D&D BECMI - Hollow World Gazetteer - Kingdom of Nithia

Dungeons and Dragons BECMI Edition

D&D BECMI - Hollow World Gazetteer - Kingdom of Nithia

Dungeons and Dragons BECMI Edition

Product Description - D&D BECMI - Hollow World Gazetteer - Kingdom of Nithia

The Nithians have long been the stuff of legend on the outer world; they are a little less mysterious in the Hollow World.

Ruled by powerful pharaohs, said by some to be Immortals in mortal form, they are the most changeless of all the cultures in this realm. What are the fabled powers of the Nithian pyramids? Is there still a relationship between the Haptans and the Tanagoro tribes? Do the tales of fabulous floating chariots drawn by fiery beasts contain more than a kernel of truth? The answers to these and many more questions are contained in these pages. The HOLLOW WORLD boxed set is required for use with this accessory.

This product includes a 48-page DM’s booklet, a 48-page players’ booklet, and a special four-color, double-sided, poster map of Nithia. Details on new magical items and Nithian character classes are presented for use in your campaign. Look for Sons of Azca, the first cultural accessory in this series, at your favorite hobby store now!

Product History

HWR2: “Kingdom of Nithia” (1991), by Blake Mobley with Newton Ewell, is the second Hollow World Resource. It was published in October 1991.

Origins: Continuing the Hollow Gazetteers. HWR2: “Kingdom of Nithia” (1991) continues the trend of publishing what were essentially Basic D&D Gazetteers set in the Hollow World. However, unlike its predecessor HWR1: “Sons of Azca” (1991), HWR2: “Kingdom of Nithia” returns to the classic Gazetteer split between a player’s book and a GM’s book. As the name suggests, “Kingdom of Nithia” focuses on another popular Hollow World locale, Nithia, which had been the heart of HWA2: “Nightrage” (1990).

Expanding Basic D&D. The Player’s Tome in “Kingdom of Nithia” includes a new concept: specializations. They offer small bonuses and penalties to standard D&D classes based on the worship of certain Immortals or the following of certain careers. This permits better differentiation of BD&D characters, in much the same way that character kits did for AD&D 2e.

Exploring the Known World. Once upon a time there was an ancient kingdom called Nithia in the Known World, located far away, on the continent of Brun. It was mentioned here and there throughout the Gazetteer era of the Known World. The Hollow World reincarnation of Nithia received some attention in HWA2: “Nightrage”(1990). However, this was its core reference, with details on the kingdom, its cities, its ancient monuments, and its society.

Nithia is of course based on Egypt, making it one of many Egyptian-influenced settings from TSR. The first of these was I3: “Pharaoh” (1983), which depicted a fallen land that later became part of the Forgotten Realms. Nithia was in turn the first Egypt of the Known World; the Known World’s other desert nations, depicted in GAZ2: “The Emirates of Ylaruam” (1987), X4: “Master of the Desert Nomads” (1983), and X5: “Temple of Death” (1983) instead had been Arabic-influenced.

Whoops! There are a number of errors and omissions in “Kingdom of Nithia” that were corrected in “The Voyage of the Princess Ark” article in Dragon #182 (June 1992). It includes missing tables of Nithian arms, armor, and weapon mastery.

About the Creators. Mobley worked on a half-dozen books for TSR between 1990 and 1992, with “Kingdom of Nithia” being his only Basic D&D release. Afterward, he went on to produce two RPGs for a small press company called The Game Lords: the SF MetaScape (1993) and the generic/fantasy Ultimate Power (1994).

About the Product Historian

The history of this product was researched and written by Shannon Appelcline, the editor-in-chief of RPGnet and the author of Designers & Dragons – a history of the roleplaying industry told one company at a time. Please feel free to mail corrections, comments, and additions to shannon.appelcline@gmail.com.

Where it is used - D&D BECMI - Hollow World Gazetteer - Kingdom of Nithia

Wrath of the Immortals - Used in the hollow world of the setting.

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