Re: Mystaraspace

We have more than enough posteriors to go around.
-Loki

On 9/1/07, Matt Hoffman <manta928@?????.com> wrote:
>
> You don't think the SJML is posteritous enough!?!?!?
>
>
> On Sep 1, 2007, at 5:28 PM, Eric Anondson wrote:
>
> > If you haven't already, you should also post this over on the
> > Mystara boards or the MML. It will be quickly archived on the
> > Official Mystara Fansite to be preserved for posterity. :)
> >
> >
> > Eric Anondson
> >
> > On Sep 1, 2007, at 2:36 PM, Matt Hoffman wrote:
> >
> >> Here are some rough notes on a possible design for Mystaraspace. My
> >> goal here was to create something that is usable in both the native
> >> OD&D setting and the 2nd edition setting. I also wanted to preserve
> >> Mystaraspace's unique physical conditions, which I thought was okay
> >> since Spelljammer has always allowed for unique sphere designs and
> >> travel conditions (although this does cut rather against the grain,
> >> since it is quite different from any other sphere of travelled
> >> space).
> >>
> >> Some of my numbers might be fuzzy, and some of my wordings might not
> >> make any sense on first read through. Before I send this I should
> >> give credit where it's due and list "Vaults of Pandius" and various
> >> Mystara products as my sources. In particular it must be said that I
> >> am using an existing Mystaraspace layout designed by Giovanni
> >> Paniccia over at Pandius, since it was already done and struck me as
> >> very much in keeping with the layouts of other spheres in the core
> >> Spelljammer lexicon.
> >>
> >> ---M.
> >> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> >> ~Mystaraspace (a proposal)~
> >>
> >> The problems of integrating Mystaraspace into an ongoing AD&D
> >> SPELLJAMMER campaign depend upon a DM's willingness to bend, break or
> >> reinterpret the standard rules of Spelljammer physics. There are, as
> >> I see it, two options in adapting Mystaraspace to a Spelljammer
> >> campaign:
> >>
> >>      -1- Ignore existing Mystaran space travel rules and assume the
> >> universality of Spelljammer physics as given in the main SJ boxed
> >> set. While this is an awfully heavy-handed approach, it does make
> >> things simple and allows for an existing Spelljammer campaign to
> >> integrate Mystara smoothly, and without much effort.
> >>      -2- Accomodate Mystaran space travel rules and integrate them with
> >> those of Spelljammer. This is the tack I have taken with this draft
> >> proposal.
> >>
> >> I should say that research for this draft has been somewhat
> >> problematic; while my library is quite extensive, I can't claim to
> >> own every Mystara product. Access to the archives of Dragon and
> >> various indices and references thereto have aided a great deal.
> >> Still, the core of this draft owes credit to the "Champions of
> >> Mystara" product, the various installments of the "Princess Ark," and
> >> the authors at the Vaults of Pandius (from whose work I cherry-picked
> >> based on nothing more than my personal editorial discretion).
> >>
> >> ~Unique Wildspace Conditions of Mystaraspace~
> >>
> >> Mystaraspace is a remote sphere that is difficult for spelljammers to
> >> access. It ranks somewhere between Krynnspace and Clusterspace in
> >> this regard, with respect to the challenge associated with entering
> >> the sphere.
> >>
> >> The crystal shell of Mystaraspace has its own gravity, active on both
> >> the outside and inside surfaces of the shell. While this in itself is
> >> not unusual for a crystal sphere, the fact that the radius within the
> >> shell's gravitational pull exerts a "magic-dead" zone is unique, and
> >> quite dangerous for spelljammers attempting to breach the sphere.
> >> Ships which enter the shell's pull start to suffer from the "magic
> >> dead" zone, and helmsmen who do not recognize the sensation quickly
> >> risk crashing as the shell draws them toward its surface and the helm
> >> loses power. (as this is only a draft, I haven't crunched any numbers
> >> re: sphere's circumference, range of gravity pull, and effects of
> >> "magic-dead" zone based on proximity to the sphere)
> >>
> >> Entering the sphere safely requires staying outside the range of the
> >> shell's pull and finding a vortex (properly called a "Vortigern's
> >> Vortex"), which were first observed as part of the Shyshield which
> >> covers the habitable worlds of Mystaraspace (see planets, below).
> >> While the vortices that appear in Mystaraspace's crystal shell are
> >> not exactly the same thing, the concept is similar: a temporary rip
> >> or tear opens in the shell material -- the cause of this is not known
> >> -- and the airless void inside the shell creates a "whirlhole"
> >> effect that sucks in the surrounding phlogiston. Though the
> >> phlogiston
> >> dissipates immediately after crossing the crystal shell's boundary,
> >> the sucking effect of the vortex remains and the physical force
> >> thereof is strong enough to draw objects within its range into the
> >> Mystaran sphere.
> >>
> >> A spelljamming pilot has a straight shot at entry into Mystaraspace
> >> through one of these vortices. By steering directly into the center
> >> of the vortex at top speed, a ship can pass the "magic-dead" zone and
> >> be carried by a combination of momentum and the sucking force of the
> >> vortex into Mystaraspace. This maneuver carries some significant risk
> >> to it, as the swirling vortex can batter a vessel around if the pilot
> >> is not wary.
> >>
> >> It should be noted that the vortex has suction on both sides of the
> >> crystal shell, though the reason for this is not clear (since the
> >> interior of the shell is void). The same maneuver can thus be
> >> undertaken to exit the sphere, requiring a full-speed charge into a
> >> vortex and then a slingshot maneuver back out again.
> >>
> >> In addition to the perils of flying through the vortex itself, there
> >> are other dangers -- not the least of which is the temporary nature
> >> of Mystaraspace's vortices. Vortices in the crystal shell remain open
> >> for a day at most, and they open and close fairly rapidly (within the
> >> span of an hour). Entering a vortex while it is closing increases the
> >> risk of being knocked around by the swirling forces of the vortex, as
> >> the opening through which the suction force is drawn becomes smaller
> >> and smaller.
> >>
> >> There is also the off-chance that passing through a vortex results in
> >> a high-speed, difficult-to-avert crash with another vessel that is
> >> coming the opposite direction. (personally, I find such a prospect
> >> hysterically funny, myself :-p )
> >>
> >> Once within Mystara's wildspace, it should be noted that Mystara does
> >> not *have* wildspace. Or, at least, not like most spelljammers are
> >> used to. The void is airless and very cold at the outermost points of
> >> the sphere -- much colder than normal. As a result of this, native
> >> Mystaran "voidships" are always air-tight, because the properties of
> >> Mystaraspace do not normally allow objects in space to retain an
> >> atmosphere.
> >>
> >> Spelljamming helms are a convenient work-around to this problem.
> >> Whether intended by the Arcane who invented them or not, most types
> >> of magical helms (including major, minor, series and lifejammer
> >> helms, among others) allow a vessel to retain atmospheric integrity
> >> within the vacuum of Mystaraspace. This retained vacuum also allows a
> >> vessel entering Mystaraspace to retain warmth -- for a while.
> >> However, if steps are not taken toward preserving that warmth soon
> >> after entering Mystaraspace (such as by lighting a furnace, or
> >> magically warming the air), the ship's atmosphere will gradually grow
> >> colder (here the rules from "Princess Ark" detailing freezing in
> >> space can apply). Naturally, the conditions of airlessness and
> >> freezing temperatures make it highly dangerous for crew to leave the
> >> ship's atmosphere once within Mystaraspace.
> >>
> >> Gravity is also different in Mystaraspace, per the physical rules
> >> detailed in "Princess Ark." Reverse gravity planes are no longer
> >> reversed; ships not prepared accordingly for this irregularity are in
> >> for quite a shock (especially for crew working/rooming on a ship's
> >> reversed lower decks). While all objects in space do still have
> >> gravity, it is always unidirectional. A vessel's gravity plane has a
> >> "positive" side that pulls objects down, and a negative side that
> >> repulses objects away. As standard for Spelljammer physics, however,
> >> larger objects trump smaller ones whenever two gravitational forces
> >> come within reach of each other.
> >>
> >> ~Worlds of Mystaraspace~
> >> (here I directly credit Giovanni Paniccia, whose layout of
> >> Mystaraspace I found most compatible with Spelljammer)
> >>
> >> Primary: Ixion (Spherical Fire Body)
> >>      Uninhabited, though flush with gates to the Plane of Fire.
> >>
> >> Valerias (Spherical Earth Body, class E)
> >>      The closest world to Ixion, only the Sollux and select other fire-
> >> elemental races are native here.
> >>
> >> Mystara (Hollow Spheircal Body, class E)
> >>      The location of the Known World and Hollow World settings.
> >> Spelljamming is very rare here, as the Arcane have some as-yet
> >> unexplained aversion to entering or doing business in this sphere.
> >> Skyship technology, however, is very common; Skyships are easily
> >> enough converted into "Voidships" by making them air-tight and
> >> climate-controlled.
> >>
> >> Matera (Earth Body; moon of Mystara)
> >>      The primary moon of Mystara, lifeless and featureless. Its waxing
> >> and waning cycles govern the tides and lycanthropy on Mystara, and
> >> one of its large craters houses a planar portal to the Immortal City
> >> of Pandius.
> >>
> >> Patera (Earth Body; moon of Mystara)
> >>      A normally invisible second moon of Mystara, called Patera by the
> >> Mystaran Immortals, and called Myoshima by the moon's inhabitants.
> >> Myoshima is the home of several small warring nations of Rakasta,
> >> Pachydermions and Vanara, though evidence exists that humans may have
> >> once lived there in the distant past. Contact between Patera and
> >> Mystara is possible and frequent enough that there are running
> >> skirmishes between Rakastan Voidships and Heldannic Warbirds, both in
> >> the space between the two worlds and in the atmosphere of Patera. The
> >> dominant power on Patera is the Empire of Myoshima, ruled by a
> >> Rakastan warrior-elite, though a loose confederation lead by the
> >> theocracy of Rajahstan (ruled by a Pachydermion and Vanara-dominated
> >> clerical hierarchy) opposes them. The Imperials are the primary users
> >> of Sky/Voidship technology, while the Rajahstanis have not yet been
> >> able to deploy a significant airborne presence.
> >>
> >> Vanya/Rathanos (Spherical Earth Body, class E)
> >>      This world has two names, given by the native astronomers of
> >> Mystara. Thyatians call the world Vanya because it is cold and gray
> >> during its "winter" phase, while Ylari astronomers call it Rathanos
> >> because it is bright red in the summer. The changing color and
> >> climate of the world is due to its wide, elliptical orbit which takes
> >> it very very far from Ixion, and then very very close to Ixion.
> >> The world is inhabited by two populations, which dominate the world
> >> alternatively. In the winter, Frost Salamanders rule the world's
> >> surface. Just before the onset of summer, the Frost Salamanders seal
> >> themselves within subterranean burrows and hibernate. Then, when the
> >> world is red and fiery, the Salamanders awaken from their own
> >> hibernative cycle and rule the surface until winter begins its
> >> approach. Neither race has any interaction with the other, nor do
> >> they harbor any hatred or animosity between them.
> >>
> >> Asterius (Diskworld Earth Body, class E)
> >>      This diskworld is all that remains of a Blackmoor colony. Having
> >> been cut-off from the motherland for centuries, the technology-
> >> deprive descendents have cultivated a civilization not unlike one
> >> that might be found on Mystara. The world revolves around Ixion and
> >> subtly rotates such that part of the topside of Asterius is always
> >> facing the sun. The revolution is faster than the disk's rotative
> >> compensation, such that the world constantly moves between twilight
> >> and noon, the sun seeming to move back and forth from one side to the
> >> other and back again across the sky, never reaching total nighttime.
> >> On the topside there is one major city, Asterion, and the inhabitants
> >> are all human and elven, with a sizable half-elven population.
> >> On the underside, however, are those who did not survive the collapse
> >> of the Blackmooran empire so well. These are Lightning Zombies,
> >> rendered undead by the radiation of broken-down Blackmooran ruins.
> >> Whereas the topsiders enjoy eternal day, the Lightning Zombies of the
> >> underside languish through cold, endless night, with only fleeting
> >> glimpses of the daylight that once was. Scholars theorize that
> >> Asterius used to make full rotations and share daylight equally
> >> between both sides, but something since the fall of Blackmoor has
> >> changed, and now the two sides are relegated to eternal day and
> >> eternal night. (a further extension of this theory would suggest that
> >> Asterius is an artificial world created by the Blackmoorans)
> >>
> >> Tarastia (Spherical Air Body, class G)
> >>      This world is known to its inhabitants as "Eloysia" (detailed in
> the
> >> "Five Coins for a Kingdom" master adventure; will add more detail
> >> after I've fully read this module).
> >>
> >> Khoronus (Spherical Air Body, class G with rings of asteroids)
> >>      A gas giant comprised of foul, toxic and utterly unbreathable air.
> >> Its rings, however, are home to numerous asteroids and small
> >> planetoids, most of which have Skyshields and are populated. (G.
> >> Paniccia suggests this as the optional Mystaran home for the Rock of
> >> Bral; given my take on Mystaraspace being so isolated, I don't think
> >> Bral is appropriate here)
> >>
> >> Ordana (Spherical Air Body, class E)
> >>      This world is Old Alphatia, now comprised of what are known as the
> >> "Star Kingdoms." The three kingdoms of Delthar, Belthar and Gammar
> >> are all that remain on the shards of planetary debris that drift in
> >> the skyshielded remains of Alphatia's atmosphere. The city of
> >> Kabarkhand, base of the neutral Guild of Merchants, is the major
> >> spelljamming/voidship port on this world.
> >>
> >> Protius (Spherical Water Body, class D)
> >>      A watery sphere with no surface land, only a submerged earthen
> crust
> >> surrounding a fiery core of magma. Aquatic races detailed in "The Sea
> >> People" OD&D accessory are native here, and they are not much for
> >> skyships or spelljamming.
> >>
> >> ~ Character notes ~
> >>
> >> Incorporating Mystaraspace into a Spelljammer campaign that includes
> >> the broader spectrum of AD&D worlds will surely lead to bringing
> >> Mystaran PCs into the party. Because of the highly fluid
> >> transferability between AD&D and OD&D, this is usually easy. I
> >> suggest the following guidelines to help a DM along:
> >>
> >>      -Character Races and Classes: Character Races native to
> Mystaraspace
> >> are often handled in OD&D sources as self-contained racial classes.
> >> You might consider allowing Dwarves and Elves from Mystara the option
> >> of either adopting AD&D character classes, or using racial classes
> >> instead. You can modify these racial classes however best fits your
> >> campaign and style of play; I myself use a complete 2nd edition THAC0
> >> conversion and have most demi-humans use the attack tables of
> >> Warriors, unless there is something that convinces me to do
> >> otherwise.
> >>      -Skills and Proficiencies: Allow native Mystaran characters to use
> >> native Mystaran skills. Similarly, allow AD&D characters to use AD&D
> >> skills. Crossover (such as in the Red Steel Savage Cost setting)
> >> should be possible, such that a Savage Coast fighter using a 2nd
> >> edition kit would use the proficiency system, while a racial-classed
> >> Halfling would use the skill system.
> >>      -Weapon Proficiencies: Here you might consider streamlining things
> >> by using only one or the other between the OD&D and AD&D systems of
> >> weapon proficiencies. If you don't mind being diverse and keeping up
> >> two sets of rules, you can allow native Mystaran characters (using
> >> OD&D classes) to use the OD&D system of weapon mastery, while
> >> allowing characters with 2nd edition classes and kits (including
> >> Savage Coast characters) to use the AD&D system of weapon
> >> specialization (and by way of balance, you should probably extend
> >> this to include the Player's Option mastery, high mastery and grand
> >> mastery rules).
> >>      -Skyship/Voidship Conversions: The Skyship stats in "Princess Ark"
> >> require only slight modification before they can be used in a
> >> Spelljammer game. Here are the conversion factors:
> >>              "Airspeed" for Skyships is given in terms of a normal move
> score,
> >> which means that most common Skyships are actually fairly slow (your
> >> average Sloop is given an Air Speed of 140', which is equivalent to
> >> the AD&D move rate of 14). More advanced Skyships are faster (the
> >> Heldannic Warbird [which is really just about the coolest-looking D&D
> >> airship ever designed] has a given airspeed of 360', flying at speed
> >> 36), but how does this translate into SR? Well, a move of 12
> >> indicates the ability to move 120 yards (360 feet) in one minute. 1
> >> point of SR is given as a move factor of 50 (500 yards/minute) in the
> >> air (Concordance of Arcane Space, p51), which means that most
> >> Skyships cannot actually achieve even 1 point of SR. To be generous,
> >> and for the sake of tactical integration, I recommend some rounding
> >> of the Skyship move rates. Anything at or above Airspeed 250 should
> >> be considered to have 1 SR for the purposes of tactical movement.
> >> Anything below Airspeed 250 should be considered to have 1/2 SR, and
> >> is therefore only able to move tactically once every other combat
> >> round. Alternatively, for "Goundling" vessels converted into
> >> Skyships, you can just use the Spelljammer Groundling equivalent.
> >> Whatever method you use, voidships should still be considered capable
> >> of reaching "spelljamming speeds," thus enabling them to travel to
> >> places like Patera or Ordana.
> >>              "Maneuver Factor" is a conversion that needed a bit of
> toying with.
> >> The MF number for Skyships is given in terms of a fraction, moves/
> >> rounds; that is, the number of turns a ship can make in a single
> >> round (or, for less maneuverable ships, the number of rounds it takes
> >> to turn). This is roughly analagous to Spelljammer's Maneuver Class
> >> system, where a ship's MC governs the number of times a ship can turn
> >> during tactical maneuvers (while expending SR). Here is the
> >> conversion that I use, very fast and very dirty:
> >>                      MF 1 = MC A
> >>                      MF 1/2 = MC B
> >>                      MF 1/3 = MC C
> >>                      MF 1/4 = MC D
> >>                      MF 1/5 = MC E
> >>                      MF 1/6 and worse = MC F
> >>              "Lift Capacity" should be either ignored (since SJ has no
> >> equivalent I'm aware of) or incorporated somehow into SJ flight
> >> rules.
> >>              "Hull Points" in Spelljammer tend to match up nicely with
> a ship's
> >> listed tonnage. The Skyships given in OD&D appear to use a different
> >> rubric, which means that most Skyships are either a fair deal tougher
> >> or a fail deal frailer than an SJ ship of comparable size. You know
> >> what? It doesn't matter. Use all hull points as listed.
> >>              "Hull" can be used to determine how a Skyship should save
> on the
> >> item save tables, as it lists the type of material used to build the
> >> ship. In most cases this will be "thick wood," but use your judgement
> >> here.
> >>
> >>
> >>
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-- 
George "Loki" Williams, writing and other aberrations

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