Editorial
by Francesco Defferrari from Threshold Magazine issue 34There isn’t only one Mystara, but many. There is the one outlined in the official products, but even there it could be said there are many, one for every author who wrote about the setting with their own point of view and their own preferences. There are certainly many differences in how the main Mystaran authors, such as Aaron Aalston, Bruce Heard and Paul Dupuis and many others, described and brought Mystara to life.
And obviously there is a different Mystara for every DM who uses it to set their own adventures. We can say that every adventure and campaign indeed produced a whole new Mystara, with big and small differences compared to the ‘official one’ or the one in which other DMs played.
In this issue of THRESHOLD Magazine we will show some examples of different Mystaras, different for changes in the past, in the future, in geography, or something else. We’ll start with Mystaran Sliders by John Calvin, an article born from a historical thread on The Piazza that describes a very different Hollow World and also provides a true Generator of Alternate Mystaras. Then Ville Lähde reports from Finland for the Dungeons & Dragons 50-year Celebration with a Mystara display. Allan Palmer describes one of the best Alternate Mystaras you can find in the Vault of Pandius, the World in Flames written by historical Mystara author Bruce Heard. On to the Future of Mystara by me, where starting from Wrath of the Immortals and the official Almanacs I outline the many possible futures of the Known World
Then we have a very interesting block of four articles by Cab Davidson and Doc Necrotic who together tackle the big topic of sci-fi elements in fantasy, something that obviously fits perfectly in Mystara due to the history of Blackmoor, an empire that reached high levels of technomagic development before being obliterated in The Great Rain of Fire. So here you’ll find The Denizens of Returned Blackmoor by Doc, Radio and Robots and Guns for Classic D&D by Cab, and Magitech of Blackmoor by Doc.
Jim RGF for the first time in THRESHOLD Magazine starts his story, The Mystery of Oisar, which starting from the Karameikan School of Magecraft in Krakatos promises to lead us in ‘A Journey through Mystara’s Past and Future.’ Not A Decepticon instead returns for the third episode of his series of adventures Against the Wizards, set in a Sind occupied by Alphatians, with Part 3: Temperamental Tollbooth of Theradenal Thaumaturge. Lance Duncan too returns to describe another piece of his alternate Mystara, the Known World of Dracopolis, after a previous article in issue #30, with Faith in Ylaruam.
Finally one more article by Cab about the Races of the Galactic Federation, which is both a possible expansion of the DA series of modules and a crossover with the classic TSR Star Frontier sci-fi rpg game. Last but not least Rescuing Edera, A Solo Adventure by Mark Dowson who also drew his own illustrations.
This issue like many others previously has also many beautiful illustrations by Jeffrey Kosh, who already has provided so many great illustrations that we had to hold back several for the next issue. Special thanks also to Senarch and many of the authors who helped us greatly by providing some nice AI images or searching for suitable Commons images!
Soon we’ll begin working on issue #35, dedicated to Glantri and Magic, a theme for which the Vaults really has lots of material on the most magical (and probably also the most full of intrigue) nation of the Known World. Certainly Micky, Aoz, Robin and others already created a lot of material about it on The Piazza Mystara forum1, so go on contributors!
To join the next issues as
authors or illustrators please send your proposal
to the THRESHOLD
mail (check Submission guidelines and mail on the last page of the
issue) or write in the Call for Contributors thread for issues #35
which will soon appear in The Piazza forum.
Even though we
usually have no shortage of articles, we always need help for
proofreading
and editing
the submissions. So anyone willing to help the THRESHOLD
Editorial Team please come forward and let us know through the mail
or in the Call for Contributors for issue #35 thread at The Piazza.
Helping THRESHOLD
Magazine certainly needs some time commitment, but is creative and
rewarding work.
The THRESHOLD
Editorial Team and the authors hope you will enjoy reading this new
issue as much as we enjoyed putting it together, and stay tuned for
the next issue!
Francesco Defferrari (Sturm)
Editor, THRESHOLD Issue #34
Editorial Credits
THRESHOLD Editorial Team
Allan Palmer (AllanP)
Francesco
Defferrari (Sturm)
Hervé Musseau (Andaire)
Editors Emeriti
Agathokles
(Giampaolo Agosta)
Andrew Theisen (Cthulhudrew)
Ashtagon
Jesper Andersen (Spellweaver)
John
Calvin (Chimpman)
Joseph Setorius (Julius Cleaver)
Leland
(Argentmantle)
Shawn Stanley (stanles)
Thorfinn Tait (Thorf)
THRESHOLD logo designed by Thorf
Editing, Issue #34
Francesco
Defferrari (Sturm)
Allan Palmer (AllanP)
Hervé Musseau
(Andaire)
Layout
Allan Palmer (AllanP)
Art
Allan
Palmer – AI and Commons
Cab
Davidson – AI
Doc Necrotic – Commons
Francesco
Defferrari (Sturm) – AI and Commons
I.
Calvin – Original
Jeffrey Kosh – Original
Jim RGF –
AI
LadyofHats – Original from Commons
Lance Duncan –
Commons
Mark Dowson – Original
Sebastien
(Senarch) – AI
Ville Lähde – Own Photographs
V
Shane – Stock, Original
William McAusland – Stock,
Original
Cartography
Not
A Decepticon
Additional Reviewing & Proofreading
Allan Palmer (AllanP)
Cab
Davidson
Doc Necrotic
Hervé Musseau (Andaire)
Rob
Koper
Simon Barns
Troy
Terrell (CmdrCorsiken)
Author Blurbs
Allan
Palmer (a.k.a. AllanP)
was first introduced to D&D a long time ago (but not quite in a
galaxy far away) by a work colleague who set up a gaming group using
the last version of the “blue book” rules. While dabbling
with RuneQuest and Traveller along the way, he developed a liking for
what would become the world of Mystara as the BECMI box sets were
released. He has always been fascinated by maps. He is an IT
professional and when not indulging in hobbies of panelology, retro
tv watching and family history research, uses his various PC skills
to consolidate the writings of others into the issues of
THRESHOLD.
Cab
Davidson has
been mixing sci-fi with fantasy in his games since he started keeping
his Star Frontiers books in the same box as his D&D books in
1983. He lives and works in Cambridge, United Kingdom, dreaming up
novel technologies for a living.
Doctor Necrotic (Brian Rubinfeld) is a freelance and hobbyist writer. He has been a fan of Dungeons & Dragons since early youth. The earthiness of Mystara and its pulpy lore have long since been a draw for him as well. Within Threshold, his major projects have been Returned Blackmoor as well as a look into Ravenloft through Mystaran eyes.
Hervé Musseau, a former editor of the Mystaran Almanac, is now helping shape THRESHOLD Magazine.
Jeffrey Kosh is the pen name of a writer and graphic artist specialized in book covers and movie posters. He collaborates with various publishing companies and authors. His covers range from dark horror to space opera, from thrillers to fantasy. Inspired by great fantasy artists, such as Clyde Caldwell, Larry Elmore, Keith Parkinson, and more, Kosh likes vibrant colors and heavy use of light and a dark contrast. His graphic tends to be moody and evocative. He also likes to work on ‘era-specific’ movie posters and book covers, trying to recreate the style used in those years, from the 1920s to the 1990s. As a writer he has been published various times.
(https://jeffreykosh.wixsite.com/jeffreykoshgraphics/home)
Jim RGF has been playing and dungeon mastering D&D games on Mystara since 1982. He fell in love with the setting at a young age and particularly loves Alphatia, Shadow Elves and Nithian magic users. He is beginning to write stories set in this wonderful world and loves to teach others about it. He has created a YouTube channel called Raise Game Fully where he showcases parts of D&D that aren’t as well known. His ongoing video series on Mystara is aimed at helping newer players realize how amazing the setting truly is. He lives in New England with his wife and sons.
John Calvin is fascinated by the depth of Mystaran history, and has always wanted to share that more fully with players. To that end he has been developing sub-settings like The Hollow Moon and Mystara 2300 BC.
Lance Duncan (aka Wangalade) started playing D&D with his father using the BECMI boxed sets. With his sisters and brother, he explored the caverns of Quasqeton and the Caves of Chaos and the Isle of the Hideous One, eventually discovering the lost valley and journeying to the faraway land of Hule to defeat the Master. Though he has explored many different games (Alternity being a favorite), he has always come back to Mystara and D&D. His current D&D campaign is set some 30-odd years after the events of that original campaign; the known world of Dracopolis reflects how Mystara was presented by his father with the limited resources of the box sets and a few adventure modules.
Mark Dowson is these days mostly an ex-roleplay gamer, turned short solo roleplay game adventure writer. Through this medium he is able to combine his older passion for writing with enjoyment of being both a player in the types of roleplaying games he likes to play in and being a Games Master. He has been getting his work published in small magazines and fanzines since 2012. He lives in York in England.
Not a Decepticon has been in love with RPGs since seeing an advert for D&D in a comic book at the age of six. But an opportunity to DM and play regularly only revealed itself recently, with the exception of a brief attempt in college. Now he combines a love for classic campaign settings and the latest edition of the game.
Sebastien Martineau (Senarch) started playing D&D again in early 2022, and dusted off his prized GAZ1, promptly falling in love with Mystara again. He combines Daz, Ai and digital painting in his artworks, and has started drawing again. Some of his work can be found here: https://www.deviantart.com/senarch/gallery and he can be contacted here: senarchpublishing@gmail.com
Even though Sturm (a.k.a. Francesco Defferrari) loves any alternate world, he believes Mystara is incomparably the best for its vibrant community endlessly delving into ethnography, linguistics and history just to make a little sense of it. Something like the real world, but with dragons.
Ville Lähde is an author and a journalist specializing in environmental issues, philosophy and politics - and lately also food and gardening. He has been DMing in Mystara since 1988, and his first campaign is still going strong after a quarter of a century. In the 80’s and 90’s he published a host of modules and articles in Finnish RPG zines.
Call
for Contributors
The THRESHOLD editorial team invites all fans of the Mystara setting to submit contributions to the magazine’s next issue.
We are especially looking for contributions fitting the following themes:
Issue #35—Glantri and Magic
The
second issue of 2024 will focus on the most magical nation of the
Known World.
Proposal Deadline: August 15th, 2024
Manuscript Deadline: November 1st, 2024
Issue Published: December 2024
Issue #36—Adventures and Modules
The
first issue of 2025 will gather interesting experiences to throw at
your party!
Proposal Deadline: February 15th, 2025
Manuscript Deadline: May 1st, 2025
Issue Published: June 2025
Articles about other topics are still welcome and the editorial team will evaluate their publication for any upcoming issue, taking into account available space and the issue’s theme.
THRESHOLD accepts and invites submissions of extended or revised versions of works having appeared on The Piazza or Vaults of Pandius.
Contributions may include, but are not limited to: Articles—short stories, short adventure modules, NPCs, historical treatises and timelines, geographical entries, new monsters and monster ecologies, etc.; and Illustrations—portraits, maps, heraldry, illustrations, etc.
The THRESHOLD editorial team strives for edition neutrality, but edition-specific articles (e.g., conversions) are also accepted. Statistics for new monsters and NPCs may be included in articles (e.g., adventure modules, new monsters or NPCs) in any version of Dungeons & Dragons. The editorial team also offers help in providing conversions to some specific rules set, including BECMI/RC, 2nd Edition, 3rd edition/Pathfinder. However, they should be limited to a minimum—for most NPCs, it is sufficient to mention class, level, and alignment. For important NPCs, a one- or two-line stats block may be included.
Next Issue
Issue #35—Glantri and Magic
The first issue of 2025 will focus on the most magical nation of the Known World.
Anticipated
contents include:
● The School of Magic in Glantri City
● Heroes and Villains of Glantri
●
The Forgotten History of
Glantri
●
… and much, much more!
Back Cover
Future and Alternate Mystaras
In this new issue of THRESHOLD Magazine we explore the infinite possibilities of Mystara, imagining many possible futures and many possible variants of our beloved campaign world. There isn’t only the Known World and the many unknown lands we have already, at least partially explored in many previous issues, but also almost infinite, uncertain futures and different Mystaras where history has gone in a completely different direction. Choose your variant Mystara and play with it!
All this can be found only in this latest issue of our favorite magazine!
1Check this thread on The Piazza https://www.thepiazza.org.uk/bb/viewtopic.php?t=26767