Almanac Format
First of all, who should read this material. That's simple. Anyone who has interest in the world of Mystara. Of course, some need a more specific answer than this. As such, all the Atlas sections (of the Old World, Norwold, etc.) found in Book I can be read by both players and DMs of Mystara. The information given is general, usually common knowledge, and more than often slightly or not so slightly biased by the correspondents' point of view. Of course, this means that the information is not always 100% accurate, so players be warned: individual DMs might not accept the descriptions of any given place, changing it to suit their needs and campaign. And they're within their rights! After all, who said that the correspondent wasn't a complete fraud? It already happened (and we're sorry for that). DMs may also want to limit the PCs' knowledge to just one area of Mystara (after all, why should someone from the Old World know anything about the Savage Coast?). The other sections of Book I are left to the DM's judgment as to whether or not his or her players know this information.
The timeline section, located in Book II, dealing with events for the year of AC 1019, is for the DM's eyes only. It reveals certain secrets that players are just not meant to know unless they discover them the hard way. Of course, this only makes it easier for DMs to change any timeline event to match events that are occurring in their own world of Mystara. Likewise, the adventures in Book III are destined for the DM only, as reading them would spoil the surprise to a PC whose DM wishes to send on an adventure found, or based upon, one in that book.
The format used throughout the Mystaran Almanac is similar to the various previous almanacs in this line. The events are sorted per month, and grouped by week. Each event has a date, a title, an explicit location, and a description. When applicable, an event can reference up to four other related events (two prior and two posterior). It can also contain additional notes, explaining for example how it relates to a more global plot, and other such behind-the-scenes minutiae to delight a gnome. Finally, it says how mighty heroes (many of our correspondents fancy themselves such) may have learned of those events and influenced their course.
Sometimes, a correspondent has sent us a more thorough description of an event or series of event, or an in-depth analysis, or another such reportage that we feature as a topic of interest. They are the pendant to nation depictions of the atlas, and thus also reflect the view and bias of their authors.
Pictures and maps also illustrate the events, when appropriate.
Dorrik Stonecleaver