First Quest and Mount Dread
by phoneixmclFirst Quest
Hello all, back with another Mystara related (loosely) product of little known value, the First Quest Box Set. As TSR began to make the transition into this product Mystara was cropping up as a world for beginners. Though the Adventure book references Karameikos, Mystara and its King very little is added. The adventures listed with this set include The Tomb of Demara (which introduces a small Karameikan town very similar to what Irenke is described as, but isn't given a name), The Ghost of Harrow Hill (basically a Ravenloft flavoured adventure), Across Wildspace! (a Spelljammer introduction) and Under Mount Dread. All of these adventures are linked by a loose story plot and are suggested to take place in Mystara. Of all the four only Mount Dread actually finds a follow up in the actual Mystara world.
Mount Dread
Mount Dread is located on the border of Darokin and Karameikos about 16 miles west of Mount Pavel in the Black Peak Mountains. (K:KoA, Kingdom of Karameikos Fold-out Map) During the time of the dark age of the Traldar (BC 500+) an evil sorcerer Azazabus built a fortress under Mt. Dread. He funded construction with the price of cruelty to his humanoid labours. Azazabus and his band raided local settlements and was renowned for his evil experiments in his subterranean laboratory fortress. Though no one is sure of the fate of the powerful mage the spawn of his army and his experiments are said to still inherent his domain.
Currently the King is concerned with cleaning out this fortress to provide a better foot hold in the Black peaks that border the end of his territory. As well, the community of Highforge has sent expeditions underneath the mountains. Many of the expeditions are lead by gnomes who search for artifacts left behind by Azazabus. A necromancer named Kordak has setup a headquarters in the last standing ruins of a look-out tower on the mountain. Though a small portion of the fortress is known by the Highforge community, very little is known about what lies under Mount Dread.