"Unofficial" MYSTARA Player's Guide Released - Grab it While You Can

Yep, the Unofficial release of the Mystara Player's Guide has hit the web. No, it's not over at the DM's Guild. Instead, it's at: https://rpgmp3.com/mystara-players-guide/

Grab it while you can, as it may not be in the wild for long.

(originally shared by TheGlen)

5 years. 224 pages. Countless hours of playtesting. All original art. The Mystara Player’s Handbook is a labor of love to bring the Known World, the greatest Dungeons & Dragons setting of all time as determined by science, into the 5th edition.

Inside you will find everything you need for your players to get started adventuring in a setting rich with culture and history. Five new races, over two dozen new subclasses, countless new spells, new forms of magic in the secret crafts, runes, and the incredibly powerful but dangerous Radiance. Featuring maps by Thorfinn Tait, a list of Immortals by Marco Delmonte, art by Rubus, Mischa Cel Frumos, and many more, is everything you wanted for a new setting

Filled with the fantasy equivalence of real-world medieval nations, as well as several that are pure fantasy. Experience the world on the brink as two powerful Empires threaten to ravage the lands with open conflict while smaller nations have to deal with threats without and within. Now you can adventure in the fractured magiocracy of Glantri. Learn how to protect the caravans and fleets of the Merchant Nations with magic created through the power of capitalism. Carve out a new home for yourself in the fledgling nation of Karameikos. Take up the net and trident and make a name for yourself in the gladiatorial pits of Thyatis.

This book is free for download. If you want to help support me in future projects here’s a PayPal link so I can afford new art or be able to contract out different parts of the next book. I’m currently working on the Dungeon Master’s Guide and there’s a Monster Manual somewhere in the future but art costs money. And good art costs a lot of money. If you want to help with that or just say thank you anything would be appreciated.

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News - Jeff Grubb's Lost Manuscript of the Mystara Setting for AD&D 2e to be Released for Free Later This Year

WotC actually gets it!

Sure, their attempts to appease the loud voices that don't actually play their games often fall flat, both with fans and those with the loud voices. This time, it's the less loud, but consistent voices that got heard, and I tip my hat to WotC for doing right by the fans of Mystara, also known as The Known World.

On Saturday, April 10th, over on the Piazza, it was announced that Jeff Grubb's lost manuscript of the Mystara Setting for AD&D 2e was going to be released to fans for free later this year at The Vaults of Pandius

Indeed, the cat is out of the bag now - I had been intending to make the announcement on the release of the unpublished AD&D Mystara worldbook. I had been in contact with Wizards of the Coast from whom I received consent to release it. Since then I've been working on editing the document to tidy it up, and to learn some graphic design to put the product into a more polished output. Given that the 25th anniversary of the Vaults was coming up I thought that that would be an appropriate date to work towards its release.

Further details can be found at Havard's Blackmore Blog: 

The Mystara Sourcebook was commissioned by TSR in 1990s and was to be part of the companies relaunch of the Classic D&D setting under the AD&D 2nd Edition rules. Mystara first appeared in published form in 1980 with the release of the adventure X1 Isle of Dread and was from that point on the default setting of the B/X and BECMI D&D line which also incorporated Blackmoor. 

Sadly, the nearly completed book that Jeff Grubb had written was never published as curious reversals of decisions within TSR's management and sales department at the time suddenly decided that instead of a book presenting all of Mystara to AD&D 2nd Ed fans, they instead wanted a product focusing only on the Grand Duchy of Karameikos. 

Jeff Grubb describes some of the contents of "the lost manuscript" on his blog, Grubb Street. 

Lastly, there were suggestions of publishing this anyway. The document itself was in first draft state and then abandoned before it was completed, is awash in typos, sarcastic comments, and unfinished sections. It is unplaytested, unreviewed, unrevised, and untouched by human hands. Even with permission, it would need a lot of work. So I have doubts about its usefulness, other than as a historic artifact. But I am posting here a summary of what survived in the files I had printed out at the time.  I'll point out that most of them are just gatherings of previous information scattered about the various Gazetteers, updated and brought into 2nd edition. Here's how it all broke down: (you'll need to go to the source to see the breakdown).

If you'd prefer a video recap, you can find it here:

The Tavern is supported by readers like you. The easiest way to support The Tavern is to shop via our affiliate links. DTRPG, Amazon, and Humble Bundle are affiliate programs that support The Tavern.  You can catch the daily Tavern Chat podcast on Anchor, YouTube,  or wherever you listen to your podcast collection. - Tenkar

If There's One Thing I Can't Stand It's Blatant IP Theft...

There is an author blatantly ripping off the Mystara setting for her line of fiction. Amazingly enough, she has been getting away with it for years (oh, and stealing art and maps too while she's at it.

+Timothy Brannan has the details here and here at the Other Side Blog and more at the Mystara Facebook Page.

I'm surprised Wizards dropped the ball on this one for as long as they have.

Just adding my voice to increase the volume...