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Seethyr
Master of Realmslore
USA
1274 Posts |
 Posted - 24 Apr 2026 : 00:46:30
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I know I’m about 40 years late, but I’ve taken a very passionate interest in Mystara lately. Are there any known connections, portals or lore shared between the two worlds. I know the recent (somewhat recent) inclusion of magen in Rime of the Frostmaiden pointed to some ancient connections during the time of Netheril.
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Ayrik
Great Reader
Canada
8101 Posts |
Posted - 24 Apr 2026 : 08:47:39
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https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Mystara
https://planescape.fandom.com/wiki/Mystara
https://spelljammer.fandom.com/wiki/Mystaraspace
Mystara is recognized in Spelljammer and Planescape lore. But known, established connections are pretty sparse and tenuous. Mostly, Mystara seems to be included only so it wouldn't be excluded, so that some possibility always existed to link Mystara and other worlds, so that characters and adventures could be moved between them.
I recall that at least one of the (seems like a dozen or so) revisions of the Savage Coast contained some sort of portal or transport which could reach the Realms.
D&D Cyclopedias are written for Mystara by default and contain a few magic items which can access the various planes and worlds; Oerth, Krynn, and Toril are specifically named destinations (along with Boot Hill, Gamma World, and other TSR-published-but-not-D&D worlds).
A few Mystaran monsters can be found in Spelljammer and Planescape settings, since they both have Mystara-based Monster Compendium chapters. This implies that either those monsters found ways to depart Mystara or somebody/something outside of Mystara found ways to summon them.
Additionally, various regions also seem to be taken (or copied?) from Mystara's landscape, since entire adventure modules (and their surrounding landmarks, castles, dungeons, villages, regions) were once set in Mystara but have canonically been relocated onto the maps of Oerth and the Realms.
In theory, it should be possible to reach the Phlogiston, the Astral, the Shadowfell, the Feywild, the Underdark, the Demiplane of Dread (Ravenloft), and Sigil from Mystara - and from those places it should be possible to reach other connected places. But the lore is always written in ways which vaguely suggest Mystara is somehow "far away", "off the path", "unknown to travellers". Mystara is essentially unknown and unreachable, it's something between "might as well not exist" and "exists in rumours and adventuring tales" unless the DM decides otherwise.
(Mystara basically receives the same treatment as the world of Athas from the Dark Sun setting, although explanations are made about how and why Athas is disconnected and isolated from everything else, it has "drifted" to an impossible distance and seems to be blocked, obscured, or surrounded by strange planar barriers - but no such explanations are offered for Mystara, indeed it is mostly forgotten and rarely mentioned at all.)
In theory, spells like teleport, gate, and worldwalk could easily connect the Realms with Mystara. The main problem seems to just be that nobody on the Realms knows Mystara even exists. I don't think there are any "barriers" to prevent contact aside from apparent distance and unknown location.
Perhaps the Overgod Ao and the Faerunian deities might have some sort of understanding/conflict with their counterparts among Mystara's Immortals which defines what sorts of contact between their two worlds is allowed/denied, though this is just speculation based on apparent arrangements between Faerunian pantheon and their Oerth/Krynn counterparts. |
[/Ayrik] |
Edited by - Ayrik on 24 Apr 2026 09:11:47 |
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist
USA
12251 Posts |
Posted - 24 Apr 2026 : 21:37:31
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quote:
Originally posted by Seethyr
I know I’m about 40 years late, but I’ve taken a very passionate interest in Mystara lately. Are there any known connections, portals or lore shared between the two worlds. I know the recent (somewhat recent) inclusion of magen in Rime of the Frostmaiden pointed to some ancient connections during the time of Netheril.
I do know that Ed has confirmed links between Luiren and Mystara's five shires
from FR Wiki on Luiren
There existed a longe gate in northeastern Luiren that connected the hin country to the furtherest northwestern of the Five Shires on the world of Mystara. Some believed the gate may had been destroyed by the 15th century DR. It once was used by Elminster Aumar, the Old Mage of Shadowdale, but apart from hin merchant, the gate remained widely unused and unknown.
[/url]https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Archive:Greenwood%27s_Grotto/2023-02/Mystara[/url]
But like you've heard me say previously with links to "Anchorome" .... it seems really likely to me that all these humans that "came to the surface" of Anchorome from the underdark... and who have very similar cultures to "Central American Mythos".... well, they fit perfectly with people coming up from the Hollow World of Mystara and emerging into Toril. Or a more likely explanation possibly, "Anchorome" somehow copied itself over to Toril and dragged inhabitants of Mystara with them.
I've also wondered about the athora of Thay, the "steam engines" of Mulhorand using "stones of Everburning", and the "ring of gray flames" in Rashemen .... all of which sounds like something akin to nuclear power. Throw in that the area had "manifestations" that came over that could very much resemble some of the "Immortals" of Mystara... and you could come up with a good story for the people stolen by the Imaskari possibly having come from Mystara. Entropy as well resembles Umbral Blots / Black Balls which were tied to the "Sphere of Entropy" in Mystara. |
Alavairthae, may your skill prevail
Phillip aka Sleyvas |
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Azar
Master of Realmslore
1503 Posts |
Posted - 25 Apr 2026 : 06:21:46
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First Quest is set in Mystara.
Introduction to Advanced Dungeons & Dragons is set in The Forgotten Realms.
The latter product is a reskinned version of the former product; it is a connection of sorts, albeit a weak one. |
Stand with anybody that stands right. Stand with him while he is right and part with him when he goes wrong.
Earth names in the Realms are more common than you may think. |
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BountyHunter
Seeker
Canada
66 Posts |
Posted - 25 Apr 2026 : 19:00:52
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| Toril, and I believe, Elminster (although he's just referred to as 'that wizard') are both briefly mentioned in the Mystara novel "Dark Knight of Karameikos". |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
37018 Posts |
Posted - 25 Apr 2026 : 23:19:32
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quote:
Originally posted by sleyvas
quote:
Originally posted by Seethyr
I know I’m about 40 years late, but I’ve taken a very passionate interest in Mystara lately. Are there any known connections, portals or lore shared between the two worlds. I know the recent (somewhat recent) inclusion of magen in Rime of the Frostmaiden pointed to some ancient connections during the time of Netheril.
I do know that Ed has confirmed links between Luiren and Mystara's five shires
from FR Wiki on Luiren
There existed a longe gate in northeastern Luiren that connected the hin country to the furtherest northwestern of the Five Shires on the world of Mystara. Some believed the gate may had been destroyed by the 15th century DR. It once was used by Elminster Aumar, the Old Mage of Shadowdale, but apart from hin merchant, the gate remained widely unused and unknown.
[/url]https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Archive:Greenwood%27s_Grotto/2023-02/Mystara[/url]
Ed also said that the hin from one place came from the other... But he didn't specify which was the origin. |
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist
USA
12251 Posts |
Posted - 25 Apr 2026 : 23:26:43
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Seethyr,
Check this out. I literally just stumbled on this, and I don't know its origins yet .....
My
https://1d6chan.miraheze.org/wiki/Masauwu
Its basically saying that the immortal Masauwu was in Mystara. That is ALSO the name of the "Great Spirit" Masauwu (or Skeleton Man)... who is the being who led the humans from the depths of the earth to the surface of Anchorome. If true, this adds even more credence to the idea that maybe some of these "great spirits" in Anchorome might be Immortals of Mystara who came to Toril.
EDIT:
https://thedarkelf007.home.blog/2020/05/31/dnd-masauwu/
Yeah, I'm looking at TSR 1082 Wrath of the Immortals, Book One Codex of the Immortals, at the "Chart of the Immortals" on page 11. Sure enough, there's Masauwu.... and he was sponsored to the sphere of Entropy by Hel apparently.... which makes me want to have fun with this and my take on the Metahel pantheon being a twist on the Norse and Faerunian Pantheon. My "Hela" is "Heleshkiga".... or a mix of Hela and Ereshkigal.
If this WERE made to be an actual linkage and not just a similar name of a deity, there would likely have to be some kind of "time" manipulation. The Mystaran Masauwu is said to have been a member of the Minrothad Guilds before Hel promoted him. The Minrothad guilds were formed in 691 AC and "current year" of the Mystaran campaign which would have been around the 1370's of FR corresponded to 1015 AC.
EDIT: Lol, reading more on the Immortals of Mystara ..... Hel was made to forget her origins... Another death goddess made to forget. God but there are so many links like this.
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Alavairthae, may your skill prevail
Phillip aka Sleyvas |
Edited by - sleyvas on 25 Apr 2026 23:59:17 |
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TBeholder
Great Reader
2535 Posts |
Posted - 26 Apr 2026 : 09:51:50
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quote:
Originally posted by Ayrik
Mystara is recognized in Spelljammer and Planescape lore. But known, established connections are pretty sparse and tenuous. Mostly, Mystara seems to be included only so it wouldn't be excluded, so that some possibility always existed to link Mystara and other worlds, so that characters and adventures could be moved between them.
There are some references now and then, like Farrow (Mystaran shadow elf in Sigil).
quote:
But the lore is always written in ways which vaguely suggest Mystara is somehow "far away", "off the path", "unknown to travellers". Mystara is essentially unknown and unreachable, it's something between "might as well not exist" and "exists in rumours and adventuring tales" unless the DM decides otherwise.
Why "somehow"?
In-Universe this may be the whole point: Mystara turned into a living "laboratory" (outside) /"library" (inside) world for the Powers exactly because it was mostly isolated.
Practically, the problem is that Mystara was built on a different cosmology, has early versions of the references and elements used elsewhere since, and is rather goofy.
quote:
although explanations are made about how and why Athas is disconnected and isolated from everything else, it has "drifted" to an impossible distance and seems to be blocked, obscured, or surrounded by strange planar barriers - but no such explanations are offered for Mystara, indeed it is mostly forgotten and rarely mentioned at all.)
The very existence of The Grey makes it necessarily something other than a standard-issue bubble of Prime, yes.
The references to it are relatively numerous, but IMHO under-exploited. I mean, more than someone happens to be from that one world, or reference to that one time githyanki tried a slave expedition through an enticingly looking color pool, and had their lean behinds handed to them chopped and extra-crispy.
There could be trade. Immigration. Plots. For example, someone who wants to screw with the Athar could plant a breadcrumb trail to "a world the gods cannot reach anymore" just to watch those poor sods stroll in and try to spout their screed in the face of some Sorcerer King every few years.
You did not mention Cerilia. Which got perhaps as few references as Mystara, and has Shadow World, which probably inspired The Grey.
In part, problems with cosmology, at least concerning the elves and fairies. Also, as a low-magic setting it aposteriori needs contacts to be minimized.
As to the pantheons, it’s generally understood that single-sphere powers are dime a dozen, but very obscure outside their stomping grounds, except by association with better known multi-sphere deities or other entities that attract attention.
For the Faerunian pantheon, examples are Sune (friend/rival of Aphrodite and Hanali) and Azuth (association with Harmonium for a while) respectively. |
People never wonder How the world goes round -Helloween
And even I make no pretense Of having more than common sense -R.W.Wood
It's not good, Eric. It's a gazebo. -Ed Whitchurch |
Edited by - TBeholder on 26 Apr 2026 11:57:39 |
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Known Mystaran Connections
