23 August 2010

Today’s Tabbloid
PERSONAL NEWS FOR riorio2@rogue-games.net

ROGUE FEED ROGUE FEED

The Outline. Or in which I share For Jeff

AUG 22, 2010 04:33P.M.
SS&S;: Expert with you
AUG 22, 2010 05:22P.M.

Now that health is coming back to me, and the damn infections that took
root in my sinus and nose is finally going away, I have been able to
return to my desk and write. I am playing a lot of catch up right now, in
addition still worn out from the plague, but I am slowly getting my
writing legs back under me. I got a lot on my plate, writing wise, and I
will be busy writing various manuscripts for not only Shadow, Sword &
Spell, but Colonial Gothic and something else which will remain a
mystery for a time. I am not complaining about this, I love to write and
design, so this is all fun for me. Today I want to share with you one of the
projects filling my time. That project is SS&S;: Expert. The book is about
75% done. I am really excited about this book, and I like what we have
here. Here is the outline, and it will show you where Expert is going. I.
Chapter One: Skills and Scheming a. New Options for Skill Buying
...Schemes and Scheming ...Chapter Two: New Gear a. ...Chapter Three:
Followers and Domains a. ... i. ... b. ... i. ...Chapter Four: Magic a. New Here’s my contribution to your open call for minor artifacts and relics,
Common Spells b. ...New Alchemy Arts ...Chapter Five: Relics a. ... b. along with an illustration by Virgil Finlay to set the mood:
Possibilities of relics in adventures ...When can you have too many?
...What is the difference between Relics and items characters create? The Silver Suit of filzArn
...Should characters be able to create relics? ... i. Claw of Crowtan by James Maliszewski
...Roland’s Finger ...Chapter Six: Ancient Tomes & Books ...Chapter
Seven: Mass Combat ...Chapter Eight: Other Worlds & Dimensions In ages past, Sir Evad filzArn sought out the hidden places of the world,
...Chapter Nine: Setting a. Creating your own Setting ...Setting – The venturing where few dared — and even fewer returned. At some point in
World ...Chapter Ten: Creatures Great & Small a. ...New Creatures The his travels, Sir Evad found the famed Silver Suit for which he became
key to Expert is pretty simple, keep it simple and show the possibilities. well-known. Its origin is unknown, but legends claim that it was brought
Though the book deals with the “endgame” if you will, what James and I from another world, a claim that goes some way toward explaining its
really want to do is give you more options and ideas that you can use in unusual nature.
your games, even if you do not want to play the “endgame.” Examples of
this is with the new gear in Chapter Two and the magic in Chapter Four. Made of a reflective, flexible substance that grows or shrinks to the size
For us, SS&S; is about options and possibilities, and this is what this of its wearer, the Silver Suit nevertheless offers remarkable protection,
book will be. functioning as plate mail +3. The Suit also functions as a ring of fire
resistance and confers the ability to breathe in airless environments,
provided that its helmet is worn.

The Silver Suit is also reputed to possess the following powers and
effects:

2 x I ___ ___
1 x II ___ ___
1 x IV ___

1
Today’s Tabbloid PERSONAL NEWS FOR riorio2@rogue-games.net 23 August 2010

actually a subspecies of them. That’d necessitate making them less

ROGUE FEED worm-like and more reptilian in appearance, but that’s still in line with
OD&D;’s general description of them, while also being an homage to
The Purple Wyrm? Chainmail.
AUG 22, 2010 01:54P.M.
I like that.

ROGUE FEED

Holmes Photo
AUG 22, 2010 01:09P.M.

I was poking around on my computer, looking for an old document and I

discovered a photograph of the late Dr. J. Eric Holmes I’d found
somewhere on the web. I wish I could remember the source; I suspect it
might have been on ERBZine or another site related to Burroughs, since
it looks like the kind of photograph you’d see at the back of a novel.
Regardless of its source, I was happy to find it, since there aren’t a lot of
good photographs of Dr. Holmes that I’ve seen and fewer still that reveal
something of his thoughtfulness and intelligence.
As others have already noted, D&D;‘s purple worm began its existence as
a rare species of dragon in Chainmail.

Finally, the Purple, or Mottled, Dragon is a rare, flightless

worm with a venomous sting in its tail.

No other details are given for this Purple Dragon. Of course, Volume 2 of
OD&D;, which contains the illustration accompanying this post, provides
the first write-up of this creature, under the name by which it became
staple of the game.

These huge and hungry monsters lurk nearly everywhere just

beneath the surface of the land. Some reach a length of 50
feet and a girth of nearly 10 feet diameter. There is a
poisonous sting at its tail, but its mouth is its most fearsome
weapon, for it is so large as to be able to swallow up to ogre-
sized opponents in one gulp.

Other than its color, the main element that carried over from Chainmail
is the worm’s poisonous sting. Interestingly, the AD&D; Monster Manual
includes an aquatic variant of this creature, called the mottled worm,
which recalls its first appearance in Chainmail.

I’m a big fan of re-imagining classic monsters in ways that aren’t

arbitrary but rather reflective of their complex histories/origins. The
purple worm, which I’ve yet to have any reason to use in my
Dwimmermount campaign so far, strikes me as a good candidate for
such a re-imagining. While I’ve avoided detailing any more of the
campaign setting than I need for my immediate purposes, I have to
admit that I have been giving some thought to the role of dragons, if only
because it seems a shame, in a game called Dungeons & Dragons, not to
use these creatures at some point. So, the thought has crossed my mind
that purple worms (purple wyrms?) are in fact related to dragons, if not