Sub-settings of Mystara part 1
by Francesco Defferrari from Threshold Magazine issue 23It’s not just one RPG setting, but many, many more!
Mystara
started as the Known
World,
and the region was always the main setting of the D&D line, yet
during its years of publication, other sub-settings were created.
The Hollow
World and
the Savage
Coast
were the major two, while
another — Thunder Rift —
was loosely connected. Many
more were hinted in other products. In fact, “The
Voyage of the Princess Ark”,
the series of articles by Bruce Heard in Dragon
Magazine,
not only introduced the Hollow
World and
the Savage
Coast,
but also developed regions of Davania and Mystara’s
invisible moon, Patera;
gave many more details on Alphatia and the Heldann Freeholds;
and described the lands west of the Known
World,
from Sind to Hule. The Companion
and
Master
adventure
modules introduced important information about
Norwold, the Isle of Dawn, and Alphatia. The Poor
Wizard’s Almanacs
provided some expanded knowledge of certain areas of the world, such
as Northern Brun, Northern Davania and Western Skothar. The PC
accessory series introduced as settings the sky, the underwater lands
and the hidden worlds of fairies and werecreatures. There was a
wealth of material in
canon products, but fans
later expanded it even more, to the extent that we can
now say definitively that
Mystara is not just one setting, but many.
Mystara’s primary sub-settings are geographical: the three continents of Brun, Davania and Skothar each have many different macro-regions which could be considered sub-settings of their own. The Savage Coast and the Hollow World are examples of geographical sub-settings, as are the Shadowdeep, the Moons and Mystaraspace, and the Undersea.
The world also has several sub-settings from a historical point of view: Blackmoor was the first, officially described in the DA series of adventures as set in Mystara’s past ages. The Hollow World boxed set, detailing several aspects of the past of Mystara and lost civilizations, automatically created many more such sub-settings. And fans did the rest, foremost of whom was John Calvin (Chimpman) with his 2300 BC sub-setting.
Finally, particular fantasy races constitute a sub-setting too, as a full campaign could be built with PCs belonging to a particular race, or to a group of races living in a common environment. An idea introduced in Mystara with the PC series, which detailed the world of fairies, werecreatures, undersea races and sky races, and which has been recently imitated by fans in some issues of Threshold.
Let us examine the many sub-settings of the World of Mystara below: I have counted more than 50 different sub-settings, each interesting enough to host at least a medium length campaign, but probably it is just a conservative estimation, as Mystara is such a rich and developed world it could probably sustain many more subsettings.
[Image: Geographical sub-settings]
http://pandius.com/Mystara_subsettings.png
Geographical sub-settings
Geographical sub-settings are macro-regions with some distinctive theme or characteristic, or simply political ties or geographical vicinity. Obviously any such classification is completely arbitrary, but still useful for a DM. Any given geographical sub-setting obviously borders another one, usually more than one, and PCs could easily move from one to another. Under each section I have added basic campaign suggestions for Basic, Expert, Companion, Master and Immortal adventures under BECMI D&D categories. The ideas assume a good aligned party. Otherwise, they could be easily reversed.
In Brun
We will start with the continent where most of the Mystaran canon products are set, and the most well developed of the three continents.
[Image: Known World]
http://pandius.com/Known_World.png
The Known World
The Mystara sub-setting
par excellence, the Known World is where it all started when
the game world did not even have a name. The nations initially
included in it are the ones which were described in the Expert set
and were later detailed in the Gazetteer series. However, Alphatia
and the Isle of Dawn, while included in the Dawn of Emperors
boxed set, the Gazetteer-like boxed product detailing Thyatis and
Alphatia, are not strictly part of the Known World. While on
the other hand, the Thanegioth archipelago, partially described in
X1: “The Isle of Dread”, could be considered part
of it and the northern nations of Wendar and the Heldann Freeholds
were closely connected to the events of the Known World in
later products, such as the Wrath of the Immortals boxed set
and the Poor Wizard’s Almanacs.
The Known World
does not have many common characteristics, as it is composed of very
different nations, but it has, in part, a common history of
migrations and invasions and it is mostly, but not entirely, based on
European-like cultures and classic Tolkienesque fantasy races of
elves, dwarves and halflings. As the nations of the Known World
were already well developed in canon products and have been detailed
even more in fan products, it could be argued that each nation
constitutes a mini setting on its own, in which long campaigns could
easily be played.
Beside humans and the classic fantasy races,
later products developed other races as PCs, such as fairies, gnomes,
aerial creatures, werecreatures, aquatic races and lupins, adding
even more diversity to the region.
Basic Campaign:
Exploring and mapping wilderlands, search lost ruins, fighting
monsters and enemy agents, or corrupt nobles and rulers.
Expert
Campaign: getting involved in local politics by helping the
leaders of the nation. Discover major external and internal threats.
Companion Campaign: Setting up a Dominion, defending it
from rivals and enemies.
Master Campaign: Become the
rulers of a nation, or facing major threats against the nation to
ensure its continuation, or create a new Known World nation,
becoming an Immortal.
Immortal Campaign: Create a new
religion, changing the main faith of one or more nations of the Known
World.
Main sources
Almost the whole B and X
series of modules
The Gazetteer series and Dawn of the
Emperors boxed set
The Poor Wizards Almanac I, II and
III
The Joshuan Almanac
The Atlas section in the Vaults of
Pandius http://pandius.com/atlas.html#knwnwrld
The many previous articles dedicated to the region in Threshold
Magazine
http://www.thepiazza.org.uk/bb/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=17521&p=222019#p221958
[Image: Adri Varma plateau]
http://pandius.com/Adri_Varma.png
The Adri Varma plateau
Geographically, the Adri
Varma plateau could be considered as part of the Known World,
but as it was left mostly undeveloped in official products, it is
indeed an entity unto itself. The only canon information on the
plateau comes from the first print of the Basic module B3: “Palace
of the Silver Princess” (orange cover) with a short
description of the Barony of Gulluvia. Fans have expanded on this,
and now the plateau is detailed and big enough to be used as a unique
and very interesting sub-setting, with unique creatures like the
cacti-men stolari and the four armed sandfolks.
Basic
Campaign: Defend your community from many dangers, or just search
for riches.
Expert Campaign: Gaining more strength for
your people, or rise to the ranks of an existing dominion like
Gulluvia.
Companion Campaign: Setting up your dominion or
expanding an existing one, conquer lands.
Master Campaign:
Trying to unify the many races and cultures of the Plateau under
your rule, becoming Immortals, conquering other nations.
Immortal
Campaign: Make the Plateau your theocracy and conquer the Known
World.
Main sources
B3 Palace of the
Silver Princess, orange cover
The Dragonlord Trilogy,
see also Dragonlord Chronicles - Detailed Summaries by David Keyser
http://pandius.com/dlrdchrn.html
The
Poor Wizards Almanac I, II and III
The dedicated section in
the Vaults of Pandius: http://pandius.com/adrivarm.html,
in particular the Adri Varma Gazetteer by Omnibius in italian,
translated in english by Gary Davies
http://pandius.com/Adri_Varma.pdf
The
Unknown World Trail map part V by author in Threshold Magazine
issue #18 http://pandius.com/uknwntm5.html
[Image: Sind and the Serpent Peninsula]
http://pandius.com/SindSerpent.png
The Great Waste, Sind and the Serpent Peninsula
The adventure modules X4:
“Master of the Desert Nomads”, X5: “Temple
of Death” and X6: “Quagmire!” introduced
this big region into Mystara and then the “Voyages of the
Princess Ark” and series and the “Champions of
Mystara” boxed set greatly developed them. Fans added many
details, and now the exotic west of the Known World is a very
interesting sub-setting, and a theatre of the wars between Hule and
the Known World nations. This big regions includes high
mountains, vast desert and grasslands, and extensive swamps. While
mainly inhabited by human cultures, it is certainly the home of many
other races, such as the elves and gnolls of Graakhalia,
manscorpions, lupins, giants, humanoids, lizard men, the beaver-like
mugumba mud-dwellers and dinosaurs!
Basic Campaign: Travel
extensive wildlands of desert, swamp and mountains.
Expert
Campaign: Resist against Hule as leaders of your band or ship
captains.
Companion Campaign: Set up a Dominion or lead a
region or nation to rebel against Hule.
Master Campaign:
Create a new nation or strengthen an existing one.
Immortal
Campaign: Create a new religion and have it spread in the region.
Main sources
X4 Master of the
Desert Nomads
X5 Temple of Death
X6 Quagmire
Dragon
Magazine’s Voyages of the Princess Ark
Champions of Mystara
boxed set
Wrath of the Immortals boxed set
The Poor
Wizards’ Almanacs I, II and III
Fan Almanacs and the
dedicated sections in the Vaults of Pandius, i.e. Black Mountains
http://pandius.com/blkmnts.html,
Graakhalia http://pandius.com/graak.html,
The Plain of Fire and the Sind desert http://pandius.com/pof.html,
Serpent Peninsula http://pandius.com/serptpen.html,
Sind http://pandius.com/sind.html,
Ulimwengu http://pandius.com/ulimwngu.html
and Yavdlom http://pandius.com/yavdlom.html,
including italian Gazetteers by Omnibius.
The Unknown World
Trail map - part V by me http://pandius.com/uknwntm5.html
and many other articles in Threshold
Magazine:
http://www.thepiazza.org.uk/bb/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=17521&p=222019#p222015
[Image: Hule and Kavkaz]
http://pandius.com/HuleKavkaz.png
Hule and Kavkaz
Hule is a large nation
and deserves to be considered a sub-setting of its own; also because
fans developed a lot its history and of its neighbours, creating an
epic story of war between Law and Chaos in Central Brun. The
theocracy of Hule is a long standing menace for all the surrounding
regions, both to the east, Sind and the Known World, to the
nord, the Kavkaz nations and the Yalu sea, and to the West, the
Savage Coast. The Black Mountains are also inhabited by many
other non human races, like the goatmen of Kavaja, humanoids, giants,
neanderthals, manscorpions, harpies, tabi, nagpas and yetis. The
Gulf of Hule is dominated by Slagovitch and the other Traladaran city
states.
Basic Campaign: Search for lost ruins and secrets
to help the common people resist the tyranny of Hule’s
theocracy.
Expert Campaign: Lead a local rebellion against
the theocracy.
Companion Campaign: Set up an independent
dominion or help a colonized land break free from Hule, or an
attacked nation to resist.
Master Campaign: Try to
conquer Hule or topple the theocracy.
Immortal Campaign:
Create a new religion and defy Bozdogan’s state religion in
Hule.
Main sources
X4 Master of the
Desert Nomads
X5 Temple of Death
Dragon Magazine’s
Voyages of the Princess Ark
Champions of Mystara boxed
set
Wrath of the Immortals boxed set
The Poor
Wizards’ Almanacs I, II and III
Fan Almanacs and the
dedicated section in the Vaults of Pandius, on Hule
http://pandius.com/hule.html
and Kavkaz and Midlands http://pandius.com/midlands.html,
the Black Mountains http://pandius.com/blkmnts.html,
the City States of the Gulf of Hule http://pandius.com/city_sta.html
and articles on Threshold
Magazine:
http://www.thepiazza.org.uk/bb/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=17521&p=222019#p222015
[Image: Borean Valley]
The Borean Valley and the Midlands
In
canon, this region of Mystara was only mentioned in GAZ10: “The
Orcs of Thar”,
as a starting point of humanoid migrations, and in the Master Set, as
the location of the mysterious Empire of Dorfin IV. This region
borders Hule to the south and therefore is also connected with the
struggle of Law vs Chaos developed by fans. The region is inhabited
by many humanoid tribes, human nomads, reclusive elves in the Ozungan
plateau, and possibly some gnomes with Earthshakers (one of which
arrives in Norwold in module CM4:
“Earthshaker!”).
Basic
Campaign:
Search for lost ruins and secrets to help the common people.
Expert
Campaign:
Create local stability defeating bandits and raiders, defend your
community or town.
Companion
Campaign:
Set up an independent dominion which will become a great nation.
Master
Campaign: Re-create
and unify the Yalu Empire (or Empire of Dorfin).
Immortal
Campaign:
Create a new religion to unite and ensure the duration of the empire.
Main sources
Gazetteer
10 The Orcs of Thar
CM4 Earthshaker!
Fan
Almanacs and the dedicated sections in the Vaults of Pandius: Central
Brun http://pandius.com/cntrlbrn.html,
Midlands http://pandius.com/midlands.html,
Northern Brun http://pandius.com/nor_wild.html,
Western Brun http://pandius.com/westbrun.html
and articles on Threshold
Magazine:
http://www.thepiazza.org.uk/bb/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=17521&p=222019#p222015
[Image: Savage Coast and Yazak]
http://pandius.com/SavageCoast.png
The Savage Coast and Yazak steppes
The Savage Coast,
first presented in the module X9: “The Savage Coast”,
was later greatly developed by the “Voyages of the Princess
Ark” series and by two AD&D products, “Red
Steel” and “The Savage Baronies”. The
Orc’s Head Peninsula, Herath, Wallara and the Yazak steppes are
all connected to the Savage Coast canon material, and have
received a lot of fan attention, making the region one of the best
developed in Mystara after the Known World. The Savage
Coast is not inhabited only by humans but also by elves, dwarves,
halflings, gnomes, lupins, rakastas, tortles, lizard men, gator men,
cay men, aranea, wallara, chameleon men, phanatons, wurmlings, the
simian neshezu, the otterfolk jorri and more.
Basic Campaign:
Search for adventure and keep the Red Curse at bay with cynnabril.
Expert Campaign: Create an outpost in the wildlands for
the Lawful Brotherhood or for a Savage Coast nation.
Companion
Campaign: Forge a new barony or nation in the Coast or the
steppes.
Master Campaign: Defeat the Red Curse, or unify
several baronies or nations.
Immortal Campaign: Create a
new religion for the West and conquer Brun with smokepowder!
Main sources
X9 The Savage
Coast
Dragon Magazine’s Voyages of the Princess
Ark
Champions of Mystara boxed set
The Poor Wizards’
Almanacs I, II and III
Red Steel Campaign boxed set
Red Steel
The Savage Baronies boxed set
Savage Coast Campaign Book
http://pandius.com/svge_cst.html
Savage
Coast Monstrous Compendium http://pandius.com/sc_monst.html
Savage
Coast Orc’s Head Peninsula Campaign Book
http://pandius.com/orcshead.html
Fan
Almanacs and the dedicated section in the Vaults of Pandius
http://pandius.com/atlas.html#svgecst,
the City States http://pandius.com/city_sta.html,
Great Northway Lands and the Yazak Steppes
http://pandius.com/yazak.html
and articles on Threshold
Magazine:
http://www.thepiazza.org.uk/bb/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=17521&p=222019#p222015
[Image: Arm of the Immortal]
http://pandius.com/YezchamenidArm.png
Yezchamenid Empire and The Arm of the Immortals
The Yezchamenid Empire
was an original creation of fan Adrian Mattias, later picked up by
others, including the Mystara Fan Almanacs team. The Arm of
the Immortal was partially developed in the “Voyages of the
Princess Ark” in Dragon Magazine, and lately it
received some more attention in Threshold Magazine, thus
giving this sub-setting quite some amount of material. The Arm it is
inhabited not only by humans but also by winged elves and winged
minotaurs, the winged reptilians krolli, pegataurs, gyerians,
humanoids, mythu'nn folk, the half ogres traders of Gombar and
Suma’a, jakar rakasta and many other races.
Basic
Campaign: Search for secrets and treasures for the Empire or your
people.
Expert Campaign: Rise in the Empire’s ranks,
or serve your nation against the Empire.
Companion Campaign:
Forge a new nation in the Arm or conquer new lands for the Empire.
Master Campaign: Make the Empire stronger by conquering
the Arm or defeating Zuyevo, or topple the Empire in the name of
conquered people.
Immortal Campaign: Create a new
religion and spread it into the Arm.
Main sources
Dragon Magazine’s
Voyages of the Princess Ark
The Poor Wizards’ Almanacs I, II
and III
Red Steel Campaign boxed set
Red Steel The Savage
Baronies boxed set
Savage Coast Campaign Book
http://pandius.com/svge_cst.html
Savage
Coast Monstrous Compendium http://pandius.com/sc_monst.html
Savage
Coast Orc’s Head Peninsula Campaign Book
http://pandius.com/orcshead.html
Fan
Almanacs and the dedicated section in the Vaults of Pandius:
Yezchamenid http://pandius.com/yzchmnid.html,
Arm of the Immortal http://pandius.com/arm_imm.html
and
articles on Threshold
Magazine:
http://www.thepiazza.org.uk/bb/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=17521&p=222019#p222015
[Image: Endworld Line]
http://pandius.com/ZuyevoEnd.png
The Endworld Line and Zuyevo
This region, in canon the
location of the Sylvan Realm from where the elves of Alfheim migrated
and the setting of module CM7: “The Tree of Life”,
was never fully detailed, but fans later added much detail to it. The
works of Adrian Mattias, Giulio Caroletti and LoZompatore in
particular did an excellent job to flesh out this area of Mystara.
This region is inhabited by humans, elves, gnomes and other races,
such as giants, centaurs, fairies, duckmen, hydrax from the Plane of
Water, lizardmen, rakasta and faenare.
Basic Campaign:
Search for secrets and treasures for your country, or to your
benefit.
Expert Campaign: Become local heroes in your
community.
Companion Campaign: Forge a new nation, or
bring back the Sylvan Realm, or conquer new lands for the Empire of
Zuyevo.
Master Campaign: Make your nation or empire
stronger by conquering others or creating a regional alliance.
Immortal Campaign: Create a new religion and spread it in
all the Endworld Line.
Main sources
CM7 The Tree of
Life
Fan Almanacs and the dedicated section in the Vaults of
Pandius: Western Brun http://pandius.com/westbrun.html,
Endworld Line: http://pandius.com/endworld.html,
Zuyevo http://pandius.com/zuyevo.html,
Klagorst: http://pandius.com/klag.html,
Sylvan Realm: http://pandius.com/sylvrelm.html
and
articles on Threshold
Magazine:
http://www.thepiazza.org.uk/bb/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=17521&p=222019#p222015
[Image: Hyborea]
http://pandius.com/Hyborea.png
Hyborea
The vast north of Brun
was labelled Hyborea on the Master set map and later developed by
fans, as there was no canon information about this vast area. This
region is inhabited by humans, giants, humanoids, arctic dwarves,
lupins, cryons, yetis and gnomes.
Basic Campaign: Survive,
and find food and shelter for you and your family or friends.
Expert
Campaign: Make your band or community safe, warm and fed.
Companion Campaign: March to the conquest of southern
lands, or unify Hyborea.
Master Campaign: Create an
Hyborean Empire.
Immortal Campaign: Create a new religion
and spread it in the north.
Main sources
Fan Almanacs and the
dedicated section in the Vaults of Pandius: Central Brun
http://pandius.com/cntrlbrn.html,
Northern Brun http://pandius.com/nor_wild.html,
Hyboria: http://pandius.com/hyboria.html
and
articles on Threshold
Magazine:
http://www.thepiazza.org.uk/bb/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=17521&p=222019#p222015
[Image: Idrisian Sphere]
http://pandius.com/Idrisian.png
Idrisian Sphere, Ghyr and Western Alliance
This region had only a
few canon mentions (in X11: “Saga of the Shadow Lord”
and modules CM1-4) but mostly fans decided it could be a good
location for the module XL1: “Quest for the Heartstone”,
belonging to the BECMI D&D line but not officially set in
Mystara, and eventually fan JTR dedicated several of his Gazetteers
to this region, thus developing it fully to the status of a
mini-setting. Inhabited by humans, humanoids, giants, thouls,
frogfolks, elves and gnomes, thanks to fan developments it is now a
region with plenty of opportunities for adventures and intrigues.
Basic Campaign: Become famous adventurers fighting the
plots of Idris or the Shadow Lord.
Expert Campaign:
Explore the wilderlands and set up an outpost, or defend your local
community.
Companion Campaign: Create a new dominion in
the wilderlands, strengthen your country and defend it against
Denagoth or barbarians, or try to free Denagoth from its evil rulers.
Master Campaign: Unify the lands under your rule, or
create a confederation, or lead a nomadic people to conquer other
lands.
Immortal Campaign: Create your religion and
spread it in the whole north.
Main sources
X11 Saga of the Shadow
Lord
XL1 Quest for the Hearthstone
Fan Almanacs and the
dedicated section in the Vaults of Pandius: Denagoth
http://pandius.com/denagoth.html,
Ghyr: http://pandius.com/ghyr.html,
Northern Brun http://pandius.com/nor_wild.html,
Wendar: http://pandius.com/wendar.html
and
articles on Threshold
Magazine:
http://www.thepiazza.org.uk/bb/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=17521&p=222019#p221960
and
http://www.thepiazza.org.uk/bb/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=17521&p=222019#p221961
[Image: Norwold]
http://pandius.com/Norwold.png
Norwold and further north
Norwold is big enough to
be its own mini-setting. It also had some serious canon development
through modules CM1-4, M1-3, the “Dawn of the Emperors”
boxed set and the Poor Wizard’s Almanacs, and was also
at the center of attention of many fans’ campaigns. All this
interestmakes Norwold one of the most detailed mini-setting in
Mystara. Threshold Magazine( issues #6, #7 and #8) also added
a lot of fan material to the region. The region is inhabited by
humans, elves, halfling, dwarves, humanoids, giants, lupins, rakasta,
dragons, gnomes, fairies, centaurs, yetis and several other races.
Basic Campaign: Become famous adventurers in the service
of King Ericall or the local lord.
Expert Campaign: Rise
in the ranks of Norwold, explore the wilderlands, contact other
people and nations.
Companion Campaign: Create a barony
in Norwold and make it last.
Master Campaign: Unify the
Norwold people into a strong nation.
Immortal Campaign:
Create a new religion for the Norwold Empire.
Main sources
CM1 Test of the
Warlords
CM2 Death’s Ride
CM3 Sabre River
CM4
Earthshaker!
M1 Into the Maelmstrom
M2 Vengeance of Alphaks
M4
Five Coins for a Kingdom
Dawn of the Emperors boxed sets
Poor
Wizard’s Almanacs I, II, III and Joshuan’s Almanac
The
dedicated section in the Vaults of Pandius on Norwold
http://pandius.com/norwold.html,
Littonia http://pandius.com/littonia.html,
Kaarjala http://pandius.com/kaarjala.html,
and the Wyrmsteeth http://pandius.com/wyrms.html
And
articles in Threshold
Magazine:
http://www.thepiazza.org.uk/bb/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=17521&p=222019#p221961
[Image: Sea of Giants]
http://pandius.com/IsleGiants.png
The Sea of Giants
A name created by this
author for the regions north of Norwold inhabited by giants in the
module CM1: “Test of the Warlords”. Frost giants
should be the main people of this inhospitable lands and seas, but
lynxman rakasta, cryons, humanoids and other races could be present
as well.
Basic Campaign: Become a famous warrior among
giants.
Expert Campaign: Lead a warband to explore and
pillage.
Companion Campaign: Lead a band to raid southern
lands and conquer a dominion.
Master Campaign: Create an
Kingdom of Giants in the whole north.
Immortal Campaign:
Create a new religion and make your Kingdom last for centuries,
bringing back an Age of Giants.
Main sources
CM1 Test of the
Warlords
The dedicated section in the Vaults of Pandius on
Frosthaven http://pandius.com/frosthav.html
and Adventures in the Frozen North by Matthew Fleet from Threshold
Magazine issue #2 http://pandius.com/frznnrth.html
[Image: Alphatia]
http://pandius.com/Alphatia.png
Alphatia
This Empire, dominated by
wizards and its main colonies, along with its ongoing conflict with
the Thyatian Empire in the Known World, could be considered
another subsetting of its own, given its geographical dimensions.
Obviously Alphatia is directly connected to the events of the Known
World in canon products; nevertheless, the empire’s vast
dominions also touch Northern Brun, the continent of Skothar and
lately also the Hollow World. After the events of “Wrath
of the Immortals”, the Alphatia mainland is removed to the
Hollow World, but its colonies still exist in the Outer World and
create the New Alphatian Confederate Empire, later called NAYCE in
Fan Almanacs. In any era, the region is still big enough to
host many campaigns. In more recent years, before developing his own
setting of Calidar, Bruce Heard. added much detail to the individual
Alphatian kingdoms as they existed in the Outer world. Brucer’s
blog articles added a staggering amount of detail to this
sub-setting. Humans, elves, dwarves, gnomes, humanoids, fairies and
many other races inhabit Alphatia. Due to the size and location of
the sub-continent and the extent of the Empire’s explorations,
Alphatia may probably have at least some representatives of other
intelligent Mystaran races living in its territory .
Basic
Campaign: Explore the magical lands of Alphatia.
Expert
Campaign: Become famous wizards in your area.
Companion
Campaign: Build towers, create innovative spells or magical
devices, distinguish yourselves against the enemy of the Empire.
Master Campaign: Lead Alphatians to explore or conquer
other lands.
Immortal Campaign: Become a new Alphatian
Immortal and help the Empire last.
Main sources
Dawn of the Emperors
boxed set
Voyages of the Princess Ark Dragon Magazine
series
Champions of Mystara boxed set
Wrath of the Immortals
boxed set
The Poor Wizards’ Almanacs I, II and III and
Joshuan’s Almanac
The dedicated section in the Vaults of
Pandius on Alphatia http://pandius.com/atlas.html#alphatia,
Qeodhar http://pandius.com/qeodhar1.html
and Yannivey http://pandius.com/yannivey.html
and articles on Bruce Heard’s blog
https://bruce-heard.blogspot.com/search/label/Mystara
Threshold
Magazine issue #11 and other
articles:
http://www.thepiazza.org.uk/bb/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=17521&p=222019#p222016
[Image: Isle of Dawn]
http://pandius.com/IsleDawn.png
The Isle of Dawn and the Alatians
The Isle is a territory
contested between Thyatis and Alphatia for centuries, as the Alatians
will also be in the Poor Wizard’s Almanacs storyline.
Fans also did much to develop the history and setting of this region.
The Islands are inhabited by humans, elves, dwarves, gnomes,
humanoids, giants, fairies, centaurs, gyerians, aranea, phanatons and
many other races.
Basic Campaign: Explore the ruins of the
wildlands.
Expert Campaign: Become trusted adventurers and
explorers in your town or community.
Companion Campaign:
Create a new dominion in the wilderlands, or win battles against the
enemy empire.
Master Campaign: Conquer the whole Isle of
Dawn for an Empire, or make it (or the Alatians, or another area)
independent from both empires.
Immortal Campaign: Create
a new religion for the Isle of Dawn.
Main sources
Dawn of the Emperors
boxed set
M5 Talons of Night
Wrath of the Immortals boxed set
The Poor Wizards’ Almanacs I, II and III and Joshuan’s
Almanac
The dedicated sections in the Vaults of Pandius
http://pandius.com/dawnisle.html
and http://pandius.com/alatian.html
Threshold
Magazine issue #11 and other
articles:
http://www.thepiazza.org.uk/bb/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=17521&p=222019#p222016
[Image: Ochalea, Pearl Islands and Thanegioth]
http://pandius.com/Ochalea.png
Ochalea and the Pearl Islands
Described in the “Dawn
of the Emperors” boxed set and in the Poor Wizard’s
Almanacs, the region was also developed by fans and it is
certainly big enough to be a mini setting of its own. Agathokles, in
particular, wrote a quite detailed gazetteer for Ochalea. The islands
are inhabited by humans, lupins, rakasta, minotaurs and humanoids,
and possibly also other races.
Basic Campaign: Explore the
islands and the mysterious jungles in the interior.
Expert
Campaign: Become defenders of your town or community.
Companion
Campaign: Create a new dominion in the wilderlands, and attract
followers.
Master Campaign: Conquer the islands for the
other empire, or make them independent from both empires.
Immortal
Campaign: Create a new religion for Ochalea or the Islands.
Main sources
Dawn of the Emperors
boxed set
The Poor Wizards’ Almanacs I, II and III and
Joshuan’s Almanac
The dedicated section in the Vaults of
Pandius on Ochalea http://pandius.com/ochalea.html
and the Pearl Islands http://pandius.com/pearl.html
Threshold
Magazine issue #11 and other
articles:
http://www.thepiazza.org.uk/bb/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=17521&p=222019#p222016
Thanegioth Archipelago
The Isle of Dread is one
of the most famous adventure locations in Mystara, the setting of
module X1: “The Isle of Dread”, later also re-used
in “Savage Tide”, a D&D 3ed adventure path of
Dragon Magazine. Fans have also developed the other islands of
the Archipelago, inhabited by humans, rakasta, lizardmen,
troglodytes, aranea, phanatons, dinosaurs, fairies, kopru and other
races.
Basic Campaign: Explore your island and its
inhabitants.
Expert Campaign: Become defenders of your
community, or travel to other islands
Companion Campaign:
Create a new dominion or tribe, or lead your people to another
island.
Master Campaign: Unify the islands under your
rule, or defend them against an external invasion.
Immortal
Campaign: Create a new religion for the Thanegioth and make it a
new and strong nation.
Main sources
X1 The Isle of
Dread
Dragon Magazine’s Savage Tide and the adaptation
done for Threshold Magazine by David Keyser in issue #4
http://pandius.com/svgtd_t4.html
and #19 http://pandius.com/svgtdt19.html
The
dedicated section in the Vaults of Pandius
Omnibius
Threshold
Magazine issue #3 and #4 and other
articles:
http://www.thepiazza.org.uk/bb/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=17521&p=222019#p221958
[Image: Bellisaria]
http://pandius.com/Bellisaria.png
Bellissaria
Rather underdeveloped in
canon and fan sources, the Alphatian colony, as a bridge between
Alphatia and Skothar, has the potential to be a very interesting
sub-setting. In Threshold Magazine issues #11 and # 20, I
imagined it as the stage for a centuries long struggle between
Alphatia and Milenia, and later between Alphatia and Minaea, somewhat
mirroring the historical conflict between Greeks and Persians, as the
Milenians are based on the real greek civilization and the Alphatian
symbols come from Persian imagery.
Basic Campaign: Explore
the ancient ruins of Bellisaria.
Expert Campaign: Become
defenders of your community, or travel to other regions of the big
island. Serve the Empire, or its Minaean enemies.
Companion
Campaign: Create a new dominion for Alphatia, or free a
Bellisarian city from Alphatian rule with the help of Minaea.
Master Campaign: Unify Bellisaria under your rule freeing
it from Alphatians, or lead an Alphatian campaign against Minaea.
Immortal Campaign: Create a new religion for Bellisaria
and spread it to the world.
Main sources
Dawn of the Emperors
boxed set
The Poor Wizards’ Almanacs I, II and III and
Joshuan’s Almanac
The dedicated section in the Vaults of
Pandius http://pandius.com/bellis.html
Threshold
Magazine issue #11 and #20 and other
articles:
http://www.thepiazza.org.uk/bb/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=17521&p=222019#p222016
To be continued…
This panoramic view of Mystara sub-settings will continue in the next issue of Threshold Magazine with Davania, Skothar, the Hollow World and more!