Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 Boonedale Mar 22, 2009 4:08:49	Has anyone tackeled this at all? Im actuly going to run a experiment with a randomly generated dungeon soon and would love to compare notes with anyone whos running or has ran a 4th ed. Mystara campaign.
#2 zephyrstorm Mar 22, 2009 18:49:37	Interesting. I was thinking of doing the same; I spent this afternoon looking through the gazetteers and reminiscing on days (going back 20+ years) when this was the setting of choice for me. Might have to work something up for a return to Threshold and dealing with that ol' villain, Bargle. Have you seen the updated stats for him in the article archive? (if not, search for Bargle and then select the D&D Alumni article link, then scroll down...) So, where are you looking to set your adventures? Maybe we can do some brain-storming and help each other out...
#3 Boonedale Mar 22, 2009 21:18:11	I was thinking of 3 diffrent things I could do: 1: Start with 3.5 and have them see the world change around them (not unlike the FR setting) and see the transtion to 4th edition. 2: Its been some years later after the transtion to 4th edition and the party was charged with storming a ruined castle in the remote north-eastern part of Karameikos. 3: Slam Mystara into a stewing pot, turn the heat on, stick the spoon in and give it a nice swerl and then spoon it into a bowl and say "Here you go, have fun and dont get killed". ;-P
#4 Vatras Mar 23, 2009 6:43:03	I am doing a 4E Mystara campaign at the moment. With the release of 4E we started there into the new ruleset...I have still my old stuff from there and with 20 years gone hopefully few players remember it I choose as starting point Specularum in Karameikos, with a traditional western adventuring party. I am writing some of the adventures myself, and re-write others of the old modules, which I would like to give a replay after the years.
#5 gratuitous-monkey Mar 23, 2009 9:09:50	I'm also running a 4e Mystara campaign at the moment. On a scale of 1-10, where 1 is a pure Mystara setting and 10 is a pure 4e points-of-light setting, it's probably about a 7 or an 8. I basically went through the Players Handbook and Monster Manual and wrote down all the historical and cosmological information from them, and then took the "current" maps (not the post-Wrath ones without Alphatia) of Mystara and applied the history and cosmology to them. So I have the 4e gods, rather than the Mystara immortals; and I have the whole gods vs. titans history... The ancient Hobgoblin empire covered the western half of the "Known World". Thyatis was founded by the Alphatian army that was sent to help get rid of the Hobgoblin empire, and then decided to stay rather than going home. Ylarum was formerly the Dragonborn kingdom of Arkhosia, and Sind was formerly the centre of the Tiefling empire. The Tieflings destroyed Arkhosia leaving the wastes now called Ylarum, but their magic (also aided by the wrath of the gods) rebounded on them and destroyed their own empire, leaving the Desert of Sind. I've placed Shifters - from the Players Handbook 2 - as the Atrahuagin Clans. The Serpent Peninsula is the remains of the old Yuan Ti empire - rather than be destroyed, their capital and the surrounding area simply disappeared one night as they dabbled too much with the Far Realms; leaving the sea to pour into the hole left by it and form the Dhiki Namazzi in a minor cataclysm. Alfheim has strong ties to the Feywild and is home to the Eladrin. Elves, on the other hand, mainly live in the Minothrad Guilds, and are both foresters and swashbuckling pirates. Norwald used to be ruled by the giants, with dwarven slaves. It was the rebellion (and migration south) of these dwarves that ended the Hobgoblin empire as the Eladrin of Alfheim (always an independent thorn in the Hobgoblin's side) and the humans of Thyatis forced the Hobgoblins to fight a war on three fronts. Since that time, the Dwarves have lived in Rockholme - the former centre of the Hobgoblin empire. So the geography and current political situation is much the same as a traditional Mystara campaign (with the addition of Tieflings and Dragonborn), but I've re-written the history to match 4e. It's probably enough to make Mystara purists wince; but it works for me and my players.
#6 zephyrstorm Mar 23, 2009 16:36:45	Some great ideas coming through; I think I'll mix and match 'em. Basically, I'm not going to change all that much major stuff (apart from introducing the 4e gods) from the Mystara setting. The Principalities of Glantri, and the city of Glantri in particular will be magic-centric, so this is where all the 'modern' stuff comes in, like warforged and artificers and anything I might feel like pinching from the Eberron setting. I would like to think of this as 'Eberron meets Classical Venice' setting as that's what I got from the Glantri gazzeteer, this feeling of gothic classical, so it should be interesting what happens when tech-magic hits here. Apart from the obvious elemental-powered gondolas, of course... ;) As for other races, I think Tieflings might have something to do with the ancient Blackmoor device that (as I remember, apologies if I'm wrong) now lies beneath The Broken Lands. I'd like to introduce demons into this area, and make the Orcs and their brethren the demons' footsoldiers. Maybe Orcus is attempting to solve the mysteries of the Blackmoor device and cause a future apocalypse? But let's keep this going guys, already I feel my enthusiasm for the setting returning. So thanks to all!
#7 Legendarius Mar 23, 2009 23:01:30	I like the ideas presented here. I think because the immortals are one of the things I like a lot about the Mystara setting, I'd want to adapt them to 4E rather than take the 4E deities and put them into Mystara. I think working the Radiance and Radiance magic into your campaign is a good idea. I think you would have new rituals and paragon paths and epic destinies built around the Blackmoor device and those seeking to use it. I'd probably locate the homelands of the Dragonborn and Tieflings outside the main Known World countries but that's my personal take. I like the idea of the Master of the Desert Nomads working with dark powers. The ancient Nithian empire could also be a source of darkness, or at least the root for modern day extraplanar races/monsters. L
#8 Vatras Mar 24, 2009 6:50:25	I am toying with the idea of re-writing the orders of magic in the Glantri Gazetteer and the Radiance. I am undecided, though, what the special spells should be in 4E. They could be normal powers, available only to the initiated of the order, I could make some of them rituals, others feats, some could become character/race features (similar to clas features), or I could tack them on as paragon/epic paths, or even a class available only through multiclassing (similar to the spellscarred). The Radiance would best be a multiclass option, but that approach has a drawback I don't like: the character has to gain access very early, if the PMC option comes into play, or even if a special PP based upon Radiance is introduced. The Radiance is something which should be found out only during paragon levels, though, which doesn't fit with the mechanics of multiclassing. Has someone already tried something like this before and what were the results?
#9 Hugin Mar 24, 2009 9:09:26	For those interested, there have been a number of 4E Mystara conversions done over on The Piazza. Keep the discussions going because there are some good ideas floating around. Reading what a few Mystara fans have said, Mystara (with its BECMI and variable 'points of light' feel) should convert very well to 4th Edition. Of course, the general feel of most of the online Mystara community is that it should be available to play in any edition or system.
#10 Boonedale Apr 08, 2009 2:43:17	Ok, im going to hold a Mystara campaign, but I need players! I have not posted the add at the Piazza because im not sure where to post such a thing (I have a thread there asking about that). Im not sure which edition the game will be, im going to let the group pick either 3.x or 4th, but im leaning towards 4th edition personaly. Its going to be around Threshold. Thats about all I can say about where its going to take place at.
#11 zephyrstorm Apr 10, 2009 4:36:56	Don't suppose you live in the Lincolnshire area of the UK, do you?
#12 zephyrstorm Apr 10, 2009 4:44:21	Boonedale, if you're looking for players online (and know which site offers the best online tabletop experience) then I'd be happy to sign up for your game; I live in Lincolnshire, UK and RPGrs are pretty low on the ground around these parts (unless anyone from Lincolnshire writes in to tell me otherwise...). I'd be looking to play 4e; I enjoy the system frankly; but I've also got nothing against 3.5. I'm also writing up a Threshold campaign at the moment for characters starting at level 1. Having fun designing it and hoping it'll be up n running soon.
#13 Boonedale Apr 11, 2009 2:40:32	No, sorry, im in California, west coast of the USA. Im either going to use a yahoo groups group or a message bord at the Piazza for the game. I havent launched it yet do to RL though.
#14 havard Apr 13, 2009 4:44:35	No, sorry, im in California, west coast of the USA. Im either going to use a yahoo groups group or a message bord at the Piazza for the game. I havent launched it yet do to RL though. Good luck with the game Boonedale! As I said elsewhere, I dont see any reasong why you can't do this on the Piazza. The advantage of running the game in a forum is that those of us who don't have time to join could still take a sneak peak every now and then... Havard
#15 unslopogaas Apr 17, 2009 5:01:28	I'm about 7 sessions into a DMing a 4e Mystara campaign, with players who have never played in Mystara. I haven't needed to go into too much detail about character backgrounds yet, that's been mostly handwaving so far - they're visitors to Karamekos in search of a missing brother. But this is going to become neccesary soon so the ideas here are handy. I've got a drow, tiefling, and dragonborn to explain, but not in too much depth unless a plotline revolves around one of them. I've found the conversion pretty easy so far, just chuck in 4e encounters as required, and convert NPCs when I need to. (Haven't needed to yet, but an encounter with Ludwig von Hendricks is on the cards). The story so far summarized: The party arrives in Kelvin after a long trip through the wild roads from Galantri. At the inn they meet Tanner, a strange man with a penchant for juggling and a caravan from which odd noises are emanating. They befriend a portly and jolly Karameikan merchant named Cyrus, who takes a liking to them and employs them to deal with some caravan raiders along the road south to Specularum. The party finds the kobold raiders den, and sets free the captives held there. The heroes turn down an invitation to help the town guard control the crowd of pilgirms that have arrived at Kelvin to see the tomb of Halav, the legendary warrior, which has been discovered due to a recent tunnel collapse in the Kelvin keep. Via a speaking parrot whom Tanner sold to Cyrus, they trace the suspicious Tanner to a strong house in Kelven. After a dust up with the occupants, they discover a slavery operation (the Iron Ring) and discover that Tanner and his cronies have been capturing slaves to supply the Black Eagle Barony. That night, after some initial polite thumps, the door of the stronghouse is beaten in by one of many enormous rotting corpses who have burst into the city and run amok. Their origin appears to have something to do with the discovery of the tomb of Halav. The morning after a desparate night-time fight against the undead, the heroes spot Cyrus fleeing on horseback and follow him through Kelvin to a wizard's tower, where the wizard Teldon and his good fellows are escaping via teleport circle to Specularum. However, the heroes are waylaid, and when they reach the teleport circle in the tower, Cyrus and Teldon have already fled, and another unknown wizard (a Black Eagle Barony spy) has activated the portal. They jump through, and find themselves in a large and dark chamber (teleport circle within Fort Doom). The wizard spy pulls a lever, and the heroes fall into a pit. Massive forces starts shifting the stone wall behind them and a slab at the end of the corridoor starts to lift. A bright slice of sunlight from under the rising stone hurts their eyes, and they hear the sound of a roaring crowd of thousands..... Next session: They are thrust into the Fort Doom's huge fighting arena and are up against, I don't know, maybe a dinosaur shipped from a distant jungle island? They will find their brother (the initial quest of the adventure) is also a pit fighter/gladiator, and will have to formulate an escape plan from Fort Doom.
#16 StevenandGabriela Jan 25, 2010 18:29:54	Hi - I will be dming a 4th edition version of the Wrath of the Immortals.  Starting he campaign in the Keep on the Bordelands (more properly the Return to the Keep...) - can't belive none of my players have done this!  The Radiance will probably generate some amount of residuum so I can save time of magic item generation.  I have decided to start when PHB3 comes out and align power sources with philosophies - Martial/Matter, Arcane/Energy, Psionic/Thought and Primal/Time.  Entropy matches Primordial and the Brotherhood of the Shadow can be Shadow.  Divine is service to a particular immortal of the one of the other sphere rather than a philosophy in its own right.  I have decided to make Thyatis a Dragonborn empire and Alphatia a tiefling empire and set the campaign in an eon long truce in the war between the immortals and the primordials.  The Court of the Immortals is the format of that truce with immortals having characteristics of both deities and primordials.  I am not using defined alignments in my campaign although players can of course play to a set of morals.  I am replacing some of the immortals with later versions as the players don't know some of the older names.  I think Alphatia to Vecna and Alphaks to Orcus.  Ixion to Pelor.  Vanya is split between Io (for Thyatis) and Kord for Heldann (Tiamat and Bahumat do not exist as yet).  Corellon rules the Eladrin - only one clan is present in Erewan in Glantri and Lolth replaces Rafiel though is still Correllons consort currently notwithstanding rivalry between Erewan and Belcadiz.  I have some other ideas if anyone is interested in discussing them?
#17 StevenandGabriela Jan 25, 2010 18:33:36	Boonedale, if you're looking for players online (and know which site offers the best online tabletop experience) then I'd be happy to sign up for your game; I live in Lincolnshire, UK and RPGrs are pretty low on the ground around these parts (unless anyone from Lincolnshire writes in to tell me otherwise...). I'd be looking to play 4e; I enjoy the system frankly; but I've also got nothing against 3.5. I'm also writing up a Threshold campaign at the moment for characters starting at level 1. Having fun designing it and hoping it'll be up n running soon. Hi, sorry I know this is a late reply but I live in Lincoln and role play locally - I have two to three players if you would like to join a Mystara campaign?
#18 Hugin Jan 26, 2010 8:16:32	Sounds like fun S&G! There's more changes to the setting than I prefer but they seem very well thought out and usable. Good luck with the campaign!
#19 bonetti Feb 09, 2010 19:52:29	FWIW, I'm currently running a game set in Darokin (two sessions so far, many many more to come). I've integrated virtually all of the races and classes from PH1&2: Deva = Laterrans (Klantyre, Averoignese, Anglaise -- at least, those who actually came from the other world and their descendents), plus the Genasi, Swordmages, War-forged, and Artificers.  I've linked the Genasi to elemental spirit influence on humans (e.g. air/fire via Djinni/Efreeti in Ylaruam), Wilden to the Fey connections in Alfheim, Tieflings to fiend-channeling humans.  Goliaths will be used as the base stats for the Atruaghin peoples.  Dragonborn are rare in the known world -- but might be spotted in northwest Glantri or Wendar -- anywhere else, they'll be a "new" race (with matching potential issues -- like being mistaken for lizardfolk).  Shifters stand in for PC lycanthropes, which have established presences (and issues). I imported some of the history of Bael Turath and Arkhosia via a suggestion from someone else, such that the ancient Tiefling empire once overlaid what are now Darokin and Glantri, and the dragonborn empire was on the Adri Varma plateau.  The ruins still exist... I haven't finished Immortals/4e gods yet, but it hasn't been an issue (yet).
#20 havard Feb 10, 2010 11:49:56	FWIW, I'm currently running a game set in Darokin (two sessions so far, many many more to come). I've integrated virtually all of the races and classes from PH1&2: Deva = Laterrans (Klantyre, Averoignese, Anglaise -- at least, those who actually came from the other world and their descendents), plus the Genasi, Swordmages, War-forged, and Artificers.  I've linked the Genasi to elemental spirit influence on humans (e.g. air/fire via Djinni/Efreeti in Ylaruam), Wilden to the Fey connections in Alfheim, Tieflings to fiend-channeling humans.  Goliaths will be used as the base stats for the Atruaghin peoples.  Dragonborn are rare in the known world -- but might be spotted in northwest Glantri or Wendar -- anywhere else, they'll be a "new" race (with matching potential issues -- like being mistaken for lizardfolk).  Shifters stand in for PC lycanthropes, which have established presences (and issues). Sounds cool. Deva as Laterrans sounds a little odd to me, but otherwise I like it. I imported some of the history of Bael Turath and Arkhosia via a suggestion from someone else, such that the ancient Tiefling empire once overlaid what are now Darokin and Glantri, and the dragonborn empire was on the Adri Varma plateau.  The ruins still exist... As I have suggested elsewhere, I would have placed those realms on Davania instead since the Known World has so much history already. I haven't finished Immortals/4e gods yet, but it hasn't been an issue (yet). There's a discussion on that topic here: www.thepiazza.org.uk/bb/viewtopic.php?f=... Havard
#21 bonetti Feb 10, 2010 15:14:18	Well, one of my players really wanted to play a Deva, and the argument that the real Laterrans are (very) long-lived that someone else suggested at The Piazza was good enough for me :-) If I were planning a world-spanning game, yeah, I'd probably stick the empires in Davania.  However, I really liked that the timeline and locations James Mishler proposed wedge them in nicely as ancient history around Darokin.  This lets me tap the published material (and races, and potential storylines) for a game which is likely going to be in Darokin for a very long while yet.  Not to mention it adds some additional potential flavors to ancient ruins in the area.  Granted, we already have (at least) Hulean, Taymoran, Nithian, Malpheggi Lizardfolk, and whatever remnants the orc horde (Loark's? I forget) left behind, but throwing Bael Turathian and Arkhosian in is even cooler from an adventuring point of view. It might turn out to be an even better choice from a campaign point of view, actually -- it looks like there's going to be an "adventure locale" book set in the ruins of a fortress from Bael Turath.  Depending on the details, I can probably wedge that fortress in the hills along the Glantri/Darokin or Darokin/Broken Lands border and have it make sense.
#22 ciarathallyathas Nov 16, 2010 11:28:38	Thank you Havard for the link for the Immortals conversion.  I have been fretting over how to handle the ones for Savage Coast because I couldn't figure it out.  So this will help alot. Also, I am at a complete loss with how to deal with converting realm specific races (aranea, tortle, lupin etc) and its MM over to 4th.  There is no super easy fix for it.   I know I could go ahead and use the current MM but it's no fun.  I love DMing Savage coast/Red Steel because the monsters are unique to that region.  I don't want to lose the flavor of it all by using something generic.
#23 sembian_book_trader Jun 02, 2011 18:46:05	Not to get to off topic, I agree it would be nice to see a 4e version of Mystara. I'd love it if they brought Mystara back from the grave as it has always been my favorite of all the settings. I did recently get into Dark Sun but honestly nothing compares to Mystara. I've even oredered a few of the older books from amazon.com (a novel and one of the "fact" books). My experience with Mystara has mainly been with my old Red Steel box set. I have so many good memories of my youth with Mystara so I'd like to see it make a comeback.
#24 HavenDuuk Jun 05, 2011 13:45:24	I'm really hoping for a full official 4e converstion of Mystara.  My all-time favorite game world just because you can do so much with it. Someone watched Prince of Persia?  Side trip to Ylarum!
#25 sembian_book_trader Jun 05, 2011 18:10:32	I'm really hoping for a full official 4e converstion of Mystara.  My all-time favorite game world just because you can do so much with it. Someone watched Prince of Persia?  Side trip to Ylarum! thats a great point. Mystara featured so many differant real world cultures just altered to fit into a fantasy world. It was amazing, it was 1 part conan, 2 parts "high fantasy", and 1 part real world history. It went so far as to have maps of trade routes, political boundries, and such. Its sad to see that other worlds don't have as much depth beyond just adventure sites. I remember once one of my friends wanted to be a pirate, so he earned a ship, hired a crew and began raiding trade lanes and since there was a list of what goods went where it was viable to have a list of what he plundered lol.
#26 estlor Jun 06, 2011 14:41:53	I ran a five level storyline in the Known World back in '08.  We never really came back to it so my efforts to make a suitable 4e Mystara translation stopped back then. If I were to pick up the project again today, I think I'd go for the "less is more" theory of conversion.  In other words, convert Mystara to 4e, not 4e to Mystara.  Some thoughts to that end off the top of my head: For lupins, I'd just take the gnoll and smooth out the rough parts.  Gnolls already have the whole pack mentality built into them so they get you 90% of the way there.  For elves, I'd let the player use any of the "elf" races - elf, eladrin, and drow - interchangably.  They'd all just be "elves."  Then I'd try to stat up some Heritage feats and associated swappable utility powers that require the heritage feat to take.  Do one for Sylvan, Shadow, Water, and Southern. You know, stuff like that. The Glantri magic stuff would probably get statted up as paragon paths.  And for those who wanted to become immortals, I'd turn those into epic destinies.  The Eternal Seeker already does a pretty good job at laying the groundwork for Polymath with its, "pick from any other class" setup for your epic powers. For the Red Curse and legacies, I'd probably go the route similar to the Spell Plague in Forgotten Realms.  Take one multiclass feat to model the BECMI version of the Red Curse, then use power swap feats to gain "legacies" and mimic the 2e version of the Red Curse.  Throw in the Inheritor and Afflicted paragon paths that expand on that.
#27 agathokles Jun 07, 2011 11:24:55	I'm starting a short Mystara 4e campaign this month, set in Thyatis. I'm going the quick way, with limited options and the following choices: Essential classes only (fit better the OD&D style) Elves are Elves (essentially only Sylvan Elves are playable) No Half-Elves (mostly because the 4e Half Elves are not at all like the Elf-Human hybrids of Mystara) No Tiefling, Dragonborn, etc. No Gnomes (4e gnomes are too different from Rock and Sky gnomes) Eladrin represent Sidhe, and are only available as "Eladrin Hexblade (Fey Pact)" Shifters represent Lupins (they could also represent Rakasta, but are not needed in this campaign) No Arcane-using Dwarves and Hin/Halflings No Divine-using Elves (for lack of Corellon priests in 4e essential) Paladin (Cavalier) represents various types of Clerics: Valor: Vanya's Heldannic Knights (and other clerics of Vanya), priests of Diulanna Sacrifice: clerics of Halav, Tarastia and Valerias Warpriests have the following patrons: Sun: Ixion or Asterius Storm: Thor or Odin Earth: Kagyar or Terra Death: Nyx or Saimpt Loup Languages are handled as in Mystara (common = Thyatian, all other Human languages are available as second languages) Rangers (Hunter) are Foresters (bad match, but there's no other option, since the Hexblade is too weird) and are limited to Elves and Humans GP
#28 HavenDuuk Jun 25, 2011 20:30:04	I'm starting a 4E Mystara campaign in 3 weeks (Our House Games, Monroe Michigan if you're interested).   I plan on quite simply fudging it.  The campaign world is so deep that there really is no reason to overly worry about it. Warforged?  Created in either Glantri or Alphatia, of course.  Etc etc etc. The gamers I've been playing with (Recently got back into D&D, been out for... years) have never, ever experienced Mystara.  Starting with a basic conversion of B1-9 set in Threshold. Yes, many of us have played the "welcome to Red Box D&D" adventures 1000 times... but for players that were born after Mystara "died", it'll be neat.