"So, it's off to Malachi with you, is it?
Are you sure a bunch of provincial bumpkins
such as yourselves are ready for the
wonders of the big city?"

The weathered caravan master chuckled
to himself and continued. "Another pack of
farmer's sons and daughters tired of the
fields and fighting kobolds, anxious to greet
the lights and luxuries of the King?s own
demesnes. Do you know just what you?re
getting into? Sure, and the stories are true.
Wonders the like of which your little village
has never dreamed. Exotic specimens from
the four corners of the world! Splendid
palaces of pleasure to delight the senses in
unimagined ways! Healthy, well-fed people.
Gems, slaves, mansions, and respect for
any brave or rich enough to buy them. Aye,
you?ll have a good time in Malachi. But
remember, my young gadabouts: Every city
has its dark side, too. . . ."
 

What city is this caravan master talking
about? Certainly not a medieval, middle
European town. He makes no mention of
the disease, filth, and poverty of teeming
masses packed between heavily fortified
walls, without the benefit of modern technology.
On the contrary, he?s discussing
Malachi -- a major city on the northwestern
coast of the continent of Urth, the setting
for a city adventure in an AD&D®
game.

DRAGON® Magazine has recently presented
articles informing its readership of
the true status of medieval cities, for use as
a basis for designing their own city adventures.
While including such factors as leprosy,
plague, food and water shortages, fire
hazards from home lighting, and corrupt
legal systems may add historical realism to a
campaign, they do little to reflect the possibilities
of a magical universe. On Urth, the
laws of magic were discovered early in its
history; technology, where it?s discussed at
all, is regarded as a superstitious, unenlightened
pipe dream -- something possible on
another plane, perhaps, but certainly nothing
the citizens of Malachi would care to
live with.

Malachi is a major population center on a
relatively young world. Humanity is the
predominant species on Urth, but only by a
small margin. The various species of demihumans
and the legions of monsterdom
make the human margin of control slim
indeed. Only a small percentage of the
population of Urth is of adventuring caliber,
and that number faces constant attrition in
the course of daily life. Everyone on Urth
knows the veracity of the saying, "There
are no old adventurers." However, the
percentage of adventurers or semi-retired
adventurers is higher per capita in Malachi
than in less civilized places on Urth. The
reason, besides the obvious comfort and
convenience factors, is that it is an ideal
place for a talented individual to make a
living without risking his or her neck for
every gold piece. Let's take the character
classes in order to demonstrate their contribution
to "the good life" in Malachi.

The power of the churches
Clerics are the true backbone of life in
Malachi. The church exerts its influence in
nearly every phase of the citizen?s life, from
infant dedication to the gods, to funeral
rites and burial (if the body is available).
The missions offer healing to the poor, and
all diseased are ordered to the church for
curing upon discovery of an affliction.
While resurrection, raise dead, and regeneration
are reserved for the wealthy who are
able to pay the high fees commanded for
these services, a man's family may be required
to serve in the church for only a year
to pay for his blindness cure. The church
which is directly in service to the king provides
disease control for the city, sending
hardy, if low-level, adventurers to dispatch
rat hordes, while isolating plague victims
within the church until cure disease can be
used. Free medical care is readily available
to the poor, and those who can afford to
tithe to their church are assured of help
from their local priest.

Medical services are only one aspect of
the church?s influence, though. Merchants,
for a reasonable fee, can have their spoiled
or fouled foodstuffs purified at the neighborhood
temple. Unruly acolytes are often put
on ?purification detail? to contemplate the
foulness of their own misbehavior. Some
sects maintain a booth in the marketplace
for magic detection, both to serve lazy
adventurers and to validate the truth of a
merchant?s claim. Continual light devices
are a popular, if expensive, item sold
throughout the city. All major streets have
continual light street lamps, and most middle
class homes have at least one ?light
ball? carved from wood and easily transportable
from one room to another. The
king has contracts with all good and neutral
churches concerning serious food and water
shortages, and the missions dedicated to the
poor have "manna lines" in which created 
food is doled out to those who would otherwise
go hungry.

Malachi?s legal system is heavily dependent
on the church. Nike?s temple is the
seat of justice in Malachi, with her lawful
neutral clerics scrupulous in their decisions.
Any citizen accused of a crime is brought
before a court of clerics who question the
defendant under a detect lie spell, subject
him or her to know alignment and detect
charm, perform auguries to ascertain the
validity of the judgment, and (in the case of
important murders) speak with the dead
victim for identification of the criminal.
Any sentenced to death are properly magicked
to make resurrection difficult. These
are but a few of the mundane uses of a
cleric?s talents. Special circumstances and
heavy purses of gold allow access to the
more esoteric abilities of the godly, and
generate many possibilities for role-playing.

A druidic park service
Druids are not useless, as is commonly
claimed, in a city adventure. In Malachi, a
small city park is maintained by an order of
druids. This tract of land was a concession
to the druids of the area by the original
founder. An enslaved earth elemental patrols
the grounds, often assisting with distance
distortion spells from a neutral mage,
so the park has the peculiar appearance of
being bigger on the inside than the outside.
Citizens are free to visit the park as long as
they respect the sanctity of the druids and
the park?s inhabitants. Wise visitors stay on
the paths and don?t stray into the gardens
proper. Player-character druids are welcome
to seek solace and advice in the park, but
woe to the hapless party member who tampers
with any of the sylvan denizens.

The current king continues a working
relationship with the druidical order, receiving
weather forecasts and advice on planting
and harvesting. The order has agreed to
help out in the event of a serious water
shortage, and some members also conduct
healing clinics as well as selling poison
antidotes to merchants. One nature lover
has set up a small veterinary office to care
for sick animals. The more artistic druids
have been known to work wonders in stone
for the town?s upper class.

The relationship isn?t always smooth,
though. The druidical orders follow the
Celtic mythos, while the city?s churches
follow the Grecian gods. There is constant
rivalry between these two groups with little
friendly interaction. So far, no evil Greek
temple has advanced a cleric to twelfth
level, but the druids are ready to call the
Wild Hunt as soon as a priest achieves the
title. Needless to say, the king and the
churches themselves are striving to prevent
this from happening, as the Hunt would
critically damage Malachi. Unfortunately,
evil priests are less than cooperative when it
comes to giving out information concerning
their membership. The druids honor their
agreement with Malachi, but would not be
unhappy to see this jewel of civilization
ruined in order to restore the balance of
good and evil.

The fighting arm of Malachi
Fighters find work more easily than any
other class. King's guards or mercenaries,
bodyguards or night watchmen -- fighters
and their subclasses are readily apparent.
Merchant ships hire elite pirate and seamonster
fighters, bars need bouncers,
mages need human shields, and slavers and
press gangs are always looking for strong
backs and weak minds. The fighting classes
contribute to the luxuriance of Malachi.
Since they usually have money they are
eager to spend, they often commission
custom-made swords and armor, and they
form the city's bottom-line fighting
strength.

Enterprising fighters conduct training
sessions for the warriors? guild, and the less
scrupulous offer their muscle to the thieves?
guild. When picking locks fails on a mission,
bending bars skill may come in handy.
Some form collection agencies for local
moneylenders. (Try telling a 4th-level half-ogre
fighter that you?ll have the money for a
gambling debt next week!) Warehouse and
other heavy work is always available,
though admittedly it doesn?t pay as well as
the more glamorous positions. Pest control
companies are often run by low-level fighters
taking their chances with rats and insects
within the relative safety of the city.
For example, there?s Sam, a semi-retired
half-orc fighter, who runs Sam?s Sausages, a
place popular with some of the city?s nonhuman
population. There are those who
cast suspicion on the ingredients he uses
and refuse to enter his store, fearing they
may become part of next week?s special. For
a fighter, looking for work in the city can be
an adventure in-itself.

The world of magic
Magic-users are perhaps the class most
responsible for the comforts and luxuries of
Malachi. Studious types can make a very
comfortable and relatively safe living performing
various divination spells. Even a
lowly prestidigitator can live comfortably
casting identify and read magic for active
adventurers. Of course, part of each fee
goes for insurance with the local church in
case of curses or other malevolent effects.
Harried, affluent mothers are often willing
to pay for a sleep spell to quiet a cranky
baby, and enlarge spells and Nystul?s magic
aura have their customers. Many will cast
mending spells for a modest fee, and one
mid-level mage supports himself quite well
running a message service. Madge the
Mage, manager of the Hylas Hotel, uses
her unseen servants as chambermaids,
along with other spells that make her job
easier and her customers? visits more comfortable.

The more commercially oriented mages
also sell continual light devices, invisibility
spells, and bestow exceptional strength on
those who are in temporary need of it.
Magic mouths are in great demand for
everything from burglar alarms to advertising
to practical jokes. Levitate spells are
often purchased by construction companies,
and pyrotechnic displays are all the rage at
fancy celebrations. A few mages operate
private investigation offices which employ
clairvoyance, clairaudience, and other spells
to gather information for clients. These
agencies are against the law, as the king
insists on his own privacy, but their existence
is hard to detect and prove.

Higher-level mages are not all averse to
supporting a lavish lifestyle by selling their
talents. Besides doing research for those
who are untalented or unable to spare the
time, they are also responsible for-building
and designing some of the more impressive
mansions in town. One mage specializes in
alarms and traps for wealthy citizens. Many
are paid a retainer by the king in exchange
for their services in times of trouble. Fewships
set sail without a resident mage.

One ordinary merchant makes his living
because of the gratitude of a high-level
wizard. It seems he helped the fledgling
apprentice out of a jam, and was promised
a reward when the mage came into power.
He now has specially constructed wooden
molds manufactured which he fills with
water. Once a week, the wizard visits his
warehouse and casts a cone of cold on the
molds. The merchant can support his family
very well as an ice dealer.

Illusionists play an important part in the
life of the city, too. For the timid-and untalented,
an illusionist?s ?picture parlor?
offers spectral force shows which are every
bit as exciting as real adventuring, but
much safer. These showmen occasionally
pay active adventurers for vivid descriptions
of their travels which the illusionist can
incorporate in his next ?picture.? One
famous pleasure palace has a permanent
illusion of a young lovely disrobing below
its sign, an advertising device that has
embarrassed more than one naive tourist.
Cruel masters sometimes feel the expense is
worth the gain, and will pay to have dispel
exhaustion cast on a tired or overworked
slave. Illusionists are often employed by the
very rich for an evening?s entertainment at
parties.

These examples only touch on the ways
that magic has replaced technology in Malachi,
but should serve to inspire the imaginative
DM with many ?luxury? gold drains
for too-affluent adventurers. Magical
amenities and other status symbols are a
wonderful way to remove excess monies
from player characters, leaving them with
something to brag about without increasing
their combat abilities. One of the half-ogres
currently adventuring in Malachi is saving
his hard-earned gold to purchase a mansion
full of slaves in the old section of town. He
wants to buy his way into society (unlikely
to happen, but he?ll spend many a platinum
piece finding out the hard way). This is
much less destructive to game balance than
saving for an intelligent sword +5, and has
been this character?s goal since he first set
eyes on Malachi. His best friend, another
half-ogre, is saving up to have a size extralarge
suit of banded armor enchanted. He
knows it will cost a dragon?s hoard in gold,
but figures it?s easier than finding an ogre
wearing chainmail +2.

The shady side of town
Thieves have an obvious place in the city
and need little discussion here. It?s worth
mentioning, though, that some of the more
ethical thieves operate locksmith shops.
Others are also involved in detective work,
theirs looked on with more favor by the
government because they don?t use the
illegal advantage of magic to gather information.
Ffredd?s Burlgar Alarm Company
(founded on the theory that it takes one to
catch one) offers home-protection devices at
a much more reasonable rate than Merton?s
Mystic Anti-Intruder Incantations.

All thieves, regardless of their source of
income, are required to register with the
guild. The first problem is finding the guild.
It?s rumored that the initial step is to take
some ?warm? goods to the pawnshop to be
fenced. Finding the right pawnshop is the
second problem.

The very word ?assassin? is enough to
strike terror in the prominent citizen?s
heart, as assassination is a thriving business
in Malachi. There are business rivalries,
religious differences, bitter feuds, and jealous
lovers. The best alarms, the doughtiest
bodyguards, and the most ironclad life
assurance policy with the clergy are not
hindrances to the truly competent assassin.
It?s an extremely effective tactic, warning
even those lucky enough to be raised that
someone is out to get them or unhappy with
their business practices. The assassins? guild
is also the primary source of poison in Malachi.
It doesn?t have a shingle advertising
its presence, but it sells well-enough.

The "other" classes
Monks maintain monasteries within
Malachi?s walls, too. Their orders are patterned
after those suggested by Philip Meyers
in Best of DRAGON Magazine Vol. III,
divided into lawful good, lawful neutral,
and lawful evil factions. The sight of a
monk with her alms bowl in the street is a
common one, and the townspeople are
generally supportive of them. While monks
do not sell their services, the good and
neutral brothers help maintain law and
order. Groups of them form patrols which
walk the streets at night to prevent crimes.

Bards hold a special place of honor in
Malachi. They are street entertainers,
advertisers, poets, storytellers, historians,
newsmen, and singers. There are bards who
own agencies which charge specific amounts
for specific services and bards who work
strictly for donations. Very rich and socially
conscious citizens act as patrons of the arts,
and are rewarded for their generosity with
epic, heroic songs or poems concerning
noble lineages and wondrous exploits. If the
DM has any secret poetic talent, these
expensive tributes to a player character?s
courage are another great way to take back
gold pieces. Bards who prefer an easy living
often work for the wealthy caring for children
or animals. Bars offer another easy
living for the musically inclined, and their
abilities are uniquely suited to calming a
rowdy clientele.

The rare psionically endowed individual
has special problems in Malachi. Those who
register with the city as sensitives are monitored,
but allowed to charge for legitimate
uses of their abilities. A few are in the employ
of the government and military, used
primarily to detect unregistered psychics.
One gambling casino is rumored to keep
several psychics on the payroll, although
officials have yet to catch one tampering
with the games. The penalties for unlicensed
or unethical use of psionic powers
are stiff, generally including a fine and
imprisonment, and on rare occasion calling
for the death penalty. Most of the citizens
don't trust mental powers and prefer to use
the services of more reputable spell-casters,
so the few who do have psionics generally
limit their use while in the city.

Curious businesses
Aside from these examples of business in
a fantasy city, there are operations where
the use of magic is suspected but not yet
proven. Bealse, the statue seller, is a case in
point. Some of his creations are so lifelike
they seem to have been breathing a short
time before. Rumor has it that some of the
stone lions adorning mansion steps were
once living beasts, caught by a flesh to stone
spell. One adventurer reported selling the
gleanings from a gorgon's lair to Bealse for
a fair price, but one hears many tales over a
cup of ale. 

"The Frog and Mermaid" is another
source of speculation. A special menu is
offered for overweight patrons, offering all
the delectable selections from the regular
menu -- with a claim that no weight will be
gained from eating the food. Satisfied diners
report leaving full and contented, but skeptics
complain they were charged for an
empty plate and a realistic illusion.

Many other businesses thrive not because
they are magical in nature but simply because
magic exists. Component dealers
needn?t have the talent themselves to roll
bat guano and sulfur balls. Exotica emporiums
buy and sell everything from monster
eggs to baby dragons to landshark-foot
sword stands. It's not difficult to convince
characters that their lives aren?t complete
without a winter-wolf bedspread. What's
money for but to spend, anyway? That
vodyanoi-skin sword sheath may not work
any better than a leather one, but there?s so
much more prestige to its appearance.
Enterprising characters may even take to
butchering their more exotic kills for their
sale value. The scenario possibilities here
are unlimited. "Wanted: one mimic brain.
Inquire within"

Malachi has a linguists? guild, where for
a modest fee characters can gain those
additional languages. Sages and alchemists
are for hire, and membership in the common
library is inexpensive considering the
wealth of literature available. The city?s
booksellers are another place scholars haunt
to find that bit of arcane knowledge needed
to complete a private library. Moneychangers
have a guild and offices where
coins are converted (for a percentage, naturally)
to smaller and larger denominations,
or to the coin of the realm.

Other scenarios suggest themselves from
the basic city setup. Why has Ichabod the
Iceman suddenly closed his business? What
are the restaurateurs and food brokers who
have grown dependent on his services going
to do now? Clerics and other adventurers
needed to exorcise a haunted house. Wizard
needs live tunnel worm for experimentation;
top price paid. Wealthy merchant
seeks to hire housemage -- must know
charm person. "Did you hear about the
poor Stormsinger family? The third member
of the family just died of a mysterious
disease. And they have that nice Brother
Bilius living with them, too. It must be a
terrible sickness to be not curable by him.
Poor man. But I heard that they've included
him in their wills out of gratitude for
his services. Lady Stormsinger said he was
so loyal he said he'd never be able to live
with another family if anything happened to
them."

Malachi: background and growth
Malachi was initially designed to serve
several functions. After 3 years of play,
my world needed a place where adventurers
could sell the valuable pelts and owlbear
eggs collected on their travels. A system for
removing excess treasure was becoming
increasingly necessary, and the players
wanted a change of pace from dungeons
and wilderness. Lastly, it was designed to be
a reward for PCs. How many
hapless characters spend their entire lives
sleeping on one cold cave floor after another?
After all, isn?t the main reason for
risking your neck to enjoy the fruits of your
labor? Nubile slaves peeling grapes for the
weary warrior are a common component of
fantasy. Constant adventuring makes even
the stoutest character tired after a while,
and it's nice to have a fun place to relax for
a time. So what if sometimes that place gets
as exciting as the rockiest mountain range
? it?s so much more pleasant to fall asleep
in a featherbed in the city?s finest hotel.

Malachi started as a wizard?s castle on
the mouth of a river. Within a decade, it
had grown into a walled keep. Over the
years, the city kept expanding, and existing
walls were torn down and rebuilt to accomodate
the growing citizenry. The original
keep walls are still in existence within the
city walls, and this area is the most prestigious
and expensive in the city. Old Town,
site of the first expansion, is a mixed area
containing both stately mansions and hovels
where the peasants who serve the wealthy
live. Religion Row was an addition to house
the expanding clerical population, and holds
nine temples representing each of the alignments
(the evil ones are closely watched).
This section of town is luxurious, expensive,
and well maintained. Druids? Park is
in this section, as are the guild houses.
Newport and Riverside are the results of
Malachi?s latest growing pains and are the
least expensive and most dangerous parts of
town. There are four major marketplaces:
one each in God's Row and Newport, and
two in Old Town. Numerous wells, fed by
the river, provide water and fields surrounding
the city provide both food and work for
the peasants.

The population consists of nobility, rich
merchants, and wealthy adventurers forming
the upper class; moderate merchants,
service people, and farmland owners constituting
the middle class; and, peasants,
laborers, and servants making up the lower
class. Slavery is legal in Malachi, and many
of the rich have large stables of slaves. One
can be forced into slavery as punishment for
certain crimes, and traveling slavers consistently
increase Malachi?s population.

Even after a year of play, Malachi is far
from finished. Approximately three-fourths
of the city is detailed, some parts as sketchily
as "Newport 138-147" modest private
homes? to fully detailed floor plans with
every NPC rolled, named, and described.
Several edifices are empty, under construction,
or otherwise unremarkable. These are
"Outs," in case it becomes apparent at some
point that an important and necessary
business has been entirely omitted or forgotten.
Established businesses range from
traditional armorers, fletchers, and blacksmiths
to wand and scroll case shops, potion
dealers, and insurance agencies. "Homer's
Hospitality House" has a sign on the door
proclaiming ?Humans Only," while any
creatures not possessing orc or ogre blood
feel decidedly uncomfortable at "Filthy
Flydung?s Tavern."

Marketplaces have a periphery of stationary
buildings surrounding a square filled
with transient tents and stalls. Random
charts govern which merchants have a tent
or stall on any given day, and let the buyer
beware when purchasing an expensive item
from a roving merchant. Temporary stalls
include everything from mundane supplies
to fortune tellers (some legitimate, but the
charlatans are hard to find again) to food
vendors. The port assures a constant variety
of people and merchandise, giving the city a
sense of reality and a dynamic feeling.
Transportation can be by foot, horseback,
camelback, and elephantback (and once in
awhile something even more unusual), and
by carriage, sedan chair, broom, and magic
carpet. Straightforward liveries offer normal
animals and conveyances, and specialists
offer fledgling hippogriffs and subdueddragon
carts.

Special encounter charts provide for all
the encounters listed on page 191 of the
DMG, as well as poorly timed chamber pot
emptyings, additional monsters from the
FIEND FOLIO® Tome and Monster Manual
II, overhead traffic, and street brawls.
Panicked herds, unusual events, and common
cats (or is that a luck eater?) all have a
place in the scheme of things. The charts
are modified by section, with undead and
were-creatures more common by the graveyard,
and slavers and pickpockets prevalent
in Riverside. One group of inexperienced
adventurers jumped every time they spotted
a cat, crow, or frog, convinced every magicuser
in town was scouting them with his or
her familiar. Malachi serves as both a base
for player characters to operate from and
the setting for mini-adventures, some of
which start as simply as a shopping trip for
components.

Players with dreams of building their own
fortresses in some abandoned stretch of
wilderness may wonder at Malachi?s attraction
for so many spellcasters. The reasons
are really the same that motivate any people
to move to the big city. Malachi offers convenience,
luxury, companionship, safety,
and availability of supplies and knowledge.
There are obvious cultural advantages to
living in town. Henchmen are easier to
recruit here, and advice and aid are available,
for a small price, of course.

Jobs are easy to come by in the city, too.
Not only are the aforementioned professions
common, but there is a constant demand
for trained adventurers in so large a place.
A rich merchant may need bodyguards for
his visit to the family castle, a day?s ride
from town. Farmers want protection from
xvarts raiding the fields. In Malachi, jobs
are constantly being advertised by poster,
town crier, and rumor mills. PCs may find
they?re not tough enough for a particular
duty, or that the positions have already been
filled. These blind leads add another dimension
of reality to the life of the city.

Malachi was never intended to accurately
mirror a medieval town, nor was it meant
to represent a modern metropolis. Malachi
is a city of magic, in a magical universe.
Probably its greatest inspirations were the
Arabian cities of Ali Baba movies and Randall
Garrett's "Lord Darcy" series. In the
Darcy books, magic is commonplace and
technology nonexistent. They are wonderful
source material for magically sophisticated
world designs. Robert Heinlein's Magic,
Inc. is another example of a magical universe
where spells replace science. Any PC
worth his salt is constantly looking for more
effective ways to use his or her magic and
abilities. NPCs should be at least as inventive
in their uses of magic. Poverty-ridden,
plague-infested towns and cities exist on
Urth, but only in areas controlled by evil or
where there are serious shortages of trained
spell-casters. Small villages and hamlets 
more closely follow medieval patterns, but
Malachi, by its very nature, represents
something different.

The caravan master scratched his beard
wistfully. Pack of young fools, he thought to
himself. Wonder how many will survive
their first year in the big city? So many
temptations, and so many hucksters anxious
to help a fool and his coin part ways. Ah,
well, it's an experience they'll never forget,
even the ones who go running home with
their tails between their legs in half a year.
And some of them will make it, like as not,
and be living in one of them fancy houses in
time. That?s one thing can be said for Malachi
? it?s a land of opportunity for the
enterprising. Been a long time since I just
relaxed. Maybe I?ll stay awhile this trip, see
the sights. He smiled at the thought.

"Come on, you wet-eared puppies." The
old man motioned to the eager group of
novice adventurers. "I'll take you in and
introduce you to Mama Rosa. She and her
girls run a nice, clean, reasonable little
boarding house in Old Town, and she serves
the best breakfast in Malachi. She don't
allow no drinking or wenching on the premises,
but you need to keep your wits about
you for awhile. I'll take you to the fish fry
too. Maybe somebody's caught another
giant crawfish from the river. You haven't
lived till you've tasted fresh-boiled crawfish
steaks in sphinx butter. Melt-in-your-mouth
delicious it is, and well worth the price . . .?"

JULY 1986