Pegataurs are an iconic creature from the D&D multiverse that is strangely underused. In the World of Mystara they are found in the Known World, the Empire of Alphatia, the City of Serraine and on the Savage Coast. Some are found living among elves or making their lairs in moutain sides, while others lend their services as mercenaries or trainers of Pegasi mounts to ground dwellers. 

 

Part Elf and part Pegasus, these magnificent D&D creatures first appeared in 1986 in the epic adventure Vengeance of Alphaks (M2) for the Classic D&D edition popularly known as BECMI. Pegataurs most recently made an appearance in the latest edition of D&D in the book Dungeons & Dragons: Worlds and Realms (2024) where the the character named Luphandi, a free thinking Pegataur who befriends the legendary Wizard Mordenkainen as they explore the World of Mystara.

Including a Pegataur character in Dungeons & Dragons: Worlds and Realms in that book's chapter on Mystara is perhaps not a coincidence as this legendary setting is where Vengeance of Alphaks was set, like most of the wonderful BECMI product line. It was Jeff Easley who brought the creatures to life in the spectacular painting shown above, gracing the cover of the adventure. 

Skip Williams was kind enough to share with me how the creatures came to be and how he worked with Jeff Easley to bring the creatures to life in the spectacular painting shown above, gracing the cover of the adventure.  

I created pegataurs for the adventure—flying sentries for a flying castle. TSR had me write an art order for the cover. I wrote something along the lines of "ramparts of a floating castle sticking up through clouds with a pegataur (think of a centaur with pegasus wings). Easley took it from there, choosing the composition, color palette, and making a single pegataur archer as the focus.

M2 Vengance of Alphaks continues the saga of Norwold, a region in Mystara fought over by two Empires; Thyatis and Alphatia. Here we follow the story of Alphaks one of the main villains of the Mystara setting as he rises to become a powerful demon. The Demon's main goal is to destroy the Empire of Alphatia.This is not the last time we see Pegataurs in D&D however. In 1989,  famous game designer and author Aaron Allston expanded on the backstory of Pegataurs and their connections to the Empire of Alphatia for the Mystara setting. 

That same year, Pegataurs went from being just a monster to be encountered to also becoming a playable race in PC2 Top Balista by Carl Sargent. This sourcebook for BECMI focused on flying creatures that could be used by players and DMs alike and also explored the Flying City of Serraine that travels across the skies of Mystara. The source book also expanded on the lore by Williams and Allston.

In 1994 Pegataurs appeared in the AD&D 2nd Edition in the AD&D Monstrous Compendium Mystara Appendix by John Nephew. Here we learn more about Pegataurs, their allies such as the Phanatons and their way of life.  

 Pegataur Bibliography

• M2 Vengeance of Alphaks (1986)
• AC9 Creature Catalogue (1986)
• DMR3 Creature Catalogue (1993)
• PC2 Top Balista  (1989)
• Dawn of the Emperors (1989)
• AD&D Trading Card R1 #722 1991
• AD&D 2ND EDITION AD&D Mystara Monstrous Compendium Appendix.  (1994)
• Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Three  (1996)
• Orc's Head Peninsula Campaign Book
• Dungeons & Dragons: Worlds and Realms (2024)

A big thank you to Skip Williams for answering questions about this race and to the wonderful people of The Piazza D&D fan community who helped with researching Pegataurs in this topic.

Are you a fan of Pegataurs? How would you include Pegataurs in an adventure?

-Havard

I just found out via this thread in the The Piazza Mystara Forum this morning that Aaron Allston had passed away. Although he was probably best known as a novelist, especially for his Star Wars novels, he was also a great game designer.

Allston had a great impact on my childhood due to his works on Dungeons & Dragons (the BECMI edition), in particular the role he played in writing defining supplements and sourcebooks for the World of Mystara.

In an interview in the Tome of Mystara fanzine he is introduced in this way:

To Mystara fans, the mention of the name "Aaron Allston" brings to mind gaming on a grand scale, world-shattering events, empires of staggering power. As well it should: Austin, Texas-based Allston can be considered the "Father of Mystara." His contributions include: 

 Skarda's Mirror
Grand Duchy of Karameikos
The Dwarves of Rockhome
Dawn of the Emperors
The Hollow World
Wrath of the Immortals
Poor Wizard's Almanac (I)
Karameikos: Kingdom of Adventure
Mark of Amber
D&D Rules Cyclopedia

Bruce Heard, who was Product Manager for the "Classic" D&D (And Mystara) line at the time worked closely with Allston. Bruce also writes about his friend Allston on his blog today.



Rest In Peace. And thank you so much for the work that has given me so much joy and inspiration!


Image Source: Wikipedia.

-Havard

Gaz 1: The Grand Duchy of Karameikos. Iconic cover by Clyde Caldwell.

The most popular in the excellent D&D Gazetteer Series for BECMI D&D (aka Classic D&D), Gaz1 The Grand Duchy of Karameikos, by Aaron Allston, has returned for sale in PDF format. It is now available on the DND Classics Site, where it is listed as their "hottest item"! It is annoying that it cannot be found under the B/X Label, and that there is still no Mystara label there, but at least the book is available to new and old fans. I hope this means we will get to see the rest of the Gazeteer series there soon.

This is not the first time I mention the Gazetteer line on this blog. I consider it one of the best D&D product lines ever produced, and it formed the backbone of what would later become the World of Mystara. Coordinated by Bruce Heard and featuring iconic covers by Clyde Caldwell, the Gazetteer Line involved a great number of game designers who would gain fame through other works, including Aaron Allston (Star Wars), Bruce Heard, Ed Greenwood (Forgotten Realms), Ken Rollston (Kingdoms of Amalur), Steve Perrin (RuneQuest), Jenell Jaquays, Anne Gray McCready, Deborah Teramis Christian, Scott Haring, Jim Bambra, Carl Sargent (Greyhawk), Williamm Connors (Ravenloft) and many others.

Gaz1 Grand Duchy of Karameikos Map Replica by Thorfinn Tait

The Grand Duchy of Karameikos was Aaron Allston's first venture into Mystara, but not his last. An interview with Allston for the Tome of Mystara,
explains that "No other writer has developed Mystara as much as [him]", listing his Mystara credits as:

Skarda's Mirror
The Grand Duchy of Karameikos
The Dwarves of Rockhome
Dawn of the Emperors
The Hollow World
Wrath of the Immortals
Poor Wizard's Almanac (I)
Karameikos: Kingdom of Adventure
Mark of Amber
D&D Rules Cyclopedia

The Grand Duchy is where it all began, and now it can be yours :)

 -Havard

If you are a loyal follower of this blog, you will know about my strong affection for the BECMI version of D&D, by Frank Mentzer. It should be no surprise then that one of my favorite RPG books is the D&D Rules Cyclopedia which collected almost all of the BECMI material in one single volume edited by Aaron Allston. I have just spent the evening listening to the latest Mirage Arcana podcast (ep #25!) where hosts Adrian and Craig cover this very book:

Episode 25: It's all in one book!…

As part of the D&D Month coverage, Craig and Adrian turn their attention to the mighty tome that is the Rules Cyclopedia. Dispelling myths of 'the kiddie version', we move on to our loathing of Bargle the Infamous and the childhood trauma of losing Aleena to his Magic Missiles. We discuss the races and classes, the enduring genius of the Battlesystem process of resolving mass combat, and cover the world of Mystara through the Gazetteers and the Poor Wizards Almanac. The Weapon Mastery system are discussed in terms of building adventure ideas and engaging NPCs and the Paths of Immortality are used to create truly epic stories and characters. Sprinkled throughout are practical ideas to take these concepts into your game.

So what are you waiting for?  Join us for D&D Month and game hard!
It's at Mirage Arcana.

The Mirage Arcana is one of my favorite podcasts and I enjoyed listening to this show in particular. I think they did the RC justice. One interesting thing that the podcast mentions is the difference between the Advanced D&D line and the Classic D&D line, and how while AD&D became a more rafined version of Gygax' vision for what D&D should be like the Classic line preserved the spirit of the game born through the cooperation of Gygax and Arneson.

I also like that they covered alot of related topics such as Aleena/Bargle, the Isle of Dread, Legacy of Blood etc. They also mention the Piazza and a certain humble Blackmoor Blogger, which is very cool.



-Havard

I was happy to see yesterday's Grognardia article feature the D&D Gazetteer line. Maliszewski speaks very well of these products, of which I was somewhat surprised given his general view of D&D products in this period, though I certainly agree on his judgement on this particular product line. I consider the Gazetteer Series the best line of setting material ever produced. Although the quality varies somewhat, the line has aged remarkably well.

I would like to direct your attention to the remarks made by Allen Varney in the comments section under the article and to which I completely agreee:

It would be appropriate here to praise Bruce Heard, TSR's ace Acquisitions Editor during the Known World's heyday. Bruce lavished attention on the Known World and the Gazetteer line as beloved children. You might also mention designer Aaron Allston, who did standout work on several Gazetteers and the Hollow World boxed set, as well as the massive D&D Rules Cyclopedia. More than a few fans still assert the Cyclopedia was the finest incarnation of the D&D/AD&D ruleset. 

Looking at the list of other authors involved with the series there is a surprising number of names of people who later became legends of their own in the industry in addition to Heard and Allston. According to Bruce Heard, most of those who worked at TSR had a soft spot for the setting which later came to be known as Mystara.

DA1 Adventures in Blackmoor had been published in 1986 and the gazetteer line, beginning the very next year incorporated the background from the DA series into the history of the Known World. Blackmoor became a mythical prehistoric civilization that still had a significant impact on the setting described in the Gazetteer series. Gaz3 the Principalities of Glantri (by Bruce Heard) has several references to Blackmoor and even offers ways to connect the two settings through time travel. Gaz 7 The Brokenlands (also by Heard) also incorporated the legacy of Blackmoor's history into the setting. Gaz 13 the Shadowelves (by Carl Sergeant and Gary Thomas) featured among other things, Rafiel, an Immortal who could still remember Blackmooor. Most of the other Gazetteers also have some references to Blackmoor. The Gazetteer series did among other things helped keep the knowledge of Blackmoor alive among D&D gamers.


As Arneson's original D&D campaign, Blackmoor was already becoming legendary. In the Gazetteer line, Blackmoor became a sort of mythical land within the fantasy setting as well; a place from which everything originated.

Havard