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Sub-settings of Mystara part 1

by Francesco Defferrari from Threshold Magazine issue 23

It’s not just one RPG setting, but many, many more!


Mystara started as the
Known World, and the region was always the main setting of the D&D line, yet during its years of publication, other sub-settings were created. The Hollow World and the Savage Coast were the major two, while anotherThunder Rift was loosely connected. Many more were hinted in other products. In fact, The Voyage of the Princess Ark, the series of articles by Bruce Heard in Dragon Magazine, not only introduced the Hollow World and the Savage Coast, but also developed regions of Davania and Mystara’s invisible moon, Patera; gave many more details on Alphatia and the Heldann Freeholds; and described the lands west of the Known World, from Sind to Hule. The Companion and Master adventure modules introduced important information about Norwold, the Isle of Dawn, and Alphatia. The Poor Wizard’s Almanacs provided some expanded knowledge of certain areas of the world, such as Northern Brun, Northern Davania and Western Skothar. The PC accessory series introduced as settings the sky, the underwater lands and the hidden worlds of fairies and werecreatures. There was a wealth of material in canon products, but fans later expanded it even more, to the extent that we can now say definitively that Mystara is not just one setting, but many.

Mystara’s primary sub-settings are geographical: the three continents of Brun, Davania and Skothar each have many different macro-regions which could be considered sub-settings of their own. The Savage Coast and the Hollow World are examples of geographical sub-settings, as are the Shadowdeep, the Moons and Mystaraspace, and the Undersea.

The world also has several sub-settings from a historical point of view: Blackmoor was the first, officially described in the DA series of adventures as set in Mystara’s past ages. The Hollow World boxed set, detailing several aspects of the past of Mystara and lost civilizations, automatically created many more such sub-settings. And fans did the rest, foremost of whom was John Calvin (Chimpman) with his 2300 BC sub-setting.

Finally, particular fantasy races constitute a sub-setting too, as a full campaign could be built with PCs belonging to a particular race, or to a group of races living in a common environment. An idea introduced in Mystara with the PC series, which detailed the world of fairies, werecreatures, undersea races and sky races, and which has been recently imitated by fans in some issues of Threshold.

Let us examine the many sub-settings of the World of Mystara below: I have counted more than 50 different sub-settings, each interesting enough to host at least a medium length campaign, but probably it is just a conservative estimation, as Mystara is such a rich and developed world it could probably sustain many more subsettings.

[Image: Geographical sub-settings]

http://pandius.com/Mystara_subsettings.png

Geographical sub-settings

Geographical sub-settings are macro-regions with some distinctive theme or characteristic, or simply political ties or geographical vicinity. Obviously any such classification is completely arbitrary, but still useful for a DM. Any given geographical sub-setting obviously borders another one, usually more than one, and PCs could easily move from one to another. Under each section I have added basic campaign suggestions for Basic, Expert, Companion, Master and Immortal adventures under BECMI D&D categories. The ideas assume a good aligned party. Otherwise, they could be easily reversed.

In Brun

We will start with the continent where most of the Mystaran canon products are set, and the most well developed of the three continents.

[Image: Known World]

http://pandius.com/Known_World.png

The Known World

The Mystara sub-setting par excellence, the Known World is where it all started when the game world did not even have a name. The nations initially included in it are the ones which were described in the Expert set and were later detailed in the Gazetteer series. However, Alphatia and the Isle of Dawn, while included in the Dawn of Emperors boxed set, the Gazetteer-like boxed product detailing Thyatis and Alphatia, are not strictly part of the Known World. While on the other hand, the Thanegioth archipelago, partially described in X1: “The Isle of Dread”, could be considered part of it and the northern nations of Wendar and the Heldann Freeholds were closely connected to the events of the Known World in later products, such as the Wrath of the Immortals boxed set and the Poor Wizard’s Almanacs.
The Known World does not have many common characteristics, as it is composed of very different nations, but it has, in part, a common history of migrations and invasions and it is mostly, but not entirely, based on European-like cultures and classic Tolkienesque fantasy races of elves, dwarves and halflings. As the nations of the Known World were already well developed in canon products and have been detailed even more in fan products, it could be argued that each nation constitutes a mini setting on its own, in which long campaigns could easily be played.
Beside humans and the classic fantasy races, later products developed other races as PCs, such as fairies, gnomes, aerial creatures, werecreatures, aquatic races and lupins, adding even more diversity to the region.
Basic Campaign: Exploring and mapping wilderlands, search lost ruins, fighting monsters and enemy agents, or corrupt nobles and rulers.
Expert Campaign: getting involved in local politics by helping the leaders of the nation. Discover major external and internal threats.
Companion Campaign: Setting up a Dominion, defending it from rivals and enemies.
Master Campaign: Become the rulers of a nation, or facing major threats against the nation to ensure its continuation, or create a new Known World nation, becoming an Immortal.
Immortal Campaign: Create a new religion, changing the main faith of one or more nations of the Known World.

Main sources

Almost the whole B and X series of modules
The Gazetteer series and Dawn of the Emperors boxed set
The Poor Wizards Almanac I, II and III
The Joshuan Almanac
The Atlas section in the Vaults of Pandius http://pandius.com/atlas.html#knwnwrld
The many previous articles dedicated to the region in Threshold Magazine http://www.thepiazza.org.uk/bb/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=17521&p=222019#p221958

[Image: Adri Varma plateau]

http://pandius.com/Adri_Varma.png

The Adri Varma plateau

Geographically, the Adri Varma plateau could be considered as part of the Known World, but as it was left mostly undeveloped in official products, it is indeed an entity unto itself. The only canon information on the plateau comes from the first print of the Basic module B3: “Palace of the Silver Princess” (orange cover) with a short description of the Barony of Gulluvia. Fans have expanded on this, and now the plateau is detailed and big enough to be used as a unique and very interesting sub-setting, with unique creatures like the cacti-men stolari and the four armed sandfolks.
Basic Campaign: Defend your community from many dangers, or just search for riches.
Expert Campaign: Gaining more strength for your people, or rise to the ranks of an existing dominion like Gulluvia.
Companion Campaign: Setting up your dominion or expanding an existing one, conquer lands.
Master Campaign: Trying to unify the many races and cultures of the Plateau under your rule, becoming Immortals, conquering other nations.
Immortal Campaign: Make the Plateau your theocracy and conquer the Known World.

Main sources

B3 Palace of the Silver Princess, orange cover
The Dragonlord Trilogy, see also Dragonlord Chronicles - Detailed Summaries by David Keyser http://pandius.com/dlrdchrn.html
The Poor Wizards Almanac I, II and III
The dedicated section in the Vaults of Pandius: http://pandius.com/adrivarm.html, in particular the Adri Varma Gazetteer by Omnibius in italian, translated in english by Gary Davies http://pandius.com/Adri_Varma.pdf
The Unknown World Trail map part V by author in Threshold Magazine issue #18 http://pandius.com/uknwntm5.html

[Image: Sind and the Serpent Peninsula]

http://pandius.com/SindSerpent.png

The Great Waste, Sind and the Serpent Peninsula

The adventure modules X4: “Master of the Desert Nomads”, X5: “Temple of Death” and X6: “Quagmire!” introduced this big region into Mystara and then the “Voyages of the Princess Ark” and series and the “Champions of Mystara” boxed set greatly developed them. Fans added many details, and now the exotic west of the Known World is a very interesting sub-setting, and a theatre of the wars between Hule and the Known World nations. This big regions includes high mountains, vast desert and grasslands, and extensive swamps. While mainly inhabited by human cultures, it is certainly the home of many other races, such as the elves and gnolls of Graakhalia, manscorpions, lupins, giants, humanoids, lizard men, the beaver-like mugumba mud-dwellers and dinosaurs!
Basic Campaign: Travel extensive wildlands of desert, swamp and mountains.
Expert Campaign: Resist against Hule as leaders of your band or ship captains.
Companion Campaign: Set up a Dominion or lead a region or nation to rebel against Hule.
Master Campaign: Create a new nation or strengthen an existing one.
Immortal Campaign: Create a new religion and have it spread in the region.

Main sources

X4 Master of the Desert Nomads
X5 Temple of Death
X6 Quagmire
Dragon Magazine’s Voyages of the Princess Ark
Champions of Mystara
boxed set
Wrath of the Immortals boxed set
The Poor Wizards’ Almanacs I, II and III
Fan Almanacs and the dedicated sections in the Vaults of Pandius, i.e. Black Mountains http://pandius.com/blkmnts.html, Graakhalia http://pandius.com/graak.html, The Plain of Fire and the Sind desert http://pandius.com/pof.html, Serpent Peninsula http://pandius.com/serptpen.html, Sind http://pandius.com/sind.html, Ulimwengu http://pandius.com/ulimwngu.html and Yavdlom http://pandius.com/yavdlom.html, including italian Gazetteers by Omnibius.
The Unknown World Trail map - part V by me http://pandius.com/uknwntm5.html and many other articles in Threshold Magazine:
http://www.thepiazza.org.uk/bb/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=17521&p=222019#p222015

[Image: Hule and Kavkaz]

http://pandius.com/HuleKavkaz.png

Hule and Kavkaz

Hule is a large nation and deserves to be considered a sub-setting of its own; also because fans developed a lot its history and of its neighbours, creating an epic story of war between Law and Chaos in Central Brun. The theocracy of Hule is a long standing menace for all the surrounding regions, both to the east, Sind and the Known World, to the nord, the Kavkaz nations and the Yalu sea, and to the West, the Savage Coast. The Black Mountains are also inhabited by many other non human races, like the goatmen of Kavaja, humanoids, giants, neanderthals, manscorpions, harpies, tabi, nagpas and yetis. The Gulf of Hule is dominated by Slagovitch and the other Traladaran city states.
Basic Campaign: Search for lost ruins and secrets to help the common people resist the tyranny of Hule’s theocracy.
Expert Campaign: Lead a local rebellion against the theocracy.
Companion Campaign: Set up an independent dominion or help a colonized land break free from Hule, or an attacked nation to resist.
Master Campaign: Try to conquer Hule or topple the theocracy.
Immortal Campaign: Create a new religion and defy Bozdogan’s state religion in Hule.

Main sources

X4 Master of the Desert Nomads
X5 Temple of Death
Dragon Magazine’s Voyages of the Princess Ark
Champions of Mystara
boxed set
Wrath of the Immortals boxed set
The Poor Wizards’ Almanacs I, II and III
Fan Almanacs and the dedicated section in the Vaults of Pandius, on Hule http://pandius.com/hule.html and Kavkaz and Midlands http://pandius.com/midlands.html, the Black Mountains http://pandius.com/blkmnts.html, the City States of the Gulf of Hule http://pandius.com/city_sta.html and articles on Threshold Magazine:
http://www.thepiazza.org.uk/bb/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=17521&p=222019#p222015

[Image: Borean Valley]

http://pandius.com/Borean.png

The Borean Valley and the Midlands

In canon, this region of Mystara was only mentioned in GAZ10: “The Orcs of Thar”, as a starting point of humanoid migrations, and in the Master Set, as the location of the mysterious Empire of Dorfin IV. This region borders Hule to the south and therefore is also connected with the struggle of Law vs Chaos developed by fans. The region is inhabited by many humanoid tribes, human nomads, reclusive elves in the Ozungan plateau, and possibly some gnomes with Earthshakers (one of which arrives in Norwold in module CM4: “Earthshaker!”).
Basic Campaign: Search for lost ruins and secrets to help the common people.
Expert Campaign: Create local stability defeating bandits and raiders, defend your community or town.
Companion Campaign: Set up an independent dominion which will become a great nation.
Master Campaign: Re-create and unify the Yalu Empire (or Empire of Dorfin).
Immortal Campaign: Create a new religion to unite and ensure the duration of the empire.

Main sources

Gazetteer 10 The Orcs of Thar
CM4 Earthshaker!
Fan Almanacs and the dedicated sections in the Vaults of Pandius: Central Brun http://pandius.com/cntrlbrn.html, Midlands http://pandius.com/midlands.html, Northern Brun http://pandius.com/nor_wild.html, Western Brun http://pandius.com/westbrun.html
and articles on
Threshold Magazine:
http://www.thepiazza.org.uk/bb/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=17521&p=222019#p222015

[Image: Savage Coast and Yazak]

http://pandius.com/SavageCoast.png

The Savage Coast and Yazak steppes

The Savage Coast, first presented in the module X9: “The Savage Coast”, was later greatly developed by the “Voyages of the Princess Ark” series and by two AD&D products, “Red Steel” and “The Savage Baronies”. The Orc’s Head Peninsula, Herath, Wallara and the Yazak steppes are all connected to the Savage Coast canon material, and have received a lot of fan attention, making the region one of the best developed in Mystara after the Known World. The Savage Coast is not inhabited only by humans but also by elves, dwarves, halflings, gnomes, lupins, rakastas, tortles, lizard men, gator men, cay men, aranea, wallara, chameleon men, phanatons, wurmlings, the simian neshezu, the otterfolk jorri and more.
Basic Campaign: Search for adventure and keep the Red Curse at bay with cynnabril.
Expert Campaign: Create an outpost in the wildlands for the Lawful Brotherhood or for a Savage Coast nation.
Companion Campaign: Forge a new barony or nation in the Coast or the steppes.
Master Campaign: Defeat the Red Curse, or unify several baronies or nations.
Immortal Campaign: Create a new religion for the West and conquer Brun with smokepowder!

Main sources

X9 The Savage Coast
Dragon Magazine’s Voyages of the Princess Ark
Champions of Mystara
boxed set
The Poor Wizards’ Almanacs I, II and III
Red Steel Campaign boxed set
Red Steel The Savage Baronies boxed set
Savage Coast Campaign Book
http://pandius.com/svge_cst.html
Savage Coast Monstrous Compendium
http://pandius.com/sc_monst.html
Savage Coast Orc’s Head Peninsula Campaign Book
http://pandius.com/orcshead.html
Fan Almanacs and the dedicated section in the Vaults of Pandius http://pandius.com/atlas.html#svgecst, the City States http://pandius.com/city_sta.html, Great Northway Lands and the Yazak Steppes http://pandius.com/yazak.html
and articles on Threshold Magazine:
http://www.thepiazza.org.uk/bb/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=17521&p=222019#p222015

[Image: Arm of the Immortal]

http://pandius.com/YezchamenidArm.png

Yezchamenid Empire and The Arm of the Immortals

The Yezchamenid Empire was an original creation of fan Adrian Mattias, later picked up by others, including the Mystara Fan Almanacs team. The Arm of the Immortal was partially developed in the “Voyages of the Princess Ark” in Dragon Magazine, and lately it received some more attention in Threshold Magazine, thus giving this sub-setting quite some amount of material. The Arm it is inhabited not only by humans but also by winged elves and winged minotaurs, the winged reptilians krolli, pegataurs, gyerians, humanoids, mythu'nn folk, the half ogres traders of Gombar and Suma’a, jakar rakasta and many other races.
Basic Campaign: Search for secrets and treasures for the Empire or your people.
Expert Campaign: Rise in the Empire’s ranks, or serve your nation against the Empire.
Companion Campaign: Forge a new nation in the Arm or conquer new lands for the Empire.
Master Campaign: Make the Empire stronger by conquering the Arm or defeating Zuyevo, or topple the Empire in the name of conquered people.
Immortal Campaign: Create a new religion and spread it into the Arm.

Main sources

Dragon Magazine’s Voyages of the Princess Ark
The Poor Wizards’ Almanacs I, II and III
Red Steel Campaign boxed set
Red Steel The Savage Baronies boxed set
Savage Coast Campaign Book
http://pandius.com/svge_cst.html
Savage Coast Monstrous Compendium
http://pandius.com/sc_monst.html
Savage Coast Orc’s Head Peninsula Campaign Book
http://pandius.com/orcshead.html
Fan Almanacs and the dedicated section in the Vaults of Pandius: Yezchamenid http://pandius.com/yzchmnid.html, Arm of the Immortal http://pandius.com/arm_imm.html
and articles on Threshold Magazine:
http://www.thepiazza.org.uk/bb/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=17521&p=222019#p222015

[Image: Endworld Line]

http://pandius.com/ZuyevoEnd.png

The Endworld Line and Zuyevo

This region, in canon the location of the Sylvan Realm from where the elves of Alfheim migrated and the setting of module CM7: “The Tree of Life”, was never fully detailed, but fans later added much detail to it. The works of Adrian Mattias, Giulio Caroletti and LoZompatore in particular did an excellent job to flesh out this area of Mystara. This region is inhabited by humans, elves, gnomes and other races, such as giants, centaurs, fairies, duckmen, hydrax from the Plane of Water, lizardmen, rakasta and faenare.
Basic Campaign: Search for secrets and treasures for your country, or to your benefit.
Expert Campaign: Become local heroes in your community.
Companion Campaign: Forge a new nation, or bring back the Sylvan Realm, or conquer new lands for the Empire of Zuyevo.
Master Campaign: Make your nation or empire stronger by conquering others or creating a regional alliance.
Immortal Campaign: Create a new religion and spread it in all the Endworld Line.

Main sources

CM7 The Tree of Life
Fan Almanacs and the dedicated section in the Vaults of Pandius: Western Brun http://pandius.com/westbrun.html, Endworld Line: http://pandius.com/endworld.html, Zuyevo http://pandius.com/zuyevo.html, Klagorst: http://pandius.com/klag.html, Sylvan Realm: http://pandius.com/sylvrelm.html
and articles on Threshold Magazine:
http://www.thepiazza.org.uk/bb/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=17521&p=222019#p222015

[Image: Hyborea]

http://pandius.com/Hyborea.png

Hyborea

The vast north of Brun was labelled Hyborea on the Master set map and later developed by fans, as there was no canon information about this vast area. This region is inhabited by humans, giants, humanoids, arctic dwarves, lupins, cryons, yetis and gnomes.
Basic Campaign: Survive, and find food and shelter for you and your family or friends.
Expert Campaign: Make your band or community safe, warm and fed.
Companion Campaign: March to the conquest of southern lands, or unify Hyborea.
Master Campaign: Create an Hyborean Empire.
Immortal Campaign: Create a new religion and spread it in the north.

Main sources

Fan Almanacs and the dedicated section in the Vaults of Pandius: Central Brun http://pandius.com/cntrlbrn.html, Northern Brun http://pandius.com/nor_wild.html, Hyboria: http://pandius.com/hyboria.html
and articles on Threshold Magazine:
http://www.thepiazza.org.uk/bb/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=17521&p=222019#p222015

[Image: Idrisian Sphere]

http://pandius.com/Idrisian.png

Idrisian Sphere, Ghyr and Western Alliance

This region had only a few canon mentions (in X11: “Saga of the Shadow Lord” and modules CM1-4) but mostly fans decided it could be a good location for the module XL1: “Quest for the Heartstone”, belonging to the BECMI D&D line but not officially set in Mystara, and eventually fan JTR dedicated several of his Gazetteers to this region, thus developing it fully to the status of a mini-setting. Inhabited by humans, humanoids, giants, thouls, frogfolks, elves and gnomes, thanks to fan developments it is now a region with plenty of opportunities for adventures and intrigues.
Basic Campaign: Become famous adventurers fighting the plots of Idris or the Shadow Lord.
Expert Campaign: Explore the wilderlands and set up an outpost, or defend your local community.
Companion Campaign: Create a new dominion in the wilderlands, strengthen your country and defend it against Denagoth or barbarians, or try to free Denagoth from its evil rulers.
Master Campaign: Unify the lands under your rule, or create a confederation, or lead a nomadic people to conquer other lands.
Immortal Campaign: Create your religion and spread it in the whole north.

Main sources

X11 Saga of the Shadow Lord
XL1 Quest for the Hearthstone
Fan Almanacs and the dedicated section in the Vaults of Pandius: Denagoth http://pandius.com/denagoth.html, Ghyr: http://pandius.com/ghyr.html, Northern Brun http://pandius.com/nor_wild.html, Wendar: http://pandius.com/wendar.html
and articles on Threshold Magazine:
http://www.thepiazza.org.uk/bb/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=17521&p=222019#p221960 and http://www.thepiazza.org.uk/bb/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=17521&p=222019#p221961

[Image: Norwold]

http://pandius.com/Norwold.png

Norwold and further north

Norwold is big enough to be its own mini-setting. It also had some serious canon development through modules CM1-4, M1-3, the “Dawn of the Emperors” boxed set and the Poor Wizard’s Almanacs, and was also at the center of attention of many fans’ campaigns. All this interestmakes Norwold one of the most detailed mini-setting in Mystara. Threshold Magazine( issues #6, #7 and #8) also added a lot of fan material to the region. The region is inhabited by humans, elves, halfling, dwarves, humanoids, giants, lupins, rakasta, dragons, gnomes, fairies, centaurs, yetis and several other races.
Basic Campaign: Become famous adventurers in the service of King Ericall or the local lord.
Expert Campaign: Rise in the ranks of Norwold, explore the wilderlands, contact other people and nations.
Companion Campaign: Create a barony in Norwold and make it last.
Master Campaign: Unify the Norwold people into a strong nation.
Immortal Campaign: Create a new religion for the Norwold Empire.

Main sources

CM1 Test of the Warlords
CM2 Death’s Ride
CM3 Sabre River
CM4 Earthshaker!
M1 Into the Maelmstrom
M2 Vengeance of Alphaks
M4 Five Coins for a Kingdom
Dawn of the Emperors boxed sets
Poor Wizard’s Almanacs I, II, III and Joshuan’s Almanac
The dedicated section in the Vaults of Pandius on Norwold http://pandius.com/norwold.html, Littonia http://pandius.com/littonia.html, Kaarjala http://pandius.com/kaarjala.html, and the Wyrmsteeth http://pandius.com/wyrms.html
And articles in Threshold Magazine:
http://www.thepiazza.org.uk/bb/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=17521&p=222019#p221961

[Image: Sea of Giants]

http://pandius.com/IsleGiants.png

The Sea of Giants

A name created by this author for the regions north of Norwold inhabited by giants in the module CM1: “Test of the Warlords”. Frost giants should be the main people of this inhospitable lands and seas, but lynxman rakasta, cryons, humanoids and other races could be present as well.
Basic Campaign: Become a famous warrior among giants.
Expert Campaign: Lead a warband to explore and pillage.
Companion Campaign: Lead a band to raid southern lands and conquer a dominion.
Master Campaign: Create an Kingdom of Giants in the whole north.
Immortal Campaign: Create a new religion and make your Kingdom last for centuries, bringing back an Age of Giants.

Main sources

CM1 Test of the Warlords
The dedicated section in the Vaults of Pandius on Frosthaven http://pandius.com/frosthav.html and Adventures in the Frozen North by Matthew Fleet from Threshold Magazine issue #2 http://pandius.com/frznnrth.html

[Image: Alphatia]

http://pandius.com/Alphatia.png

Alphatia

This Empire, dominated by wizards and its main colonies, along with its ongoing conflict with the Thyatian Empire in the Known World, could be considered another subsetting of its own, given its geographical dimensions. Obviously Alphatia is directly connected to the events of the Known World in canon products; nevertheless, the empire’s vast dominions also touch Northern Brun, the continent of Skothar and lately also the Hollow World. After the events of “Wrath of the Immortals”, the Alphatia mainland is removed to the Hollow World, but its colonies still exist in the Outer World and create the New Alphatian Confederate Empire, later called NAYCE in Fan Almanacs. In any era, the region is still big enough to host many campaigns. In more recent years, before developing his own setting of Calidar, Bruce Heard. added much detail to the individual Alphatian kingdoms as they existed in the Outer world. Brucer’s blog articles added a staggering amount of detail to this sub-setting. Humans, elves, dwarves, gnomes, humanoids, fairies and many other races inhabit Alphatia. Due to the size and location of the sub-continent and the extent of the Empire’s explorations, Alphatia may probably have at least some representatives of other intelligent Mystaran races living in its territory .
Basic Campaign: Explore the magical lands of Alphatia.
Expert Campaign: Become famous wizards in your area.
Companion Campaign: Build towers, create innovative spells or magical devices, distinguish yourselves against the enemy of the Empire.
Master Campaign: Lead Alphatians to explore or conquer other lands.
Immortal Campaign: Become a new Alphatian Immortal and help the Empire last.

Main sources

Dawn of the Emperors boxed set
Voyages of the Princess Ark Dragon Magazine series
Champions of Mystara boxed set
Wrath of the Immortals boxed set
The Poor Wizards’ Almanacs I, II and III and Joshuan’s Almanac
The dedicated section in the Vaults of Pandius on Alphatia http://pandius.com/atlas.html#alphatia, Qeodhar http://pandius.com/qeodhar1.html and Yannivey http://pandius.com/yannivey.html and articles on Bruce Heard’s blog https://bruce-heard.blogspot.com/search/label/Mystara
Threshold Magazine issue #11 and other articles:
http://www.thepiazza.org.uk/bb/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=17521&p=222019#p222016

[Image: Isle of Dawn]

http://pandius.com/IsleDawn.png

The Isle of Dawn and the Alatians

The Isle is a territory contested between Thyatis and Alphatia for centuries, as the Alatians will also be in the Poor Wizard’s Almanacs storyline. Fans also did much to develop the history and setting of this region. The Islands are inhabited by humans, elves, dwarves, gnomes, humanoids, giants, fairies, centaurs, gyerians, aranea, phanatons and many other races.
Basic Campaign: Explore the ruins of the wildlands.
Expert Campaign: Become trusted adventurers and explorers in your town or community.
Companion Campaign: Create a new dominion in the wilderlands, or win battles against the enemy empire.
Master Campaign: Conquer the whole Isle of Dawn for an Empire, or make it (or the Alatians, or another area) independent from both empires.
Immortal Campaign: Create a new religion for the Isle of Dawn.

Main sources

Dawn of the Emperors boxed set
M5 Talons of Night
Wrath of the Immortals boxed set
The Poor Wizards’ Almanacs I, II and III and Joshuan’s Almanac
The dedicated sections in the Vaults of Pandius http://pandius.com/dawnisle.html and http://pandius.com/alatian.html
Threshold Magazine issue #11 and other articles:
http://www.thepiazza.org.uk/bb/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=17521&p=222019#p222016

[Image: Ochalea, Pearl Islands and Thanegioth]

http://pandius.com/Ochalea.png

Ochalea and the Pearl Islands

Described in the “Dawn of the Emperors” boxed set and in the Poor Wizard’s Almanacs, the region was also developed by fans and it is certainly big enough to be a mini setting of its own. Agathokles, in particular, wrote a quite detailed gazetteer for Ochalea. The islands are inhabited by humans, lupins, rakasta, minotaurs and humanoids, and possibly also other races.
Basic Campaign: Explore the islands and the mysterious jungles in the interior.
Expert Campaign: Become defenders of your town or community.
Companion Campaign: Create a new dominion in the wilderlands, and attract followers.
Master Campaign: Conquer the islands for the other empire, or make them independent from both empires.
Immortal Campaign: Create a new religion for Ochalea or the Islands.

Main sources

Dawn of the Emperors boxed set
The Poor Wizards’ Almanacs I, II and III and Joshuan’s Almanac

The dedicated section in the Vaults of Pandius on Ochalea http://pandius.com/ochalea.html and the Pearl Islands http://pandius.com/pearl.html
Threshold Magazine issue #11 and other articles:
http://www.thepiazza.org.uk/bb/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=17521&p=222019#p222016

Thanegioth Archipelago

The Isle of Dread is one of the most famous adventure locations in Mystara, the setting of module X1: “The Isle of Dread”, later also re-used in “Savage Tide”, a D&D 3ed adventure path of Dragon Magazine. Fans have also developed the other islands of the Archipelago, inhabited by humans, rakasta, lizardmen, troglodytes, aranea, phanatons, dinosaurs, fairies, kopru and other races.
Basic Campaign: Explore your island and its inhabitants.
Expert Campaign: Become defenders of your community, or travel to other islands
Companion Campaign: Create a new dominion or tribe, or lead your people to another island.
Master Campaign: Unify the islands under your rule, or defend them against an external invasion.
Immortal Campaign: Create a new religion for the Thanegioth and make it a new and strong nation.

Main sources

X1 The Isle of Dread
Dragon Magazine’s Savage Tide
and the adaptation done for Threshold Magazine by David Keyser in issue #4 http://pandius.com/svgtd_t4.html and #19 http://pandius.com/svgtdt19.html
The dedicated section in the Vaults of Pandius
Omnibius
Threshold Magazine issue #3 and #4 and other articles:
http://www.thepiazza.org.uk/bb/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=17521&p=222019#p221958

[Image: Bellisaria]

http://pandius.com/Bellisaria.png

Bellissaria

Rather underdeveloped in canon and fan sources, the Alphatian colony, as a bridge between Alphatia and Skothar, has the potential to be a very interesting sub-setting. In Threshold Magazine issues #11 and # 20, I imagined it as the stage for a centuries long struggle between Alphatia and Milenia, and later between Alphatia and Minaea, somewhat mirroring the historical conflict between Greeks and Persians, as the Milenians are based on the real greek civilization and the Alphatian symbols come from Persian imagery.
Basic Campaign: Explore the ancient ruins of Bellisaria.
Expert Campaign: Become defenders of your community, or travel to other regions of the big island. Serve the Empire, or its Minaean enemies.
Companion Campaign: Create a new dominion for Alphatia, or free a Bellisarian city from Alphatian rule with the help of Minaea.
Master Campaign: Unify Bellisaria under your rule freeing it from Alphatians, or lead an Alphatian campaign against Minaea.
Immortal Campaign: Create a new religion for Bellisaria and spread it to the world.

Main sources

Dawn of the Emperors boxed set
The Poor Wizards’ Almanacs I, II and III and Joshuan’s Almanac

The dedicated section in the Vaults of Pandius http://pandius.com/bellis.html
Threshold Magazine issue #11 and #20 and other articles:
http://www.thepiazza.org.uk/bb/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=17521&p=222019#p222016

To be continued…

This panoramic view of Mystara sub-settings will continue in the next issue of Threshold Magazine with Davania, Skothar, the Hollow World and more!