Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 havard Feb 25, 2009 7:19:10	Has anyone ever run a game in Athruagin or used Athruagin Characters? If no, were there any specific reasons why you haven't used this country? If yes, what were your experiences? Havard
#2 Vatras Feb 25, 2009 13:58:16	My reasons not to use it were simply two: - I did not have the gazetteer for it. - A certain dislike of my players for such a setting, they prefer the dark ages. I might make use of them this time round late in the campaign, when my players will start looking for primal power (remnants of the titans) in the epic levels.
#3 agathokles Feb 26, 2009 14:33:35	Has anyone ever run a game in Athruagin or used Athruagin Characters? If no, were there any specific reasons why you haven't used this country? If yes, what were your experiences? No, but the primary reason (and a very common one, since I'd need dozens of campaigns to play in all the areas I like) is the lack of time. GP
#4 Hugin Feb 27, 2009 8:24:36	I've had an Atruaghin character in one of my games. It wasn't mainly in Atruaghin but we did have several excursions in to the region that were part of the overall storyline. Flavour-wise it was really good, and the player really enjoyed his character from a roleplay perspective, but as a DM it was a little difficult come up with events and adventures that had variety.
#5 teepeekay Feb 27, 2009 17:39:59	Platemails don't fit into amerindian fantasy. Fighters and clerics without platemails pretty much suck in D&D. And then there's the problem of time and a wealth of attractive mystaran alternatives.
#6 CmdrCorsiken Feb 28, 2009 13:20:21	I ran a 3.5 campaign several years ago that involved two Atruaghin characters. One was a druid from Horse clan, the other a rogue from Elk clan. The campaign wasn't centered in or around the Plateau, but at a key point in the campaign, the party had to travel through the area and unite the five clans to aid in fighting off the Master's invasion. The druid maintained her cultural ties and traditions throughout the campaign, while the rogue learned from and adapted to the various nations they visited. She eventually settled elsewhere in Mystara leaving most of her cultural heritage behind. Fortunately, I have group of players who enjoy exploring different cultures, so I will, one day, run a full campaign in and around Atruaghin. It will most likely be set during the time the other characters above were trying to unite the clans. There is a lot of potential intrigue between the clans, who don't alway get along well, espeically Tiger clan.
#7 havard Mar 04, 2009 11:58:11	I ran a 3.5 campaign several years ago the involved two Atruaghin characters. One was a druid from Horse clan, the other a rogue from Elk clan. The campaign wasn't centered in or around the Plateau, but at a key point in the campaign, the party had to travel through the area and unite the five clans to aid in fighting off the Master's invasion. The druid maintained her cultural ties and traditions throughout the campaign, while the rogue learned from and adapted to the various nations they visited. She eventually settled elsewhere in Mystara leaving most of her cultural heritage behind. Uniting the clans definately sounds like a great campaign idea! I think one problem with Athruagin is that the D&D game puts such weight on making use of equipment. I guess the sollution to this would have been the creation of a low-armor fighter class similar to the AD&D Barbarian. Havard
#8 Hugin Mar 05, 2009 8:36:19	Uniting the clans definately sounds like a great campaign idea! I think one problem with Athruagin is that the D&D game puts such weight on making use of equipment. I guess the sollution to this would have been the creation of a low-armor fighter class similar to the AD&D Barbarian. Havard That is exactly what I did when discussions with a player showed he wanted a monk-like character (martial, but low armour). What I can up with for him was the Atruaghin Wild-Warrior (My first contribution to the Vaults, actually!). It gave him the feel of the type of character he was looking for and he actually really loved the flavour. That character became one of his all-time favourites.
#9 phoenixmcl Mar 08, 2009 0:17:18	To play this realm... You have to relinquish all idealism about the medieval setting and place survival first! In Athruagin the idea of the environment should come first. This means skill checks are most important. In the OD&D setting you have to use Cyclopedia skills to make it equal. In 3.0+ it means that skill checks vs. environment should be taken to the utmost. There are no castles or easy rest in Athrugain. The heroes must face the elements of nature. In the least you are looking at a setting where druids, shaman and rangers have a one up on all other classes. This is fair game when you look at the level in which clerics, magic uses and warriors are favored in settings like Galantri and Thyatis. The adventures should play out that things like encumbrance and wild animals appearing in swarms are extreme combat dangers. It also relies on heavy wilderness trekking that requires the PC to give way to lighter armor. D&D is set in a traditional medieval world where a "cold race" of magic and weapons reigns. Yet in Athrugain the focus should be on flexibility of survivability or key attributes overcome mobility issues. In other words to be challenging the need for "western style" melee maybe trumped by range attacks and ones with nature (elf ability to over come difficult terrain 4.0). There are limitless possibilities to the rules the setting has the ability to dictate survivability. It should challenge the common "power players"!
#10 Hugin Mar 09, 2009 9:22:59	To play this realm... Good thoughts! They really got me rethinking things.
#11 CmdrCorsiken Mar 09, 2009 22:14:10	Most definitely, great thoughts! Thanks for sharing.