Community Interview: Shawn Stanley
from Threshold Magazine issue 2Sidebar: The “Community Interviews” column aims at providing insight on the Mystara community, by interviewing authors and community members.
This issue, we take a moment to talk to Shawn Stanley, the founder and lorekeeper of the Vaults of Pandius website. In addition to archiving and maintaining the Vaults, Shawn has also authored a number of Mystara articles himself, including “Return to the Ice Wall” from issue 1 of Threshold magazine, as well as “Vaults of Pandius” in this very issue.
THRESHOLD Magazine: Can you tell us a little bit about how you first got into roleplaying in general, and the world of Mystara specifically?
Shawn
Stanley:
I
first
got
into
role-playing
in
1984 after
changing
school
and
making
a
new
group
of
friends.
They
were
into
gaming,
including
both
Dungeons
and
Dragons
and
Advanced
Dungeon
and
Dragons
and
we
played
in
both.
We
didn't
run
campaigns
as
such,
but
just
rolled
up
new
sets
of
characters
and
ran
them
through
various
adventures.
I
remember
in
particular
playing
adventures
like
The
Lost
City,
Horror
on
the
Hill
and
Temple
of
Elemental
Evil.
I
think
that
there
were
a
lot
of
elements
which
made
me
prefer
Dungeons
and
Dragons
over
its
Advanced
counterpart,
but
not
least
of
which
was
the
sense
of
setting
which
even
an
early
adventure
list
The
Lost
City
evoked.
I
got
the
Basic
boxed
set
for
Christmas
that
year
and
The
Veiled
Society
shortly
thereafter,
although
I
think
that
it
was
when
I
got
the
Expert
boxed
set,
and
then
Castle
Amber,
and
then
Quagmire!
that
I
was
fully
hooked
on
the
Known
World.
You have been a member of the Mystara online community as far back as I can recall. How did you first become aware of the Mystara online community, and what degree of involvement did you have prior to the creation of the Vaults of Pandius?
I've
been
involved
with
the
Mystara
online
community
since
the
early
days
of
the
Mystara
Mailing
List. This
was
the
time
when
I
was
first
getting
access
to
the
Internet
and
so
I
naturally
sought
out
sites
related
to
couple
of
my
greater
interests:
in
particular
the
Known
World
and
Doctor
Who. I
was
a
reader,
and
sometimes
commenter
at
that
stage
on
the
Mystara
Mailing
List.
But
I
felt
like
I
didn't
have
as
much
to
say
as
some
of
the
other
people
putting
out
new
stuff.
One of the things you are most well known in the community for, and one of the biggest things to happen to the community, is the establishment of the Vaults of Pandius, the compository of Mystara resources on the web. What prompted you to begin this massive project?
I
wanted
to
do
something
on
the
Internet,
but
at
that
time
there
was
already
a
lot
of
good
Doctor
Who
websites,
whereas
there
was
only
a
few
Mystara
websites
which
were
not
doing
exactly
what
I
thought
the
Mystaran
community
needed. There
were
discussions
going
on
in
the
Mailing
List
creating
new
and
interesting
stuff,
but
it
wasn't
being
sifted
through
thoroughly
- there
were
digests
of
discussions
being
archived,
and
there
were,
if
I
remember
correctly,
3 websites
where
the
extraction
of
some
of
the
materials
from
the
Mailing
List
was
being
conducted. It
was
apparent,
however,
that
these
websites
weren't
being
as
thorough
as
I
thought
that
a
repository
of
information
needed
to
be. Also,
it
was
apparent
that
there
was
some
sort
of
AOL
Message
Boards
in
existence
(only
open
to
people
with
AOL
accounts
- which
apparently
you
had
to
be
American
to
have,
back
in
the
day,
grumble
grumble)
and
likewise
these
were,
apart
from
being
not
accessible,
were
apparently
creating
stuff
which
wasn't
going
anywhere. So,
seeing
the
need,
I
decided
to
try
and
doing
something
to
fill
it. My
first
website,
which
ultimately
led
to
the
Vaults
today
was
provided
by
my
friend
who
had
access
through
his
father
to
part
of
the
public
website
where
his
dad
worked.
His
dad
worked
at
the
Parliament
House
of
Australia. The
very
first
iteration
of
the
website
was
little
more
than
a
set
of
links
to
other
webpages.
What are some of the highlights and pitfalls you've encountered with the Vaults of Pandius since its creation? Some of your most favorite contributions by the community that you've added to it?
The
highlights
are
the
encouraging
and
helpful
comments
that
are
received
and
the
usage
that
the
Vaults
gets.
Even
during
the
hiatus
from
2010-2012, the
access
of
the
Vaults
did
not
diminish,
and
oddly
only
seemed
to
grow. That
continued
growth
of
usage,
and
my
own
niggles
with
regard
to
what
I
was
not
doing
were
part
of
the
impetus
for
renewed
effort
on
the
Vaults
this
year. Part
of
that,
and
one
of
the
clear
highlights,
was
the
tenth
anniversary,
and
the
outpouring
of
support
which
happened
at
that
time.
One
of
the
pitfalls
of
course
is
the
amount
of
time
which
it
takes
to
maintain
the
Vaults,
let
alone
the
frustrations
with
not
being
able
to
improve
the
Vaults. I
have
an
idea
of
where
it
should
be,
but
the
path
to
that
point
is
not
as
clear
and
easy
as
I
would
like.
One
of
my
ideas
with
the
creation
of
the
Vaults
was
to
not
play
favourites
with
anybody's
work
... not
even
anything
which
I
might
happen
to
do. So
I
think
I'll
remain
silent
on
this
point,
but
yes
clearly
there
are
some
very
creative
and
talented
people
out
there.
What role do you think the Vaults of Pandius play in the Mystara community, past, present, and future?
I
hope
that
the
Vaults
is
a
repository
of
information
and
can
be
used
as
a
source
to
assist
peoples
campaigns
and
imaginations. Of
course,
if
at
some
future
time,
the
fact
of
the
Vaults,
if
not
necessarily
the
Vaults
themselves,
could
be
used
to
re-launch
the
Known
World
then
that
would
be
ideal. Obviously
through
everybody’s
work,
and
the
fora
in
which
we
all
do
it,
the
Mystaran
community
is
healthy
and
vibrant,
whatever
small
part
of
that
which
the
Vaults
can
be
is
all
to
the
good.
In addition to creating the Vaults, you have also written and contributed to various Mystara articles and projects as well. Can you name some of your favorite personal works or particular memories associated with those projects?
As
now
you,
as
editor
of
this
issue,
and
Giampaolo,
as
editor
of
the
first
issue
of
Threshold,
can
probably
attest,
it's
my
lateness
in
submitting
stuff
is
probably
the
first
memory
which
comes
to
mind. More
significantly,
being
part
of
larger
projects,
such
as
the
Almanacs,
was
great
because
you
had
the
chance
to
be
a
part
of
the
formulation
of
ideas
- to
feel
that
you
can
comment
on
work
at
an
early
stage
of
its
formulation,
instead
of
just
being
a
reader
at
the
final
stage. The
large
projects
which
have
happened
show
what
we
can
achieve
together
as
a
community.
On to some more personal questions- you are originally from Australia, but moved to the United States several years ago for work. Has that been a difficult transition? Are there aspects of American society that puzzle you? Amuse you? Any surprising things that are very similar to back home?
There
are
many
things
about
American
society
which
amuse
and
confuse
me. You
might
think
that
Australian
and
American
culture
are
generally-speaking
quite
similar,
what
with
them
both
having
British
roots
... and
yes,
there
are
similarities,
but
there
are
countless
differences
too. There's
a
lot
of
little
things
of
course:
the
lack
of
switches
on
wall
sockets,
calling
the
main
course
the
entree,
and
the
entree
the
appetizer;
the
lack
of
sound
on
intersection
crossings
so
that
the
visually
impaired
can
know
when
it's
safe
to
cross;
but
there's
also
bigger
things:
like
the
lack
of
international
travel
which
Americans
in
my
peer
group
do. I
am
still
constantly
shocked
that
in
a
country
which
has
land
borders
that
people
are
less
internationally
travelled
than
in
Australia
where
you
have
to
hop
on
a
boat
or
plane
to
get
to
another
country. And
let's
not
even
get
onto
hot
topics
like
gun
control
or
health
care... Surprising
similarities
are
a
little
harder
to
come
by
as
it's
the
differences
which
are
much
more
apparent,
it's
the
similarities
between
Australia
and
the
UK,
or
Australia
and
Canada
which
have
been
much
more
surprising
in
that
regard.
You currently work for the United Nations. Can you tell us all a little bit more about what you do there? Do your experiences with the diverse and multi-cultural Mystara community bear any similarity to the work you do for the multi-cultural U.N.?
I
saw
something
that
Neil
Gaiman
once
said:
if
you
can't
explain
what
you
do
to
a
10 year
old,
you
might
not
know
yourself. Basically
I
make
maps,
although
that
being
said
a
real
cartographer
would
say
that
I've
never
actually
made
a
map. The
office
I
work
in
deals
with
everything
legal
to
do
with
the
oceans,
my
work
in
that
regard
mostly
covers
boundaries
and
maritime
zones,
in
particular
the
continental
shelf. So,
the
job
is
primarily
helping
the
Commission
on
the
Limits
of
the
Continental
Shelf
examine
and
give
recommendations
on
the
continental
shelf,
through
creating
maps,
3D
models,
et
cetera;
helping
States
build
capacity
to
work
out
their
maritime
boundaries;
and
providing
advice
to
other
bodies
with
regard
to
maritime
boundaries.
With
regard
to
multiculturalism,
I
would
say
that
it
goes
even
further
back
than
that. Australia
is
an
ethnically
diverse
country,
I
myself
am
half
Maltese,
half
Australian,
and
on
that
side,
it's
only
a
couple
of
generations
going
back
before
you
get
to
England. Growing
up
however,
I
had
friends
and
neighbours
from
around
the
world,
and
this
was
mirrored
in
the
society
at
large
around
me,
and
then
when
I
went
to
university
and
started
working
it
was
continued. Being
involved
in
an
online
community
only
mirrors
what
I
am
already
used
to,
and
then
working
at
the
UN
continues
that. If
anything,
working
at
the
UN,
I
was
almost
a
little
disappointed
at
how
it
was
not
an
order
of
magnitude
more
diverse
than
my
previous
work
environment. Yes,
the
mixture
of
ethnicities
is
different
here,
but
it
doesn't
feel
like
it
is
considerably
more
diverse
than
anything
else
I've
been
used
to. But
in
all
of
these
environments
is
proves
the
point
that
a
multi-cultural
community,
or
workplace,
can
produce
a
better,
more
enduring
product
than
a
less
diverse
one.
You
have
done
quite
a
bit
of
traveling
in
your
life.
Any
particular
favorite
places
that
you've
visited?
Fond
memories?
Harrowing
experiences?
I
have
always
enjoyed
travelling
and
the
idea
of
travelling. I
did
it
first
through
looking
through
atlases
and
reading
about
countries. And
then
I
did
it
through
the
Known
World. And
soon
as
I
became
able
I
did
it
for
real. I
enjoy
going
to
new
places,
but
there
are
some
places
which
I've
been
back
to
a
couple
of
times
because
of
making
friends
there,
or
just
enjoying
the
place. That's
the
difficult
thing
however,
although
I
have
some
places
which
I
would
enjoy
going
to
again,
I
also
enjoy
discovering
new
places
too. Now,
working
in
the
US
the
need,
and
desire,
to
go
back
home
every
so
often
is
also
quite
strong
and
it
makes
the
decision
of
where
to
go
to
difficult. Thankfully
my
current
job
has
also
involved
an
element
of
travel,
including
to
places
where
I
might
not
have
otherwise
gone. Some
of
the
favourite
places,
so
far,
include
Germany,
in
particular
Berlin
and
Dresden;
the
UK,
in
particular
Edinburgh
and
London;
Turkey,
in
particular
Cappadocia
and
Istanbul;
and
the
deserts
of
Namibia;
too
many
to
mention. One
of
the
most
harrowing
experiences:
freezing
my
arse
off
in
Gallipoli
waiting
for
the
dawn
service
because
I
was
under-dressed
for
sitting
around
in
late-April
for
a
couple-of-hour
stretch,
but
then
having
a
New
Zealander
next
to
me
share
her
doona
to
help
keep
me
warm
makes
that
a
fond
memory. Or
going
the
other
way:
a
fond
memory
of
my
first
afternoon
of
my
first
time
overseas
by
myself,
and
entering
the
backpacker
hostel
in
Paris
but
then
instantly
making
a
connection
with
a
fellow
tourist
from
England
who
had
also
just
arrived. We
went
out
for
dinner
together
and
had
an
enjoyable
evening,
except
for
my
just
picking
something
at
random
of
the
menu
and
getting
steak
tartare
... not
what
I
was
hoping
for,
so
that
became
a
bit
harrowing. But
if
those
are
the
most
harrowing
experiences
then
life
is
not
too
bad. I
can
only
implore
other
people,
if
able,
to
travel
- travelling
through
our
imagination
in
a
role-playing
game
is
great,
but
the
real
thing
is
also
pretty
special.
The Threshold Editorial team extends its thanks to Shawn for taking the time to answer the questions and indulge us with this interview, as well as for taking care of the Vaults for us all!