MotM: Mystryl's Harbor

Just in time for my birthday, here's March's Moon of the Month!  This time
we explore Mystryl's Harbor, a moon founded by survivors of the Empire of
Magic, Netheril.  In effect, it's a moon in which a creative DM can use
material from the Netheril boxed set without having to run an Arcane Age
campaign!


Mystryl's Harbor

Tiny (C) Spherical Earth

Climate: Temperate

Orbital Position: Outer Lunar

Day Length: 18 hours

Year Length: 120 days

Native Races: Humans, gnomes, orcs, wood elves



This orb of a moon shimmers like a green jewel in the night sky. The various
verdant greens is broken by scattered smudges of brown and white, likely
snow-capped mountains, and a single azure northern sea.



Mystryl's Harbor is a modest earth world. Most of the landscape is open
prairie, broken occasionally by hills, mountains, forests, and even dusty
badlands. It has an overall diameter of a little over 700 miles. The largest
body of water is but only 200 miles wide at its widest point.



A somewhat remote moon, Mystryl's Harbor is home to a survivor state of the
once-mighty empire of Netheril.  Though a shadow of the empire that once
spawned it, this moon is the best preserved example of Netherese culture
anywhere.  A council of mystics governs the use of magic to ensure that it
is not abused as it was in ancient Netheril, so that the people may avoid
another catastrophe.



Summers are hot and dry, while winters are cold and wet. Higher elevations
are often buried by several feet of snow. Seasons last only 30 days because
of the moon's short year.  The lowlands see more seasonal variations than
the upper elevations.  Abundant rainfall ensures that the growing season,
while short, is very productive.



Landmarks

Icefringe Sea: This small, ever-icy inland sea in the northern hemisphere.
Its waters are largely undisturbed, as only a handful of fishing vessels
keep to sheltered fjords. Silkies, seals, and narwhales have all been seen,
as well as many white dragons that haunt its depths.



Wildspell Point: Long ago, this small mountain was the scene of an enormous
spell-battle between an army of wizards and an army of sorcerers.  So much
chaotic magic was unleashed during the battle that the very fabric of magic
was torn asunder, leaving the entire area riddled with wild magic zones.
Any magic used in the area has a 50% chance of turning wild, making
spellcasting in the area chancy.  Spellcasters avoid the area, which serve
as a refuge for those that have reason to fear from wizards.



Hallowbough Forest: This thick, dark forest of oak, birch, and shadowtop
trees is notorious as a haven for orcs and fell monsters.  Attempts to clear
it out have failed utterly, as even the trees resist any effort to drive the
monsters out.  It is an evil place, where witches and hags rule over
monstrous hordes.  All towns within a day's ride of its boundaries are
heavily fortified, as raids are commonplace.



Native Creatures

Natural animals are rare on Mystryl's Harbor while dire animals of all sorts
are much more common.  Likewise, magical and unusual monsters are
commonplace, the result of centuries of magical experimentation by wizards.
Most of these unfortunate creatures are hunted down and destroyed, but all
too many elude destruction.  Creatures with spell-like abilities are a
growing problem in the wilderness.



Guide to Groundlings

The primary inhabitants of Mystryl's Harbor are humans, wood elves, gnomes,
and orcs.  Humans and gnomes dwell in towns and cities in the plains and in
the foothills.  Orcs claim the caverns under mountains, and war with the
elves over the forests.



Use of magic is very important to the natives of this moon, regardless of
their race.  Those that cannot cast at least a handful of low-level spells
are regarded as peasants, and barred from all but the lowest work.  True
spellcasters able to cast spells beyond a few simple tricks are rare.



The humans, gnomes, and elves live in towns and small cities surrounded by
pastoral farmlands and small forests.  Every town has one or more wizard
towers; part of a town's prestige is the number of towers it has.  The most
powerful wizards take their towers into the sky, using powerful spells to
craft ever-levitating towers in memory of the floating cities of old.



The people of Netheril of old had an ill reputation as arrogant and deadly,
a memory that has all but faded.  Even still, the people of Mystryl's Harbor
still bear some shame at the cataclysm they once caused.  The populous is
very conscious of the abuse of magic.  A secret police force of powerful
wizards enforces strict rules about what spells can be used.  Extensive use
of combat magic, particularly that which causes damage to surrounding
landscape or buildings, can result in banishment or death of the offender.



Resources and Trade

This moon is not especially rich in resources; the sources of food, metals,
and gemstones are sufficient such that they need not be imported in great
quantities, but not great enough to create a surplus to export.  Scroll
scribing is the single largest industry and the moon's main export.  Potion
brewing is only slightly less of an export, and various other magic items
are sold as well.  The moon imports spell components and exotic materials
useful in crafting magic items.



Ports of Call

Mystilune (metropolis, 75,000): The capital of this moon is the many-towered
city of Mystilune. Enormous white towers rise high into the sky, held aloft
by arcane magic. It is a center of learning, trade, and art. There are no
less than eight academies of arcane magic in this city. The nickname of this
city is the "City of Scrolls".  Through use of powerful magic, a trio of
ring-like deepwater lakes was excavated around the city to create one of the
finest spelljammer docks anywhere.  Almost anything can be found in the four
markets of the city, from the mundane to artifacts of long lost empires.
Troublemakers are warned that the city is well-patrolled and has a navy of
almost twenty warships.



Jannatown (small city, 10,000): The agricultural hub of this moon, Jannatown
sports several windmills and storehouses for grains, barley, and rye.  Here
the harvest is ground into flour to be shipped to other cities.  It has a
levitating loading dock so that flying ships can pull along side to be
loaded with the next grain shipment.



Tychaven (small city, 8,000): The primary income of this frontier city is by
way of four large gambling halls, brothels, and numerous tiny shrines to the
goddess of luck, Tyche.  The place has an ill reputation as an "anything
goes" place, where one can quickly lose their fortune, their lives, and even
their souls.



History

The history of Mystryl's Harbor truly began a little less than two thousand
years ago, in the cataclysmic destruction of a distant magical empire known
as Netheril.  Following the destruction, refugees fled by every means
possible, including spelljammers.  A fleet of such ships escaped the
Netheril's ruin, guided by an "echo" of the now-dead goddess Mystryl.  That
echo lead them here after a harrowing voyage, which they named Mystryl's
Harbor in her honor.



The survivors quickly discovered they were not alone.  Two other survivor
fleets arrived as well, one of elvish Man-O-Wars, the other orcish
Scorpions, also following the echo.  The orc fleet was larger, but was no
match for the combined might of the elves, humans, and gnomes.  The battle
was fierce and left the orcs stranded.



Following the battle, the survivors discovered the source of the echo,
inside an abandoned temple of Mystryl.  Inside was a surviving avatar of the
goddess who called herself the White Sorceress.  She blessed the survivors,
and chose from there number seven to be leaders and wardens.  Afterwards,
she bid them farewell, and the survivors set about rebuilding their
civilization.



Since that time, the survivors grew from beggar refugees to a powerful,
spelljamming civilization.  All that time, the Seven and their arcane
enforcers have kept vigil over the abuse of magic, at least on their world.



Satellites

Amaunator's Watch: A large castle built on a circular disc of solid granite
500 yards in diameter.  The castle has facilities to support its fleet of
ten warships and more than twelve hundred soldiers.  Wards have been placed
around the castle to protect it from hostile races such as neogi, illithids,
and orcs.





Bibliography

Spelljammer: Dungeons & Dragons in Space

Netheril: Empire of Magic