D&D 4E Anyone else play 4e in Mystara?

[DNH]

The title says it all really. I play a 4e game set in the Mystara world (1010 AC) and I was wondering how many other people here use Mystara for their 4e games. Mystara is an old setting, see, but with an extraordinarily rich background and masses (and I mean *masses*) of community-created information. I mean, it has its idiosyncrasies and can be a bit twee in parts (pick any nation in Mystara and you can identify the real-world civilisation on which it was based!) but that's all part of its charm!

So, anyone else?

 

[Dice4Hire]

I have never played Mystara, but I think it would be a good world to bring up to 4E.

 

[Viking Bastard]

Was it Mystara that was in the Rules Cyclopedia? Or was that Blackmoor? (Or did it have both?) Because as a kid I loved whatever setting was in the RC, but haven't looked at it since. Would it need some adaptation for 4e? Isn't it a pretty generic D&D-style setting?

 

[Danzauker]

I basically grew up with the Known World (not Mystara, meh!) and Basic D&D.

I have fond memories of the setting as presented in the Gazetteers, but I really think it was ripped to shreds by later material, and I would never play it after the default time period.

No Alphatia. Glantry destroyed. Wacky and uninspiring gods/immortals (don't let me think of the dinosaur and the space mechanic ones...).

Bah.

A more logical revamp, like they did with Dark Sun, I could like.

 

[Dire Bare]

I basically grew up with the Known World (not Mystara, meh!) and Basic D&D.

I have fond memories of the setting as presented in the Gazetteers, but I really think it was ripped to shreds by later material, and I would never play it after the default time period.

No Alphatia. Glantry destroyed. Wacky and uninspiring gods/immortals (don't let me think of the dinosaur and the space mechanic ones...).

Bah.

A more logical revamp, like they did with Dark Sun, I could like.

While I do feel that a lot of the post-Gazetteer material was mixed (heck, the last Gazetteer or two started the downward slide), I liked the destruction of Old Alphatia, had a real good Atlantis vibe to it! And most of the Hollow World material was pretty cool too! Glantri did take an already too-weird country and went further in that unfortunate direction . . .

 

[Dire Bare]

Was it Mystara that was in the Rules Cyclopedia? Or was that Blackmoor? (Or did it have both?) Because as a kid I loved whatever setting was in the RC, but haven't looked at it since. Would it need some adaptation for 4e? Isn't it a pretty generic D&D-style setting?

Yes.

Mystara started as the "Known World" in the Red Box, and was the default setting of the D&D game (minus the "A" for Advanced) through the Rules Cyclopedia. Blackmoor was a separate setting, but was incorporated into the distant past of Mystara (poorly, IMO).

The setting was fairly generic, but like all campaign settings, did have its own flavor and tone. Which was serious fantasy interspersed with wackiness (sometimes, that even worked). It also had a very old-school fantasy pulp vibe with the quite obvious real world culture analogs and the "Immortals" rather than "Gods". It also "suffered" from a common shared world disease, too many authors unfamiliar with each other's work with often poor editorial oversight. Not a very coherent setting.

But some of the products were inspired. Original Hollow World, Red Steel (aka Savage Coast), the original Gazetteers . . . . I grew up on this setting also, and it remains one of my favorites, despite its flaws.

 

[Viking Bastard]

The RC was my first gaming experience, but at the time (I was 9) I didn't really grasp the concept of a 'setting'. When I was 11 or 12 I read the book cover to cover and it really struck me as a interesting setting with a quirky feel.

I have not tasted it since. There wasn't really much Basic D&D stuff around.

 

[DNH]

"Immortals" rather than "Gods"

I rather think that 4e's "Epic Destiny" mechanic is the successor to the BECMI/Red Box/Mystara "Immortals" one, where characters grow too big for this world and move on to a higher plane. It's just one of very many references we have seen in 4e to past editions (and I mean way past, pre-2e).

 

[Viking Bastard]

What books are ones to look for, Mystara-wise?

 

[balam_br]

I dont use properly Mystara but i started playing with the Rules Cyclopedia back in 1993 and My homebrew is VERY much inspired by Mystara. (including fake real world civilizations)