Glantri

Last updated

The Principalities of Glantri is a fictional nation located within the Mystara campaign setting, in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game.

Contents

Located in the northwestern corner of the Known World, Glantri is a Magocracy ruled by powerful magic using princes and princesses. The capital of Glantri is Glantri City.

Description

Glantri is a country ruled by and for magicians. [1] Designer Ken Rolston called Glantri "Quite an unusual D&D game setting", as it is a nation run by an aristocracy of magic-users, with disguised lycanthropes, vampires, necromancers, liches, and Immortals numbered among them; and "a nation where religion is prohibited, and where being a cleric is a capital offense". [2]

In Glantri, various aristocratic clans and houses struggle for control of the Council of Princes. Included among the political factions are medieval Scottish refugees from beyond space and time, blood-sucking nosferatu, liches, albino werewolves, dark-skinned elves in the manner of 17th-century Spanish nobles, expatriate Mongol princes, and Immortals incognito. [2]

Geography

The land

Glantri is enclosed between two major mountain chains, the Khurish Massif and the Wendarian Range through which several major rivers have carved wide valleys, which are densely inhabited. Forests cover the majority of the mountain lands, while the hills are rich in plants, and the valleys have been cleared for farming.

The capital

Glantri City, is a town of 50,000 built partially on a set of islands at the confluence of the Isoile and Vesubia rivers. The city is known for its fantastic buildings, the widespread use of magic in its construction and for public convenience including public lighting, its maze of channels, and the foremost school of magic in the Known World.

Glantri City includes an assortment of guilds and brotherhoods, such as Beggar's Court, the Elven Liberation Front, the Free Fundamentalist Farmers, the Monster Handler's Syndicate, and the Thousand Fists of Khan, each with conflicting interests and political machinations. [2] A magic-user's career includes enrollment in the Glantrian School of Magic, which permits a magic-user to learn new skills, like quick spell-casting and the ability to combine spells. [2] The Seven Secret Orders of the Great School of Magic are the Alchemists, Dracologists, Elementalists, Illusionists, Necromancers, Cryptomancers (runemasters), and Witches. [2] Ken Rolston commented that "Glantri City is the best-developed AD&D or D&D game city" he had seen, with the exception of Lankhmar as presented in TSR's Lankhmar: City of Adventure , noting that his favorite part is the similarity to Venice: "Glantri City has canals rather than streets, and travel is by bridge, gondola, or private boat". [2]

Principalities

History

The Highlands, which was the original name of the region, were settled before the Great Rain of Fire. The first settlers were elves, but they were forced to flee, or were destroyed, in the wake of the great cataclysm. The extraplanar Flaems came next, a people that shows a notable affinity with the energies of Fire. The Flaems founded seven duchies in the region, and clashed with their neighbors from the plains of Ethengar.

In time, other colonists arrived: first elves, then humans from Thyatis and Traladara and even Alphatia, then dwarves from Rockhome. Other, more mysterious, colonists came in through magical ways, such as the Klantyrians and the Averoignians.

The Flaems resented the intrusion. The colonists fought back, until the distant Empire of Alphatia tried to take control of the region, with the help of dwarven colonists. The humans and elves allied with the Flaems, chased the Alphatian troops and their dwarven allies and founded a Republic, which later took its name from the most prominent war hero, Alexander Glantri.

A council of hereditary Princes and a parliament of minor nobles rule Glantri, as it is no longer a true Republic.

Population

There are several distinct human cultures present in Glantri, including those found in the individual principalities, such as the Caurenzans, the Alphatians of Blackhill, the Aalbanese, the Flaems, the Ethengarians of Krondahar, the Averoignians, the Klantyrians, and the Boldavians.

Two different clans of elves, the Erewan and the Belcadiz, live in the southernmost Principalities, and a number of unusual creatures can be found within the borders of Glantri. Lupins of various breeds and a few rakasta and goblinoids complete the population. No dwarf or halfling resides in the Principalities, since the local law hunts down these demihuman people.

Most of these ethnic groups are fiercely regional when domestic matters are concerned, but cooperate when facing an external enemy such as Alphatia, dwarves, Ethengar, or the goblinoids.

Government and religion

A Council of Princes rules the Principalities of Glantri. When a decision cannot be taken, due to the lack of a clear majority, the issue is brought to the Parliament, an assembly where each noble has voting power proportioned to his title.

The head of state is the Chancellor of the Princes, which is currently Prince Volospin Aendyr of Blackhill. However, in the Glantrian mindset Étienne d'Ambreville, the Headmaster of the Great School of Magic, the foremost center of magical training and research, has more authority, and he has a higher power in votes. A large bureaucracy works to enact the rulings of the Council and Parliament, while nobles maintain nearly complete authority in their fiefs.

No Immortals are openly worshipped in this land, and, moreover, clerics are outlawed. Only some forms of mysticism, like the worship of Magic itself preached by the Shepherds of Rad, or the reclusive mystics of Lhamsa, are allowed.

Related Research Articles

<i>Mystara</i> Dungeons & Dragons fictional campaign setting

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 throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Most adventures published for the "Basic" edition of D&D take place in "The Known World", a central continent that includes a varied patchwork of both human and non-human realms. The human realms are based on various real-world historical cultures. In addition, unlike other D&D settings, Mystara had ascended immortal beings instead of gods.

<i>Warhammer</i> (game) Miniature wargame

Warhammer is a tabletop miniature wargame with a medieval fantasy theme. The game was created by Bryan Ansell, Richard Halliwell, and Rick Priestley, and first published by the Games Workshop company in 1983.

Birthright is a Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting that was first released by TSR in 1995. It is based on the continent of Cerilia on the world of Aebrynis, in which the players take on the role of the divinely-empowered rulers, with emphasis on the political rulership level of gameplay. The setting revolves around the concept of bloodlines: divine power gained by heroes and passed to their descendants. Characters with a bloodline create an aura of command known as Regency, which is measured in the game using regency points or RP. Using regency, characters acquire a domain composed of provinces and holdings. The development of these domains is as much a part of the game as development of the characters. The game uses three-month domain turns to model actions of rulers over nations in much the same way as Dungeons & Dragons uses combat rounds to simulate time to model the characters' actions in battle. In 1996, Birthright won the Origins Award for Best Roleplaying Supplement of 1995.

Al-Qadim is a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game which was developed by Jeff Grubb with Andria Hayday for TSR, Inc., and was first released in 1992. Al-Qadim uses One Thousand and One Nights as a theme and is set in the land of Zakhara, called the Land of Fate. Thematically, the land of Zakhara is a blend of the historical Muslim Caliphates, the stories of legend, and a wealth of Hollywood cinematic history. Zakhara is a peninsula on the continent of Faerûn in the world of Toril, the locale of the Forgotten Realms campaign setting, although Al-Qadim is designed to stand on its own or be added to any existing campaign setting. The basic campaign setting was divided between two game products: Al-Qadim: Arabian Adventures, a sourcebook describing character creation rules, equipment, and spells unique to the setting, and Al-Qadim: Land of Fate, a boxed set describing the land of Zakhara, with separate sourcebooks for the players and the Dungeon Master.

<i>Palladium Fantasy Role-Playing Game</i> Tabletop fantasy role-playing game

The Palladium Fantasy Role-Playing Game is a fantasy role-playing game published by Palladium Books in 1983.

Dwarf (<i>Dungeons & Dragons</i>) Fictional playable humanoid race

A dwarf, in the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) fantasy roleplaying game, is a humanoid race, one of the primary races available for player characters. The idea for the D&D dwarf comes from the dwarves of European mythologies and J. R. R. Tolkien's novel The Lord of the Rings (1954-1955), and has been used in D&D and its predecessor Chainmail since the early 1970s. Variations from the standard dwarf archetype of a short and stout demihuman are commonly called subraces, of which there are more than a dozen across many different rule sets and campaign settings.

The flexibility of the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) game rules means that Dungeon Masters (DM) are free to create their own fantasy campaign settings. For those who wanted a pre-packaged setting in which to play, TSR, Wizards of the Coast (WotC), and other publishers have created many settings in which D&D games can be based; of these, the Forgotten Realms, an epic fantasy world, has been one of the most successful and critically acclaimed settings. Many campaign settings include standard sword and sorcery environments, while others borrow Asian, Central American, swashbuckling, horror and even space-travel themes.

The wizard is one of the standard character class in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. A wizard uses arcane magic, and is considered less effective in melee combat than other classes.

Elf (<i>Dungeons & Dragons</i>) Fictional humanoid race

The elf is a humanoid race in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, one of the primary races available for player characters, and play a central role in the narratives of many setting worlds of the game. Elves are described as renowned for their grace and mastery of magic and weapons such as the bow and sword. Becoming physically mature by the age of 25 and emotionally mature at around 125, they are also famously long-lived, capable of living more than half a millennium and remaining physically youthful. Possessed of innate beauty and easy gracefulness, they are viewed as both wondrous and haughty by other races in-universe; however, their natural detachment is seen by some as introversion or xenophobia. They were usually portrayed as antagonistic towards dwarves.

Lich (<i>Dungeons & Dragons</i>) Undead creature in "Dungeons & Dragons"

The lich is an undead creature found in the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) fantasy role-playing game. Liches are spellcasters who seek to defy death by magical means.

<i>Swordbearer</i> (role-playing game)

Swordbearer is a fantasy role-playing game published by Heritage Games in 1982, and then republished by Fantasy Games Unlimited (FGU) in 1985. The game featured a number of original innovations, but despite good critical reception, it failed to find an audience under either publisher.

The Empire of Thyatis is a powerful state in the Mystara campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. Thyatis was first mentioned in Module X1, Isle of Dread, which describes it briefly. Along with the Alphatian Empire, Thyatis was more fully detailed in the Dawn of the Emperors boxed set. Along with Alphatia, Thyatis is one of the "great powers" of Mystara.

<i>Swords of Deceit</i> Dungeons & Dragons adventure module

Swords of Deceit is a 1986 adventure module for the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, for the Lankhmar setting.

<i>The Principalities of Glantri</i> Tabletop role-playing game supplement for Dungeons & Dragons

The Principalities of Glantri is an accessory for the Basic Set edition of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. It is part of the Gazetteer series of supplements for the Mystara campaign setting.

<i>Dungeons & Dragons Immortals Rules</i> Tabletop role-playing game supplement for Dungeons & Dragons

Dungeons & Dragons Immortals Rules, written by Frank Mentzer, is a boxed set for the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) fantasy role-playing game first published by TSR in 1986 as an expansion to the Basic Set.

<i>Dungeons & Dragons Expert Set</i> Tabletop role-playing game supplement for Dungeons & Dragons

The Expert Set is an expansion boxed set for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. It was first published in 1981 as an expansion to the Basic Set.

<i>The Northern Reaches</i> Tabletop role-playing game supplement for Dungeons & Dragons

The Northern Reaches is an accessory for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. The book describes the land known as the Northern Reaches, which lie on the eastern seaboard of the D&D game's Known World, also known as Mystara.

Undead is a supplement for fantasy role-playing games published by Mayfair Games in 1986.

Gnome (<i>Dungeons & Dragons</i>) Race in Dungeons & Dragons

In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, gnomes are one of the core races available for play as player characters. Some speculate that they are closely related to dwarves; however, gnomes are smaller and more tolerant of other races, nature, and magic. Depending on the setting and subrace, they are often skilled with illusion magic or engineering. Gnomes are small humanoids, standing 3–3.5 feet (91–107 cm) tall.

References

  1. ↑ Schick, Lawrence (1991). Heroic Worlds: A History and Guide to Role-Playing Games. Prometheus Books. p. 141. ISBN   0-87975-653-5.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Rolston, Ken (January 1988). "Role-playing Reviews". Dragon . Lake Geneva, Wisconsin: TSR (#129): 83–84.

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.