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Weird Mystaras

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by Miladoon

I am looking for brainstormers to help me solidify an alternate Mystara. I am looking for High Fantasy, Tech, with some dabs of strange. If you are familiar with the animated movie Wizards, you might get an idea for the twists I am searching for.

The purpose is to give my Mystara regulars a nice little alternate realm for them to fumble through.

Replace the human race with Half-Orcs. Make Thar a human realm.
Alfheim becomes Fungheim. The elves disappear.
- The Canolbarth Canopy creates a dark and moldy forest floor
- Myconid Sovereigns spread out in the darkness below
- Forest Gnomes live in the upper branches and atop the canopy
- Rock Gnomes live along the rivers and burrow below
- Kenku live along the rivers on gondolas
Dwarves disappear. Rockhome becomes the home of the Dragonborn
Halflings disappear. The Five Shires becomes the Five Fires, home of the Tieflings

Its a WIP. I am currently working on the Ecosystem for Fungheim.

EDIT: I am using the 5E MM for the ecosystems.

Glantri is inhabited/controlled by Warforged

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by LoZompatore

- Ylaruam is a primeval swamp inhabited by lizardmen and the like
- The Atruaghin plateau is some kind of very cvilized Shangri-La
- If Glantri is populated by warforged, why not substitute Glantri City with a huge, irradiated, crater (reminds you anything?) The rest of the land could be a blasted, depopulated country due to radiations.
- The Khurish Massif is the seat of a thriving giants' civilization
- Wendar is a proper high-fantasy elvish gingdom. Many Shining Islands float on top of it.
- Ierendi + Minrothad + Thyatis islands may be the seat of a fragmented culture with one or more petty kingdom on every Island (like the ancient Greece, though the civilization here could be inspired to other real world cultures) (LoZompatore)

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by Charles Wenzler Jr

Warforged - Taint of radiation

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by Dartamian

- Afflictions

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by Giampaolo Agosta

a map of a future, post-apocalyptic Known World.

It is a rough work, where some areas have not been given enough thought. Anyway, here is a brief rundown of the map:

• Glantri: a radioactive wasteland, mostly. Even the non-devastated areas are too dangerous for the living. Two principalities, one inhabited by Sylaire-speaking Magen and the other inhabited by Aalbanese-speaking "kriegsgeschmiedeten", results of Ferdynand Lillipot's experiments on the Gargantoid, are the main civilizations.
• The Broken Lands: Shadow Elf worshippers of Atzanteotl rule from the city of Oenkmar. Gnolls and Ogres have remained, as their patron Immortals have struck an alliance with Atzanteotl. Half-ogres (see the N'djatwa of Davania) and Gnoll-ogre hybrids (Gnogres?) are increasingly common, as are mutants (=Beastmen).
• Darokin: a half-orc kingdom, mostly bent on defence against Hule's armies. It results from the conquest of Corunglain and the Streel plains by the fleeing Orcs of Thar. Optionally, Thar himself may be the king here (he's a nosferatu, so aging is not a problem for him). Akesoli has been annexed by Hule, and so also Sind.
• Atruaghin: divided into the lowlands, ruled by the Tiger Clans, clients of Hule, and the Hidden Plateau. The Plateau hosts an advanced, peaceful civilization established by the followers of Sitara Rohini and the Immortal Gareth. A magical fog surrounds the plateau, and fortified monasteries manned by vigilant mystics prevent all intruders from reaching the inhabited area.
• Five Shires: overrun by the demonic Dark Hin
• Fungheim: as per the original post, the dead forest of Canolbarth is now overgrown with giant fungi. Myconids rule the land, having forced the Shadow Elves back into the Shadowdeep.
• The New Kingdom of Nithia and the Lizardmen Jungle: Hashaburminal's attempt to restore the climate of Nithia went out of hand when the Nucleus of the Spheres exploded, transforming the Alasiyan desert into a lush jungle. It also had the side effect of awakening the High Priest of Mogreth, a 36th-level clerical lich. Now the reborn Nithians, who have taken over Selenica (renamed Timenooh, City of the Moon) and the western part of Ylaruam, fight the Lizardmen who have conquered most of the jungle. Both are led by liches, and the clerical magic of the Lizardman shamans offsets the Nithian Fire Worshippers wizardly magic.
• The Patriarchate of Thyatis: the imperial city is now the see of the Church of Solarios, a cult not unlike the Church of Narvaez in the Savage Coast. Valerias and Vanya remain two important immortals, and Tarastia and Thor are also acknowledged. However, Ixion is supreme. The patriarchate holds little land, but the religion itself is the main one in all the half-orc realms (Darokin, Karameikos, and the former Thyatian mainland).
• The Thyatian Duchies: a group of independent half-orcish kingdoms kepts in check by the common allegiance to the Church of Solarios.
• Mumliket of Tel Akbir: last bastion of the Eternal Truth of Al Kalim.
• The Pirate Kingdoms: a group of independent seafaring city-states, inhabited by a mix of the old races (humans, elves, hin, and dwarves; demi-elves are also common). Raft cities are also common.
• Dragonborn Empire of Jhyrrad: the dragon of Jhyrrad, Ambur, was turned by Vanya to the Path of the Conqueror, and became Immortal after creating a large draconic kingdom in Rockhome, the Western Orclands, Ethengar and Soderfjord. He populated the Kingdom with a new race, the Dragonborn, although Goblins and Hobgoblins are also common. The cult of Ambur, the Dragon Emperor, is the official church. The Dwarves have retreated to the Shadowdeep, where they fight a genocidal war against the Shadow Elves.
• Heldanner Kaiserreich: with the fall of the Thyatian Empire to the orc armies, the descendants of the Heldannic Order have claimed the mantle of the Thyatian Emperor, founding the Heldannic Empire. The territory of the Heldann Freeholds, Heldland, and Vestland, plus part of Ethengar, comprises the Empire, which is divided into fiefs (including a reduced Kingdom of Vestland) held by lay or monastic nobles. The Heldannic Empire is the largest human nation.
• Koninkrijk der Zeelanden: Ostland has lost most of its martial attitude with the rise of the powerful Heldannic Empire. Now a land of human merchants and explorers.
• Ethengar tribes: half-orc tribes descending from the Ethengars and the Yellow Orcs, have lost much of their territory to the more advanced empires.

I haven't given much though to Karameikos, and the Thyatian successor states would benefit from more variance and linguistic evolution.
The idea I've used for Darokin and Thyatis is mainly Europe after the fall of the Roman Empire, with the Orcs as the germanic barbarians. Darokin is more like France, Thyatis more like Italy.

One possible idea for Karameikos is a reversal of themes, using Sturm's Drom Dhum as the inspiration -- where Karameikos is a land of conflict between humans and goblinoids, the post-apocalyptic version could be a communal, shamanic, feminist-ante-litteram society -- the Tragarian Matriarchy. It would be at odds with the Church of Solarios, but not too much, given the relative friendship between Nyx and Ixion, and the presence in that pantheon of Vanya and Tarastia.
The Traladaran/Karameikan culture could survive on the nearest islands in Ierendi and on the raft cities.

Ideas on Wendar: the magical energies of the Nucleus of the Spheres have been absorbed by the Elvenstar, transforming it into a full artifact and speeding up the transformation of the local population to a "high elven" template. The city of Wendar and its neighbouring areas are inhabited primarily by high elves (Eladrin in 4e), the more distant regions by sylvan elves, and the borderlands by half-elves. Faedornae patrol the skies.

Jhyrrad/Amburyr: Ambur became Immortal in the Sphere of Thought, causing a religion war among dragons. Gold dragons are in hiding, and the few surviving chromatic dragons are divided between the followers of Ambur and those aligned with the Great One (mostly in the Altan Tepes and Retebius).

Major languages:

• Thyatian: survives only as the language of church rituals, but is undestood by clergy of most nations (except Atruaghin, Fungheim, the Lizardmen and the Dragonborn Empire).
• Common Tongue: this is the "Vulgar Thyatian" stage. There is one such language for each of the main Half-Orc regions, and they are only barely mutually intelligible.
• Patois: the language of Pirate Kingdoms in the Isles of Dread, strongly influenced by Thyatian, but non mutually intelligible with the Common Tongue.
• Heldannic: the language of the Heldanner Kaiserreich, a direct descendant of Hattian.
• Shazak: spoken by the Dragonborn and the Lizardmen.
• Elven: spoken in Wendar, and on some islands in the Sea of Dread.
• Hulean: spoken in the Hulean provinces.

Minor languages:

• Aalbanese: spoken by the Kriegsgeschmiedeten in Glantri; resembles an antiquated form of the Heldannic language, and is mutually intelligible with that language. Becomes a dialect of Heldannic once steady contact is established with that empire.
• Sylaire: spoken by the Magen in Glantri
• Nithian: spoken by the upper class in the New Kingdom of Nithia (the lower classes mostly speak the local Common Tongue).
• Zeelander: spoken in the Koninkrijk der Zeelanden, somewhat mutually intelligible with Aalbanese and Heldannic.
• Azcan: spoken by the ruling caste of Oenkmar (the population speaks a local Common Tongue).
• Sindhi: spoken in the Atruaghin Plateau.
• Ethengar: spoken by the Ethengar Half-Orcish tribes.

A possible who's who of top-level NPCs (36th level in Classic D&D):

• The Dragon Emperor: Dragonborn Fighter, ruler of Jhyrrad/Amburyr
• The Black Pharaoh: Hashaburminal, Nithian Lich Mage, specialising in Necromancy and Fire Magic, ruler of the New Kingdom of Nithia
• The Shaz-as-Shaz: Advanced Lizardman Lich Cleric, ruler of the lizardman jungles
• The Pontifex Maximus: Half-Orc Cleric of Ixion, ruler of the Patriarchate of Thyatis and the Church of Solarios
• The Enlightened One: Human Cleric of Gareth, ruler of the Atruaghin Plateau
• The Kaiser: Human Fighter, ruler of the Heldannic Empire
• The Pirate King: Human Thief, informal leader of the raft armada
• The Alchemist: Warforged Mage, the most powerful wizard in Glantri
• The Tlatoque: Shadow Elf Shaman of Atzanteotl, ruler of Oenkmar
• Thar: Nosferatu/Orc Fighter, King of Darokin

• Church of Solarios (LN): as mentioned above, an evolution of the Church of Thyatis in an henotheistic direction, with Ixion taking the role of the major solar god (Mithra-like). Vanya, Valerias, Tarastia, Thor, Kaarash, Asterius and Protius are likely still around as part of the official pantheon. Symbols include the sun, the bull, and the radiant crown. Popular in the former Thyatian Empire and in Darokin.
• The Heldannic Order of Vanya (LN): another henotheistic religion, focusing on the Immortal of war and vengeance, Vanya. Popular in the Heldannic Empire, also present in Zeelanden. Its symbol is the black lion.
• The Eternal Truth (LN): a minority religion, found only in Tel Akbir and the coastal areas of former Ylaruam; main Immortals include Al Kalim, Protius, and Odin. Its symbol is the Nahmeh.
• The Sons of Night (TN): the reemerged Taymoran cult of Nyx, now the primary religion of the Tragarian Matriarchy. Its symbol is a black moon.
• Shamanism (TN): shamanic cults are present in the Lizardmen jungles, the Atruaghin lowlands, and the Ethengar clans. Yamuga (Terra), Ka, Tubak (Ixion), Cretia, Yagrai, Wogar, Kaarash, Bartziluth, Atruaghin and the other atruaghin Immortals are the main Immortals worshipped by shamans. A shaman's symbol is their gri-gri.
• Druidism (TN): now relatively established, includes a pantheon of like-minded Immortals (Djaea, Frey, Freyja, Mahmatti Running Elk, and Ordana). Not very common, but druids are present in most nations, operating behind the scenes to uphold balance.
• The Fire Worshippers (CN): a cult of Rathanos with a dark bent, the state religion of the New Kingdom of Nithia. Its symbol is the flaming ankh.
• Temple of Ambur, the Dragon Emperor (LE): the cult of the ascended red dragon Ambur, state religion of the Dragonborn Empire. Immortals associated to this cult include Wogar, the Shining One and Yagrai.
• Hundred Eyes of Arik (NE): the main cult of the Dark Hin. Priests are replaced by Warlocks (Star Pact, in 4e), since Arik is still imprisoned and unable to provide spells in the standard way.
• The Temple of Chaos (CE): the Hulean state religion, present in the occupied lands of western Darokin and Sind. Its symbols include a black arrow, and a goblet.
• The Oenkmarian pantheon (CE): Atzanteotl, Ranivorous and Jammudaru form a bloody triad thriving on sentient sacrifices. Its symbol is the winged serpent.
• Cult of Gareth (LG): the mysterious prophetic Immortal is honoured by the mystics and clergy of the Atruaghin Plateau. The Atruaghin Immortals have also be subsumed into the worship as aspects or heralds of Gareth. Its symbol is a wheel.
• The Elven Pantheon (NG): The Korrigans are the main Immortal patrons of Wendar, but Ilsundal, Mealiden, Calitha, and Eiryndul are also worshipped to some extent. Its symbols are the Korrigan and the Elvenstar.
• The pirate cults (any, primarily CG): the Islands of Dread are home to dozens of small cults, generally focusing on one or a few Immortals. Protius, Calitha Starbrow, Korotiku, Tyche, Valerias, Minroth, Mealiden, Zirchev, Asterius, Sinbad and other adventurous or sea-based Immortals are prevalent, as are warrior Immortals such as Thor, Halav, Vanya, Petra, Diulanna, and Orcus and Demogorgon for the darker cults.