Subject: MYSTARA-L Digest - 26 Oct 2005 to 27 Oct 2005 (#2005-200) From: MYSTARA-L automatic digest system Date: 28/10/2005, 18:00 To: MYSTARA-L@ORACLE.WIZARDS.COM Reply-to: Mystara RPG Discussion There are 4 messages totalling 280 lines in this issue. Topics of the day: 1. MYSTARA-L Digest - 25 Oct 2005 to 26 Oct 2005 (#2005-199) (2) 2. Concerning the factions of the HK (2) ******************************************************************** The Other Worlds Homepage: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/OtherWorlds.asp The Mystara Homepage: http://www.pandius.com To unsubscribe, send email to LISTSERV@ORACLE.WIZARDS.COM with UNSUB MYSTARA-L in the body of the message. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 27 Oct 2005 11:01:38 +0300 From: Ville V Lahde Subject: Re: MYSTARA-L Digest - 25 Oct 2005 to 26 Oct 2005 (#2005-199) Thanks for the ideas, Giampalo. The Ostman ideas especially sound cool. - I've actually been thinkng about a specific item that you mentioned that the Shadowelves will try to get through the Corun conspiracy: the Phoenix Egg in the Alfheim Gazetteer Plot. This'll work nicely, as the pirates could've smuggled it from Alphatia. I had been wracking by brain about how to bring this in, but this is a good idea I never thought about. (BTW, in Ethengar the PCs will be buying a shamanic statue that contains a particularily nasty Evil Spirit that the SE will later on try to unleash upon Alfheim City - along with the phoenix and a host of expert mercenaries.) - And the sideplots that you came up with are good. They bring in some of the much needed "social adventuring" without requiring too much groundwork about the local political situation (there's no opportunity for that unfortunately) In Heldann: - I've already been laying the groundwork for the PC regarding the HK church. The PC has been brought up by his father, a Thyatian missionary in Darokin, whose branch of Vanyaism is so different from others that I let the player write it out himself. Nicely enough he came up with a militant credo that emphasises the female aspects of Vanya. --> Now, there are a couple of Storm Soldiers in the caravan, who have fled Hattias and are traveling to "the Promised Land". The PC at first gained them as followers in his ceremonies, but later on alienated them by his "heresy". - BTW, I guess that you have taken these factions of Heldann from Thibault's excellent work, or is there some other substantial material on the HK? ******************************************************************** The Other Worlds Homepage: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/OtherWorlds.asp The Mystara Homepage: http://www.pandius.com To unsubscribe, send email to LISTSERV@ORACLE.WIZARDS.COM with UNSUB MYSTARA-L in the body of the message. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 Oct 2005 01:22:24 -0700 From: Thibault Sarlat Subject: Concerning the factions of the HK [thib out of lurking mode] Concerning the factions of the HK, i just used the writings of Bruce Heard. I Can't take credits for his work. Yet I sometimes had to modify some aspects. As for the story, can someone please resend me the latest posts regarding this. I think i missed that. Thanks thib --- Ville V Lahde wrote: > Thanks for the ideas, Giampalo. The Ostman ideas > especially sound cool. > > - I've actually been thinkng about a specific item > that you mentioned that the Shadowelves will try to get through the > Corun conspiracy: the Phoenix Egg in the Alfheim Gazetteer Plot. This'll > work nicely, as the pirates could've smuggled it from Alphatia. I had > been wracking by brain about how to bring this in, but this is a good > idea I never thought about. (BTW, in Ethengar the PCs will be > buying a shamanic statue that contains a particularily nasty Evil > Spirit that the SE will later on try to unleash upon Alfheim City - along > with the phoenix and a host of expert mercenaries.) > - And the sideplots that you came up with are good. > They bring in some of the much needed "social adventuring" without > requiring too much groundwork about the local political situation > (there's no opportunity for that unfortunately) > > In Heldann: > - I've already been laying the groundwork for the PC > regarding the HK church. The PC has been brought up by his father, a > Thyatian missionary in Darokin, whose branch of Vanyaism is so different > from others that I let the player write it out himself. Nicely enough > he came up with a militant credo that emphasises the female aspects of > Vanya. > --> Now, there are a couple of Storm Soldiers in the > caravan, who have fled Hattias and are traveling to "the Promised > Land". The PC at first gained them as followers in his ceremonies, but > later on alienated them by his "heresy". > > - BTW, I guess that you have taken these factions of > Heldann from Thibault's excellent work, or is there some other > substantial material on the HK? > > ******************************************************************** > The Other Worlds Homepage: > http://www.wizards.com/dnd/OtherWorlds.asp > The Mystara Homepage: http://www.pandius.com > To unsubscribe, send email to > LISTSERV@ORACLE.WIZARDS.COM > with UNSUB MYSTARA-L in the body of the message. > Thibault SARLAT a.k.a Clenarius www.mystara.fr.st ICQ 16622177 MSN Messenger: clenarius@hotmail.com __________________________________ Yahoo! Mail - PC Magazine Editors' Choice 2005 http://mail.yahoo.com ******************************************************************** The Other Worlds Homepage: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/OtherWorlds.asp The Mystara Homepage: http://www.pandius.com To unsubscribe, send email to LISTSERV@ORACLE.WIZARDS.COM with UNSUB MYSTARA-L in the body of the message. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 Oct 2005 16:10:29 +0300 From: Ville V Lahde Subject: Re: Concerning the factions of the HK Thanks for the speedy intervention, Thib. Yes, I knew about Bruce's background on the HK, forgot to mention it. I've looked through most of the late 90's message board stuff that's stored in the Vaults. So Bruce never had time to publish any of this in any other product than VotpA ? Or the Dragon Articles? (Thib: The archives are up again, so you can find the storyline post there. I neglected to save it myself.) IMC I've explained to the player who has never played in Mystara before the various branches of Vanyaism like this. Of course the "explanation" has been given bit by bit over the campaign. 1) Thyatis is of course the centre of worship Vanyan worship was originally incorporated in "Thyatian pantheon" and like most Immortals didn't have a church of its own but a "cult" within a wider religious tradition - which later tranformed into Church of Thyatis as the imperial rule strengthened. --> I've always pictured the church to be very Roman in style. Priests are often also politicians etc. --> This Church is closely related to the imperial agenda, thus Immortals like Halav are "appropriated" into its Pantheon. I'd imagine that Halav was brought in after the steady contact with Traladara began in 800, perhaps earlier? But the point is that such an imperial Church would try to "Thyatinize" Halav and make him into a general warrior figure who just popped in to help the Traladara in their past. --> "Order of the Gray Lady" is an order of the Church of Thyatis. They are paladins of a sort, but not ro religiously militant. They are much more connected to the imperial rule than the orders mentioned below. But due to the cosmopolitan nature of Thyatis, other Churches and Cults would surely establish missions there and gain following. So not all religious life in covered by the Pantheon. 2) Church of Vanya is such an independent cult, but it grew domestically as Bruce has written it. - So Church of Vanya differs from the Vanyaism under Church of Thyatis in that it puts much more emphasis on the worship of one Immortal AND it is distanced from affairs of the State. --> So the original Knights of Vanya, predecessors of Heldannic Knights, came from this sect. 3) Then there are the Storm Soldiers who adopted Vanyaism from the emerging Church of Vanya, but whose sexual supremacist ideas and cruel politics repeatedly clash with them. - But many Storm Soldiers who are forced to leave their home "emigrated" into the Church of Vanya, very few to the Vanyaist order of the imperial church. 4) Then comes the Heldannan crusade (and the term fits too, as they have a cross as a symbol!) - Most of the Church of Vanya transforms into the Heldannic Order, and they lure in some 1) Storm Soldiers, 2) Vanyaists from the imperial church and 3) Vanya worshippers from Vanyan cults in other countries. --> This history creates a basis for the various sects within the order. So during 1000 AC when our campaign takes place, worship of Vanya can be found in various forms: 1) Church of Thyatis: "cult" of Vanya, and the Order of the Gray Lady 2) Church of Vanya: remnants of the old church, some Knights of Vanya 3) Storm Soldiers: Vanyan racists and sexists (still influenced by Thanatos?) 4) Church of Karameikos: A heresy created by Oderbry, includes worship of Vanya. Order of the Griffon is mainly Thyatian, and its various factions reflect the different sources that Oderbry "recruited" from. 5) Idependent cults and missions of the three Churches: - So you have some "knight errants" like the PC in our group, with very different views on Vanya, walking the Known World. For some, like the PC, Heldann is a place of pilgrimage or a lifelong goal. 6) Heldannic knights ******************************************************************** The Other Worlds Homepage: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/OtherWorlds.asp The Mystara Homepage: http://www.pandius.com To unsubscribe, send email to LISTSERV@ORACLE.WIZARDS.COM with UNSUB MYSTARA-L in the body of the message. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 Oct 2005 19:03:53 +0200 From: Giampaolo Agosta Subject: Re: MYSTARA-L Digest - 25 Oct 2005 to 26 Oct 2005 (#2005-199) Ville V Lahde ha scritto: > Thanks for the ideas, Giampalo. You're welcome :) > The Ostman ideas especially sound cool. Thanks. Indeed, since you already have an interesting item that the Coruns need to acquire, the plot fits nicely. > In Heldann: > - I've already been laying the groundwork for the PC regarding the HK church. The PC has been brought up by his father, a Thyatian missionary in Darokin, whose branch of Vanyaism is so different from others that I let the player write it out himself. Nicely enough he came up with a militant credo that emphasises the female aspects of Vanya. > --> Now, there are a couple of Storm Soldiers in the caravan, who have fled Hattias and are traveling to "the Promised Land". The PC at first gained them as followers in his ceremonies, but later on alienated them by his "heresy". Well, this may lead to interesting complications, since the two Storm Soldiers will likely join the order, and may well tell their new leaders of his heresy. Bye, GP ******************************************************************** The Other Worlds Homepage: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/OtherWorlds.asp The Mystara Homepage: http://www.pandius.com To unsubscribe, send email to LISTSERV@ORACLE.WIZARDS.COM with UNSUB MYSTARA-L in the body of the message. ------------------------------ End of MYSTARA-L Digest - 26 Oct 2005 to 27 Oct 2005 (#2005-200) ****************************************************************