B3 Palace of the Silver Princess: My thoughts and ideas

Although I had some awareness of B3 from way back, I first learned what B3 was about when I bought B1-9: In Search of Adventure, a compilation of the early Basic D&D modules. It was edited and shortened, so B1-9 by necessity of limited space only had the two actual dungeon levels, with a short introduction about the Eye of Arik, pruning a 36-page module down to 15 pages. For many years I accepted that was it. However, recently I have acquired a PDF of the orange cover printing of B3. For those of you who do not know, there were 2 versions of B3 Palace of the Silver Princess. The first one had an orange cover, the second had a green cover. The orange version was recalled after concerns about it's content, best explained here. But copies survived and somehow someone created the PDF that I now have. I actually don't have a copy of the green-cover version but I am assuming that it contained the material that appears in B1-9. 

This version has some black and white illustrations by the likes of Erol Otus and Roslof, including some that are definitely old-school, such as the questionable Illusion of the Decapus and the downright weird ubues (three headed hermaphrodites!). 

In my readthrough I also noted that some encounters were left blank, in a way very similar to B1: In Search of the Unknown, discussed previously.  The DMs were expected to fill these in as they saw fit. Referring back to B1-9, these blank encounters have been filled in and I expect B1-9 uses the contents of the green cover version. 

The Lands Around the Palace

The orange cover version was written before the release of the Expert set and the establishment of the Known World (south-east Brun). There is a map of the surrounding area, which does not neatly fit into the Known World - later on the Mentzer Expert set would place the palace in the eastern half of Karameikos, north of Rugalov village, in the hills southwest of Penhaligon. However, the orange-cover map shows "The Princes of Glantri" in the south-east. If we take this to be true it radically changes the location to the other end of the Known World map. 

The orange-cover version has a brief overview of this map, with various locations given a paragraph each. Personally I am tempted to go with elements of this original map and shift the module to the mountains and valleys to the northeast of Glantri perhaps between Morlay and Malinbois. The actual map is not considered particlarly accurate - the more up-to-date maps of Glantri take precedence, but the names and descriptions of the settlements and patches of wilderness can be shifted around on the map of Glantri. This leads me onto an intriguing tangent - a Basic/Expert campaign set in Glantri: however I don't think I'll expand on that here, although this map and its accompanying descriptions certainly offer many places to explore. The module alludes to this as well, suggesting wilderness encounters once the PCs reach Expert level (i.e. 4th level or higher)

Another question that has sprung to mind is what about the realm of Haven? Is it only the small area immediately surrounding the palace? Or the whole of this map? I like the idea that Haven was most of what is on this map, up to the escarpments that lead to Glantri. Since the fall of the palace to chaotic forces, the vicious and chaotic ruler of Gulluvia now controls the areas marked out on the map by the border of territory. The ruler, a sorceress called Dh'mis, was trained in Glantri and is in league with the forces of Chaos, perhaps steering higher authorities in Glantri away from the palace and the toe-hold the forces of Chaos have in this area, and I would say she at least tolerates the cult of Chaos if not actively embraces it. 

Expanding the Palace 

Outbuildings and other ruins: the two maps of the palace, the upper and lower levels, are assumed to be the whole palace. This is up to the DM - the maps provided in the module could just be for the central keep - there could be curtain walls, towers and a courtyard with stables, smithy and the like. 

Deeper levels of the dungeon: What if the passages in areas 1D and 1E were not completely caved in, or perhaps the rubble blocking the passage could be cleared? 

The Cult of Chaos certainly has an influence within the Palace itself. The cleric in the upper level, Carathandamus, is chaotic and I imagine him as being the cult representative in the palace. How much influence and control he can exert on other inhabitants is up to the DM - he has his own retinue of two dwarves and a werebear, but beyond that he may give other residents of the palace a wide berth, particularly the less intelligent ones. 

One thing I have noticed in the differences between the B1-9 version and this orange cover version is that the orange one has no mention of The Eye of Arik, a cursed gem that has spread its chaotic influence through the palace, attracting monsters and sending residents mad.  Instead there is just a very valuable ruby, “My Lady’s Heart”. Although it is worth 10,000gp to those who find it, it does not have magical properties. The B1-9 version has destroying the Eye of Arik thereby lifting the curse as the mission, the main reason for entering the palace. This choice of versions is really up to the DM - are his players noble heroes or greedy treasure-hunters? Of course, having just one version of the module may make this moot. 

New Monsters of the Orange Cover version

• Archer Bush
• Baric
• Bubble
• Decapus
• Diger
• Ghost
• Jupiter Bloodsucker
• Marble Snake, Giant
• Marmoset, Giant
• Poltergeist
• Purple Moss
• Ubue

A number of these are not native to Brun but from Davania - the Jupiter Bloodsucker, the Giant Marmoset, the giant Marble Snake and the Decapus all have populations in that dense jungle far to the south. This raises questions of what are they doing so far from home - I suspect they were brought here as biological curiosities by an academic expedition funded by a Prince of Glantri . They were temporarily held at the palace but before they could be forwarded to Glantri City, disaster struck the palace and they escaped into the rooms and hallways where they remain. 

In terms of using these monsters elsewhere they are a mixed bunch. Some, like the Decapus and Poltergeist seem very reusable. Others I find difficult to take seriously. The Ubues are notoriously odd while bubbles just don’t seem like monsters, more like they should be a magical hazard. 

My Odd Relationship with Megadungeons

Big dungeons are a major part of D&D - it's in the name of the game "DUNGEONS & Dragons". The earliest games were Dave Arneson encouraging the first player characters to explore the ruins of Castle Blackmoor, and Gary Gygax likewise had Castle Greyhawk. I'm sure those more knowledgeable than me about the early days at Lake Geneva could expound further. These were the foundations on which this mighty hobby was built. Even today 50 years later old-school grognards yearn for the eventual publication of Gygax's original Castle Greyhawk. MAR Barker had his underworlds beneath the ancient cities of Tekumel and Ed Greenwood gave us Undermountain below the city of Waterdeep. And with the rise of firstly the OGL (Open Game License) and then the OSR (Old School Revival) many other creators have offered their megadungeon creations. 

Here I should make a distinction between megadungeons and regular-sized dungeons. The generally accepted definition of a megadungeon is one that forms the backbone of a campaign - the PCs are not expected to properly clear it out but return to it time and time again, exploring a bit further and a bit deeper with each expedition and each experience level gained. Other dungeons are typically visited only once, and if the dungeon is of modest size the PCs may well investigate all the rooms and kill all the hostile inhabitants.  But megadungeons have similarities to wilderness environments - they are big and expansive enough that the dungeon as a whole can never be completely explored or cleared of monsters. 

Regular readers of this blog will notice that in the posts where I detail a dungeon with actual monsters, traps and treasure, they are not megadungeons. This is partly because of the nature of a blog - I don't think detailing a megadungeon level with hundreds of encounter areas is really feasible for a blog that I hope to post on each fortnight. But it is also indicative of my own motivation and focus - I enjoy creating dungeons but only in fairly short bursts. As such moderate sized dungeons of around 20 encounter areas suit me better. Beyond 30 encounters I will start getting bored, tired and running out of ideas - others might not be impressed with my lack of focus but that's just how my mind works (or fails to work after a while). The three tags for this blog that illustrate this are:

• Dungeon of the Month (from way back over 10 years ago!)
• Scenarios (when I restarted this blog 2 years ago, not all of which are conventional dungeons)
• Logos Locations (my prefered format at the moment, using the work of Dyson Logos)

However, I still like the idea of a megadungeon. There is still both a sense of nostalgia, treading in the footsteps of the founders of this hobby along dark and winding passages (prodding with a 10' pole regularly) and also a sense of exploration and wonder. Although some DMs and authors want their dungeons to have verisimilitude and to make sense at least within the fantasy game world, others view dungeons as free from that constraining logic - hence the "funhouse" dungeon where anything can be encountered as long as it is challenging and entertaining. The idea of the dungeon being a form of Mythic Underworld, connected to but not quite part of the "normal" campaign world on the surface, is an idea that has been discussed and expounded on various forums and social media platforms. Another concept that could apply to both smaller dungeons and megadungeons is the idea of dungeons as infestations, which I sometimes use. 

My compromise between my short attention span and my sense of wonder of megadungeons has emerged as blog posts that talk about various megadungeons in broad overview but not detailing specific encounters. Basically there are megadungeons in my Mystara campaign, but I'm not going to go through them room by room. Off the top of my head, the ones I have posted about so far in this iteration of the blog are:

• Goblins of Zugguth Peak
• The City of Madness: Capital of the Arvorians (although other Arvorian cities are hinted at, this one has a map of the surface ruins)
• The Abandoned Palace of Al'Jaboorzi
• Derothgar, the Fortress of the Damned
• The Disappeared Fort of Tandallos (although this could be a regular-sized dungeon that has only been outlined)
• The Ruins of Allaktos
• Tarrag Duun - the Lost Dwarven Fortress

Enthusiastic DMs are more than welcome to have a go at mapping and detailing these for use in actual adventures. 

Another compromise that so far has not been published on the blog is the idea of dungeon sections like geomorphs that can be linked up to form a larger map. Since each section only holds a certain number of rooms and encounter areas, detailing it seems less overwhelming than staring at a map with 200 or more rooms (Ed Greenwood's Undermountain maps from the 2E boxed set spring to mind). Here are some dungeon sections from an aborted attempt to completely redo Quasqeton. I didn't get far with it (I detailed the rooms for the first two sections) but the concept of dungeon sections is still valid. 

One thing I am aware of is that player attitudes towards dungeons can vary. Systematically exploring an underground dungeon for treasure and magic items is a very nerdy, slightly obsessive, activity.  Kill the monster, search for treasure, move on to the next encouter (checking for traps and secret doors all the time). Although there is verbal interaction between party members, they generally only interact with the DM's world by combat and puzzle-solving. And I think this is one of the reasons why I have kept the fully mapped and keyed dungeons here relatively short; because I don't know what players might think about megadungeons, which aren't to everybody's taste. Maybe they are properly old-school, happiest when kicking down dungeon doors and fighting the orcs guarding that chest. But I have also encountered enough players to know that some enjoy banter with townsfolk, finding out about local politics and perhaps getting involved in schemes and business ventures. For them everything should be in moderation, including dungeons. And even though a party could leave a megadungeon for an above-ground adventure, there may be players who quietly roll their eyes at being directed back to the same dungeon when there is an entire fantasy world to explore. 

Of course I'm not going to lay down any rules (and you would quite rightly ignore them if I did). But I hope that enough readers share elements of my viewpoint that you will continue to follow this blog and would be interested to hear your views on megadungeons in the comments below.  

Logos Location #7: The Sordid Rhinoceros

Warning: This post deals with adult themes including drug use. 

Thanks to Dyson Logos' generosity, he has made a large number of his high quality maps available for use. I have decided (with his approval) to incorporate these into locations within Mystara.

by Dyson Logos, source

The Sordid Rhinoceros is an inn in the lawless and dangerous city of Vlaad in the nation of Ierendi. It is not a conventional dungeon crawl, rather a meeting point for various NPCs, some of whom may be hostile, others treacherous, others who can be bargained with. None are particularly charitable or benevolent.  The tavern sits quite close to the docks, so there are a few sailors and pirates among the patrons. 

Rather than going through this room by room as I would with normal dungeons, I will list the most notable NPCs to be found here, along with the rooms they are usually found in. 

The Staff:

• Gaerloth: human male Fighter 7, align N, Str 16, Int 10, Wis 13, Dex 12, Con 16, Cha 10. Equipment: Leather Armour +2, Mace +2 of Stunning.  Gaerloth is the Innkeeper and the manager of this establishment. He is also the main bouncer and enforcer. During business hours he is usually behind the bar in the barroom (room #1). Although he can be quite laissez-faire about how patrons and guests interact with each other, he has a strict policy of nobody hurts or threatens his staff or steals from him.  He is particularly protective of his wife Madrina. 
• Madrina: human female thief 5, align C, Str 10, Int 14, Wis 15, Dex 14, Con 10, Cha 13 Equipment: Bracers of Defence AC 5, Dagger +2. Madrina is the brains behind this business and looks after the money. Like Gaerloth her husband she does not care what patrons do to each other. She runs a small drug-dealing sideline here which Gaerloth is not aware of - as such she is not so welcoming of other drug dealers who she sees as rivals.
• Benardia: dwarf female warrior4, align N, Str 14, Int 10, Wis 12, Dex 10, Con 16, Cha 8, Equipment: meat cleaver (as hand axe), leather armour, Ring of Levitation.  Benardia is the cook for the inn and prepares nearly all the meals for both staff and paying guests. She also buys in a lot of the ingredients, and some of her sources are quite dubious. But as long as it is both tasty and non-toxic (and preferably non-humanoid) she will buy it and cook with it. Despite this she takes pride in cooking good meals, and takes customer responses to her meals personally. During working hours she is in the kitchen (#2). 
• Nazgeth: human male, thief 3, align C, Str 10, Int 12, Wis 13, Dex 14, Con 8, Cha 10: Equipment: Dagger +1. Nazgeth is the janitor of this inn, He is also Madrina’s front man in her drug-dealing, and is often found casually sweeping the floor in the main barroom (#1) and the saloon bar (#1a) where patrons can easily approach him for a packet of something special. He has a knack for disposing of dead bodies which is above and beyond the duties of most janitors.  
• Quilla: human female, thief 2, align N, Str 9, Int 13, Wis 10, Dex 17, Con 10, Cha 13. Equipment: dagger. Quilla is the classic young attractive bar maid, serving drinks and clearing tables. She stays out of most of the illicit activities going on in the inn, and is primarily concerned with keeping herself safe and out of trouble. Gaerloth and Nazgeth respect this and both are quite protective of her. However, she has been known to pick pockets of very drunk patrons and also claim items accidentally left behind in the bar. 

Patrons At the Bar

• Malphorius: human male, thief 4, align C, Str 14, Int 10, Wis 10, Dex 16, Con 10, Cha 16,  Equipment: Dagger of Backstabbing, leather armour. Malphorius is a thug for hire. Superficially he is handsome and charming, with a smile and a gift for banter. But he is a cold-hearted killer: he is hired as a hitman and enforcer. He also has a sideline in burglary, robbery and extortion. He is  also a notorious Casanova, with a string of abandoned lovers. He is interested in Ilshamet but there is something odd about her that causes Malphorius to hesitate. 
• Brandiga : human female, fighter 3, align C, Str 15, Int 12, Wis 10, Dex 10, Con 13, Cha 13, equipment: Scimitar +1, Leather armour +1. Brandiga is the first mate of a small pirate sloop, the Crimson Raven. When not at sea she will hang out here, listening for tidbits about ships movements and the crew and cargo they might carry. She has also been known to recruit new crew and accept offers of service here. She has talked to Dribneg but doesn't believe any of his tales. 
• Cartegissa: elf female, spellsword 4, align C, Str 10, Int 16, Wis 12, Dex 10, Con 10, Cha 13, equipment: Chain mail +1, longsword +1. Cartegissa regularly travels between Vlaad and her homeland of Alphatia. She buys and sells Zzonga fruit (a mind-numbing drug grown in Alphatia) and is the main supplier for Madrina and Nazgeth for this particular substance. As she does business through Madrina she is very welcome as a guest. Cartegissa can be very snobbish, and has a particular disdain for dwarves and halflings. 
• Blackjack Joshusos: human male, fighter 3, align N, Str 12, Int 14, Wis 10, Dex 10, Con 12, Cha 15 Equipment: Scale Mail, scimitar. Blackjack Joshusos is a gambler who regularly organises card games in the back rooms of the inn (#6 & #7). Gaerloth and Madrina allow this as long as the players pay them an entrance fee to the game. Joshusos thinks himself a skilled card sharp but he is actually a gambling addict who is getting deeper into debt. He is not nearly as good at cards as he thinks and he keeps borrowing money from Madrina, who is getting fed up with his empty promises of paying her back when his luck changes. 
• Durrunock: dwarf male, warrior 4, align C, Str 16, Int 7, Wis 8, Dex 12, Con 16, Cha 6.  Equipment: Chain Mail +1, Hand Axe +1, 4 throwing daggers. Durrunock is a surly bad tempered bastard, broad and tough. He is also quite insecure and instantly has a grudge against anyone who acts smarter or higher class than him (which is most of the inhabitants of Vlaad and this inn, which is saying something). Gaerloth tolerates him because he buys lots of drinks and has the money to pay for them (treasure from a short adventuring career before other adventurers refused to let him join their party). Durrunock just about stops himself from getting into trouble with Gaerloth and Madrina, but anyone else in the barroom had better avoid Durrunock altogether. He is surprisingly friendly towards Quilla, and fancies her although this is not reciprocated. 
• Ilshamet: wererat female, align C, stats as wererat. Ilshamet appears as a timid blonde woman who seems completely out of place in the Sordid Rhinoceros. In fact she will hang around at the bar and look for victims, usually those who want to take this poor woman back to their place. The staff at the inn are aware that she has visited here a number of times, left with strong looking men and come back alone, so they know she is not quite what she appears to be, but she keeps her true nature secret. She has a small pack of fellow wererats in an abandoned cellar a block away, and if possible she will lure her targets there. 
• Dribneg: human male, Fighter 2 align N, Str 14, Int 12, Wis 12, Dex 15, Con 10, Cha 10, equipment: leather armour, scimitar +1. Dribneg was bos'un of a privateer ship based in Minrothad, the Pride of Malfton. During his voyages he has seen and heard many strange things, from giant monsters on the Isle of Dread to Thyatian colonies on northern Davania, If someone buys him enough drinks he will even tell about the Lost Treasure of Captain Grigorovic. His ship the Pride of Malfton was wrecked on a desperate attempt to reach the sinking city of Quagmire - he and a dozen other survivors made their way up the east coast of the Serpent Peninsula using the remaining lifeboat until they reached civilization, after which Dribneg found his way to Vlaad. Dribneg is an eclectic and sometimes erudite, sometimes unreliable, source of stories, information and questionable rumours. 

Guests staying in the rooms

• Tizzelleth: human female, mage 22, align N, Str 9, Int 16, Wis 8, Dex 10, Con 12, Cha 14, equipment: Wand of Illusions, Wand of Fear, Dagger +3, several spellbooks. Tizzelleth is an exile from Alphatia, and a Zzonga fruit addict. She is compos mentis less than half the time, and then she is anxious and ashamed of what she has become. The rest of the time she is getting high on Zzonga fruit in her rented room (#9) and cannot look after herself or cast spells. Occasionally she will start to get her act together and declare she has quit Zzonga for good. This may last for a week or a month before deciding one or two Zzonga fruit won't hurt. But during her lucid periods she is a capable high-level mage, if rather nervous and highly strung. She has subdued and slain several violent troublemakers in the barroom, and Gaerloth and Madrina are in awe of her, at least when she is clear-headed. She has struck up a peculiar relationship with Nazgeth who is her main supplier and also Perrenia. 
• Tubrudd the Apostate: human male cleric 5, align C, Str 10, Int 11, Wis 15, Dex 10, Con 10, Cha 8, equipment: banded armour +1, mace +1. Tubrudd was a cultist of Chaos, but now he doesn't know what to believe in. He is keeping a low profile at the inn, usually staying in his room (#26), but he has a habit of getting drunk every weekend and ranting at other guests about his fears and resentments. Although he has tried Zzonga, he finds rum and whiskey are best for soothing his troubled soul. Sometimes when he is drunk he will tell people "in strictest confidence" that while a cultist he saw things happen that shocked and upset him badly enough that he quit the cult in disgust. Now he does not belong anywhere except maybe a bar stool. He can no longer cast clerical spells. 
• Perrenia: human mage 3, align N, Str 10, Int 15, Wis 10, Dex 12, Con 10, Cha 16, equipment: dagger, spellbook. Perrenia is an escort and good-time girl who has temporarily set up in the inn (room #28). She usually finds clients by hanging out in the saloon bar - occasionally she will speed up the process with a Charm Person spell. Although she expects to be paid for showing clients a good time, she does enjoy her work most of the time and some of her clients are regulars. She has fled from the other pirate port Jortan after getting involved with a very nasty madame. She is honest with the staff of the Sordid Rhinoceros about what she does and although she does not receive quite the same level of protection from Gaerloth as the staff do, Gaerloth will intervene if one of her clients gets unpleasant. Tizzelleth also likes her though the Zzonga addict is an unreliable ally. 

Demography of Adventurers in Mystara

Art by David S LaForce from Basic Rules

When detailing settlements I sometimes wonder how many fighters, clerics, mages and thieves there might be in each one. As a result I have come up with quick and dirty ways of deciding how many city's inhabitants can cast Fireball or Raise Dead.  These numbers are suggestive only, and a DM's adventure requirements, common sense or perhaps the circumstances of a settlement take priority. 

I generally assume that 9 out of 10 humans count as Normal Men (i.e. 0-level). They have 1d4 hp and have no notable combat skills or training. This will include all sorts of roles in society, including children, housewives, farmers, shopkeepers, artisans and beggars. This means that 1 in 10 will have levels in a class. I realise that this ratio is fairly arbitary and DMs may well wish to change this, perhaps to 1 in 5 having class levels in more dangerous regions down to 1 in 50 having class levels in peaceful towns. 

So of those 1 in 10, how are the classes distributed? I would suggest a default ratio of:

• 40% Fighters (4% of general population)
• 20% Thieves (2% of general population)
• 20% Clerics (2% of general population)
• 20% Mages (2% of general population)

This is obviously subject to various conditions and influencing factors. A settlement with a large cathedral may have more clerics, while a settlement in Glantri would have no clerics but double the number of mages. Similarly an Alphatian settlement would have perhaps 50% mages, with the other classes taking up 16% each. But for most places I consider this an acceptable starting point. 

Demihuman settlements will have their own ratios, given that firstly they will have a greater number of combatants to non-combatants, and secondly they have their own classes. But I would suggest:

Elves

• 60% non-combatants (equivalent of 0-level humans)
• 20% Elven Rangers
• 20% Elven Spellswords

Dwarves

• 50% non-combatants (equivalent of 0-level humans)
• 45% dwarven warriors
• 5% dwarven clerics

Halflings

• 70% non-combatants (equivalent of 0-level humans)
• 25% halfling scouts
• 5% halfling defenders

Gnomes

• 50% non-combatants (equivalent of 0-level humans)
• 40% Gnome Warriors
• 10% Gnome Tricksters

So once I have decided how many have character classes, the next question is what levels are they? I generally assume that the number of NPCs at any level is half that of the previous level. This can seem like a fairly steep falling off. But unlike adventurers, most NPCs with levels do not have quite the same urge or opportunity to gain power.  And of those who do, there is a certain casualty rate - not all those who try to get to the next level will survive the process. There is also the mathematical simplicity and convenience of halving numbers to get quantities for the next level. Although one could say that the numbers of NPCs for a level are two thirds that of the previous level, it becomes mathematically more complicated to work out the numbers for each level given an expected total. 

So for a large town of 10,000 humans, I would expect approximately the following:

• 9000 normal (0-level) humans
• 400 fighters
• 200 x 1st level fighters
• 100 x 2nd level fighters
• 50 x 3rd level fighters
• 25 x 4th level fighters
• 12 x 5th level fighters
• 12 x 6th and higher level fighters
• 200 thieves
• 100 x 1st level thieves
• 50 x 2nd level thieves
• 25 x 3rd level thieves
• 12 x 4th level thieves
• 6 x 5th level thieves
• 6 x 6th and higher level thieves
• 200 clerics
• 100 x 1st level clerics
• 50 x 2nd level clerics
• 25 x 3rd level clerics
• 12 x 4th level clerics
• 6 x 5th level clerics
• 6 x 6th and higher level clerics
• 200 mages
• 100 x 1st level mages
• 50 x 2nd level mages
• 25 x 3rd level mages
• 12 x 4th level mages
• 6 x 5th level mages
• 6 x 6th and higher level mages

Naturally these are guidelines only and if the adventure or other aspects of the game require a higher level character then that should take priority. After all, nobody will tell a 20th level mage that he can't make his home in a small village of 200 people. 

Art byJeff Dee, source Expert Rules

Most of these folks with class levels will not be actual adventurers. Most of the fighters will be in the city watch, garrisoned soldiers, mercenary bands, or perhaps veterans who have quit the fighting life but still have the skills and stamina if they must defend themselves. Similarly most of the clerics will work and pray in temples, shrines, monastaries and churches of various faiths based in the settlements. The thieves will be street criminals, perhaps belonging to a guild, or freelance. A few thieves might be spies with political masters or military scouts. And mages include many academics, hedge wizards, perhaps even alchemists or fortune tellers. 

I tend to say that only 1 in 20 of those with character classes (so 1 in 200 of the general population) are actual adventurers. Some may consider this quite generous and reduce it down to less than 1 in 1000 of the population. It depends on how peaceful and stable the settlement is, and also what are the nearby opportunities for fame and fortune. A city that is free from trouble (such as Minrothad City) will have far fewer adventurers than one facing constant monstrous threats (such as Corunglain in northern Darokin). One could say that there are more occasional adventurers, but most of the time they earn their money in more conventional ways, such as mercenary fighters who will sometimes join dungeoneers, hedge wizards who want to investigate ruins to find ancient texts, or clerics sent on quests by their church elders. 

Thus our theoretical city of 10,000 people will probably have only about 50 full-time adventurers, with approximately the same distribution in class and levels as the rest of those with class levels- perhaps 20 fighters, 10 thieves, 10 clerics and 10 mages who regularly go on adventures.