Repost Glantri

Section 2: Setting

What is the Known World?

The Mystara campaign setting evolved from an area called the Known World, this is the area of the setting where many of the initial products specifically took place and in which most of the subsequent products have been situated.

What is Red Steel / the Savage Coast?

The line of products known as 'Red Steel' were one of the last line of Mystara-based products made. It takes part in a region known as the Savage Coast, this area is located to the west of the Known World. The area is totally compatible with the rest of Mystara however the area is thematically distinct as noted in the following excerpt from the Savage Coast Campaign Book. The SAVAGE COAST campaign setting is unique in many ways. Though this fantasy setting has magic, heroes, and everything else one would expect, the new swashbuckling and panache rules add both individual flavour and style. The land also lends fantastic, magical powers to all types of player characters. Still, it is a savage frontier, suffering under a magical bane called the Red Curse.

What is the Hollow World?

The Mystara game world is a hollow sphere, and the inside of the planet is inhabited. It holds old civilisations that are now extinct on the surface, placed there by the Immortals to protect their cultures, there are strong magics in place preventing them from evolving much or dying away. The only entrances to the Hollow World are through underground passages between the two worlds, and through the holes that stand in place of the north and south poles.

What is Blackmoor?

Blackmoor is an area that has some history in a number of TSR products, Mystara included. Blackmoor was, like Greyhawk, the campaign world of one of TSR's founder, Dave Arneson. It was later placed in both Greyhawk and the Known World. There is no further relation between the two Blackmoors of Mystara and Greyhawk.

What is Voyage of the Princess Ark?

The Voyage of the Princess Ark was a storyline in Dragon magazine written by Bruce Heard. It ran from issues 153 to 188 and it expanded upon the Heldannic Knights and the Savage Coast. It introduced characters such as Herr Wulf von Klagendorf, Haldemar of Haaken and Synn.

What are immortals?

The Mystara game world is not looked over by other-worldly deities, there are however immortals. Immortals are mortals who, through their deeds, have reached a higher status granting them more power than mere mortals. These immortals have extraordinary powers and take it upon themselves to look over Mystara. They also perform the functions of deities in other game worlds in that they are the source of clerical spells and powers. Now whilst immortals were once mortal some do not remember their mortal beings although there is nothing to suggest that they weren't mortal. It also should be noted that whilst a number of immortals share the same name as deities in other game worlds or real world deities that immortals are not deities, they are not all-powerful and have their own agendas and foibles like mortals. It is also possible for player characters to become immortal although this is a difficult task and could be the goal of a whole campaign, or series of campaigns, to allow one player to attain immortality. An all-immortal campaign is also a possibility of course.

Where is Blackmoor located?

Bruce Heard's said: Blackmoor -- the travelling legend. If there were archaeologists on Mystara, they would have a devil of time figuring where the darn place was really located. Officially, it's supposed to be up there by the Thonian Marches. Unfortunately, conflicting info has crept into several products, getting in the way of the Thonian theory. The best thing is to assume evidence of Blackmoor's presence elsewhere is the result of later colonisations and outposts. Other communities were also magically displaced (such as a certain ancient tavern in the Broken Lands of the Known World). Definitely a messy development of the World of Mystara! :) It should be noted that on the map in the Hollow World boxed set that the names of Blackmoor and Thonia have been reversed (Blackmoor was north of the Empire of Thonia according to all other sources)

Who are the immortals of the Church of Karameikos?

These are the immortals of the Church of Karameikos, as given by Bruce Heard in an old Dragon Magazine:
Asterius (Eternal of Thought), Leader
Kagyar (Eternal of Matter)
Ilsundal (Hierarch of Thought)
Valerias (Hierarch of Matter)
Vanya (Empyreal of Time).
Although Chardastes is a native Traladaran Immortal, he is venerated through the auspices of the Church of Karameikos, not the Church of Traladara. This is extrapolated from info in B1-9 In Search of Adventure.
The Immortals of the Church of Traladara are:
Halav
Petra
Zirchev

Is Jaggar von Drachenfels the Star Dragon?

No. According to Bruce Heard's article in Dragon #170 he became the Star Dragon for a brief period but relinquished the title for absolution.

What is the Wrath of the Immortals?

Wrath of the Immortals (or WotI) is an epic campaign that TSR published to update the Known World. It deals with the Great War that involves the major countries of Mystara and that was caused by the Immortals to obtain control of the Nucleus of the Spheres, a powerful artifact located under Glantri. At the end of the war, Alphatia sinks, Glantri and Thyatis have suffered dramatically from the conflict and three new powers enter the political scene of Mystara: the Heldannic Territories, the Hagiarchy of Hule and the "revamped" Kingdom of Karameikos.

What has happened to Rad after Wrath of the Immortals?

As a result of the events during WotI Rad was absorbed into the Radiance, and some of his life force was used to lessen the drain of the artifact on Mystara's magic: thus there is only a Day of Dread each year, and not a week as in Wrath. Rad is not dead though, but he has been put into a slumbering state to reflect on his deeds, and hopefully change. This is covered in detail in the module Mark of Amber. The outcome of the module vary from campaign to campaign, as the actions of the PCs in the module decide Rad's fate. The module's three outcomes are: 1. He returns as a mortal with no chance of being sponsored back to Immortality and no access to the Radiance; 2. He returns as a mortal but can become an Immortal again sometime (considered to be the most likely outcome); 3. He returns as a full Immortal. Later products avoid the issue, and the general consensus is that he should return but be left in the background, keeping a low profile for some time, either rebuilding his following (if an Immortal) or attempting to reach Immortality again (if mortal). Few favour him becoming a mere mortal with no chance of reattaining immortality.

What has happened to the Radiance after Wrath of the Immortals?

In WotI, the Radiance is altered to draw from the sphere of Entropy instead of the sphere of Energy. Yet in GKoM, the rules for the Radiance are exactly the same as in Gaz3, stating that it drains from Energy. This is a mistake in GKoM; the authors overlooked that event in Wrath and forgot to update the info from Gaz3. Thus the new rules for the Radiance are undefined, as are the effects of Entropy-draining. Various suggestion have been made on the MML, though.

What happened to Specularum?

Specularum was the name of the capital of the Grand Ducky of Karameikos. During the events of Wrath of the Immortals, in AC 1006, Duke Stefan of Karameikos seceded from the Empire of Thyatis becoming King of the Kingdom of Karameikos. On Nuwmont 1 AC 1012 Stefan renamed the capital Mirros.

Where is Teldon?

From Dragon Magazine #207 about Teldon's fate: "One of the attractions of the Magicians' Guild, its location in Karameikos' largest city, was its downfall. Such a collection of powerful (and often egotistical or secretive) mages in one location created great potential for conflict. The final straw was the creation of a mechanical beholder by one of the more advanced apprentices, powered by an Immortal's artifact. The resulting creation was turned loose in downtown Specularum, levelling a good section of the South End. The creation was defeated by the head of the Magicians' Guild, Teldon, but at great cost. Both mage and monster disappeared in a pure white ball of fire, and while they are assumed to have both been destroyed, they may instead have been teleported to some far-off location. The fact remained that the Magicians' Guild proved itself too dangerous to remain in Specularum, and lost one of its most valuable supporters."

Where is Bargle?

After the fall of the Black Eagle Barony, Bargle is an itinerant villain that pops up here and there. He can easily be used as a recurring villain who the PCs bump into. He has been spotted in various place, including Esterhold and Serraine (always helping the evil guys, of course), but can have business anywhere.

Is Kol a shadowelf or a kobold?

Most sources present Kol as a kobold who, using the rules from Gaz10: Orcs of Thar, could cast spells. In Glantri: Kingdom of Magic (one of the last printed Mystaran products), he is said to be one of the deformed shadowelf babies raised by the humanoids, thus explaining both his high intelligence and spellcasting abilities under the AD&D rules. It is both an interesting plot, and a disappointment to many, as it removes again from the humanoids any glint of chance that they can achieve something by themselves. Many people ignore that section in GKoM referring to Kol as a shadowelf preferring to have more realistic humanoids whilst others prefer the potential of having Kol as a shadowelf. As always use whatever version suits your campaign and your taste best.

What happened to the continental map published in the Master DM's book?

According to Bruce Heard in Dragon #153 the map in the Master set is "wrong, wrong, wrong!" The map was supposedly released by a very imaginative Thyatian, and wrongly accepted for the truth. There is no Empire of Dorphin IV, no Empire of the Great Khan, etc. Also, as you probably guessed, the size of the Thyatian Empire was largely exaggerated on this map. However since then people have used names and countries from this list to create things in their campaign, and of course in your own campaign you are free to use anything you want in your campaign.

How do the Mystaran novels fit into things?

Some of the Mystaran novels, particularly from memory the Dragonlord Chronicles, do not fit well into other established pieces of Mystaran continuity. Whilst for any given campaign you, the DM, is free to choose what you want to make up your campaign. Generally speaking however, the general Mystaran net-community does not consider the novels to supersede any other published information.

How does the D&D Movie fit with Alphatia?

Izmer, the setting of the D&D movies was inspired by Alphatia. Here is Dave Arneson on the land of Izmer.

Section 3: Products