Thoughts about Mystara 5E
by Sean MeaneyWhat needs conversion?
Character class/race
Dwarves: having examined the history of Rockhome Dwarves, it is apparent that they are infact dwarf-gnomes. This conclusion is based on the migration of gnomes to the region, the traditional dwarf and gnome clan names some of which exhibit gnomish ancestry, while others migrate to Falun caverns which becomes a gnomish stronghold until the kobold take-over. Gnomes and dwarves are living together (and inbreeding) until Kaygar interfered and removed the gnome from them restoring the dwarf with a few modifications. Does this mean the dwarves of the hollow world are Half gnomish? Uncertain.
Class restrictions: fighters, Lawful fighter-clerics
Gnomes: gnomes departed the south pole and settled in the Atlan Tepes. They interbred with dwarves making them gnome-dwarf. So they should look like the big nosed dwarf in the Mentzer Basic (pic with elf, dwarf, halfling). They dont look like the bobble head gnomes of CM4 EARTHSHAKER because those are original gnomes southern gnomes.
Class restrictions: Specialist (modified Thieves). Swap out thief skills for variants. Climb walls would be climb machinery, pick pockets would be pluck small component, disarm traps deactivate mechanism, and soforth. Add inventing requires a high intelligence means high int and dex.
Halflings: the mentzer halfling is taller and more gnomish (3&1/2-4ft, larger nose) than the BX Moldvay halfling (2&1/2ft-3ft). Personally they are halfling-gnomes but...
Class restrictions: fighters? They are dexterity oriented so perhaps Scout (thieves variant) with less focus on thievery and more on fighting, wilderness concealment as a hide in shadows variant. At upper levels they can become Masters (druids) so a kind of Neutral Ranger.
Elves:
Class restrictions: Wizard/Fighters.
Setting Reboot
Known World
I suggest the asteroid that formed The great crater be rolled out as the cataclysm it is meant to be. A crater that large will not only cause total subsidence of lower broken lands, shadowelf realms, and even far off rockhome's capital of dengar (where all the warrior clans are hold up with their dwarven forges in lower dengar). Everything out to past Karameikos in radius is cooked by an epic fireball that lasts 19 minutes (rounds are 10 seconds each so 114 rounds at 3d6 for third degree burns per round). A wind blast that has reduced to over a hundred miles an hour by the time it reaches thyatis radius blows away everything, but gravel are impacting at hypersonic velocity as far as thyatis so those caught outside are sandblasted. The known world is a dead zone after this event. Feel free to eliminate all you know about mystara and start fresh with adventurers from the Savage Coast, Ostland (but not sodorfjord or Norvik), northern reaches, Eastern Thyatian empire, Alphatia, isle of dawn exporing the desolation and establishing footholds.
Dwarves, elves, halflings, gnomes of the known world are extinct. Wendar, vyallian, callari, shadow elves, erewan, rock home, shires, alfhiem, even the flying city of serraine which took an unobstructed view of the fireball radiation, wind blast, rock pelting and was blown toward Isle of dawn. The region is up for grabs.
The nucleus of the spheres has taken great damage if not been destroyed. All Magic will fail if the nucleus blows. Night dragons take damage from light. So synn the night dragon is likely dead or teleported away during the disaster having taken great damage. She will suck the nucleus dry leaving the world without magic.
The hollow world
The initial crater was about eleven miles deep and the impact and quake destructive to rock strata out several hundred miles. So the quake should have effected the hollow world with as much destruction. Shatenalfen, azcan, kolgor, light house, the gentle folk and neathar, malpheggi lizardmen, traladar, merry pirates take a tidal wave, total volcanic eruption of all mapped volcanoes radiating out from impact centre?