----- Original Message -----
From: "John Hofmann" <Gengh...@gmail.com>
> Today marks the 1000th anniversary of the Empire of
> Thyatis, and people pour into Threshold from the surrounding villages
> to partake in the feasting and celebration.
I don't recall this anniversary being a major holiday
in Karameikos. Traladarans certainly would not feel
very inclined to celebrate that occasion, unless it is
regarded as a calendar event (start of the year 1000!)
rather than a political one.
> while the hills and mountains are home to gnomes, giants, and worse.
So gnomes are among the races regarded as threats?
> Human - There are two types of human in the Duchy, the olive-skinned
> Traladaran people and the Thyatian newcomers who followed Duke Stephan
> Karameikos here after the Thyatian invasion thirty years ago.
Nitpick: Traladarans are pale (Slavic), Thyatians are
olive-skinned (Mediterranean).
> Dwarf - Dwarves in Karameikos are usually wandering professionals from
> the dwarven kingdom of Rockhome hundreds of miles to the north. It's
> not an easy trip through the Black Peak Mountains, so any dwarves in
> the Duchy are hardy folk, indeed.
I thought most Karameikan dwarves lived among the
gnomes?
> Eladrin - One out of every hundred elven births produces a child with
> an unusually strong connection to the magic of the world, and these
> are the eladrin. Culturally, they are identical to elves but they
> have the ability to step in and out of the natural world.
This theory poses major problems for the elven nobility
in magocracies such as Glantri and Alphatia. While
eladrin mix magic and swordplay by default with just
their racial traits, 4e elves are poor wizards and even
worse fighter/wizards. Elven dynasties that breed true
or mostly true and elven armies of fighter/wizards
would not be possible by this theory. In the Known
World region, at least, eladrin should be common
and elves (in the 4e sense) relatively rare.
> Alphatians (Tieflings) - Far to the east, on the other side of the
> Isle of Dawn, lies the continent and empire of Alphatia. It's ruled
> by a council of 1000 wizards who advise the Empress. Their strange
> architecture and alien ways suggest that they are not of this world.
> Alphatians, both fair and foul, make occasional forays into the Known
> World for their own purposes but it's a fair bet that whenever an
> Alphatian crosses your path, trouble is sure to follow.
At this point I am thinking that Common Alphatians (the
most common racial type of Alphatian origin) would
be the best match for the tiefling race. With a racial
origin among the Followers of Fire but an ideological
commitment to Air, Alphaks cursed them as traitors
to his cause, changing them from the equivalent of
fire genasi to having tiefling traits. Pure Alphatians,
Flaems, and Ochaleans would all have slightly
different racial traits.
> Dragonborn - The longest lived and most powerful creatures in the
> world are undoubtably the dragons. The earliest histories of the
> Empire of Thyatis contain references to dragons that are still alive
> today. This unearthly power and millenia-long lifespans give dragons
> unique perspectives on the shorter lived races and many dragons
> captured human slaves and bred them to better serve draconic needs.
> These are the dragonborn.
As a story told among other races, I have no problem
with this origin -- but I think there is evidence for a
much older origin for this race. For example, does
anybody recall any relevant details from the
Dragonlord novels? Even if we disregard those
references, there is ample evidence that the reptilian
humanoid races are at least as old as humanity, and
dragonborn are as good a candidate as any for the
first such race to arise.
> From: David Knott <kav...@earthlink.net>
> Subject: {mystara4E} Re: Campaign handout
> To: myst...@googlegroups.com
> Date: Saturday, September 20, 2008, 9:39 PM
> I like most of what you wrote, but I a few minor comments:
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "John Hofmann"
> <Gengh...@gmail.com>
> > while the hills and mountains are home to gnomes,
> giants, and worse.
>
> So gnomes are among the races regarded as threats?
Gnomes in 4th ed are not a core playable race. I personaly think thats crazy but thats the rules, but there are rules to alow them to be played in the 4th ed MM.
> > Dwarf - Dwarves in Karameikos are usually wandering
> professionals from
> > the dwarven kingdom of Rockhome hundreds of miles to
> the north. It's
> > not an easy trip through the Black Peak Mountains, so
> any dwarves in
> > the Duchy are hardy folk, indeed.
>
> I thought most Karameikan dwarves lived among the
> gnomes?
One clan of dwarves lives with the gnome of Highforge. IIR its the "Stronghollow" clan?
> > Eladrin - One out of every hundred elven births
> produces a child with
> > an unusually strong connection to the magic of the
> world, and these
> > are the eladrin. Culturally, they are identical to
> elves but they
> > have the ability to step in and out of the natural
> world.
>
> This theory poses major problems for the elven nobility
> in magocracies such as Glantri and Alphatia. While
> eladrin mix magic and swordplay by default with just
> their racial traits, 4e elves are poor wizards and even
> worse fighter/wizards. Elven dynasties that breed true
> or mostly true and elven armies of fighter/wizards
> would not be possible by this theory. In the Known
> World region, at least, eladrin should be common
> and elves (in the 4e sense) relatively rare.
I would treat the Eladrin as the new "High Elf" that was introduced in earler editions of the game.
> > Alphatians (Tieflings) - Far to the east, on the other
> side of the
> > Isle of Dawn, lies the continent and empire of
> Alphatia. It's ruled
> > by a council of 1000 wizards who advise the Empress.
> Their strange
> > architecture and alien ways suggest that they are not
> of this world.
> > Alphatians, both fair and foul, make occasional forays
> into the Known
> > World for their own purposes but it's a fair bet
> that whenever an
> > Alphatian crosses your path, trouble is sure to
> follow.
>
> At this point I am thinking that Common Alphatians (the
> most common racial type of Alphatian origin) would
> be the best match for the tiefling race. With a racial
> origin among the Followers of Fire but an ideological
> commitment to Air, Alphaks cursed them as traitors
> to his cause, changing them from the equivalent of
> fire genasi to having tiefling traits. Pure Alphatians,
> Flaems, and Ochaleans would all have slightly
> different racial traits.
Why dos this remind me of the drani of WoW? Goat people from space? Demons from Space?
> > Dragonborn - The longest lived and most powerful
> creatures in the
> > world are undoubtably the dragons. The earliest
> histories of the
> > Empire of Thyatis contain references to dragons that
> are still alive
> > today. This unearthly power and millenia-long
> lifespans give dragons
> > unique perspectives on the shorter lived races and
> many dragons
> > captured human slaves and bred them to better serve
> draconic needs.
> > These are the dragonborn.
>
> As a story told among other races, I have no problem
> with this origin -- but I think there is evidence for a
> much older origin for this race. For example, does
> anybody recall any relevant details from the
> Dragonlord novels? Even if we disregard those
> references, there is ample evidence that the reptilian
> humanoid races are at least as old as humanity, and
> dragonborn are as good a candidate as any for the
> first such race to arise.
I dont know anything about the Dragonlord books, but if there is a landmass on Mystara thats like the old 2end edition "Councel of Wyrms" boxed set then I would use that as the original home of the dragonborn in Mystara. As a mater of fact I placed that area on Mystara back in the day, turned out ok.
Actually, that would be the same as in the BECMI
rules -- they also had gnomes as "monsters" rather
than a playable race in the earliest rules. Still,
they were never depicted as a race hostile to
humans and demi-humans -- that is the point that
I was trying to make.
> You're right. Elves are good at a lot of things but they're not natural
> wizards like the eladrin. That could be a way to make some conflict between
> the groups. If eladrin and elves are culturally of the same group, but
> eladrin are better wizards and live in a country like Glantri where magical
> ability is prized, it could lead to a scenario where the eladrin make an
> "upper class" of elves while the regular elves are less politically
> powerful. It would almost be like the very beginnings of a caste system.
> In a place like Glantri with all the back-alley intrigue, this could be an
> ugly little affair.
I think the easiest fix would be to make the number of Eladrin in an
clan more than 1 in 100. (I think you copied that from my post in the
Piazza - the only reason I set it so low is that it's a plot point for
the story I have in mind. If you're wanting to make the world more
like the Known World, something closer to a 50-50 ratio would be
better.
Joe