Artesim Geographic Location in Melestrua's Mystara | World Anvil

Artesim

Everyone knows the "normal" moon which shines white in the sky and waxes and wanes on a 24-day cycle (slightly less than local month), turning dark night almost into a monochrome version of daylight when full and attracting the attention of lycanthropes everywhere. What not everyone knows is that there is a second moon, Artesim, orbiting the planet on a longer timescale.  

The Wanderer

  Although the moon's official name is Artesim, it is more often referred to as The Wanderer. It is orange-red, much the colour of a blood orange, and it orbits on a highly elliptical 55-day cycle. It is much dimmer than the main moon, and while it gives a reddish tinge to the night, it is subtle enough that most people don't notice, and certainly don't associate it with anything particular. The effect is most noticable when the two moons are full together, turning the main moon reddish as well, generally referred to as a blood moon.   When full, the Wanderer appears as a small red disc in the sky, but often those who notice it tend to write it off as just an interesting celestial effect, or an artefact of the weather, or some magical flying creature or will-o-the-wisp.  

Wild magic

Although its visible effects are not very big, it has a significant pull on the magic aura of the world, changing the Wild Magic which Sorcerers draw upon.   When it is distant, wild magic is quiet, but as it approaches, the energy increases, amplifying the effects and making it much more likely that Wild Magic sorcerers will experience a surge. At these times such sorcerers talk of riding the wave.  

In-game effects

In practical terms what this means is that the chance of a wild magic effect varies during its cycle, as follows:  
Day of cycleEffect
1-15|41-55Normal chance of wild magic (1 on d20)
16-24|31-40Increased chance of wild magic:
1-2Wild magic surge
3-19No additional effect
20Spell effect + 50%
25-30Chance of wild magic effects greatly increased:
1Wild magic surge with double power
2-3Wild magic surge
4-18No additional effect
19Spell effect + 50%
20Spell effect doubled
Alternative Name(s)
The Wanderer
Type
Planetoid / Moon

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