (apparent age 60). Hair: black tinged with gray, worn long and tied back. Eyes: Deep blue. Height: 5'11". Appearance: Pale-skinned, prefers knee-high boots, dark blue pants and cloak, and a white, laced shirt. Combat Notes: AL CG; AC 5 (ring of protection +3, Dexterity bonus); MV 12; human male M17/T4, advances as mage; hp 39; THAC0 15; #AT 1; Dmg 1d4+2 (dagger +2) or by spell; S10 D16 C11 I17 W12 Ch15; ML 10; PP 15%, OL 15%, FT 10%, MS 60%, HS 60%, DN 25%, CW 60%, RL 35%. Magical Items: Dagger +2 of warning, pouch of security, wand of disintegration, wand of fire, wand of lightning, ring of protection +3. Misha Mananov: Misha was born in the Black Eagle Barony, which she fled at the age of 15. She took shelter with the Church of Traladara and soon became one of their priestesses. She has once again started to wander, making the pacification of goblinoids her own personal mission. She is currently in the Northern Reaches doing her best to end the violent goblinoid incursions in the area. Her pet white wolf "Kitten" is always by her side. Born: AC 981. Hair: Black, worn long and tied back. Eyes: Brown. Height: 5'4". Appearances: Misha is an extremely attractive Traladaran woman. She almost always has a smile and warmness visible in her eyes. Combat Notes: AL LG; AC 3 (chain mail +2); MV 12; human female C12; hp 60; THAC0 14; #AT 1; Dmg 1d6+3 (staff +3) or by spell; S11 D14 C15 I15 W17 Ch17; ML 14. Magical Items: Chain mail +2, staff +3, ring of levitation. Bergthor "the Wild" Mordson: Born of the Oberbeck clan in Soderfjord, Bergthor is devout to the warrior ways of Thor. He almost became a priest of Thor, but decided to remain a warrior instead and merely follow Thor's warrior code. Bergthor has shown his might and prowess with a warhammer during the raid on the Falun Caverns, and to this day continues to attack and defeat the hordes of goblinoids in his homeland. Born: AC 994. Hair: Red, worn long, but tied back before combat. Also has a small beard. Eyes: Icy-blue. Height: 6'2". Appearance: Bergthor is a tall and imposing man who enjoys looking down on those he perceives as weak. He is proud and violent, the traditional hero of Soderfjord. Combat Notes: AL CN; AC 1 (Chainmail +2, shield, Dexterity bonus); MV 12; human male beserker F9; hp 75; THAC0 12; #AT 2' Dmg 1d4+8 (warhammer +2, specialization, STR bonus); S18(93) D15 C16 I9 W8 Ch14; ML 16; Weapon Specialization: war hammer. Magical Items: Chainmail +2, warhammer +2, horn of Valhalla. Ricardo "The Great": Ricardo is a wandering hero in the Savage Baronies who claims to be the greatest swordsman alive. Unfortunately, he is completely incompetent with any weapon, but this does not stop him from making his claim. It seems he also has the reputation of being the luckiest man alive and manages to win any confrontation regardless. The fact that his kind heart and good deeds have also made him powerful friends and allies also help keep him alive, despite his annoying, childish, and somewhat arrogant attitude. Born: AC 886 (apparent age 28; he was trapped by a magical spell and placed in suspended animation for a century. He was freed in AC 1010.). Hair: Dark brown, tinted slightly red. Eyes: Green. Height: 5'11". Appearance: Ricardo is thin, almost to the point of being skinny. He wears a continuous comical grin of triumph, even when he is merely haggling for a better price at the market. Combat Notes: AL CG; AC -1 (banded mail, ring of protection +2, Dexterity bonus); MV 12; human male F5; hp 22; THAC0 20 (because of his incompetence with weapons); #AT 1; Dmg 1d8+3 (longsword +3, luckblade); S10 D17 C9 I11 W12 Ch14; ML 14; Special defense: Legacy of Luck. Magical Items: Luckblade +3, scarab of protection, luckstone (stone of good luck), ring of protection +2. Sitara Rohini: Sitara became the Prophet of the Immortal Gareth in AC 1011 after receiving visions in her dreams. She has sind wandered Sind, performing miracles in the name of her Immortal and spreading the faith of Gareth. Recently, Sitara has been forced out of her temple at Karakandar by the Huleans. She has since joined the Freedom Warriors of Sind and uses her skills to help overthrow Hule's grip on Sind. Born: AC 993. Hair: Black, worn in a long braid. Eyes: Black. Height: 5'5". Appearance: Sitara is slight and very graceful. Kind and generous, she makes friends easily. Combat notes: AL LG; AC 6 (Dexterity bonus); MV 12; human female Pr5 of Gareth; hp 31; THAC0 19; #AT 1; Dmg 1d6+3 (Staff of Gareth equivalent to staff +3) or by spell; S10 D18 C9 I13 W18 Ch15; ML 14. Magical Items: Scroll of illumination, Staff of Gareth. Verri Smoothvoice: Born in the Five Shires, Verri moved to Darokin to learn what it was like in the human world. She has since acquired a reputation of being able to gather information of all kind, from who's who in the underworld to rumors of treasures from around the world. Her connections have made her one of the most successful merchants in Darokin. She also sponsors many adventurers to acquire the treasures which would be too dangerous for her to go after herself. She can often be found roaming the Known World looking for business or a profit to be made. Born: AC 952. Hair: Blond, cut short. Eyes: Brown. Height: 3'2". Appearance: Verri has a nice round belly acquired from the ability to purchase all the food she wants. She has a very disarming smile and can find her way into almost anyone's confidence. Combat Notes: AL N; AC 8 (leather); MV 6; halfling female T6; hp 19; THAC0 18; #AT 1; Dmg 1d4 (dagger); S9 D13 C12 I15 W13 Ch17; ML 10; PP 65% OL 50% FT 45% MS 35% HS 35% DN 45% CW 45% RL 25%. Magical Items: None. Thurgg: Thurgg is an orc of the Dark Fangs clan living within the Black Mountains near Hule. He joined the military of Hule and participated in the conquest of Sind. There, he met Anand and Sitara. He became so impressed with their prowess and fierce dedication to their beliefs that he joined their order of Gareth. He has since returned to his clan and is attempting to "civilize" them; to bring them out of their violent ways and also turn them to the worship of Gareth. Born: AC 996. Hair: Brown. Eyes: Dark green. Height: 6'4". Appearance: Thurgg stands straight and at attention, evidence of his military training. He has a large right fang which protrudes from his mouth at all times. Combat Notes: AL LN; AC 4 (chain mail, Dexterity bonus); MV 12, orc male fighting-monk of Gareth 3; hp 16; THAC0 20; #AT 1; DMG special (as per martial art) or 1d8+2 (long sword); S18 D15 C16 I11 W12 Ch12; ML 15. Magical Items: None. MOST WANTED INFAMOUS VILLAINS Bargle the Infamous: Bargle acquired his reputation from working with his former master, the Black Eagle Baron. It is rumored that he practices dark magics and has performed experiments on humans and hins. There is a 500,000 Gold Royals reward for his return to Karameikos (half that if dead). His last known whereabouts was the Esterhold Peninsula back in AC 1013. Born: 962 (apparent age 30). Hair: Light brown; long mustache and beard. Eyes: Black. Height: 6'1". Appearance: Lean, handsome, and charming when it suits him. Dresses in colorful robes chosen to deliberately clash with and upstage others. Combat Notes: AL CE; AC -1 (bracers of defense AC 2, Dexterity bonus); MV 12; human male M17; hp 37; THAC0 15; #AT 1; Dmg 1d4+2 (dagger +2, +3 spellcasters) or by spell; S9 D17 C10 I18 W9 Ch15; ML 10. Magical Items: Bracers of defense AC 2, dagger +2 (+3 spellcasters), staff of the magi, horn of blasting. "Gentleman Jehann": Jehann's origins are unknown, as is his true name. His nickname reflects his impeccable manners toward his victims as well as his fellow bandits. He robs only from the rich and the high society while leaving the poor - and the ladies - - alone. He has thus become somewhat of a popular hero. Jehann and his bandits operate in the hills of Karameikos. There is a 5,000 Gold Royals reward for his capture (alive). Born: Unknown. Hair: Brown. Eyes: Blue. Height: 6'. Appearance: He wears a forest-green cape and matching green hat adorned with peacock feathers. He is always smiling and always in motion. His favorite mount, a dark stallion, is as handsome and energetic as his master. Combat Notes: AL CG; AC 7 (dexterity bonus); MV 12; human male T8; hp 42; THAC0 17; #AT 1; Dmg 1d8+2 (longsword +2); S15 D17 C15 I14 W12 Ch18; ML 13. Magical Items: Longsword +2, cape of blending. Karolek Two-Fist: A violent Alphatian pirate who preys on ships - especially weak or storm-damaged ones - in the New Alphatian Sea. His brutal attacks end with the execution of all on board. Karolek's only interest is in gold and brutality against others. The NACE offers a 100,000 Crowns reward for his capture, dead or alive. Born: AC 985. Hair: None (bald). Eyes: Blue. Height: 6'1". Appearance: Wears a patch over his right eye which he lost in combat. Karolek loves to wander his ship bare-chested so to show off his muscles and impress those he is about to kill. Combat Notes: AL NE, AC 8 (dexterity bonus); MV 12; human male F10; hp 82; THAC0 11; #AT 2; Dmg 1d2+4 (punches, with 3 levels of mastery); S17 D16 C14 I12 W15 Ch12; ML 15; Weapon Mastery: punching, 3 levels of specialization. Magical Items: Unknown. Reinhard Madelhari: A former Heldannic Knight, Reinhard betrayed his order, killed several other Knights, burned down a temple of Vanya and escaped with a stolen Heldannic Warbird. The exact reasons are still unknown, but it is believed the Heldannic Inquisition had something to do with it. Reinhard has used his military training and the skyship to conquer independent dominions in Norwold, using the gold to build up his own army in the hopes of carving out his own nation in the anarchistic wildlands. Reinhard is just in battle and does not kill needlessly, but his crimes against the Heldannic Knights have marked him for death anyways. There is a 100,000 Gelders reward offered by the Heldannic Knights for bringing back his body to them. Born: AC 982. Hair: Blond; wears a trimmed beard. Eyes: Blue. Height: 6'1". Appearance: Reinhard always stands erect; part of his long military training. His uniform is in perfect condition. His face is always serious and he rarely laughs. Combat Notes: AL LG; AC -4 (full plate +3, shield +1); MV 12; human male Pr12 of Vanya; hp 62; THAC0 14; dmg 1d8+4 (longsword +2, STR bonus) or by spell (despite being an enemy of the Heldannic Church of Vanya, Vanya still sees fit to grant Reinhard his spells. Ironically, the Heldannic Knights, however, can no longer cast spells!); S18 D12 C15 I12 W15 Ch10; ML 13 Magical Items: Full plate +3, shield +1, longsword +2, bag of holding, Heldannic Warbird. Lucas de Nadore: Lucas is a wheellock sharpshooting elf of Cimarron County. He is one of the best, and enjoys challenging those who do not stand a chance of winning just to acquire their money/belongings after a "lawful" duel. He also simply enjoys shooting people. No one has yet managed to even come close to hitting him during a duel. Back in Cimarron, his practices are acceptable by law, but in the other Savage Baronies, he has become a wanted man. Although there is no huge reward for his capture, anyone who defeats Lucas is bound to make quite a reputation in the Baronies. Born: AC 798. Hair: Reddish-blond; has a large bang in front of his right eye. Eyes: Green. Height: 5'3". Appearance: Lucas always wears a worn leather vest and a belt which holds two wheellock pistols. He tends to have a piece of straw in his mouth, and often frowns when people look at him. Combat Notes: AL NE; AC 6 (studded leather, Dexterity Bonus); MV 12; elf male sharpshooter F9; hp 71; THAC0 12; #AT 1; Dmg 1d8+ (wheellock); S10 D16 C11 I14 W14 Ch12; ML 13; Weapon Specialization: wheellock pistol. Special Defense: Legacy of Speed. Magical Items: Ring of missile protection. Psa'gh: Leader of the Hardanger Kobolds, Psa'gh is believed to be the most powerful and intelligent kobold to have ever lived on Mystara. Over the past years, Psa'gh has united to kobold tribes of the Hardangers, then made a pact with Thar, creating the largest horde in the area for centuries. Their forces were defeated, but Psa'gh's location is still unknown. Born: Unknown. Hair: Dark brown. Eyes: Red. Height: 3'5". Appearance: Psa'gh is a large and very muscular kobold with only one little horn remaining on his head. His left horn was destroyed in a long ago battle. Combat Notes (rumored): AL CE; AC -2 (shining armor; possibly plate mail +3, Dexterity bonus); MV 6; kobold male F12; hp 75; THAC0 9; #AT 3/2; Dmg 1d8+4 (scimitar +3, STR bonus); S17 D16 C15 I17 W12 Ch14; ML 15 Magical Items: Scimitar +3, Shining Armor (properties unknown), amulet of proof against detection and location. Xavier Tanos: This dashing man is a thief extraordinaire. In AC 1013 he stole the seal of the Republic of Darokin from Chancellor Mauntea's office, then boldly ransomed it. This year, he somehow managed to acquire a holy artifact from under the noses of the priests of the Church of Karameikos. Rumors now claim that his next target, sometime in AC 1015, will be the fabled Star Of Ylaruam. Xavier sometimes demands a ransom, sometimes merely returns the object, and sometimes keeps them as a memento. His motive appears mainly to be glory and reputation, but he also keeps enough to live in a very comfortable lifestyle. His current whereabouts are unknown. There is a 500,000 Daros reward in Darokin for his capture; dead or alive. The Church of Karameikos is similarly offering a 250,000 Gold Royals reward for the return of their relic. Born: AC 988. Hair: Chestnut-brown, cut short. Eyes: Brown. Height: 5'10". Appearance: Xavier moves with grace and confidence. Rumors claim that his eyes appear to pierce right through to a person's soul when he stares at them. Combat Notes: AL N; AC -1 (leather armor +3, ring of protection +2, Dexterity bonus); MV 12; human male T18; hp 58; THAC0 12; #AT 1; Dmg 1d6+2 (short sword of quickness +2); S12 D18 C13 I17 W13 Ch15; ML 13; PP 105% OL 90% FT 110% MS 105% HS 115% DN 90% CW 90% RL 70%. Magical Items: Short sword of quickness +2, leather armor +3, ring of protection +2, dust of disappearance, elven boots, portable hole. Thar: This former leader of the Broken Lands has still managed to create a huge horde despite loosing his position to a kobold (Kol XIV). Upon allying with Psa'gh, the number of goblinoids under his command grew even larger. His horde was soon defeated by the people of Soderfjord, however, and Thar's current whereabouts are unknown. Born: AC 954. Hair: Black. Eyes: Brown. Height: 6'3". Appearance: A large, powerful orc with sharp tusks, coppery skin, and mesmerizing eyes. Even his speech is mesmerizing. Combat Notes: AL NE; AC 0 (bracers of defense AC 0); MV 12; orc male F18; hp 99; THAC0 3; #AT 5/2; Dmg 2d4+4 (bastard sword +1, flames on command, used two-handed); S17 D14 C16 I13 W11 Ch18; ML 18; Weapon Specialization: bastard sword (two-handed). Magical Items: Bastard sword +1, ring of regeneration, bracers of defense AC 0, drums of panic, horn of blasting. Timok "Burning Heart" of the Tiger Clan: Timok is a warrior from the Atruaghin clans who has taken on a personal quest to collect as many scalps as he can. He ventures out into the plains of Darokin, where he either kills people and scalps them on the spot, or brings them back to his lands where they are sacrificed to Atzanteotl. The Council of Darokin is offering a 50,000 Daros reward for his capture (dead or alive). Born: Unknown (apparent age: late 20s). Hair: Black, worn long and tied back. Eyes: brown. Height: 5'8". Appearance: Timok has a long scar on his face which he suffered during a Daraxi game. The man never smiles. He also wears various "jewelry" of stones and shells. Combat Notes: AL CE; AC 7 (leather and Dexterity bonus); MV 12; human male F6; hp 68; THAC0 15; #AT 2/3; Dmg 1d4+4 (tomahawk +1, ST bonus, specialization); S16 D15 C18 I12 W11 Ch10; ML 15; Weapon Specialization: tomahawk. Magical Items: Tomahawk +1. Narcantina Zelamir: This sorceress is known to have used her position as a student at the Great School of Magic in Glantri to gain access to various dangerous magical items, which she stole and put for sale on the black market. The Great School of Magic is offering a 250,000 Ducats for her capture, dead or alive. Born: AC 935 (apparent age: 35). Hair: Red, worn long down to waist level. Eyes: Brown. Height: 5'7". Appearance: Narcantina appears petite and harmless, which often gains the trust of others. She tends to wear clothing which accentuates her good looks, which is also helpful for duping the males. Combat Notes: AL CE; AC 2 (bracers of defense AC 2); MV 12; human female M(ev)15; hp 26; THAC0 16; #AT 1; Dmg 1d6+2 (staff of power) or by spell; S9 D13 C10 I18 W13 Ch17; ML 12 Magical Items: Bracers AC 2, staff of power, wand of fire, ring of spell storing. Various unknown items stolen from the Great School of Magic. ------------------------------ End of mystara-digest V2 #21 **************************** Date: Mon, 24 Mar 1997 13:07:01 -0600 From: (mystara-digest) To: mystara-digest@lists.io.com Subject: mystara-digest V2 #22 Reply-To: mystara-l@lists.io.com Precedence: bulk X-UIDL: 76a8e385a3e0a3c75e10ccdba42178ff mystara-digest Monday, March 24 1997 Volume 02 : Number 022 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 24 Mar 1997 20:00:31 +0100 From: Fabrizio Paoli Subject: [Mystara] AC 1014 Almanac Part 7 ATLAS OF THE SAVAGE COAST - ------------------------- Welcome to the first ever written reports about the Savage Coast here in the Known World of Mystara. The Savage Coast is located approximately 2,000 miles West of the Known World, past the Great Wastes and even the Serpent Peninsula. The Savage Coast itself stretches for almost 2,000 miles as well, filled with terrain and landscape as varied as back here in our own homeland. For those of you who remember the Poor Wizard's Almanacs, you are sure to recognize Prospero's style of describing the nations he has visited. No nonsense is given, just an accurate description, which saves both time (to read) and space (to write). What he have here is only a brief introduction to the Savage Coast, but this is only the beginning. You, the reader, can expect the quantity of information to increase as our connections to the Savage Coast improve. I can guarantee you that they will. So without wasting any more time, let us show you the exact messages received from Rikard Prospero, our correspondent in the frontiers of the Savage Coast. D.S. ACQUIRING A CURSE by: Rikard Prospero [Ed. Note: Only the parts of his article dealing specifically with the Red Curse have been included. The rest was deleted for brevity.] Nuwmont 13, AC 1014 The LB Trading Company's ship had put into port at Smokestone City, finally dropping me off at the Savage Coast. The captain had warned me to be careful what I do, as insulting the wrong person will likely get me dead, shot from a Smithy and Westron wheellock pistol. Also, I was warned to visit the local priests regularly to ward off the Red Curse. I decided to instead let this dreaded Red Curse affect me, curious as to what might happen. I asked around, discovering that the Curse used to be isolated in various remote locations throughout the Savage Baronies. During the dreaded week without magic back in AC 1009, which caused the destruction of Sundsvall, the capital of the former Empire of Alphatia, the Red Curse was let loose and expanded to cover the entire Savage Coast. No one seems to know the cause or how to remove this strange curse which changes those it affects. Nuwmont 24, AC 1014 It seems that the first indications of the manifestations of the Red Curse are upon me. The tip of my fingernails have turned red, and my hair is more of a blondish-red now. From what I have managed to learn, this is where the beneficial side of the Red Curse will start to take effect. It will give you a strange and magical power called a Legacy, apparently related to your soul and fate, or so claim the priests, anyways. I have also learned that I do not need to depend on the clerics to keep me safe. A strange mineral called cinnabryl can also keep the negative effects of the curse at bay. The advantage of cinnabryl over the priests is that it will not prevent me from using my Legacy, but the disadvantage is that if I ever run out, I will supposedly suffer from the "Time of Change." Nuwmont 27, AC 1014 I can feel the power in my hands! I am not sure what it is, but it is something very useful. My fingers tingle with the energy they are now storing, which I will be able to release at will according to my Legacy. I am now within what the local sages call the "Time of Grace." This period lasts about a week, in which I will believe I am now a super-human, undefeatable because of my powers. They claim it is but an illusion, a negative effect of the Red Curse. I tend to believe them, seeing how at the moment, I feel powerful, yet I still cannot do anything. My skin is darker than its usual light olive color. I believe it has been tinted slightly red, but not enough to be visible on itself, just the darkening of the usual color. Vatermont 1, AC 1014 My Legacy has finally shown itself, although it required a life and death situation to activate. I had done something - what exactly, I am not yet sure - to offend a gaucho at the Red Steel Saloon, and was forced to a duel. Although handed a wheellock pistol by the man, I hadn't a clue how to use it. Just before the battle started, my clothing ripped as quills sprouted all over my body. I must have looked like a giant humanoid- shaped porcupine. Even more to my surprise, several of the quills shot out, striking my opponent. I was then arrested for cheating in a duel, but was later released when they discovered I had no idea what I was doing and that the gaucho himself was already wanted by the local authorities. The authorities urged me to find some cinnabryl before the "Time of Loss" started. I listened to them, but refused to wear it, deciding to see and experience for myself what this big fear is all about. Vatermont 3, AC 1014 I have now mastered my Legacy. I can summon it when I need, but I seem to only have the energy to call it at most three times before needing to rest and recuperate. My skin is now a reddish-olive color, while my hair is almost completely red. The only real big, and usual sight, would be my completely red fingernails. According to my local contacts, the "Time of Loss" should be starting to affect me now. The funny thing is I have yet to notice anything. Vatermont 5, AC 1014 This is ridiculous! I have just bought a useless piece of land, in an area I have no intention to travel to, simply on the words of a merchant. I have also noticed other such activities, such as my inability to stop drinking when I want, gambling away all my money, or to make decisions and stick to them. How naive I have been! All the while, I have been looking for a physical effect during the "Time of Loss," unable to believe that the Red Curse could possibly affect my mind. It seems that this porcupine-missile shooting Legacy is sapping the energy from my willpower. I have decided to still not use the cinnabryl. Now that I am aware of its detrimental effect, I believe I can be more careful with what I do. Vatermont 7, AC 1014 The pain is unbelievable. I have started to grow quills throughout my body. Unlike when I used my Legacy, these quills are permanent. Not only that, they pierce my skin as they grow through. Often, I will find that I am bleeding or just fall over in pain. I have started what is called the "Time of Change," and I can no longer take the pain. As of now, my cinnabryl talisman shall not leave my person. Vatermont 11, AC 1014 It took an excruciating four days for the quills to disappear and for my body to return to normal. The reddish coloring is still present, however. During those four days, I was bed-ridden in my room in the Red Steel Saloon. From what I heard, I was lucky. Had I waited any longer, the changes might have been permanent, and I would have become one of the Afflicted. As of now, I am one of the Tainted. I am forced to wear cinnabryl for the rest of my life or suffer even more than during my first "Time of Change." I have also been told to never leave the Cursed Lands or the bordering Haze, as the effects of the curse being purged out of the body are unpredictable and often fatal. This time, I think I will heed their words. Vatermont 26, AC 1014 I have since learned, through research and careful questioning, that everyone of the age of maturity eventually acquires the Red Curse if they enter the cursed area for more than a week. A border area known as the Haze is sort of a neutral zone where those with and without the red curse can mix freely, without suffering any side effects. Most Legacies have a name of some sort, although mine is unknown by the people here. They recommend I find an Inheritor, those who master the Legacies and somehow manage to acquire several of them, who can explain more. Perhaps I shall, as I would like to learn more of this mysterious curse. For those who read this, if you travel to the Savage Coast, listen to the natives, and find a priest or cinnabryl as soon as you arrive. The process of change and transformation is painful beyond belief and I do not wish it upon anyone. ALMARR N (Estado de) Location: Savage Coast, southeastern reaches, along the Gulf of Hule. Area: 6,450 sq. mi. Population: 7,000, including 4,200 in the capital Ciudad Tejillas). Languages: Espan (dialect of Thyatian Common). Coinage: centa (cp), dies (sp), oro (gp). Taxes: 15% income tax. Government Type: Independent barony part of the Treaty of Tampico and the Signatory Council. Industries: Mining (silver), coffee, tobacco, furniture, clothing, jewelry. Important Figures: Baron Maximilio de Almarr˘n y Escudor (human, male, F?), Don Esteban "El Salvador" (exiled dictator) (human, male, F?). Flora and Fauna: Standard for its climate. Dangerous monsters include gnoll raiders from El Grande Carrascal. Normal animals with Legacicies can also be very dangerous. Description: by Rikard Prospero The western half of Almarr˘n's territory is a rocky, inhospitable hill country. If it wasn't for the presence of the large silver mines at Sierra del Plata, the land would be almost useless. A large, fertile plain occupies the heart of the nation. This is where the majority of the population lives, in three main villages (Costella, Paso Dorado, and Ciudad Tejillas) and several scattered homesteads. Forested slopes and cliffs guard Almarr˘n's shores, protecting the nation from pirates and sea raiders. The people of Almarr˘n have gone through so many forms of government that they no longer care about politics and would rather be left alone and leave running the nation to the Baron. So far, the current Baron seems to have won their respect and has slowly begone to enlighten his nation into a cultural center. Also, the continuous wars and revolts have left most families relatively poor. Luckily, Baron Maximilio provides priests and cinnabryl for those who cannot afford it. CIMARRON COUNTY Location: Savage Coast, southeastern reaches, along the Gulf of Hule. Area: 7,984 sq. mi. Population: 18,000, including 11,500 in capital Smokestone City. Languages: Thyatian (Common). Coinage: centa (cp), dies (sp), medio (ep), oro (gp). Taxes: 15% income tax, 10% sales tax in taverns, 10% inheritance tax (including earnings made gambling). Government Type: Independent county part of the Treaty of Tampico and the Signatory Council. Industries: Mining (cinnabryl), production of smokepowder and wheellocks, ale, saloons, gambling. Important Figures: Sir John of the Wain, Duke of Cimarron (human, male, Pa?). Flora and Fauna: Standard for its climate. Dangerous monsters include goblin and gnoll hordes found scattered throughout the Bushwack Prairie and El Grande Carrascal. Normal animals with Legacicies can also be very dangerous. Description: by Rikard Prospero Cimarron is mostly dry grasslands and farmland with the occasional forest and hilly area. The soil is not very fertile, and compared to the other baronies, could almost be considered a desert. The fauna that does manage to survive are stunted compared to most other plants. Cimarron is well known for its rowdy gauchos and the fact that almost everyone carries a wheellock pistol. The inhabitants are fiercely independent and prefer to let everyone to take care of themselves and not get involved in other people's business. Smokestone City is known for its saloons and gambling halls, as well as the rowdy crowds such establishments attract. The most popular establishment of that sort is the Red Steel Saloon; people claim that at least one showdown (duel with wheellocks) occurs in front of the saloon every day. GARGOĄA (Baronia de) Location: Savage Coast, eastern reaches, along the Gulf of Hule. Area: 7,468 sq. mi. Population: 14,000, including 11,700 in the capital Ciudad Real. Languages: Espan (dialect of Thyatian Common). Coinage: centa (cp), dies (sp), oro (gp), real (pp). Taxes: 20% income tax, 5% sales tax. Government Type: Independent barony part of the Treaty of Tampico and the Signatory Council. Industries: Arts (music, poems, paintings, sculptures), diplomats and political advisers. Important Figures: Baronesa Esperanza "La Ilustre" de Sotto y Rivera (human, female, T?). Flora and Fauna: Standard for its climate. Dangerous monsters include gnoll raiders from El Grande Carrascal, and various monsters infesting the Delta de Pozaverde swamp. Normal animals with Legacicies can also be very dangerous. Description: by Rikard Prospero Gargo¤a is primarily farmland along the Rio Copos and Rio Guadiana. Once away from the waterways, dense forests cover the rest of the land. The Delta de Pozaverde, a large swamp, marks where the Rio Copos reaches the sea. The shallow waters of this swamp help protect the nation from ocean-borne threats. Skiffs powered by oar ply the waterways of the delta, ferrying commerce to and from seagoing ships, allowing access to the lucrative sea trade. Gargo¤a is recognized as the center of culture in the Savage Baronies, a fact affirmed by the location of the only university of the coast within its borders. In fact, admission to the university is free in return for a promise of future tithes to the nation of Gargo¤a for the rest of their working life. Since the state is generally viewed as politically neutral, its scholars and graduates are found throughout most of the nations of the Savage Coast as advisers or teachers. The inhabitants of Gargo¤a are dreamers who enjoy their reputations as scholars and artists. They are generally optimistic, but are also known for giving into fits of melancholy. They are very tolerant and acknowledge all races as equals, including lizard kin and peaceful goblinoids, despite having a human majority for its population. Because of the education present in the land, the Gargo¤ans are aware of the Red Curse and its effects, realizing that those affected are not evil or different in any way. Those Afflicted remain with their family and friends, who usually try to raise enough money to seek a cure. In fact, Gargo¤a is the leader in terms of research into the Red Curse and a way to stop it. TIMELINE FOR THE SAVAGE COAST, AC 1010-1013 What follows is a brief recap of what has happened in the past five years along the Savage Coast. Because of the lack of proper libraries and references, Rikard Prospero has been unable to get exact dates for most of the events, so what is presented is at the best guest to their happening. Also, this is by no means a complete list of all activities, or even a guarantee that the events listed took place. In fact, the farther away from the Savage Baronies, the less accurate the information is guaranteed to be. Still, as mentioned, we are only now beginning to explore this Savage Coast, and expect to have better information in our next Almanac. Winter AC 1010 The people of the Savage Coast adapt to the Red Curse, which has spread from the Baronies to cover the entire Savage Coast down to Herath. Winter AC 1010 Don Luis de Manzanas celebrates the completion of his new castle. The celebration is interrupted by the attack of an Inheritor named Balazar, whom Don Luis manages to defeat. Balazar loses his cinnabryl and becomes an afflicted. Balazar escapes. Spring AC 1010 Balazar manages to unite various tribes of goblinoids (Gosluk, Kuttai, and Dankut) and leads them to attack Don Luis. Meanwhile, Don Luis retrieves the Bracers of Forbiddance, another part of the Ixion Mannequin like the Barrier Mask. With the help of these two artifacts and some adventurers, he manages to defeat the invading Balazar and forces the goblinoids to retreat. Summer AC 1010 The goblins of the Bushwack Prairies make raids into the lands of Cimarron, destroying many homesteads. They are soon routed by the armies of Cimarron, however, and forced back into their own territories. Late Summer AC 1010 Miners in the silver mines of Almarr˘n discover what they believe to be the Mannequin of Ixion. The object is quickly sent to the sage Mazrooth al Yedom so he can study it. Don Esteban uses the commotion to plot and try to retake Almarr˘n. Don Esteban is stopped by Mazrooth and the honorbound Costa. They also discover that the black statue was not the Mannequin of Ixion but rather a vessel holding a fierce creature known as a crimson death. They defeat the creature. Rumors claim that a gnoll was also involved, helping Mazrooth and Costa. (See novel: The Black Vessel) Fall AC 1010 A cult of Pflarr springs up in Renardy. The local lupin priests complain to King Louis IV as Pflarr is not one of the Date: Mon, 24 Mar 1997 13:07:01 -0600 From: (mystara-digest) To: mystara-digest@lists.io.com Subject: mystara-digest V2 #22 Reply-To: mystara-l@lists.io.com Precedence: bulk X-UIDL: 76a8e385a3e0a3c75e10ccdba42178ff accepted Saimpt of their Pantheon. Dissent grows among the populace. Fall AC 1010 The population of the Savage Coast is forced to deal with their first Day of Dread, where magic fails (as of midnight Glantri time!). This is approximately 9pm on the 27th to 9pm on the 28th of Kaldmont for the Savage Baronies. Decrease time by 1 hour for every 800 miles (approximately..those wishing to be accurate, it's 15 degrees of longitude) to the west of the Savage Baronies for the rest of the Savage Coast. Winter AC 1011 A horde of goblins invades the nation of Herath, who still has not managed to repair their magical defensive web which was brought down during the week without magic. The goblins manage to cause much damage before the Herathians chase them away. Spring AC 1011 The Knights of Ixion, a small group of honorbounds and defenders of Narvaez dedicated to Ixion, sneak into Sarag˘n and attempt to steal the Mask of Ixion and the Bracers of Forbiddance from Don Luis. They believe such artifacts should be in the hands of the church of Ixion of Narvaez. The Knights are defeated and the artifacts retrieved by Don Luis and adventurers who happened to be in the area. Summer AC 1011 Vilaverde builds an outpost in the Haze area on the Serpent Peninsula (about halfway between Kladanovic and the borders of Yavdlom). From there, they intend to raise a fleet of non- tainted (red-cursed) sailors who can explore away from the Savage Coast. Such plans, which were in motion since AC 1000, have been put on hold because those infected with the Red Curse (which became widespread at the end of AC 1009) have a hard time leaving the cursed area. The nobles of Vilaverde therefore wish to produce a non-cursed population to expand their territory... perhaps on the southern continent. The outpost is called Porto Liberto. Rumors abound that the purpose of the outpost is to maintain contact with a secret colony already on Davania. This colony was placed in the year 1006 along a huge Adakkian Rift/bay on Davania's north-western coast, and contact was lost in AC 1009 when the red curse spread over the baronies (and the Savage Coast), preventing easy access in/out of the Savage Baronies. Being in the Haze area, Porto Liberto is the perfect neutral ground for the colonists to keep in touch with their nation. NOTE TO DMS: the map in the Red Steel box set has an error with the location of the borders of Yavdlom. The real borders are about 200 miles south of Kladanovic, as depicted in the Champions of Mystara Box set and the Poor Wizard's Almanac II. It is not 20 miles south of Slagovich as in the Red Steel box set map. Fall AC 1011 An army of manscorpions lays siege to Um-Shedu, attempting to reclaim the city from the enduks and ee'aar. They fail, and the winged elves and minotaurs manage to keep the stronghold. Winter AC 1012 Rumors spread that Doomrider, the Inheritor lich, is somewhere along the northern border of Torre˘n. Adventurers, after a brief clash with minor undead, discover that Doomrider is somehow responsible for the disappearance of Elegidos back in AC 970. The entire barony and population had vanished without a trace. The exact method is still unknown. Doomrider is not encountered by the adventurers searching the area. Spring AC 1012 Increasing Huptai goblinoid activity destroys most caravans travelling the overland trade route between Torre˘n and Renardy. Torre˘n begins sending mercenaries out into the plains, which annoys the Kuttai goblinoids as well, inciting them to also attack. Spring AC 1012 After much pressure is applied by the priesthood, King Louis IV of Renardy implements a new law banning the religion of Pflarr. Instead of imprisoning or executing those who worship Pflarr, the King has them exiled from Renardy. So as to not cause too much trouble or a revolt in his own nation, the exiles are brought out of the nation through the nation of Bellayne (with permission of their Queen) and the Blythe River. The exiles are dropped off in the Bay of Tears, north of the Kingdom of Nimmur. There, they begin to create a "Cajun" culture in the Grey Swamps and hills. Summer AC 1012 Mt. Utt in the Tortle Tribeland (south of Renardy) has a minor eruption, coughing up dust and ashes. The native tortles begin to fear the possibility that it will explode in a full eruption soon enough. Many leave the region, taking the ash clouds as a bad omen. Summer AC 1012 Hule invades and conquers the city-state of Nova Svoga. Regent Stefan Karvich manages to escape with the 7 year old Anya, the heir to the city-state, and hides within the valleys of the Black Mountains. Summer AC 1012 King Edwix II, after his 12th year of continuous rulership (since AC 1000, as noted in the Adventures of the Princess Ark), leaves on a quest dictated by the Druids. The exact nature of the quest is unknown, but it is rumored to involved the Land of Cassivellonis and the orcs that inhabit it. At the end of the summer, the King returns thriumphant and reclaims his throne for another twelve years. Fall AC 1012 A Signatory Council meeting of the Savage Baronies and Hule discusses Hule's invasion of Nova Svoga and the future plans of Hule. The Hulean representative insists that the attacks will end there. Despite his assurances, the baronies keep on the lookout for an invasion by Hule. Winter AC 1013 The Herathians manage to replace their magical web of defense around their nation. They now begin preparations to save it from the next Day of Dread, fearing it will destroy everything they have worked so hard on. Spring AC 1013 The Huptai goblins (and hobgoblins), who have managed to somehow find an immunity to the amber lotuses in the Plain of Dreams (whose pollen puts people to sleep), have now found a way to help them spread. Their shamans and witch-doctors start using their magic to move the plants southeastwards into the lands claimed by Eusdria. Spring AC 1013 A group of beast-riding lupins hiding in the northern steppes to avoid the persecution they receive for worshipping Pflarr encounter a group of defenders of Belbion (rakastan immortal). The groups come to blows as the lupins believe that the rakastans are helping King Louis IV exile them from their homeland (which they are to a certain extent). The small party of rakastans are forced to flee. The Templars of Belbion, as they call themselves, vow vengeance against the lupins for this dishonor. Summer AC 1013 The amber lotuses have managed to gain a foothold as far south as the village of Ersel and the ruins of Morgald in Eusdria. The places are evacuated as the goblins move in and take over. The Eusdrian King sends in his armies, but they are unable to do much against the special properties of the flowers' pollen. The goblins hold on to their new territory. Summer AC 1013 Narvaez begins to import as much smokepowder as it can, storing it up for its armies. The rest of the Savage Baronies believe it is the first sign of an impending attack. They decide to place sanctions on Narvaez, forbiding anyone to sell them smokepowder. Black market smokepowder makes a huge profit for smugglers and thieves in Narvaez. Fall AC 1013 Margrave Galben Zvornik, ruler of the City-State of Zvornik, dies of old age. His son, Derdren Zvornik, becomes the new Margrave. Fall AC 1013 As feared, the Day of Dread destroys the Herathian magical web of defense. The Herathians begin the process of re-establishing it. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 24 Mar 1997 20:00:57 +0100 From: Fabrizio Paoli Subject: [Mystara] AC 1014 Almanac Part 10 ELIGIBLE BACHELORS AND HEIRESSES Joam Astlar, Sheriff of Seashire: Joam was appointed Sheriff of Seashire in AC 1012. Before that, he was a knight-hero of the Five Shires, rushing into danger to save those who needed help. Joam has amazing courtly manners and is wonderfully skilled at singing, dancing, and party games. Friends say that Joam is looking for a woman who is not cut up in the "time-frittering clack of the small-minded" of politics, and would rather have someone who is more interested in riding, travelling, and enjoying life. Luciana Carnelius, Thyatian Senator: Luciana, a lovely woman in her mid-thirties, has decided that it is time to start her own family. She is known throughout Thyatis City for her many works to improve the lot of the poor citizen and prevent the rich from controlling their lives. Anyone interested should be a good diplomat, care for the downtrodden, and also be good in financial planning. Such a male must also be able to conduct himself in high-classed gatherings and social events. A love of children and the desire to have them is also a requirement. LaVeron Chonere, Master of Illusions at the Great School of Magic: LaVeron is a bright and intelligent sorceress who enjoys jokes and illusions. Her exact appearance is unknown, as it tends to change week to week. Any suitor should be a capable mage in his own right, and must be very good at playing mind games. The love of research is recommended, and the ability to survive the politics of Glantri is also a must. King Everast XVI, King of Rockhome: Born Bofin, son of Bifin, Everast XVI inherited the throne of Rockhome when his father died during the Challenge of the Kings in AC 1012. Bofin is a somber dwarf who grew up in a military life. To find her way into the King's heart, this female dwarf must be intelligent, courageous, always there when he needs her, and patient enough to be his friend for years in the absence of any sort of encouragement, as is the typical dwarven way. Valen Karameikos, Prince of Karameikos: Prince Valen is a clever young man who even managed to lose his parents' agents during his Shearing ceremony. Valen loves new toys, particularly beautiful or magical ones. Now that he knows he is not the named heir to the throne, Valen often talks of leaving the court life altogether to continue adventuring. The perfect young woman for Valen must be someone who can continuously surprise him with something new. She must also be strong and intelligent, with a wit capable of matching his. If she is capable of following the young Prince on his adventures, all the better. Devan Linton, Darokinian merchant: Devan Linton is next in line to inherit the Linton House of Darokin, one of the great merchant houses of Darokin. Devan Linton is personally in charge of his own trade ship, which he often uses to travel abroad in the Sea of Dread and the New Alphatian Sea. Devan's ideal mate must love the sea as much as he does, and also have a shrewd mind for business and trade. She must also be able to accept the responsibility of managing House Linton when the title of house ruler is finally passed down to Devan. Anita Nantais, LB Trading Company merchant: Anita is one of the high placed merchants of the LB Trading Company based in Cimarron County on the Savage Coast. She is only in her early twenties, which marks her as extraordinary for such a successful merchant. This lovely woman is looking for a roguish swashbuckler with a sense of adventure as well as a knack for business. He must be at home on a ship, and not afraid of dealing with members of other races. MYSTARAN MISCELLANEA - -------------------- THE MYSTARAN YEAR Most Mystaran calendars consist of twelve months of 28 days each. These months are divided into 4 weeks of 7 days. Each day of the week has a name, but the weeks themselves do not. Month (example: Nuwmont) Days Date Lunadain 1 NM 8 FQ 15 FM 22 LQ Gromdain 2 9 16 23 Tserdain 3 10 17 24 Moldain 4 11 18 25 Nytdain 5 12 19 26 Loshdain 6 13 20 27 Soladain 7 14 21 28 NM= New Moon; FQ= First Quarter; FM= Full Moon; LQ= Last Quarter Most nations have adopted the Thyatian calendar which is dated from the crowning of their first Emperor, Zendrolion I Tatriokanitas. It is currently the year After Crowning 1015. The name of the months and days depends on the nation. A few examples for the months follow: Months of the Year nation: Thyatis Five Shires Ethengar Rockhome SEASON midwinter Nuwmont* Clabbas* Amai Wharlin late winter Vatermont Vuuldiir Hiskmai Morlin early spring Thaumont Maehin Yalmai Hralin* middle spring Flaurmont Odelin Haimai Hwyrlin late spring Yarthmont Gondulrim Kevamai Styrlin early summer Klarmont Mithintle Seimai Bahrlin midsummer Felmont Goldaun Lingmai Buhrlin late summer Fyrmont Fyrtal Tringmai Klintin early fall Ambyrmont Aumbyr Demai Birrlin middle fall Sviftmont Ssantiir Chagai* Biflin late fall Eirmont Tembiit Rinpoch Jhyrlin early winter Kaldmont Dauntil Komai Kuldlin *: marks the first day of the year. MYSTARAN HOROSCOPE Many Mystaran cultures practice a form of astrology in which every month of the year corresponds to an animal or monster totem (a star sign). Children born under one of the totem signs are expected to acquire personality traits appropriate to that sign. These traits are governed by the child's Ascendence and Influence. Date of Birth Month Star Sign Traits 1 Nuwmont Manticore Cunning, ardent, brave 2 Vatermont Hydra Shrewd, self-centered, resourceful 3 Thaumont Centaur Vigorous, strong, generous 4 Flaurmont Basilisk Robust, passionate, domineering 5 Yarthmont Chimera Confident, charismatic, possessive 6 Klarmont Gorgon Reserved, private, studious 7 Felmont Griffon Warm, practical, steadfast 8 Fyrmont Dragon Ambitious, cold, independent 9 Ambyrmont Salamander Calm, practical, miserly 10 Sviftmont Pegasus Enterprising, flighty, imaginative 11 Eirmont Warrior Astute, efficient, courageous 12 Kaldmont Giant Selfish, strong, stubborn Week Ascendency Traits 1st Sun Proud, authoritarian, predictable; leans toward Lawful alignment 2nd Land Earthly, steady, rational; leans toward Neutral alignment 3rd Sea Creative, mercurial, unpredictable; leans toward Chaotic alignment 4th Sky Philosophical, versatile, tempestuous; no particular alignment tendency Time of Day Influence Traits Sun is up Winds of Law Fortifies lawful temperaments; sways neutral disposition toward good; curbs chaotic personalities Moon is up Winds of Chaos Undermines lawful tendencies; sways neutral disposition toward chaos; intensifies chaotic behavior Both are up Winds of Wisdom Tempers all dispositions with prudence, caution, common sense Neither are up none Bodes either great luck or hardship for the child Horoscope for AC 1014 Manticore: The Warrior Star in the House of the Manticore indicates bravery and efficiency are needed to overcome your problems during the year. This may be the best year to take chances for those goals you always dream about. Still, these risks will not be without obstacles or dangers, so be cunning and careful as well. Auspicious Days: Flaurmont 3, Klarmont 6, Klarmont 24. Inauspicious Days: Nuwmont 4, Nuwmont 5, Felmont 14. Hydra: The Hydra Star in the House of the Hydra indicates that this is your year. This year, especially during the summer months, you will get everything you deserved and have worked so hard for. Be on the lookout for opportunities for advancement, as there will be plenty if you look in the right place. Auspicious Days: Felmont 15, Fyrmont 24, Ambyrmont 3. Inauspicious Days: Nuwmont 7, Vatermont 12, Kaldmont 22. Centaur: The Gorgon Star in the middle of the Centaur House shows that this year is the time to calm down and relax. Be careful of those who ask for help, as you will become overburdenned with too much to do. This is the year for you to do some soul searching and discover just what it is exactly you want to do. Auspicious Days: Yarthmont 15, Ambyrmont 10, Ambyrmont 12. Inauspicious Days: Vatermont 19, Felmont 10, Felmont 25. Basilisk: The Manticore Star in the House of the Basilisk indicates an increase in wealth and fame. This is your chance to leap into the spotlight and be talked about by bards throughout the land. Be careful who you step on however, as enemies made Date: Mon, 24 Mar 1997 13:07:01 -0600 From: (mystara-digest) To: mystara-digest@lists.io.com Subject: mystara-digest V2 #22 Reply-To: mystara-l@lists.io.com Precedence: bulk X-UIDL: 76a8e385a3e0a3c75e10ccdba42178ff are likely to last for your entire life. The month of Yarthmont promises romance. Auspicious Days: Vatermont 16, Yarthmont 13, Eirmont 25. Inauspicious Days: Vatermont 17, Flaurmont 1, Sviftmont 12. Chimera: The Pegasus Star in the House of the Chimera means that there will be much travelling during the year, either for business or pleasure. Klarmont, when Matera eclipses the Pegasus Star, is a dangerous month, and any journey made during that period might be your last. Also beware any place that seems too good to live in; it most likely is. Auspicious Days: Flaurmont 12, Ambyrmont 1, Ambyrmont 2. Inauspicious Days: Klarmont 5, Klarmont 7, Klarmont 8. Gorgon: The Centaur Star in the House of the Gorgon means that it is time to let out all the feelings that you've been holding inside. Revealing what you think of someone might be the spark you needed for romance to bloom. Be sure to stand on solid ground in matters of importance to you, however, as revealing too much will expose you to those who will try to take advantage of you. Auspicious Days: Thaumont 2, Thaumont 3, Kalmont 14. Inauspicious Days: Nuwmont 4, Fyrmont 7, Fyrmont 8. Griffon: The Basilisk Star in the House of the Griffon indicates that there will be many tests to your character and your morals. You will have to be strong to stand up for what you believe in and let no one else dictate how to live your life. Autumn should bring a welcome respite from financial troubles. Auspicious Days: Vatermont 16, Thaumont 13, Ambyrmont 28. Inauspicious Days: Vatermont 17, Vatermont 18, Kaldmont 1. Dragon: The Giant Star in the House of the Dragon means that this is the year you achieve your dreams. However, the price for them may be dear; be careful who you ignore or offend, as your ambitions and independent streak will likely cost you good friends. In Kaldmont, look for unexpected news involving a family member. Auspicious Days: Felmont 6, Klarmont 25, Sviftmont 3. Inauspicious Days: Nuwmont 7, Vatermont 9, Felmont 11. Salamander: The Chimera Star in the House of the Salamander will only increase your miserliness and greed. You will find you will go out of your way to acquire things that you might want. Luckily, you'll be able to convince others to help you out as your usual calmness will tell them you are right. Sviftmont is the best time to heal old wounds between you and your friends. Auspicious Days: Vatermont 20, Thaumont 10, Sviftmont 13. Inauspicious Days: Felmont 3, Felmont 4, Eirmont 28. Pegasus: The Griffon Star in the House of the Pegasus means that it is time to get your head out of the clouds and come back down to earth for a bit. The goals you may have are probably too far out of reach, and to continue to try for them could spell disaster. Also, be on the lookout for someone special whom you've failed to notice for the past year. Auspicious Days: Yarthmont 3, Klarmont 3, Eirmont 27. Inauspicious Days: Nuwmont 1, Klarmont 6, Kaldmont 12. Warrior: The Griffon Star in the House of the Warrior indicates that a great battle is going to arrive, where if you don't stand your ground, you are liable to lose everything dear to you. Expect a friend to be in trouble sometime at the beginning of the year. Auspicious Days: Flaurmont 23, Flaurmont 24, Ambyrmont 1. Inauspicious Days: Nuwmont 28, Vatermont 28, Thaumont 28. Giant: The Salamander Star in the House of the Giant shows an increase to your selfish side. On the good note, it also indicates a decrease in your tempers and stubborness, as you will take a more practical look at things. You will face a test sometime during the summer, and if you accomplish it fast enough, you will receive a great reward. Auspicious Days: Klarmont 23, Felmont 17, Eirmont 12. Inauspicious Days: Thaumont 17, Flaurmont 21, Felmont 16. ECONOMICA Currency Exchange Fees Most nations add 5% surcharge to the regular fees for exchanging gems and treasures. Currency Fee Almarr˘n No fee Alphatia (a) 5% Atruaghin No fee Cimarron No fee Darokin 5% Ethengar No fee Five Shires 5% Gargo¤a 5% Glantri (a) 10% Heldann Freeholds No fee Hule 15% Ierendi (a) 10% Karameikos (a) 10% Minrothad 5% Ochalea (a) 10% Ostland 15% Rockhome (b) 10% Sind 15% Soderfjord No fee Thyatis 10% Vestland (a) 10% Wendar 10% Yavdlom 5% Ylaruam 15% (a): For gems and treasures, drop the usual 5% surcharge but double the exchange fee. (b): 5% exchange fee maximum on gems and treasure. Gems are duty free (no import/export tax). Major Imports/Exports [The following uses a system introduced in GAZ 9: Minrothad Guilds and GAZ 11: Republic of Darokin. For those without the rules, assume a simple +/- 1 equal to +/- 10% to the price of the item. The better the city class (A is better than B), the better the chances to find/buy or sell items. These tables are not identical to those in the GAZ. Main changes include prices of grain (ie: increased in Darokin due to all the disasters) and prices of weapons (cost more where there are wars going on). ED] Here is how the various cities of the world stood for the prices of various items in the year AC 1014. A negative price adjustment means export, a positive price adjustment means import. City; Nation Class Modifiers to Price Adjustment Akesoli; Darokin D Fish -1, Porcelain -1, Tea -2; Grain +1, Salt +4, Silk +3, Spices +2 Akorros; Darokin C Fish -3, Hides -1, Meat -2; Cloth +2, Grain +1, Semiprecious Stones +2, Wine +2 Alpha; Alpha (NACE) C Grain/Vegetables -3, Meat -3; Armor +2, Ivory +6, Coffee +5, Weapons +2, Wine +5 Athenos; Darokin D Gems -2, Glassware -3, Ivory -3, Meat -2; Animals +1, Monsters +2, Precious Woods +2, Porcelain +3 Atruaghin; Atruaghin E Coffee -3, Mounts -3, Tobacco -4, Textiles -2; Beer +3, Semiprecious Stones +4 Azurun; Hule C Grain -3, Cloth -2, Gems -2, Glasswork -1; Red Steel +3, Common Metals +2, Fish +2, Salt +2, Spices +2, Silk +1, Dye +1, Tobacco +1 Beitung; Ochalea C Silk -4, Grain -2; Wood +1, Rare Books +2, Art +2 Biazzan; Thyatis D Silk -2, Spices -2, Tea -2; Animals +2, Ivory +2, Rare Books +3 Castellan; Soderfjord E Common Metals -4, Dyes -2, Semiprecious Stones -3; Armor +3, Fish +2, Weapons +4 Ciudad Real; Gargo¤a D Art -2, Musical Instruments -1, Grain -1; Cinnabryl +2, Rare Books +3 Ciudad Tejillas; Alma. D Silver -3, Cloth -2, Tobacco -1, Coffee -2, Furniture -1; Cinnabryl +2, Red Steel +1, Rare Books +1 Corunglain; Darokin B Gems -2, Monsters -2, Semiprecious Stones -2; Grain +1, Hides +2, Pottery +2, Weapons +3 Cubia; Ylaruam E Pottery -3, Dye/Pigments -4, War Horses -3; Grain +3, Meat +3, Hides +3 Darokin; Darokin A Common Metals -2, Common Woods -2, Grain -1, Ivory -2, Textiles -2; Gems +3, Monsters +5, Mounts +2, Precious Metals +4, Weapons +2 Dengar; Rockhome B Armor -4, Gems -4, Weapons -3; Animals +3, Grain +3, Tobacco +4 Dunadale; Thyatis B Porcelain -3, Weapons -2, Monsters -4, Gems -2; Tea +5, Ivory +5, Grain +4, Glassware +3 Ethengar; Ethengar D Hides -3, Mounts -4, Salt -3, Common Metals +4, Common Woods +4, Tea +2 Freiburg; Heldannic D Animals -3, Porcelain -2, Armor +3, Oil +3, Weapons +2 Glantri; Glantri B Monsters -4, Rare Books -3, Pottery -6; Gems +4, Glassware +3, Tobacco +4 Harbortown; Minrothad B Fish -2, Dye -2, Animals -3; Spices +2, Meat +2, Wine +2 Ierendi; Ierendrd here, has helped turned this nation into one of the most educated on the Known World, ranking third behind Glantri and Darokin. Don't Miss There is not much to see specifically in Ochalea, but lots to see in general. The entire architecture of the kingdom is exotic compared to the standard Thyatian structure. The wooden buildings are tiered and sloped-roofed, with a small bamboo fence surrounding them. Stepping stones lead around the houses to a little garden with a few trees and perhaps a shrubbery or two. Their gardens are designed to give a feeling of quiet and peace. The most beautiful of these buildings, are of course the temples and shrines dedicated to Korys. Besides the beauty of the place, Ochalea is, well, rather dull. And that's just how the Ochaleans like it. Of interest to any readers who might also be scholars, it seems that the historians of Ochalea have found some interesting scrolls to debate over the original inhabitants of the island. Up until now, it was believed that Alphatians without any magical talents colonized the island and developed the clerical worshipping culture now present. Recent evidence seems to indicate that the Empire of Alphatia actually used the island to drop off undesireables, including non-mage Alphatians as well as another group of colonists that the Alphatians found on "their" continent. These two groups lived together peacefully, where the Alphatian coppery skin coloration soon dominated over that of the second culture (whatever appearance they had). It would seem that the architecture of the Ochaleans comes from this other mysterious culture, which is apparently a colony from somewhere on the continent of Skotar. Whether these new-found scrolls are accurate or not remains to be seen, and is sure to be the cause for debate for the next decade. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 24 Mar 1997 20:00:04 +0100 From: Fabrizio Paoli Subject: [Mystara] AC 1014 Almanac Part 5 ATLAS OF THE HOLLOW WORLD - ------------------------- We are pleased to introduce to the dear readers a new section of our Mystaran Almanac; the Atlas of the Hollow World. In this chapter, we shall detail the information gathered about the various nations and empires found within the mysterious Hollow World that lies thousands of miles beneath our very feet. Unfortunately, the Hollow World has just been proven real during the past year, and we therefore do not have very much information regarding the area yet. As mentioned in the chapter on correspondents, we will gladly take any information regarding this strange new world. Even now, we are trying to arrange interviews with the various members of the famous Karameikan Polar Expedition. For now, we hope that you, the reader, will be satisfied with the description of the Kingdom of Nithia and the Azcan Empire which we have extracted and pieced together, with permission, from various sections of "Claransa's Travels to the Center of the World." For those of you who are fans of the literature, you will notice that what we have below seems to cannibalize her book. Indeed it does, and we make no apologies for it. The purpose of the Mystaran Almanac is to detail places and events, not Claransa's adventures (a fact that Claransa agrees, and even insists upon). Much of it has been edited out with only the pertinent information regarding Nithia or the Azcans kept. If you would like a real sample of Claransa's writing capabilities or just wish to read about her adventures, her book is available through most book merchants and libraries for the mere price of 10 gold pieces. Just a reminder to the reader, the directions of East and West are reversed within the Hollow World so that they match those of the surface world. This is important when attempting to figure out the locations of the various nations. Also, the information provided by Claransa is from almost a decade ago. The editors do not claim responsibility for any facts that are no longer valid due to the changes that have occurred in the past 10 years. More up to date information will be provided in future Almanacs as we receive it. B.F. AZCAN EMPIRE Location: Hollow World, continent of Iciria, northern hemisphere, western coast. Area: Unknown. Estimated to be between 500,000 and 900,000 sq. mi. Population: Estimated to be approximately 3,000,000. Languages: Oltec (Azcan dialect), Neathar. Coinage: None (barter only). Taxes: Forced military or other duties. Government Type: Theocracy, with the King being a priest of Atzanteotl. Industries: Agriculture (beans, corn, peppers). Important Figures: King/Emperor Azcotica (human, male, Pr12 of Atzanteotl). Flora and Fauna: Dinosaurs, monkeys, swine, snakes (including the azcan feathered viper), and great cats (especially the jaguar). Description: by Claransa the Seer, during her visit in AC 1005. Note that only parts deemed important for you the reader were taken, and sections have been edited, deleted, and even rearranged from their previous order for brevity and/or clarity. If you would like to read more, I recommend purchasing a copy of "Claransa's Travels." "As I travel through the lush jungle, I cannot help but imagine what these people must look like. I have heard many descriptions from the Neathar about the short, dark, burly humans called Azcans, and most of them seem to indicate that they are extremely savage and brutal, even to their own people and the land they live upon. Still, at the moment, my main concern should be to get there alive. Right now, the jungle I am crossing is filled with various large reptiles, most of which could easily kill me by merely stepping upon me." The Land "This is my fourth day in this jungle, and nothing has changed very much. The area seems very flat, without any significant hills or mountain. Luckily, the vine-covered trees do not block the reddish sunlight from the stationary star above, preventing me from getting lost in the underbrush." "It also rains every day or two, making the climate very warm and humid. Fortunately for the Azcans, this allows them to cultivate maize and vegetables from the very poor soils cleared from the jungle by their slash and burn techniques." "The most northern part of the nation reaches far enough in latitude to include temperate forest. Here, the Azcans are fortunate enough to have rich soils and can harvest more than enough for their northern cities to thrive and even export food." "Here in the foothills of the World Four- feathered arrow Odin; Wise rule, living life to the fullest; MF: Darokin, Northern Reaches, Thyatis; S: Man's face flanked by two ravens Ordana; Protection of forests, forest races; MF: Minrothad; S: Oak leaf Petra; Fighting clerics, besieged cities; MF: Karameikos; S: Circular shield with central boss or potter's wheel Protius; Old Man of the Sea, oceans; MF: Thyatis; S: Trident Rad; The Radiance; MF: Glantri; S: Three connected hemispheres forming a triangle Rafiel; Shadow Elves; MF: Aengmor, the City of Stars; S: Book with star on cover Rathanos; Energy life forms; MF: Thothia, Nithia; S: Burning brand Razud; Alphatians, helping the self-sufficient; MF: Alphatia; S: Stone oak tree Tahkati; Stormtamer, patron of Horse Clan; MF: Atruaghin Clans (Children of the Horse); S: Buffalo-bone knife Tarastia; Justice, revenge; MF: Thyatis; S: Black headman's axe Thanatos; Death; MF: Thyatis (illegal), Nithia. S: Scythe Thor; Warrior's code of honor; MF: Northern Reaches, Thyatis; S: War Hammer Tubak; The Lawgiver, order, fair judgment; MF: Ethengar; S: A book Twelve Watchers; Craftmen; MF: Minrothad, Darokin; S: Two faceless staring eyes Valerias; Romance, passion; MF: Thyatis, Darokin, Savage Baronies; S: Thorny rose Vanya; War, conquest; MF: Heldannic Territories; S: Black lion Vanya; War, conquest; MF: Thyatis; S: Lance crossed with two short swords. Yav; The future, the People of Yav; MF: Yavdlom; S: A conch shell Yamuga; Renewal, prosperity; MF: Ethengar; S: A yurt Zirchev; Forest folks, rangers; MF: Karameikos, Darokin, Alphatia, Alpha; S: Hawk riding a wolf In the next issue of the Mystaran Almanac, we will attempt to go into more detail of the various churches as well as the interaction between the Immortals and their priests. ------------------------------ End of mystara-digest V2 #22 **************************** Date: Mon, 24 Mar 1997 13:07:11 -0600 From: (mystara-digest) To: mystara-digest@lists.io.com Subject: mystara-digest V2 #23 Reply-To: mystara-l@lists.io.com Precedence: bulk X-UIDL: 8d6282babcce8f256a3f8ff55c9b57a4 mystara-digest Monday, March 24 1997 Volume 02 : Number 023 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 24 Mar 1997 20:01:05 +0100 From: Fabrizio Paoli Subject: [Mystara] AC 1014 Almanac Part 11 CURRENT EVENTS: AC 1014 - ----------------------- Once again we arrive at the most famous section of our Almanac. Here is where we give you, the reader, a day by day listing of all the major events which took place during the previous year. Included is a brief WHAT IT MEANS section, giving a behind the scene look at what is going on. This explains why some of the events happened, or the possible future consequences of those events. Also, it just might give insight to what is going on in the minds of those involved. After all, what is the point of listing everything that happens if you don't know why it happened? Also included is a live witness report from our correspondants for the most important events of the season. This will give an even more in depth look at the events, giving the reader a feeling that he is actually there. So dear readers, browse through the next several pages to relive the year over again, and maybe get a better look at what goes on in the world. B.F. NUWMONT 1, AC 1014: Wogar's Message Location: New Kolland, Glantri. KW Description: The Supreme Hool, leader of the Red Orcland tribe of New Kolland, receives a message from his patron, Wogar. In it, he is told that the sacred Blue Knife has been stolen, and he is charged with finding it. His dreams show of the primitive humans living upon the Atruaghin Plateau . Hool is thrilled at the prospect. (See Nu 5, Fl 3.) What This Means: The orcish shaman Xilochtli stole the Blue Knife while fleeing Oenkmar in AC 1011. This infuriated the humanoid pantheon, and they have been arguing over a course of action ever since. Finally, Wogar took things into his own hands and prompted Hool to find the Knife. Wogar figures sending Hool south to Atruaghin is as good a place as any, particularly since Xilotchtli's patron, Atzanteotl, has followers among the Tiger Clan. NUWMONT 4, AC 1014: Rafielton Warned Location: Rafielton, Aengmor. KW Description: Aengmor warns Rafielton (the nation of Aengmor) not to ally themselves with the former elves of Alfheim as they will only try to get their homeland back and cause dissent among the shadow elves. Princess Tanadaleyo, who has been talking with envoys from the exiled Alfheimers since Sviftmont 23 of last year (JA), believes that the talks are going well enough and ignores the request of Aengmor. (See Va 3, Va 28.) What This Means: A growing cult of Atzanteotl is gaining more power in the city of Aengmor, and it wishes to spread its influence to the other shadow elves. They fear that if they learn of the inherent goodness of the surface elves, it will be harder to convince them to worship Atzanteotl. The cult of Atzanteotl was introduced by the various artifacts/religious icons left behind by the humanoids. Also, the old items seem to indicate that the shadow elves once worshipped Atzanteotl, and the members of the cult spread propaganda claiming that Atzanteotl was the golden age of the Shadow Elves, with Aengmor. Many of the shadow elves are believing the story since they are losing faith in Rafiel, and are slowing converting to the new way of life. The Wanderers, who have been living in Aengmor with the humanoids, know of the evil ways of Atzanteotl but they dare not speak out against it for fear of revealing their presence in the city. The Wanderers enjoy Aengmor, and do not want to be forced to leave as the Way of Rafiel demands. So far, only Kanafasti knows of their presence, and he will become a Wanderer himself this year, so he is trying to remove that law regarding the Wanderers. NUWMONT 5, AC 1014: Word Spreads Location: New Kolland, Glantri. KW Description: Hool returned to New Kolland a few days ago, spreading the word of Wogar. He has commanded his hordes to prepare for a new Great Migration, to begin in the spring when the mountain passes clear of snow. He has also invited the other humanoid leaders to join him in his quest. They refuse, believing Hool to be mad, and being content to live off of Prince Kol's machinations and the occasional raid on Erewan territory. (See Nu 1; Va 6, Fl 3, Fl 20.) What This Means: Hool will lead his Great Migration, regardless. Most of the other leaders are perfectly happy where they are. As for Kol, his kobolds and Hool's red orcs have often been at odds in the past - he isn't sorry to see them go. NUWMONT 7, AC 1014: Karameikos Recognizes New Alphatian Empire Location: Mirros, Karameikos. KW Description: King Stefan Karameikos officially announces his country opens up diplomatic ties with the New Alphatian Empire. The Karameikan Embassy is to be moved from Aquas to Sanctuary on Monster Island. King Stefan also grants favored trading status to the New Alphatian Empire. The Karameikan ambassador refers to the council as a confederation of kingdoms, which grabs the attention of many of the council members and diplomats present. They find the word confederation catchy and meaningful. (See Nu 13, Nu 15, Va 1.) What This Means: Karameikos is the first country of the Known World to officially recognize the legitimacy of the Council. Since Empress Eriadna recognized Karameikos's independence a few years ago, the two countries have maintained diplomatic ties with each other, but under Zandor's rule this didn't mean much. The two countries have had few trading relations up to now, but this can well change - King Stefan especially hopes it will improve exchanges of magic. The two countries are not likely to become military allies or to suppress tariffs altogether, however, since Karameikos is part of the Western Defense League and as such cannot take such decisions alone - and its allies would probably be more than reluctant, especially Ylaruam. NUWMONT 8, AC 1014: An Immodest Proposal Location: Caverns beneath the Plain of Fire. KW Description: Today at a meeting of Graakhalian refugees, Leyalani, a Sheyallia elf, proposes that an expedition be sent to the lair of Verminthrax, a huge red dragon. She hopes to gain its aid in ridding Graakhalia of Hulean goblinoids, or failing that, to destroy it and gain its treasure for use against them. Surprisingly, the council agrees to this, after some deliberation. What This Means: The Graakhalians were nearly decimated years ago when the Master's minions invaded their caves. The small bands of them that remain have been waging guerilla war against the invaders ever since. When Leyalani overheard Brarknar, a gnollish warrior, jokingly suggest enlisting Verminthrax' aid, she immediately went to the council with the idea. The fact that they agreed shows just how desperate they are for help. NUWMONT 10, AC 1014: Princess Ark Arrives in Shahjapur. Location: Shahjapur, Anathy Archipelago. HW Description: The Princess Ark passes over the largest island in the Anathy Archipelago, and notices several villages below. Dark clouds are moving in from the sea, thanks to strong winds. Haldemar orders the Ark to land so the crew can get some shore leave and to avoid the worse of the incoming storm (he would rather have the Ark close at hand than far above the clouds). The skyship therefore lands near the city of Dunagar. The crew hastly puts together a make-shift skyship berth. Contrary to what Haldemar expected, the people of the city are rather unimpressed with the flying ship and don't spare more than a few glances at it. Haldemar and his officers try to get an audience with the local ruler. (See Nu 12, Nu 13.) What This Means: The dark clouds are the signal of the beginning of monsoon season which is about to strike the island in force. Although on the surface world, monsoons tend to arrive during the summer months, the Hollow World is full of isolated micro-climates, in which the time of year is mostly irrelevant. For Shahjapur, monsoon takes places sometime during the months of Nuwmont to Thaumont. NUWMONT 12, AC 1014: Haldemar Meets the Mogul Location: Dunagar, Shahjapur, Anathy Archipelago. HW Description: After dealing with the people of Dunagar, who are surprisingly unhelpful and uncaring, Haldemar manages to get an audience with Mogul Balindi, ruler of the province of Dunagar. During the audience, Haldemar learns that Shahjapur could not care less about foreigners; the world will unfold as it should, so if Alphatians arrive, so be it. They should not bother the rulers about it and just get on with whatever it is they want to do. Haldemar is rather disappointed by such rude treatment, but realises that at least Alphatia was not forbidden to visit. Diplomatic relation can be attempted again in the future. (See Nu 10; Nu 13, Nu 20.) What This Means: The Shahjapuri are fatalistic and believe everything happens at is was meant to happen. To get involved in sometime is just a waste of time. Hence, if Alphatians arrive, so be it. Why bother making plans when it will happen as it should. NUWMONT 13, AC 1014: Princess Ark Grounded Location: Dunagar, Shahjapur, Anathy Archipelago. HW Description: As the Princess Ark is about to leave, a huge wall of rain drops from the storm clouds above. This storm is heavier than any storm Haldemar or the crew have ever seen before. Haldemar decides to stay on the ground rather than risk damaging the Ark in the storm. He believes he'll be able to leave in the next couple of days. (See Nu 10, Nu 12; Nu 20, Nu 26.) What This Means: The monsoon season has started. NUWMONT 13, AC 1014: Qeodhar Joins New Alphatian Empire Location: Farend, Qeodhar. KW Description: King Norlan reluctantly agrees to join the New Alphatian Empire. He says to the Council that he can't place his troops under Commander Broderick's command yet, because they are busy repelling many monsters that cross the ice floe thanks to the cold winter. He only accepts to send troops to the Yannivey Islands to help Floating Ar taking over the isles. (See Nu 7; Nu 15, Va 18.) What This Means: Baron Norlan had always considered Zandor's petty empire as no threat to him, and he thought it would be the same with the New Alphatian Empire. But the offensive on Blackrock and the arrival of Floating Ar above the Yannivey Islands made him realize that Qeodhar was one of the last territories of now-sunken Alphatia that was still independent from the Empire. They may well decide to remove him if he continued to ignore their diplomats. After all, the New Alphatian Empire seems to be military and magic rich despite the disappearance of Alphatia. Norlan doesn't want to lose his time attending the Council meetings, however, but what he doesn't know is that this will prevent him from discovering Alphatia's survival within the Hollow World - something that could also have explained his wife's disappearance. Norlan is currently trying to devise a way to keep his army under his sole control; he particularly doesn't want his troops to help in overthrowing the kings of Esterhold. NUWMONT 14, AC 1014: Ancient Ruins Discovered Location: 50 miles southwest of Oceansend, Norwold. KW Description: Scouts in the region of Oceansend for King Ericall of Alpha discover ancient ruins while hiding from a Heldannic patrol. What This Means: These ruins were a far off colony of Nithia several hundred years ago (circa 1000 BC). The Nithians never managed to gain a foothold as the barbaric goblinoids and humans (Antalians, ancestors of the Northern Reaches) who lived in the area ransacked and plundered the city several times. This would be the most northern Nithian ruin ever discovered to date. The exact contents of the ruins are left to the DM. NUWMONT 15, AC 1015: Declaration of a Confederation Location: Sanctuary, Monster Island. KW Description: The New Alphatian Council hereby declares their "Empire" a Confederacy, as they are merely a set of aligned nations with common goals. Although technically they must obey the orders of the Empress, she is too far removed to affect daily life, so the nations are indeed more-or-less independant. From now on, the New Alphatian Empire shall be known as the New Alphatian Confederate Empire. (See Nu 7, Nu 13; Va 1, Va 15.) What This Means: This is simply a way that the Council is using to make their empire sound stronger and more united than it was before. They also happen to like the word confederacy as it sounds grand and imposing. NUWMONT 15, AC 1014: Patrols Fail to Return Location: Schattenalfheim Caverns. HW Description: Two patrols of Schattenalfen fail to report from their border excursions. The elves respond by doubling the sizes of their patrols. (See Th 5, Ya 7.) What This Means: This is the first of several strikes by the Traldar of Coresco. They intend to fully reclaim the lost treasure that was apparently stolen, whatever it was. The Traldar, however, are invading the Schattenalfen territories in small groups of heroes rather than a unified army. They are each trying to get glory for themselves rather then achieve their collective goal. NUWMONT 20, AC 1014: Flood in Dunagar Location: Dunagar, Shahjapur, Anathy Archipelago. HW Description: The rain hasn't stopped in over seven days. The Gadwallabad River, which Dunagar is located beside, has overflown, and most of Dunagar has turned into mud flats and shallow lakes. Haldemar notices the destruction caused by the continual rain, and is dismayed by the deaths of many people as well as the lack of compassion or help that the Shahjapuri give each other. He immediately sends his crew out to help all those they can from the torrential rains and floods. Another section of the crew is ordered to keep the Princess Ark safe and as dry as possible. They are assigned to "bucket duty." (See Nu 12, Nu 13; Nu 26, Va 2.) NUWMONT 22, AC 1014: Snowstorm in the North Location: Southern Norwold, Wendar, and Heldannic Territories. KW Description: A huge snowstorm covers southern Norwold and the northern Heldannic Territories and Wendar. NUWMONT 26, AC 1014: Haldemar Saves an Untouchable Location: Dunagar, Shahjapur. HW Description: The crew of the Princess Ark rescues drowning victims, whom they latter learn are outcasts in Shahjapuri society. Because the crew of the Ark interacted with these "untouchables," the crew themselves become untouchables. When word spreads around, the Shahjapuri refuse the help of the crew of the Princess Ark. Most prefer to (and do) drown instead of accepting help from the Alphatian outcasts. Haldemar cannot believe the ridiculous system and view of life that the Shahjapuri have. (See Nu 13, Nu 20; Va 2, Va 15.) What This Means: This is just the effects of the Shahjapuri caste taking its effect on the behavior of the people. Most are so into the social caste system that they would never even think of breaking it. The effects of the Spell of Preservation have only entrenched it even more. VATERMONT 1, AC 1014: Opening of Hard-Ball Season Location: Sanctuary, Monster Island. KW Description: The Council of the New Alphatian Confederate Empire declares the Hard-Ball season open. Inscription of teams is closed today. For two months, the different teams meet each other; only one per country shall remain for the Super-Hard-Ball in the month of Flaurmont (matches between teams from different countries are friendly, mostly exhibitions). The Council also announces that Karameikos is invited to participate in the event.(See Nu 7; Th 17, Fl 1.) What This Means: All nations of the New Alphatian Confederate Empire have made an effort so that they all have at least one team that participates this year, and the stadium has been completed in Sanctuary. Master Terari has made his best for years to develop Hard-Ball in Karameikos; he is responsible for the participation of the country in the Tournament - as well as for the good relations the Kingdom maintains with the Confederacy. VATERMONT 1, AC 1014: The NACE? Location: Sanctuary, Monster Island, NACE. KW Description: During the declarations of the new Hard-Ball teams, Commander Broderick referred to the New Alphatian Confederate Empire as the NACE. The term is quickly picked up by the merchants and commoners, despite the obvious distaste for it by rulers and members of the Council. (See Nu 13, Nu 15, Va 1; Va 18, Ya 11.) What This Means: As a military man, Broderick is used to short terms and acronyms. He and his men have since developped the word NACE to represent the New Alphatian Confederate Empire. He accidently used the word, which to him has become second nature, and most of the commoners found it easier to say as well. The rulers and Council members of the NACE dislike the term as it removes all the perceived grandeur of the real name for their nations. Still, they are unable to control what will become public slang, and must soon learn to live with being referred to as the NACE. VATERMONT 2, AC 1014: Elemental Presence Location: Shahjapur, Anathy Archipelago. HW Description: The rain and storms of the monsoon over Shahjapur reach such intensity, that several water and air elementals are summoned to the area from their home planes. (See Nu 20, Nu 26; Va 15, Va 18.) What This Means: This is a natural phenomenon caused by the storm; the elementals will return once the storm starts to die down (see HWA3: Nightstorm, p14 for more details). VATERMONT 3, AC 1014: The Elven Alliance Location: Rafielton, Aengmor. KW Description: Despite warnings from Aengmor, after several small meetings between elves representing King Doriath and Princess Tanadaleyo, the shadow elves and elves of Alfheim agree to work together to save the Canolbarth forest, and perhaps learn to live together in one elven nation. Several surface elven mages and Tree Keepers are invited to move back to the forest, joining the Norwold (Foresthomes) elves and shadow elves in working out magic to save the trees. (See Nu 4; Va 28, Th 9.) What This Means: Princess Tanadaleyo truly desires to save the forests of her nation, as she wants a beautiful surface nation for her and her people. She finds it unlikely that the shadow elves and surface elves will ever manage to live together, so does not see her offer of letting the elves move back in as something too dangerous for her people. The elves of Alfheim do not see much hope in peaceful coexistence either, but they also truly care about their forest. They would rather see their forest still alive and in shadow elf hands than dead and belonging to them. VATERMONT 5, AC 1014: Eusdria Fights Back Location: Ersel, Eusdria. SC Description: With the help of a few units of Guards (druidic defenders) from the nation of Robrenn, a contingent of the Knights of Eusdria (national company of honorbounds) marches into the Duchy of Frisonnia which has been largely overrun by the Huptai hobgoblins and goblins. The Guards use their druidic powers to create a path through the amber lotuses, allowing the Knights of Eusdria access to the village of Ersel. There, the Knights manage to retake the village, forcing the goblins to flee. (See Va 25, Th 3.) What This Means: This is only a small beginning for Eusdria. The Huptai have merely left the village and wait within the Date: Mon, 24 Mar 1997 13:07:11 -0600 From: (mystara-digest) To: mystara-digest@lists.io.com Subject: mystara-digest V2 #23 Reply-To: mystara-l@lists.io.com Precedence: bulk X-UIDL: 8d6282babcce8f256a3f8ff55c9b57a4 fields around the village. The Knights are only safe within the village and a small path along the river; everywhere else, they are subject to the sleeping pollen of the amber lotuses. Therefore, the goblins need only stay out of range of the dwarven crossbowmen of Harstal (Eusdria), and they will be safe. VATERMONT 6, AC 1014: Great Wall Finished Location: Northern Darokin. KW Description: After many setbacks, the Great Wall of Darokin is finally completed. What This Means: Work began on the Great Wall of Darokin way back in Sviftmont AC 1010 (see PWA1). The 20' high wall runs for 125 miles, from Fort Fletcher to Corunglain City, following the southern edge of the Broken Lands. The Great Wall should have been finished early last year, but various events, including weather, shortage of supplies, plus an increase in goblinoid raids to prevent the wall from being built, had slowed the process down considerably. The government of Darokin is currently debating on whether or not they should extend the wall for another 50 miles up to Fort Nell. Going against that plan is the list of problems they had to complete the current section of the wall. The completion of the Great Wall should put quite a dent in Hool's plans for a large goblinoid migration through Darokin. VATERMONT 9, AC 1014: Revenge of the Dead Location: Elegy Island, Ierendi. KW Description: A horde of zombies and skeletons attack the village of Nula on Elegy Island in Ierendi. What This Means: Grave-robbers disturbed a magically protected tomb of the ancient Makaian on Elegy Island (see GAZ 4: Kingdom of Ierendi). The curse animated the corpse into a powerful zombie of 10 HD who causes 3d6 damage with a punch and does not lose initiative like a normal zombie. It also has the power to animate dead three times a day, and has since raised an army to attack the people who have moved onto the burial island of the ancient Makai. VATERMONT 11, AC 1014: The Clerics Complain Location: Sayr Ulan, Sind. KW Description: The Rishiyas of Sind (clerical caste) complain to Rajadhiraja Chandra ul Nervi about the upstart clerical order of Gareth in the Khurish Massif. They claim that to allow a new religion to exist in their nation goes against their sacred laws to their Immortals. Chandra does not take any decision concerning the matter. (See Va 17, Va 23.) What This Means: At first, the Rishiyas were not afraid of the Followers of the Prophet, as Sitara Rohini and her band have been come to be known (see JA). Preachers of various foreign religions have always travelled to Sind, stayed a bit, then disappeared. But the miracle performed on the Day of Dread in AC 1012 (see PWA3) has grabbed the attention of many of the Sindhis. The fact that the new Immortal preaches against Immortal interference seems to have also slowly won over the hearts of many of the lower castes. Now, after a full year of services in her monastery in the Khurish, the Rishiyas can see a danger of losing their power over the people of Sind to this new Prophet of Gareth. VATERMONT 15, AC 1014: Capital Named Location: Sanctuary, Monster Island, NACE. KW Description: After much deliberation, the Alphatian Council decides upon a name for the new capital and meeting grounds for the Council. They rename Monster Island into Ionace, as an acronym for Isle Of the NACE, and the capital city is to bear the same name. A section of Old Denwarf-Hurgon (including the new Parliament) therefore becomes Ionace, while the border mining town remains known as Sanctuary. (See Nu 15, Va 1; Ya 11, Ya 23.) What This Means: The idea was mostly pushed by Commander Broderick and Favian Vern, who both have rather unusual likes compared to most Alphatians. Since the Council could not decide/agree on any other name, Ionace was eventually accept for lack of a better solution. VATERMONT 15, AC 1014: Rain Starts to Die Down Location: Shahjapur, Anathy Archipelago. HW Description: The huge rainstorms over Shahjapur begin the long and slow process of dying down. The water and air elementals begin heading back to their own planes of existence. (See Nu 26, Va 2; Va 18, Va 21.) VATERMONT 16, AC 1014: Lycanthropes by Night Location: Threshold, Karameikos. KW Description: Several farmers outside of Threshold are found mutilated by wild animals in the morning. Many believe a pack of werewolves must have been in the area as it was a full moon the previous night. VATERMONT 17, AC 1014: The Rajadhiraja Agrees Location: Sayr Ulan, Sind. KW Description: After enough pressure by the Rishiyas, Chandra ul Nervi finally accedes to the clerics. He decides to let the agents of Hule take care of the problem, and informs the Master's agents about the unrest being caused. The Huleans send a squadron of orcs led by human officers to the Khurish Massif to deal with the Followers of the Prophet of Gareth. (See Va 11; Va 23, Va 25.) What This Means: Chandra himself does not see Sitara and the followers of Gareth as an important threat, viewing instead the Huleans as a bigger problem at the moment. But he must accede to the Rishiyas or lose his throne. Chandra therefore condones the act of the worshippers of Gareth and sends the Huleans to deal with the problem, concerning himself more with his Freedom Warriors and his plans to overthrow the Master's agents controlling Sind. VATERMONT 18, AC 1014: Qeodharian Troops Land on the Yanniveys Location: Yannivey Islands, NACE. KW Description: The few troops Baron Norlan sent to assist Floating Ar arrive and place themselves under the command of the general of Floating Ar - himself appointed by Commander Broderick. (See Nu 7, Nu 15; Va 21.) What This Means: It is only a token help, most of Norlan's troops stayed at home. Moreover, the conquest of the Yannivey Islands is already almost over. VATERMONT 18, AC 1014: Air Elementals Harass the Princess Ark Location: Dunagar, Shahjapur, Anathy Archipelago. HW Description: A group of air elementals, just moments before leaving the lands of Shahjapur, notice the Princess Ark and investigate. From up close, they notice that the soul of a skywyrm is in it, the enemies of their particular group of elementals. For the next few hours, the crew of the Ark is forced to defend their ship from the attacking air elementals until they are forced back to their plane of existence by the dissipating storm. (See Va 2, Va 15; Va 21, Va 23.) VATERMONT 21, AC 1014: Monsoon Almost Over Location: Shahjapur, Anathy Archipelago. HW Description: After almost 2 months, the monsoon season is almost over. The intense downpour has now fallen to a light rain, with the occasional patch of no rain at all. (See Va 15, Va 18; Va 23, Va 26.) What This Means: This is just the natural progression of the storm. VATERMONT 21, AC 1014: King Norlan Reorganizes his Army Location: Farend, Qeodhar, NACE. KW Description: Baron Norlan splits up his army into three distinct bodies: the Army, the Watch and the Special Force. The Army represents 60% of the total numbers, and is placed under the jurisdiction of Commander in Chief Broderick of the NACE. The Watch represents 30% of the old army, an is in charge of patrolling the cities, arresting people and similar duties. Although watchmen can use arms and armors, they are not considered an armed force and as such remain under Norlan's control. The Special Force is a secret service, mostly spies and assassins, who are basically the most able 10% of the old army. They don't have any official existence, and their actions are always covert ones - few people know that force exists. (See Nu 15, Va 18.) What This Means: Baron Norlan didn't want to lose the power his army brought him. Thanks to that trick he keeps control of almost half of it - and even creates a secret service. The rest (i.e. the Army) is now under Broderick's control. VATERMONT 23, AC 1014: Princess Ark Leaves Shahjapur Location: Dunagar, Shahjapur, Anathy Archipelago. HW Description: During a patch of no rain, Haldemar orders the Ark to take off and head above the clouds. From there, they continue their exploration of the Hollow World by continuing toward the continent of Jomphur. (See Va 18, Va 21; Va 26.) Note From The Editors: After this, we seem to have lost contact with the Princess Ark. The adventures of the crew on the continent of Jomphur still remain a mystery to us. Hopefully, one day, we'll learn what happened. What This Means: The continent of Jomphur was purposely left undeveloped in the HW Boxed Set so individual DMs can populate as they see fit. The purpose of the Mystaran Almanac is to continue to develop the current history of the world, not to make and develop the whole world. I therefore left this part deliberately blank, as each DM will have their own personal favorite to add here. Hopefully, the members of the Mystaran Mailing List will develop the area someday, and maybe there will be an "official" fully developed Mystara. VATERMONT 23, AC 1014: Followers Attacked Location: Monastery of Gareth, Khurish Massif, Sind. KW Description: The squadron of Hulean orcs arrives at the monastery used by the Followers of the Prophet. They demand that they stop worshipping Gareth immediately and return with them to Sayr Ulan to face charges of blasphemy. The priests refuse, and a fight breaks out. The orcs are defeated, as they are unable to witstand the clerical magic of Sitara or the fighting abilities of Anand Brishnapur and their disciples. (See Va 11, Va 17; Va 25, Th 16, Fy 13.) What This Means: Although the first victory is theirs, Sitara and Anand realize that this is just the beginning. They have known for a while that the Rishiyas were bound to interfere, so it really doesn't come as such a surprise to them. VATERMONT 25, AC 1014: Spreading the Faith Location: Monastery of Gareth, Khurish Massif, Sind. KW Description: Sitara Rohini sends out her original disciples of Gareth to spread out and establish new monasteries and temples. She and Anand will stay in Sind to uphold the words of Gareth here no matter the cost, but the others are needed to keep Gareth alive and bring his word to other people of the Known World. Once they are gone, Anand begins preparing the monastery to defend against the next wave of Hulean soldiers. Since the monastery is near the top of the mountains, it is rather easy for him and the others that remain behind to block the passes and create many avalanche style traps. (See Va 17, Va 23; Th 5, Th 16.) What This Means: There are just over a dozen of the original Followers of the Prophet. Among them are two foreigners, Arturo Olivera from Akorros (Darokinian) and Sula Ivanov of Mirros (Karameikan). There is even an orc, by the name of Thurgg. The rest are all Sindhis of both ethnical backgrounds (urdu-varnas and pure Sindhis). By now, each of them has become full-fledged clerics or fighting monks of levels 1 and 2. Only Anand of the original followers remains behind with Sitara the Prophet. VATERMONT 25, AC 1014: Trapped in a Field of Flowers Location: Ersel, Eusdria. SC Description: The amber lotuses have regrown over the path cleared by the Guards, trapping them within the village of Ersel. (See Va 5; Th 3, Fl 14.) What This Means: The Guards suffered several casualties in raiding Ersel, and now do not have enough powerful spellcasters left to clear another path out. They use their magic to communicate with their leaders and let them know what has happened. VATERMONT 28, AC 1014: Tree Keeper Arrives Location: Canolbarth Forest, Aengmor. KW Description: Jorodrin Feadiel, the Tree Keeper of Clan Feadiel (GAZ 5: The Elves of Alfheim), arrives in Rafielton and joins the shadow elves to help them save the Canolbarth forest. The shadow elves are slightly awed that the Alfheim elves' most powerful Tree Keeper has arrived to help them. (See Nu 4, Va 3; Th 9, Th 27.) VATERMONT 28, AC 1014: The Monsoon Ends Location: Shahjapur, Anathy Archipelago. HW Description: The monsoon season finally ends, and another eight months of dry and hot weather once more arrives to the nation of Shahjapur. (See Va 21, Va 23.) ************** Fabrizio Paoli brizio@lunet.it s153349@studenti.ing.unipi.it DM in City Of The Stars - PC in the Forgotten Realms Leader of Privateers - Trip Bomb Master - Lord of Firewalkers Home Page:http://www.ing.unipi.it/~s153349/index.html ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 24 Mar 1997 20:01:14 +0100 From: Fabrizio Paoli Subject: [Mystara] AC 1014 Almanac Part 12 THAUMONT 3, AC 1014: Ersel Destroyed Location: Ersel, Eusdria. SC Description: Starved and without reinforcements for weeks, the Knights of Eusdria and the Guards within Ersel finally succumb to the raiding Huptai goblinoids. (See Va 5, Va 25; Fl 14, Fl 20.) What This Means: King Sigismund III was unable to raise enough druidic defenders from Robrenn to clear another path for his trapped honorbound. Robrenn is also unwilling to send too many of its Guards, or to send its most powerful druids, as they still do not completely trust the "unnatural" ways of the Eusdrians. This is another sad blow for the Eusdrians. THAUMONT 5, AC 1014: Tenpocatliotl Razed Location: Tenpocatliotl, Azcan Empire. HW Description: A huge wave of Schattenalfen suddenly pour out into the streets of the city of Tenpocatliotl. The initial panic and element of surprise gives the elves a huge advantage in their attack on the city. Soon, the Azcan manage to piece together a unified defense, but they are too late to stop most of the onslaught. The Schattenalfen eventually flee back into the depths of the ground, but not before destroying and burning fully three quarters of the entire city. Raids against the city continue on for several weeks. (See Nu 15; Ya 7.) What This Means: This is the most daring raid by the Schattenalfen in centuries. Over the past century, they have slowly dug tunnels to the second largest city of the Azcan Empire, built several secret passageways to the sewers and streets, and then assembled their army. As all their previous raids with such tactics, the Azcans where caught completely by surprise. It is only because Tenpocatliotl is the second largest city in the Empire that the elves were unable to utterly destroy it. Still, this raid will have serious repercussions on Azca, as Tenpocatliotl was the main source of gold and wealth for the Empire. The loss of the mines around the city as they are forced to rebuild, and hold their defenses, will definitely be felt by all Azcans. THAUMONT 5, AC 1014: Arturo in Akesoli Location: Akesoli, Darokin. KW Description: Arturo Olivera, one of the original Followers of the Prophet Sitara (who had saved him from orcs back in AC 1012; see PWA3), arrives in the city of Akesoli in Darokin. From there, he books passage on a boat to Akorros, his home town. (See Va 25; Th 7, Ka 11.) What This Means: Arturo is simply doing as Sitara has commanded. He has decided that his home town of Akorros is as good as any place to build a temple to Gareth. THAUMONT 6, AC 1014: Favian Tries Diplomacy Location: Faraway, Verdan, Esterhold Peninsula. KW Description: King Favian Vern sends diplomats to discuss with King Nicodemus of Verdan of a way to avoid a useless war between their two kingdoms. Favian's messengers affirm King Nicodemus and ex-King Xanthus will be allowed to leave freely, with all who want to go with them and with all treasure they want, if he accepts to relinquish all claims to Verdan. King Nicodemus has them arrested and executed. (See Th 20, Th 25.) What This Means: Nicodemus is confident in his army. He has always stopped Jennite invasions coming from the wild east, and has crushed all slave unrests easily. He knows the rebels are not as well organized here as they were in Blackrock. He has prepared his army for the event, which has been reinforced last year by the remains of Xanthus's, including the now-repaired flying man-o-war. THAUMONT 7, AC 1014: Arturo Back Home Location: Akorros, Darokin. KW Description: Arturo Olivera arrives in Akorros. After a brief reunion with his family, he begins his task of preaching the words of Gareth to the Darokinians. (See Va 25, Th 5; Ka 11.) THAUMONT 9, AC 1014: Strange Magic in the Forest Location: Canolbarth Forest, Aengmor. KW Description: The elves of Alfheim are mystified as their magic spells fail to bring back water to the Canolbarth Forest. Some of the spells even misfire and cause minor injuries. Tension begins to mount between the shadow elves and surface elves, as each suspects the other of sabotage. (See Va 3, Va 28; Th 27, Ya 12.) What This Means: A few of the surface elves in the party are members of the Alfheim Avengers, but they are not responsible for any of the incidents. These elves truly suspect the shadow elves of the sabotage, and are trying to cause dissent among the two elven subraces by throwing out accusations on the slightest error made by the shadow elves. The Alfheim Avengers would rather see the shadow elves thrown out of Canolbarth rather than live with them in peace. Jorodrin, now in charge of the Alfheim elves, believes the shadow elves, and does his best to calm the younger, hot-blooded elves in his group. THAUMONT 12, AC 1014: New High Priestess Location: Atruaghin Clans. KW Description: Eelsha Spider's Kiss becomes the High Priestess of the Tiger Clan of Atruaghin after the former high priest dies in his sleep (see GAZ 14: Atruaghin Clans). What This Means: Eelsha has wanted to be High Priestess all her life and has finally succeeded in poisoning the former High Priest. Now that she is in charge, she begins to become more ambitious and starts looking at the neighboring clans and their territories. THAUMONT 12, AC 1014: Zvornik on the Attack Location: Zvornik, City-State of Zvornik. SC Description: Derdren Zvornik, the Margrave of Zvornik, sends his military out to capture the free town of Bistr. The village falls within the day, and Margrave Zvornik declares that all of Cape Korcula is now under the jurisdiction of the City-State of Zvornik. (See Ya 18, Ya 24.) What This Means: Derdren Zvornik has always been power-hungry, seeking nothing less than to rule a kingdom under his name. When his father died last year, he started to build up his forces to commence his dreams of conquest and glory. The forces of Hule watch the sudden deployment carefully, looking for an opportunity for their own expansion. THAUMONT 14, AC 1014: Abandoned by the Knights Location: Arypt Desert, Davania. KW Description: Having used the Karameikans to help pilot the Alphatian skyship out of the Hollow World, General Anna von Hendriks decides that now is the time to get rid of them. The Heldannic Knights turn on the Karameikans and a battle erupts on the entire ship. The fight is forced to a halt as the ship begins to plummet back down to the earth as no one is controlling it. The two groups work together and manage to prevent the complete destruction of the skyship as it crashes into a large sand dune. Still, the ship is now damaged beyond repair. Coincidence has it that more Heldannic Knights were injured during the crash than Karameikans, so the Karameikans quickly take control of the situation. The leader of the Karameikans decides to let the Knights go Date: Mon, 24 Mar 1997 13:07:11 -0600 From: (mystara-digest) To: mystara-digest@lists.io.com Subject: mystara-digest V2 #23 Reply-To: mystara-l@lists.io.com Precedence: bulk X-UIDL: 8d6282babcce8f256a3f8ff55c9b57a4 provided that they promise on Vanya to go their own way and not to attack them again. General Anna von Hendriks is forced to agree. The two groups separate and go their own way. Looking at their maps, the Karameikans discover that they must be somewhere in the Arypt Desert on the continent of Davania. They start to head north, back toward the Sea of Dread. What This Means: The Heldannic Knights and the Karameikans managed to escape the Hollow World by the southern polar opening, the route usualy used by the Heldannic Knights, with the help of their skyship. It took them most of the year AC 1013 to get to the south pole without being spotted by the Alphatians. With a risky procedure that the Heldannic Knights have witnessed the Princess Ark do, they sped through the center of the polar opening and managed to break out into the Void before the anti-magic forced the ship to crash. Luckily, it just worked and they managed to regain control just hundreds of feet above ground before crashing. For the past week they have been flying over Davania and heading back to the Known World, where the Karameikans plan on revealing the existence of the Hollow World. General Anna von Hendriks prefers to keep the Hollow World a secret so that only the Heldannic Knights would be aware of it and capable of exploiting it. The solution to keeping it a secret was simply to silence the Karameikans, permanently. Unfortunately, she failed, and now the Knights must also find a way back home without the help of a skyship. THAUMONT 16, AC 1014: Attack on the Monastery Location: Monastery of Gareth, Khurish Massif, Sind. KW Description: The next unit of Huleans arrives at the monastery of Gareth and attempts to capture the heretic priests. But the orcs and soldiers are unable to get to the top of the mountain where the monastery is, so Sitara and Anand remain safe in their religious stronghold. (See Va 17, Va 23, Va 25; Fl 1, Fl 10.) THAUMONT 17, AC 1014: Bandits in Heldann Location: 100 miles from Freiburg, Heldannic Territories. KW Description: A patrol of Heldannic Knights bringing gold (taxes and treasures from captured lands) back to Freiburg is ambushed by a large group of armed peasants. The peasants manage to grab the wagon with the gold and get away. The rebels, knowing the surrounding forests better than the Knights, manage to split up and lose their pursuers. The use of magic prevents the knights from using their own clerical magic to track down the traitors. The Heldannic Knights believe that Geoffrey of Grunturm is behind the daring raid. The loss of money causes a serious blow to the war funds of the nation. (See Ya 14, Fe 7.) What This Means: The Heldannic Knights were never truly loved by the commoners of the Heldann Freeholds, but were tolerated because life managed to go on more-or-less as usual. However, last year, Wulf von Klagendorf declared an Inquisition against the non-believers in Vanya (JA, Nuwmont 1, AC 1013). Too many sons and daughters have been executed in that Inquisition, and many of them only to gain land/property for the Lord leading the Inquisition more than for any religious heresy. Many Heldanners have had enough, and are ready to start a rebellion against their oppressors. This raid is just the first of many skirmishes and was as much intended to show inspiration to the commoners as to deal a severe blow to the Knights's coffers. Geoffrey of Grunturm is behind this particular group of rebels. His own lands in southern Norwold having been overrun and conquered (and his people enslaved by the priesthood of Vanya) by the Heldannic Knights, Geoffrey has decided that he has had enough with the clerics of Vanya. He has returned to his homeland, having vowed not to give up until the Knights have been defeated so that they can no longer harm and persecute anyone else. He has managed to inspire several peasants who have also decided that enough is enough. THAUMONT 17, AC 1014: Hard-Ball Stadium Completed Location: Ionace, NACE. KW Description: The Stadium that will host the Super-Hard-Ball matches in Flaurmont is completed just in time on Ionace. (see Va 1; Fl 1, Fl 28.) What This Means: The Council declared the season open the first day of Vatermont, although the stadium what not yet completed at the time. Magic has been used to speed it up. THAUMONT 17, AC 1014: A Deadly Sandstorm Location: Arypt Desert, Davania. KW Description: The Karameikan Polar Expedition spots a huge sandstorm approaching them rather quickly. They look for shelter and soon discover a huge crystal pyramid. They take shelter within the strange structure. (See Th 14; Th 18, Th 22.) What This Means: The crystal pyramid belonged to the now long gone Katapec people. The reference to them is given in PC2: Top Ballista, on p.28 in the Tabi description. What exactly this culture was or what happened to them (Hollow World?) is unknown. THAUMONT 18, AC 1014: Attempt at Communication Location: Arypt Desert, Davania. KW Description: The leader of the Karameikan Polar Expedition decides, on a lark, to try the scroll of communication he has been carrying around for the past three years. The scroll had failed in the Hollow World, but perhaps it will work again now that they are back on the surface world. There is no answer to his message. (See Th 14, Th 17; Th 22, Fl 12.) What This Means: The captain of the Farseeker has given up on the expedition and believes they are all dead. The Farseeker returned to Karameikos in the spring of AC 1013 (See PWA3, Ei 28.). No one is looking at the scroll of communication anymore. THAUMONT 20, AC 1014: Assault on Verdan Location: Verdan, Esterhold Peninsula. KW Description: Although he has troops stationed in Alpha and the Yanniveys, Commander Broderick decides for the invasion of Verdan. Knowing his submersible galleys will be no surprise, Broderick decides to attack from different directions at the same time. Of course, he puts his submersibles and ships into position on the Verdan coast and Faraway's harbor, with marines pouring out of them, but he also leads infantry through the woods of Esterhold from the port cities of Anchorage to the west and Rock Harbor to the south. At the same time, some Jennite tribes lead skirmishes on the eastern forts - thanks to Broderick's gold. The Jennite slaves in Faraway, hoping at the sight of the foreign troops, cause some trouble within the city - although they are largely disorganized. King Nicodemus didn't expect such an all-out assault, and finds it difficult to battle on all fronts at the same time. The undefended interior land quickly falls to Broderick's marching troops; only the capital and the three eastern forts remain uncaptured, though they become isolated from each other. (See Th 6; Th 25, Fl 7.) THAUMONT 22, AC 1014: Marching Home Location: Arypt Desert, Davania, and Qeodhar. KW Description: The Karameikans decide that the best place to go right now would be the Thyatian city of Raven Scarp. With a specific destination in mind (and the sandstorm over), the group marches out into the desert. (See Th 17, Th 18; Fl 12, Fl 25.) THAUMONT 25, AC 1014: Faraway Besieged Location: Faraway, Verdan, Esterhold Peninsula. KW Description: Surprised by the way things turned out, King Nicodemus decides to throw all of his forces into the battle. His divisions have been more or less able to keep the Alphatian armies at bay so far, although the rest of the land is probably no more his - except perhaps the eastern forts. He fears an uprising of the Jennite slaves, however, and he knows he would have a hard time fighting it with all his troops busy repelling the Confederated Army. So he decides to strike with Xanthus's man-o-war, and delights in the sight of the ship blasting squads of attackers trying to break through. Suddenly, three more skyships appear in the sky, and shoot at the man-o-war. The ship soon crashes to the ground, damaged beyond repair. The Jennite slaves cheer at the sight of the crashing ship, and seize the opportunity to rebel again. Attacked from sea, air, land, and from inside the city, the Verdan troops find themselves overwhelmed and must retreat to the palace where they rally. By the end of the day, most of the city has been conquered. Many Verdan masters are assassinated by their rebelling slaves, and small groups of loyalist troops that find themselves surrounded by rebels are butchered - the Verdan soldiers do the same with the groups of rebels they encounter. (See Th 6, Th 20; Fl 7, Fl 18.) What This Means: Broderick knew of Xanthus's ship, so he hired all the skyships that Floating Ar and Aeria could spare. He didn't put them to work immediately, however, rather preferring to surprise Nicodemus and Xanthus. His tactic proved successful, because the destruction of the two kings' ace caused their armies' rout. Broderick himself is surprised by the rapidity with which he has taken most of the land, and hopes this will not cause Thyatis to react with hostility. Broderick now does his best to prevent the rebels from murdering everyone of Alphatian descent they see - he knows the surrender of the palace and the forts is only a matter of time. THAUMONT 27, AC 1014: Source of Warped Magic Found Location: Canolbarth Forest, Aengmor. KW Description: After a couple of weeks of research, the elves discover that some strange magic is starting to overwhelm the forest and is preventing the elves' magic from working. The exact nature of this magic remains a complete mystery. Both Jorodrin and Tanadaleyo are intrigued by this and decide to study it further. (See Va 28, Th 9; Ya 12, Ya 19.) What This Means: Although each sub-race of elves blames the other, in fact neither are directly responsible for preventing the magic from working. The former nation of Alfheim has always been a strong magical place. Most of the magical energies of the nation focused into areas that became known as Magic Points (see GAZ 5; The Elves of Alfheim). When the shadow elves unleashed their great magic (some say enhanced by Atzanteotl, but that might be a rumor spread by the Alfheim Avengers) against the forests of Alfheim, that magic eventually dissipated and merged into the existing magic points, corrupting them as it once corrupted the now dying forest. At this point, the magic points are causing more nightmares, madness and insanity than ever before, and they are releasing never before seen monsters onto the world of Mystara. As a side effect, they are beginning to influence and cause the strongest/largest magical effects (such as nation-wide weather magic) to go wild or not work at all. THAUMONT 28, 1014 AC: Prince Malachie's Savior Location: Chateau Morlay, Glantri. KW Description: A heavily armed, trained, and magical group of mercenaries breaks into Chateau Morlay and attacks Prince Malachie. The castle defenders are unable to stop the intruders, and several guards are killed. When Malachie himself is cornered by the assailants, another mage arrives and joins to the defense of the Prince. This unknown mage uses several powerful spells and manages to chase off the attackers. Once the danger is gone, the man disappears as mysteriously as he arrived. None of the attackers are captured. Rumors in taverns about the incident seem to indicate that Etienne d'Ambreville returned to help Prince Malachie just as he did two summers ago to help his successor against Henri d'Ambreville. Some begin to claim that his ghost is watching over his former allies during his life. What This Means: Synn discovered that Malachie gave Jaggar one of her scales and has decided that she has had enough with the interfering Prince. She used her vast treasure horde to get the best mercenaries she could find. Through a chain of contacts, so no trail could be lead back to her, she hired them to eliminate her opponent without further delay. Unfortunately they failed. The mysterious mage that saved Malachie was indeed Etienne d'Ambreville. Rumors of his return have been going around since the summer of AC 1012, but the former Prince has decided he would rather stay in hiding until he can recuperate and regain all the power he once had (either attain Immortality again or avoid being detected by the other Immortals until he is ready for them if he is Immortal once more, depending on the outcome of Mark of Amber). When he does return, Etienne will need all the allies he can get to help him reestablish his political power, and therefore could not afford for Prince Malachie to be defeated. He was forced to come out of hiding to help his ally. The other Princes of Glantri, upon hearing the rumor, will begin to once more search and try and discover Etienne d'Ambreville as they did when rumors left Chateau Sylaire about his return. As during their previous search, all means mundane and magical will reveal nothing of his presence. STRANGE MAGIC IN CANOLBARTH [Excerpted from a report submitted to the Darokin Diplomatic Corps (DDC); reprinted with permission.] At the request of the exiled elves of Alfheim, I have accompanied them back into their former homes within the nation of Aengmor. Because of the presence of one of their most important Tree Keepers, Jorodrin Feadiel, and their distrust of the shadow elves, the Alfheimers prefer to have a neutral party act as mediators. Hence the involvement of the DDC. This is my first report. The Alfheim exiles decided to give a peaceful attempt to work together a try. I believe that the main reason is that they cannot bear to see their beloved forest die. The elves would rather see it in the hands of the enemy that have it disappear altogether. Still, the presence of some of their sharpest military minds under false names in the party leaves me to believe that other events might have transpired within the forest as well. More than likely, it was merely reconnaissance, but perhaps we should take a deeper look into the plans of the Alfheim elves as well. I believe (CENSORED). For the past three weeks, both races of elves have been trying desperately to save the Canolbarth forest from destruction by the lack of rain the area has been suffering the past several years. The blight oaks that are currently dominating the vegetation seem able to survive extended droughts so far, but the shadow elves fear that if this continues for a few more years, they will surely die as well. Yet magical experimentations on both side always fail miserably. Just yesterday, there was an explosion which wounded two of our [DDC. Ed.] members and destroyed one of our wagons, exposing (CENSORED). Luckily, no one noticed thanks to the commotion caused by the wounded. Another way that the magic fails to work properly is that instead of summoning rain or water, monsters appear out of thin air and attack the elves. As of yet, I am amazed no one is dead from the wild surges. While talking to Jorodrin about (CENSORED), the discussion soon turned to the failure of the magic. His assistant insinuated that the shadow elves were somehow behind it, but Jorodrin is positive that they are not. The senior elven Tree Keeper gave me the impression that not just the weather magic was behaving wrong, but so was all magic cast within the area. If this is indeed the case, perhaps we should re-examine our outposts along (CENSORED). Maybe this wild-magic zone is spreading and might soon enter the lands of Darokin as well. My shadow elf contacts were less subtle and outright accused the Alfheim elves of treachery in an attempt to destroy their forest home that they have worked so hard to achieve. Guards were placed around the elven encampments, and no Alfheim elf was ever allowed to venture out of the sight of the guards. Needless to say, this caused various problems and arguments which I needed to mediate. Worse, such arguments delay the research to a point where only one day out of three or four were actually spent trying to save the forest while the others were wasted arguing. Soon enough, however, it was indeed discovered that neither of the elven races seemed to be behind the wild magic and another truce was declared. Jorodrin deduced that before anyone could even attempt to save the forest with magic, they first had to discover what exactly was causing magic to be so unpredictable. With a surprisingly good group effort, they had managed to deduce that it wasn't even from their current position that the warping effects were coming from. This teamwork shows that the elven groups can indeed work together, and very effectively as well. An alliance between the two would make them a powerful force indeed, but with their distrust and hatred toward each other, I doubt this will happen during the current elven generation (i.e. this whole millenium). The pertubation in the magical energies seemed to be originating from the Magic Points of the Canolbarth Forest (see Attachment A (CENSORED)). The entire research party moved closer to one of these Magic Points so they could get a better look at things. The closer one got to these famous Magic Points, the more the forest appeared warped and twisted. Even nature had turned wild, as we witnessed no less than three trees uproot themselves and walk to another location. Jorodrin assured me they were not treants nor any other type of living tree; they were normal oaks which simply went for a walk. While there, night and day raced by several time in just a few hours, yet time itself remained unchanged; we did not get hungry or tired... just the sun and moon changed positions several times in the sky above. It was also in that area that one of the Alfheim elves went insane. He cried out at the shadow elves, calling them orcs and dwarves, while his fellow Alfheim elves were apparently some type of ogre-halfling crossbreed (don't ask, I'm not sure myself...). Whatever affected magic and nature was apparently also capable of affecting the minds of those that went near. It is because of these properties that the elves have named these areas the Wild Lands. They have begun to try and analyse how these Wild Lands were created and if they are indeed growing to encompass all of Alfheim. Of course, the younger Alfheim elves immediately accused the shadow elves for the mental state of their friend. Once more, the shadow elves denied any involvement. From the information I have gathered on shadow elves, I must say I believe them. As we know, the shadow elves are xenophobic, arrogant and do what they want but they are not the type to lie about it (see Attachment B (CENSORED)). Jorodrin continues to tell his entourage to wait a bit as they have several years to examine the situation. But the other Alfheim elves seem rather impatient, and I fear it is only a matter of time before they start another useless argument. Once again, I will be forced to mediate, and frankly, I thought it would be easier to get the dwarves to ally with the elves than it has been working with these two elven races. U.B. ************** Fabrizio Paoli brizio@lunet.it s153349@studenti.ing.unipi.it DM in City Of The Stars - PC in the Forgotten Realms Leader of Privateers - Trip Bomb Master - Lord of Firewalkers Home Page:http://www.ing.unipi.it/~s153349/index.html ------------------------------ End of mystara-digest V2 #23 **************************** Date: Mon, 24 Mar 1997 13:08:04 -0600 From: (mystara-digest) To: mystara-digest@lists.io.com Subject: mystara-digest V2 #24 Reply-To: mystara-l@lists.io.com Precedence: bulk X-UIDL: 6261e99f7bad1159d4bb707a2aacb3c7 mystara-digest Monday, March 24 1997 Volume 02 : Number 024 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 24 Mar 1997 20:01:22 +0100 From: Fabrizio Paoli Subject: [Mystara] AC 1014 Almanac Part 13 FLAURMONT 1, AC 1014: Stories of Heroes Spread Location: Sind. KW Description: Word spreads throughout the mumlykets of Gunjab, Sindrastan, and Peshmir about the siege at the monastery of Gareth. The Sindhis of the region begin to see Sitara and Anand as heroes who are trying to oppose the Huleans, and begin praising their courage. (See Va 25, Th 16; Fl 10, Fl 14.) What This Means: Although originally the intent of the siege was to stop the blasphemy of the priests of Gareth, that notion is soon forgotten by the people of Sind who now view it more as a Sindhis against Huleans confrontation. Instead of trying to discredit Sitara and the others as the Rishiyas had hoped, they are turning popular opinion on their side. FLAURMONT 1, AC 1014: Super-Hard-Ball Tournament Begins Location: Ionace, NACE. KW Description: All teams that have qualified arrive on Ionace today. The 17 teams will meet each other in the Super-Hard-Ball stadium; the final will be held on Flaurmont 28 between the two best teams. (See Va 1, Th 17; Fl 28.) What This Means: When the Super-Hard-Ball tournament was created, there has been some arguing within the Council as to whether it was to be held in a different member state each year or on Ionace. It was decided that there were too many member states to use the round-robin method, and that tourism could help developing Ionace. FLAURMONT 3, AC 1014: Great Migration Commences Location: New Kolland, Glantri. KW Description: Hool's Great Migration sets out today, now that the passes are mostly clear of snow. To his surprise, he is greeted by the sight of Nizam-Pasha and his gnollish hordes. Nizam has thought over Hool's proposition, and decided to join the expedition. Hool accepts, and the two tribes set out together. (See Nu 1; Fl 20, Fl 24.) What This Means: In a meeting with his advisors a few weeks ago, Nizam fell into a trance and proclaimed he was the voice of Ranivorus, gnollish patron. He then commanded the gnolls to join the expedition. When he awoke, Nizam's advisors told him of the phenomenon, and they immediately began to prepare for the journey. Ranivorus has found out about Wogar's plans and has his own vile purposes for retrieving the Blue Knife. FLAURMONT 7, AC 1014: Forts Surrender Location: Eastern forts, Verdan, Esterhold Peninsula. KW Description: The commanders of the forts protecting Verdan from the Jennite tribes, now under siege by Alphatian troops for more than two weeks, decide to surrender. Since the Jennite tribes have been driven active in the region - thanks to Broderick himself, who didn't think this would be useless - the forts remain manned as usual, though authority passes to the Alphatians. Most of the men that are no more needed here are sent north to Faraway to help in the taking of the city. (See Th 20, Th 25; Fl 18, Ya 11.) FLAURMONT 10, AC 1014: Blasphemers Captured Location: Monastery of Gareth, Khurish Massif, Sind. KW Description: The Huleans, now backed up by mages and their own priests of Bozdogan, breach the defenses of Sitara and Anand and capture the temple of Gareth. Five apprentices are killed in the fighting, while the rest are all taken prisoner by the Huleans. (See Th 16, Fl 1; Fl 14, Fl 21.) FLAURMONT 10, AC 1014: War Declared on Humanoids Location: Soderfjord, Soderfjord Jarldoms. KW Description: Pressured by his various Jarls, King Ragnar once again leads his men into the Hardanger Mountains to chase out the humanoids that have been harassing his people for the past couple of years. In addition to his normal army, several bands of mercenaries and adventurers march into the mountains as well, hoping to get their share of the 1,000,000 gp offered in bounties in the Humanoid Defense Fund established by the Nordhartar Defense League (JA, Sviftmont 28, AC 1013). Finally, Vestland has also begun to coordinate attack plans with Soderfjord as they too are being harassed by orcs (instead of Kobolds) and it would be best for both nations to be rid of all humanoids. This time, they march straight for the Falun Caverns which where discovered two years ago by his scouts (PWA3, Eirmont 26, AC 1012) but he had never been able to attack because of the constant raid and harassment between the kobold and human armies last year. (See Fl 25, Ya 8.) What This Means: This is basically a straight-forward human vs. goblinoid military campaign by the men of the Soderfjord Jarldoms. Ragnar, having lost many men and battles in the mountains the past couple of years, had hoped to end the fighting before losing more face to his people, and hence helped establish the Humanoid Defense Funds. But it was too late; he had already lost the respect of several Jarls when he withdrew and declared the war over. Determined to prove once again that he is a great warrior, he leads for the third year in a row another army up into the mountains to find and defeat the kobold horde. FLAURMONT 11, AC 1014: Skirmish in Orclands Location: Orclands, Darokin. KW Description: While on a routine patrol today, two legions from Fort Nell encounter a large force of goblinoids in the southeastern spur of the Dwarfgate Mountains. The two forces clash, and the goblinoids are driven back into the mountains. (See Ya 1, Kl 5.) What This Means: The Orclands of Darokin have been quiet for many years now. It was presumed that there was a civil war going on between the trolls of C'Kag and the orcs in the area. This goblinoid incursion has put Fort Nell on the alert that the Orclands may be active once more. In truth, the situation is far worse than they know. Last year, four goblinoid leaders - King Alebane, Hutai-Khan, Moghul-Khan, and General Tlatepetl - and their minions, all refugees from shadow elf activity in the Broken Lands, decided to move into the Orclands. After a year or so of steady fighting, they managed to bring the native tribes in the region under their control. The four leaders have formed a loose alliance that will prove to be a menace to the already harried Darokin in years to come. FLAURMONT 12, AC 1014: Out of the Desert Location: Eastern Maghala Kimata Plains, Davania. KW Description: The Karameikan Polar Expedition finally reaches the northern edge of the Arypt Desert. They enter the Maghala Kimata savanna and proceed to look for food and water to replenish their supplies. (See Th 18, Th 22; Fl 25, Fl 28.) FLAURMONT 13, AC 1014: Prison Break Location: Borydos Island, Empire of Thyatis. KW Description: A party using powerful teleportation magic breaks into the prison facilities of Borydos and manages to release all the prisoners. After massive chaos, all the prisoners are recaptured (dead or alive) by the guards and brought back to the prison. A head count reveals that 5 prisoners are missing, and none of those who broke into the prison have been found either. FLAURMONT 14, AC 1014: Company of the Bear Finds Antidote Location: Huptai Territory, Yazzak Steppes. SC Description: The Company of the Bear, a group of dwarven beer- drinking myrmidons from Harstal, conquer a Huptai camp at the eastern end of their territory. From the captured shaman, they manage to obtain a couple dozen vials of a foul-tasting green liquid which supposedly protects the goblins from the flowers of the Field of Dreams. They quickly rush back to Eusdria with their important find. (See Va 25, Th 3; Fl 20, Fl 28.) What This Means: The Company of the Bear (majority are dwarves, but some humans and elves are present) have always had a jealousy toward the Knights of Eusdria as the honorbounds have always been the favorite of the King. Therefore, the mercenary company of myrmidons decided to take care of the goblin problem themselves just to upstage the Knights. The Company therefore marched through the Confederated Kingdom of Robrenn (in small groups to avoid causing problems with the local rulers), regrouped along the River Lugdumna and then marched into the goblin territories. Their logic was that if they could destroy the goblins from behind, there would be none left to face them back in Eusdria. With the unexpected discovery of an antidote to the amber lotuses, they have decided to return home with the find. FLAURMONT 14, AC 1014: Prophets Imprisoned Location: Raneshwar, Mumlyket of Gunjab, Sind. KW Description: Sitara Rohini, Anand Brishnapur, and the surviving members of the monastery of Gareth arrive, under heavy guard, at the town of Raneshwar at the foot of the mountains. They are locked up in the local dungeon for the night. (See Fl 1, Fl 10; Fl 21, Kl 5.) FLAURMONT 18, AC 1014: Verdan Surrenders Location: Faraway, Verdan, Esterhold Peninsula. KW Description: The troops pinned in the royal palace in Faraway discover that King Nicodemus has fled the palace by an unknown mean, probably magic or a secret exit. Without their leader, and with their supplies running low, they decide to surrender to Commander Broderick. (See Th 25, Fl 7; Ya 11, Ya 23.) What This Means: Broderick has neutralized all pockets of resistance in the meanwhile, and this surrender means he is in complete control of the land. He sends most of his troops back home, to their respective countries. Nicodemus is on the run, and no one knows what happened to Xanthus when his skyship crashed, or even if he was on board. FLAURMONT 20, AC 1014: Misunderstanding in Robrenn Location: Barony of Nemausa, Robrenn. SC Description: The Company of the Bear, on its way back to Eusdria, rushes through the land of Robrenn. There, they are confronted by the local military and a confrontation ensues. It takes several hours before a parlay and truce can be declared. Once the Company of the Bear manages to state that they merely wish to get home as soon as possible because they have found an antidote against the amber lotuses, Baron Calturix lets them pass through his lands under escort of his own army. He warns the leader of the Company of the Bear to respect Robrenn's borders from now on, stating that he is only being generous because of the dire situation Eusdria is currently in. (See Th 3, Fl 14; Fl 28, Ya 7.) What This Means: Although Eusdria and Robrenn are allied together against the goblinoids, they are still not nations at peace. Armies cannot cross the borders with impunity, and the Baron of Nemausa was perfectly right to defend his lands against the Company of the Bear. FLAURMONT 20, AC 1014: Fort Lakeside Besieged Location: Fort Lakeside, Darokin. KW Description: After a few arduous weeks of travel through still heavily snowed in mountain passes, the Great Migration reaches Fort Lakeside, on the shores of Lake Amsorak. In the raid that ensues, Hool's forces are driven back into the mountains, but cause severe damage to the fort and its surrounding town. (See Nu 1, Fl 3; Fl 24, Ya 8.) What This Means: Hool would have preferred to avoid Lakeside, but his forces were hungry and restless for action. Fort Lakeside has never fully recovered from damages it sustained in AC 1006 when the meteor hit Glantri, but the legions were thankfully on the alert due to raids in the area in Ambyrmont of last year (see JA). The troops at the newly constructed Fort Highlake are alerted as well. Hool will be harassed by Darokin troops as long as he remains nearby. FLAURMONT 21, AC 1014: Prophets Freed Location: Mumlyket of Gunjab, Sind. KW Description: In the hills between Mahasabad and Palkat, the unit escorting Sitara and the other prisoners is attacked by a horde of bandits. The outlaws make a strike for the chain of prisoners, free them, and then rush back into the hills with their new allies. (See Fl 10, Fl 14; Kl 5.) What This Means: The bandits are a group of Freedom Warriors who desire to overthrow the Huleans in Sind and return the nation to the Sindhis. Chandra ul Nervi, the secret leader of the Freedom Warriors, however, did not order their escape. Local members of the rebels heard the stories of Sitara and Anand's bravery at the monastery of Gareth and decided that they had to free such loyal members of their cause. FLAURMONT 24, AC 1014: On the Move Again Location: Amsorak Mountains, Northern Darokin. KW Description: Having been alerted to the approach of troops from Fort Highlake, Hool and his army set out once more, this time to the west. The expedition will stick close to the Amsorak Mountains as they make their way along. (See Fl 3, Fl 20; Ya 8, Kl 2.) What This Means: Hool's small army (about 3,000 strong) cannot stand long against an organized Darokin resistance, so he is moving towards the Sindhi/Darokin border. He hopes that the Sindhi are less organized, so as to continue his trek southwards with a minimal amount of risk. Also, he is aware of the humanoid population in the Sind region of the Amsorak Mountains, and hopes to encourage some of them to join him. FLAURMONT 25, AC 1014: Gnollheim Ransacked Location: Soderfjord Jarldoms, Northern Reaches. KW Description: The forces of Ragnar enter the hills of the area called Gnollheim and invade in force several of the small gnoll communities, crushing the outnumbered defenders. (See Fl 10; Ya 8, Ya 12.) What This Means: The gnolls of Soderfjord have been allied with the kobolds of the Hardangers for the past couple of years. Ragnar intends to crush all the humanoids and eliminate any possible aid the kobolds might receive. Some of the gnolls escape and warn their forces in the Hardangers to prepare for the humans again. FLAURMONT 25, AC 1014: In the Jungle Location: Jungle Coast, Davania. KW Description: The Karameikan Polar Expedition reaches the inner edge of the jungle that covers the entire Jungle Coast. (See Th 22, Ya 12; Fl 28, Ya 3.) What This Means: The jungle is the first sign that the Karameikans are getting close to their goal. Beyond the jungle lies the coast to the Sea of Dread, and from there, a way to Raven Scarp and finally home. FLAURMONT 27, AC 1014: Hunt for Thar Begins Location: Rhoona, Vestland, Northern Reaches. KW Description: Forces of Vestland gather in Rhoona and march into the Makkres Mountains, intent on defeating Thar and his horde before it gets too much out of control. (see Ya 23, Fe 24.) FLAURMONT 28, AC 1014: Super-Hard-Ball Final Location: Ionace, NACE. KW Description: All teams, including those from Karameikos (the Mirros Knights) and Aeria (the Featherfall Plumes), fought great matches during the whole month. All Council members and ambassadors, as well as many nobles and commoners alike, assist today to the final of the Super-Hard-Ball between the teams of the Aquas Seahawks and the Coppertown Red Skins of Dawnrim. After a long, disputed match, the Seahawks prevails. (See Th 17, Fl 1.) What This Means: This first season of Hard-Ball was a real success. FLAURMONT 28, AC 1014: A Tabi Clan Location: Jungles of the Jungle Coast, Davania. KW Description: The Karameikan Polar Expedition encounters a family of tabi which spies on the party, goes through their equipment, and basically annoys and harasses them despite their good intentions. The group moves on, followed by one of the tabi called Taxla. The Karameikans try to convince Taxla to go home as they do not like his excited and curious behavior (nor the stench of tabi), but Taxla refuses and follows them anyways from in the trees above. (See FL 12, Fl 25; Ya 3, Ya 25.) What This Means: Taxla is just an ordinary young tabi who is going through a phase of curiosity and adventure like the young adventurers of all races. He has decided to follow these strangers as they seem interesting. The tabi are described in better detail in PC2: Top Ballista, including game statistics for them as PCs in the D&D game. AD&D stats are given in the Mystara Monstrous Manual, but there are no rules for using them as PCs in AD&D. FLAURMONT 28, AC 1014: Company of the Bear Meets the King Location: Othmar, Kingdom of Eusdria. SC Description: The Company of the Bear arrives at the capital of Eusdria where they quickly hand their antidotes against the amber lotuses to the King. The King honors the Company of the Bear for their bravery and dedication to Eusdria. (See Fl 14, Fl 20; Ya 7, Kl 3.) What This Means: King Sigismund III immediately charges his best clerics to discover how the green antidote works and possibly how to make more of it. The elven King believes that he will finally be able to strike back at the Huptai hobgoblins. YARTHMONT 1, AC 1014: New Enemies Location: Fort Nell, Darokin. KW Description: A large force of goblinoids, under the joint command of Tlatepetl and Hutai-Khan, makes its way along the northern tip of the Canolbarth forest today, in an attempt to sneak up on Fort Nell. Much to their surprise, they stumble across a force of shadow elves in the region. In the ensuing battle, the smaller army of shadow elves is routed, but not before causing sever damage to the humanoid army. After much debate, the humanoids return to Orclands to lick their wounds. (See Fl 11; Kl 5, Fy 2.) What This Means: Tlatepetl is carefully assessing the strengths of his neighbors on the surface, and acquainting himself with the ways of life aboveground. He coordinated this attack on Fort Nell with Hutai-Khan for that purpose, but he little expected to find shadow elves camped on his very doorstep! YARTHMONT 3, AC 1014: Bogdashkan Orcs Location: Bogdashkan tribal lands, Davania. KW Description: The Karameikan Polar Expedition is viciously attacked by a war-party of jungle orcs. The two groups come to a stand-still and fall back to regroup. (See Fl 28, Fl 25; Ya 25, Ya 27.) What This Means: The Karameikans have just entered the tribal lands of the Bogdashkan orcs. The orcs will continue to harass and attempt to kill them as long as they remain in their territory, which will be for about the next 10 days. The Karameikans will therefore be on continuous guard and be rather exhausted as the orcs obviously have the superiority in numbers and can afford to attack in waves. Luckily, the party's priest can cast neutralize poison to counter the effect of the blow gun needles that the orcs are fond of. YARTHMONT 7, AC 1014: Schattenalfen Look Toward the Traldar Location: Issarthyl, Schattenalfen Caverns. HW Description: Queen Catriata declares that the Schattenalfen will be concentrating their attacks on the Traldar. The military is to prepare an attack on the city of Coresco. (See Nu 15, Th 5.) What This Means: It has come to the attention of the Schattenalfen that Traldar raids against them, as well as incursions into their territory has increased dramatically. Queen Catriata believes that these are signs of an imminent war or invasion by the Traldar. She therefore desires to strike first. King Tiradon did indeed try to raise an army for such a purpose last year, but failed. Groups of heroes instead took off on their own to recover the ancient artifact that the Traldar never really knew about until late last year. As a side effect of the relocation of the Schattenalfen troops, the Azcans now have a break in which they can try and rebuilt Tempocatliotl. YARTHMONT 7, AC 1014: Flowers Reach Lorsa Location: Castle of Lorsa, Eusdria. SC Description: The amber lotuses reach as far south as the Castle of Lorsa. The Knights of Eusdria evacuate, letting the goblins take over the castle. (See Fl 20, Fl 28; Kl 3, Fe 9.) YARTHMONT 8, AC 1014: Chandbali Location: Ruins of Chandbali, Sind. KW Description: Hool's Great Migration comes pouring out of the mountains and settles in the ruined village of Chandbali (it was destroyed by the meteor crash in AC 1006). Their presence is noted by the mage Rohan Kalkiin, whose tower is located nearby. Hool, unknowing, gives praise to Wogar for their luck thus far. (See Fl 20, Fl 24; Kl 2, Kl 22.) Date: Mon, 24 Mar 1997 13:08:04 -0600 From: (mystara-digest) To: mystara-digest@lists.io.com Subject: mystara-digest V2 #24 Reply-To: mystara-l@lists.io.com Precedence: bulk X-UIDL: 6261e99f7bad1159d4bb707a2aacb3c7 What This Means: Hool got out of Darokin with few losses, but he won't stay unnoticed in Sind. Rohan Kalkiin is the son of the Rajah of Nagpuri, and is likely to inform his father of the humanoid presence. Hool may well find himself having to fend off the entire Mumlyket of Nagpuri - a force much stronger than his current army! YARTHMONT 8, AC 1014: First Contact With Kobolds Location: Hardanger Mountains, Soderfjord Jarldoms. KW Description: Ragnar and his men encounter and skirmish with the first kobold and gnoll defenders in the Hardanger Mountains south of the Great Marsh. After many little battles, neither force seems to have greatly affected the other. (See Fl 10, Fl 25; Ya 12, Ya 16.) YARTHMONT 11, AC 1014: Council Discusses on Verdan's Future Location: Ionace, NACE. KW Description: The Council of the New Alphatian Confederate Empire discusses on the future of Verdan. They think they should name a Jennite king to rule the country, since an Alphatian would probably be viewed with suspicion, or even hostility by the natives. Unfortunately, the rebels have never been much organized there, and there is no obvious strong leader. King Favian of Blackrock then comes up with an interesting, though unusual, alternative: He proposes to regroup all of the territories of the Esterhold Peninsula into a single state, the Republic of Esterhold, which would be governed by an elected ruler. Modeled somewhat after the Minaean goverment to the south-east, it would be composed of provinces, each with an elected governor, who elect the president. Elections could occur every six years; when there is a tie for the naming of the president, the Council decides. The governor would be the ruler of his own province, and the president would decide on matters concerning the republic as a whole, or for events involving more than one province, the Council or territories outside the provinces. The Council decides to take the time to ponder about this proposal and to come to a conclusion during another meeting. (See Fl 7, Fl 18; Ya 23.) YARTHMONT 12, AC 1014: Ragnar Dealt Hard Blow Location: Hardanger Mountains, Soderfjord Jarldoms. KW Description: The forces of Ragnar are thrown into chaos as Psa'gh's kobolds cause an avalanche to destroy the men of the Northern Reaches. Once more, Ragnar is forced to watch as several dozen warriors are crushed to death. (See Fl 25, Ya 8; Ya 16, Ya 28.) YARTHMONT 12, AC 1014: Elven Truce Broken Location: Canolbarth Forest, Aengmor. KW Description: During a talk between the shadow elves and elves of Alfheim over the magic influencing the forest, a shadow elf assassin attempts to kill Tree Keeper Jorodrin Feadiel. The forest elves retaliate and about a dozen are wounded and/or killed on both sides before the elves of Alfheim manage to retreat and lose their pursuers. (See Th 12, Th 27; Ya 19.) What This Means: The shadow elves had nothing to do with the assassination attempt. It was actually an elf of Alfheim using his magic to impersonate a shadow elf who fired the arrow at the Tree Keeper. The elf, a member of the Alfheim Avengers, purposely missed as he did not want to kill one of his own. The whole event was to make it look like the shadow elves cannot be trusted and to polarize the opinion of the surface elves against the Shadow Elves. It seems the attempt worked. YARTHMONT 13, 1014: Gaity in Chaos Location: Gaity, Alatian Islands. KW Description: Gaity goes into a complete state of chaos, as most of the petty barons compete for more land, and eventually for the kingship of the island. There is much political intrigue, assassination attempts, wars, and more between the ex-Thyatian dominion rulers. Neither Thyatis - which has troops stationed on nearby Aegos - nor the New Alphatian Confederate Empire, intervene. What This Means: Since the island has been granted independence from both Thyatis and Alphatia by the Isle of Dawn Treaty, the country has always been in a state of chaos. Escalation happens today, as a baron military attacks his neighbors and declares himself king. What the PCs Can Do: If the PCs have been granted dominion on the island when it was part of the Thyatian Empire, they can't avoid being involved in the events. They can even become the undisputed leaders of Gaity, but that shouldn't happen before they lead their armies to successful wars. YARTHMONT 14, AC 1014: Knightly Pride and Arrogance Location: Freiburg, Heldannic Territories. KW Description: Lenard Doverson, an adventuring priest of Vanya from Thyatis, is arrested in Freiburg for heresy against the Heldannic Knights and Vanya. At his trial in the Star Chamber, he denounces everything the Knights stand for and says that they have lost the true meaning of Vanya, which is to conquer, not to persecute and enslave. The man is executed for such blasphemy, as "only the Heldannic Knights know the true will of Vanya." Afterwards, throughout the Territories, the Knights' spells and magic begin to fail. Many Knights are stripped of their most powerful spells, while some even lose all their spell-casting abilities. Even their famous Heldannic Warbirds lose power and are forced to land; their magical artifacts cease to function as well. (See Th 17; Fe 7, Ei 23.) What This Means: Vanya has always been the patroness of War and Conquest, and she has upheld the Heldannic Knights as her favored as they were always ready to seek glory in battle and war. Yet last year, when the Knights turned inwards rather than to continue conquering, and started their persecution of others, Vanya was dismayed. She gave them leeway as it is the right of the conquerors to dictate how the conquered will behave, to gain time to rest and gather troops/intelligence, as well as to bring new followers to her flock of worshippers. But then many of the Knight Lords began using the Inquisition as means of disposing of their rivals and gaining more lands/money/power rather than for her glory. She has been disappointed ever since, and the execution of one of her own faithful priests trying to return them to the path of conquest was the last straw. The arrogance at the trial of declaring that only the Heldannic Knights know her desires have cost most of them her blessings, as well as the magical support they once had. YARTHMONT 16, AC 1014: Siege of Falun Caverns Location: Falun Caverns, Hardanger Mountains. Description: Ragnar and his men reach the Falun Caverns and encounter the horde of kobolds ready to defend it. After a long and bloody battle, the humans manage to win the field as the kobolds flee back into their caverns. The forces prepare themselves for a siege. (See Ya 8, Ya 12; Ya 28, Kl 23.) YARTHMONT 18, AC 1014: Clash at Sea Location: Gulf of Hule. SC Description: Ships of Zvornik clash with merchant ships of Slagovich, plundering all their cargo, then sinking them at sea. (See Th 12; Ya 24, Kl 7.) What This Means: Zvornik is again seeking to claim dominance to the area, and is starting by destroying the ships of its rivals, such as Slagovich. Slagovich will naturally retaliate by handing out letters of mark against the ships of Zvornik. YARTHMONT 19, AC 1014: Elves Escape Aengmor Location: Aengmor/Darokin Border. KW Description: After a week of fleeing and a few skirmishes with shadow elf soldiers, the elves of Alfheim manage to escape the Canolbarth forest and return to safety in Darokin. Jorodrin is stunned and cannot believe the shadow elves acted in such a way, yet he cannot deny what happened either. He starts making plans to return to King Doriath in Wendar to inform him what has happened. (See Th 27, Ya 12; Sv 12.) YARTHMONT 20, AC 1014: Wanderers Make Plans Location: City of Aengmor, Lower Broken Lands. KW Description: Kanafasti and the Wanderers believe to have found a way to stay in Aengmor while maintaining the Way of Rafiel; they intend to raise the city of Aengmor to the surface world, where they will claim a new way of Rafiel shall be born. Abandoning the deformed and the old was correct underground, as only the strong could survive in that harsh land, but on the surface world such events need no longer occur. They hope that they can start a more caring religion of Rafiel in their new town on the surface. Kanafasti and the Wanderer mages immediately begin the research for such a powerful magical spell. (See Fy 2, Am 2.) What This Means: Unfortunately for the Wanderers, the idea was secretly brought to them by the cult of Atzanteotl. The cult of Atzanteotl has grown as powerful as it dares with the shamans of Rafiel in Aengmor. They intend to destroy the shamans' power by raising the city to the surface, where their soul crystals will be destroyed by the sunlight, and hence they will lose all spellcasting abilities. If that were to happen, the cult of Atzanteotl is sure they can take over Aengmor. The Wanderers, so intent on changing the Way of Rafiel for themselves, have failed to realize that someone else might also be trying to impose their own religion. The shadow elf behind everything is Xatapechtli, the Spymaster and Feathered Serpent, his mind having been slowly corrupted to the Azcan way of life (and hence Atzanteotl) by the magical cloak he wears. He has been pulling the strings behind the scenes to bring back the glory of the way he now sees as the true way of life of shadow elves (See GAZ 13: The Shadow Elves for Xatapechtli's stats). And even more unfortunately for the Wanderers, he is clever and experienced enough to do it without getting caught. YARTHMONT 23, AC 1014: Trolls Galore Location: Makkres Mountains, Vestland. KW Description: The forces of Vestland encounter a horde of trolls, and after a long fight, the humans fall back from the vicious beasts. (See Fl 27; Fe 24, Fy 6.) What This Means: Thar has managed to convince the trolls of Trollheim to join his horde and sent them after the invading humans. Still, the red orc realizes that it is only a matter of time before the Vestlanders get past the trolls and enter the mountains. Thar sends scouts out to find other humanoid tribes and clans in the area and convince them to join his horde. YARTHMONT 23, AC 1014: Council Decides on Esterhold's Future Location: Ionace, NACE. KW Description: The Alphatian Council approves King Favian's proposition concerning the Esterhold Peninsula. The Peninsula becomes the Republic of Esterhold, with a full seat at the Council. It is composed of five provinces: The Province of Anchorage (provincial capital: Anchorage), the Province of Blackrock (provincial capital: Skyfyr), the Province of Marlin (provincial capital: Port Marlin), the Province of Southrock (provincial capital: Rock Harbor), and the Province of Verdan (provincial capital: Faraway). The central region, composed mainly of desert, broken lands and other badlands, is under the direct administration of the President. Favian Vern is named President of Esterhold until elections can be organized, i.e. until the situation is stabilized. He is charged with appointing temporary governors until the elections. (See Fl 18, Ya 11; Fy 26, Am 21.) What This Means: Once more, the New Alphatian Council has agreed to try out one of Favian's strange ideas. The first had to do with naming a city, and now they are trying his methods of politics. How Favian will manage to organize elections in this vast land still remains to be seen, however. YARTHMONT 24, AC 1014: Hojah Enters the War Location: Gulf of Hule. SC Description: During a naval battle between ships of Zvornik and Slagovich, a trade ship of Hojah is badly damaged. Hojah, in retaliation, declares war against Slagovich. Its ships proceed to create a blockade around Slagovich, preventing any type of navel trade. (See Th 12, Ya 18; Kl 7, Fy 12.) What This Means: Although technically both sides are responsible for the damage to the Hojahite ship, Hojah has always been on relatively good terms with Zvornik. Also, their greatest trade rival has always been Slagovich. Add the fact that Derdren Zvornik has promised not to attack Hojah, Margrave Hojah decided to concentrate his forces on Slagovich. YARTHMONT 25, AC 1014: Capture Location: Manacapuru tribal lands, Davania. KW Description: The Karameikan Polar Expedition is attacked, and eventually captured by the Manacapuru tribesmen. The surviving prisoners are brought back to their village/town (Manacapuru). Taxla manages to avoid capture and hides in the dense foliage of the jungle. He follows them back to their village. (See Fl 28, Ya 3; Ya 27, Kl 1.) What This Means: The Karameikan Polar Expedition is having trouble getting home. YARTHMONT 27, AC 1014: Sacrifice Location: Manacapuru, Davania. KW Description: The Manacapuru bring the Karameikan Polar Expedition members to their temple, where they are sacrificed to their snake-Immortals. The Manacapuru throw them into the snake pit at the end of the large ceremony. Taxla watches the event from far, then moves in to see if there is anything he can do to help. The Karameikans discover, to their surprise, that there is no giant snake in the pit to devour them, but rather several snake- men, who take them prisoner. (See Ya 3, Ya 25; Kl 1, Kl 20.) What This Means: The snake-men are Yuan-ti who have managed to convince the primitive Manacapuru that they are Immortals and deserve worship. The Yuan-ti manage to maintain this facade by having as little contact with the Manacapuru as possible, thereby preventing the possibility of them learning that the Yuan-ti are mortal and fallible like anyone else. The Yuan-ti use those who are thrown into the sacrificial pit as guinea pigs to be transformed into histachii or for reproduction. That is the fate intended for the Karameikans. YARTHMONT 28, AC 1014: Cavern Entrance Overtaken Location: Falun Caverns, Hardanger Mountains. KW Description: After a few weeks of fighting, the men of Soderfjord finally manage to break into the Falun Caverns and claim the entrance. Psa'gh's kobolds fall back into the deeper caverns. Ragnar's men are unable to get much farther as the kobolds have riddled their cavern with pitfalls, traps, and ambushes. (See Ya 12, Ya 16; Kl 23, Kl 25.) What This Means: Psa'gh has the situation well in hand. Since the humans already know where the Falun Caverns are, there is no point in trying to lead them astray in the mountains. Psa'gh has let them enter the cavern, where the humans must now split up into small groups to get anywhere. And these small groups don't stand a chance in the maze of traps that the kobolds have prepared. Although Ragnar believes to be making headway into the kobolds' lair, he is only advancing onto more and more traps left by the kobolds. ************** Fabrizio Paoli brizio@lunet.it s153349@studenti.ing.unipi.it DM in City Of The Stars - PC in the Forgotten Realms Leader of Privateers - Trip Bomb Master - Lord of Firewalkers Home Page:http://www.ing.unipi.it/~s153349/index.html ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 24 Mar 1997 20:01:57 +0100 From: Fabrizio Paoli Subject: [Mystara] AC 1014 Almanac Part 17 SVIFTMONT 3, AC 1014: Jaggar Wises Up Location: Glantri City, Glantri. KW Description: Prince Jaggar von Drachenfels ends his affair with Dolores Hillsbury and the two seem forever opposed in Council meetings. What This Means: Two years ago, Prince Malachie brought Jaggar some scales of a dragon and wanted to learn which type of dragon they were. Jaggar has been intrigued because, despite being the master Dracologist, he has never seen that type of scale/dragon before. After a few more talks with Malachie and sending his spies out to discover where the Prince of Morlay-Malinbois found these scales, Jaggar has eventually discovered that Dolores has something to do with them. (Malachie did not tell him directly as he finds it would be more believable if Jaggar finds out for himself.) After examining everything he has done since taking up with Dolores, including supporting Kol and his kobolds over the elves of Erewan, Jaggar becomes dismayed at the fool he had been. He has vowed to destroy Dolores for the chaos she has caused in Glantri, and for the evil he has unknowingly done in her name. But he knows better than to try and confront her directly. As all Princes/mages do in Glantri, he begins to use his influence and political power to destroy her on the political level since a direct confrontation between Princes is not allowed without sufficient cause (personal hatred does not count, nor does not being human, in Glantri). Also, he has more pressing matters of planning the defense of his nation against Ethengar's invasion, which could come at any time. This is a battle he has been waiting for a long time and he wants to make sure everything is perfect. SVIFTMONT 4, AC 1014: Thar and Psa'gh Lick Their Wounds Location: Makkres Mountains, Vestland. KW Description: Back in the Makkres Mountains, Thar, Psa'gh, and the survivors of their hordes return to Thar's lair and gather what they can in terms of supplies and new recruits. The rag-tag horde then leaves the area and moves south, toward Rockhome. (See Am 5.) What This Means: Thar and Psa'gh have been soundly beaten by the humans, and they know it. They view that Thar's lair in the Makkres is undefendable with the small number of humanoids they have with them, so they want to move as far away from the humans as they can. The logical choice was toward Rockhome; a large area of the dwarven nation, particularly near three volcanoes, is rather barren of dwarven settlements. The two goblinoid leaders view this as the best place for them to once more gather their forces. SVIFTMONT 6, AC 1014: Kin Make Their Move Location: Emirates of Ylaruam. KW Description: The Kin faction publicly declares that the turmoil currently happening in Ylaruam is all because of the Preceptors, their Sultan, and their political method of dealing with foreigners. They make proud speeches about how the true Ylari way and way of Al-Kalim is the warrior way, not the way of weakness of the so-called "civilized" people of the rest of the world. They preach out that the brave warriors should help restore the Kin faction to lead Ylaruam, to return the Ylari to the glorious warriors they should be. The sides are therefore made in the Ylari civil war; the Alasiyani (Preceptors) against the Abbashani (Kin). The other Emirates help neither side officially as the tribes within are more or less evenly split between the two, or just don't want to participate. (See Am 12, Am 20; Sv 19, Ei 1.) What This Means: This is the official declaration of war against the sultan by the Kin faction. Although is was tribe against tribe at first, now there are definite sides, and thanks to the news spread around the nation of what has happened in Ylaruam City during the World Games (admittedly mostly exaggerated by the Kin), the Kin faction is receiving enough support to stage their coup. SVIFTMONT 8, AC 1014: Karameikos Makes an Official Announcement Location: Mirros, Karameikos. KW Description: King Stefan once again makes good use of the resources of the Karameikan School of Magecraft by teleporting copies of an official declaration in which he confirms the existence of the Hollow World as per "Claransa's Travels to the Center of the World", and also reveals the survival of Alphatia in the Hollow World as one of those levitating land masses known as the floating continents. Those copies are sent to rulers, libraries, magicians' guild leaders and public figures in Aengmor, Darokin, Ethengar, the Five Shires, Glantri, the Heldannic Territories, Ierendi, the major towns of Karameikos, Leeha, Minaea, Minrothad, the many nations of the New Alphatian Confederate Empire, Ne'er-do-well, Ochalea, Ostland, the Pearl Islands, Rockhome, Serraine (courtesy of Master Terari), Soderfjord, Thyatis and its colonies on the Isle of Dawn and Aegos, Vestland, Wendar, and Ylaruam. Stefan also announces that another expedition will be sent to Date: Mon, 24 Mar 1997 13:08:04 -0600 From: (mystara-digest) To: mystara-digest@lists.io.com Subject: mystara-digest V2 #24 Reply-To: mystara-l@lists.io.com Precedence: bulk X-UIDL: 6261e99f7bad1159d4bb707a2aacb3c7 the Hollow World next year. (See Fy 11, Fy 19; Sv 8, Sv 9.) SVIFTMONT 8, AC 1014: The NACE Makes an Official Announcement Location: Ionace, NACE. KW Description: The Council also makes an official declaration in which it confirms the truth of the Karameikan statement, reaffirming the existence of the Hollow World, and the survival of Alphatia ruled by Her Imperial Majesty Eriadna; it also reaffirms that the New Alphatian Confederate Empire is part of Alphatia and is ruled by the Council in Empress Eriadna's name. The Council also states that the region claimed by the NACE that leads to the north pole, from Alpha to Faraway via Qeodhar, including the waters between those places, are restricted to the sole use of the Confederation. Nations or individuals that wish to use that route to the Hollow World must first petition the Council, or find another route. (See Fy 11, Fy 19, Sv 8; Sv 9.) What This Means: This declaration and that from Karameikos were written in common during the last weeks, and the destinations of the teleportated copies carefully chosen. Karameikos has already been assured that it has permission to sail through Alphatian territory to reach the Hollow World. The fact that the path to the northern pole is under Alphatian control is more a wish than a fact: The confederate navy cannot patrol the seas enough to prevent isolated ships from going through (it already has difficulties preventing Minaean pirate raids), although whole fleets will never be allowed to pass; in fact, Baron Norlan will profit from it by allowing illegal ships to sail to the north in return for a small bribe. Minrothad sees this as a further ground for reopening the pit of Aegos, since the Alphatians will need a way to trade between the two worlds, and, unless they find another route, the pit can become very profitable. On the other hand, this is bad news for Thyatis, since it puts an end to their dreams of conquest of the Hollow World. The pit of Aegos has lost most of its interest, since it is now clear that it couldn't be used to send enough Thyatian legions; it would only benefit Alphatia. The Heldannic Knights already knew of the situation in the Hollow World, and have realized it is lost to the Alphatians. They have long tried to keep its existence a secret, but now it is no more that important to them. They laugh at the declaration of the NACE stating that the easiest route to the north pole is restricted, since they are sure they can force their way through if they wish - at least once they will have dealt with this insurrection at home. Moreover, they know of other routes, and prefer to use the southern pole by using their base at Green Bay. The shadow elves have too many internal problems to deal with to fully realize the importance of this declaration; when they realize it, however, will they understand that their underground route to the Schattenalfen caverns may be even more valuable than they first thought. SVIFTMONT 9, AC 1014: Norlan Is Furious Location: Ionace, NACE. KW Description: An infuriated Baron Norlan, who has just learned of the existence of the Hollow World and Alphatia, is teleported by his pet mage to the Parliament on Ionace. He yells in the corridors of the building, requesting explanations from his peers. He eventually meets Queen Gratia of Surshield, who yells at him in return. When Norlan agrees to calm down and hear her explanations, she tells him that the Council already knew it all when the Confederation was created, and that every ruler adhering to the NACE was informed of it during his first meeting at the Council. It is his fault if he never learned it, since he never attended a single Council session or even sent a representative. (See Fy 11, Fy 19, Sv 8.) What This Means: Norlan still believes the Council voluntarily hid the information from him because they dislike him and want his fall. He decides to send a representant to the Council just in case, but assumes the better way to learn what the Council wants to keep away from him is by sending agents from his Special Force to do some spying. Also, it won't be long before he understands where Mariella went; now that he knows that Alphatia still exists somewhere, she has once again become important to him. SVIFTMONT 10, AC 1014: Torolai discover Dogrel Location: Dogrel, northwest of Kogolor lands. HW Description: Scouts of the Torolai discover the town of Dogrel (unimaginatively named after himself), located in the valley along the Great Mud River. They return to report to Zorok, their chieftain. (See Sv 14, Sv 20.) What This Means: King Dogrel of the Alphatia Neatharum started his own community last year without any of the Imperial laws forbiding slavery of the Neathar. With the discovery of a silver mine in the nearby mountains, Dogrel ordered his loyal men to capture even more slaves and have them dig up the rich resource. Zorok, chieftain of the nearby Torolai tribe, noticed the disappearance of his people and sent his best scouts out to see what was going on. SVIFTMONT 12, AC 1014: Shadow Elves Try For Peace Again Location: Rafielton, Nation of Aengmor. KW Description: Princess Tanadaleyo of Rafielton again invites the former elves of Alfheim over to discuss peace and help save the forest. She states that the attempted assassination was not at all sanctioned by her, and that they are still looking for the individual shadow elf who fired the first arrow so he can receive proper punishment. She claims that elf must have been one of the discontent of her nation who are paranoid of the surface elves, just as the Alfheim Avengers who have been constantly raiding them the past year or so are paranoid of shadow elves. Tanadaleyo wishes to prove that only a minority, on BOTH sides, wishes for war, while most want to live together in peace. Unfortunately, after the last incident, the former elves of Alfheim are rather insecure about returning to the land of their enemies. A few of the more adventurous ones do go back, but they are always on the edge, expecting a trap, and discussions go very slowly. (See Ya 19, Am 22; Ka 8, Ka 22.) What This Means: Princess Tanadaleyo's statement is more or less true. Although she has no love for the former elves of Alfheim and couldn't care less what they do, she does need them. First, they have the magic necessary to save the Canolbarth forest, which she and her people have come to see as theirs, especially since they are the ones who caused its present state of near-destruction. Even more important now, she needs them for the influence they can have on the shadow elves of Rafielton. She has noticed the steady entrance of worshippers of Atzanteotl into her nation from the city of Aengmor and believes it to be rather dangerous. Her own spies report that the Atzanteotl elves are preparing a rebellion against the shamans of Rafiel, although they have no idea how they are planning to do it. Although Tanadaleyo herself dislikes the shamans and wants to get rid of them, she would rather keep the power for herself rather than simply replacing the control of the shamans of Rafiel with the control of the shamans of Atzanteotl. That is why she would like her people to see the way of the elves of Alfheim as there was no religious control in their nation. Admittedly, the priests/Tree Keepers of Ilsundal were respected, but they did not have the political power shamans have in the shadow elf lands (more accurately, they did have the power, just rarely used it beyond advising the Clan Leaders, but the shadow elves don't know that). She would therefore rather see her elves become more like the surface elves than those of the city of Aengmor. SVIFTMONT 14, AC 1014: Zorok's Scouts Return Location: Torolai lands, Neathar Lands. HW Description: Chief Zorok hears about his people been held as slaves by Alphatians. He declares that the Torolai will once more war on the Alphatians and sends messengers out to the other tribal chieftains to inform them what is going on. (See Sv 10; Sv 20, Sv 28.) What This Means: Zorok has never liked the Alphatians and believes that the Empire merely declared peace so it could continue with its hidden agenda. He has always believed that they were too imperialistic and ambitious, and now he has been proven right. Zorok intents to rid Neathar of the Alphatians once and for all, starting with the new town of Dogrel. If he were to learn that Dogrel was acting on his own, he would probably not believe it. SVIFTMONT 19, AC 1014: Defense League Wants to Help Location: Ylaruam City, Emirates of Ylaruam. KW Description: The ambassadors of the Western Defense League in Ylaruam inform the Sultan that they are willing to send him, the rightful ruler of Ylaruam, troops to help stop the rebellion. Sultan Mohammed Al-Kalim refuses their aid as to bring in more infidels to help him will only make matters worse in the eyes of his people. (See Am 20, Sv 6; Ei 1, Ka 15.) SVIFTMONT 20, AC 1014: Neathar Leave Haldemar Location: Haldemar, Alphatian Neatharum, Alphatia. HW Description: Many of the Neathar living in and around Haldemar slowly start to leave the area. (See Sv 10, Sv 14; Sv 28, Ei 14.) What This Means: Zorok has been spreading the news about the enslavement of the other Neathar back in Dogrel, and the Neathar are losing their trust in the Alphatians. They are leaving Haldemar now while they still have a chance. Dogrel notices the mass departures, but cannot do anything without arousing the suspicions of Empress Eriadna. SVIFTMONT 25, AC 1014: A Plague on Isla del Cayo Location: Isla del Cayo, Baronia de Gargo¤a. SC Description: A dreaded disease breaks loose on la Isla del Cayo, killing the isolated Afflicted which live there. When word spreads throughout the Baronies, most people begin to shun and fear the afflicted even more, believing that they are carriers of this deadly plague. Rumors also begin to circulate that maybe this is another side-effect of the Legacies; since they have only been around for a few years now (or at least widespread for a few years), no one really knows what the long term effects are. What This Means: This is just a disease which happened to affect the Afflicted living on the island, and nothing more. It's a sad case where people's fears are turning things much worse than what they really are. SVIFTMONT 28, AC 1014: Dogrel Raided Location: Town of Dogrel, Northwest of Kogolor lands. HW Description: Zorok and the Torolai, along with a few other nearby minor Neathar tribes, lead a raid against the town of Dogrel, freeing several of the slaves forced to work in the mines. (See Sv 14, Sv 20; Ei 14, Ei 16.) What This Means: King Dogrel sends more troops over to Dogrel, but cannot send too many without drawing Imperial attention to his actions. The Neathar will continue to harass this outpost for the next several weeks. EIRMONT 1, AC 1014: Sandstorm Location: Emirates of Ylaruam. KW Description: A significant portion of both the Kin and Preceptor factions' armies are wiped out on the battlefield by a sandstorm. (See Sv 6, Sv 9; Ka 15, Ka 19.) What This Means: This is just bad luck for both sides of the war. The sandstorm is completely natural, and just happened to strike on the battlefield of the two groups. Although the number of casualties are roughly equal on both sides, the Preceptors have just lost their best leaders in the storm. EIRMONT 5, AC 1014: Dwarves in Aegos Location: Stronghold, Fortress Island, Minrothad. KW Description: Guild leader Oran Meditor, seeing great trade opportunities to come in Aegos, solicits help from the dwarves of Fortress Island to help in the redigging of the pit. Some dwarves accept the challenge. What This Means: Human engineers have been unable to reopen the pit, their work hampered by the occasional earthquakes that occur irregularly in the region. Oran Meditor reasoned that dwarves would be better at this task, because evidences have been discovered that the Alphatians had used dwarven workers (this is true, but only partially, since gnomes from Serraine also participated in the works alongside dwarves from Denwarf-Hurgon). EIRMONT 7, AC 1014: Dissent Among the Warriors Location: Sind. KW Description: Tension begins to grow among the Freedom Warriors. Many of the units not directly under Anand or Sitara's command start to ignore her suggestions or plans. This begins to cause loses in various strikes that should have been easy victories. (See Kl 5, Fe 6.) What This Means: The underground movement of Sind had been started by the Rishiyas. They have been wanting to get rid of the Prophet of Gareth for some time now, but since she has been helping their movement so well, they decided to leave things alone for a while. In fact, this has helped them out tremendously, as Sitara and Anand have done amazing feats for the rebel movement. But now the common people are beginning to associate the Freedom Warriors with Gareth, and this is beginning to scare the Rishiyas once more. The occasional rumor that Sitara is the mortal incarnation of Himayeti has struck an even bigger nerve to the priests of the traditional cleric caste. They are beginning to fear that the Immortals will take offense at such blasphemy and curse them to fail at freeing their nation if they allow it to continue. But the Prophet is too much of a hero now, so they cannot simply eliminate her. The Rishiyas are taking an indirect route by ignoring her plans and suggestions, hoping that the people notice the Freedom Warriors make mistakes and blame it on their "leader", the Prophet of Gareth. None of them seem to think of the possible result of losing Sind to Hule by destroying their own resistance movement themselves with such internal conflicts. EIRMONT 9, AC 1014: Saved by Orcs Location: Sandros Valley, Black Mountains. SC Description: Stephan Karvich, the exiled regent of Nova Svoga, and his group are attacked by hobgoblins in the Sandros Valley. The outnumbered humans are about to be slaughtered by the goblinoids when they receive unexpected help by a group of orcs. Once the hobgoblins are defeated, the men of Nova Svoga prepare to defend Anya from the orcs, but they are taken by surprise when one of them speaks Thyatian Common. He introduces himself as Thurgg, leader of the Dark Fangs, and welcomes them to their village but a few days away. After a bit of unease, Stephan Karvich accepts the offer and they start marching to their village. (See Ei 15.) What This Means: Stephan Karvich and his group have been hiding within the valleys of the Black Mountains since the summer of AC 1012. With him, he has Anya, the nine-year-old heir to the throne and only remaining member of the margrave's family. He intends to keep her alive and safe from the orcs no matter what as she is their only legitimate claim on the lands of Nova Svoga. EIRMONT 9, AC 1014: Dead Place Discovered Location: Emirate of Nithia, Emirates of Ylaruam. KW Description: The Glantrian agents of Synn discover the obsidian dome that covers the portals of the Dead Place. They kill their guides to prevent them from telling anyone else that they have found it, then begin to dig up the huge obsidian bowl so they can examine it further. The leader of the group teleports back to Glantri to inform Dolores (Synn) of their discovery and to gather more servants to help in the digging (probably goblinoids). (See Am 3, Am 13; Ka 17.) What This Means: Synn has now found a place of great magic and is rather interested in seeing what she can learn from it. It will be some time before her agents can dig up the depression, as they fear using magic too close to such a magical place, which could have disastrous consequences. EIRMONT 12, AC 1014: Dunadale Contacts the NACE Location: Province of Dunadale, Isle of Dawn. KW Description: The Thyatian Province of Dunadale, whose citizens are mostly of Alphatian descent, declares it will open up diplomatic ties with the New Alphatian Confederate Empire, like Helskir did the previous month. (See Am 21, Am 22.) What This Means: The Thyatian governor of the province did this to please his citizens, as he was fearing an uprising. He hopes this won't upset Emperor Eusebius. EIRMONT 14, AC 1014: Haldemar Attacked Location: Haldemar, Alphatian Neatharum, Alphatia. HW Description: A large band of dinosaur riding Neathar attack the town of Haldemar, destroying the houses and causing as much damage as they can. One group is sent to destroy as many of the docked skyships as they can. After much destruction from this unexpected attack from the inside, the Alphatians manage to chase the Neathar away. (See Sv 20, Sv 28; Ei 16) EIRMONT 15, AC 1014: Allies Are Made Location: Dark Fang village, Black Mountains. SC Description: After staying with the orcs for a few days, Stephan Karvich has come to trust Thurgg as an ally. He still mistrusts the other orcs, but Thurgg tells them they are still in the process of change and says to give them time.. they are not used to helping others, especially not humans. Thurgg teaches the regent and the young Anya about the philosophies of Gareth, hoping to spread his wisdom to the humans of the City-States. (See Ei 9.) What This Means: When Stephan Karvich will be ready to reclaim Nova Svoga from the Huleans, it seems he will have orcs to help him. This could be a great surprise against the forces of Hule, since they believe that all the orcs in the area work for them. EIRMONT 16, AC 1014: Empress Demands to Know What Happened Location: New City, Jafalia, Alphatia. HW Description: In an audience with Empress Eriadna, King Dogrel must explain what happened down in Haldemar and why the Neathar attacked. Dogrel claims to have no knowledge of what is going on. Eriadna sends down several ambassadors to find and talk with the chieftains, as she did a couple of years ago. (See Sv 28, Ei 16.) What This Means: The Empire is now taking a closer look at what is happening to the Neathar, limiting Dogrel's choice of actions. Dogrel begins to panic, and starts planing an escape route in case something goes wrong. EIRMONT 23, AC 1014: Revolt in Hockstein Location: Hockstein, Heldannic Territories. KW Description: The commoners of the Heldann Freeholds start a massive riot/rebellion in the city of Hockstein. Unlike other revolts, this one is well led, planned, and funded (by the gold stolen several months ago). Geoffrey of Grunturm has been in the city for a while, making the plans and providing magical support to the revolt. (See Ya 14, Fe 7; Ei 28, Ka 20.) What This Means: There is no hidden meaning here. The people of the Heldannic Territories are once again trying to free their land of the rulership of the Heldannic Knights. This time, the revolt has been well planned, and the Knights are lacking in their magical (clerical) support they normally have, giving the rebels the best chance they have had in decades. EIRMONT 28, AC 1014: Hockstein Captured Location: Hockstein, Heldannic Territories. KW Description: After a few days of fighting with the garrisons of Knights present in Hockstein, the peasants manage to take over the city while the Knights barricade themselves in the central keep. By this stage, most of the commoners of the city have joined sides with the rebellion seeing that there is actually the chance that they might win. Geoffrey immediately sets men to watch the city walls, now heavily fortified thanks to the rulership of the Knights for the past several decades. He prepares plans for surviving the siege that is sure to follow by the reinforcements sent by Freiburg. (See Fe 7, Ei 23; Ka 2, Ka 20.) ************** Fabrizio Paoli brizio@lunet.it s153349@studenti.ing.unipi.it DM in City Of The Stars - PC in the Forgotten Realms Leader of Privateers - Trip Bomb Master - Lord of Firewalkers Home Page:http://www.ing.unipi.it/~s153349/index.html ------------------------------ End of mystara-digest V2 #24 **************************** Date: Mon, 24 Mar 1997 13:08:26 -0600 From: (mystara-digest) To: mystara-digest@lists.io.com Subject: mystara-digest V2 #25 Reply-To: mystara-l@lists.io.com Precedence: bulk X-UIDL: a2b55ec37a5df131ae7a6cec88e3ebb4 mystara-digest Monday, March 24 1997 Volume 02 : Number 025 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 24 Mar 1997 20:02:12 +0100 From: Fabrizio Paoli Subject: [Mystara] AC 1014 Almanac Part 19 PREDICTIONS & PROGNOSTICATIONS - ------------------------------ Considering the great success this section had in last year's issue, we decided to invite Patricia Fortunatus and Bertram Smith to once more make their predictions of what will befall the Known World during the year AC 1015. As before, the editors of this Almanac make no claim as to their accuracy, nor as to the best way to interpret these prognostications. The following predictions were provided by the respected Thyatian psychic Patricia Fortunatus: 1. A return to power, they believe to obtain, With journeys far, through the ocean's splash, But the territory is claimed, much to their disdain, And hence will Empires come to clash. 2. United they stand against a magical foe For vengeance they fight, but also to plunder, Their leader shall fall, much to their woe. Divided shall they become, and then fall under. 3. In the Holy Land, a black curse spills out; Dark fiends are loose, and villages burn. The faithful are ready, warriors yell and shout, True Believers rejoice, the Sultan shall return. 4. Her will has been shown, they suffer repentance, And rise to the challenge, as battles they savor. Heroic actions and deeds will end the sentence, And return them to glory and in Her favor. The following prognostications are from Bertram Smith, who can be found most evenings in the Hart and Harrow inn in Mirros. As before, the editors of the Almanac would like to state that Bertram has no divination or psychic powers, but rather makes educated guesses and keen observations to foretell the future. "Didn't I tell you that there Gareth was worth payin' mind to?" "Well, now, the troubles ahead will be a coming from the north this time 'round. From what I heard, that Ostland country gotta new king on the throne. A young lad at that! Now, when ya get a new king in charge, there's always some sorta trouble, with people left and right tryin' to take his crown and rulership away from 'im. But this year, not a sound or dagger raised. If ya ask me, which ya are, that means somethin's going on behind the scenes. Just ya wait an' see. I'm tellin' ya, that place will be in a civil war faster than ya think." CLASSIFIEDS - ----------- Dragon parts offered for sale. A rogue green dragon terrorizing the elves of Achelos Woods has been defeated and its corpse brought back to Mirros. Except for the chest area and various burns by magical spells, most of the dragon is still intact, including the head, wings, claws, and even the brain and heart. Contact Mikev Stalonos of the Company of the Spell and Sword at the Black-Heart Lily in Mirros. First come, first served. A natural cure for the Kobold Flu, which ran rampant in the Hardanger Mountains this year, is available at Fordson's Herbs and Spices in Soderfjord. If you are coughing, sneezing and have a runny nose [as well as -2 Str, Con, Cha and -1d6 Dex. Ed.] and you or someone around you has been in the Hardangers recently, then you have it. Why sit around and look feeble for the month or two it takes to get over it? Come to Fordson's Herbs and Spices, where a cure is only 5 gold markkas. Guaranteed to work within a week and completely non-magical. Gastenoo's World of Adventure on Safari Island, Ierendi, is inviting you on an adventure. The Original. The Best. The One You Don't Want to Miss. Experience the thrill and excitement of your very own adventure. Learn what it takes to be a tough and wise adventurer. Completely safe - little pain and no permanent injuries. If you need a great army, the Lion's Legion is what you are looking for. Guaranteed the best trained mercenaries, militant wizards, and war priests this side of the Great Wastes. Awarded several medals during the war with Alphatia. We supply our own equipment and healing. Prices are negotiable depending on the mission and how many men are needed. Those wishing to hire us must obtain a charter granting the Lion's Legion permission to operate within the nation in question. Can be contacted at the Lion Legion's barracks in Thyatis City. Looking for a Instant Fortress [Daern's. Ed.]. If anyone would happen to have such a magical item and be willing to part with it, please contact Master Tremanorius of the College of Lucinius, Thyatis City. Willing to negotiate price. Need to travel quickly? Contact Cardia's Carpet Service. Can bring up to two passengers on a flying carpet to and from anywhere in the Kingdom of Karameikos. Cost is 2 gold royals/person/mile for 2 passengers, or 5 gp/mile for just one passenger. Send reservations to Cardia's Carpet Service, Westron Alley, Merchant District, Mirros. ************** Fabrizio Paoli brizio@lunet.it s153349@studenti.ing.unipi.it DM in City Of The Stars - PC in the Forgotten Realms Leader of Privateers - Trip Bomb Master - Lord of Firewalkers Home Page:http://www.ing.unipi.it/~s153349/index.html ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 24 Mar 1997 20:02:05 +0100 From: Fabrizio Paoli Subject: [Mystara] AC 1014 Almanac Part 18 KALDMONT 2, AC 1014: Reinforcements Arrive Location: Hockstein, Heldannic Territories. KW Description: As predicted, forces from Freiburg and Grauenberg arrive to help the Knights in Hockstein, but are kept outside by the peasants who are driven to ridding their lands of the Knights. A long siege starts. (See Ei 23, Ei 25; Ka 20.) KALDMONT 4, AC 1014: Daring Raid at Corisa Location: Corisa, Milenian Empire. HW Description: Captain Targos of the merry pirates, sails into the harbor of Corisa passing as a merchant vessel. During the night, with the help of a few new mages - Alphatian crewmen who have since joined the merry pirates - Targos and his men sneak onto three other ships, stealing their cargo and valuable. Their ship, the Manticore, sails out of the harbor afterwards, before anyone realises what has happened. KALDMONT 8, AC 1014: No Official Sect of Rafiel Location: Rafielton, Aengmor. KW Description: After the rising tensions between various factions of elves within Rafielton, Princess Tanadaleyo declares that there will be no official religion of Rafiel in Rafielton. Elves may choose themselves which one they want to follow. The statement is backed by General Garafaele of Aengmor. The City of Stars declares such acts as rebellious and warns that necessary actions will be taken to restore the religion of Rafiel before too much blasphemy transpires. (See Am 22, Sv 12; Ka 22.) What This Means: Tanadaleyo is trying to reduce the tensions without declaring either Way of Rafiel the right one. She would rather abolish the Way of Rafiel altogether, so choosing one or the other will just make it all the harder for her to get rid of it later. Unfortunately, this answer satisfies none of the groups, especially with the cult of Atzanteotl hiding in the shadows, pulling strings, and just causing trouble while drawing little or no attention to themselves. KALDMONT 11, AC 1014: Shrine to Gareth Location: Akorros, Darokin. KW Description: In the city of Akorros, a shrine built in the honor of the Immortal Gareth is completed today. (See Va 25, Th 7.) What This Means: The shrine is a small church; nothing fancy enough to be called a temple. Still, the high priest Arturo Olivera has managed to attract enough followers in the city to fill it during the ceremonies. It seems the people of Darokin can accept the philosophy of Gareth; mortals are not the playthings of the Immortals above. Many also simply come to see what this Immortal who has a priestess who seems to be single-handedly running the underground movement in Sind (or so claim the rumors that leak back to Darokin) can do. KALDMONT 15, AC 1014: Pirates Raid Cinnabryl Location: Gulf of Hule. SC Description: During the second exportation of cinnabryl from Slagovich this year, the small fleet carrying the cinnabryl is ambushed by a larger group of pirates. The Knights of Halav in the fleet are slain to a man, and all the cinnabryl is taken. What This Means: The main supplier of cinnabryl to the Savage Coast is Slagovich, and their shipment has just been stolen. Expect the price of cinnabryl to increase noticeably throughout the land, placing it out of reach for many of the poorer families. The Inheritors also view this act as one of the most treacherous anyone could ever do. They begin to gather information and to discover who could possibly be behind such a deed. A reward is offered to anyone who can prove who the thieves are. KALDMONT 15, AC 1014: Ylaruam Besieged Location: City of Ylaruam, Emirates of Ylaruam. KW Description: After weeks of fighting throughout the Alasiyan Desert, the Kin faction finally makes its move on the City of Ylaruam. The capital of the Preceptors is surrounded and all trade supplies are blocked off, including access to the oases just outside of town. (See Sv 19, Ei 1; Ka 19, Ka 21.) What This Means: The Kin faction has had the advantage ever since the sandstorm. Although both sides lost an almost equal number of men, the Preceptors lost their best leaders and warriors, while the Kin only lost ordinary warriors. Since then, the Kin have been out-maneuvering the Preceptors on the battlefield and slowly winning the war in the desert. KALDMONT 17, AC 1014: Synn Plots Again Location: Fenswick, Glantri and Broken Lands. KW Description: Having started to feel the loss of power she once had in Glantri, Synn decides to try and cause trouble elsewhere in the Known World. She sends a powerful lich called Deimos to work on harassing Darokin to the south. Using her connections, Synn sends several humanoid forces with Deimos to the Broken Lands. She also sends one of her shadow elf agents to act as Deimos' general of the goblinoids. Once in the Broken Lands, the lich uses his magic to create a tower to act as his headquarters while his humanoids roam the area, gathering all the humanoids still alive and hiding on the shadow elves. These goblinoids, still afraid of the shadow elves, are eager to join what appears to be a powerful horde in the making. Deimos calls his base Sable Tower. Synn herself occasionally visits the Dead Place in Ylaruam to see if her agents there have discovered anything new. Also, to make sure no one can link her to Dolores Hillsbury, she takes on another human form, this time with long blond hair (instead of the dark hair of Dolores), when she visits her followers in other nations. (See Am 13, Ei 9.) What This Means: As mentioned, with the loss of Jaggar, Synn is losing her political pull as Dolores Hillsbury in Glantri. Since she just has to cause chaos, she has decided to send some of her forces elsewhere to inflict chaos in other lands. Darokin has now become one of her targets. The shadow elves sent with Deimos will help keep the shadow elves of the city of Aengmor away from the tower, hiding the humanoid forces there from the elves. The civil war brewing in Aengmor also helps. These shadow elf agents were originally spies on Glantri, but came to love the power, magic, and cutthroat politics of the human nation and decided to stay in Glantri rather than return to the City of Stars. Dolores Hillsbury learned of them and hired most of them to work for her. The spies, having been trained by Xatapechtli, were already evil since they are assassins without any compassion for their enemies. They got along rather well with Synn. Anyone who recognizes the names will know that Deimos and the above plot comes from the arcade game "D&D: Tower of Doom." The adventure of the arcade games are rather good and can easily be made into a standard rpg-module type game and even a complete campaign plot. It is my belief that the events of the arcade game take place in the year AC 1015, while those of the follow up game "D&D: Shadow over Mystara" take place in the year AC 1017. The actual details of the plot will be given in the AC 1015 version of the Mystaran Almanacs. KALDMONT 19, AC 1014: Kin Are Victorious Location: City of Ylaruam, Emirates of Ylaruam. KW Description: The Kin faction breaks into Ylaruam and manages to take over the city. Sultan Mohammed Al-Kalim is captured by the Kin faction, as well as several members of the Council of Preceptors. The Kin declare that the Council of Preceptors will now be replaced with the Council of the Kin, and that the new Sultan of Ylaruam will be Hassan Al-Kalim, a true blood descendant of Suleiman Al-Kalim (for more information on the two factions and Al-Kalim's "bloodline," see GAZ 2: Ylaruam, p.4). (See Ei 1, Ka 15; Ka 21.) What This Means: The Kin have just taken over Ylaruam. Although most of the Council of Preceptors has been captured, some have escaped, as have the other Preceptors not on the council. KALDMONT 20, AC 1014: Knights Retreat Location: Hockstein, Heldannic Territories. KW Description: Winter finally arrives in the Heldannic Territories, and the Knights are forced to retreat from besieging the city of Hockstein. (See Ei 25, Ka 2.) What This Means: A part of the rebel's plan was to wait until winter to make their move, as the snow and cold would force besieging enemies to leave or freeze to death. With the departure of the Knights outside the city, the rebels now have the whole winter to rest and recuperate, as well as prepare for the next onslaught come spring. KALDMONT 21, AC 1014: Sultan Executed Location: City of Ylaruam, Emirates of Ylaruam. KW Description: After a "trial", Mohammed Al-Kalim and the Council of Preceptors are executed for treason against the nation of Ylaruam, having let the foreigners roam freely on sacred and holy ground and corrupt the citizens of Ylaruam. Foreigners in Ylaruam are also ordered to leave the country on pain of death, and all laws of murder and assault shall no longer apply when inflicted upon an infidel. The Council of the Kin close the borders of Ylaruam to foreign trade. Ylaruam also withdraws from the Western Defense League. (See Ka 15, Ka 19.) What This Means: The position of Hassan is now very secure. The few remaining Preceptors flee to various nomad tribes still loyal to their beliefs. They intend to stay in hiding until the time is right to reclaim their rightful rulership of Ylaruam. Anyone harboring a Preceptor is considered to be an outlaw under the new Sultan, so the tribes are very careful about this. As for the foreigners in Ylaruam, it is now acceptable for any Ylari to kill them. The new Sultan has ordered them to leave, and has not given them any time of grace for them to do so. The only ones who will get out without any trouble are the ambassadors in Ylaruam who will be escorted under guard back to the borders. KALDMONT 22, AC 1014: Elves at War Location: Rafielton, Aengmor. KW Description: With the propaganda spread by the worshippers of Atzanteotl in Rafielton, many of the elves begin to see Princess Tanadaleyo as a heretic who is turning her back completely on the Way of Rafiel. Tensions rise higher, people accuse each other of being traitors, and then a blow is struck. Soon, the city of Rafielton is at war; shadow elves are fighting shadow elves. The City of Stars declares war on the rebellious kingdoms of Rafielton and Aengmor, and shadow elf armies begin their march to retake the surface lands from the traitors. (See Sv 12, Ka 8.) What This Means: The cult of Atzanteotl has started a civil war, and they don't even have to fight (although they are more than likely to get caught in the crossfire). Within a few days, the fighting quickly spreads throughout the Canolbarth Forest as "resistance" groups scatter and hide everywhere, taking up hit and run tactics on "traitors." Although the original battle was small enough to be contained by the Rafielton military, the cult of Atzanteotl started running around the city, yelling that the military was on one side or another, making them believe that others were being unfairly treated. Before anyone could sort out the truth behind what has happened, it was already too late; fighting broke out throughout the town, and militia groups had taken off into the forest to fight their war. The actions taken by the City of Stars has more to do with the influence of the shamans of Rafiel than the desires of King Telemon. The King himself cares nothing about the shamans or their way, but he knows that to openly defy them in the City of Stars, where they still have direct control, would be suicidal. Porphyriel doesn't care about the renegade elves and is glad to be rid of them, but there's still the matter of principle behind the revolt, so she uses her influence to force a punishment on the blasphemers. KALDMONT 28, AC 1014: Day of Dread Location: Worldwide Description: On the 28th, Glantri time, the Day of Dread takes place once again. No one has yet been able to solve this problem and eliminate the curse or magical effect that seems to cause the day without magic. The effects take place an hour earlier for every 15 degrees west of Glantri City, and an hour later for every 15 degrees east Date: Mon, 24 Mar 1997 13:08:26 -0600 From: (mystara-digest) To: mystara-digest@lists.io.com Subject: mystara-digest V2 #25 Reply-To: mystara-l@lists.io.com Precedence: bulk X-UIDL: a2b55ec37a5df131ae7a6cec88e3ebb4 of Glantri City. (15 degrees at Glantri's latitude is roughly 800 miles.) A NEW SULTAN ON THE THRONE [Ed. Notes: citations are from the Nameh, the Holy Book of Al- Kalim.] O infidels, hear so "that you may know and understand" that all citizens of the Emirates of Ylaruam, from the lowly street- sweeper to the most holy Champion of the Eternal Truth, shall no longer tolerate your presence within our holy lands. The corruption of the uncivilized, with their greed and lecherousness, bodes ill for the True Believers as "wealth does not avail before the Terminator of Earthly Delights." During the World Games, the infidel was welcomed with opens arms as "the grateful host is indeed blessed by the Immortal Ones." We accepted with open hearts and minds the infidel, knowing that we could show him the error of his ways, bring him to the Eternal Truth and give him an understanding of life. It is said that Al-Kalim foretold that "the stranger must be succored in times of need" as they sure are in now. Yet the infidels betrayed their host and entered the household with deceit and lies. They came because of greed and pride, desiring to acquire ill-gotten gains and steal from the True Believers all in the name of peace and the World Games. The words of Al-Kalim, as they are written in the Nameh for all to read, warn us to "not deceive one another, O my children, lest your enemy the wolf devour you with the deceitful words of his mouth, for his teeth are like a thousand swords and his mouth is like the dark abyss from which there is no return." Clearly, the infidels are indeed the wolf, for they have brought greed, lecherousness, and unholiness to our Sacred Land all under the false pretense of friendship. The dishonorable Mohammed Al-Kalim, a blood descendant of the Bringer of Truth himself, was the first to feel "the sting of the viper" from the infidels. His mind was weak, and his devotion lacking, for he brought the evil into our land. Such a man who has fallen from grace, like "an arm infected with a grave disease, must be removed lest it spread into the whole body. It will be a painful act, but one that only the brave can accomplish without fear as he knows it must be done." With such blessing from the words of Al-Kalim himself did the Kin faction strive to remove the tainted Sultan from his undeserved throne. Under the leadership of Hassan the True, descendant of Al-Kalim, the brave Kin warriors rose to fight off the corrupted whose faith "is as empty as the bottom of a dry well." Like a sandstorm that springs out of the empty desert, so to did an army appear where there was none. Truly Al-Kalim had foreseen such a fate and blessed the Kin to grant them such a courageous army in but a fortnight. Mohammed feared the Kin, and refused to step down, as any man who cared about the True Believers and his own faith would have done. Instead, he urged those who had been corrupted as him to raise their own scimitars and defend their new way of life, however misguided it may be. Sadly, as is the case when the desert swallows a caravan, those weak of mind were also overtaken by his words. Many flocked to him, as his title of Sultan and the blood of Al-Kalim in his veins were convincing, unable to see the Eternal Truth in the words of the Kin. Yet they failed to understand that it is only the blood of Al-Kalim in his veins and the he is not Al-Kalim. He is mortal and just as vulnerable to error as any man, dog, or donkey. The blood of Al-Kalim helps him, just as training with a scimitar helps a true warrior, but it does not guarantee victory. The two armies clashed in the desert, as "a great storm created by the clash of the efreet and djinn." Many shall be mourned for they sacrificed their lives to the great Truth. The armies of the Sultan were formidable, their scimitars cutting a path through the Believers as sand covers the long forgotten ruins. Still, the Kin continued to fight bravely, assured that they were right and destined for victory. "We must be the candles that burn so that others might have light," Hassan quoted to his tired warriors. And, o infidel, let it be known that he was right. The furious wrath of Al-Kalim overswept the battle field in a large sandstorm, causing even the bravest soldier in the Sultan's army to fear his chosen path. The leaders of the Sultan's forces disappeared beneath the sand "as a sinking ship into the waters of the sea." The storm clearly indicated that "there is no power but in the Immortals," and that the Immortals were on the side of the Kin. That was the first sign of Al-Kalim as to who was the True Believer and who was the infidel. Many soon flocked to the Kin, clearly seeing with their new eyes where the blessed stood and where corruption was spreading. That is when the Kin cut a path to the capital of Ylaruam, unable to be stopped by the best the cursed Sultan had to offer, as "the sword of truth smites the unbeliever and the cruel man. Its path is like lightning, and its aim does not err." The battle of the capital was long and bloody, but the army of Kin, still true its their faith, was "strong and true, invincible in its might." It took but four days and four nights to overthrow their defenses and capture the center of all corruption, the Sultan himself. The leaders of the Kin disbanded the Preceptors, traitorous as they were, to place only True Believers on the Council. It is before this council, called the Kin Council in honor of those who were strong in faith, that Mohammed Al-Kalim's trial was decided. His acts of transgression against the true will of Al-Kalim deserved nothing less than a dishonorable execution. So was his fate decreed. The courageous Hassan 'the True' Al-Kalim was named the new Sultan. With the power and authority which were rightfully his, the new Sultan began the process of healing our wounded souls and restoring the Eternal Truth to its respectful place in our scarred society. As it was destined, the infidels were to be punished for their heinous crimes against the One True Faith. Sultan Hassan Al-Kalim banished the infidels from the Holy Lands, declaring that no longer will they be welcome guests in our homes, no longer will they enjoy our protection, no longer will they receive our gifts of water and gold. The True Believers were granted permission to punish any infidel they found as they saw fit as surely "Al-Kalim will guide them in their judgement if their hearts are well placed." O evil infidels, let this message be your warning to never return to the sacred lands. We have given you your chance, and you repaid us with mockery and the near destruction of our honorable ways. Any such persons trespassing will be viewed as terrorists who commit acts as vile as tainting our water and will be killed such as a dog deserves, without glory or honor. Faisel ibn Yasir ************** Fabrizio Paoli brizio@lunet.it s153349@studenti.ing.unipi.it DM in City Of The Stars - PC in the Forgotten Realms Leader of Privateers - Trip Bomb Master - Lord of Firewalkers Home Page:http://www.ing.unipi.it/~s153349/index.html ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 24 Mar 1997 20:01:49 +0100 From: Fabrizio Paoli Subject: [Mystara] AC 1014 Almanac Part 16 AMBYRMONT 1, AC 1014: Disaster at Bangore Location: Bangore, Mumlyket of Jalawar, Sind. KW Description: Hool's forces, after a long and dangerous trek to the Atruaghin Plateau, decide to send a raid against the village of Bangore. To their surprise, a large portion of the Mumlyket of Jalawar is there. They are routed, and retreat back to the plateau, only to meet with forces from Shajarkand as well. Hool's expedition is nearly devastated, and sent into total retreat. (See Kl 22, Fe 17.) What This Means: Hool had thought the Sindhi off guard, as it had been a while since they had been heard from, so he allowed the raid on Bangore. Much to his dismay, the Sindhi were prepared, and struck him a mighty blow. It will be months before Hool and Nizam can bring their forces back together to continue the Great Migration to Atruaghin territory. AMBYRMONT 1, AC 1014: Humans Counter-attack Location: Landersfjord, Vestland. KW Description: The forces of Ragnar attack the orcs of Thar and the kobolds of Psa'gh, catching them by surprise as they had believed that the humans of Soderfjord would not have sent large forces into Vestland. The battle becomes a stalemate as the effects of the surprise are just not enough to overcome the huge number of goblinoids involved. (See Fy 21, Fy 25; Am 5.) AMBYRMONT 2, AC 1014: New Way of Rafiel Location: City of Aengmor, Broken Lands. KW Description: General Garafaele Galeifel and the royal wizard Kanafasti announce that the Way of Rafiel will be changed within the city of Aengmor. The most important changes relate to the abandonment of deformed children and the forceful exile of the Wanderers; these practices will no longer be performed within the city of Aengmor as they are no longer needed to ensure the survival of the race that has now reclaimed the right to live on the surfaced world. This presents various rumors in the streets of Aengmor and although there is no open confrontations, it is obvious that not everyone agrees with the new rules. (See Fy 2, Fy 5; Am 14, Am 22.) What This Means: Kanafasti would have loved to wait a bit longer before declaring such a ruling, but he is to become a Wanderer himself in a matter of days. Using the friendship and trust of Garafaele that he has earned by teaching the General magic (see GAZ 13: The Shadow Elves), they declare the new rule as law within Aengmor. The shamans of the City of Stars make an official complaint to King Telemon about the blasphemy of the Radiant General, but Telemon says that he wants to wait and see what will happen. Porphyriel, the head shaman, truly does not care if those on the surface leave, as they have been causing her trouble for a while now. But she must put up a show of concern to prevent others in the City of Stars to decide that it's alright and leave as well. The whole idea itself sprang up from none other than Xatapechtli. Using his friendship with Kanafasti, he managed to convince the mage that it would be a good thing to do for the shadow elves and especially the Wanderers. Kanafasti has no idea that he is also helping spread the plans of Atzanteotl. AMBYRMONT 3, AC 1014: The Road to Nithia Location: City of Ylaruam, Emirates of Ylaruam. KW Description: Synn's agents hire a guide and porters to bring them to the fabled Dead Place in the Emirate of Nithia. (See Fe 15, Fy 22; Am 13, Ei 9.) AMBYRMONT 3, AC 1014: Unexpected Visitor Location: C'Kag, Orclands, Darokin. KW Description: General Tlatepetl, in his fortress of C'Kag, receives an unexpected visit today from Khordarg. The red dragon is mildly surprised to see Tlatepetl is now running things, rather than the trolls. After some discussion, she offers him the same deal she offered them - serve her, or burn. He opts for the former course of action. (See Fy 2, Fy 17; Am 6.) What This Means: General Tlatepetl has just met the true mastermind behind the troll's dominance in Orcland. Khordarg had been guiding them to take over the Orclands for years, but Tlatepetl and his allies managed to destroy trollish opposition last year, while Khordarg slept. She doesn't really care who works for her, so she lets Tlatepetl remain. If anything, she is pleased at the change of command, for she foresees a day when her (competent) new servants can form a force to march on the ruins of Jhyrrad, in Rockhome, where one of her dire foes, a red dragon named Ambur, lives (see Dragon #171). Tlatepetl, also, sees possibilities in this relationship. AMBYRMONT 4, AC 1014: Treachery Revealed Location: Ethengar. KW Description: While escaping from the camp of Oktai Khan (whose assassins attempted to kill them), agents of Moglai Khan intercept a messenger bound for the orc keep of Dast. He carries a message for Moghul-Khan, promising the yellow orc great wealth if he will send his humanoid forces to attack the Yakka Clan. They quickly return to the Golden Court with evidence of Oktai's treachery. Moglai also manages to catch Oktai Khan's messengers to his Glantrian allies (Prince Jherek, at least who he thinks is his ally; the Prince simply uses him as a pawn) asking for help in return for all the information and secrets Oktai has revealed to the Glantrian over the years. With that, Moglai Khan moves the Keshak (Ethengarian equivalent of Royal Army) and the Murkit warriors after the traitorous Khan. Oktai's tribe, the Taijit, defend their Khan. (See Fy 26; Am 8, Am 9.) What This Means: This continues the Golden Khan's plot to eliminate his rival among the Khans (Oktai). AMBYRMONT 5, AC 1014: Unrest in Ylaruam Location: Village near Sulba, Emirates of Ylaruam. KW Description: A village not far from Sulba is raided today, and nearly burned to the ground. Troops from Sulba don't arrive in time to save any of the inhabitants. Among the dead are the bodies of four Thyatian soldiers, apparently slain in the fighting. Word is immediately sent to the Sultan of a possible subversive Thyatian presence. (See Fe 5.) What This Means: Mokamet-Qadi has been roaming and making a nuisance of himself these past months. With the aid of the Thyatians, he has managed to skilfully ravage a number of villages, slaying everyone not fit to serve as a slave (who are then sent off to Thyatian slave markets). He finally decided that he didn't need the humans any longer, and had them killed. The major consequence of this is to put the Kin faction even further up in arms over the presence of dangerous foreigners in Ylaruam. AMBYRMONT 5, AC 1014: Thar and Psa'gh Defeated Location: Landersfjord, Vestland. KW Description: The armies of Thar and Psa'gh are crushed by the human forces of Soderfjord and Vestland after a huge battle in a deep valley within the hills around the town of Landersfjord. The fates of Thar and Psa'gh remain unknown to the human victors. (See Fy 25, Am 1; Sv 4.) What This Means: The humanoid forces of the Northern Reaches have just been dealt a crippling blow. After this, they should no longer be much of a threat to the norsemen. After several days of skirmishing and minor battles with Ragnar and the men of Soderfjord, the goblinoids were unfortunate to back off into a valley which was suddenly blocked off at the other end by the forces of Vestland. The goblinoids were crushed in between without any place to escape in large numbers. Ragnar returns victorious to his people, having regained most, but not all, of his prestige of being a great warrior and King. AMBYRMONT 6, AC 1014: Alebane Returns Home Location: Xorg, Orclands, Darokin. KW Description: Alebane turns back towards the orc keep of Xorg, not even halfway to Ft. Hobart. Darokin troops have been whittling away his forces for the past few days, and he has not been able to do much in exchange. Rather than face the entire Second Army of Darokin with his pitiful band, he turns tail and settles in for a long winter. (See Fy 20, Am 3.) What This Means: Alebane's strong will has won out over the Huptzeen - this time. He realizes what a foolish move he nearly made, but he is getting weaker. Darokin is coming increasingly to the realization that the Orclands may be a problem. AMBYRMONT 8, AC 1014: Oktai Khan Meets his Fate Location: Ethengar. KW Description: Oktai's tribe, the Taijit, defended their Khan at first, but when they learn that he was a traitor, conspiring with both Glantri and goblinoids, they desert him. Oktai Khan is eventually captured, and beheaded by the Golden Khan. (See Fy 26, Am 4; Am 9.) What This Means: The Golden Khan has just eliminated one of his rivals among the Khans (Oktai). This helps him regain more control and prestige, which has been slowly slipping away the past few years. AMBYRMONT 9, AC 1014: War Declared Location: Ethengar. KW Description: Moglai Khan declares that the Glantrians have caused much trouble between them and the now submissive Heldannic Knights (or so he keeps telling his warriors), hoping to get them to waste time fighting between them. They nearly succeeded because of the traitor, Oktai Khan. But now the Ethengar warriors are aware of the treachery, and they shall have their revenge. Moglai Khan promises that Glantri's time is nearing it's end as it shall be the first to fall to the glorious Ethengar Empire that shall be formed. (See Am 4, Am 8.) What This Means: By declaring that the Ethengar hordes will ride again to war, against their hated enemy Glantri at that, Moglai is taking care of the morale problems brought up by the truce made with the Heldannic Knights. Now, instead of fighting each other or complaining about Moglai's rule, they are preparing themselves for another war. Moglai begins the planning of the battle he expects to start next year. The Glantrian spies in Ethengar manage to learn of the plan and warn the Council of Princes about the upcoming invasion. It seems that their plan has backfired dramatically and now they'll have to pay the price for their meddling. This is the follow up and conclusion to the above mentioned adventure presented in the Ethengar GAZ. AMBYRMONT 9, AC 1014: Sultan Overworked Location: City of Ylaruam, Emirates of Ylaruam. KW Date: Mon, 24 Mar 1997 13:08:26 -0600 From: (mystara-digest) To: mystara-digest@lists.io.com Subject: mystara-digest V2 #25 Reply-To: mystara-l@lists.io.com Precedence: bulk X-UIDL: a2b55ec37a5df131ae7a6cec88e3ebb4 Description: The Sultan of Ylaruam is flooded with complaints from many discontent Ylari who are upset and complaining about the ways that the infidel foreigners have been treating them and behave the past couple of weeks during the World Games. Then, word starts spreading on the streets that the Sultan is no longer fit to rule. And many begin to agree with it, not wanting to see foreigners in their land again and believing that the Sultan's attitude at making peace with the infidels is wrong.(See Kl 15, Kl 26, Fy 15; Am 12, Am 20.) What This Means: This is the work of the Kin faction, seeing the best chance they have ever had at gaining control of the throne of Ylaruam. It seems that the Ylari, although peaceful and respectful, were just not ready to handle so many foreigners and cultures all at once. AMBYRMONT 12, AC 1014: Sultan's Response Location: City of Ylaruam, Emirates of Ylaruam. KW Description: The more vocal of those upset with Sultan Mohammed Al-Kalim are arrested and trialed for treason, with some executed that same day. Many of the relatives of those executed become even more upset at the Sultan, and vow to avenge their dead. (See Kl 26, Fy 15, Am 9; Am 20, Sv 6.) AMBYRMONT 13, AC 1014: Synn's Agents Arrive at Nithia Location: Emirate of Nithia, Emirates of Ylaruam. KW Description: Synn's agents in Ylaruam arrive in the Emirate of Nithia and begin searching the area that is supposed to contain the Dead Place. Unfortunately for them, it is currently covered in sand and will be rather hard to find. (see Fy 22, Am 3; Ei 9, Ka 17.) AMBYRMONT 14, AC 1014: Shadow Elven Crisis of Faith Location: City of Aengmor, Broken Lands Description: Tensions begin to mount in the city of Aengmor as the shadow elves begin to polarize in opinion on whether or not to support the new Way of Rafiel or return to the old one. General Garafaele puts his foot down and does not allow any fighting to occur, giving harsh discipline to elves of either opinion who start being too violent or forceful about their thoughts. Also, officials from the City of Stars begin demanding that Garafaele return to the proper worship of Rafiel before actions are taken to relieve him of his duties. (See Fy 2, Am 2; Am 22.) What This Means: The cult of Atzanteotl is stirring up the trouble. They hope that they can get the elves of Rafiel to fight each other until they are sick altogether of Rafiel, no matter which way you worship him. That's when it will be easy for Atzanteotl to move in and gather even more worshippers. AMBYRMONT 18, AC 1014: Rampaging Spiders Location: West Portage, Isle of Dawn, Empire of Thyatis. KW Description: A few survivors of a massacred Thyatian colony on the Thothian Plateau (Great Escarpment) on the Isle of Dawn make it back to West Portage. They claim their village was attacked and destroyed by huge spiders. The Thyatian military refuses to involve itself as the Thothian Plateau and its inhabitants are the responsibility of Thothia as detailed in the Isle of Dawn Treaty (Klarmont 13, AC 1012; PWA3). Needless to say, the Thyatians colonists are not to pleased with their own people and former government. Still, adventurers go in on their own to see what happened. When word reaches Thothia a few days later, the Pharaoh sends in military patrols to see what is going on. What This Means: The colony was attacked and wiped out by the residents of the plateau: aranea. The aranea used to worship Arachne Prime, and had an evil culture based on the beliefs of this Immortal of Entropy. However, Arachne Prime was defeated by adventurers a couple of decades ago and the aranea have since been on their own. Despite losing several of their number to a war with phanaton and other forest creatures, the culture of evil aranea survived, and they have decided that they have taken enough trespassing on their territory of the Great Escarpment. (The aranea, phanaton, and Arachne Prime are all detailed in the D&D adventure module M5 Talons of Night, and probably took place during the years AC 990-1000). Regardless, there is a culture of evil aranea on the Great Escarpment, and they are now attacking the "invading" Thyatian colonists. A note to DMs: The aranea of the Known World are not like those on the Savage Coast. First of all, they are more evil (mainly because of their religion) instead of neutral. Secondly, and most importantly, they do not seem to have the ability to shape-change as their Savage Coast relatives can. AMBYRMONT 20, AC 1014: Blood Feuds Erupt Location: Emirates of Ylaruam. KW Description: Two tribes of nomads in Ylari clash over their opinions about foreigners and the Sultan, and the battle turns deadly and bloody. Within days, many other tribes take up arms, and it seems that Ylaruam has fallen into an unofficial civil war (since no one has yet tried to overthrow the Sultan; they're fighting over difference in opinions). Besides fighting themselves, many also target the foreigners still in Ylaruam, blaming them for all the trouble that is now happening in their nation. (See Am 9, Am 12; Sv 6.) What This Means: This is exactly the effect the Kin faction has been trying to get. It is also a dangerous time for any foreigners still in Ylaruam, especially mages and elves. Another minor influence in the events are the Thyatian spies. Seeing trouble on the way, Thyatis would love nothing better than to have Ylaruam fall into a civil war, keeping their warriors busy and preventing them from raiding the Thyatian mainland. They start doing what they can to promote the fighting without drawing any attention that Thyatis is even involved. AMBYRMONT 21, AC 1014: Helskir Contacts the NACE Location: Ionace, NACE. KW Description: Messengers from King Eruul Zaar and Queen Asteriela Torion of Helskir ask for an audience between the Alphatian Council and their King and Queen. A meeting is called for the following day. (See Ya 23, Fy 26; Am 22, Ei 12.) AMBYRMONT 22, AC 1014: Helskir Meets the Council Location: Ionace, NACE. KW Description: King Eruul Zaar and Queen Asteriela Torion teleport to the Parliament on Ionace, where they meet with the kings of the Alphatian Confederacy. Queen Asteriela first informs the Council that she knows about the survival of Alphatia and Empress Eriadna within the Hollow World - the crew of the Flying Fish told her so four years ago - , so they can discuss freely about the future of the region. She tells that now that Zandor has been deposed, the situation may only better - but unfortunately Helskir has agreed to become part of the Thyatian Empire before the event happened, and cannot leave it for the NACE without provoking her brother's wrath and destabilizing the relative stability on the Isle of Dawn. However, Helskir has kept its status of Kingdom and as such can establish diplomatic ties with the Confederacy. This would provide a means of communication between the two empires, and maybe preventing tensions or even wars. The Council agrees to open up diplomatic ties with Helskir. (See Fy 26, Am 21; Ei 12.) AMBYRMONT 22, AC 1014: Unrest in Aengmor Location: Rafielton, Aengmor. KW Description: The tension in the City of Aengmor soon spreads to Rafielton. Before long, the shadow elves of the Canolbarth Forest are also into the debate. (Am 2, Am 14; Sv 12.) What This Means: This is just a logical progression of the religious upheaval throughout the realms of the shadow elves. Of course, it doesn't help that the cult of Atzanteotl is also helping to spread the tension and disorder. THE RISING OF AENGMOR [Editor's note: This eyewitness account was submitted by Julius Fyodorov, an old friend of Dorrik from Threshold. Julius is an accomplished archeologist, having obtained a degree at the University of Biazzan in the Empire of Thyatis. This is Julius's first time writing a correspondence for anyone, as it will become clear by his occasional ramblings and changing of subjects. Still, despite Dorrik's suggestion of editing most of it out, I have decided to leave most of it as is, at it helps show the reader Julius's perspective of things.] I've first seen the Joshuan Almanac last Nuwmont in Kelvin, where I was working on the ruins of the ancient city of Lavv (may Halav protect us all!), and those predictions in the end immediately attracted my notice, especially the one about something arising from "deep below". At first I thought: "Hey! We'll have to dig no more, Lavv will finally raise to the surface", but unfortunately it wasn't so. A few months later my old friend Boldar, a dwarf from Highforge, comes to my home in Treshold and tells me that his uncle Dorrik will be the publisher of the new Almanac and that he thinks that prophecy refers to the city of Aengmor and that they want me to write something about it for the next edition of the Almanac. At first I thought they wanted me to write about the long history of Aengmor and I accepted with pleasure to help my old friend, so imagine my astonishment when I later realized that they wanted me to go there, in Aengmor I mean, and report on what was happening. Ok, I've done a few adventures when I was young, but it was a looong time ago. Anyway I draw out my old adventuring gear and headed north-west to "conquer" the inexpugnable city of Aengmor. Boldar informed me that diviners claimed the city would rise sometime in Fyrmont, but how could I get there, if even an army of dwarves didn't manage to enter the underground city? "No problem", said the new publishers in Mirros, "wait for friends in Corunglain". I waited there, studying the old buildings of ancient "Corun's Glen". Suddenly, one foggy morning, a bunch of noisy gnomes "kidnapped" me from my bed and took me to their city: Serraine. It was the ugliest journey of my life: Even today I feel sick recalling that damned journey on that Cloudclipper. Hopefully Halav protected me. In Serraine, after spending a couple of hours at immigration control, a gnome called Baublebob welcomed me and brought me to the Imperial Hostelry where there was a room reserved for me. Baublebob also told me that he was an old friend of Belzamith, that he knew about my mission and that I was supposed to fly with him in his Tomcat for an aerial observation of the raising city of Aengmor. I was terrified, but I could not refuse, so I started praying to Halav. A few hours later I learned that I wasn't the only reporter here, there were also correspondents from the Glantrian Free Press and the Ierendi Adventures Quarterly. It seems that the Mystaran Almanac is not the only one to use sages, psychics, and diviners to learn what will happen before it does. On Fyrmont 2, a beautiful cloudless day, the city of Serraine was cruising high above the Broken Lands when at sunset someone noticed an extraordinary volcanic activity in the area known as South Gnollistan, just along the Streel river. Me and Baublebob quickly boarded his flying machine and took off, I had with me also the magnificient gnomish farseeing contraption. We swiftly descended among burning ashes and squirts of molten lava down to a few hundred yards above ground level in the small canyon between the Sun's Anvil plateau and the mountains to the west, and the sight was both astonishing and terrible: the land was shaking and rumbling. Bubbling water from the Streel river was flooding the nearby rocks before turning into steam. All around screaming gnolls and orcs were trying to flee the falling ashes. Suddenly large cracks opened in the ground and lava started flowing outside burning everything it found in its course: gnolls, orcs, and their villages (or should I say lairs?). Then a large city emerged in a cloud of smoke. It looked as if the city was floating on lava as Floating Ar does on air (and Serraine too, of course). Some sort of dark blueish magical dome covered the city, protecting it from the ashes and rocks that were falling everywhere else, destroying all they landed upon. Then the magical dome started to fall apart, and the mystical blue energies fell down into the lake of lava beneath the floating city, and had an amazing effect: The lava quickly cooled and solidified, turning the lake into solid ground, anchoring the formely floating city into place once and for all. So the prophecies were true and Aengmor was now under sunlight after so many centuries. I started peering at the ancient city with my gnomish contraption: there were many creatures, probably shadow elves, running in the small and tangled streets, most of them were trying to protect their eyes from sunlight, others were crying, a few others were preparing for battle with shining swords in their hands. I had just noticed a strange elf with a purple mark on his face looking desperately at something that he kept in his hand, when the gnome advised me of an incoming threat: several flying beasts (skinwings) mounted by shadow elves were taking off from Aengmor. Baublebob started maneuvering to get out of range, but unfortunately something (an arrow? a spell? molten lava?) hit our Tomcat and we were forced to a so-called "crash landing". Thanks to Halav we landed... ehm crashed almost unhurted a few miles south. The sun was already set, so we decided to spend the night there. I took first watch, while Baublebob started meddling with what was left of his flying machine hoping to build something useful out of it. It was there, on that moonless night, that I met Eleandor, a female shadow elf with long silver hair and a big purplish mark on her forehead. She looked frightened, as if she was fleeing from someone or something. I know a bit of elvish, so I tried to speak to her, but her elvish was quite different from the one spoken by the Callarii. Still, they were a bit similar, and I managed to learn that she was looking for a particular cavern that would allow her to get back to the City of Stars deep beneath the ground. We took shelter in a nearby cave, after driving away a few fearful and panicked orcs. We decided to help Eleandor, for reasons I still don't know why; probably because I felt ashamed of leaving someone looking so helpless and frail alone in an area infested with goblinoids running around in fear. The trip to the cave to the City of Stars took two days, during which I tried to learn something more about Eleandor and the city of Aengmor. The following is what I learned: Eleandor isn't a common shadow elf, but a member of a particular race recognizable from the purplish mark on her forehead and worshipped by common shadow elves as a messenger of their Immortal, something similar to what happens in the Thothian society. That crystalline dust was part of a bigger amulet, a sort of symbol of power, that she certainly broke during her hazardous escape from the city of Aengmor. I managed to learn also what she was fleeing, and these aren't really good news for us. The followers of an evil Immortal, probably Atzanteotl but I'm not sure, took control of the city and managed to raise it again to the surface, thus weakening, but I don't know how, the marked-ones like Eleandor. FFrom what she told me it looks as if most of the dwellers of the city of Aengmor are evil, warlike and ready to wage war on the humanoids first and the bordering human nations then. [Ed. Note: Upon questionning Julius again, he is forced to admit that his interpretation of what was said could be wrong. Indeed other investigations show various factions and beliefs within the city. Therefore, the above statement on the attitude and plans of the shadow elves is merely hearsay, and quite possibly an incorrectly translated hearsay as well.] She said that the whole city cooperated to raise the city to the surface, though she and her fellows tried to stop the others until it was too late. When Aengmor was finally raised, she was forced to leave because she feared for her soul; I didn't understand this very well, but I think it means that she feared that the evil elves in Aengmor have some sort of necromantic power and use it on the bodies of dead people. We finally arrived safely at the cavern two days later, then left her to proceed on her way to the City of Stars. As a final comment I must say that, if this stuff is as true as it sounds, we should start worrying now about this new threat to humankind. If you thought that Bargle and the Master were the most dangerous thing you could meet in your life, you'll have probably to reconsider all, because these shadow elves from Aengmor (the city) look really nasty as told in the old Alfheim legends. I don't know if the elves in Rafielton are so evil too, but I fear it and hope that the marked elves will help us. [The Editors of this Almanac would like to once more remind the reader that these are solely the opinions of the correspondent, and not necessarily those of the Almanac. The shadow elves are a concern, but one should learn more about them before judging them based on old, superstitious legends. Ed.] May Halav guide us... we need his help. J.F. ************** Fabrizio Paoli brizio@lunet.it s153349@studenti.ing.unipi.it DM in City Of The Stars - PC in the Forgotten Realms Leader of Privateers - Trip Bomb Master - Lord of Firewalkers Home Page:http://www.ing.unipi.it/~s153349/index.html ------------------------------ End of mystara-digest V2 #25 **************************** Date: Mon, 24 Mar 1997 13:08:41 -0600 From: (mystara-digest) To: mystara-digest@lists.io.com Subject: mystara-digest V2 #26 Reply-To: mystara-l@lists.io.com Precedence: bulk X-UIDL: e171c81df4fea5b650d0a8371973c929 mystara-digest Monday, March 24 1997 Volume 02 : Number 026 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 24 Mar 1997 20:01:39 +0100 From: Fabrizio Paoli Subject: [Mystara] AC 1014 Almanac Part 15 FELMONT 2, AC 1014: Back to Civilization Location: Raven Scarp, Thyatian Hinterlands. KW Description: The Karameikan Polar Expedition finally reaches the Thyatian city of Raven Scarp. The leader of the expedition begins looking for a ship willing to take them back to Karameikos. (See Kl 20, Kl 23; Fe 4, Fy 4.) What This Means: The expedition is almost over. The Karameikans are looking forward to arriving home after so long. FELMONT 3, AC 1014: Davinos' Complaint Location: Mirros, Karameikos. KW Description: In Mirros, Davinos (a Traladaran man of Kelvin) gains an audience with King Stefan and proposes that there be lesser taxes for a few Traladaran merchant families who were criminally hurt during the Thyatians' takeover of Traladara 40 years ago. Davinos is later slain in the streets of Mirros by Karameikans of Thyatian descent and tensions mount between the Thyatians and Traladarans of Mirros. A civil war almost breaks out as the Traladarans begin to believe that the Thyatians are once again trying to enslave them. (See Fe 18.) What This Means: Davinos' Complaint is an adventure detailed in GAZ 1: The Grand Duchy of Karameikos, p.17. A minor change for those who would play it out with their PCs is that Lord Yuschiev and his men also happen to be on the scene when Davinos is murdered. Instead of Emilio the Great then hiring the PCs to find out who is behind it, Yuschiev would himself ask them to help him find out the ring leader as he does not want to see a civil war start between his people and the Thyatians. Even though he dislikes Thyatians, he knows such a war would only kill his people and make them worse off than before. So Yuschiev, his men-at-arms, and perhaps the PCs he also hires (since they knew the murder was going to take place and must have some useful information) track down and pin it on the Veiled Society of Mirros. Another reason Yuschiev is involved is to introduce the character of the novel "Dark Knight of Karameikos" into the setting of a Karameikan campaign. This event helps the Traladaran Lord gain the attention of the King who will reward him with the title of Baron next year (AC 1015). Perhaps one of his men in the adventure is Grygory (the main hero of the novel), who will be knighted once Yuschiev becomes a Baron. The novel "Dark Knight of Karameikos" takes place in the year AC 1018 as it mentions it's the 12th year on the throne for the King of Karameikos. The tension created by this adventure also helps explain the tension between the two Karameikan cultures that is very apparent in that novel. Basically, this just helps make the Mystara novel "official." FELMONT 4, AC 1014: Heading Home Location: Raven Scarp, Thyatian Hinterlands. KW Description: With the expedition members now safely aboard the ship called Waterspout, they sail for Karameikos. Much to their dismay, their newest member marks the ship with his scent to indicate that it's his territory. The crew is forced to get used to the smell of the tabi. Taxla apologizes and promises not to "spray" his scent around. (See Kl 23, Fe 2; Fy 4, Fy 9.) FELMONT 5, AC 1014: Village Torched Location: Emirate of Makistan, Ylaruam. KW Description: A village on the outskirts of the Emirate of Makistan is raided, all its occupants killed, and then burned to the ground. Investigation shows magic to have been used in the destruction of the village. The Magian Fire-Worshippers are suspected. (See Am 5.) What This Means: The raid was staged by Mokamet-Qadi, a gnollish wokan. Last year, Thyatian agents approached his nomadic tribe (formerly a menace in the Emirate of Nithia) with offers of weapons and training if they would agree to harass the Ylari. Since this was what they were already doing, they agreed. Additionally, Mokamet-Qadi has recently acquired a Nithian spellbook, from whence came the magic he used to torch the village. FELMONT 6, AC 1014: Huleans Face More Troubles Location: 25 miles east of Mahasabad, Sind. KW Description: A patrol of Huleans is ambushed and decimated near the town of Mahasabad. (See Fl 21, Kl 5; Ei 7.) What This Means: The Freedom Warriors are gaining more courage thanks to the leadership being brought to them by the Prophet. Anand, although never personally interested in politics or war, has turned out to be quite the tactician and has been planning daring raids on the Huleans. Whenever they can, the Freedom Warriors give their spoils back to the people of the land. This has been turning them into great national heroes. The Freedom Warriors do not want to start a full scale war, as thousands would suffer and die for nothing. Instead, they contend themselves with guerilla-warfare style hit and runs. They intend to humiliate the Huleans and hurt only them, not the innocent people of Sind. When word gets around that the Prophet of Gareth is one of their leaders, the legends of Sitara spread even further throughout Sind. Some begin to claim that she must be an Immortal incarnation of Himayeti the Defender. FELMONT 7, AC 1014: Revolts in the Territories Location: Heldannic Territories. KW Description: Throughout the Heldann Territories, many villages of Heldanners revolt against their cruel masters, the Heldannic Knights. None of the minor revolts or rebellions last very long, and many of the peasants are executed for treason and heresy afterwards. (See Th 17, Ya 14; Fy 26, Ei 23.) What This Means: The people of the Heldann Freeholds see that without their spells to back them up, now is the best chance to overthrow the Knights. Unfortunately, the commoners are badly organized, trained, and equipped, while the knights still have their discipline, weapons, and military training. Result: The Knights squash the majority of the rebellions, and only a few cause any real trouble to them. Still, this is only the beginning as most peasants are still too afraid to try and strike at their masters. With time, more will join in the rebellion, and then the Knights will have a large problem to deal with. FELMONT 9, AC 1014: Hunters Return Location: Othmar, Kingdom of Eusdria. SC Description: The adventurers and knights sent out to hunt Huptai shamans have returned to Eusdria. Only about half the groups seem to have survived. They report having slain over two dozen shamans. (See Ya 7, Kl 3.) What This Means: The King of Eusdria hopes that they have managed to defeat enough of the shamans. Unfortunately, the only thing he can do now is wait and see if the amber lotuses will continue to prosper or wither away. FELMONT 12, AC 1014: Kobolds Flee Soderfjord Location: Hardanger Mountains near border of Rockhome, Soderfjord Jarldoms. KW Description: After several weeks of chasing the kobold horde, Ragnar and his men manage to chase Psa'gh's horde out of Soderfjord and into the mountains of Rockhome. Ragnar declares the war a victory and the kobolds no longer a threat to Soderfjord. They begin heading home. (See Kl 25, Kl 28; Fe 17, Fe 24.) What This Means: Kobolds have never been good at direct combat with humans, preferring to rely on traps and stealth. Since the humans knew where the Falun Caverns were, Psa'gh realized that their chances of victory in the caverns were slim. He has now fled into the dwarven mountains of Rockhome in the hopes of setting up a new lair. Just to make sure they do not come back, Ragnar leaves a few patrols to watch the border for any returning kobolds. FELMONT 15, AC 1014: Glantri Boycotts World Games Location: Glantri City, Glantri. KW Description: The Council of Princes of Glantri announces that Glantrians will not submit to staying simply in one foreign quarters in Ylaruam or wear ridiculous outfits because they are mages elsewhere in Ylaruam. Since their diplomat was unable to come to better arrangements with the Sultan of Ylaruam, Glantri declares that they will boycott the World Games in Ylaruam. (See Kl 15, Kl 26; Fy 15, Fy 22, Fy 28.) What This Means: Synn has once again used her influence on the Council to isolate Glantri from the rest of the world. Playing on the fact that wizards must ridicule themselves in colorful robes while in Ylaruam, she has managed to convince them that going to Ylaruam would only embarrass them and make a mockery out of Glantri. Glantri therefore backs out of the game, and the rest of the world begins to see them as stuck-up and arrogant once more, just as Synn wants it to turn out. Synn, however, sends her own agents to the World Games (as non-Glantrians) as she hopes they will make contacts in the rest of the world that can become useful to her later on. FELMONT 16, AC 1014: Knights Visit Lothar Location: Lothar, Nithia, Straight of Lothar. HW Description: A group of six Heldannic Knights arrive by foot at the town of Lothar. They appear to have been in the wilderness for some time now, as most of their equipment is in real bad shape. The Knights soon meet with Uart-neter Semsu. The lord of Lothar accepts the Knights into his city provided they obey the rules of Nithia. Sir Friedrick von Dreiburg is the leader of the party of Knights. (See Fe 28, Fy 8.) What This Means: These Heldannic Knights are survivors of a crashed Warbird from back in Vatermont of AC 1012 (See PWA3). Their skyship was shot down into the Sea of Yr by the Alphatians, and most survivors were taken prisoner by the Alphatians. This small group managed to both survive the crash and avoid capture. They have been living in the wilderness along the Western Sea of Yr ever since. A few days ago, one of them spotted the city of Lothar, and when he determined it was not hostile against the Heldannic Knights, he returned to get the others. Although at the moment, the Heldannic Knights only want to recuperate and rest, it is only a matter of time before Sir Friedrick tries to add Lothar to the Heldannic Territories. FELMONT 17, AC 1014: Kobolds Flee Again Location: Makkres Mountains, Rockhome. KW Description: Psa'gh and his horde encounter a tribe of giants who control this section of the mountains of Rockhome. The kobolds are quickly forced to flee the area before being decimated. Psa'gh decides to head northeast and hopefully enter Soderfjord undetected. (See Kl 28, Fe 12; Fe 24, Fy 6.) FELMONT 17, AC 1014: Great Migration Poised Location: Khurish Massif, Sind. KW Description: Hool is ready to make his move south. His army, now 6000 strong, is poised to run south towards the Atruaghin Plateau. He plans to drive his way along the Sind/Darokin border, then make his way to the plateau of the Atruaghin Clans. (See Kl 2, Kl 22; Am 1.) What This Means: He actually stands a better chance than he thinks, given the troubles the Freedom Fighters are causing in the Nagpuri region. FELMONT 18, AC 1014: Veiled Society Caught Location: Mirros, Karameikos. KW Description: The violence in Karameikos ebbs when Lord Yuschiev, a Traladaran landed-lord, and his men discover and prove that Davinos' murder was orchestrated by Traladarans of the Veiled Society hoping to stir up anti-Thyatian feelings, and not by Thyatian Karameikans. Even with the end of violence, the tension that has risen between the Karameikans of Thyatian and Traladaran descent unfortunately remains. King Stefan is very grateful to Yuschiev and his men for helping stop a possible civil war before it started. (See Fe 3.) What This Means: This is just the wrap up of the adventure of Davinos' Complaint, which started Felmont 3. Also, more than likely any PCs involved (having been hired by Yuschiev) in this adventure will receive the title of Court Lord from King Stefan as a reward. FELMONT 24, AC 1014: Thar's Invitation Location: Makkres Mountains, near Rockhome/Vestland border. KW Description: Psa'gh and his wandering horde encounter a group of orcs of Thar's tribe, who invite the kobolds to join with the great King. Although not wanting to submit to an orc, Psa'gh believes he can work something out with the great orc leader he has heard so much of from the orc's rule in the Broken Lands. The horde of kobolds and gnolls makes its way toward the Makkres Mountains in Vestland. (See Fl 27, Ya 28; Fy 6, Fy 8.) What This Means: Psa'gh and Thar have already made a truce not to attack each other last year, but now it seems as if the two just might indeed join together, and that would make their forces rather hard to defeat. FELMONT 28, AC 1014: Failure to Convert Location: Lothar, Nithia, Straight of Lothar. HW Description: For a few days now, the Heldannic Knights in Lothar have been preaching about the glory of Vanya and the Knights, trying to convert the Nithians to their way of life. Not a single Nithian seems to care one bit about their way of life, preferring their own. A few of the Antalians present, however, listen carefully to what is being said. (See Fe 16; Fy 8, Fy 17.) What This Means: The Spell of Preservation is keeping the Nithians to their original way of life, hence they ignore the Knights' directions to change philosophies. The Antalians, more concerned with glory than the Nithians, are easier targets, but still will not convert fully. Sir Friedrick and the Knights begin planning another method of taking over the city of Lothar. FYRMONT 2, AC 1014: Earthquake! Location: Darokin, Glantri, and Ethengar. KW Description: Earthquakes shake northern Darokin and southern Glantri, as well as western Ethengar. (See Ya 20; Fy 5, Am 2.) What This Means: The Wanderers and the worshippers of Atzanteotl have accomplished their goal: raise Aengmor to the surface (although the Wanderers are unaware that the worshippers of Atzanteotl wanted the same result). The effect of the sunlight of the surface is to destroy the soul crystals of the shamans of Rafiel, therefore weakening their control over the city of Aengmor. Another ramification is to the humanoids of the Broken Lands. The shadow elven military immediately gets to work at purging them from the area. Many flee to the Great Crater and join Kol's forces, while other head to the Makkres Mountains where Thar is rumored to be forming a new kingdom (or so say his messengers). Some stay behind to join a couple of brave humanoid leaders who plan on driving the shadow elves out of their lands. Unfortunately for those planning on eliminating the shadow elves, they are badly trained, equipped, and led, and suffer almost total destruction clashing with the shadow elves. Still, despite their best efforts, the shadow elves cannot possibly hope to clear the entire Broken Lands. They settle for keeping a good 50 miles radius around their city as clear as possible. FYRMONT 2, AC 1014: Earthquake Scares Orcs Location: Orclands, Darokin. KW Description: Earthquakes in northeastern Darokin cause panic among the orcs of Grukk and C'Kag. Humans are suspected of causing the tremors, and Hutai-Khan prepares a retaliatory strike, against the counsel of General Tlatepetl. (See Kl 5; Fy 5, Fy 20.) What This Means: Hutai-Khan is quick to strike at this perceived threat. Tlatepetl would rather investigate further before committing himself. He sends his agents out to look into the matter and report back to him. FYRMONT 2, AC 1014: Dragonstrike Location: Ethengar. KW Description: In southern Ethengar, a small clan is destroyed by the sudden and violent attack of a red dragon. The family was just recovering from the massive earthquake, when the dragon came from the south and torched them, then dined on the remains. (See Fy 17, Am 3.) What This Means: The earthquakes in the Orclands led to the awakening of a red dragon, named Khordarg (see module O2- Blade of Vengeance). She was prematurely awakened from her slumber (she was in the middle of her 4th cycle of the Ceremony of Sublimation- see Dragon #171), and is very angry, on top of being just plain hungry. For the next several weeks, she will be a menace in southern Ethengar, and northern Darokin and Aengmor. FYRMONT 4, AC 1014: Waterspout Resupplies at Minrothad Location: City of Minrothad, Minrothad. KW Description: The Waterspout docks at Minrothad to resupply after the long journey through the Sea of Dread. (See Fe 2, Fe 4; Fy 9, Fy 11.) FYRMONT 5, AC 1014: Truth Revealed Location: Rafielton, Aengmor. KW Description: Adventurers and merchants coming out of the Broken Lands report the source of the trembling of a few days ago: A city has risen out of the depths of the Broken Lands. These reports are later confirmed by the shadow elves. Princess Tanadaleyo of Rafielton announces to diplomats of the DDC that the shadow elves have risen their sacred city of Aengmor to the surface of the Broken Lands from where it sank to several centuries ago. She states that the ruler of the city will be General Garafaele Galeifel, ruling in the name of King Telemon of the City of Stars. (See Ya 20, Fy 2; Am 2, Am 14.) What This Means: Many nations of the world begin to worry about this constant move and take-over by the shadow elves. The Western Defense League agrees that their main concern now is more the shadow elves than the Empire of Thyatis, as the shadow elves have both taken over the Broken Lands and used evidently powerful magic to raise a city from the depths of Mystara to the surface, a city which could easily be used as a base to invade anywhere else around. Although no one declares war on the shadow elves or accuses them of hostilities, everyone decides to wait and see what these elves will do with their new surface city, all the while preparing their defenses. The decision isn't made easily as two forces lobby for action against the shadow elves, notably the former elves of Alfheim (thanks to the Alfheim Avengers) and the dwarves of Rockhome, yelling out to everyone that they are about to invade all of Mystara as they predicted before. The dwarves are surprised that their only allies in this seem to be elves. Will Kagyar's wonders never cease?!?! FYRMONT 5, AC 1014: Orcs Find Oenkmar Location: Orclands, Darokin. KW Description: Xoteczuma, a wokan in the service of Tlatepetl, returns today with news that the earthquake was caused by the shadow elves, and that Oenkmar (which the shadow elves call Aengmor) has been returned to the surface. Tlatepetl informs his allies, and ponders over the meaning of this event. (See Kl 5, Fy 2; Fy 20, Am 3.) What This Means: Tlatepetl is intrigued. He has often dreamed of returning to take Oenkmar, since the Shadow Elves kicked him out in AC 1012; now that they raised it to the surface, his job will be even easier. He informed the other humanoid leaders mainly to forestall Hutai-Khan's planned attack against the humans - Tlatepetl doesn't want the Orclands to come under too much scrutiny until he is ready. FYRMONT 6, AC 1014: Kobolds on the Move Location: Northern Reaches. KW Description: Psa'gh's horde of kobolds reaches the Soderfjord - - Rockhome - Vestland border. They continue on into Vestland. Date: Mon, 24 Mar 1997 13:08:41 -0600 From: (mystara-digest) To: mystara-digest@lists.io.com Subject: mystara-digest V2 #26 Reply-To: mystara-l@lists.io.com Precedence: bulk X-UIDL: e171c81df4fea5b650d0a8371973c929 Meanwhile, the scouts left behind by Ragnar send a messenger back to the King to inform him what the kobolds have been up to. They have been following the kobolds for the past few days since they entered Soderfjord and followed the Rockhome border for the past week or so. (See Fe 17, Fe 24; Fy 8, Fy 10, Fy 20, Fy 21.) What This Means: Although he declared the war won to try and regain his face with the Jarls, Ragnar still believes that the kobolds will come back. He did not crush them, and merely forced them to flee. Ragnar intends to keep a close eye on them for as long as he can. He orders his scouts to follow the kobolds into the nation of Vestland. FYRMONT 8, AC 1014: Lothar Discovered Location: Lothar, Nithia, Straight of Lothar. HW Description: A small Milenian military patrol, returning from a raid into Jennite territory and from spying on the civil war back in Nithia, discovers the town of Lothar. They immediately head back to Milenia to inform their leaders, with units of Nithians in pursuit. Friedrick and his Knights join the units sent after the Milenians. (See Fe 16, Fe 28; Fy 17.) What This Means: If anyone of the Milenian unit makes it back to Milenia, the location of Lothar will no longer be a secret to them. With Nithia in a civil war, Lothar does not have the men to defend itself from a full scale attack. Uart- neter Semsu will stop at nothing to make sure none of the Milenians survive. Friedrick sees this as an opportunity to show that the Heldannic Knights are heroes and increase their political pull within Lothar. FYRMONT 8, AC 1014: Orcs Attack Rhoona Location: Rhoona, Vestland. KW Description: With a large portion of Vestland's army in the Makkres Mountains looking for Thar's lair, Thar leads his forces (now augmented by new tribes) in an attack on the town of Rhoona.(See Fe 24, Fy 6; Fy 10, Fy 20, Fy 21.) FYRMONT 9, AC 1014: Karameikan Expedition Back in Mirros Location: Mirros, Karameikos. KW Description: The Waterspout arrives back in Karameikos and docks in the port of Mirros. The surviving members of the crew and expedition team rejoin their families and celebrate their return after 3 long years. (See Fe 4, Fy 4; Fy 11, Fy 19.) What This Means: The Karameikan Expedition is the first "real" proof that there is indeed a Hollow World as detailed in Claransa's Travels. This is proof which the leaders of the world can no longer ignore, forcing them to take into account the existence of the Hollow World. The members of the expedition are surprised to learn that Specularum is now known as Mirros. FYRMONT 10, AC 1014: Rhoona Falls Location: Rhoona, Vestland. KW Description: The town of Rhoona falls to the invading orcs. Duke Stephan of Rhoona (from X3: Curse of Xanathon) is killed by the goblinoids. The orcs plunder all they can and leave before word even reaches the forces in the Makkres Mountains. (See Fe 24, Fy 8; Fy 20, Fy 21.) FYRMONT 11, AC 1014: Expedition Meets King Location: Mirros, Karameikos. KW Description: King Stefan receives the Karameikan Polar Expedition in a private meeting at his palace. They confirm the existence of a whole world below, the Hollow World, and its many wonders. They speak of empires thought by all historians to have long ago disappeared on the outer world, of the red sun, of the strange way of working of magic, and of their most incredible discovery: the survival of Alphatia and Empress Eriadna. Terari insists on informing their allies of the NACE beforehand, because of the obvious repercussion this could have on them. He proposes to teleport to the Karameikan embassy on Ionace and ask the ambassador to organize a meeting of the Council. Stefan agrees. Terari is also intrigued by Taxla and talks often with the tabi, inviting him to the School of Magecraft. (See Fy 19, Sv 8.) What This Means: The Karameikan expedition not only confirms the existence of the Hollow World, but also brings news from Alphatia, which didn't exist in the Hollow World when Claransa adventured there. Stefan will now have to decide what he will do with this world-shaking information. FYRMONT 12, AC 1014: Friendly Encounters Location: Skies above Empire of Thyatis. KW Description: The Adoria, an Imperial Skyship of Thyatis, encounters the flying city of Serraine over Thyatian Mainland. The Adoria's captain informs them that Thyatis will now be protecting its skies above the Empire. Once the meeting is over with, the gnomes are only too happy to leave the Thyatian skies. What This Means: Serraine has never intended to invade Thyatis (or anyone else for that matter), but the Empire has merely let them know that the Empire now also has skyships, believing that this will ensure they do not attack. Also, the captain has taken the advantage of getting a good look at the city and its defenses, as the Empire of Thyatis has wanted to get its hands on the flying city for some time now... once they have enough skyships to attack the city, that is. FYRMONT 12, AC 1014: Truce Declared Location: Slagovich, City-State of Slagovich. SC Description: After many months of battle, the City-States of Hojah, Slagovich, and Zvornik sign a peace treaty and end hostilities. (See Ya 24, Kl 7.) What This Means: Things are more or less back to normal. The only major change from all the fighting was the increase in land for the City-State of Zvornik, which now controls all the way south to the ruins of Budve. Slagovich looks uneasily toward the military movements of its new ally. FYRMONT 13, AC 1014: Thurgg Arrives Home Location: Black Mountains. SC Description: In the foothills of the Black Mountains, near Lake Halli, Thurgg finally arrives back to his home tribe, the Dark Fangs. The orc fighting-monk of Gareth begins to teach his people the ways of the new Immortal. (See Va 23, Va 25.) What This Means: Thurgg will have a lot of trouble trying to teach fellow orcs about peace and working together. Many challenge him to fights to the death for speaking such non-sense, but thanks to the training he has had with Anand Brishnapur, Thurgg is able to defeat all his opponents. And he lets all of them live, something unheard of in the orc tribes before. Many orcs watch Thurgg (who fights with his bare hands and feet and still wins!) closely to see what he intends to do and say. FYRMONT 14, AC 1014: Plea For Help Location: Soderfjord, Soderfjord Jarldoms. KW Description: King Harald Gudmundson sends a plea for help to King Ragnar of Soderfjord asking for his help against the goblinoids in his lands. He states that Thar's horde is on the move, and a new force of kobolds has entered his lands from the south. Ragnar declares that he will help Vestland, and sends forth his men who are eager to once more defeat humanoids after their last victory just over a month ago. Troops march out immediately upon the Overland Trade Route toward Vestland. (See Fl 27, Fy 8, Fy 10; Fy 20, Fy 21.) What This Means: Although there is no political reason to help Vestland besides being good neighbors, Ragnar is still "drunk" with the glory he received for defeating the kobolds in the Hardangers. Another victory will improve his standings all the more. Also, he wants to catch up to Psa'gh and stop him once and for all so the troublesome kobolds never return to Soderfjord. FYRMONT 15, AC 1014: World Games Begin Location: City of Ylaruam, Emirates of Ylaruam. KW Description: From the 15th to the 28th of Fyrmont, the World Games take place in the city of Ylaruam. As before, athletes from various nations (and independently, including a few Glantrians who come without the blessing of their nation) compete against each other to see who is the best at what they do. The games go rather well except for two things: First, during the opening ceremonies, a fight breaks out in the crowds between the Ylari and foreign visitors over their blasphemies and disrespect toward the Way of Al-Kalim. The other difference is the lack of aquatic competitions this year as the Ylari officials refuse to allow the use of their precious oasis to swim in: water is too important in the desert for such foolishness. Also, many athletes have trouble competing in the intense heat of Ylaruam, so many clerics are present to help those that collapse before any permanent harm (or even death) can come to anyone. Create water spells come in very handy during these two weeks. (See Kl 15, Fe 15; Fy 22, Fy 28.) What This Means: There is no hidden meaning here. Both the Empire of Thyatis and Ierendi make claims to have the World Games in their nations next year. The Western Defense League, who created and sponsored the games, however, prefers to have the games in each of their nations before going to any other nation. Shireton, the capital of the Five Shires, is therefore given the honors of hosting the games next year. Another event is that many of the Ylari get to see first hand what foreigners are like; they witness all their infidel behaviors, and total lack of civility. Most are appalled by the "civilized" customs they have brought, from lewd behavior and prostitution, to theft and gambling; things that are considered religious taboos by the Ylari. This seems to enhance the bad reputation of foreigners in the minds of most Ylari. FYRMONT 17, AC 1014: Milenians Massacred. Location: Halfway between Milenian Empire and Lothar. HW Description: With the help of the Heldannic Knights' tactics, the Nithians manage to trap, and eventually slaughter the Milenians. No prisoners are taken. (See Fe 28, Fy 8.) What This Means: It would appear that Lothar will remain safe from Milenia for a while longer. FYRMONT 17, AC 1014: Reign of Terror Ends Location: Orclands, Darokin. KW Description: Khordarg returns to her lair today, seemingly sated from her weeks of attacks. She has done much raiding in human and elven territories, but surprisingly has left the orcs of Orclands alone, for which they are grateful. (See Fy 2; Am 3, Am 6.) What This Means: Khordarg has been sated, and has returned to her lair to complete the Ceremony of Sublimation. She will deal with the orcs in due time. FYRMONT 19, AC 1014: NACE Council Meets on Hollow World Location: Ionace, NACE. KW Description: The Council of the NACE meets today to hear the important news brought by Terari, acting as the Karameikan ambassador. The Council members are not surprised to have confirmation of the existence of the Hollow World and Alphatia, since they already knew it for quite some time. Since King Stefan wishes to make this public knowledge, however, they must settle on an official reaction for the Confederation. Since they don't want to put pressure on their Karameikan ally and since they now feel secure enough, both military and politically, they decide to back up the Karameikan position. (See Fy 11; Sv 8, Sv 9.) FYRMONT 20, AC 1014: Raid on Fort Hobart Location: Orclands, Darokin. KW Description: Humanoid forces, under the command of King Alebane, set forth for a massive raid on Fort Hobart. (See Fy 2, Fy 5; Am 3, Am 6.) What This Means: Alebane has suffered a number of crushing defeats lately, and he is beginning to grow weary. This has allowed his magical ring, a Huptzeen (see GAZ 10: Orcs of Thar, under Alebane for ring's personality problems, and Monstrous Compendium, Mystara Appendix for stats) to influence his actions. The Huptzeen has finally managed to convince the ogre to stage this raid on Fort Hobart before winter sets in. FYRMONT 20, AC 1014: Siege At Landersfjord Location: Landersfjord, Vestland. KW Description: Thar's horde makes its move upon the town of Landersfjord. This time, the northern men are ready for them and the goblinoids are forced to lay siege to the well defended town. (See Fy 10, Fy 14; Fy 21, Fy 25.) FYRMONT 21, AC 1014: Landersfjord Defeated Location: Landersfjord, Vestland. KW Description: A break is made in the wooden palisade of Landersfjord, and the goblinoids rush into the streets to start a huge battle. After several hours, the two forces seem to have come to a stand still when reinforcements arrive. Psa'gh and his kobolds enter the town and help crush the human defenders. (See Fy 14, Fy 20; Fy 25, Am 1.) What This Means: The two mighty humanoid leaders have finally come together, and two human towns (Rhoona and Landersfjord) have suffered a crushing defeat. The goblinoids then proceed to plunder the farmsteads all around the town, gathering all the food, gold, and weapons they can carry. FYRMONT 22, AC 1014: Synn's Agents Learn of Ancient Magics Location: City of Ylaruam, Emirates of Ylaruam. KW Description: Agents working for Synn at the World Games hear rumors about a cursed place of great magical power called the Dead Place (see GAZ 2: Ylaruam, p. 63). They discover that this sacred battleground is apparently located somewhere in the Emirate of Nithia. They decide that once the World Games are over, they will eventually begin looking for this place to see if they can find any powerful magic for themselves and Synn. (See Fe 15, Fy 15; Am 3, Am 13.) What This Means: This is exactly what it appears to be: the search for magic and power. FYRMONT 25, AC 1014: Clash Against Orcs Location: Landersfjord, Vestland. KW Description: The armies of Vestland finally catch up to the humanoid forces near the newly created ruins of Landersfjord. The goblinoids, under the brilliant leadership of both Thar and Psa'gh, manage to outflank the first wave of humans and cause them to flee back to the north. Meanwhile, the goblinoids themselves pull back, retreating toward the Soderfjord border where they intend to try and lose all pursuit. (See Fy 20, Fy 21; Am 1, Am 5.) What This Means: Both Thar and Psa'gh know that they cannot defeat the humans head to head with the poor equipment they have for their horde. They are now trying to find better terrain so the fighting will favor them. Since the forces sent into the Makkres Mountains have now returned, the way back to those mountains have been blocked. The goblinoid leaders therefore favor moving southwards, perhaps into the mountains of Rockhome, rather than trying to force their way back into the Makkres. FYRMONT 26, AC 1014: Ne'er-do-well Reaffirms its Independence Location: Ne'er-do-well, Alatian Islands. KW Description: King Koryn the Harpist sends messengers to Ionace, informing the Council that Ne'er-do-well is an independent nation but friendly with the world, and that ships from all over the Confederacy are welcome to make use of the ports just as any other mercantile nation may. (See Ya 23; Am 21, Am 22.) What This Means: Ne'er-do-well intends to remain independent from both Thyatis and the NACE, while trading with both - and preying upon both nations' ships too. Commander Broderick has better to do with his troops than invading the isles. FYRMONT 26, AC 1014: Trouble in the North Location: Ethengar. KW Description: Hulagu Khan of the Uighurs leads his clan out of the Ethengar steppes and into the Heldann Territories to start the invasion ordered by the Great Khan. After a brief skirmish with patrols of the Heldannic Knights, Hulagu returns to Ethengar and the Golden Khan sends a message to Wulf von Klagendorf stating his apologies over a mix-up he will correct immediately. (See Fe 7; Am 4, Am 8.) What This Means: Oktai Khan and his Glantrian agents sent a false message to Hulagu Khan, who has well known desires to invade the Heldann Territories. The message claimed that the Great Khan decided to invade Heldann because the sacred white stallion has been roaming in those lands and that was a divine sign to conquer them. Not caring about anything except attacking the Heldanners, Hulagu did not even bother to verify the authencity of the message and started the invasion. Before he could get too far, however, real envoys of the Golden Khan managed to stop him and convince him to return to Ethengar. The fake messengers are captured and they are discovered to be Taijit warriors. Moglai Khan, now having had the last straw of Oktai's plots, has decided he will eliminate this rival once and for all. He sets in motion a plan to reveal Oktai Khan's secret alliance with the Glantrians so he can gain the support of his people to destroy the rival Khan. Those with GAZ 12: The Golden Khan of Ethengar, can find the information on the various Khans and tribes, as well as the above plot in the sub-plot Trouble in the North (p. 61), of the adventure In The Service of the Golden Khan. It could now be a good time to play out that adventure with the PCs. The whole incident is a plot devised by the Glantrians to keep the Ethengarians at war with the Heldann Territories so that Glantri would be safe. FYRMONT 28, AC 1014: World Games End Location: City of Ylaruam, Emirates of Ylaruam. KW Description: The World Games end with huge parades and celebrations. The Council that makes the rules for the World Games go into debate, planning the Games for next year. (See Fe 15, Fy 15.) What This Means: The councils of merchants and diplomats that work on the World Games begin discussing the future of the World Games. Although the Games are very exciting and worthwhile, the nations of the known world can no longer afford to continuously send their athletes every year. Proposals are made that after the Shireton Games in AC 1015, the Games should be held only every second or even third year. The winners of the World Games are left to the DM's discretion. ************** Fabrizio Paoli brizio@lunet.it s153349@studenti.ing.unipi.it DM in City Of The Stars - PC in the Forgotten Realms Leader of Privateers - Trip Bomb Master - Lord of Firewalkers Home Page:http://www.ing.unipi.it/~s153349/index.html ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 24 Mar 1997 20:01:32 +0100 From: Fabrizio Paoli Subject: [Mystara] AC 1014 Almanac Part 14 KLARMONT 1, AC 1014: Escape From Manacapuru Location: Manacapuru, Davania. KW Description: Thanks to the thieving abilities of Taxla, the Karameikan Polar Expedition escapes from the Yuan-ti temple. The group flees into the jungle. There, they continue to try and get to the Thyatian Hinterlands before being recaptured. Because he saved their lives, the group decides to accept Taxla within their ranks. (See Ya 25, Ya 27; Kl 20, KL 23.) KLARMONT 2, AC 1014: On the Run Again Location: Chandbali, Sind. KW Description: While still in Chandbali, Hool's forces are attacked by armies of the Mumlyket of Nagpuri. They are driven back into the mountains, though they suffer few losses. (See Fl 24, Ya 8; Kl 22, Fe 17.) What This Means: As expected, the Rajah of Nagpuri has retaliated against the goblinoids. Hool would have moved sooner, but for reports that a few tribes of goblinoids from the Gunjab region were marching to join the migration. His scouts warned him of the coming of the Nagpurians a few days ago, though, so he sent most of his forces into the surrounding mountains. The addition of the Gunjab goblinoids brings his army near to 5,000, but he now has to deal with how to get around the Rajah's Mumlyket. KLARMONT 3, AC 1014: Goblinoid Hunt Organized Date: Mon, 24 Mar 1997 13:08:41 -0600 From: (mystara-digest) To: mystara-digest@lists.io.com Subject: mystara-digest V2 #26 Reply-To: mystara-l@lists.io.com Precedence: bulk X-UIDL: e171c81df4fea5b650d0a8371973c929 Location: Othmar, Kingdom of Eusdria. SC Description: King Sigismund III asks for a couple of dozen brave warriors and adventurers who would be willing to risk their lives and enter the goblin territories to find and kill the Huptai shamans. Several volunteer for a chance at the glory, but the King only selects the best (either through their reputation or various competitions amongst the contenders) as the number of antidotes he has is limited. (See Fl 28, Ya 7; Fe 9.) What This Means: The clerics of Eusdria were unable to reproduce the antidote to the amber lotuses. They did discover that the antidote lasts for about a month, giving special units enough time to accomplish any mission they are sent on. The King and his advisors decided that the best solution would be to eliminate any goblinoid shaman who knows how to keep the plants alive out of their natural climate (the Field of Dreams). Once they are gone, they should eventually die out and Eusdria will be free of them. KLARMONT 5, AC 1014: War in Orclands Location: Orclands, Darokin. KW Description: In the mountains of the Orclands, a force of yellow orcs from Dast clash with a group of hobgoblins and orcs from Grukk. The fighting is bloody, and there are many casualties. (See Fl 11, Ya 1; Fy 2, Fy 5.) What This Means: Moghul-Khan and Hutai-Khan have long been adversaries over religious issues revolving around their patron, Yagrai. Though few of Hutai-Khan's tribe of Hobgobland remain, most of Moghul-Khan's yellow orcs are direct transplants from the Broken Lands. This confrontation shows that old rivalries are not soon to be forgotten, and serves as a reminder of just how tenuous the goblinoid alliance is in Orclands. KLARMONT 5, AC 1014: Caravan Raided Location: 20 miles east of Gola Keep, Sind. KW Description: A caravan heading for Sayr Ulan from Hule is ambushed soon after it passes Gola Keep (on the western border of Sind). The contents of the caravan, gold for the Hulean armies, never reach their destination. (See Fl 14, Fl 21; Fe 6, Ei 7.) What This Means: The Freedom Warriors have made their first meaningful strike against the Huleans. Sitara and Anand, who have been with them for over a month now, have been preaching to the rebels, telling them that the time for waiting is over and that they should act now. Anand has been teaching many of the Freedom Warriors the arts of the Shehid Mystics, slowly turning them into a fighting force rather than simple farmers who are revolting. During this time, many have also come to hear and appreciate the words of Gareth, which is the main reason Sitara and Anand joined them; they wanted to show the people of Sind that they can have a revolt without the help of the Rishiyas or traditional Sindhi Immortals. Following the traditions of the Shehid Mystics, the gold is mostly given back to the poor of the region who have suffered under the Hulean rulers. Enough is kept to continue to supply the Freedom Warriors, however. Only the excess is given away. Still, it is still enough gold to raise the public opinion of the Freedom Warriors. KLARMONT 7, AC 1014: Slagovich and Zvornik Declare War Location: Gulf of Hule. SC Description: Slagovich officially declares war on Zvornik and sends its troops out to defeat the Zvornikians. The grounds between the two City-States become a huge battle ground. Many free towns, such as Budve, are destroyed by the warring factions.(See Ya 18, Ya 24; Fy 12.) What This Means: All sides in this battle loose many men, but the true victims are the unallied towns crushed in the middle. Also, any ship from any nation becomes a "legitimate" target during the fighting, making the City-States area a very dangerous place to visit. KLARMONT 10, AC 1014: Birth in Imperial Family Location: Thyatis City, Empire of Thyatis. KW Description: There is celebration in Thyatis City as Emperor Eusebius I's daughter is born. Eusebius names her Valentia after the famous Empress of Thyatis that ruled the Empire of Thyatis in the year AC 20 and held it together after Zendrolion's death. (See Dawn of the Emperors boxed set for Thyatis' history) What This Means: There is no hidden meaning in this event. Of special note, Valentia seems very magically inclined and could one day become a powerful wizardess if trained correctly. Unfortunately, at such a young age, there are still no signs of her potential power. KLARMONT 15, AC 1014: Land Cleared for World Games Location: City of Ylaruam, Emirates of Ylaruam. KW Description: Sultan Mohammed Al-Kalim declares that a large piece of land just outside Ylaruam City is now considered to be a foreign quarter. It is there that the World Games will be held in just two more months. (See Kl 26, Fe 15.) What This Means: There are several laws in Ylaruam that outsiders have trouble obeying, such as the law that all mages must wear brightly colored robes which indicate that they are mages (see GAZ 2: Emirates of Ylaruam). Because of this, Ylaruam has foreign quarters, in which the foreigners rule, make their own laws, and punish themselves accordingly. Within these quarters, the laws of Ylaruam do not apply. Since the World Games are bound to bring hundreds, if not thousands of foreigners and infidels, the Sultan has merely assured that they will have a place to stay and that in the games, there will be no hassels of law or such. The Sultan has placed the ambassador of Darokin in charge of the new foreign quarters reserved for the World Games. KLARMONT 20, AC 1014: Clash With the Natives Location: Leopard-Land, Davania. KW Description: The Karameikan Polar Expedition is ambushed by barbarians while within the jungle. The group's magical abilities (mages and priests) manage to defeat the attackers and cause them to flee back into the jungle. What This Means: The Leopard Clan attacked the Karameikans, having believed that they were an armed Thyatian party trying to capture their women and children and corrupt them with their "civilization." (See Ya 27, Kl 1; Kl 23, Fe 2.) KLARMONT 22, AC 1014: Raid on Raneshwar Location: Raneshwar, Mumlyket of Gunjab, Sind. KW Description: Hool's forces stage a raid on Raneshwar, destroying most of the town, before taking off into the mountains again. Maharajah Sarojun Sur is greatly distressed, and appeals to Rahadirajah Chandra Ul-Nervi for help. (See Ya 8, Kl 2; Fe 17, Am 1.) What This Means: On top of troubles with the Followers of Gareth, now Sind must deal with Hool's Great Migration. Chandra Ul Nervi will place this matter on the shoulders of the Hulean occupying force, stretching their forces even thinner. The Master is quickly coming to realize how much of a hassle it is to continue occupying Sind. KLARMONT 23, AC 1014: Fiends Invited to Play Location: Falun Caverns, Hardanger Mountains. KW Description: The defenses of the Hardanger kobolds in the Falun Caverns suddenly collapse as kobolds seem to be fighting kobolds. Ragnar and his men push their way into the deep caverns. They soon discover the reason that the kobolds have now started to flee the area; a pack of fiends are on the loose within the caverns. The humans of the northern reach halt their advance and fortify in the caverns they have managed to take from the kobolds, preparing themselves for the onslaught from the fiends. (See Ya 16, 28; Kl 25, Kl 28.) What This Means: Thra'gh, the head shaman of the Hardanger kobolds (see GAZ 7: The Northern Reaches), and trusted advisor and friend of Psa'gh, was getting tired of the endless number of humans at the entrance to the Falun Caverns. He has wasted several decades of his life watching Psa'gh (who no longer ages thanks to his artifact armor) simply wait for the humans to do stupid things when he believes they could have just invaded the humans and crush them with the power of the "Suit of Silver." Although Psa'gh continuously insists that the humans at the cavern entrance were under control and would simply be killed one at a time. Thra'gh thinks that Psa'gh has finally failed. Thra'gh therefore used an ancient ritual to summon a greater fiend to his service to help him reclaim the artifact from Psa'gh so he can himself lead the kobolds to victory. With his spell, he summons a marilith (tanar'ri, true), which in terms summons lesser fiends to help it (tanar'ri hezrou). The fiends attack Psa'gh. Unlike the original legends of the Shining Armor (GAZ 7, p.46), Psa'gh survives and escapes the fiends. Instead, Thra'gh is killed by the greater fiend who breaks free of his control. The fiends then decide to go on a rampage and just kill everything within the Falun Caverns. KLARMONT 23, AC 1014: The Thyatian Legion Location: Leopard-Land, Davania. KW Description: The Karameikan Polar Expedition encounters a group of Thyatian Legionnaires in the lands of the Leopard tribe. The Legionnaires are trying to capture and "educate" more of the barbaric Leopard clan who refuse to adapt to the proper Thyatian way. After talking over with the unit's commander, the Karameikans manage to get accurate directions back to the town of Raven Scarp. (See Kl 1, Kl 20; Fe 2, Fe 4.) KLARMONT 25, AC 1014: Fiends Vanquished Location: Falun Caverns, Hardanger Mountains. KW Description: The forces of Ragnar, with the help of several priests of Thor and Odin, manage to defeat the fiends within the Falun Caverns, banishing them back to the Abyss. Having taken advantage of the situation, the humans manage to storm most of the cavern and take control of the situation. Psa'gh realizes that they are trapped, and supplies are running low. He gives the order for the kobolds to flee the Caverns, and they leave by other exits the humans have not yet discovered. Psa'gh's horde regroups on the other side of the mountain, away from the humans. (See Ya 28, Kl 23; Kl 28, Fe 12.) KLARMONT 26, AC 1014: Tension Rises in Ylaruam Location: City of Ylaruam, Emirates of Ylaruam. KW Description: There are many loud complaints in Ylaruam about the terrain given over to foreigners for the World Games. Many believe that if foreigners come to Ylaruam, then they should at least be civilized and behave according to the laws of Ylaruam and Al-Kalim; there is no need to augment the size of the foreign quarters. The loudest of these protests come from the Kin faction, which are very xenophobic and hate foreigners. The Sultan assures them that the land for the World Games will only be a foreign quarter for the duration of the games, and once it is over, will be returned to the people of Ylaruam. He also asks them to give the infidels a chance to prove themselves before speaking harshly about them when they have not yet even arrived in Ylaruam. (See Kl 15; Fe 15, Fy 15.) What This Means: The Ylari have never been too happy about foreigners, but they have always allowed them in their nation. But this is the first time that they expect so many at once, and tensions can't help but run a little high. The Kin faction, the rival faction of the Preceptors for the throne of Ylaruam (see GAZ 2: Emirates of Ylaruam), have never liked having foreigners on its holy land, and would love to close down the borders of Ylaruam. With tensions running as they are, the Kin are doing their best to spread their beliefs to the Ylari in hopes of gaining more political influence. KLARMONT 28, AC 1014: Kobold Hunt Location: Falun Caverns, Hardanger Mountains. KW Description: Scouts report the kobolds fleeing the area, and Ragnar immediately has his men chase after them. This begins a long series of skirmishes and maneuvres to lose/surprise each other in the Hardanger Mountains. (See Kl 23, Kl 25; Fe 12, Fe 17.) THE HARDANGER FIENDS [A compilation from the journal of Astrid Ragnisdottir. ED.] Entry 1 It is said that men and women who die bravely and valiantly will feast in the Great Hall with Odin All-Father. The All- Father must be welcoming them by the dozens, hearing their tales of great deeds and victory, as no less than two dozen wounded lie before me, chanting of battle as death slowly calls to them. Let it be known that for the past month, the armies of Ragnar, as well as brave men and women from beyond Soderfjord, have fought bravely, strong in arms, and determined to destroy the little monsters, as all soldiers born. But the clever devils still continue to resist. They lay traps, as the mountains above fall on the warriors, granting them an inglorious demise, or as pitfalls suck the heavy-footed down into the pits of death. Surely as they are weak and vile, the little dogmen devils are clever, devious, and cunning, as if the spawn of Loki himself. Yet the gods [It seems the northmen call the Immortals gods for some odd reason. ED.] eventually smiled upon Ragnar, called the Stout, as they praised his mighty axe-arm and courage. After besting many of the dog-headed monsters in personal combat, he who calls himself King Ragnar led his men, and his vassals' men, into the mouth of the Falun Cavern. There did they crush the last of the filthy beasts that guarded the entrance and sent so many a brave warrior to see the All-Father. There is celebration, for this fortnight, the first step into a glorious victory has been reached. But the drinks are light, as woe be unto him who lets mead cloud his judgement while so close to such a clever enemy. Entry 2 Let all who would be wise learn of the troubles that plague the men of Soderfjord. What fate had smiled upon us as an easy victory has become a death trap for the foolish who smile too soon. The dog-men have lured Ragnar to their lair, where now they play with him as a tyrant jarl plays with his serfs. The caverns are as deadly as a berserker's axe, yet not nearly as visible or honorable. Pits filled with bones as sharp as any spear have claimed the lives of over a dozen brave souls. The cowardly beasts fire several arrows from the darkness of their passages, then flee into tunnels too large for the brave warrior to follow just as a rat scurries into its hole to avoid the cat. The dog-beasts breed like the wild rabbit, and they are well aware of their greater numbers. A treacherous tactic of the devils is to bring sections of the dark cavern down upon a force of true warriors, forcing them to separate into smaller groups. Although they fight bravely and are easily worth one hundred of the monsters each, they are soon outnumbered and fall beneath the blades and arrows of the enemy. At least their souls will now be travelling to Asgard since their deaths were honorable and courageous. In their lair, the traps are all made to maim and slay the human warrior, as blades spring from the wall at the height of one hand above the head of the little vermin, cleaving into the foolish pursuer who does not know the patience to wait for them to come to him. Last is their dark magic, surely granted to them by Hel or Loki. Their dark priests call upon evil illusions to fool the eyes and ears of the noble warrior. Some call upon the unnatural darkness of night to cover the flames of the torches, preventing the soldiers from seeing their cowardly enemy. Ragnar would be wise to call upon the guidance of father Odin, as his battle of victory will soon turn into a defeat, and woe unto him if he should return to his home in such shame. Entry 3 To call the dog-men devils would no longer be an accurate description, for surely this day it is real devils that prey down upon us. These frog beasts stand at least a head taller than the largest Northman warrior. The vile stench that follows these fiends is enough to make all but those with the strongest stomachs to wretch and fall helpless to the ground. And of those, it takes the hardiest and bravest warrior to still face these demons and look them in the eyes, for it is the eyes of pure evil that stare back at them. Let it be known that even bravery and a strong will are still not enough to vanquish the frog-men, as only the most faithful and devoted who have weapons blessed by Thor or Odin can even pierce their strong skins. If such beings are not devils, then may the cold of winter take us all before a real devil ever shows its face in our lands. [Our research seems to indicate that these beasts are called Hezrou, from the type of fiends/devils known as Tanar'ri. Ed.] Ragnar, although brave, is not a foolish young man. He has called back his warriors to regroup and make plans to defeat such unvanquishable foes. He intends for the skalds [Ed. Note: a mixture of priest and storyteller] to cast Odin's and Thor's blessing upon the warriors and their blades, so that even they can stand up to the demons in a fair and honorable combat, facing death on even grounds. The skalds are also to play a vital role in banishing these fiends back to Hel, as their holy prayers to the All-Father will force them to leave the physical world of mere mortals. I must leave now, as the messenger says my divine-granted powers are needed to help Ragnar and his brave men ready to die for their King. Let it be known that once this is over, Ragnar the Stout will be the greatest of Kings of Mystara, or he shall be forever known as the foolish who has brought his nation into ruins and despair. Entry 4 [Ed. Note: not in Astrid's handwriting!] To whomever is reading this, I am sorry to inform you that Astrid was severely wounded during the last battle. She was sent, along with all the other priests, to a final confrontation with the fiends that have overrun the Falun Caverns. Unfortunately, she received grave injuries, and I am as of yet unsure whether or not she will survive. From what I have read of this journal, it seems she has been keeping an accurate detail of the events of this siege for you, so I will endeavour to accomplish this for you as Astrid was a good friend of mine. As mentioned, there was a great battle between the men of Soderfjord and the fiends, with the priests of Odin, Thor, and even Frey and Freya at the forefront. Their priestly magics were the key in banishing the fiends back to the Pits, but it also put them as the primary targets of their attack. Over half of them died in that final battle, as well as three-score soldiers who were protecting them. Despite the great loss, the battle was won and Ragnar emerged victorious. Luckily for him, the fiends seemed to have taken care of the kobolds beforehand, as there was none left to oppose him. Had they been still waiting, Ragnar would not have had enough men left to survive. The Falun Caverns have been cleared of the evil kobolds, and Soderfjord should now be free of them. This should allow more peaceful relations with the more civilized tribes throughout the region. I hope this is what you expected... Misha [Ed. Note: We believe this last section might have been written by Misha Mananov.] ************** Fabrizio Paoli brizio@lunet.it s153349@studenti.ing.unipi.it DM in City Of The Stars - PC in the Forgotten Realms Leader of Privateers - Trip Bomb Master - Lord of Firewalkers Home Page:http://www.ing.unipi.it/~s153349/index.html ------------------------------ End of mystara-digest V2 #26 ****************************