25 November 2009
Today’s Tabbloid
PERSONAL NEWS FOR riorio2@rogue-games.net
ROGUE FEED
The Paladins of
Dwimmermount
NOV 24, 2009 03:16P.M.
Lots of gamers make the claim that the paladin class, first introduced to
OD&D in Supplement I, doesn’t fit well with the other classes. While I
certainly see the logic of this claim, it’s not one I share. I consider the
paladin’s pedigree in the game at least as solid as that of the thief and
since, as I’ve discovered, a great many gamers will defend to the death
the sanctity of the thief as a “core” class of the game, I think I’m on pretty
solid ground here.
Now, it’s true that, if one is going to treat Dungeons & Dragons as solely
a product of gritty swords-and-sorcery, there’s not much precedent for
the class. For all my championing of the pulp fantasy roots of the game,
even I don’t argue that S&S is the only influence on OD&D. From the
beginning, D&D‘s been assimilating all kinds of imaginative literature, to
the betterment of the game’s “DNA,” in my opinion. It’s a stronger game
for having a more diverse genetic background, although that does
sometimes mean its various parts don’t always interact well with one
another.
The paladin is a good case in point. The uptight, “do-gooder” image of
the class is at odds with the way most D&D characters are played. That’s
part of why I suspect the class has a “bad reputation” with many gamers:
a paladin in the party cramps their style. And of course playing a paladin
properly is quite difficult, particularly if the referee is going to be a
stickler when interpreting the lawful goodness of the character’s actions.
My Dwimmermount campaign takes most of its cues from swords-and-
sorcery literature. On first blush, paladins wouldn’t seem to have a place
in the setting. In actual fact, as my players are about to discover, paladins
played a key role in the setting’s history by spearheading many of the
rebellions that overthrew the Termaxian-dominated Thulian empire. The
Thulians had a state religion — the Great Church — made up of the
temples of all the Lawful deities. That religion was subverted by the
Termaxians once they rose to power, as Turms Termax had no clerics of
his own. Instead, clerics of other gods were devoted to their own gods as
aspects of Turms. In this way, the whole Great Church came to serve the
cult of the Man-Become-God.
Paladins serve no known god. Indeed, they generally consider all gods to
be, at best, merely powerful otherworldly beings and, at worst, demons
masquerading as divinities. Paladins serve only Law, which they consider
synonymous with Goodness. They take particularly umbrage at gods who
1
claim to be Lawful and yet subvert Law for evil ends, like Typhon.
Paladins travel the world singly or in pairs, spreading their particular
interpretation of Law and rooting out cults devoted to Turms Termax,
which they consider particularly dangerous, moreso even than the
temple of Typhon. Interestingly, paladin do not shun those who do not
share their beliefs, even Termaxians. Instead, they seek them out and
often join their adventuring parties, hoping to use their unique abilities
and charisma to sway the wayward to their cause.
No one knows where paladins come from, although rumors persist of a
hidden fortress called simply “The Palace,” from which they are sent out
into the world. Likewise, paladinhood is not something one can aspire to;
it is simply something one is. These facts, coupled with their penchant
for traveling incognito makes paladins a mysterious group about whom
many tall tales and legends have sprung up. Given their rarity and
secretiveness, most people have no idea whether any of the stories are
true, only that paladins are unusual fighting men, unlike any others in
the world.
ROGUE FEED
Spell Levels
NOV 24, 2009 10:47A.M.
My nine year-old daughter occasionally plays in my Dwimmermount
campaign when she’s not distracted by other activities. Her character,
Iriadessa, is a 3rd-level magic-user. She’s frequently confused by the way
that spell levels don’t map on to character levels. I have to admit I share
her frustrations. Although three decades of playing D&D has made it
second nature to say “Oh, you have to be 9th level before you can cast 5th
level spells,” it nevertheless rubs me the wrong way.
If I had my druthers, I’d probably rework the spell list so that spell level
corresponded better to character level, but I suspect it’d take a lot of
work to do right and, even then, would somehow not feel right. Anti-
intuitive this convention clearly is, but it’s such a longstanding one that
changing it would probably step over some imaginary line in my brain
and push it toward the dreaded category of “not D&D.” Funny how that
works sometimes.
Today’s Tabbloid PERSONAL NEWS FOR riorio2@rogue-games.net 25 November 2009

ROGUE FEED

[Thousand Suns] Some art to

start your day...
NOV 24, 2009 07:00A.M.

A little while ago, I shared with you a starship that David Deitrick did for
Thousand Suns Revised. With Thanksgiving being this week in the
Rogue Games Chicago location, I figured why not share some more art.
So, here you go, a capital ship:

I know it is small, but it should be clear. I cannot wait to see the final
version.