Mystara
 |
|
| Designer(s) | Dave Cook, Frank Mentzer, Bruce Heard, Aaron Allston, Ann Dupuis, et al. |
|---|---|
| Publisher(s) | TSR Hobbies, Inc., TSR, Inc. |
| Publication date | 1980-1995 |
| Genre(s) | Fantasy |
| System(s) | Dungeons & Dragons, AD&D 2nd Edition |
Mystara is a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role playing game. It was the default setting for the "Basic" version of the game popular through the 1980s.
Mystara originated as a fantasy world developed by Lawrence Schick and Tom Moldvay for their own Dungeons & Dragons game sessions from 1974 to 1976. Their original setting consisted of a large continent with fictionalized nations that were based on real-world historical cultures. Inspired by author H. P. Lovecraft and his work in creating a fiction shared universe, Schick and Moldvay named their setting as the "Known World" so it could be expanded upon by other players. Schick then went to work at TSR Hobbies as a designer for D&D and other games. After being promoted to director of the Design Department he brought Moldvay in to join the company as a game designer, around the time when the D&D Expert Set was under development. After being told that they could not use the existing Greyhawk setting, as it was being reserved for only Advanced Dungeons & Dragons products, Schick and Moldvay got approval to instead use their "Known World" as the standard D&D campaign setting.
The "Known World" was used as a semi-generic setting in early adventure modules, first mentioned in the Module X1, The Isle of Dread. It was then expanded upon in various D&D modules and sources, particularly a series of Gazetteers.
Mystara began as several semi-independent projects by different teams of writers who were each assigned to the task of developing different cultures and nations that would exist in the fantasy world that was supported by Dungeons & Dragons at the time. Their work was gathered and compiled, blended, and combined to form a fantasy world, Mystara.
...
Wikipedia