Welcome to Mystara: The Northern Reaches | Dungeons and Dragons

[@dane3038]

“Lo, there do I see my father. Lo, there do I see my mother, and my sisters, and my brothers. Lo, there do I see the line of my people, Back to the beginning! Lo, they do call to me. They bid me take my place among them, In the halls of Valhalla! Where the brave may live forever!”

[@tukkek]

Cool interpretation but I'm pretty sure it's actually a homage to Winona.

[@TKFKU]

And was written by an Arabic traveler. Yet everyone confuse it with something the "north men" said simply because of the movie 13th warrior.

[@jamess3395]

Because of the book Eaters of the Dead.

[@pernicious8523]

"Make every other setting's halflings look like children." Considering how the Athasian halflings behave, this oughta be interesting.

[@CountLuciferLeviatha]

Just Google Mystara Northern Reaches and saw this video, really great explanation of lore and good video to listen while reading the book!

[@gorillaguerillaDK]

As a Scandinavian I can’t help feeling everything about the Northern Reaches is like "coming home"! The Northern Reaches was also my first Gazetteer if I recall correctly, and if it wasn’t the very first then it definitely was among the first! I bought! Also, pretty well done on the intro!

[@LangeloScuro]

I had made the choice to ignore the retcon for the Nordic Immortals. Instead they went through the same process as everyone else. This was made easier since none of the other settings exist at my table, other than parts of Ravenloft. Since I'm not as skilled with duct tape and welding torch, this worked well for me. Appreciate you taking the time to update several of your previous videos, and always enjoy them.

[@MrNetWraith]

Did you ever do a video on Mystara's native cosmology? I know that it's somehow tied to dimensions, with the Dimension of Nightmares being the only one I can name, and Rules Cyclopedia presents a sort of simplified pseudo-Great Wheel, but I could really use the rundown from the master.

[@Mr_Welch]

Spread across several videos. Gods vs Immortals, inner planes and there's one about the planets of the Mystara system.

[@MrNetWraith]

@@Mr_Welch What about an overview of the planar cosmology as a whole - Mystara's version of the Great Wheel, World Axis, Great Beyond, World Tree, etc? Maybe that's a future video topic?

[@Mr_Welch]

@@MrNetWraith Would have to find enough material to explain it. It's incredibly contradictory from book to book. Might have to break out the duct tape and welding torch to fit it together.

[@RoKKr023i]

@@Mr_Welch even if it was impossible, you know we would watch your best efforts!

[@manarayofhope2374]

That my sir was a girthy one still bork! Bork!

[@Scaramanga7]

Love the pic from The Vikings!

[@johnbalk6091]

Of all the Gazetteers, this one and Atrughan are my least favorite. It seems like the Northern reaches should be further north. And Atrughan never sparked my interest after a friend of mine DM’d one of the most epic campaigns in Maztica. Good content though, and your video about the cursed dwarves was spectacular. Looking forward to a Heldann Freeholds video.

[@viktord2025]

Heldann won't be happening, there's less information on the Freeholds than there is of Hule. Still more information than Skothar, but that's a very low bar

[@johnbalk6091]

@@viktord2025 I spoke with Mr. Welch and he mentioned that it’s on his list. Way down on the list, but still.

[@RoninCatholic]

Welcome the Mystara, as distinct from Welcome to Mystara. Neat.

[@Titan360]

So, one thing that I always wonder about is why the other immortals don't regard the Norse pantheon as potential spies or traitors. I mean, if Odin PRIME wants to break into Mystara, doesn't he have his own avatar as an inside man to help? Doesn't this make them a security risk?

[@Mr_Welch]

IOdin has been around since the start. If he wanted to break the barrier he would have tried long ago. They've been severed from their prime, given freedom. IHel wouldn't help her prime version even if she could

[@jasonGamesMaster]

Sounds pretty cool, but, by Odin's beard, I'd have to rename the Immortals here, lol. It's just too much, lol. Then again, as I listen to all of your videos and contemplate running this for my group there is a lot that is just weird or too referencey that I would probably fudge out of existence.... still way less lame than Forgotten Realms, though :D

[@MrRourk]

The Viking & Valkyries adventure Something Rotten In Novgorby works well in Soderfjord

[@SimonAshworthWood]

Cool! An entire Mystara video narrated in medieval Swedish! 😂

[@Zeithri]

Huzzah \o/

[@GrimGoblinLives]

There are 3rd party Norse campaigns, Journey to Ragnarok (lv 1-15), Rune Thief (1-7) and Grey Wanderer. Have you considered giving them a look to see if they can be adapted to Mystara?

[@Mr_Welch]

I'm not familiar with them

[@GrimGoblinLives]

@@Mr_Welch I'm eyeing Rune Thief for Mystara since plot is apparently about a guy wronged by a jarl whom Loki teaches to steal runes and he starts handing them over like a candy. Also right level to serve as a prelude to Desert Nomads

[@unintentionallydramatic]

Offering this humble comment to the algorithm.

[@youcantbeatk7006]

Good to see more content.

[@jacobhope6164]

Norsemen! Hahaha! I love that show. Remember, the active party is not in violation of the law. 😉

[@templarw20]

The split between immortal Odin and deity Odin fascinates me from a storytelling perspective. Is there any contact between the two selves? Though with the nature of the barrier, it would have to be through intermediaries. Oh dear, it's Oberon, isn't it? Like the squirrel on the World Tree that delivers insults between the birds at the top and the dragon at the bottom...

[@Mr_Welch]

IOdin can cross the barrier. GOdin can't. Would imagine they are allies, but IOdin is protective of his authority in Mystara, and knows the gods would muck things up if they somehow got influence. They also have different experiences as IOden was once mortal, where GOdin wasn't. Might be a distant family relation, like a child living abroad you still talk to.

[@templarw20]

@@Mr_Welch Okay, the Oberron idea goes back to characters being the pawns in a MASSIVE prank by Titania (or some other member of O's court using her as part of the prank), where they have to be present at the point when he's returning to Mystara after one of his jaunts, only the PCs are led to believe he's an imposter breaking through the barrier.

[@gorillaguerillaDK]

@@templarw20 The Squirrel is Ratatoskur, The World Tree is Askur Yggdrasils, the "dragon" is the serpent Níðhöggr, the birds are a giant Eagle without a name and a Hawk named Vedrfolnir - theres also the four stags, Dáinn, Dvalinn, Dúneyrr, and Duraþrór. I might not know anything about "Oberon", but I know my old Norse Mythology pretty damn well! LOL

[@robertguagliardo605]

Seriously Am I the only one who understood his ending quote? Does nobody still speak the language of chef, swedish ones. Can anyone light the lights?

[@ShadesinMirra]

Oh! More Foreign language intros! Thank you. Edit: Always thought Norworld should have some sought of relationship with the Reaches, as it is relatively close. Plus it is backed by Alphatia and with Ostland allied with Thyatis...

[@Mr_Welch]

Ostland's history intersects with Norwold, but only after the Alphatian settlement. Before that, nothing was really there to interest Ostland. After the settlement, it was a prime target for raiders. Perfect for Ostland, as it was isolated, productive and didn't have enough population to defend itself. Except for Landsfall and a few other larger settlements.

[@djartyom1243]

Wondering do we have any clue or idea how characters outside mystara ( from dragon Lance or forgotten realms for example) feel about the immortals and the lack of God's?

[@Mr_Welch]

From a single paragraph from 2nd edition Karameikos. They are utterly baffled by the fact Mystarans don't even have a concept of gods. The character talking did say he would have preferred the Immortals forced hands-off policy compared to the gods constant meddling.

[@MichaelHaneline]

Is the culture of the Northern Reach dwarves significantly different from that of the Rockhome dwarves? If so, how?

[@Mr_Welch]

No, they bleed over because of the proximity.

[@Wildcat144]

Pog

[@springheeledjackofthegurdi2117]

I like how unlike a lot of fantasy setting in Mystara your not wondering how humans can be the most common race and demihumans like elves are declining when every human nation seems to be stuffed to the gills with them, here having a non character carries weight narratively

[@socrateswept]

Don't do the Scandinavian thing again. Please. Pretty please. Spasiva.

[@derrabbit7289]

For Skyrim!!!!

[@Zeithri]

No. :|