WotC Bargle's Guide to Mystara

[dave2008]

It's a forum. I expressed my opinion in a polite and respectful way. If people can't stand reading contrary opinions, to their taste and desires, maybe they shouldn't interacting on forums and stay find virtual "safe places" on Facebook Groups with super strict rules.

I think you misunderstood the situation.

 

[The Glen]

Out of curiosity- why the hate for Joshoun’s & Poor Wizard Almanac?

Its not just the almanacs. They actually get spared a good deal of the ire that other books get. Mystara got hit hard when TSR nuked every setting, the cold war vibe went away with the destruction of one empire and the emasculation of another. The elf kingdom gets destroyed in the background, that event is mentioned only in passing in the nuke module. Player agency was completely removed in the module as the actions of the party has absolutely no effect whatsoever on the ending.

2nd edition faired worse because this was at the point when TSR was just spamming out pure crap in vast quantities. They had a CD fetish and every module had to have a CD in it. The almanacs were mostly cut and paste year to year, something like 35% of the books were the same. Joshuan's tried to change this up but it was too little too late. Savage Coast was the high point of 2nd ed Mystara but that got killed after two releases.

 

[Dire Bare]

Out of curiosity- why the hate for Joshoun’s & Poor Wizard Almanac?

I have a soft spot for the two "Poor Wizard's Almanac & Book of Facts". Fantastic title, and lots of gribbly fun in those books.

But they were meta-plot heavy. And Joshuan's hit after Mystara "graduated" from BECMI to AD&D 2E, which is a sore spot for some of us. Plus, the format was getting tired, Joshuan's didn't add much . . . and why the name change? Who cares about this rando hin Joshuan?

 

[guachi]

I'm a huge fan but I really doubt Mystara will ever be brought to 5e. However, unlike Forgotten Realms, Mystara doesn't have decades of cruft that has built up. A "Bargle's Guide to Mystara" would probably be quite fun and I'd like to see what could be done with it in an updated form and not a more-or-less straight conversion like I've done for my games.

If nothing else, it's the setting for some of the best modules ever and reimagining it for that reason alone would be worth it.

 

[cbwjm]

Mystara could bring in some good subclasses. There's, I think, 7 subclasses for wizards in the secret crafts of Glantri and Alphatia could bring in fire and air wizards (or perhaps a single 4 part subclass where you have to choose your element at the start).

It could be the setting where they bring in a proper fighter/wizard half caster class to represent the typical elf.

Cleric domains representing the 5 spheres of power which could be the only spheres available to clerics for the setting (with a text box saying how others could be used if you really want and here's how they match up).

Halflings could get the halfling master subclass (druid perhaps?) And elves could get the wizardly tree keeper profession.

Atruaghin* Clans could bring in more totems for the barbarian, the emirates of Ylarum* could bring in the dervish druid subclass (though that might be represented as just a desert land druid).

New subraces, maybe the mystaran dwarf leans into the nonmagical side of things gaining magic resistance. Shadow elves are a different type of elf that can be brought in, different to the drow who they replace.

Those are just some of the mechanical options I can think of, the fluff would also be cool to have a somewhat consolidated update, though it wouldn't be able to fit anywhere near as much as the old gazetteers.

*No idea if I'm getting the spelling anywhere close to correct.

 

[CleverNickName]

No idea why people want a 5e Mystara setting.

For me, it's about an even mix of nostalgia, dissatisfaction with other offerings, and burnout on Forgotten Realms. Mystara was the first campaign setting that I ever played, and it is still my brain's "default D&D setting." And it always will be. I'm not looking for something else to replace it, never was.

All I'm sayin' is, I'm standing here with cash in hand, ready to give them pretty much any reasonable amount of money for exactly that product. Several other folks are here with me. If that's not reason enough for them to consider doing it, well, I guess I misunderstood how they work. I'll have to find ways to keep trying.

 

[The Glen]

That was over 4 decades ago. And yes, too soon. I still get weepy when thinking of Aleena . . .

Aleeeennnnaaaaa!!!!

Bargle did nothing wrong

RUNS

 

[hopeless]

Oh I'd love to pick this up if they did a 5e version.
I still have one of the last physical copies of Dragon that dealt with the Lets Get Bargle adventure in it!
One day, one day I hope to run that or actually get to play it had a try over a decade ago before I moved away from Brentwood didn't get far enough!

 

[guachi]

I had a player who wanted to be the fighter from the Red Box who watches Aleena die.

 

[Alzrius]

That was over 4 decades ago. And yes, too soon. I still get weepy when thinking of Aleena . . .

Aleeeennnnaaaaa!!!!

A little while back, I stumbled across Small Niche Games' LLA006 The Shrine of Saint Aleena (affiliate link), which was one big love letter to her character. From the description:

Many years ago, a young human fighter and a young female cleric named Aleena did battle with an evil wizard known only as the Infamous One. In a selfless and heroic act, Aleena gave her life to save the fighter and help him defeat the wizard. Her body was returned to her hometown where she was mourned by all.

The Church of Law and Order chose to honor Aleena's sacrifice by naming her a Patron Saint of Adventurers, especially adventuring fighters. A shrine to St. Aleena was constructed and the tale of her death would go on to inspire a generation of brave new heroes. Alas, many of these heroes changed professions, retired from adventuring to raise families, or moved on to greater quests and more fantastic worlds, until in time, Aleena's sacrifice was all but forgotten.

One who did not forget, however, was the Infamous One. Although the evil wizard took pleasure in the memory of Aleena's death, he still despised her role in one of his earliest defeats. When he learned of her ascension to sainthood, his rage began to fester and grow.

The Infamous One recently set in motion a campaign of revenge, sending a goblin horde to raze Aleena's hometown. His assassins then began hunting down adventurers who still professed their faith in St. Aleena. As a final stroke, he sent one of his most vile minions to defile the holy Shrine of St. Aleena.

Can you save the sacred shrine before it is defiled by the Spawn of the Infamous One?