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A DUNGEONS & DRAGONS Campaign SettingThe Known WorldEditing & Design: Roger GirtmanContent Contributors: Giampaolo Agosta, Jamie Baty, Angelo Bertolli, Marco ‘DM’Dalmonte, Håvard Faanes, ‘Estlor’, Vernon Geisz, Roger Girtman, Bruce Heard, and Andrew‘Cthuludrew’ TheisenCover Design: Shane Henry and Thorfinn TaitCover Artist: Larry ElmoreInterior Illustrators: Terry Dykstra, Larry Elmore, Jeff Easley, Timo HeikuraCartographer: Thorfinn Tait and Håvard FaanesTypesetting: ‘Kenshi’Project Director: Roger GirtmanAcknowledgements: The MYSTARA Campaign Setting is a derivative work based on theoriginal DUNGEONS & DRAGONS game by E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson and the ThirdEdition DUNGEONS & DRAGONS game designed by Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, SkipWilliams, Richard Baker, and Peter Adkison, and the Known World/MYSTARA campaign settingdeveloped by Aaron Allston, Brian Blume, Ann Dupuis, Anne C. Gray, Bruce Heard, FrankMentzer, Tom Moldvay, Steve Perrin, Garry Spiegle, Stephen D. Sullivan, Ralph Wagner, JimWard, and Jean Wells among others.Many additional thanks go to the various members of the MYSTARA Message Board and MailingList as well as The Piazza Bulletin Board.DUNGEONS & DRAGONS and D&D are registered trademarks owned by Wizards of the Coast, Inc., a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc.MYSTARA, HOLLOW WORLD, and SAVAGE COAST are trademarks owned by Wizards of the Coast, Inc.Wizards of the Coast is a trademark of Wizards of the Coast, Inc. in the United States and other countries and is used with permission.The VAULTS OF PANDIUS: THE OFFICIAL MYSTARA HOMEPAGE has exclusive rights to distribute new fan material for the MYSTARAcampaign setting on the World Wide Web.All trademarked material and proper nouns is designated as Product Identity belonging to Wizards of the Coast, Inc.This product requires the use of the DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, Third Edition Core Books, published by Wizards of the Coast, Inc. andutilizes updated material from the v.3.5 revision.This work is protected under the copyright laws of the United States and other countries. This work may not be sold commercially inthe US or abroad. It may be electronically replicated (“downloaded”) in its entirety for personal use. 2009 Vaults of Pandius (pandius.com). All Rights Reserved. 2009 Wizards of the Coast, Inc. All Rights Reserved.Compiled in the United States of America.Visit our website at http://www.pandius.com/.
Introd u ctionMystara is a world of constant surprises. Where elsewould you expect to find a flying city, a magical mountain, afloating continent, and invisible moon complete withinhabitants, and entire region of the world with its populationheld under the sinister, body-altering influence of a mysteriousmagical substance? What other land possesses and entireseparate world inside its hollow core, with neither the world’spopulation aware of the existence of the other?In Mystara, you’ll discover brave adventurers, powerfulmages, evil villains, majestic dragons, lurking monsters. Anentire civilization that has survived underground for hundredsof years, a nation of halflings, an island kingdom of pirates.Immortals who dabble in the affairs of mere mortals for theirown amusement. An entire race that has migrated toMystara from another world.Fire and air magic A blighted, magically enchanted forest A sunken continent It’s all here, and much, much more, when you dare tovisit the magical world of Mystara!Sprawling across the boundaries of the Known World, like agreat, serpentine dragon, lies the bustling, ever-startling worldof Mystara , a land where the only constant is change.Mystara has managed to survive through three disastersof cataclysmic proportions. The first such disaster, the GreatRain of Fire, came about some four millennia ago. It wasthen that the ancient Blackmoors, master of magic andtechnology, loosed their powerful weapons on the land in anArmageddon that forever changed the face of the world.Although the people of BLACKMOOR failed to survivethis self-inflicted calamity, they were nevertheless players in thesecond major disaster some thirteen hundred years later, whenunsuspecting elves unwittingly detonated a powerful artifactleft behind by the men of BLACKMOOR. The resultingexplosion not only wiped out whole races but also broughtabout a change in climate that spawned a new ice age.In more modern times, vengeful gods and goddessesbrought about a series of cataclysmic events known as theWrath of the Immortals. A great meteorite struck the land,an entire continent sank beneath the ocean, and a deadlyplague began to spread.iv
Introductioncontinuing the development of completely newmaterial as well as deliberate expansions on originalsource material. As a result, MYSTARA has remainedalive and well to this day.If you are interested in investigating this greatwealth of fan developed material, the place to go isthe VAULTS OF PANDIUS, which has the stamp ofapproval as the "Official Mystara Website" fromWizards of the Coast .About MYSTARASo you're new to the MYSTARA campaign settings or at least you think you are. If you've come toD&D fairly recently, perhaps with the release ofthe 3rd Edition rules or maybe even during the1990's, MYSTARA quite probably is a whole newrealm for you and your gaming buddies to explore.However, if you're an old-time D&D player butdon't think you've ever encountered MYSTARAbefore; you may be surprised by some of theinformation that follows.Here you'll find a brief overview of the origin ofMYSTARA and a discussion of the things that reallydefine the campaign and give it the flavor andatmosphere we love and hope you'll enjoy too.Long time gamers may already recognizeMYSTARA by a different name: the Known World.This was the campaign setting created anddeveloped by TSR, Inc. for its original DUNGEONS& DRAGONS line, variously referred to as BD&D(for "Basic"), OD&D (for "original," or "old"), 0eD&D (for "zero edition"), or more recently asCD&D (for “classic”). Developed to an incrediblelevel of detail through TSR's publication of 20 regional campaign accessories, Mystara wouldeventually include three complete campaign settings,all located on the same planet yet having certainelements that made each distinct in its own right.These three settings are known as the KnownWorld, RED STEEL /SAVAGE COAST , and theHOLLOW WORLD .Collectively, and in the humble opinion of thefans, Mystara consists simply of the most welldeveloped, world-spanning fantasy campaignsettings that TSR ever produced. The MYSTARA lineenjoyed a brief existence as an AD&D , 2nd Ed.Setting, but production was canceled in the mid1990's. Despite no longer being actively produced,MYSTARA has always maintained a strong presencein the online community. Many fans have spentcopious amounts of spare time dedicated toDefining MystaraMystara is a high-magic, high-fantasy, highadventure world; not unlike Wizards of the Coast'sother settings. So, one might ask, why bother withMYSTARA when these other, settings are available?Well, while MYSTARA may have its roots in fantasticmagical adventure, it portrays this theme in its ownexciting and unique ways.A good campaign setting, as every role-playerworth his or her salt knows, has a unique style andtheme to it. Pause a moment and think about a fewdifferent campaign settings. Each setting has an auraor "flavor" to it, which is what makes it stand out,worthy in its own right.So what makes Mystara different from other"high magic, high fantasy, high adventure worlds",and what sort of adventure can you expect to findthere?Diverse CultureMystara comprises a richly detailed tapestry ofcultures that exist side-by-side. Want to play atraditional knight in shining armor in a feudalpseudo-European setting? Fancy trying your hand ata Viking berserker or a Roman gladiator? Perhapsyou'd prefer to be a renaissance swashbuckler, ahorse-warrior Mongol from the arid steppes, or aNative American shaman? Or perhaps you're fondof the culture of China, or India, or Egypt?In Mystara, there's somewhere with somethingfor everyone, no matter what their tastes are.v
IntroductionDon't, however, think that this means Mystara isjust a world of copycat non-originality withincompatible settings forced to exist together. Magichas a way of changing things, making the unlikelyperfectly plausible and giving what may seemsfamiliar on the surface enough twists to keep eventhe most jaded players on their toes. The interactionbetween these cultures is both natural and oftenfraught with tension and conflict.evil) in nature. It is also seen in certain elementswithin society: the factions of Glantri, the treacheryin Thyatis, the civil unrest in Karameikos. Theforces of anarchy are not always evil, and not evenalways "Chaotic" (in the 3e sense of thealignment)—such as the Alfheim refugees whoflood the surrounding countries after theirhomeland was magically laid to waste—but they arealways there.Order vs. AnarchyGood guys vs Good guys?Unlike most other settings, in Mystara "Order" and"Anarchy" are far more often at odds with eachother than "Good" and "Evil"necessarily are—though that'snot to say that Good and Evilnever clash.MYSTARA focuses on theclash between Order andAnarchy rather than Good andEvil, though few wish evil tobefall the entire world.Order in MYSTARA isfound in the many diversesocieties and cultures ofMystara:thePlutocraticRepublic of Darokin, thefeudal society of Karameikos,the Mercantile Guilds ofMinrothad,andthePrincipalitiesofGlantri.Usually lawful (and oftengood—at least from their ownpoint of view) governingbodies try to keep communityand economy strong andstable. But the forces of order are not alwaysgood—such as the Heldannic Knights and theirsubjugation of the indigenous people of theHeldannic Freeholds—and may not even be"Lawful".Anarchy, on the other hand, is often found inthe form of monster hordes: the Broken Lands, theOrclands in Darokin, the wilds of Karameikos, theGreat Crater, the Desert Nomads outside forcespreying upon civilization, usually chaotic (and oftenIn most major Mystaran conflicts, it's hard toseparate the good from the bad—there is rarely oneside that is unequivocally"Right" and another that isunequivocally"Wrong".Sometimes one side is clearlybetter, but that's more byaccident than design: in aworld in conflict, it is boundto happen sooner or later.There are a few classic "badguy" scenarios, and even inthose that do exist it's not somuch "Good" attacking "Evil"out of principle, it's more like"Evil" attacks a "Neutralvictim" (Neutral because theydidn't do anything to stop eviluntil they were personallyattacked by it) and then"Good" responds.But in Mystara—well, thefact is, though we gave it someserious thought, we have notbeen able to think of even asingle example of a Good crusader who attacks Evilout of nothing save sheer principle.Additionally, most plots and conflicts in Mystaratend to arise from the personal goals and ambitionsof all the various parties. At first glance this may notseem any different than other settings; after all, it'sthe Evil villain's plans that put everything in motion.But the difference in Mystara is that it's everyonewho has grand ambitions, not just the Evil villains,and these plans don't always please others. Thevi
Introductionconflict between Stefan Karameikos and BaronLudwig von Hendriks is probably the closest thingto a classic Good vs. Evil plot in Mystara, but evenStefan made decisions that lead to actions thatresulted in significant misery for others. First, hewas granted autonomous rule of Traladara—asubject-nation that hadn't exactly been happy aboutbeing under Thyatian control to begin with—andimmediately invited his fellow Thyatians to help himcolonize the country. The Thyatians came in drovesand their subsequent land-grabbing actions andcontempt for the native Traladarans causedwidespread misery and suffering. He also allowedhis cousin, Baron von Hendriks, to get away withterrible persecution and tyranny for years simplybecause he was too naive to believe the reports washearing which, to him, could only be outrageousexaggerations. He would even abandon his Thyatianallies in their hour of need—breaking a mutualdefense treaty that he had signed with his formerhomeland when he felt that his young country'ssurvival could only be guaranteed by forging a dealwith Alphatia, Thyatis' enemy. Stephen is certainlygood in comparison to Ludwig but, objectivelyspeaking, he's a far cry from being good 100% ofthe time, yet he remains one of the shiningexamples of enlightened goodness in Mystara.much lighter and has certain innate magicalproperties. It is a region full of swashbucklingheroes and strange lands that may just as easily berun by civilized societies of monstrous humanoids,such as the feline Rakasta or the canine Lupin, as byhumans or demi-humans. It is a place unlike anyother you've ever seen—assuming you're braveenough (or foolhardy enough) to actually go and seeit.The Hollow World, in its turn, is something elseagain. There are very few people on the surfaceworld who are aware of the fact that the planet ofMystara is a hollow sphere, and even fewer still whosuspect that beneath their very feet rests a wholeother world full of nations and cultures that wereonce found on the surface but have not been seenfor centuries and even millennia. Although many ofthose who hear this tale wave it off as purenonsense, they would be wrong for, unlike mostcelestial bodies, the planet of Mystara is a hollowsphere. Instead of a hot core of magma, there isopen space, and it holds another world on theinterior surface of the sphere and upon "floatingcontinents" and "islands" that circle a small redcolored sun located at the exact center of the planet.This world is a museum; a store house of lostcultures from the surface world, placed on theinside of the planet by the Immortals, ostensibly tosave them from extinction and preserve their waysforever. And, as with any museum, there are checksand balances to preser
In Mystara, you’ll discover brave adventurers, powerful mages, evil villains, majestic dragons, lurking monsters. An entire civilization that has survived underground for hundreds of years, a nation of halflings, an island kingdom of pirates. Immortals who dabble in the affairs of mere mortals for their own amusement. An entire race that has migrated to Mystara from another world. Fire and .
