Does anyone still use this world? Could anyone reference some older issues that had memorable adventures in this setting?
It was one of my favorite settings and I still use it.
I would buy any issue with a Mystara adventure. Definitely. I enjoyed that world a lot during a long-running campaign back in the 90s and will probably get around to running another campaign in it once I get around to it.
"Stealing" the IoD from Mystara is one of the few decisions that I don't support the Dungeon staff in. Greyhawk is my all-time favorite, but even I recognize that Mystata deserves more respect than that.
I'm running the Master of the Desert Nomads series (X4 and X5) with my group. Had to make some pretty massive changes to it to make it work with MC but the modules are adaptable enough that I can make it work. I basically rewrote it. The Master attacked Karameikos instead of Darokin and he wins. The Duke is forced to fight a guerrilla war and meets up with the pcs. He sends them after the Master.
I would love to have some Mystara adventures in Dungeon. There's no reason why they couldn't do it. Especially if they select generalized modules. There's lots of information on the 'net about the setting.
--Ray.
Forgive the question, but is Mystara the world where the Basic/Expert adventures were set, or was that a new development that came with the 2e?
Mystarra was the name that the "Known World" setting of basic,expert, companion, masters, immortals sets D&D was given when it was released as an AD&D setting durring 2e.
the 2e stuff advanced the timeline a few years, but basicaly not alot had changed.
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Yamo,
We didn't "steal" the Isle of Dread from Mystara. I assume there is still a Mystara, and that that Mystara has an Isle of Dread upon it.
Oerth and Mystara have a complex relationship. Both worlds have a Keep on the Borderlands, and both worlds have a Blackmoor.
Now, they both have Isles of Dread.
--Erik
Erik Mona,
I see you point. After all, I know plenty of people whose Faeruns have Temples of Elemental Evil.
My point was more that if you were going to revisit the IoD, it probably would have been more "fair" to Mystara fans to present it as being part of their world, for which it was originally designed.
As it is, you inadvertently create the mistaken impression that Mystara somehow isn't "good enough" to make the pages of Dungeon, while Greyhawk is, therefore Mystara material has to be made "better" by converting it to Greyhawk before it's fit for publication.
Hope that makes more sense.
Mystarra was the name that the "Known World" setting of basic,expert, companion, masters, immortals sets D&D was given when it was released as an AD&D setting durring 2e.
the 2e stuff advanced the timeline a few years, but basicaly not alot had changed.
Exactly. Thru the Gazetteer series, this world became a very detailed and complex place, yet due to it's size and regions was always fun to play (ex. The Northern Reaches had a viking culture, The Kingdon if Irendi had a Caribbean flavor)
I've got to lol @ your rationale Erik, regarding theft of IoD. I mean I've got a "complex relationship" with my father..
Why not just say "yep, we snagged it, It was that cool!" We've all used dungeons and adventures in Dungeon to "plug n play" into our worlds. Who cares where they came from.
I'm not trying to stir up trouble, but, being a map-nut, are there any plans for the Mystara map or any others? By the way, the Greyhawk map is fantastic. Thanks for your hard work.
I'm not trying to stir up trouble, but, being a map-nut, are there any plans for the Mystara map or any others? By the way, the Greyhawk map is fantastic. Thanks for your hard work.
I, too, am a big fan of the Known World, but I think Mystara needs some serious re-imagining if it's going to work today. With the Gazetteers, the Wrath of the Immortals, and the Hollow World, the Known World was one of the best detailed gaming environments I've ever seen. On a small scale, it was unparalleled.
When you zoomed out, though, the jigsaw nature of the world became obvious. A Viking culture slapped between Mongol and Arabian cultures? A Caribbean pleasure Island just of the coast of the Slavic mainland? Meanwhile two empires fight over a continent larger than both of them and the entire Known World all put together? And where did the American Indians come from?
Before any maps are made, I think some reorganizing is due. Keep the countries the same; they're genius and so well developed it'd be a crime to change any of it. However, let's see if we can't shift some of them around on the map so they make a little more sense amongst their neighbors.
I think it's keen that the Known World map looks an awful lot like Earth, suggesting a distant, mythical history of our own planet, but I think we can make a reasonable layout within that design.
Who's with me?
"Who's with me?"
I dunno. Not me, though. Mystara has a certain goofy charm that way. It's not for people who take their D&D worlds "seriously." I wouldn't change that.
Fletch, I'd have to say that I agree with Yamo on this one. Changing the countries around so that they "make sense" would turn Mystara into something that it's not and never has been. It'd be better not to touch it than to change it so drastically. Experience has shown that drastic changes to campaign worlds generally go over very poorly with the fan base, especially with the fans that are hard core enough to still care about the setting ten years after it went out of print.
Yeah, you guys bring up some really good points. I guess changing anything would alienate the people who are interested in seeing it come back in the first place. I'll just consider myself in the minority and move on.
My lunatic ravings aside, though, it's worth mentioning to the original post that almost any Dungeon adventure can be put in the Known World with little difficulty.