#Mystara

[oldschoolfrp]

"The Vanishing City," Clyde Caldwell cover art for TSR's AD&D Adventure Book #15 by Allen Varney, 1988. That book was an adaptation of Varney's 1987 D&D Mystara module M4: Five Coins for a Kingdom. The same art was reused in 1989 for the AD&D Forgotten Realms computer game Hillsfar by SSI.

[vixensdungeon]

If there's one thing I'd have to name that kept 4th Edition D&D from reaching its full potential, it's that the Monster Manuals didn't have enough critters from Mystara.

See, before your Eberrons, your Forgotten Realmses, your Dragonslance, and only a bit after the release of the World of Greyhawk Folio, there was a land undreamed of, known then only as the Known World, and later as Mystara. This was the setting of the B/X, BECMI, and Rules Cyclopedia versions of D&D, and oh boy was it bonkers.

The Known World was what settings like Forgotten Realms are accused of being, a mish-mash of lands inspired by disparate real world cultures, with the Scandinavia-inspired Northern Reaches right next to the Arabia-inspired Emirates of Yularuam. There was a whole Hollow Earth thing going on, and ancient scientific civilizations! It's great!

In many ways it lived separate from the other settings, being made for a different version of it for one thing, but also in its selection of monsters. While Dragonlance may have had some restrictions like no orcs, after the Basic and Expert sets the selection of monsters really went in its own direction for the Known World. And it had a bunch of monster books with all sorts of weird creatures not seen in other settings. It didn't converge with the AD&D line until a few sourcebooks were released for 2nd Edition under the name Mystara.

So what does any of this have to do with 4th Edition? I consider 4e, in its structure, the closest inheritor of BECMI. It's split into easily distinguished level tiers (Heroic, Paragon, Epic), it very nearly has the classic three-alignment system of old, and it has a built-in way for player characters to become deities.

So it would be really nice to run a Known World, or Mystara, campaign with 4e rules! But alas, many of the unique critters of the setting have not been seen again, with only some sparse appearences in 3rd Edition.

Sure I've got the classics like goblins and centaurs and hydras, but where are my hutaakans and lupins? Where my fyrsnaca at? And how am I supposed to do this without the trusty sacrol?

"You should homebrew them!" And you should call your dad more often. Say hi from me, and tell him I had a lovely time last night.

[disgruntledexplainer]

Leading the way in terms of awards was the much-anticipated Baldur's Gate, a fantasy role-playing game set in the world of Dungeons and Dragons.

-TLDR News Daily

[haaaaaaaaaaaave-you-met-ted]

AD&D - Mystara - Glantri Kingdom of Magic Cover Art by Paul Jaquays

[badragonplays]

After many years searching DragonFinds has finally acquired a complete copy of D&D Challenge Boxset Champions of Mystara Heroes of the Princess Ark. If you don't know this is Spelljammer before SJ came out. It was originally published as a serial in Dragon Magazine

[1-50thofabuck]

I wrote up a character background for a BECMI Mystara game I'm joining tomorrow. I recently suspended a 7-8 year campaign in Mystara I was running using heavily modified(homebrewed) 2nd Edition AD&D rules. I'm looking forward not only to getting to play in Mystara myself, but getting to play BECMI again, in particular, getting to use my POD R͟u͟l͟e͟s͟ C͟y͟c͟l͟o͟p͟e͟d͟i͟a͟!

The character, Zolfatara, is related to one of my favorite characters in another game, a homebrew system called I͟g͟n͟o͟t͟a. The character in that system in named Kratr. This is the "Red Sonya" to my "Conan," not that either character is modeled on either of those two. The background was only supposed to be a few paragraphs but I got carried away!

Art is not mine and is being used for a personal game only. The oc tag only reflects the story and personality. Art is for reference.

[thecreaturecodex]

Tortle

Image © Wizards of the Coast

[The tortle is a monster that originated in Basic D&D before migrating over to AD&D in the Mystara Monstrous Compendium. In 5e, they first appeared in Tomb of Annihilation, then as a playable race in a PDF sold by WoTC, then in Mordenkainen's. Tortles have gone back and forth as PC species vs. monster, but I'm more interested in them as monsters. Humanoids are allowed to have Hit Dice sometimes. I did want to put a spin on them, namely, making them a bit more like real tortoises. Tortles traditionally have shorter lifespans than humans and are semelparous, dying after they lay eggs. That's weird, especially for an anthro tortoise, so I changed that. I also made them generally polysexual and promiscuous, in part because it fits with real tortoise behavior, and in part to drive a wedge between "lawful" and "boring". D&D has long characterized lawful characters and cultures as stodgy and boring, presumably because lots of D&D players like to think of themselves as rebels. Which is funny, considering that the hobby is taking make-believe and adding more rules.]

Tortle CR 2 LG Humanoid This creature appears to be a humanoid tortoise, with a bulky shell and clawed hands. It has a steady, calm expression.

Tortles are peaceful wandering humanoids of turtle-like aspect. It is said that a tortle’s home is on their back, and most tortles travel throughout their lives. Those few settlements that tortles make are agricultural in nature, farming the land for a few years and then moving on to clear new land and allow the old to return to a natural state. A few tortles live and work here full time, and these communities serve as waystations for tortles to rest, socialize and raise children. Tortles can live for more than a hundred years easily, and have several clutches of young during that time. Parenting duties are shared by the entire community as a matter of course. Something that surprises many outsiders is that most tortles practice free love; they care little for monogamy, are frequently pansexual, and may pursue romantic relationships with members of other species.

Tortles rarely come into conflict with non-evil humanoids, as they are peaceful and patient creatures. They usually fight only to defend themselves, which they can do with their clawed hands or with weapons. If a tortle is sorely pressed, it will often withdraw into its shell and hope that its foe gives up, or to give reinforcements time to catch up to them. Tortles are decent swimmers, and may flee a losing fight by stepping into a nearby river and floating downstream to safety. When defending their community, they work together in units called warbales.

Tortles advance by character class, with paladin, cleric and monk common choices. Few tortles become evil, but even fewer become chaotic. They venerate a number of spirits of nature and order with honorifics instead of names; Mother Earth, Father Ocean, Sister Grain and Brother Shell. Treat this as worshiping a pantheon with access to the following domains: Earth, Law, Plant, Protection, and Water. Clerics of the tortle pantheon can access the Defense, Growth, Loyalty, Ocean and Solitude subdomains

Tortle    CR 2 XP 600 LG Medium humanoid (tortle) Init +0; Senses low-light vision, Perception +5 Defense AC 17, touch 10, flat-footed 17 (+7 natural) hp 22 (4d8+4) Fort +3, Ref +1, Will +5 Defensive Abilities shell defense Offense Speed 20 ft. Melee 2 claws +5 (1d4+2) or spear +5 (1d8+3/x3) Ranged light crossbow +3 (1d8/19-20) Statistics Str 15, Dex 10, Con 13, Int 11, Wis 12, Cha 10 Base Atk +3; CMB +5; CMD 15 Feats Endurance (B), Great Fortitude, Self Sufficient Skills Heal +10, Perception +5, Survival +10, Swim +10; Racial Modifier +4 Swim Languages Common, Tortle SQ buoyant, hold breath Ecology Environment warm land Organization solitary, bale (4-9), warbale (10-24 plus 1 leader of 3rd-5th level) or tribe (30-300 plus 1 leader of 3rd-5th level per 20 individuals and 50% noncombatants) Treasure standard (spear, light crossbow, 20 bolts, other treasure) Special Abilities Buoyant (Ex) A tortle gains a +4 racial bonus to Swim checks, and can rise to the surface of a body of water without making a Swim check if it chooses to do so. Shell Defense (Ex) As a move action, a tortle can withdraw into its shell. When withdrawn, it gains a +6 natural armor bonus to its AC and a +6 racial bonus to CMD, but can only take purely mental actions or emerge from its shell as a move action. A tortle gains no benefit from wearing armor.

[daemons-and-deathrays]

An Editor's Look at Clueless Lore - Shadows and Elements

What, you have expected me to do more?  I will comply this time.  It is because I love your presence, dear reader!  While the politicking, bickering and mischief of the fey is larger than most planars will ever realize; they are a piece in a larger puzzle.  The surface has been scratched on a theory of a Demiurge Cult, one that seeks to cloud visions of the planes with some corrupted new…

[foobaryoyodyne]

My first post.

[driadorim]

hey guys, meet Mystara!

[oldschoolfrp]

Mystara Monstrous Compendium Appendix for AD&D 2e, 1994, Jeff Easley cover art featuring the pegataur, the blackball (an apparently living creature very similar to a sphere of annihilation), and the frost salamander

[elderscrollsconfessions]

Confession: I'm still curious about the beggars who say, "Blessings of Mystara upon you." I know that's the name of a D&D setting and one letter off from a deity in another, but who is Mystara in the context of The Elder Scrolls?

[shaneplays]

Last week I shared the first Known World map which eventually became Mystara. Here's a trail map at 8 miles per hex of Mystara… on Map Monday aka Dungeon Day!! For more info (and a hi-res version), see this page at the Atlas of Mystara: https://mystara.thorfmaps.com/known-world-8/

[basementofthearchmage]

What's your favorite lesser loved D&D setting?

[zerohitpoints]

Mystara's Iconic Party

Mystara Logo TSR I started playing D&D in 1987 with the Red BECMI boxed set. On page 25 there is an illustration of a group of iconic adventurers displaying each available class type. The link below 👇 is an article discussing these iconic characters on Pandis. Mystara’s Iconic Characters