Crazy Idea #354: Carrion Crown in Glantri


Carrion Crown


In anticipation of a healthy tax refund that doesn't have to be spent entirely on bills this year, I've been buying some old AD&D 2E supplements from Amazon to feed my nostalgia for mid-'90s gaming. One of my favorite boxed sets from that era was Monte Cook's spin on the Principalities of Glantri. Between reading through the Grimoire and looking at info about Ustalav and the Carrion Crown, I can't help but think that Glantri would be an excellent alternative setting for this Adventure Path. I'm not terribly familiar with Golarion, but I had a lot of fun ideas while reading the store blog.

To wit:

Rule of Fear: 13 counties, 13 principalities. Coincidence, surely, but inspiring all the same. The wasteland of Virlych is reminiscent of the Caurenze and Blackhill regions, which were reduced to barren dirt plains when the meteor struck during the Wrath of the Immortals. Glantri teems with conspiracies and secret societies, like the Seven Crafts and the secrets of the Radiance.

Trial of the Beast: The marauding golem might well be the creation of a Glantrian alchemist - perhaps a student of Rolf von Graustein.

Broken Moon: This scenario's hook would seem to fit perfectly into the principality of Morlay-Malinbois, which is run by a benevolent werewolf lord.

Wake of the Watcher: The trouble occurring in Illmarsh would fit into any number of locations. A terror beyond the stars would certainly be in the purvey of a creature like Synn, the night dragon who secretly rules one of the principalities. Might need more information about these "deep lords" before trying to work it in, though.

Ashes at Dawn: Glantri City itself is probably most similar to Caliphas from what I've read about it, but this module could also be set in Boldavia, a region plagued by vampirism and ruled by a bloodsucker.

Am I the only Mystara enthusiast left out here? Chime in with your ideas - I may follow through with this!


Power Word Unzip wrote:

In anticipation of a healthy tax refund that doesn't have to be spent entirely on bills this year, I've been buying some old AD&D 2E supplements from Amazon to feed my nostalgia for mid-'90s gaming. One of my favorite boxed sets from that era was Monte Cook's spin on the Principalities of Glantri. Between reading through the Grimoire and looking at info about Ustalav and the Carrion Crown, I can't help but think that Glantri would be an excellent alternative setting for this Adventure Path. I'm not terribly familiar with Golarion, but I had a lot of fun ideas while reading the store blog.

To wit:

Rule of Fear: 13 counties, 13 principalities. Coincidence, surely, but inspiring all the same. The wasteland of Virlych is reminiscent of the Caurenze and Blackhill regions, which were reduced to barren dirt plains when the meteor struck during the Wrath of the Immortals. Glantri teems with conspiracies and secret societies, like the Seven Crafts and the secrets of the Radiance.

Trial of the Beast: The marauding golem might well be the creation of a Glantrian alchemist - perhaps a student of Rolf von Graustein.

Broken Moon: This scenario's hook would seem to fit perfectly into the principality of Morlay-Malinbois, which is run by a benevolent werewolf lord.

Wake of the Watcher: The trouble occurring in Illmarsh would fit into any number of locations. A terror beyond the stars would certainly be in the purvey of a creature like Synn, the night dragon who secretly rules one of the principalities. Might need more information about these "deep lords" before trying to work it in, though.

Ashes at Dawn: Glantri City itself is probably most similar to Caliphas from what I've read about it, but this module could also be set in Boldavia, a region plagued by vampirism and ruled by a bloodsucker.

Am I the only Mystara enthusiast left out here? Chime in with your ideas - I may follow through with this!

As you can see by my name, I am a Mystara/Glantri enthusiast... or at least used to be. The AdnD2e versioon of Glantri is indeed a much darker version of the ODnD version (TSR's Gaz3).

Check out this website for LOTS of Glantri stuff: http://www.reocities.com/principalities_of_glantri
(and I am sure you are already familiar with THE VAULTS http://pandius.com/)

In general Mystara and Golarion are very similar setting due to the fact that they both use the same method of using real-world cultures (and their myths) to create analogies. The disadvantage of Mystara is that it was written by many people, without (at first) much consistency. So while in Golarion the actual geography of the planet is reminiscent of earth, Mystara had arabs next to vikings, disproportional empires and unbalanced NPCs(in some parts of the world everybody was 36th level, while in others the top level was 9).

Since I haven't read Carrion Crown, I can't say if it fits Glantri. The kingdom of Karameikos (the aDnD version "kingdom of adventure") was also rendered a place of werewolves and vampires, and the Romanian analogue is fitting with Ustalav so you can consider it instead of Boldavia.

As for dark-ones and Cthulhu mythos, I don't recall anything in Glantri that fits, but the "french" part of Glantri is very much based on Clark Ashton Smith novels who is also a Cthulhu mythos writer (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clark_Ashton_Smith)


Karcau, being a city of canals and culture, in Ustalav reminds me a lot of Glantri City.


Subscribing. Ustalav - Glantri connection came to my mind, too, from the chapter in old Golarion Campaign Setting book and from the excellent Dave Gross' Prince of Wolves.


Wow, that surely does sound like a good fit. I got a different vibe from Prince of Wolves, as Ustalav came across rural to me, but come to think about it, there is ample evidence of a decadent nobility. Now, Glantri has a lot of magic, which makes a difference, as Ustalavians are a superstitious lot, generally speaking. But Boldavia surely fits the bill.

Karameikos could works as well - it is strangely backwater kingdom, considering it sits next to the Romans, but it has a lot of dark forests and areas which would fit very well - but I think it could be too small overall - you need a certain, if low, population density for gothic horror to work, not untamed wilderness. But you could use Bargle as a BBEG!

Stefan

Liberty's Edge

I too am a Mystara fan having cut my RPG teeth with the red, blue, aqua, blue and gold box sets and later running Wrath of the Imortals with 2nd Ed.

Last year I started a side campaign with Night's Dark Terror using PF but with very slow advancement. I may just steal/share your ideas for Carrion Crown when the guys wrap up on Kingmaker. The PC's from the side campaign can move on from Karameikos up to Glantri. My Principalities of Glantri box is just a dust collector at the moment. It will be nice to clean it off.

It is not the first time I have run an ap in Mystara either. Remember the Island of Dread ap in Dungeon mag?


Dystopia wrote:


It is not the first time I have run an ap in Mystara either. Remember the Island of Dread ap in Dungeon mag?

That sounds like a natural fit. Care to expound on that? (Perhaps not in this thread - OTOH, it might help develop the starting idea further.)

Stefan


Stebehil wrote:
Dystopia wrote:


It is not the first time I have run an ap in Mystara either. Remember the Island of Dread ap in Dungeon mag?

That sounds like a natural fit. Care to expound on that? (Perhaps not in this thread - OTOH, it might help develop the starting idea further.)

Stefan

Unless the mod hammer is gonna come down on us, I don't mind talking about it here. The Glantri idea will probably have to wait until more Carrion Crown material comes out, anyway, I think.

I liked Savage Tide a lot (I assume this is the Isle of Dread AP you're talking about, Dystopia), but it did not have much of a Mystara feel to me as it was written. I ran the first chapter of it for a group, hoping to develop it into a campaign, but it never really took off. I made sure to lace it with lots of references to the Immortals and the mainland, assigning characters backgrounds that tied them into Darokin, Karameikos, and Thyatis.

I also have the Princess Ark boxed set and every issue of Dragon that featured the articles on Prince Haldemar's voyages, and would love to do something with those eventually - the real problem is making sure the focus is on the PCs and not the NPC prince who constantly steals the glory from his underlings!

I'd love to update Wrath of the Immortals for Pathfinder, but I sold my copy many years ago and am now kicking myself for it, because it is a difficult boxed set to find on the secondary market, and is outlandishly priced when available in near-mint condition.

Were you running Kingmaker in Karameikos, Dys? If so, I'd be interested in hearing how you retrofitted it.

Liberty's Edge

I did mean Savage Tide when I said Isle of Dread. Two of the PC's were graduates from the Irendi Naval Academy, a Wizard and Ranger, and to round out the group there was a Cleric and Paladin of Tarastia, the patron Immortal of Justice and Revenge. The Ranger was also a Werewolf(I got great use out of Night Howler's for the fluff). To be honest we only got about half-way through the AP before one of the players moved and interest waned.

I spent a lot of time developing the Immortals and their worship from WOTI to use with 3.5 and PF however I seem to have misplaced my thumb-drive with all my hard work.

I am running Kingmaker as is. We mostly play via Skype but we get together every now and then for a marathon session. If I was to set Kingmaker in Mystara perhaps the Isle of Dawn would be an idle location? I haven't given it any thought until just now to be honest. Both Alpahtia and Thyatis would want to create a buffer nation between them. If set after WOTI much of the Isle of Dawn could have a River Kingdoms vibe to it.


Pathfinder Rulebook Subscriber

Sorry to "resurrect" a dead thread, but this is Carrion Crown so maybe it fits. I'm another old Mystara DM and I agree with some of the points for this adventure path being set in Glantri. I had a few similar ideas but what I have in mind would be a high fantasy campaign (as Glantri usually is) but with horror undertones. It takes away from the gothic horror but would still make a fun campaign.

SPOILER WARNING for both Carrion Crown and Glantri!!!

I would make the main villain Synn the night dragon. She has learned of the Radiance and seeks to become a powerful Dragolich through the use of its power. (This keeps the meta plot somewhat in tacked). I would also have the professor be a professor from the Great School of Magic and also a secret member of The Brotherhood of the Radiance. (As opposed to the Order of the Palantine Eye.) Being a member of the brotherhood, the professor stumbles upon Synn's scheme and is killed. His funeral would then be the catalyst for the campaign start, as it normally would.

I can see Book One being set in Klantyre, with ghosts a plenty. Book Two set in Aalban with constructs galore. Book Three in Morlay-Malinbois with were creatures. Book Four in Nouvelle Averoigne. Book Five in Boldavia and wrapping up the campaign in a darker version of Fenswick (perhaps it is even becoming a portal to the Shadowfell).

Dealing with the Radiance you might even be able to throw in a revamped version of Mark of Amber etc. Perhaps the secrets to Synn's defeat lie with Rad?

Just something I was toying with, but throwing it out there.

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