Mystara Story Generator

As said in the previous installments of this series of articles, the protagonists do not exist in a void. There is scenery around them, a world made of locations, other people, animals and monsters. Randomly selecting such things could automatically create a plot, but the scenery ideas can be used to greatly enrich it as much as the DM desires.
The first part in issue #26 was dedicated to the creation of characters, either PCs or NPCs, and stories, from simple events to complex adventures.
The second part in issue #27 was dedicated to encounters, from monsters to common animals.
The third part in issue #28 was dedicated to the environment around the characters and their stories, the many things which can exist and happen around them, enriching the game worlds and the adventures that occur within it. So we addressed Time, Calendar and Holidays, Weather and Climate, Travel, Roads and Transport, including Flying, Trade, Prices and Currencies, then Dominions and Disasters, War, Sieges and Armies and finally a Random generator of towns and villages.
In this fourth and final part we’ll look at other aspects which we could group in the private lives of PCs, i.e. what they do when they are not adventuring. So we’ll look into Magic and Item creation, Horoscopes, Storytelling, Art, Sport, Guilds, Universities, Jobs and Hobbies, Diseases, Diplomacy and Demography, and finally we’ll take a quick look at Immortals, Religion and Immortality paths. All are important subjects to add depth to a game world and the characters’ lives. Some of the tables and information below are derived from the Rules Cyclopedia^¹ and other canon products, as indicated in each description below, but many have been heavily modified depending on the result I wanted to achieve.

Magic

Spell research is treated on page 25 of the D&D Expert Set and in more detail on page 255 of the Rules Cyclopedia. This is likely to be an important occupation for magic-users, clerics and elves. The Expert set only indicates 1,000 gp (or 1,000 ‘base’ or copper coins in the modified coin system I proposed in issue #28, see link above) and 2 weeks per level of the spell. In the Rules Cyclopedia there are much more details, as the character will need a library, components for example from creatures of the same HD as the spell’s level, 1,000 gp per level and one week plus one day per level. The chance of success depends on character level, spell level, value of the prime requisite (intelligence for magic-users or wisdom for clerics) and has a different formula if the spell is common or new.
common spells: [(Prime requisite + Lvl)*2]-(3*spell level)

This means a 1st level magic-user with 13 intelligence will have only a 25% chance of discovering a common spell and a 23% chance of creating a new spell, and will have to spend at least 8 days and 1,000 gp in research.
A 6th level cleric with 16 wisdom will have a 39% chance for a new 1st level spell and a 29% chance for a new 3rd level spell.
The chance increases by 5% at each new attempt, but the character still has to spend 8 more days and 1,000 more gp. That’s quite prohibitive for low level characters obviously, and this is exactly the intent of the rule.
A 36th level magic-user with 18 intelligence will have a 100% chance for any 1st level spells, 98% for a new 2nd level spell down to 63% for a new 9th level spell.

The philosophy behind those chances is that spell creation is quite difficult at low levels but gets much easier at higher levels, provided you have a large amount of money, which is basically the equivalent of three years of average income for a first level spell and about 25 years of average income for a 9th level spell.
Personally I do not like all these money requirements much, or rather I would make it possible to substitute the money with components the character can obtain or with an appropriate task or ritual they can perform, in the case of clerics.
I would also modify the chances of spell creation, making it easier at lower level but in general more difficult for new spells, in the way described below. It will still not be possible to learn spells the caster cannot use.
Requirements: Library, 1 week per spell level, 100 gp per spell level OR 1 HD creature component per spell level OR A task taking 1 week per spell level.
Chance of spell creation: 51% minimum for common spell at first level and prime requisite value of 10, increasing of 1 % point per level and 2 % points per each prime requisite value above 11, up to a maximum of 50+36+16=102 i.e. above 100 for a 36th level magic-user with 18 intelligence studying a common spell.
A penalty of 2% for each spell level above 1 and of 30% for new spells, means that a 2nd level magic-user with intelligence 13 researching a new spell will have a 50+2+6-20=38% and a 36th level magic-user with intelligence 18 has a 50+36+16-18-30=54% for a new 9th level spell.
The formula becomes

Common spells: [50+level+2*prime requisite value above 10)]-(2*spell level above 1)

New spells: [50+level+2*prime requisite value above 10)]-(2*spell level above 1 + 30)

It’s not extremely different from the original one but makes it a bit easier to learn a common spell and a bit more difficult to create a new one, even at high levels.

But what’s a common spell and what’s a new spell? Originally it seems the author intended that the common spells are the ones in the BECMI rules and the Rules Cyclopedia, while the new ones are anything invented by the PC. However later products and fan works expanded the list of spells. The list of Mystaran spells is now huge because beside the ‘original’ ones in the BECMI sets (and in the Rules Cyclopedia), so many were added in other canon products and even more created by fans. Your guide here is the “Spells and spellcasting” section of the Vault of Pandius http://pandius.com/spel_dwo.html which could well provide a lot of inspiration for your PC.
It’s ultimately up to the DM to rule if a spell found in a Gazetteer or in a fan work should be considered ‘common’ or ‘new’. Possibly the PC should have the same chance of learning it as for a common spell, provided they have access to a text describing the spell or to a spellbook which contains it.

And don’t forget the Seven Secret Crafts of Glantri present on page 69 of GAZ3: “The Principalities of Glantri”. Bruce Heard, in his blog, also recently added some resources which could well be used for Alphatia, such as “Skyship Spells” https://bruce-heard.blogspot.com/2018/07/skyship-spells.html and it could also be appropriate to use original AD&D or later D&D editions spells to reflect the variety of spell creation which is likely to be found in Alphatia or other magic-heavy countries.

Magic and Mundane item Creation

Another important part of the lives of spellcasters, it is introduced on page 25 of the D&D Expert Set, where a caster must be of at least 9th level, search for special materials and spend 500 gp and 1 week time per spell level if the item duplicates a spell’s effect. The chance of success is 85%. There are then examples of items not replicating spell’s effect, with a minimum of 1 month time and 10,000 gp for 20 arrows +1, same cost but 6 months for plate mail +1 and up to 100,000 gp and 12 months for a ring of x-ray vision. This certainly makes magic items extremely rare and costly, maybe a bit too much.

The Rules Cyclopedia from page 250 onwards has more detailed rules. The spellcaster must be of 9th level or higher in some circumstances and know the related spell. They must work together with a specialist, for example an armorer, if they want to make enchanted armor, and pay for their work. They must acquire some special or rare component. The chance of success is given by the formula ([Int+Lvl]*2)-(3*spell level) = %, which is relatively low considering even a 36th level magic-user with intelligence 18 will have an 81% chance of success with a 9th level spell enchanted item. Then there are detailed rules on the costs of making magical armors and weapons and miscellaneous magical items. Compared to the ones in the Expert Set, these costs are much lower, making theoretically possible the existence of a magic item trade in the world. Enchantment time is given as one week per 1,000 gp, and there are also rules for permanency and limits for destructive items. Pages 253 and 254 have rules to make magical constructs and huge magical items, including vessels and buildings, with the example of an underwater vessel and the effects dispel magic spells may have on flying ships.

The above rules were mostly introduced in GAZ3: “The Principalities of Glantri”, GAZ6: “The Dwarves of Rockhome”, and the “Dawn of the Emperors” boxed set. The Player’s Guide to Alphatia booklet also has on page 29 a specific table on how some items which are usable only a certain number of times in a time period will cost less. On page 31 there is also a more detailed description of The Shark, a magical submersible and The Air Ship of Love of Gaity.
As indicated on page 32, the AC11: “The Book of Wondrous Inventions” had quite different and cheaper building costs for magical items, a fact which is justified by DotE as the builders were specialists in their own lands or made things with technology rather than magic. This is an interesting note as there may be a competition for example between magic-users and gnomes, in Alphatia and elsewhere. From page 88 to 92 of AC11 the section of Dorfin’s Little Shop of Horrors illustrates a series of gnomish inventions which can be found for sale or ordered. From page 92 there are also rules for creating spells and magical items and then for magic users to create a library with XP for gaining spells and creating magic items.

The “Champions of Mystara” boxed set Designer’s Manual is dedicated to the creation of skyships, expanding the guidelines mentioned above from DotE and the Rules Cyclopedia. PC2: “Top Ballista'' has Gnome Construction Skills from page 34 and some special Equipment and Magical Items from page 39, then on pages 62–63 rules for Airplane Design and Weaponry. GAZ6: “The Dwarves of Rockhome” has Special Dwarven Task from page 31, including Dwarven Craftmagic and some special big devices such as The Proto-Zeppelin and The Steam-Powered Dimension Launcher.

And obviously there are the Clan Relics of elves, dwarves and halflings in the Companion Set and on pages 145-147 of the Rules Cyclopedia. The elven ‘Tree of Life’ can create lightships, the dwarven ‘Forge of Power’ can create rockships and the halfling ‘Crucible of Blackflame’ can create moonlight sails or kites, and all three can create other magical objects. A gnomish relic is not mentioned in canon, but fans have supposed it could be some technological artifact^². Other relic-like objects are mentioned in canon, such as in GAZ 9: “The Guilds of Minrothad” ‘The Pearl of Power’ for the water elves and ‘The Carved Oak’ for the Wood elves, and in PC3: “The Sea People” ‘The Frond of Life’ for the aquatic elves of Undersea. And then there is in X11: “Saga of the Shadowlord” ‘The Elvenstar’, later mentioned also in the fan works on Wendar^³. ‘The Chamber of the Spheres’ of GAZ13: “The Shadow Elves” could be a ‘relic’ too, as does ‘The Blue Knife’ of GAZ10: “The Orcs of Thar”. There are many other possible examples in canon products but the distinction between a relic and an artifact is dubious. The demihuman relics could indeed be considered ‘just’ powerful artifacts and therefore many other races, countries or religions could have their own.

The module set in ancient Blackmoor DA3: “City of the Gods” has a list of Alien Devices on page 32, the Nucleus of the Spheres in the adventure in Wrath of the Immortals “The Immortals’ Fury” has other technological devices, and another, gun-like item appears in GAZ3: “The Principalities of Glantri” in the hands of Prince Jaggar Von Drachenfels. The technological constructs of the Blacklore elves in the “Hollow World” boxed set are not supposed to work outside of their lands due to Immortals’ will, but around the world many technomagical items of the Blackmoorian times could still be around to be used or studied and imitated by magic-users and other spellcasters.

Horoscope and Predictions

A Glantrian Horoscope first appeared on TM1: “The Western Countries Trail Map” as ‘Glantrian Horoscope’ with Star signs, Ascendancy and Influences, later expanded in the “Poor Wizard’s Almanac” with descriptions of the Signs and Ascendancies but without the Influences. The Influences however re-appeared in the “Poor Wizard’s Almanac II” which also contains Horoscopes for AC 1011, which could be easily used as adventure seeds. The “Poor Wizard’s Almanac III” has the same with much expanded Horoscopes for AC 1012. Horoscopes are also present in all the fan almanacs^⁴ from AC 1014 to 1018. Both the canon and fan almanacs also contain generic predictions which can be easily inserted in a campaign as uttered by some mysterious soothsayer or found in some rare book or adventuring location. In the Explorer’s Manual of the “Champions of Mystara '' boxed set the society of Yavdlom, dominated by seers, is described. Another land quite interested in horoscopes and predictions is Ambur in Alphatia, for which Bruce Heard created rules for weekly horoscopes^⁵.

Art and Entertainment

Storytelling was certainly a huge part of people’s lives before the invention of press, radio and television. A Storytelling chart appears on page 33 of GAZ2: “The Emirates of Ylaruam”, allowing a d100 roll to determine the success of a tale. A chapter Of the Telling of Tales also appears in GAZ8: “The Five Shires” on pages 13–14 of the Player’s book.

Theaters are certainly an important part of the city life in many Known World nations. Emilio the Great is the notorious actor and spy who appears in GAZ1: “The Grand Duchy of Karameikos”. Thyatis and Alphatia, especially in Ambur, certainly have an active theatrical life which is noted in canon products, for example a ‘Hattian Play’ series of events appears for Thyatis city in “Poor Wizard’s Almanac I”, which also nominates the Gemstone Theater in Ambur, where another one, The Elshethara Theater, a ‘site to behold’, is nominated in “Dawn of the Emperors” boxed set. More details on Ambur’s theaters appeared recently on Bruce Heard’s blog^⁶. Traveling actors and troupes are also likely to be quite common in many Mystaran nations, as described for example by Lost Woodrake on THRESHOLD Magazine issue #26^⁷.

Art could be another important occupation for PCs, either as consumers or producers. The Kingdom of Haven and especially its capital city of Aasla in Alphatia^⁸ are described as the main art center of Mystara, but forms of art are likely to exist in all countries and among all races of the world, including magical ones.

Playing music could be considered both art and theater. Before recording was invented, traveling or resident singers were a common feature of almost every village of the world. In Mystara recording may not be common, but it could probably exist in magic-rich nations, albeit it may be too expensive for the common people.

Organized sports are a feature of modern times in the real world, but tournaments were their direct ancestors. One, The Golden Dagger, is mentioned in the Companion Set, another for the Spring Festival in Norwold in CM1: “Test of the Warlords” and the Royal Tournament of Adventurers is the way Ierendi chooses yearly its King and Queen. And obviously there is the Arena of Thyatis, featured in the namesake module, and the Hardball Tournament in Alphatia. Håvard compiled a list of Games & Sports in Mystara^⁹, at least those mentioned in canon products. Yet canon Mystara also has the World’s Games which started in Darokin in AC 1010 as described in the “Poor Wizard’s Almanac”, and later continuing in all the canon and fan almanacs.
The “Red Steel” boxed set on pages 112 and 113 also contains Dueling rules. Duels are not exactly a sport but in many societies of the past they were indeed a relatively common occurrence and the most famous ones avidly followed by nobles and common people.

Hobbies could be another important part of the private lives of the PCs. Some may fall into the ‘Art’ or ‘Sport’ categories mentioned above, but there are obviously many more, such as listening to music, cooking, gardening, reading or writing, collecting or building all kinds of small to big objects, useful or not. Giving your PC a hobby will grant them more depth and could easily become a source of adventure, for example if the PC wants to search for some special object or ingredient related to his/her passion.

Guilds and Jobs

Guilds were an important part of the daily life of medieval and renaissance times in the real world, playing the role of modern unions and industrial and trade associations. There were guilds for every job and occupation and guild rivalries had a very important role in the politics of historical cities and countries. In THRESHOLD Magazine issue #1 Agathokles gave a good example of this in his adventure Guild Wars^¹⁰ set in Specularum. Thieves’ guilds obviously appear in canon material and are described also in GAZ1: “The Grand Duchy of Karameikos” and other canon products. GAZ3: “The Principalities of Glantri” from page 32 an extensive list list of Guilds and Brotherhoods; in GAZ9, Minrothad is a whole nation based on trade guilds, and similar guilds are likely to exist in some form in all the countries of the world.
Guilds are a perfect source of jobs for adventurers, either common jobs to have a steady source of income or special jobs which can send the PCs to perform quests and find adventure.

Schools and Universities

TM2: “The Eastern Countries Trail Map” has a list of the Major Universities of the Known World. The Great School of Magic in Glantri city is detailed in GAZ3 and the School of Magic in Krakatos, Karameikos features prominently in the “Poor Wizard’s Almanac” series. Sending the PCs to a specific school to acquire special competences could be an adventure in itself, such as studying at the Retebius Air Academy in Thyatis to use and obtain flying mounts. And starting a campaign with juvenile PCs in a school is relatively easy, considering the number of novels, movies and stories in the world which could provide easy inspiration.
More common schools could exist even at village level, provided by the central government, by local lords or by churches. Teaching in such local schools could be the main job of a PC, or a way for them to support the local community.

Diseases

TM2: “The Eastern Countries Trail Map” has a list of diseases by area affected. Diseases are not exactly ‘occupations’, but certainly are accidents of life which sooner or later happen more or less to everyone, from the simply annoying to the serious. They can provide complications during a specific adventure, which is more or less the meaning of the TM2 table, or become the very center of adventures or even campaigns, for example if a cleric PC is focused on curing a particularly nasty and dangerous disease, or if part of her/his duties for the church involve providing basic medical assistance to the faithful or to the general public.
Most past societies indeed did not have any form of modern healthcare and churches typically covered this role, unless a particularly illuminated local lord or lady was willing to provide this service to their subjects.

Diplomacy and international relations

TM2: “The Eastern Countries Trail Map” also has an ‘Imperial Geopolitical Intelligence (table 1)’ briefly describing, for each Known World nation the current ruler, attitude, politics, laws and philosophy. Most of the Gazetteers have a list of Ambassadors in the list of the famous people of each country, and several original D&D BECMI modules make heavy use of diplomacy, for example the CM and M series. GAZ11:“The Republic of Darokin” has a strong focus on diplomacy with the Darokin Diplomatic Corps. By the time PCs reach Companion level, or even earlier, it’s likely they will be involved in the politics of Known World nations and beyond. All sorts of diplomatic missions, spy games and intrigue stories fit very well in Mystara and it could be easily said they are built-in in the setting right from the start.

Demography and statistics

TM2: “The Eastern Countries Trail Map” has an ‘Imperial Geopolitical Intelligence (table 2)’ listing square mileage, population, common people revenues, kingdom treasury and peacetime military of many Known World nations. A lot of stats are present also in the “Poor Wizard’s Almanac” series, in the “Joshuan Almanac” and in the fanon “Mystaran Almanacs”. And fans obviously have expanded this topic even more, for example Simone Neri in THRESHOLD Magazine issues #1 and #3 with the Demography of Karameikos, Ierendi and Minrothad^¹¹, me in THRESHOLD Magazine issues #13,14,15,16, 18 and 19 with the “Unknown World Trail Map” articles^¹² describing the inhabitants of settled lands and wilderlands, and Fabrizio Nuzzaci inTHRESHOLD Magazine issues #28 and 29 with the Economy of Vestland and Ylaruam^¹³. All of these sources gives a bird’s view of the environment around the PCs but can be extremely useful to give depth to the world in which they live and act, and obviously can also be an infinite source of adventure, as if we assume such data are collected in-world governments will likely send adventurers to settled lands and wilderlands to explore and report.
Historically in the real world the development of centralized governments required the creation of a local bureaucracy which could collect taxes and provide protection, justice and other services to the local population. This process was neither quick nor easy and all the nations which did it needed soldiers and guards to help their civil servants, a role which in a fantasy world could easily be covered by adventurers (and wannabe adventurers).

The “Red Steel” boxed set, on page 6 of the Savage Baronies book, has a ‘Frequency of Character Types by Homeland’ table which is interesting because it assumes that ‘common people’ are 65 to 75% of the population, warriors are 10% to 20%, rogues 5% to 15%, wizards 2% to 10% and priests 1% to 10% with great variations among the baronies, likely to exist also in other nations. As the boxed set uses AD&D rules, there is also a 1% to 4% of multiclass, psionicists or other classes allowed by the DM in the campaign. According to the Player’s Guide to Alphatia of “Dawn of the Emperors”, 20% of Alphatians can become wizards and as spellcasting gives automatic nobility in Alphatian society, it’s fair to assume that at least 5%, if not 10%, of the population takes at least a clerical level. Countries with a strong military tradition as Thyatis have probably at least 20% of the population if not more with a basic warrior training. Under BECMI rules, where races are also classes, all the elven population should have at least an Elf level, but the DM could decide that there are ‘common’ elves without any combat or magical training. Still it is likely that in elven societies the percentage of magical abilities is quite high and the same could be valid for example for combat abilities among dwarves and humanoids.

Finally, to create a country from scratch in the unknown regions of the world, there is also the “World Maker’s Guide” on pages 36 to 50 of the “Champions of Mystara” boxed set.

Religion, Immortals and Paths to Immortality

Religion is an important part of life for many people and even if Mystara technically has Immortals rather than gods, they do have religions and churches which influence societies and countries and occasionally compete or fight among themselves. The original Immortal Rules boxed set and later the “Wrath of the Immortals” boxed set are obviously the canon sources for the Immortals of Mystara, while specific churches and religions appear in many Gazetteers and other canon products.
The definitive resource about religions and Immortals of Mystara is certainly the “Codex Immortalis”^¹⁴ by Marco Dalmonte. Also THRESHOLD Magazine issue #19 has been dedicated to Planes and Immortals^¹⁵.

As every BECMI DM and player knows, PCs who rise high enough in level can try to become Immortals themselves, following specific Paths by Sphere of Power as detailed in the source mentioned above. And fans have obviously added more Paths^¹⁶ in the Vaults of Pandius.

More tables and resources

All that was written above and in the previous installments of these articles should be enough to provide resources and inspiration for quite some Mystaran campaigns, but more tables exist in other canon products; for example Robin compiled on The Piazza a list of tables present in the classic modules^¹⁷.

And that’s all for my Mystara generator of (almost) everything! Keep adventuring in Mystara!

2See also “Multifunctional Gear Relic of Garal” by Marco Dalmonte in the Vaults of Pandius http://pandius.com/mltfgear.html

3See also “A Treatise on the Nature of the Demihumans’ Relics” by Marco Dalmonte in the Vaults of Pandius http://pandius.com/drelics.html

4Which can be found here on the Vaults of Pandius http://pandius.com/alm.html

9“Games & Sports played by characters in Mystara” by Håvard in the Vaults of Pandius http://pandius.com/mystgame.html

10See “Guild Wars” http://pandius.com/gildwars.html by Giampaolo Agosta from THRESHOLD Magazine issue #1

11See “The Demography of Karameikos” http://pandius.com/kardemog.html by Simone Neri from THRESHOLD Magazine issue #1 and “The Demography of Ierendi and Minrothad” http://pandius.com/irnmntdm.html by Simone Neri from THRESHOLD Magazine issue #3

12See “The Unknown World Trail Map” http://pandius.com/uknwntm6.html by Francesco Defferrari from THRESHOLD Magazine issue #19 and previous installments

13See “Economics of the Kingdom of Vestland” http://pandius.com/vstecon2.html by Fabrizio Nuzzaci from THRESHOLD Magazine issue #28 and “Economics of the Emirates of Ylaruam, AC 1000” http://pandius.com/ylarecon.html by Fabrizio Nuzzaci from THRESHOLDMagazine issue #29

14Which is here http://pandius.com/codeximm.html in the Vaults of Pandius

15Download it for free at the Vaults of Pandius http://pandius.com/thrs_mag.html#19

16See the “Paths to Immortality” section in the Vaults of Pandius http://pandius.com/imm.html#path

The Mystara’s generator of (almost) everything

Introduction