Håvard
I've always wanted to do a campaign on the Isle of Dawn too but I've just never done it.--Ray.
- Jakob
It's only been a week since I've had a game go into the Hollow World! I have so much material that I have never used before. That is going to change soon as we'll be losing our second-longest running player/DM to a move to another province.
This is opening up a chance for me to run another campaign that will run through all these good old modules that I've never played. I also want to have the PCs travel farther into other lands.
With that said, I'll be taking note of everybody's answer to Havard's question!
I just love a good hive of villainy
:heehee got to love that!
Least favorite are those little isolationist %(#$( in the jungles of the Serpent peninsula with their magic rock artifact. I hate them so much, I'm blanking on their name.
Which one is my preferred?
Well, I think Alphatia... :p
;) I've never played in the Savage Coast, but I'm sure it would make a very interesting campaign - colonization, swashbuckler, FIREARMS! Cool!
As for the reasons, well I was always interested in both ancient Egypt and the Aztecs. I like the architecture and language of both, and the beliefs of the ancient Egyptians are fascinating. For the Azcans, I really liked the story of Atruatzin and Atzanteotl.
And Serraine is the best-developed gnomish setting for Mystara. I love the idea of fantasy physics and gnomish technology, despite otherwise preferring fantasy to science fiction. I have always felt that gnomes are a little neglected in Mystara, and even where they do appear they are invariably being oppressed (Oostdok, Falun Caverns, Torkyn Fall in the Dragonlord Trilogy). It seems Serraine is the only place where gnomes are (reasonably) free.
I remember playing in Norwold (CM1, CM2 and CM3, not so exotic, after all), in Dawn (some home made stuff, quite nice), in Hollow World (HWA1, HWA2 and HWA3; but I played also some home made stuff in Selhomar reading about it in Vaults: I like HW very much!)
Hi Arcanda,
I would be very interested in hearing more about your group's experiences in Selhomarr - I am considering revisiting my original work in the near future, and any player insights would be very helpful.
Geoff
I loved Norwold. The way my Dad DM'ed it, way back when, has made a permanent Conan-esque imprint on that region, It probably qualifies as my fav...
But I did just finish reading "The Black Vessel" so now the Savage Coast seems more interesting than it ever has. Prior to the book, I've never given it a second thought, now I want to go there...
Roger
I've only ventured outside of the KW a few times. HW is different bit I don't think it was my favorite.
I loved Norwold. The way my Dad DM'ed it, way back when, has made a permanent Conan-esque imprint on that region, It probably qualifies as my fav...
But I did just finish reading "The Black Vessel" so now the Savage Coast seems more interesting than it ever has. Prior to the book, I've never given it a second thought, now I want to go there...
The Black Vessel is great isn't it? The Savage Coast IMO has good and bad sides to it. The trick is to keep what you like and leave out what you dont like. But I guess thats true about any setting.
If you like the Conan-eqsue feel, you might want to take a look at the Hollow World. At least this is how I intend to portray the Hollow World in the future.
This thread is turning out to be more interesting than I thought. It is certainly opening my eyes up to more places to campaign in than just the Known World...
Håvard
If you like the Conan-eqsue feel, you might want to take a look at the Hollow World. At least this is how I intend to portray the Hollow World in the future.
That is a good way to think of it actually. I never thought about it that way before. The easiest connection would be the rarity and general attitude towards magic wielding characters. There's also the overall cultural attiudes (prefering one's own cultural indentity) and low tech levels (compared to the Known World).
What is your favorite location to play in on Mystara outside the Known World? For DF'ers, yeah Im in the "What is your favorite-" thread kind of mood today ;)
The Savage Coast, of course, with the animal kingdoms as the favorite nations.
Hi Arcanda,
I would be very interested in hearing more about your group's experiences in Selhomarr - I am considering revisiting my original work in the near future, and any player insights would be very helpful.
Geoff
It was a lot of time ago...
We had 4 PC (from Ylaruam). Thanatos was trying to emerge in Alasiya using an ancient wound in the land (the Dead Place) as a gate.
I used here some stuff from "The Rod of Seven Parts" (a great boxed set adventure). I decided Guardian Immortals linked the gate in the Dead Place with a small plane, where is a great valley between dunes. In the valley there is a town, inhabited by wind dukes (a new monster from Ro7P). They are guardians and keep entropy minions from invading Ylaruam. Entropy minions are Spider Demons (a new monster from Ro7P).
Characters discovered in the wind dukes town library that Thanatos was trying to awake an ancient evil, known as Carnifex.
So 2 PCs started M3 Twilight Calling, while the other 2 PCs traveled to Davania, to search old Carnifex installations.
You know M3 and I don't go further.
The 2 "Davanians" discovered the ancient ruins of a Carnifex town. Of course, it was a very long adventure: they meeted some davanian people, joined the crew of a Kastelian ship just to have a ride and at least found a lizard-man guide in the swamp in Addakia.
The runis of the carnifex town were of a strange, black stone, a mix of oil and ash. They never discovered it, but it was material gated directly by an Entropy plane.
They discovered of an ancient Artifact. It was able to keep all carnifex within a boundary of 1 mile radius. And, all carinfex in other countries where forced to move inside the range. It was something like a prison of 1 mile range.
This great Artifact was used by Lhomarrian people. By a Lhomarrian general, if I remember true.
They started a long quest to search for some Lhomarrian ruin,but the couldn't find any.
I don't remember how, they searched for an island north of Izonda. It is now showed in the Master set map. In this island they meet a prismatic dragon (a new monster from monster manual annual volume 4) and he knew something about Selhomarr. For a king's ransom he gived the PCs the information (it was a long quest this one too, to make happy a prismatic dragon is not easy).
And now, at least: they entered the Hollow World. They arrived somewere near Colima. Here, they meeted Merry Pirates, joined their ranks and they quickly become rich and famous as pirates (they was 20th level or so after all!). They managed to get a ship and a crew. They traveled and crossed many HW seas. They also were in Shajapur. They meeted legendary sea monsters, part crab and part serpent. (Obviously, i forgot to mention that all their travels was followed by Thanatos minions, evil spider demons wanting only to kill them... not a nice think!).
They found Selhomarr, they liked it. I used descriptions I found in the Vaults.
Here they had to do a test of worthiness. The fabled Artifact was guarded by 2 sun dragons (new monster, from SpellJammer Monster Manual Appendix). They must win the dragons and get the Artifact.
It was an epic battle!
The dragons won!
After the battle, dragons asked why PCs wanted to be killed to get the Artifact. So PCs related all the plot, and the dragons were convinced to give the Artifact.
Then, PCs traveled back to the Known World, activated the artifact and all carnifex (did I forgot to say that the other 2 PCs, in the while, from the castle in M3 had freed all carnifex from their prison? :P ). All the carnifex were actired to the Artifact.
Now, with this carnifex beacon in their hands, PCs had to bring it in a secluded island. Of course carnifex attacked PCs every day... it was an hard journey!
Then, they put the artifact in the island, waited for all the carnifex to go there, and let the island be submerged by the sea.
Oh, of course... to do that they had to do the Al-Kalim pilgrimage to find Protius and ask him to submerge the island... You got it: it was not easy!
But in the end, a great battle, with carnifex and spider demons in one side, PCs, Ylaruam army, tritons, mermen, koprus, sea giants, shark kins and Aquarendi on the other side... while the island was beated by seawaves and an eternal tide was rising over the land...
Killing wizards / alien hybrids, loot galore, political machinations, all from a quiet island town known as Lakim.
(Via Blackheart)