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What Are The 'Must Have' Mystara Products?

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
iramus
Sep 11, 2007 17:17:22 Which Mystara products do you regard as the 'must have's', containing useful information to run a cannon Mystaran campaign?
#2
gawain_viii
Sep 11, 2007 17:35:52 In order of importance: The Gazetteers, Champions of Mystara, WotI, B6, B10, B1-9, X2, X3, X11, X12, all CM & M modules, HW Boxed Set, Savage Coast and/or Red Steel, HWQ series, OldDawg's fan Gazetteers, other setting-specific modules, the rule-set of your choice, everything else

If I had to choose one and only one book (not counting the RC, since it has a setting synopsis anyway), it would be Gaz1.

Roger
#3
iramus
Sep 11, 2007 17:56:08 Thanks for the info

I've got all the Gazetteers (not read them all yet mind!) and recently downloaded B10 but I've still along way to go. Better start checking e-bay for 'Champions of Mystara'!
#4
eldersphinx
Sep 11, 2007 19:46:20 I'd say the only Mystara product that qualifies as a 'must-have' is whatever GAZ you want to use as a home-base starting point for your campaign. Mystara's very good not just at not just creating a large and interesting world, but making each part of that world stand well on its own. You don't need detail on what Sind is like to run a Darokin game (tho it's certainly nice) and you don't need X11 to tell you what's beyond the northern border of Glantri.

That said, I would recommend looking at picking up at least one of the Poor Wizard's Almanac books to support the GAZ of your choice. You only really need one, since they duplicate a lot of the background information, but they provide some very nice capsule detail for large areas of Mystara as well as providing plot hooks one can easily mine.
#5
rendclaw
Sep 12, 2007 3:09:25 Don't forget Dawn of the Emperors, just to provide a good backdrop.

GAZ1 is the best starting point for me, and slowly expand outwards in whatever direction the party goes, or the DM takes them.
#6
olddawg
Sep 12, 2007 9:45:07
Which Mystara products do you regard as the 'must have's', containing useful information to run a cannon Mystaran campaign?

Well, if you're running a "cannon" campaign you definitely need Red Steel :D (Sorry)

In the interest of not overwhelming newcomers with a glut of information, I'll offer a more pared down list than Roger has provided.

Gaz1 The Grand Duchy of Karameikos
B1-9 In Search of Adventure
B10 Night's Dark Terror

The three items above constitute the "core" classic campaign in canon Mystara/Known World. This alone will give your group months of play.

If you want a wider world, then I'd recommend these items next

Gaz3 The Principalities of Glantri
Gaz5 The Elves of Alfheim
Gaz6 The Dwarves of Rockhome
Gaz13 The Shadow Elves (text available for download on this page by WotC. And learn why Mystaraphiles get peeved over shadow elf = drow equivalences)
Dawn of the Emperors

If you are looking for a classic BECM campaign, I'd suggest these modules (you'll find many of these older modules actually draw on literary, historical and cinematic sources)

X2 Castle Amber (A module pulled from the writings of Clark Ashton Smith)
CM1 Test of the Warlords (the best single source for Mentzer-era Norwold, and the best example of dominion rulership as a campaign focus)
X1 The Isle of Dread (Check out where the Savage Tide really came from)
X4 Master of the Desert Nomads -X5 Temple of Death -X10 (In addition to a wilder Sind, this trilogy feature an ultimate villain based upon a RW figure, Ayotollah Khomeini. X4-5 were released shortly after the Iranian hostage exchange).
X11 Saga of the Shadowlord (The only truly Tolkein-esque adventure in the Mystara/BECM line-up)

Finally, for a different type of campaign try

The Savage Coast: It is a collection of pdfs(legal and free) that combines everything out of the Red Steel line (2nd Ed).

There are three products I would recommend against for newcomers (not saying they're bad, just not newcomer friendly)

Champions of Mystara: Some parts (like the World Builder guide, creating flying vessels info, or the truncated copy of the ship's log from VoPA) aren't really germaine to the Sind/Serpent Peninsula region (the gazetteer focus of the product). Further the four covered nations/groups are light on adventure hooks, so I don't think this is a good "out of the box" product.

The Hollow World: This product is simply too big in scope to digest (essentially an entire world inside Mystara facing inward toward an eternal red sun), it requires a fair amount of pre-cursor information from the Gaz series to understand, and despite covering dozens of cultures, there are few real adventure hooks.

Wrath of the Immortals: Half of this product is devoted to rules for Immortal level characters (think beyond-Epic) under the revised RC/Challenger system. The second half, The Immortal's Fury, is a world-shattering campaign timeline covering six-seven years. There are plenty of campaign hooks, but they are written with a certain inevitability. OTOH, if you want a single product that gives a ready-made mid-high campaign arc, and you do not particularly care about the "world" per se, then this might be your best option (Like running DL1-14 without needing a persistent Krynn).

-OldDawg

In order of importance: ... OldDawg's fan Gazetteers ...

BTW: Thanks for the high regards :D, but technically GazF isn't canon (as some are quick to point out ;)). If you don't mind using fan-products, though, these gazetteershave more than enough hooks to get you gaming in a variety of mileus. There is some minor expectation of larger world knowledge, but each product is mostly self-contained.
#7
gawain_viii
Sep 12, 2007 16:23:26 Well, if you really want to narrow my list down, then yes, I agree with OD completely (except for the pun). But why would you want to?!?

As far as OD's GazF line not being canon--I won't get into that discussion except to say that they do belong in "my" canon for 3 reasons: 1-they are great products... 2-they fit the overall world/campaign theme, in addition to having their own "local" themes... and 3-they don't contradict published "official" sources any more than the pre-existing products contradicted themselves... in fact, I think OD has done a better job at preserving continuity than Bruce did when he was originally editing the line (not to dog on Bruce, he was on a deadline and rarely knew who he was working with/for until after the author was hired--something OD has been able to avoid.)

Roger
#8
dystopianknight
Sep 13, 2007 7:50:00 Certainly everything mentioned so far are great 'must haves', but if I could add my 2cp the best place to start is where most of us started originally and that’s with GAZ1 and B1-9 and B10. Too this day B10 remains my favourite D&D model I have ever read in any format of the worlds most popular RPG!

Some other products not mentioned so far are DDA1 Arena of Thyatis and DDA2 Legions of Thyatis. These 2 adventures will take PCs from level 1 through to level 4 or 5 and offer lots of background that was only skimmed through in Dawn of the Emperors. DDA3 Eye of Tralder and DDA4 The Dymrak Dread are also introductory adventures set in Karameikos but probably not as the same standard as DDA1 and DDA2 though combining these two adventures then running B10 sets up a lovely campaign setting when using GAZ1.
#9
phoenixmcl
Sep 13, 2007 10:06:43 I'd say the rules cyclopedia would be a good start. It has a great overview of important parts of Mystara.

It also depends on the time you want to play in. If you want to start at 1000 AC I would also advise the GAZ of your choice.

If you want to start later on I would recommend picking up a Poor Wizard's Almanac for that year.

For anything later than the TSR Poor Wizards you will have to get the ADD2nd Edition box sets and limit it to Karameikos or Galantri as a push off point.
#10
merrikcale
Sep 13, 2007 15:27:56 what are the best gazetteers? I have some from way back when and I recently got a hankering for re-exploring this world.

whats the best 2e stuff?
#11
culture20
Sep 13, 2007 20:42:17 If you are looking for just one "Must have", I'd suggest X1, Isle of Dread. It comes with a large scale map of the Known World and the sea of Dread, as well as basic descriptions of those countries (a good DM should be able to make up the details). You can probably glean a lot of the details from the vaults of pandius anyway...

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 iramus Sep 11, 2007 17:17:22	Which Mystara products do you regard as the 'must have's', containing useful information to run a cannon Mystaran campaign?
#2 gawain_viii Sep 11, 2007 17:35:52	In order of importance: The Gazetteers, Champions of Mystara, WotI, B6, B10, B1-9, X2, X3, X11, X12, all CM & M modules, HW Boxed Set, Savage Coast and/or Red Steel, HWQ series, OldDawg's fan Gazetteers, other setting-specific modules, the rule-set of your choice, everything else If I had to choose one and only one book (not counting the RC, since it has a setting synopsis anyway), it would be Gaz1. Roger
#3 iramus Sep 11, 2007 17:56:08	Thanks for the info I've got all the Gazetteers (not read them all yet mind!) and recently downloaded B10 but I've still along way to go. Better start checking e-bay for 'Champions of Mystara'!
#4 eldersphinx Sep 11, 2007 19:46:20	I'd say the only Mystara product that qualifies as a 'must-have' is whatever GAZ you want to use as a home-base starting point for your campaign. Mystara's very good not just at not just creating a large and interesting world, but making each part of that world stand well on its own. You don't need detail on what Sind is like to run a Darokin game (tho it's certainly nice) and you don't need X11 to tell you what's beyond the northern border of Glantri. That said, I would recommend looking at picking up at least one of the Poor Wizard's Almanac books to support the GAZ of your choice. You only really need one, since they duplicate a lot of the background information, but they provide some very nice capsule detail for large areas of Mystara as well as providing plot hooks one can easily mine.
#5 rendclaw Sep 12, 2007 3:09:25	Don't forget Dawn of the Emperors, just to provide a good backdrop. GAZ1 is the best starting point for me, and slowly expand outwards in whatever direction the party goes, or the DM takes them.
#6 olddawg Sep 12, 2007 9:45:07	Which Mystara products do you regard as the 'must have's', containing useful information to run a cannon Mystaran campaign? Well, if you're running a "cannon" campaign you definitely need Red Steel :D (Sorry) In the interest of not overwhelming newcomers with a glut of information, I'll offer a more pared down list than Roger has provided. Gaz1 The Grand Duchy of Karameikos B1-9 In Search of Adventure B10 Night's Dark Terror The three items above constitute the "core" classic campaign in canon Mystara/Known World. This alone will give your group months of play. If you want a wider world, then I'd recommend these items next Gaz3 The Principalities of Glantri Gaz5 The Elves of Alfheim Gaz6 The Dwarves of Rockhome Gaz13 The Shadow Elves (text available for download on this page by WotC. And learn why Mystaraphiles get peeved over shadow elf = drow equivalences) Dawn of the Emperors If you are looking for a classic BECM campaign, I'd suggest these modules (you'll find many of these older modules actually draw on literary, historical and cinematic sources) X2 Castle Amber (A module pulled from the writings of Clark Ashton Smith) CM1 Test of the Warlords (the best single source for Mentzer-era Norwold, and the best example of dominion rulership as a campaign focus) X1 The Isle of Dread (Check out where the Savage Tide really came from) X4 Master of the Desert Nomads -X5 Temple of Death -X10 (In addition to a wilder Sind, this trilogy feature an ultimate villain based upon a RW figure, Ayotollah Khomeini. X4-5 were released shortly after the Iranian hostage exchange). X11 Saga of the Shadowlord (The only truly Tolkein-esque adventure in the Mystara/BECM line-up) Finally, for a different type of campaign try The Savage Coast: It is a collection of pdfs(legal and free) that combines everything out of the Red Steel line (2nd Ed). There are three products I would recommend against for newcomers (not saying they're bad, just not newcomer friendly) Champions of Mystara: Some parts (like the World Builder guide, creating flying vessels info, or the truncated copy of the ship's log from VoPA) aren't really germaine to the Sind/Serpent Peninsula region (the gazetteer focus of the product). Further the four covered nations/groups are light on adventure hooks, so I don't think this is a good "out of the box" product. The Hollow World: This product is simply too big in scope to digest (essentially an entire world inside Mystara facing inward toward an eternal red sun), it requires a fair amount of pre-cursor information from the Gaz series to understand, and despite covering dozens of cultures, there are few real adventure hooks. Wrath of the Immortals: Half of this product is devoted to rules for Immortal level characters (think beyond-Epic) under the revised RC/Challenger system. The second half, The Immortal's Fury, is a world-shattering campaign timeline covering six-seven years. There are plenty of campaign hooks, but they are written with a certain inevitability. OTOH, if you want a single product that gives a ready-made mid-high campaign arc, and you do not particularly care about the "world" per se, then this might be your best option (Like running DL1-14 without needing a persistent Krynn). -OldDawg In order of importance: ... OldDawg's fan Gazetteers ... BTW: Thanks for the high regards :D, but technically GazF isn't canon (as some are quick to point out ;)). If you don't mind using fan-products, though, these gazetteershave more than enough hooks to get you gaming in a variety of mileus. There is some minor expectation of larger world knowledge, but each product is mostly self-contained.
#7 gawain_viii Sep 12, 2007 16:23:26	Well, if you really want to narrow my list down, then yes, I agree with OD completely (except for the pun). But why would you want to?!? As far as OD's GazF line not being canon--I won't get into that discussion except to say that they do belong in "my" canon for 3 reasons: 1-they are great products... 2-they fit the overall world/campaign theme, in addition to having their own "local" themes... and 3-they don't contradict published "official" sources any more than the pre-existing products contradicted themselves... in fact, I think OD has done a better job at preserving continuity than Bruce did when he was originally editing the line (not to dog on Bruce, he was on a deadline and rarely knew who he was working with/for until after the author was hired--something OD has been able to avoid.) Roger
#8 dystopianknight Sep 13, 2007 7:50:00	Certainly everything mentioned so far are great 'must haves', but if I could add my 2cp the best place to start is where most of us started originally and that’s with GAZ1 and B1-9 and B10. Too this day B10 remains my favourite D&D model I have ever read in any format of the worlds most popular RPG! Some other products not mentioned so far are DDA1 Arena of Thyatis and DDA2 Legions of Thyatis. These 2 adventures will take PCs from level 1 through to level 4 or 5 and offer lots of background that was only skimmed through in Dawn of the Emperors. DDA3 Eye of Tralder and DDA4 The Dymrak Dread are also introductory adventures set in Karameikos but probably not as the same standard as DDA1 and DDA2 though combining these two adventures then running B10 sets up a lovely campaign setting when using GAZ1.
#9 phoenixmcl Sep 13, 2007 10:06:43	I'd say the rules cyclopedia would be a good start. It has a great overview of important parts of Mystara. It also depends on the time you want to play in. If you want to start at 1000 AC I would also advise the GAZ of your choice. If you want to start later on I would recommend picking up a Poor Wizard's Almanac for that year. For anything later than the TSR Poor Wizards you will have to get the ADD2nd Edition box sets and limit it to Karameikos or Galantri as a push off point.
#10 merrikcale Sep 13, 2007 15:27:56	what are the best gazetteers? I have some from way back when and I recently got a hankering for re-exploring this world. whats the best 2e stuff?
#11 culture20 Sep 13, 2007 20:42:17	If you are looking for just one "Must have", I'd suggest X1, Isle of Dread. It comes with a large scale map of the Known World and the sea of Dread, as well as basic descriptions of those countries (a good DM should be able to make up the details). You can probably glean a lot of the details from the vaults of pandius anyway...