Mystara is an odd, short-lived 2E D&D campaign setting that appeared in 1994. I am fond of it. Why is it odd? Lots of reasons. For starters, Mystara is another name for the Known World, the campaign setting for BECMI and Challenger basic D&D, which TSR cancelled in 1993. In 1994, TSR put out the First Quest box set, yet another introduction to D&D, and the Mystara line was intended to be where those new players wound up. Third: all the Mystara adventures were “Audio CD Games” that incorporated audio tracks on CD in the scenarios (which basically meant everything in the line needed to be a box set and therefore more expensive). But the vibe is odd, too – sort of a classic fairy tale world vibe that seems strange because it feels generic but also unfamiliar, if that makes sense.

Karameikos: Kingdom of Adventure (1994) was the first Mystara box set. Half the contents are devoted to a two adventures – a booklet, a pile of handouts on parchment, some reference cards and the audio CD that I can not work up the nerve to listen to. Each important moment in the adventures is keyed to an audio track, which are like little bits of a radio drama. The scenarios are pretty standard stuff, dealing with a slaving ring and a hag.

The meat of the box is the setting book. It is a primer for campaign settings for new players, a detailed look at Karamiekos and the kingdom’s history in the mode of the earlier Gazetteer series of sourcebooks and also provides an overview of the entire Known World.

It is also full of great art. That cover by Jaquays, for starters. In perhaps the most surprising art inclusion in 90s D&D, there are a ton of color plates by Walter Velez (he had a long fantasy illustration career, but Thieves’ World and the M.Y.T.H. series are probably his most recognizable). They are totally worth the price of admission, especially the one with the giant wolf man with an axe (which is also a great example of how super weird but also generic Mystara is at the same time).