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Hacklopedia Mystarica: The Guide to the HackWurld of Mystaros

I have been wanting to tell you all for a while now, veritably bursting at the seams. They finally announced it earlier today. This is going to ROCK! And I say that with all humility... (^_^)

***Begin Press Release** MUNDELEIN, IL Kenzer & Company is pleased to announce the impending release of the first HackMasterT campaign setting book, the HacklopediaT MystaricaT: The Guide to the HackWurldT of MystarosT, based on the classic Dungeons & Dragons® setting, the Known World of Mystara®.

"We have always wanted to rewrite the classic fantasy game settings of our youth for our own HackMaster setting, Garweeze WurldT," said Kenzer & Company Project Manager, Brian Jelke. "The classic Known World of Mystara was the perfect choice for our first release. Mystara has everything you could want in an adventure setting, from hordes of screaming humanoids and wuss-slapping knights, to mysterious vivisectionist wizards and butt-kicking halfling bounders. Besides, we knew we had the right author for the project when he asked us how much he had to pay us to do it!"

"Are you kidding? Pass up an opportunity to redesign Mystara for HackMaster?" said Hacklopedia Mystarica designer, James 'Mystaros' Mishler. "I would have sold my dice collection for the opportunity! Well, half of it, maybe. The revamp of the classic Mystara setting for the HackMaster milieu was a given since day one of HackMaster. The Known World Gazetteers and the later Mystara releases helped define the look and feel of fantasy worlds for thousands of players. The new HackWurld of Mystaros, in which we take the original Mystara material and crank up the HackFactor, will do the same for a new generation of gamers."

The "Hacklopedia Mystarica: The Guide to the HackWurld of Mystaros" is being written by crazed Mystara fan James Mishler and goes on sale in late summer of 2003. The book is expected to be a 256-page soft cover sourcebook that will include a 2'x3' full-color wall map of the HackWurld of Mystaros. Estimated retail price is $34.99.

About Kenzer & Company For more information on Kenzer & Company, check out http://www.kenzerco.com. HackMaster, Garweeze Wurld, Hacklopedia Mystarica, and HackWurld of Mystaros are trademarks of Kenzer & Company. Dungeons & Dragons, D&D, and Mystara are registered trademarks owned by Wizards of the Coast, Inc., a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc. and used by Kenzer & Company under license.

***End Press Release***



To answer some questions I'm sure to get before they are asked...

1) Taymorans and Carnifex -- Yes. More than this, man was not meant to know. Mwahahahaha!

2) Blackmoor -- Unfortunately, no, due to copyright and licensing issues. What did Mystaros come up with to take its place? Mwahahahaha!

3) Hollow World -- No, not as such, due to certain continuity issues. But there will be some materials from it incorporated into the HackWurld.

4) Heldann and Wendar -- More details on each nation, as much as will be found for each of the classic gazetteer kingdoms.

5) Ierendi -- Hee hee. Let's just say "the fix is in." Mine! Mine! Mwahahahahaha!

6) The rest of Mystara (the "HackWurld of Mystaros" region being synonymous with the "Known World of Mystara" region) -- The rest of the world will be changed, some parts little, some parts a lot. I don't know how much I can tell you all at this point, as I didn't know the PR was going out this soon, and hadn't asked how much I could tell.

7) Fan-written materials from the Vaults of Pandius -- Probably not, due to copyright issues, but I am still delving into that. Other than my own stuff that has been seen in drips and drabs, here and there, that is, as I sold my soul to get this gig, and my Mystara material goes with it... (^_^)

8) Previews -- I am hoping that we will be able to preview parts of the setting in Knights of the Dinner Table, maybe elsewhere, before release. That is still under consideration.

9) Mystaros -- Yes, you will finally get to meet the real Mystaros. All these years he has been my Mystaran counterpart, as Elminster is Ed Greenwood's Forgotten Realms ID, and Mordy and Bigby in Greyhawk to Gary Gygax.

More than that I cannot say at this time. I'll spill as much as I can here, when I know what I can say...

Gah! It's finally out in the open. Hooray! ::Cartwheels:: This is so going to ROCK!

Now you all know why I've been quieter than normal, even after being back... (^_^)

James