16 July 2010
Today’s Tabbloid
PERSONAL NEWS FOR riorio2@rogue-games.net
ROGUE FEED
The Original Cleric
JUL 15, 2010 12:18P.M.
The inclusion of the cleric in OD&D makes a lot more sense if you’re a
fan of the Hammer horror films of the 50s and 60s, as Dave Arneson
was. Between writing and reading Kamandi, I’m in the midst of watching
these classic movies for additional insights into the prehistory of D&D. I
just finished watching 1958’s Horror of Dracula, starring the always-
awesome Peter Cushing as Dr. Van Helsing and the equally awesome
Christoper Lee as the Count. I can’t say enough great things about this
film, but I’ll save those for another day, after I’ve had a chance to view a
few more. In the meantime, be inspired by this screen capture the next
time you decide to create or play a cleric in Dungeons & Dragons.
1
ROGUE FEED
Blue Book, Cover to Cover (Part
VI)
JUL 15, 2010 08:48A.M.
The general description of “magic” — meaning the “workings of a magic-
user” — in Holmes has much of interest, so I’ll quote a large section of
the text here:
The magic-user acquires books containing the spells, the
study of which allows him to memorize a spell for use. He can
then throw the spell by saying the magic words and making
gestures with his hands. This means that a magic-user bound
and gagged can not use his magic. In some cases the spell
may require substances or apparatus, such as conjuring a
water elemental (5th level) requires the presence of water, a
sleep spell requires a pinch of sand. A magic-user must
concentrate on his spell, so he can not cast a spell and walk or
run at the same time, and he certainly can not cast a spell
while engaged in combat. Then, after all that, the spell may
not work!
There’s lots of information to digest in this paragraph. I’ll begin only by
noting that I’m personally amused by the appearance of the verb “throw”
in reference to casting spells, a usage I see a lot in earlier gaming
materials but that seems to have been superseded (The same usage also
occurs in reference to dice too).
Holmes elaborates greatly on the in-game mechanics of magic, noting
that spells require what AD&D calls “verbal” and “somatic” components
to function. I wonder, given this and his reference to a bound and gagged
magic-user, if this wasn’t the beginning of the notion that the 2nd-level
cleric spell, silence 15’ radius, could be used as an offensive spell to shut
down enemy spellcasters. Holmes notes too that some spells require
“material” components, but, despite his examples, the descriptions for
spells introduced later make no mention of material components. The
requirement for absolute concentration is one that I’ve retained all these
years and has colored my vision of how magic operates. His reference to
spells not working “while engaged in combat” must be read with
reference to the note about concentration: a magic-user actively fighting,
as opposed to casting spells from a safe distance, lacks the focus needed
to work magic.
Spell memorization is fleshed out slightly. The text notes that “as the
spell is recited it fades from the spell-caster’s mind and he can not use it
again!” Re-memorization “takes at least 1 day” and, for unexplained
Today’s Tabbloid PERSONAL NEWS FOR riorio2@rogue-games.net 16 July 2010

reasons, “Magic-users can not bring their magic books into the dungeon ROGUE FEED
with them.” As a younger person, I took this to mean that spell books
were tomes of immense size and weight, since spells were complex Welcoming a new game to the
formulas, but Holmes nowhere explains his meaning.
family
Perhaps one of the best-known idiosyncrasies of the Holmes rulebook is JUL 15, 2010 05:27A.M.
its rules for scroll use and creation. Under these rules, magic-users of
any level can make scrolls of spells they already know at a cost of 100 gp This morning James and I welcomed a new bouncing baby RPG to the
per spell level and 1 week’s work, a rule I’ve used for years and that I Rogue Games family. He measures, 6”x9” and weighs in at 143 pages.
allow in my Dwimmermount campaign. As Jeff notes, scrolls are We have named the game, Shadow, Sword & Spell: Basic. Here are
specifically usable only by magic-users in Holmes, which raises some pictures:
issues I’ll discuss in a later post in this series. Spell research is also
possible for magic-users, at a cost of 2000 gold piece per level of the
spell and one week time, seemingly regardless of level. This expenditure
grants a mere 20% chance of success, however, so researching even a
new 1st-level spell may take much gold and many weeks. The level of any
new spell under research is determined by the referee, of course, as with
so much in Holmes.

Holmes includes Supplement I’s “Chance to Know Any Given Spell” table
based on the magic-user’s Intelligence score. He also includes an actual
explanation for how the table works, which is nice, since the Greyhawk
table is quite mysterious on its own. I’ll admit that I’ve always liked this
table, as it gives magic a weird quality to it. There are some spells that
are simply impenetrable to a given character and no amount of trying
will enable his mind to grasp them.

Holmes uses the same saving throw categories as the LBBs, more or less,
although his wand category doesn’t explicitly include “polymorph and I know, a bit over the top, but this has been a very stressful few weeks.
paralization [sic]” as OD&D does. They are, however, in a different order. During this time, there has been a job lost, sick family members, and a
Except for the fact that he groups thieves with fighting men rather than lot of “stuff” going on that was distracting. The fact that we got not one,
magic-users as in OD&D, the tables are functionally identical to those in not two, but three books done and out during that time amazes me.
the LBBs. Monsters are treated as fighting men of equal level in most
cases, except for those whose magic use suggests they ought to be treated So Shadow, Sword & Spell: Basic exists and it will be at Rogue
as either magic-users or clerics. Holmes also alludes to the existence of Games’ booth at GenCon 2010.
magic resistance for “large and powerful creatures like demons, balrogs
and dragons.” He also reiterates the traditional resistances of undead
beings to sleep and charm type spells.