Ten Years of THRESHOLD Magazine
by Allan Palmer from Threshold Magazine issue 31In going back through past issues of THRESHOLD to create the print-ready versions of each issue that we now provide in addition to the standard "digital" versions, I realised that 2023 would mark the 10th anniversary of the first issue of our Mystara Magazine. Has it really been 10 years?
Genesis
It all started with a suggestion in the Piazza Forums:
Piazza Screenshoot http://pandius.com/Threshold31TenYearsOfThreshold.png
Well, that post seemed to spark much discussion. By the time this initial topic had run its course two weeks later, 140 posts had been submitted, and the topic had spawned others to develop the concept and make the idea of a Mystara-centric fanzine a reality.
Notably, a major question was "What should the zine be called?" There were many suggestions involving words like "Mystara", "Known World", "Grimoire", "Journal", "Annals", "Archives", and others. The words and structure of the title were debated in the Piazza Forums at length, continuing from the main public Mystara forum into a private sub-forum for the nascent Editorial Team. Eventually the suggestion by Thorfinn Tait (Thorf) of "THRESHOLD: The Mystara Magazine" became the accepted title.
At this point, with Giampaolo Acosta (agathokles) riding herd over various aspects of what was needed to produce an issue (see "The Mystara magazine: Getting Things Going" topic), I volunteered to handle the magazine layout once we had decided that it would be made available as a PDF document downloadable from the Vaults of Pandius website. (We remain indebted to Shawn Stanley (Stanless) for providing the hosting facility over this time.) For the cover layout of the magazine, I proposed a design that drew on the style of the BECMI boxed sets and various modules of the 1980s. After some debate, it was agreed to proceed with this style as it reflected the source of our shared interest in the game setting. The cover design was significantly enhanced by the excellent THRESHOLD logo that Thorf designed and supplied.
For the record, the "Editorial Team" credited in the first issue included Andrew Theisen (Cthulhudrew), CmdrCorsiken, Francesco Defferrari (Sturm), Håvard, John Calvin (Chimpman), Robert Nuttman (RobJN), Simone Neri (Zendrolion), Thorf and me with agathokles as "Editor-in-Chief". All contributed in various ways to the launch of THRESHOLD. IIRC, John Calvin set up the threshold.mystara email account and the Google Drive which became the main collaborative tool to manage articles and artwork. I note that Google launched the Drive service in April 2012, only a year before we started the THRESHOLD project - I wonder if we would have made a success of the magazine if we had been trying to set it up in 2003? How would we have managed our globally dispersed team of editors and authors back then? John also provided the standard article submission template which helped the transition of author submissions into a form ready for the layout process.
It had been agreed that each issue of the magazine would have a theme - an area of the planet Mystara, a particular race, some type of activity, or similar. This did not mean that other "unrelated" articles could be included in an issue, but it gave a sense of purpose and a starting point for contributors. It was agreed that the theme for issue #1 should be "Karameikos", the starting point for many who began playing D&D, recognising that if we were successful with the first issue, it was agreed that we should identify a theme for the second issue to encourage further contributions such that they would be available in time to meet our proposed quarterly schedule. The chosen theme for issue #2 was "The Vaults of Pandius", spotlighting the "...repository of community lore that has helped to keep the flames of Mystara alive and well long after its discontinuation as a campaign world, to allow us to share the wealth of creativity of this international community, and which has served as a resource to fans new and old alike". We didn't realise back in 2013 that 8 years later another issue (#27) of THRESHOLD would celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Vaults website! The first "Call for Contributors" and announcement that THRESHOLD Magazine would be produced appeared on 4th June 2013 in the Piazza Forums. And we were off and running...!
Launch
On 30th September 2013, agathokles wrote in the Piazza Forums: "I'm glad to announce the release of the first issue of Threshold, the new magazine for Mystara! ... I must say it has been a great time editing this issue, and I hope you'll enjoy our magazine, and I look forward to see your comments, as well as to Issue 2, Vaults of Pandius special, which will be shepherded by Cthulhudrew. Thanks to everybody who participated in this effort, which led to 180 pages of pure Mystara goodness!"
Leading off the first issue was an article from Håvard celebrating the "30 Year Anniversary of Red Box D&D", the start of the iconic journey that evolved into Mystara. Håvard also contributed "The Dangers of the Dymrak Wilds", a look at some of the inhabitants of the wildlands of the ancient Dymrak Forest in southeastern Karameikos.
Continuing the Karameikan theme of this first issue, Simone Neri (Zendrolion) provided two detailed articles covering the Demography and History of the region. If you want to learn about the Grand Duchy, these articles are highly recommended. We would be treated to similar detailed articles from Simone in future issues such as the Histories and Demographics of Ierendi and Minrothad beginning in issue #3. Simone also collaborated with Giampaolo Acosta (agathokles) to produce an article describing two of the noble houses of Karameikos: the Stroloca (with ancient Traladaran roots), and Dravonius, an old Thyatian family that gained prominence with the Empire's invasion of the Traladaran lands in AC 900. Family trees and coats of arms abound in this piece.
Agathokles wrote an adventure titled "Guild Wars", which he described as "...a sort of urban side-trek, taking the form of a classical whodunit". Using the background of guild politics in Specularum (e.g. see module B6: "The Veiled Society"), we are treated to an intriguing city-based caper.
Delving into recent history of the region, Demetrios J Sahlas wrote about "Karameikos: The Hidden Years (901-969 AC)". Canon material tells us about the Thyatian Invasion of AC 900 and that Stefan Karameikos III became the territory's ruler in AC 970, but what happened between those dates? Demetrios uncovered the background to Stefan III's ancestors and their participation in the evolution of the Grand Duchy. Likewise, Andrew Theisen (Cthiluhudrew) looked at the background of one of Specularum's notable factions in "Unveiling the Radu Clan", revealing some family secrets.
Away from Specularum, Niels Just Rasmussen described the state of affairs in Fort Doom, the stronghold of Baron Von Hendriks in western Karameikos. John Calvin chronicled the story of "Yuri Molotov - Death Knight", one-time Master of the Order of the White Drake, and how he could be used in a campaign. A goblin kingdom in the Wulfholde Hills led by Dhrom Dhum was detailed by Francesco Defferrari (Sturm).
One of the aims of THRESHOLD was to promote each individual's personal version of Mystara through a "My Mystara" column. For the first issue, Robert Nutman wrote about his interpretation: "Thorn's Mystara", one that is (to quote the author) "... a much darker world, haunted by the long shadow cast by Blackmoor's ruin." A further "My Mystara! column appeared from Geoff Gander in issue #2, but the column did not receive the range of contributions expected so no further examples have yet appeared. (Perhaps we need to re-launch this?) Another aim of the magazine was to enhance the cohesiveness of the Mystara fan community, and this was successfully addressed by running interviews with noted fan contributors. We got off to a great start with the godfather (or should that be arch-mage) of Mystara himself, Bruce Heard! Shawn Stanley was in the hot seat for issue #2, followed by Marco Dalmonte (#6), Thorfinn Tait (#11), James Mishler (#12), an Sharon Dornhoff (#15).
Additionally, the Editorial Team agreed that the magazine should feature both new fan material and revised "gems" from the Vaults of Pandius (which collated much fan material from the Piazza Forums and other sources), and this first issue included "Return to the Ice Wall", an adventure set in the central Altan Tepes by Shawn Stanley (stanles). John Calvin (Chimpman) contributed the first instalment of "Times Travels", a Lego model comic strip set in 2300 BC, the time of the Taymoran Empire and others. John continued this column in several subsequent issues (#2-4, 7, 11-13).
Rounding out the inaugural issue was the first instalment of the series describing Koskatep ("the mountain of bones"), a vast mega-dungeon on the upper course of the Achelos River in northwestern Karameikos. Francesco Defferrari (Sturm) described the history and content of this dungeon level by level in each of the following issues through to #15.
Onward
By the time issue #1 was published, a call for contributions to issue #2 (Vaults of Pandius) had already been posted, and at the beginning of 2014, Andrew Theisen (Cthulhudrew) as Editor-in-Chief for that issue was able to announce its release. Taking the concept of the Vaults as a vast repository of knowledge, Jesper Andersen (Spellweaver) began a column titled "Mystaranomicon - Exploring the Books of Mystara", describing tomes that could be discovered by adventurers and the like in their travels across the globe. Further instalments appeared in issues #3, 5, and 6. Also in issue #2, John Calvin began a series of articles detailing Matera, Mystara's Hollow Moon - a concept first proposed by Sharon Dornhoff on the Mystara Mailing List back in 1988. "Once in a Blue Moon" columns continued in issues #3, 9, 10, 13, and 15. A series by Giulio Caroletti and Giampaolo Agosta looking at the organisation and membership of Thyatian Senators began in issue #2, with further parts appearing in issues #3-6.
Issue #2 was just two pages bigger than the first issue. However, when John Calvin took the Editor's chair for issue #3 that had the theme of "The Sea of Dread", as the manuscripts arrived from the authors it became apparent that there would be a significant increase in the page count. So much so that it was decided that the theme would be split across two issues, resulting in the 246 pages of #3 being followed by a further 218 pages in #4 (titled "Return to Dread"). Mention should be made of the stand-out cover to #3 supplied by John's daughter, I. "Meandrathel" Calvin. It was clear that in some cases while a theme was chosen for a given issue it might be necessary to split the contributions over multiple issues, otherwise the larger volume of input would increase the time required for proofreading, layout and editing. Taking this approach allowed the Editorial Team to maintain a roughly quarterly publication schedule which was maintained for the first five years of the magazine. Material for the Northland/Norwold theme was spread across issues #6, 7, and 8, while content for Western Brun/Savage Coast occupied issues #17 and 18. The somewhat generic theme of "Adventures & Campaigns" featured in the three issues: #22-24.
Themes for the issues of THRESHOLD have covered a range of topics (see the full list in our Previous Issues section), with suggestions from many and the community voting for their choices in the Piazza forum. While Andrew Theisen and Joseph Setorius each took the Editor In-Chief's chair for a single issue, that role was handled by Giampaolo Acosta, Francesco Defferrari and John Calvin on a rotating basis. Due to real world commitments, John had to relinquish his involvement with the project after issue #18, and Giampaolo stepped down from his Editorial role after issue #25. The magazine has continued with myself (Allan Palmer) assisting Francesco more fully on the Editorial side than previously. The reduction in the number of Editors has meant that the frequency of publication has had to be cut back and we are only able to confidently produce 2 issues per year currently.
Notwithstanding the reduced frequency, the army of contributors has continued to provide a tremendous amount of input. For the record, the first 30 issues of THRESHOLD comprise 6,612 pages, or an average of 228 pages per issue. The largest issue was #12 ("Ages Past") at 294 pages, while the smallest was #25 ("Strongholds") at only (?) 150 pages.
THRESHOLD was originally conceived as a digital (PDF) publication which fans could read online or download to their devices. Over time, there have often been requests for a physically printed version, but initially the mechanics of arranging that (in terms of print runs, distribution/shipping, etc) were not practical. However, in 2021 I became aware of Glen Welch's "Mystara 5e Player's Guide" project (see: https://www.rpgmp3.com/mystara-players-guide/) which offered fans the options of either downloading a digital PDF version of his compiled book or of downloading press-ready files that could be submitted to an online print service that would take the print-on-demand interior and cover files and produce a printed version for the individual purchaser. After studying what Glen had done, for issue #28 I created both the "normal" PDF version and a print-on-demand version which I successfully printed using Lulu (www.lulu.com). This version was made available following the digital version on January 2022 via the Vaults of Pandius website. The response to this option was positive, and I embarked on some minor reformatting of the original THRESHOLD PDF files (which included creating separate covers), so that by late 2022, all issues of THRESHOLD were available both in digital and print-on-demand formats.
Thanks
THRESHOLD has remained a community effort thanks to so many people. As well as the wordsmiths who have written all those articles that enhanced and developed ideas from the original Mystaran canon, numerous artists have contributed a gallery of illustrations and maps to enliven the words. It is great to see the amount of original artwork increase, saving the Editors time crawling through public domain sources to find suitable images to use. We are all grateful to Thorf for his library of replica maps which have been utilised in many articles. While some individuals have been mentioned in this article, it seems fitting that we try and list all those who have contributed to the success of THRESHOLD Magazine's first 30 issues/10 years in the accompanying "Roll of Honour".
Comments from The Piazza
Comments from fans/contributors (from The Piazza Thread) here https://www.thepiazza.org.uk/bb/viewtopic.php?t=31104
by BjørnWR » Thank you to everyone who has put time and effort into making this amazing product. Every issue is a joy to read.
Tim Baker » That's an incredible milestone! Congratulations!
Doc Necrotic » Congrats on the anniversary!
by Sturm » Thanks all. Looking back at ten years of Threshold magazine issues, I'm impressed by the amount of material which has been produced! Certainly a major expansion of our beloved world of Mystara :)
Lost Woodrake » Congratulations on an amazing achievement! Threshold is quite a stunning miracle, and such a testament to the creativity of this community. It is quite unbelievable how lively Mystara still is, after all these years and entirely due to fans' imagination, dedication, and output. Threshold is the epitome of all that, as well as the engine that keeps it going. My deepest gratitude to whole those who labor on it throughout the years.
cab » Vaults of Pandius and Threshold are the two strongest institutions supporting out of print game worlds that exist, and they both belong to Mystara. They are testament to the strength of the setting, the classic D&D game that it grew up in, but mostly to the fan community who have always embraced the uniquely central 'take this and make it your own' aspect of the setting. Indeed that's what defines Mystara more than any other D&D game world. Threshold exists because creators want to give back to a fan community that gives them so much. And that the work of the editors, artists and typesetters is completed to a professional level shows just how uniquely strong the setting is. Oh, and favourite article? Always the next one I plan to write, or the next one I hear someone else is working on.
Big Mac » My Mystara knowledge is weak, but I really liked Knightfall's idea, and I think my biggest contribution to Threshold is something that isn't anything to do with a single issue. Instead it's the first big bit of administration I did for The Piazza, after Ashtagon trusted me to look after the community that she created. On Fri May 17, 2013 at 7:36 pm I created a forum usergroup called "Mystara Fanzine denizens" in the forum admin control panel and added the initial group of Threshold Magazine staff to that group. (I've periodically had requests to add other people to the group.) At Fri May 17, 2013 at 8:13 pm I created a private forum, called "Mystara Fanzine" and set up the group so that only people in the "Mystara Fanzine denizens" could see it. (I don't think that Threshold Magazine had chosen a name for itself, at this time. But, I was super keen to get the private forum ready, so that they could get to work on issue 1.) (The private forum has since been named "Threshold Magazine", to match the name of the magazine and the group has been renamed "Threshold Magazine team" and now appears on a special forum page, called The Team.) That's not the biggest thing, compared to the thousands of words...or tens of thousands of words...that Mystara fans have contributed to Threshold Magazine. (And I hope that, one day, I learn enough about Mystara that some of my words can go into Threshold Magazine.) But, I do hope that the private forum has helped the contributors organise their work. :) By the way, if you are a Facebook user (and like Threshold Magazine - why are you reading this post, if you are not :P ) please go to the Threshold Magazine page on Facebook and give their page a like. And, if you have some free time, please look for the "[...]" (button below the "[Search]", button), click "[...]" and select "[Invite friends]" from the dropdown. Please don't send spam invites to everyone, but if you have friends, who are Mystara fans, please use this control to invite them to like the Threshold Magazine page. It will take you a small amount of time, but it's a way that you can help Facebook users, who might not all be coming here, to discover the magazine.
Sturm » Thanks Big Mac! Your support and Ashtagon's also has been very precious to reach ten years of the magazine! :)
AllanP » @Big Mac - as Sturm says, the support and facilities provided by the Piazza over these last 10 years have been instrumental in getting THRESHOLD to where it is. Thanks!
Mezuka » Impressive, most impressive!
Knightfall » Wow! Ten years. Cool.
AllanP » And it's all your fault! :D :D :D See viewtopic.php?t=10361
Knightfall » :ugeek: {takes a bow}
Coronoides » Congrats. I'm still pretty new to this party so there is a lot to catch-up on.
Morfie » Congrats! I am glad to be here when it started.. I thought about contributing something at the time.. and still have nothing! :oops:
b9anders » Really well done on keeping the fan community going like this.
Yaztromo » This is the very tangible and living proof of how big and strong the Mystara fan base is!
CmdrCorsiken » Such an amazing journey. I raise a glass for the next ten years!
Aoz » Congrats on ten years of Threshold Magazine!!!!
Havard » An amazing achievement! :) Congrats everyone!
Neko Princex » Well done! :cool:
Tom Bulls Eye » Seems like yesterday we held the first issue in our hands. Thank you so much to all contributors for this amazing magazine.
Thorf » Congratulations to the whole team! 10 years and 30 magazines later, I couldn't be prouder to be a part of this community. Thanks to your hard work, Threshold has become another important institution for all Mystara fans, right up there alongside the Vaults of Pandius and The Piazza. Here's to many more years of issues to come!
Not a Decepticon » Congratulations! Even though I joined very recently, I am proud of being part of such great legacy.
"Honour Roll" as compiled by Sturm
Taken from the Main Index of Threshold articles by issue, theme and author which can be found in this Piazza thread https://www.thepiazza.org.uk/bb/viewtopic.php?t=17521
List of Contributors
Authors:
Adam Ferreira (Mystic Kind), Agathokles (Giampaolo Agosta), Alexandre de Luna, Allan Palmer, Allen Varney, Andrea Ciceri, Andrew Theisen (Cthulhudrew), Argentmantle, Arnden Quartzspar, Atila Pires dos Santos, Bruce Heard, C. Richard Davies, Cab Davidson, Chimpman (John Calvin), Colin (LordJuss) Wilson, Craig Antoun (Irondrake), Damon Brown, David Keyser, Demetrios J Sahlas (Demos Sachlas), DesertNomad, Doc Necrotic (Brian), EPiK Team, Fabrizio Nuzzaci, Galdor aka Glenn Tanner, Giuliano Michelon, Giulio Caroletti (Scaevola), Hausman Santos, Håvard, Ignacio Ramos (Ramelin), Irving Galvez, John Atom, Kyle Knight (Gravesguardian), Kilr Kowalski, Korro Zal, Jacques (Jack) Riesling, James Mishler, Joseph Setorius (julius cleaver), JTR (OldDawg), King Everast, Leandro Abrahão, Lost Woodrake, Luca Pezzullo (Cedric), Luc Greenwood, Marco Dalmonte, Matthew Fleet (Carillion), Maxime Beaulieu, Michael Sutherland, Michele "LoZompatore" C., Niels Just Rasmussen (Justinov), Not a Decepticon, Otávio Gadelha, Pol Ginés (Khuzd), Robin D., RobJN (Robert Nuttman), Sean Robert Meaney, Sebastien (Senarch), Seer of Yhog (Geoff Gander), Sharon Dornhoff, Shawn Stanley (Stanles), Simone Neri (Zendrolion), Spellweaver (Jesper Andersen), Stefano Leonardi (Polipone), Sturm (Francesco Defferrari), TheGlen, The Real Nowhere Man, Thorfinn Tait, Trevor Holman, Troy Terrell (CmdrCorsiken), Ville Lahde, Wangalade (Lance Duncan)
Illustrators and mappers:
Adamantyr, Agathokles, Allan Palmer, Aleksei-Liakh, Andrea Francolini, Andrew Theisen (Cthulhudrew), Argentmantle, Bruce Heard, Cab Davidson, Christian Constantin, Damon Brown, Dario Odillo, David Keyser, Demos Sachlas, Doc Necrotic (Brian), Douglas Lanford, DJ Hartel, Epik Team, Fabrizio Nuzzacci, Gabriel Packard, George von Zarovich, Giulio Caroletti, Glen Welch, Hasandgo, Hausman Santos, Håvard, Ignacio Ramos (Ramelin), Irving Galvez, Isabella Calvin, Jeffrey Kosh, Jim Holloway, Joey Armstrong, John Calvin, Jonathan Barker, Joseph Setorius (julius cleaver), JTR (OldDawg), Justin Pfeil, Khannea SunTzu, Larry Elmore, Leandro Abrahão, Linus Andersson, LoZompatore, Mario Ciuffini, Matthew Fleet (Carillion), Mike Phillips, Mindszenty, Nathan Park, Omnibius, Paul Holroyd, Robin D., Sean Robert Meaney, Sebastien (Senarch), Seer of Yhog (Geoff Gander), Simone Neri (Zendrolion), Sturm (Francesco Defferrari), Thibault Sarlat, Thorfinn Tait, Toni Roads, Trevor Holman, Two Minute Table Top, V Shane, William McAusland, Will Pleydon, Veris Design Roleplay.
Proofreaders and editors:
Agathokles, Allan Palmer (AllanP), Andrea Ciceri, Andrew Theisen (Cthulhudrew), Ashtagon, Brian O'Carroll, Carl Quaif, Caroline Regina, Chris Seabrook, Cmdr Corsiken, Dan Hyland, Danny Cline, David Finch, David Insley, Eric Wirsing, Glenn Tanner, Harri Maki, Håvard, Hervé Musseau, Joseph Setorius (julius cleaver), John Atom, John Calvin (Chimpman), Kevin Simonich, Michael Berry, Mike Harvey, Murray Neill (Louie the Monk), Nicola Valpiani, Rob Koper, Robin D., Robert Nuttman (RobJN), Shawn Stanley, Simone Neri, Sean Kennedy, Shelby Michlin, Simon Barns, Sturm (Francesco Defferrari), Thomas Rosleff Bækmark, Seer of Yhog (Geoff Gander), Spellweaver (Jesper Andersen), Thorfinn Tait, Tom Bulls Eyes, William Belben
Appendix:
Also add Thorf's idea: "I'd love to see a table at the end of the article with each issue's number, theme, page count, editor, and publication date."