A proposed Ghyr sourcebook co-authored by Michael Gray

7/18/18:

Proposal: Collaborating on an Article about XL-1's Kingdom of Ghyr

Hi Michael,

The response to your Q&A has been positive! Some comments from the Mystara facebook community:

"I still love that module. Players causing each other grief because they separated, humour and general fun always. Please pass on my thanks, and for my groups, to Michael Gray. That is one of my all time module favourites."

-Keith B., Canada

"Very cool interview."

-Douglas R.

"Good job! Thanks for conducting this interview!"

-Håvard F., Norway

And, things have taken an interesting turn...

A number of the leading Mystara fan-authors have joined together to make a proposal. We realize you are probably busy with your own projects and everyday life, but hear us out...

What we'd like to do is to collaborate with you to write a new article about your Kingdom of Ghyr setting. For this article, you wouldn't be remembering old details...you'd be newly inventing and creating.

This would be similar to how Bruce Heard, the former D&D Product Manager, has actively written many new articles about Mystara in the years since he left TSR. He's even designed and mapped new provinces for the countries he created back for TSR. As long as it's all done as a non-commercial project, Wizards of the Coast is hands-off.

The project would look something like this:

Besides XL-1 itself, we'd take the existing fan-writings about Ghyr as starting point. (They're included in the Research Document PDF I sent). And then we'd come up with a list of creative questions to ask you. We'd ask your opinion about this or that. We'd ask you to invent some place-names, and so forth. You wouldn't be expected to necessarily ponder the questions deeply - it could be just tossing out some quick answers by whim. We realize you've been out of the D&D loop - we'd do the gruntwork, while your role would be more of a "design consultant." We'd put it all together into a complete article based on your input. We'd try to make it as quick and painless for you as possible - basically just a few rounds of questions, and then it'd be done. We'd do the rest.

If you're interested and willing, the editor of Threshold Magazine, the leading Mystara magazine, has agreed to publish the article. The Vaults of Pandius, the Official Mystara Fansite (approved by Wizards of the Coast) would also host your article.

If you're maxed out with life-tasks, we will sadly understand. But we hope you'll join us on this adventure!

***

Hi Travis,

Thank you for the good news and for writing such a kind letter. I will answer any questions you come up with (if I can remember back that far). But I am not interested n a new project. Sorry. Keep up the good work. Role playing is a creative and positive human activity. I think it is therapeutic and socially rewarding (and fun). I spend way too much time playing Elder Scrolls Online, reading sci fi and watching the news these days. I also love playing board games, new and old.

Have a Great Summer!

Mike Gray

***

I had big plans...

• • Asking Michael to approve a new Ghyr-specific world map. The map aesthetic would be roughly inspired by the map of Eternia, the world of Masters of the Universe (since the He-Man figures were inspired by the AD&D action figures.) Possibly seven continents, each based on a color of the rainbow/prism.

  • Highlighting the previous fan-versions of Ghyr as parallel Ghyrs reachable through the Nexus of CM6.

  • Giving a suggested placement for Ghyr in Mystara, Oerth, and Toril.

  • Possibly using JTR's Ghyr and Western Alliance as-is, but with a new world map built around it. With the location of all the stories from the AD&D coloring books etc. marked on the map. And with Mystara-specific names given new names coined by Michael Gray. (There'd be a table of synonyms for using Ghyr in Mystara, Oerth, or Toril.)

  • And/or designing a different Ghyr from scratch with Michael's input.

  • Half-orcs as a common race in this campaign setting, like Zarak the Half-Orc Assassin. (Though represented in BECMI as Human classes)

  • Including a Reference Guide to all LJN action figures and TSR adventure figures, along with all books and products which feature those characters.