D&D 5E: The Known World (or Mystara)

Every now and then I get the urge to convert things from the old to the new. One of the best-developed (and perhaps dated) settings that TSR ever developed was the Known World (or later Mystara) which was simply the fleshed out continental map and descriptions in the original X1: Isle of Dread Expert D&D module. Although some of the content of the Gazetteer series of supplements was fantastic and useful, so much of it was plundered fluff - it was obvious that the authors were simply out of ideas or had no idea what these cultures should really look like. By the time the series ended, it seemed that the more ridiculous ideas were reserved for the boxed set Dawn of the Emperors. Drugged-out Alphatian magic-users, flying ships and floating islands, and some of the most ridiculous ways of taking the rest of the real-world cultures and cramming them into the smallest of continental areas were just some of the over-the-top, overdone concepts used. And of course there had to be plugs for the HOLLOW WORLD campaign setting because TSR had become a true multi-national company around this time and had to advertise all their products to the nth degree. What started as a solid concept with the Grand Duchy of Karameikos, devolved into a running joke by the time The Kingdom of Ierendi came into print. Each new Gazetteer also seemed to change the timeline and history of the world as these new, goofier concepts came into being. The true swords & sorcery origins of D&D were muddied with characters from Elfquest comics, characters modeled after Mickey Spillane, Magnum P.I. and the cast of Fantasy Island, and all the goofy stuff in the Orcs of Thar and Principalities of Glantri (French crazy nobles? flamenco elves? really?). All the cultures were just re-modeled Earth cultures, including the Immortals. It all became just too much for me to stomach.

However, the concepts of the original world still seemed valid. If one stripped away the goofiness of the setting and made it into a true D&D world, converting from the solid but basic concepts of original D&D and moving into the more mainstream 5th edition D&D, the setting could be great! But how far does one have to go to convert such a monumental project into something modern and playable?

By all rights, a DM can restrict the races available in his or her campaign. The common races (human, elf, dwarf, halfling) are exactly the ones available in a Mystara campaign. The uncommon races (dragonborn, gnomes, half-elves, half-orcs, and tieflings) are not found as PCs in the D&D world (although gnomes do exist, they were not considered to be PCs in the original game). Drow do not exist in Mystara either, although Shadow Elves do. These would probably not be permitted in a Mystara 5E campaign. So, right off the bat, race is an issue to keep the setting "pure." Of course, one could allow these other races into the mix, but why? There is enough variety with the sub-races of humans, elves, halflings and dwarves to keep one happy with decisions. In fact, there are so many sub-races of the common races that it seems hard to catalog them all.

The next consideration is that of class. So many of the classes in 5E D&D did not exist in the original D&D game. Barbarians, bards, sorcerers, and warlocks are later additions, and may or may not be appropriate for use in this sort of campaign. However, there are plenty of examples of using such classes in the Gazetteers: Barbarians could flourish in the Northlands or Atruaghin lands; bards are easily adapted to any setting; sorcerers can be explained in a number of ways; and warlocks are pretty easy to work in as well. The base classes of Fighter, Cleric, Rogue, and Wizard have roots in the original game. However, in the original game, class and race were merged, so that all Elves were basically Fighters (Eldritch Knights), all Dwarves were Fighters, and all Halflings were essentially Fighter/Rogues. Paladins, Monks (Mystics), and Druids were added to the original game with the Mentzer boxed sets, so even these have counterparts here. However, in the original version of the game, Paladins and Druids were acquired at higher levels from the base classes of Fighter and Cleric respectively. Rangers were added in with the Forester Class in the Dawn of the Emperors boxed set, but it basically made a human into an Elf (fighter/magic-user). Rangers as written in the 5E rules did not exist in the original version of the game. Should the DM restrict certain classes to make it closer to the original? I don't think that this is necessary.

So, all the races and classes needed for the conversion are present and accounted for. Alignment becomes the next sticking point, since the old version of the game used only 3 alignments (Lawful, Neutral, and Chaotic), while the newer versions since AD&D have used 9 alignments (adding in the Good-Evil axis). Should this matter? I don't think it's too much of a stretch to convert these alignments, so long as it is done with an eye towards true conversion. In order to convert, take the 3 x 3 alignment chart and draw two diagonal lines on either side of the CG-N-LE alignments. Everything to the upper left of those alignments is considered Lawful; everything to the lower right is considered Chaotic. The alignments bound by the two diagonal lines now represent Neutrality. Consider the fact that Elves in D&D were originally listed as Neutral, but in AD&D as Chaotic Good, and you can see the distinction I'm making. Lawful Evils are not necessarily bad to have in your party since they are controllable and tend to be selfish but domineering. Neutrals can be the same. So, in essence, a conversion depends more on the personality of the character than in later editions, and alignment can run the gamut. Of course, one does not need to use alignment at all and it still works in D&D 5E (since it's no longer a requirement for any class).

Level is an important consideration. D&D characters were originally designed to go from 1st to 36th level, then ascend as Immortals through several more levels. In D&D 5E, levels only go to 20th, no higher. So far as I know, there are no rules for becoming a god in the core books. So one would have to reduce the levels of some of the characters listed in the Gazetteers. One could use the boxed sets (Basic levels 1-3, Expert levels 4-14, Companion levels 15-25, Master levels 26-36) as the Tiers of Play (1st tier levels 1-4, 2nd tier levels 5-10, 3rd tier levels 11-16, and 4th tier levels 17-20) and this works just fine. Thus, a 25th level NPC wizard in Glantri would be considered a 16th level wizard in D&D 5E. One could even convert the old modules using this level scheme. Demi-humans were limited in level in the original D&D game (Elves to 10th level, Dwarves to 12th level, and Halflings to 8th level), but this restriction is not necessary in a conversion to 5E. However, in order to keep the NPCs in line with the newer version, their levels would have to be changed to reflect this. One could simply double the level of any elf or halfling characters, and perhaps double level and subtract one for any dwarf character.

The main sticking point I have is with the Deities used (called Immortals in the Mystara campaign setting, but only because TSR was getting flack from religious institutions at the time). These gods were never truly named in the original D&D game - they only started being named when modules starting introducing various religions (such as the Cynidicean gods in module B4, or the evil Cretia in module X3). Eventually, the Immortals became named and fleshed out by the time of the Gazetteers. Still, the deities were mostly fashioned out of Earth legends with somewhat different names. In essence, one could use Earth deities appropriate to the culture selected and it would all work the same way. True, some of the deities were original (I don't know of an Earthly counterpart for Halav, Petra, and Zirchev), but others were direct swipes (Al-Kalim is Mohammed the Prophet, Valerias is Aphrodite, Vanya is Athena, Asterius is Hermes, Pflaar is Anubis, Rathanos is Ra, Odin and the other Norse deities are not even renamed, etc.). Rad and Rafiel are unique to Mystara, but these are curiosities that link back to the ancient time of Blackmoor (and the repercussions of its destruction). I'm torn on converting directly since some of these Immortals are rather hokey (Ka the preserver, for example) while others are just renamed TSR deities (like all the humanoid gods, Ilsundal, Mealiden, Kagyar, etc.). It might actually be easier to just use the Earth culture deities as they are presented in the Player's Handbook than confuse the issue with new names. Thus, Thyatian deities would be Greek Gods (using the Roman name equivalents), Northland deities are Norse deities, the old Nithian gods are Egyptian, and the Hinterlands worship the Celtic gods. But what about Al-Kalim? He can stay as is. Ilsundal is really close to Rillifane Rallathil, and Mealiden could be Corellon, I suppose (or Solonor Thelandira). Moradin is clearly the same as Kagyar. There are no halfling deities listed in the Gazetteers. Garl Glittergold is a direct translation for gnomes, however. Using the Immortal names for the humanoid deities would be easy, but using the old AD&D names might be easier (Gruumsh, Maglubiyet, Yeenoghu, etc.) since they are already in the Player's Handbook.

Given the difference in power levels between original D&D and D&D 5E, the types of adversaries met in the adventures could vary quite a bit. Some monsters also don't translate between the editions. 5E has a lot of new monsters; but there were some unique creatures in original D&D as well (the thoul, nagpa, cyclopes, etc.) that may not translate over very well. Spells are completely different in 5E and there are few direct conversions - even the spell levels have changed. Some of the concepts of 5E were in development in the Gazetteers; namely, the skills system based on ability scores and skill points was evolved during this phase of D&D.

The maps and cultures of the Known World could work well for a D&D 5E campaign. Some of the finer details of the setting have to be changed, however. The problem with developing so much of the world is there are few places to set grand adventures! Wilderness regions in the Gazetteers are few and far between - it seems that all the races colonized every mountain chain, forest, and open field, with monster races in the other portions of the world. Even the seas are alive with civilization. But this isn't exactly a bad thing. There are still plenty of ruins and strange civilizations that one can find and explore, or exploit. Treasure is less of a need in D&D 5E - so some other incentive must be used to get adventurers into the game. The usual lure of fame and fortune does not appeal to all D&D 5E players. This current version of the game is a healthy mix of novelist and gamist in nature; original D&D was more gamist but evolving towards novelist by the end of its run (as AD&D 2nd edition was headed). Therefore, the concepts and situations in the political climate of the Known World work well for this sort of gaming rule set. The nature of the planes might also need to be changed, since D&D 5E uses the model developed for AD&D and changed in 3E and 4E to include a new planar structure with the Shadowlands and Feywild. The original D&D multiverse diverged from the AD&D concept but was essentially the same - the Immortals set really described more a generic version of planes as being malleable by the wills of the Immortals.

It seems that the conversion process could actually work quite well. The only restriction I see as necessary here is the limiting of the races to the common ones, plus gnomes, and removing Drow entirely from the game. If this change is explained to the players, they will more likely adapt to it. The other races could be added back in as desired by the DM - when the characters leave the Known World for extraplanar adventures, they could run into the other races. Otherwise, half-elves and half-orcs could be worked into the mix with little problem (although I would not consider these to be actual races, and limit their existence to special circumstances only). Dragonborn have no place on Mystara - they were never conceived at this point in the game's evolution and probably should not be included. Tieflings, on the other hand, could be a rare racial choice along the same lines as the other half-breeds. The downside of the half-breeds as racial choices is that they should become oddities and centers of attention in any community they visit - which could be detrimental to the party if they are trying to be inconspicuous. Shadow Elves should not be used as PCs unless the DM is intending to run a campaign completely underground.

So, the conversion of the Known World to D&D 5E would take little effort to pull off and could probably work quite well. If one avoids some of the goofier details in the Gazetteers and sticks to the essence of the original versions of the countries presented, the outcome could provide years of adventure ideas!