The 1990s Mystara Logo

Mystara is a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons role playing game. It originated as the Known World, a semi-generic setting used in early adventure modules, first mentioned in the Module X1, Isle of Dread, which was expanded upon in various D&D modules and sources, particularly a series of Gazeteers. Image File history File links Ms-logo. ... Image File history File links Ms-logo. ... A campaign setting is a fictional fantasy world which serves as a setting for a role-playing game or wargame. ... It has been suggested that this article be split into multiple articles. ... This article is about traditional role-playing games. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Isle of Dread is a Dungeons & Dragons adventure, and is also a name for the island where most of that adventure takes place. ...

Mystara began as several semi-independent projects by different teams of writers who were each assigned to the task of developing different cultures and nation or nations that would exist in the fantasy world that was supported by Dungeons & Dragons at the time. Their work was gathered and compiled, blended, and combined to form a fantasy world, Mystara. It became, and remains, one of the most richly varied, in-depth, and detailed campaign settings to exist for a fantasy world. Although it has officially been dropped from production by its creators, many fans continue to develop and evolve this fantasy setting jointly, continuing its original theme of group development.

Mystara Planet

Mystara's outer surface consists of three principal land masses: the continent of the continent of Brun, the continent of Skothar, and the continent of Davania, plus the island continents that constitute the Empire of Alphatia (up to AC 1010). In the officially published materiel, the Known World concentrated on the eastern portion of Brun along with the lands of the Sea of Dawn.

The inhabitants of Mystara are diverse: humans of all races can be found here, along with myriad creatures such as elves, dwarves, halflings, orcs, dragons. In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, elves are a humanoid race that are one of the primary races available for play as player characters. ... In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, dwarves are a humanoid race, one of the primary races available for play as player characters. ... Halfling is another name for J. R. R. Tolkiens hobbit and is a fictional race sometimes found in fantasy novels and games. ... A typical fantasy orc In the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, orcs are a primitive race of barbaric humanoid, largely based upon the orcs appearing in the works of J.R.R. Tolkien. ... Draconomicon image of the Chromatic and Metallic Dragons In modern fantasy fiction, dragons are often depicted as having many different races, each usually based on a particular color of their scales or an affinity with an element; much of this originated in the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) role-playing game...

Some of the notable nations of Mystara include the Empire of Thyatis, the Grand Duchy of Karameikos, the Principalities of Glantri, the merchant-run Republic of Darokin, the Emirates of Ylaruam, the Dwarven nation of Rockhome, The elven Kingdom of Alfheim, Halfling lands of the Five Shires and the mysterious Alphatian Empire, a fantasy kingdom ruled by and through magic. Alphatia refers both to a continent and an Empire in TSRs fantasy game setting, Mystara. ...

The continent of Brun

Mystara's outer surface most commonly known land mass is actually a tiny portion of the continent of Brun itself. consists of three principal land masses: the continents of Brun, Skothar, and Davania, plus the island continents that constitute the Empire of Alphatia. In the officially published materiel, the Known World concentrated on the eastern portion of Brun along with the lands of the Sea of Dawn.

The Known World (a.k.a The Old World)

The Known World has cultures and a level of technological development that resemble the Europe of our Earth around the 15th century. In the Known World, late-medieval feudalism is the most commonly adopted system of government despite some exceptions. Some nations are populated en-tirely by demihumans and/or humanoids. Some of the notable nations of Mystara include the Empire of Thyatis, which could be compared to Byzantium; the Grand Duchy of Karameikos, comparable to medieval southeastern Europe; the Principalities of Glantri, which is similar to medieval western Europe, ruled by wizard-princes; the merchant-run Republic of Darokin, which is somewhat loosly to the merchantile states of Midieval Italy, the Emirates of Ylaruam which have a Arabic flavour, the Dwarven nation of Rockhome, elven Kingdom of Alfheim, Halfling lands of the Five Shires and the mysterious Alphatian Empire, a fantasy kingdom ruled by and through magic. The Known World doesn't have gunpowder or the printing press, but in many other ways the two worlds are similar. The Empire of Thyatis is a powerful state in the Dungeons and Dragons Mystara setting, first mentioned in Module X1, Isle of Dread, which desribes it briefly. ... The Kingdom of Karameikos Boxed Set The Kingdom of Karameikos is a fictional nation located within the Mystara campaign setting, in the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game. ... The Principalities of Glantri is a fictional nation located within the Mystara campaign setting, in the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game. ... lfheim (Old Norse lfheimr Elf-home) is the abode of the lfar Elves in Norse mythology and appears also in northern English ballads under the forms Elfhame and Elphame. ... Alphatia refers both to a continent and an Empire in TSRs fantasy game setting, Mystara. ...

The Savage Coast

Mystara includes the Savage Coast, an area located in the south central part of the Brun continent. This part of Mystara is under the Red Curse, which eventually kills its inhabitants by mutating them unless the metal cinnabryl is worn in contact with the body. This area was published in its own boxed set entitled Red Steel, and later republished on-line as the Savage Coast. It's a swashbuckling region with a very different flavor than the "Known World", closer in atmosphere to that of the Age of Exploration than the fantasy middle-ages/renaissance tone of the Known World, complete with gunpowder ("Smokepowder") weapons. The Savage Coast PDF Campaign Book The Savage Coast was an online spin-off of the Mystara Campaign Setting, and it covers the area to the west of the Known World of Mystara. ... The Red Curse is a sinister enchantment on the lands of the Savage Coast in the Mystara campaign setting of the role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons. ... Hot metal work from a blacksmith In chemistry, a metal (Greek: Metallon) is an element that readily forms positive ions (cations) and has metallic bonds. ... With regard to living things, a body is the integral physical material of an individual, and contrasts with soul, personality and behavior. ...

The Continent of Davania

Even though most of the Known world civilization historically originated from that part of the planet, it has not been very much developped while the Mystara product line was still hitting the shelves. The first major appearance of the Davania continent occured in Dragon magazine # 148. This continent was then sketched as the Voyage of the Princess Ark serie (By Bruce A. Heard) was published in Dragon magazine up to the # 220 issue. During the recent years, this part of Mystara has seen many fans turning their attention to Davania.

The Continent of Skothar

Vey little has been officially developped for this part of Mystara. Ever since the Mystara product line has been discontinued, the fans have assembled their own developpement for this part of Mystara and it is now not as terra incognita as it was before.

The Hollow World

Main article: Hollow World

Mystara is a hollow planet, with a habitable surface on its interior called the Hollow World. This world is lit by an eternal red sun at the center of Mystara, and serves as a "cultural museum," preserving the societies that have become extinct in the outer world. One must keep in mind that the original creators of the Mystara world developed a very thorough and comprehensive history, almost as long as recognized real world civilization. The existence of the Hollow World is not, in general, known to the inhabitants of the outer world. The poles are actually huge, subtly curving holes that allow passage between the outer and inner world, although it is a long, hard trek through a cold, unlit, stormy and anti-magic area. The curvature of the holes is so subtle that explorers from either surface do not notice the transition until after it is already made, causing quite a shock for most. Created in 1990 by TSR, Inc. ... Created in 1990 by TSR, Inc. ...

Moons

Two moons orbit the planet. Matera is a moon much like our own, whose phases govern lycanthropy (werewolves, werebears, etc.). It is uninhabited, except by the Immortals who have built a city, Pandius, where they can meet and watch over Mystara. Patera, or Myoshima to its inhabitants, is an invisible moon that cannot be seen from Mystara. Patera's inhabitants have a culture similar to that of medieval southeast Asia and Japan.

Blackmoor

Mystara also incorporated the Blackmoor setting by describing Blackmoor as a highly advanced civilization that existed in the distant past. The culture of Blackmoor unfortunately utilized more and more powerful, and destructive, technology. It ended itself in an apocalyptic explosion so devastating that it changed the climate and geography of the planet as a whole. Role playing Blackmoor is a fantasy role-playing game campaign setting originally created in the early 1970s by Dave Arneson, the co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons. ...

Mystara Video Games

Mystara is the setting for the Capcom arcade Beat 'em up/RPG games Dungeons & Dragons: Tower of Doom (1993) and Dungeons & Dragons: Shadow over Mystara (1996). Other Mystara video games are: Dungeons & Dragons: Warriors of the Eternal Sun (Sega Genesis, 1992), Fantasy Empires (PC, 1993), Order of the Griffon (TurboGrafx 16, 1992). For the original NASA meaning, see capsule communicator. ... Beat em ups (often called scrolling fighting games, scrolling beat em ups or sometimes brawlers) are video games where close combat fighting against multiple opponents is the main objective. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ... 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... The Sega Mega Drive ) is a 16-bit video game console released by Sega in Japan in 1988, North America in 1989, and the PAL region in 1990. ... Media:rofl. ... Fantasy Empires is a fantasy wargame for the PC made by Silicon Knights and published by SSI in 1993. ... 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ... Order of the Griffon is a video game for the TurboGrafx-16. ... The PC Engine is a video game console first released in Japan by NEC on October 30, 1987. ... Media:rofl. ...

Novels

• Dark Knight of Karameikos (October 1995), by Timothy Brown, (ISBN 0-7869-0307-4)
• The Black Vessel (August 1996), by Morris Simon, (ISBN 0-7869-0507-7)

A game industry veteran of twenty years, Timothy Brown has been a designer at Games Designers Workshop, an editor at Challenge magazine, and the director of product development at TSR, Inc. ...

1st Quest

• Rogues to Riches (February 1995), by J. Robert King, (ISBN 1-56076-825-8)
• Son of Dawn (May 1995), by Dixie Lee McKeone, (ISBN 1-56076-884-3)

Dragonlord Chronicles

• Dragonlord of Mystara (July 1994), by Thorarinn Gunnarsson, (ISBN 1-56076-906-8)
• Dragonking of Mystara (July 1995), by Thorarinn Gunnarsson, (ISBN 0-7869-0153-5)
• Dragonmage of Mystara (April 1996), by Thorarinn Gunnarsson, (ISBN 0-7869-0488-7)

Thorarinn Gunnarsson is the pseudonym of an American author of science fiction and fantasy. ...

Penhaligon Trilogy

• The Tainted Sword (October 1992), by D.J. Heinrich, (ISBN 1-56076-395-7)
• The Dragon's Tomb (April 1993), by D.J. Heinrich, (ISBN 1-56076-592-5)
• The Fall of Magic (October 1993), by D.J. Heinrich, (ISBN 1-56076-663-8)

External links

• Vaults of Pandius Official site, and source of most of the current fan based projects.
• Maps of Mystara
• Mystara Almanach AC 1016 (RSS Feeds available)
• Mystara Almanach AC 1017 (RSS Feeds available)
• Mystara Almanach AC 1018 (RSS Feeds available)
• Mystara Almanach AC 1019 (RSS Feeds available)
• TSR Archive Mystara product list
• List of Mystaran Products Reviews of most Mystara products.