The Northern Wildlands
An Unofficial Game Accessory
“No name could better fit these Wildlands. The people are as untamed as the land and the beasts. Traveling its paths, you witness the bloody struggles within and without, and the sounds of fury strain to be heard above the wind. A blade in hand, you think yourself secure from the Wildlands’ hazards.
“But then with sudden apprehension, you realize it is not the wind which roars, but yourself.”
This is the third in a new series of unofficial Gazetteer gaming aids for enthusiasts of the world of Mystara. This work covers the Great Northern Wildlands, a region that lies north of the Realm of Wendar.
“The Northern Wildlands” provides descriptions of the history, races, personalities, and fallen nations of a land that attests to the savagery of the human and elven heart.
This product also provides guidelines for playing wild elves and frogmen, rules for blinding pride and animosity, three new monsters including the Frog Gigger, and details options for campaigning during the High Summer of the North and other periods of the past.
Gazetteer of The Northern Wildlands
Here is the new map to accompany the region
-OldDawg
congratulations for for your work.
i agree with oldDawg... i need digest the gazetteer and then post my opinion. but it looks very well.
that's all.
http://ubbibr.fotolog.com/genasi/?pid=12687827
http://willdan.deviantart.com/
Once people digest the gazetteer, I'd like some feedback on the introduction of a faux inside the jacket map/info and the use of a parchment background.
Just a few quick comments:
When I saw the parchment background I was afraid that it would ruin the printing, but that came out very well, and its easy to read on screen to, so I like it.
Your cover art is growing on me. I really like the big frog on the cover. Looks like a truly evil villain. And very Mystaran!
Geoff Gander's city maps are just amazing! Are they hand drawn? Geoff, we want to see more of this! Alot more!
Okay, I just printed the thing out, so I havent had a chance to read it yet. I will get back with comments on the actual content later. I did notice the Frogman Class though...sweet!
Håvard
PS: In general I will be online less frequently from now on since I'm on vactation. I'll try to check in as regularly as possible though, its hard to stay away from this place!
As a cartophile, I must declare that that's a handsome map of the Northern Wildlands! I feel some disappointment that there aren't any new countries with red-lined boundaries (besides Wendar), but I guess it makes sense since it's a wilderness like the unclaimed territories of the Savage Coast.
I for one am not dissapointed at all, I'm a strong believer that there has to be somewhere near the Known World that isn't under the nominal control of some ruler or other. And it's not like the place is uninhabited.
Geoff Gander's city maps are just amazing! Are they hand drawn? Geoff, we want to see more of this! Alot more!
Thank you, Havard, for the vote of approval!Yes, those maps were hand drawn, basically straight from mental images of how I imagined the cities to look. In all, it took me about 4 evenings to pencil and ink them, and then another to get the scans just right. Nimbeth had been in my head for about a month or so already, so that one literally leaped onto the paper (relatively speaking). I'm extremely pleased that they turned out, as this means that there definitely will be a lot more in the future. ;)
Geoff
PS - Shane, I too would have loved to add a red-bordered gazetteer-style map of the region, and I may yet do one of the area during the High Summer of the North. This map would show the borders of Nimbeth and Thalion at their height, as well as the other dominions. Another map could show Forenath and Soreth. The problem is that there were considerable space limitations in the sourcebook, out of necessity. However, I have been pondering writing an addendum to the Northern Wildlands book, specifically relating to campaigning during the High Summer of the North. If there is enough interest out there, I would be willing to make it a priority.
The problem is that there were considerable space limitations in the sourcebook, out of necessity. However, I have been pondering writing an addendum to the Northern Wildlands book, specifically relating to campaigning during the High Summer of the North. If there is enough interest out there, I would be willing to make it a priority.
yeah you could always make a web enhancement to the release :D
if you wish some draws to the gazetteers , take the link of my my friend daniel (he's good drawner )
http://ubbibr.fotolog.com/genasi/?pid=12687827
These are nice!
Does he do requests?
Håvard
yeah you could always make a web enhancement to the release :D
*lol* I was just thinking the same thing!
I like how the FGaz series has a limited number of pages since being able to read through it in a few hours makes it much easier to get an overview of the region and makes it possible to give some constructive feedback as well.
Ofcourse, web enhancements, things that arent really required to get a good overview of the region, but would add depth are very much welcome. I know I would have liked to see an overview map too. I'm still sort of unclear on where Ghyr is exactly.
Some more comments on the content:
*Thumbs up! I am getting much more into this region now. Reading the timelines when they were posted here in the past was nice, but made me confused about the different names of places, people etc. The Gaz complements this perfectly by providing the background info that I felt was lacking before.
*Frogmen: Very cool! The puns inserted about them had me cracking up. Especially the name of the language and the suggestions for male names. My favorite is Henson
* In general, both this gaz and the parts about Essuria from the Denagoth Gaz filled me with a sense of melancholia over the kingdoms lost. Very inspiring.
* Hagommerians and Murians: These were very successful races IMO. There seems to be a nice touch of Conan in there, yet original enough to make them truly Mystaran.
*Names ending with "-eth" keep cropping up. Although particularly Nimbeth is a name I like very much, there were alot of similar ones in there.
*Prince Aenddyr. Any relation to Volospin Aendyr of Glantri? Something I missed after the quick read-through?
*"Pride". I like how you are making cultural traits into more than just fluff here. Rather than forcing players to act in a certain way, an alternative could be to offer XP awards for acting as you culture requires. Just a suggestion. I hope similar concepts are included in future gaz'es too.
*Hints of future gaz'es. In general I like how references to future and existing gazetteers is included. I am in particular looking forward to the Ghyr gaz, though hints of others also makes me curious. I also liked the mentioning of Thyatis. Links to the Known World is useful since it makes it seem less like the two regions are completely separate.
More later
Håvard
It's been a pleasure working with you on this project - you took what I had done for the region, and melded it with your own ideas and previous gazetteers in such a way that nothing was lost. We truly have a wonderful piece of work here!
Some thoughts off the top of my head:
I love the watermark of the bridge of Thalion! One related thought on this is, would you consider reissuing the Wendar and Denagoth gazetteers so that they might have coloured watermarks, too?
What dice would you recommend for a self-control check, and what would be a base "pass" result?
I'm especially happy how the Rage turned out, given the difficultly in settling on a suitable source of evil for the region.
All in all, a superb ending to a project! :D
Geoff
I thought I'd address some of the questions/issues people have raised thus far.
Will there be more artwork in the future? - The links that Hausman provided (obrigado, senhor!) are wonderful drawings, but the impression that I got from the site was that the artist was displaying the pictures for sale. Anything that get's incorporated into a future project has to be royalty free and with the artist's permission.
Why no borders? - The decision to omit borders was a conscious one. The Wildlands are just that - wild. There are no formal governments anywhere in the region, save perhaps at the city level. There are zones of dominance, however. These zones match with the geographic subdivisions. The closest thing to a true national power are the frogfolk/nuckalavee society in the Moors of Chlyras. Think of the benefits of having a landrush in your campaign.
The grinning frog on the cover - the figure elements on the cover were inspired by real photos. I found a picture at zoonet of this treefrog with a wicked grin and knew that he was my centerpoint. The guy to right was inspired by Boss Nass of Star Wars fame. The bridge (very happy with) and domes (less happy with) were fully out of my imagination. They don't quite match the text descriptions - but hey.
Parchment background - the parchment ought not to print. It is a background element used to aid in web-viewing. My understanding is that you must directly control your printer options to make it onto the output. The watermark, however, should print.
Can there be watermarks for Wendar and Denagoth? - There SHOULD be watermarks already incorporated into these gazetteers. The wendar watermark is a faded yellow nine-point star. The denagoth watermark is a faded gray circle with a ribbon-thin dragon in a reversed "S". Check again to make sure that they are there.
Early confusions on so many names in the early timelines - I too had some misconceptions when I read those timelines. Since I didn't have Geoff's original map, I was thinking in terms of the official 72/40mph hex maps. I was originally thinking that Soreth was far up the Ice Reach (and would be the ruin of the master thief Dahkniss) while Forenath was the land above what I now call the swamp of the beast. the wildlands would have stayed a a desert wasteland. Funny how projects evolve.
Humorous elements - yes there are some puns and jokes in the Wildlands and Denagoth, too. I don't think I put any in Wendar. A little humor goes a long way, and I didn't want make the product unserious. One you might have missed in the wildlands is the raider band Natterjacks. In RW anurans (frogs and toads) small-sized males can't defend territory, so they hang out at the edge and make raids to gain access to mates before being chased off - the common name for this type of male is "natterjack." [There's your behavioral ecology lesson for the day]
Humorous elements in Denagoth include: Den Horde male names Darth, Brytak (SG-1), Hordak (masters of the universe), and if you consider the combinations, the thoulian double name Mum-Rah (Thundercats Ho!).
Eth'ed out - There weren't that many new names from the e/a/oth suffix convention. We also added -nome" and -dor for place name modifiers. Don't worry, there should not be many, if any, in Ghyr.
Prince Aenddyr - there is no Prince Aenddyr. There is, however, a Prince Arendyll. He's the Black Prince who decided to take the throne of Nimbeth and Amoleth after his cousin King Geldarion continued to prove a weak leader. He was killed at the Battle of King's Sorrow.
Pride - any type of mechanic that guides role-playing is obviously optional. Like the terror/horror rules of Ravenloft. In writing about Self-control checks I was thinking of a d20 skill check (Wis) like Were-types could do in PC4 to prevent transforming.
Are the Hagommerians and Murians the Cimmerians of Conan? - The Hagommerians are somewhat based on the RW and fantasy Cimmerians. The core of their faith began Crom-like, but I added several other Immortals to balance out their view of the world. The individuals chosen are in accord with what could have been inherited from the Carnuilh parent group: Belaptar (Kagyar), Ga (Djaea or Terra), Belmos (Asterius), and Farban (Loki). Note, Loki is considered a "good guy" because he gives the Hagommerians the difficulties for them to overcome.
The Murians have no RW equivalent. Their use of dust and ash to signify public shame was taken from various Biblical and near east traditions, and the wearing of chaffing burlap comes from some western monk traditions. The Hargans are Kurgans, but I doubt they'll get their own treatment.
Ghyr - yes hints abound in the first three gaz's. We now know 1) that Thyatian legionnaires aided in the original defense of Wendar against Denagoth, 2) that Thyatian settlers were at some point in the north, 3) a Thyatian adventurer/general/future emperor named Giovanni Augustus helped defeat the Onyx Ring conspiracy and was the likely creator of that infamous world map, 4) a legion was lost in the hills of the wildlands after having been recalled south, and 5) Ghyr was originally a colony of Essuria but was granted independence during the heady days before Landryn Teriak (the terrible) rose to power. If you want to know its location, look at the Denagoth map. Ghyr starts above where it says "Goblins" in the hills between the Ice Reach and Swamp of the Beast.
Stay tuned, true believers.
Excelsior!
[okay, stop channeling Stan Lee :embarrass ]
-OldDawg
Does he do requests?
Håvard
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hi Havard!
yeah, he does! he´s a player of my mystara group ( an elf longrunner )
he saw the gazetteers and offered some draws if you needed.
if you or someone wish to make some draws to the gazetteer , is just you ask
we are epecting some request ok?
( what do we not for mystara?? )
tha´s all!
ah! i was forget... not sale ...the draws are free ( obviously )From the back cover:
The Northern Wildlands
An Unofficial Game Accessory
OldDawg,
Can you make a PDF? Open Office makes a nice mess of the page numbering of your gazetteer. Nice work from what I've read so far.
--Ray.
--old dawg
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hahahha relax man!
dear old dawg ...there isn;t such intention!
i and daniel are players of mystara and fans ( well , i'm DM but nevermind ) we are preparing an art cover just you see without sale's intention ... is he a artist? yeah ...he sales draws? yeah...but we are offer some draws without compromission allright?we sense the ausence of artwork or artists that want help and we just want help ( if we can) all right?
(don't worry about permissions or copyright...we are a family - a mystarian family , isn;t ???)
MEENNN !! very nice!!!
finaly a good description about the baamor fiend!!! i ever asked":
" how can be a baamor" ( there is one in the dark woods of baaamor all right?? ) and i enjoied whith a race/class of fogmen very nice.
the tematic ane set are inspiring and motiviting ( is that right??? - i'.m brazilian , english no good
)i willl make more coments after read it ...thats all for now .
congratulations old dawg and Geoff
I read through the whole gaz weeks ago, but I didnt have a chance to sit down and write some comments untill now.
Structure and layout: I still like the layout of the gaz, with the appropriate logos and the castle like border. Keeping to the style of the classic gazetteers really works for me, evoking the nostalgia of old and making sure it really feels "Mystaran".
Rules: Although I currently use 3E, I like the way crunch is handled here. By providing level and class only for most NPCs, this is easily converted to any ruleset. Perhaps you and Traianus could get together and release some 3E stats for the monsters though?
The Lands: As stated previously, I truly get the melancholy of this region, feeling the loss of the past greatness and the challenges that would be involved if trying to rebuild it. I see loads of adventure potential here.
Races/classes: I like adding a new race or class with every Gaz, and I also really like how you incorporate classes from previous gazes (like the shaman classes). The various elven races were also interesting. I keep thinking of the Wild Elves as similar to the ElfQuest Wolfriders. Would Dire Wolf mounts be appropriate for these guys?
Nuckalavee: These guys deserve special mention. I very much liked the inclusion of these creatures. I hope that you will also in the future try to incorporate some of the more unusual Mystaran monsters giving them a proper place in the setting. IMC the Nuckalavee originally hail from the Nightmare dimension. Perhaps this can somehow be incorporated if the Nuckalavee will make future appearances?
3E stuff: The statement about 3E prestige classes being unsuited for Mystara is something I dont agree with. In fact I would say most Core Book prestige classes fit very well with Mystara with only minor modifications, and the rest can be included with more serious changes. I agree that this should not be a major feature of the GAZ series however.
Art: As I have said before, I am really beginning to appreciate the JTR covers. The idea of using Hausman's friend's work for interior art though is very interesting. I hope this will be considered, though obviously it should not happen at the expense of text.
Looking forward to more Gazetteers!
Havard