Subject: MYSTARA-L Digest - 31 Oct 2009 to 1 Nov 2009 (#2009-77) From: MYSTARA-L automatic digest system Date: 02/11/2009, 19:00 To: MYSTARA-L@ORACLE.WIZARDS.COM Reply-to: Mystara RPG Discussion There are 7 messages totalling 440 lines in this issue. Topics of the day: 1. Ochalea and Female Players. ^.^ 2. Domains of Kagyar 3. MYSTARA-L Digest - 17 Oct 2009 to 31 Oct 2009 (#2009-76) - Ochalea 4. What's Going Down in Black Eagle Barony (4) ******************************************************************** 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: Sun, 1 Nov 2009 10:24:16 +0100 From: Giampaolo Agosta Subject: Re: Ochalea and Female Players. ^.^ 2009/11/1 Joaquin Menchaca : > > I was looking at Ochalea, and I noticed the names of the towns, and I was= like ugh. The names are really make sense, where some follow Putonghua (Ma= ndarin) with different various methods of spelling, e.g. using "ph" instead= of "f", and others make no sense whatsoever. > > Did the authors even reference any culture or had inkling about Oreint la= nguage and culture? =A0Also, the word Ochalea doesn't fit any Chinese diale= ct, so I am wondering if they had the island, and they thought, hmmm, let's= make it Chinese like, sprinkle random words they found on a map, voila... Consider that the canon material is quite limited -- basically only the names of town and a few details (name and description of the Archduke), and the short description of the island in DotE. I doubt any extensive research would have been done for such a small amount of information -- probably the names where made up without excessive concerns for adherence to RW Chinese, and at a time when Chinese culture was much less popular in the West. 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. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 1 Nov 2009 08:54:57 -0800 From: Joaquin Menchaca Subject: Domains of Kagyar After much contemplation, I figured the domains to Kagyar are the following: Artifice; Earth; Law; Protection; Rune Our Dwarf in the party has finally gotten to 2nd level and will take a level in Cleric. So now we have to figure this out... - Joaquin ******************************************************************** 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: Sun, 1 Nov 2009 14:01:58 -0500 From: Kveld Ulf Subject: Re: MYSTARA-L Digest - 17 Oct 2009 to 31 Oct 2009 (#2009-76) - Ochalea < Subject: Ochalea and Female Players. ^.^ Well, in my campaign in Seoul, Korea, a German girl is going to join=20 the fun. She will play an Arabian sorceress named Jamila al Najib. She escaped=20 from Ylaruam as she did not want to be married off. Another character, a=20 female monk named Fan Ji is from Ochalea. Her family had a school, but was raided=20 by Thyatian governor due to political intrigue involving rival school. =20 Escaping her lands, she winds up in Karameikos. I was looking at Ochalea, and I noticed the names of the towns, and I=20 was like ugh. The names are really make sense, where some follow Putonghua=20 (Mandarin) with different various methods of spelling, e.g. using "ph" instead of=20 "f", and others make no sense whatsoever. Did the authors even reference any culture or had inkling about Oreint=20 language and culture? Also, the word Ochalea doesn't fit any Chinese dialect,=20 so I am wondering if they had the island, and they thought, hmmm, let's make it=20 Chinese like, sprinkle random words they found on a map, voila... - Joaquin >> From what I've read by the guys who worked on Mystara, they worked=20 pretty fast and loose with their material. The idea was to provide a wide range of=20 cultures based largely on Earth analogues (Ethengars =3D Mongols, Atruaghins =3D=20 Amerindians, etc.), with things getting somewhat fuzzy around the peripheral areas. Your assessment that someone on the design team noticed there weren't=20 really any Asian cultures and decided Ochalea would be a good one is probably spot=20 on. At that point you had Hule =3D India and the lunar rakasta as Japan, but the moon= =20 was pretty far afield and neither was really a player character area so=20 much as an adventure destination. How to fix it for a more consistent fit into your campaign? My take on=20 Ochalea was that it was a relatively peaceful island. As the Thyatians expanded out=20 eastwards they sent expeditionary fleets out to scout new territory for the Empire. One=20 such fleet arrived at Ochalea and after several years of negotiations Ochalea became a=20 protectorate of the Thyatian Emperor. Over time, the island grew closer to the Empire and=20 was made a province. The name "Ochalea" is Latin sounding, so I'd rule that as the Thyatian=20 attempt to render the local name for the island in Thyatian. The actual name? I'd choose=20 something Chinese that sounds vaguely similar to Ochalea (think of all the changes in=20 English spelling that Asian names have gone through in the last century). As for place names=20 on Ochalea, no reason why you couldn't just replace canon with names that sound better=20 to you.. Andy -----Original Message----- From: MYSTARA-L automatic digest system To: MYSTARA-L@ORACLE.WIZARDS.COM Sent: Sun, Nov 1, 2009 2:00 am Subject: MYSTARA-L Digest - 17 Oct 2009 to 31 Oct 2009 (#2009-76) There is 1 message totalling 25 lines in this issue. Topics of the day: 1. Ochalea and Female Players. ^.^ ******************************************************************** 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: Sat, 31 Oct 2009 20:04:58 -0700 From: Joaquin Menchaca Subject: Ochalea and Female Players. ^.^ Well, in my campaign in Seoul, Korea, a German girl is going to join=20 the fun. She will play an Arabian sorceress named Jamila al Najib. She escaped=20 from Ylaruam as she did not want to be married off. Another character, a=20 female monk named Fan Ji is from Ochalea. Her family had a school, but was raided=20 by Thyatian governor due to political intrigue involving rival school. =20 Escaping her lands, she winds up in Karameikos. I was looking at Ochalea, and I noticed the names of the towns, and I=20 was like ugh. The names are really make sense, where some follow Putonghua=20 (Mandarin) with different various methods of spelling, e.g. using "ph" instead of=20 "f", and others make no sense whatsoever. Did the authors even reference any culture or had inkling about Oreint=20 language and culture? Also, the word Ochalea doesn't fit any Chinese dialect,=20 so I am wondering if they had the island, and they thought, hmmm, let's make it=20 Chinese like, sprinkle random words they found on a map, voila... - Joaquin ******************************************************************** 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 - 17 Oct 2009 to 31 Oct 2009 (#2009-76) *************************************************************** ******************************************************************** 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: Sun, 1 Nov 2009 19:58:15 -0800 From: Joaquin Menchaca Subject: What's Going Down in Black Eagle Barony I figured it out. This is why Ludwig is insane. Demons. He is communing with demons, and he is going rather insane. This will only last for so long, as he is actively trying to summon a portal. I want to introduce some demon element into the campaign, but I cannot have really outrageously god-like demons, as that is well, too overpowering for the parties current level. There has to be lesser demons, and allies of the demons, and all sorts of new powers, like Blood Magic, etc. Like Blood Kolbolds for example. Then from Black Eagle Barony, one can have a Diablo style campaign, full of adventure and suprises, of course, unless the party fights back the demons, or stops the gate from being opened. - Joaquin ******************************************************************** 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: Mon, 2 Nov 2009 13:02:05 +0800 From: Jason Murphy Subject: Re: What's Going Down in Black Eagle Barony On Mon, Nov 2, 2009 at 11:58 AM, Joaquin Menchaca wrote: > I figured it out. This is why Ludwig is insane. Demons. > > He is communing with demons, and he is going rather insane. This will only > last for so long, as he is actively trying to summon a portal. > > I want to introduce some demon element into the campaign, but I cannot have > really outrageously god-like demons, as that is well, too overpowering for > the parties current level. > > There has to be lesser demons, and allies of the demons, and all sorts of > new powers, like Blood Magic, etc. Like Blood Kolbolds for example. Then > from Black Eagle Barony, one can have a Diablo style campaign, full of > adventure and suprises, of course, unless the party fights back the demons, > or stops the gate from being opened. > > - Joaquin > > > > > ******************************************************************** > 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. > -- "I hope to set an example, you know, for children and stuff" - Captain Hammer ******************************************************************** 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: Mon, 2 Nov 2009 13:04:58 +0800 From: Jason Murphy Subject: Re: What's Going Down in Black Eagle Barony I kinda like this hypothesis. I have already kicked off a campaign involving the Black Eagle as well some demonic elements. Probably leading to a much more seriously demonic campagn theme later on. I am kinda kicking myself that i hadn't considered connecting Ludwigs madness with demons before this. Nice work. On Mon, Nov 2, 2009 at 11:58 AM, Joaquin Menchaca wrote: > I figured it out. This is why Ludwig is insane. Demons. > > He is communing with demons, and he is going rather insane. This will only > last for so long, as he is actively trying to summon a portal. > > I want to introduce some demon element into the campaign, but I cannot have > really outrageously god-like demons, as that is well, too overpowering for > the parties current level. > > There has to be lesser demons, and allies of the demons, and all sorts of > new powers, like Blood Magic, etc. Like Blood Kolbolds for example. Then > from Black Eagle Barony, one can have a Diablo style campaign, full of > adventure and suprises, of course, unless the party fights back the demons, > or stops the gate from being opened. > > - Joaquin > > > > > ******************************************************************** > 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. > -- "I hope to set an example, you know, for children and stuff" - Captain Hammer ******************************************************************** 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: Sun, 1 Nov 2009 23:22:43 -0600 From: George Hrabovsky Subject: Re: What's Going Down in Black Eagle Barony Don't forget that The Black Eagle is also a Hattian, and that can lead to religious/demonic influences from that quarter, too. George ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jason Murphy" To: Sent: Sunday, November 01, 2009 11:04 PM Subject: Re: [MYSTARA] What's Going Down in Black Eagle Barony > I kinda like this hypothesis. > I have already kicked off a campaign involving the Black Eagle as well some > demonic elements. Probably leading to a much more seriously demonic campagn > theme later on. I am kinda kicking myself that i hadn't considered > connecting Ludwigs madness with demons before this. > Nice work. > On Mon, Nov 2, 2009 at 11:58 AM, Joaquin Menchaca wrote: > >> I figured it out. This is why Ludwig is insane. Demons. >> >> He is communing with demons, and he is going rather insane. This will only >> last for so long, as he is actively trying to summon a portal. >> >> I want to introduce some demon element into the campaign, but I cannot have >> really outrageously god-like demons, as that is well, too overpowering for >> the parties current level. >> >> There has to be lesser demons, and allies of the demons, and all sorts of >> new powers, like Blood Magic, etc. Like Blood Kolbolds for example. Then >> from Black Eagle Barony, one can have a Diablo style campaign, full of >> adventure and suprises, of course, unless the party fights back the demons, >> or stops the gate from being opened. >> >> - Joaquin >> >> >> >> >> ******************************************************************** >> 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. >> > > > > -- > "I hope to set an example, you know, for children and stuff" - Captain > Hammer > > ******************************************************************** > 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. ******************************************************************** 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 - 31 Oct 2009 to 1 Nov 2009 (#2009-77) **************************************************************