The idea, I think, was to put out a Mystara box for every region previously detailed in the D&D Gazeteer series. To that end, Karamiekos was followed up by the Glantri: Kingdom of Magic box (1995). But it was not meant to be. This was the last setting box for Mystara. Too soon!

This one is by Monte Cook and follows the same format as its predecessor – big setting book, little adventure book, a bunch of handouts and pre-gens and maps. And the audio CD (shudder).

Glantri is cooool though. It doesn’t quite feel like a Monte Cook idea-fest, but there is a lot more going on here than in Karamiekos. Glantri is a kingdom built around magic and a robust feudal system – there are lots of noble families and the accompanying politics and subterfuge. There are canals. There is a new race oh tiefling-like humans that benefits from monstrous ancestry somewhere in their family tree called the Progeny. An assortment of odd spells (like Remove the Instrument of Death, which basically makes an opponent drop their weapon), rules for seven secret crafts (like alchemy, dream magic and necromancy) and the Radiance, a sort of nuclear powered meta-magic, rounds things out. I enjoy Glantri because it thinks about what a magical society might actually be like, but it doesn’t think too hard about it.

Another sweet Jaquays cover. Walter Velez also returns with some absolutely bonkers paintings. The ridiculous one of Prince Jaggar von Drachenfels, the fellow on the pegasus, is in the running for being my favorite piece of 2E art. Why are those goblins running through the air? Also really dig the Frankenstein golem. Points off for reusing that Dragonlance art for the one book cover though.