Introduction to Maztica
Welcome to a land of vast beauty
and fierce savagery; a land of magnificent opportunities . . . and
dark menaces. It is truly a New World, only now cast open before
the adventurers footsteps.
At least, it is new to those adventurers who hail from the
Sword Coast, and other known
regions of the Forgotten Realms. But
for some, it is the land they have
always known, the place of their
heritage and ancestryand now,
the place of their very uncertain
future.
Maztica is a land of varying
cultures, with unique treasures and
magics. It is strangely vulnerable to
the powers of the Old World, yet it is
resilient as well. It bends without
breaking to the pressures exerted
upon it, and in so doing it combines
the strongest features of its native
cultures with the strongest aspects
of the invaders.
Journey there now, as creatures
and cultures come together to make
a new placea land that all types of
adventurers can call their own.
Alright, enough of the straight marketing, let's get down to the meat and potatoes. I played Maztica back when I was a teen and I thought it was great, albeit a bit before its time. In the 90s, TSR got a little bit too overzealous with the setting ideas but that is why it is interesting, the setting, I mean.
Character Creation:
In end effect, I would like a mixed Faerun/Maztican party of five maybe six adventurers at level 1 in 2nd edition rules. This means that all Faerunese character classes and races are available, however, Mazticans have some special options and restrictions.
What I am saying is, if you want to have a Kara Turian Wu-Jen Sorceror, do it. If you want to play a wayward seafarer, ala Sinbad the sailor from Zakhara, that is also ok.
BUT, Mazticans have restrictions and options, native Mazticans can only be Dwarves, Humans, Halflings and Half Orcs.
They cannot be wizards or mages, however, there is some really interesting native magic to Maztica. You can play an Eagle or Jaguar knight which eventually gives you the ability to turn into either one of those animals. Rogues can be Plumeweavers or...
options to become Warriors, Priests,
or Rogues. Wizards and wizardry in
the traditional sense are not known
in Maztica, except as imported from
the Sword Coast. Character Kits
expanding the Warrior and the
Rogue classes are given after
Maztican proficiencies.
WARRIORS are the most common
type of adventuring character. They
can use all Maztican weapons, and
progress at the normal rates of
experience. If warrior kits from the
Complete Fighter.s Handbook are
used, the Barbarian, the Berserker,
the Savage, and the Wilderness
Warrior are all eligible for use with
Maztican fighters. In addition, Eagle
Knight and Jaguar Knight are new
kits, introduced later in this chapter.
PRIESTS of the True World can be
devoted to any of the major
Maztican gods. The spheres of
influence allowed by each, together
with specific benefits, requirements,
and explanations can be found in
the Gods and Battles book. In
general, however, these are the
most common faiths:
Maztica, the Earth Goddess
(Neutral; her followers are druids)
Qotal, the Feathered Dragon
(Lawful Good)
Zaltec, God of War (Chaotic Evil)
Azul, Giver of Rain (Lawful Evil)
Tezca, Sun God (Chaotic Evil)
Plutoq, God of Stone
(Lawful Neutral)
Kiltzi, Goddess of Health and Love
(Chaotic Good)
Watil, Goddess of Plants
(Neutral Good)
Nula, Queen Mother of Animals
(Chaotic Neutral)
Maztican priests can be
embellished by information in the
Complete Priest.s Handbook. The
Savage Priest kit from that book
lends itself to priests from tribes of
the Dog People. Other kits can be
tailored specifically for use in
Maztica.
ROGUES are a slightly awkward
character class for Maztica, since
the concept of personal property is
so much less in evidence in the True
World. However, they exist in so
much as they are adventurous
individuals who have developed
their skills in a broader direction
than mere warfare. The bard is
particularly appropriate, if one
considers him in the context of
storyteller and historian.
The Acrobat and the Scout kits
from the Complete Thief.s
Handbook can be used for Maztican
Rogues.
Maztican Rogues do not have the
pickpocket ability of their .civilized.
cousins. Reading languages for any
Maztican rogue is limited to
Maztican languages.of course,
from those areas where
picture-writing has been developed.
Thief characters do not possess the
open locks skill. Two kits for specific types of
rogues the Hishnashaper and the
Plumaweaver.
According to the rules from the Players Skills and Options book, I suggest Method VIII: The player assigns 24d6 among a character’s six ability scores. Each
ability score must have at least 3d6, but no more 6d6, devoted to it. If the player desires a
character with a high Strength, he could devote 4d6, 5d6, or even 6d6 to that ability.
Next, the appropriate number of dice are rolled for each ability, and the total of the three
highest results become the score. Any and all other dice rolled for that ability are
discarded.
The adventure will start off in the new city of Helmsport-Ulatos that was founded by the great/infamous Cordell and it is a gateway to the rest of the Realms, including Kara-Tur or Zakhara, if you wish. I mean Ninjas or Djinnis in the world of Dog People... amazing.
Sure you don't want to convert this to 5E??? :-)
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You mention the "Player's Option" Skills & Powers" book, and suggest that we use method VIII from that book to generate ability scores.
Do you want characters created using that book as well (e.g. characters having 12 sub-abilities, Wizards being able to "purchase" the ability to use long swords, Rogues being able to "purchase" the ability to take "Weapon Specialization", etc.) or created using the Core 2nd Edition Player's Handbook?
I played Maztica back when I was a teen also, ironically with a GM named Edwin........
I've been playing only Pathfinder for the last 2 yrs, and I was on a 10+ year hiatus from gaming prior to that, but for nostalgia's sake I'd love to give this a try.
Are there any links to materials/rulesets you can point me to?
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Are there any links to materials/rulesets you can point me to?
If you're looking for free (legal) online versions of the 2nd edition core rulebooks (i.e. specifically the Player's Handbook, Dungeon Master's Guide, and Monstrous Manual), there aren't any.
However, there is a very good 2nd edition retro clone available; it's called "For Gold and Glory"
This site has a lot of the 2nd edition material on PDF for sale. Unfortunately, the material for Maztica is not among them (and of course neither are the core 2nd edition rulebooks).
Wizards of the Coast used to have the Maztica material available on their web site as a free download once upon a time, but it's gone now...
If I were going to convert it to 5th edition it would have to be the The Dark Eye.. :)
During my 2nd edition days, the only thing I GMed was Oriental Adventures as a mix between 1st and 2nd... inadvertently... I always played Maztica..
I really think that the players should make their characters with the Player's handbook stuff with the kits from the different Handbooks for wizards or fighters or etc... Kits are a lot of fun. That said, if you give me something that you want and a reason for it I would probably say why not...
In a general sense, I am open to almost anything so just run it by me.
I have thought over the Half-elf question a bit, a mixed breed Half-Maztican/Elf could be possible in this time frame. If someone wanted to play one... where maybe one of Cordell's soldiers may have been an elf and married a local. Or something.
I dug through the basement until I found my 2E players handbook so Im going to dust it off and start figuring out what character to submit.
Being a little familiar with the setting Id be willing/interested in playing a local.....when I first got back into gaming 2yrs ago I found the Maztica book to download, cant remember the site but I'll start reading through and see what I can come up with.
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a mixed breed Half-Maztican/Elf could be possible in this time frame.
What will the start date be for this then?
Cordell arrived in Maztica in 1361 DR, so for there to be native half-elves, the date would need to be at least 1378 for a half elf with a human mother (9 months of pregnancy), and 1379 for a half-elf with an elven mother (2 years of pregnancy). And that's only for half-elves that start out at the lowest age possible (which is 16)...
Let's say 1385 just to make it ok. I would like to start by the 1st of February. I think that should give us time to get a larger party together.
Yes this will be a pbp. Anything else?
Wasn't there a novel called Maztica way back in the day(80's possibly 90's)? This sounds familiar for some reason. My curiosity has gotten the better of me and I hate it when something rings a bell and I just can't seem to place it.
There was a trilogy revolving around the first contact between COrdell and the Payit.
Feel free to create a character.
Im definitely going to try for a Jaguar Knight.......Otzali is a Maztican member of the lodge who never really distinguished himself through deed or word. When the newcomers came he learned their language with other youths in the village as a way to gain recognition by trying to bridge the gap, but still he was barely noticed by the other jaguars. When the elders came looking for a volunteer to travel with folk from the Realms he eagerly asked for the the honor. Only later did he realize the vast responsibility that the assignment came with as it became his role to not only guide these newcomers but also to attempt to preserve the Maztican way of life.
its been a LONG time since I built a 2E character so the crunch might take some time, but might as well get started. Im not familiar with that option book but if I read that right.......
I'll start working on crunch and hopefully have something in a few days.
Cool. #8 is a fun way to make a character.
There was a trilogy revolving around the first contact between COrdell and the Payit.
That's right! The Maztica Trilogy! Oh man it has been forever. Unfortunately it's been so long, I don't really remember much of any of it.
Ha! Second edition! Good ol' Second edition. I still have the Player's handbook and the DM's Guide. Classic stuff.
A part of me would be interested in rolling with some 2E again, but I'm afraid I'm gonna have to pass. But I will keep an eye on this to see how it turns out. Should be interesting.
@Samy: I'm with ya. I'd need a serious refresher course because I've forgotten so much. :P
Ironhelm, Viperhand and Feathered Dragon.
That's them. I use to have all those but apparently got rid of them at some point way back in the day. I enjoyed reading several of Douglas Niles's books. Darkwalker on Moonshae was a good one too. This probably sounds weird but I remember enjoying the books while I was reading them; I just don't remember hardly anything about them.
...but being an adult sucks timewise.
Way too true.
There is also the City of Gold adventuring product, which is an extension of the setting.
^ found my old character sheet (half elf cleric/wizard) when I found my 2E players handbook, and it still has "micha coins" listed in the equipment section ..... good times!
Pretty awesome...
I am anxiously awaiting some PCs.
If you guys want I could provide pregens
scout camping event this weekend, now the snow-pocalypse here in the northeast.......i'll be hunkered down for the storm tonight working on my character crunch!
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It's going to be a killer spring for me, but I would never forgive myself if I passed up on the chance to apply for a Maztica campaign. So.
I looked around, and literally within two feet, on the shelf to my right, I see the 2e Player's Handbook and Forgotten Realms Adventures. I crack open the latter, thinking about browsing crunch, and what do I see but a quote beside the table of contents.
"Be it ever so humble,
There's no place like home.
J.H.Payne"
The Forgotten Realms has always been my home, always probably will be.
...my god, look at the illustrations inside this book. Elmore, Caldwell, Easley, Dameron... 2e was the peak of RPG artwork for sure. Wow, those illustrations of clerics of Sune and Mystra...
...okay, enough of a digression.
Anyway, the character I've always wanted to send into Maztica is a priest of the Red Knight, which is what I was trying to lead towards. Red Knight is not one of the deities in FRA, but a quick Google says she has some info in Powers & Pantheons which I don't have. Any chance to get a summary of that info? I need to decide between a cleric of Red Knight and a specialty priest of Red Knight.
I don't think there's a lot of crunch to select about a character in 2e other than the ability score, race and class...not much in the way of feats, traits, skills. So the character I'm brewing up will be a female human priest (cleric or specialty) of Red Knight, a merchant's daughter from Amn sent overseas to do holy service.
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the character I've always wanted to send into Maztica is a priest of the Red Knight... Red Knight is not one of the deities in FRA, but a quick Google says she has some info in Powers & Pantheons which I don't have. Any chance to get a summary of that info?
Well, it's not the info from "Power's & Pantheons" (nor can the following info be found within that, or any other FR source-book), but back in March of 2004, In the "Questions For Ed Greenwood" thread over at Candlekeep, I asked him the following questions:
What lore of The Red Knight can you offer?
Specifically, what prayers and offerings would a young follower offer to her?
Also, a few oaths would be much appreciated
His answer was through "The Hooded One", which is apparently one of his long time friends; but I'm not sure (Oh, and I edited some of his language to be more "Paizo Friendly"):
digitalelf, typical offerings on the altar of Red Knight are coins won in wagering over games of skill (such as lanceboard) but never in ‘games of chance,’ and [the greatest possible offerings of all, if the games themselves are well-designed] new strategy games (board, pieces, and rules) personally devised by the worshipper.
If given in a temple, these always vanish from the altar (taken by the clergy of the temple, of course). If offered in private, in the open or at a shrine, such offerings are to buried with a symbol of the goddess (a crude horsehead chesspiece design scratched into a piece of bark or onto a stone will suffice, if nothing better can be had), in earth into which a single drop (or more) of the worshipper’s blood has been spilled.
It is sinful to the goddess for the same worshipper to unearth such things and re-use them as offerings, or for other faithful of the Red Knight to knowingly use the previously-used offerings of another in their own prayers to the goddess, but it’s quite acceptable to use them in other ways (spend the coins, and play, sell, give away, or bet on the games).
Note that devout faithful of the Red Knight often have scores of red horse-headed lanceboard pieces made for them to carry, and use in just such situations. If non-clerical worshippers of the Red Knight are travelling with a priest of the Lady of Strategy and make prayers to the goddess, it IS acceptable for the priest to collect and carry along all such offerings, to turn them over to a temple of the goddess at the first opportunity. If this becomes impossible, such ‘sacred goods’ are to be buried if this can be managed.
Typical prayers to the Red Knight are whispered pleas for insight into the thinking of foes when planning strategies against them, and requests for inspiration (and a true follower of Red Knight believes that all tactical thinking or dreams of battles and battle-strategies are bestowed by the Red Knight, and will thank her for her aid: in other words, a devout worshipper of Red Knight NEVER takes credit for brilliant strategies or tactics, believeing they have all come from the goddess).
When a devout follower suffers defeat, overlooks some stratagem of an opponent, or is outwitted, they typically make offering to the goddess by procuring a shard of good-quality battle armor, gashing themselves with it, and leaving the bloodied metal on the altar with a prayer, not binding their wound or seeking healing for it until their prayers are complete. Many worshippers of the Red Knight take good armor from opponents they’ve personally felled and shatter it, so as to have a ready supply of such shards awaiting times of failure, in order to properly ‘square their standing’ with the Lady of Strategy.
Great victories are also celebrated on an altar of Red Knight by placing trophies of the defeated foes on it, with prayer (weapons, armor, and even blood and body parts). If no altar is handy, the prayer may be offered literally ON the body or trophy of the fallen, on the battlefield or place of death.
Prayers to the Red Knight often begin “Oh, Lady of clear calm” or “Great Lady of Armor Blood-Red” and the goddess betimes gives long-worshipping individuals a secret name by which they can call her (imparted in dreams, these names are different for every individual, and are NOT thought to be even echoes of her true name, but rather a personal token or ‘pet-name’ symbolizing her favour of the devotions of the individual; typical examples are: “Divine Arlanna” and “Divine Elmrara”).
Formal priestly prayers often include the lines “Lady whose armor is drenched in blood for us” and “Armor blooded to remind us of our faults and defeats, but eyes bright to make us mindful ever of unquenchable spirit and battlemastery of fields to come.”
Battle-oaths to the Red Knight (given when smiting foes or launching an attack) include these:
“Bright wit, clear thought, keen sight!”
“Forward the Game Undying!”
“Let this game now be ended!”
“Smite smart!”Obscenities uttered by faithful of the Red Knight when personally upset include these:
“Alavaerthus!” (equivalent of “dang-it!” or the “F” word [this word, pronounced “Alah-VAER-thus,” was the name of a member of the Fellowship who had a large hand in founding the church of Red Knight, but went mad in a battle and sent his forces to their dooms through a series of stupid or reckless commands; “playing Alavaerthus” is an informal Fellowship expression meaning to ‘totally screw up’)
“Blood of the Lady!” (equivalent of “Oh my [insert strongest personal obscenities here] Gosh!” [used as a stronger replacement for “Alavaerthus!”)
“Checkmate!” (formal, usable-in-polite-company equivalent of “Darn!” or “Crap!” or “Blast!” [invoking the name of the Lady’s blade])
“Keltor!” (equivalent of “Darn!” and pronounced as “KEL-tor” [spat out swiftly])
“Teskyre!” (equivalent of “Crap!” and pronounced as “Tess-kEYE-ur”)
“Witless!” (equivalent of the “F” word [the strongest personal oath of a faithful of the Red Knight alludes to stupidity in strategy or tactics])
So saith Ed. Hmm; almost all of this is new to me, and goes straight into my Realms notes.
The original post can be found here at the: Candlekeep Forum (It's about halfway down the page, posted by "The Hooded One").
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Ooo, nice fluff. Thank you! Awesome getting some "off the books" info.
(Also, seeing the name George Krashos takes me waaaay back...)
Do Red Knight specialty priests get to wield the deity's sacred weapon, the longsword? (I think clerics in 2e all had the same weapon proficiencies regardless of deity.)
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Ooo, nice fluff. Thank you! Awesome getting some "off the books" info.
Yeah, it was cool to get such a lengthy answer to my questions from him.
Do Red Knight specialty priests get to wield the deity's sacred weapon, the longsword? (I think clerics in 2e all had the same weapon proficiencies regardless of deity.)
Yes, here are the prerequisites:
Specialty Priests of Red Knight (Known as "Holy Strategists")
Requirements: INT 13, WIS 13, and CHR 10
Prime Requisites: INT and WiS
Weapon: Any
Major Sphere Access: All, Charm, Combat, Divination, Healing, Law, Protection, Travelers, and War
Minor Sphere Access: Creation, Guardian, Necromantic, Thought, and Wards
Required Proficiencies: Etiquette, Heraldry, and Land-Based Riding (Horse)
Bonus Proficiencies: Engineering, Gaming, and Hunting
There are also a lot of special abilities that Holy Strategist's of Red Knight get as well...
Pertinent to 1st level characters:
Holy Strategists can cast spells from the Travelers and War spheres as if they were twice their actual level (Only the effect of the spells is impacted, not the number of spells available).
Holy Strategists are resistant to illusions, and get a +1 bonus to their saving throws vs. spell against illusions for every three levels of their ability (rounded up) to a maximum of +5.
Holy Strategists can select nonweapon proficiencies from both the Priest and Warrior groups with no cross-over penalty (and of course the General group as well).
There is a 1st level spell available to Holy Strategists, called "Analyze Opponent".
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Thanks, that sounds very promising. I assume armor is everything, too? How does that proficiencies stuff work?
Yeah, they can wear any armor.
And as for how proficiencies work...
If you haven't already, I highly recommend that you read pages 70-75 of the Player's Handbook (of the 1995 "black cover" release), or pages 50-56 (of the 1989 "orange cover" release). I list two different ranges of page numbers because the page numbers between the two different releases of the Player's Handbook are not the same...
But, in a nut shell:
Proficiencies are just ability checks with different names. Take hunting for example: it is based off of your character's Wisdom score with a -1 penalty, so if your character is out hunting, and your DM asks you to make a "hunting check", you'd simple make a WIS check with a -1 penalty.
Red Knight specialty priests are required to take the 3 proficiencies listed under "Required Proficiencies" (and a 1st level Priest receives 4 proficiency slots, plus an additional number of "bonus" slots based upon their Intelligence score). However, Specialty priest's of Red Knight gain the 3 bonus proficiencies listed for free in addition to their starting number of slots (i.e. the 3 proficiencies listed, the 4 slots the character gets for being a 1st level priest, plus any "bonus" slots the character gets due to their Intelligence score).
Hope that helps, (and makes sense)... ;-)
Deylinarr here.....crunch complete, made up my own format so if theres something different you'd prefer please let me know.
I started trying to convert Realms prices to Maztica values, then realized I wasn't exactly sure about starting wealth.....so I stuck with just real basic gear and figure we'll worry about additional stuff in game.
Please let me know if I missed anything - like I said, its been a while!
I really like Otzali... if you can write up a back ground that would rock.
I really wanted to get started Sunday MEST but there is only one character ready.
Cool, when can you guys get a character ready?
I really like Otzali... if you can write up a back ground that would rock.
I really wanted to get started Sunday MEST but there is only one character ready.
Will also try to get the story spoiler fleshed out a bit more by early next week.
Ah come on, can't you participate... we really need some players... i can give you some pregens...
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Ah come on, can't you participate...
The problem is that I don't think I'll have the time to really give the game the attention that it deserves, due to some recent changes in my schedule...
How often do you plan to post; daily, weekly, bi-weekly? Your scheduled posting times will really tell whether I'll have the time or not.
I would say once a day or every other day. It depends on the players. My Zeitgeist game I post at least once a day.
But my Gamma World is like once or twice a week.
4th from 1992
If you would like to play in GW, feel free to PM me(We only have three now so a fourth would be great...)
Hey is there any more people out there that want to play 2e game set in the mysterious land of Maztica, I have no problem with providing pregens...