Wrath of the Immortals (1992) is one of the lesser-known core D&D box sets, I’d reckon. It was published as an integral part of Dungeons & Dragons’ short-lived “Challenger Series” phase, the most familiar being the D&D Rules Cyclopedia (1991).

Immortals set & WotI
Wrath of the Immortals was the successor to the capstone of the beloved BECMI D&D series, the Immortals box set
Rules Cyclopedia and WotI
D&D Rules Cyclopedia hardcover and WotI together replaced the 5 BECMI D&D box sets

WotI’s first book (“Codex of the Immortals”) replaces the Immortal Rules (1986), updating the way Immortals are treated in the D&D game (their powers, hierarchy, interaction with mortals, etc.) and includes a section of Artifacts, as well as some new monsters. The second booklet, The “Immortal’s Fury”, is a campaign saga which redefines the World of Mystara over the years AC1004 to AC 1009.

This wasn’t a simple replacement of course. TSR – and to be fair, other game companies as well – liked to inflict upheavals in campaign settings with the introduction of a new edition. Mystara, D&D’s original “Known World” campaign setting, got the same rough treatment in Wrath of the Immortals.

I won’t get into the controversy here, except to point you to the Swords & Stitchery blog post, which does a fine job of collating the viewpoints of folks who know more about Mystara than I do.

Speaking of Mystara experts, visit the Vaults of Pandius for a deep-dive into the setting. Lots of articles and fan-made expansion material.

Wrath Immortals box set 13

Wrath of the Immortals [BOX SET]
1992 … Aaron Allston … 128-page book, 96-page book, 2 fold-out maps … TSR 1082 … ISBN 1560764120

 

Immortals items in the shop

The Known World was examined in great depth in D&D’s Gazetteer series: Gazetteers in the shop

Wrath of the Immortals at eBay

Wrath of the Immortals available in PDF at DriveThruRPG

Also: D&D Rules Cyclopedia & original Immortals set

 

Cataclysm

The Immortals, D&D’s giants in the playground, made a mess of Mystara after AC 1000.

The focus of my post today are the two maps that come with the set, and the physical changes wrought on the landscape.

Wrath of the Immortals map 1
Map 1: Before. The Known World circa AC 1000 (1082XXX0701)
Wrath of the Immortals map 2
Map 2: After (AC 1010), with insets of Alphatia (1082XXX0702)
DSCN6865
Before: Karameikos and surrounding region
DSCN6868
After

Following are spoilers, if you can describe events in a 28-year-old set as such. Hat tip to “rogueattorney” at Enworld forums for a list of changes.

Alfheim
“Alfhiem was taken over by the Shadow Elves and all the trees of the forest withered and died.”
DSCN6876
“Karameikos proclaimed its complete independence from Thyatis and was re-christened a kingdom.” Before, Karameikos was a semi-autonomous Grand Duchy, distant from the affairs of Thyatis.
Glantri changes
Glantri got a near-miss from an asteroid.
Alphatia changes
“The continent of Alphatia was destroyed on the surface world and it re-appeared as a floating continent in the Hollow World.”

See also: 

D&D RULES CYCLOPEDIA (1991): Original Dungeons & Dragons Complete in One Book
Known World to Hollow World: Atruaghin’s Mystical Conveyor in D&D GAZ14
The Eastern Countries Trail Map (1989): D&D Known World Setting
Which BECMI D&D Expert Rulebook do you have?