Original Synopsis for "Dragonstar"
(later to become Shadow of the Spider Moon)
Below you'll find what I believe is the first treatment I wrote up for Shadow of the Spider Moon, then called "Dragonstar." It's based on conversations I had with Erik Mona a few years ago, and represents some of our earliest coherent thoughts on the topic.
I'm including it here for the same reasons that directors nowadays include storyboards, deleted scenes, and commentary tracks on DVDs. As a fan, I know that it's often interesting to see the thought processes that went into a work that I enjoyed. So think of this as part of the "DVD Extras" that consumers like me seem to crave these days. I've also added a few italicized comments within the synopsis itself by way of further explanation.
(Of course, if you didn't enjoy Shadow of the Spider Moon, or you couldn't care less about my thought processes, then this is probably a waste of your time. But I'm assuming that if you've come this far, that's probably not the case.)
There are plenty of similarities between this document and later versions of the setting. You can see, for example, that I already had a good idea what sorts of "villanous races" I wanted to include, and the concept of a dwarven resistance against illithid invaders is already present. On the other hand, there's a lot that didn't make the final (or even the next) version of the game/setting. That's all part of the creative process. You can check out the next step of Spider Moon's evolution by reading the official proposal I submitted to Erik after he gave me the go-ahead to begin preliminary work.
Don't bother to tell me now that I missed out on a big opportunity by not including something mentioned in this synopsis. Not only is it obviously too late to be really helpful (by about 8 months, at the point I'm writing this), but it's also not really constructive to be second-guessing design decisions at this point.
On the other hand, if you see an idea here that you think cries out for expansion and inclusion in the Spider Moon setting, by all means share your thoughts on our message boards or send an email to spidermoon@andycollins.net and let me know. Remember, just because something got left on the cutting-room floor doesn't mean the author didn't like it.
So, without further ado, here's the original "Dragonstar" synopsis. Enjoy!
Dragonstar
A D&D Worlds One-Shot Product
[Note: This material has no connection whatsoever to the existing Dragonstar game, nor is it meant to infringe on that product line.]
Swashbuckling warriors, crafty rogues, and powerful sorcerers travel to exotic new worlds where they battle deadly monsters, rescue alien princesses (or princes), and loot forgotten alien temples!
Dragonstar would be equal parts Errol Flynn swashbuckling & privateering action, John Carter Warlord of Mars exotic settings, and Star Trek “boldly go where no one has gone before” adventuring, layered over the core D&D ruleset and set in a newly developed solar system full of lush worlds, Jules Verne-style architecture, and deadly alien beings.
Setting: The solar system teems with habitable worlds, moons, and planetoids. Several sentient races—including humans, elves, drow, and illithids—have staked claims to these worlds thanks to magically powered ships that travel through space. Other “groundling” races also exist, such as dwarves, gnomes, halflings, yuan-ti, etc., but none of these have any presence outside individual tribes or “nations” stuck on single worlds. Most races coexist peaceably, while others seek nothing more than to destroy their foes and claim the entire system for themselves.
[As you can see, I've already identified most of the key races that would later show up in Spider Moon. Since illithids and yuan-ti are two of my very favorite denizens of the Monster Manual, that's no real surprise.]
The characters are adventurers, treasure-seekers, privateers, brigands, noble scions, power-hungry sorcerers, and so forth. They travel between worlds as easily as a normal D&D character travels between cities or continents.
The technology level is fantasy, with a “swashbuckling Renaissance/Victorian” layer added atop it—gunpowder weapons, grand architecture, gleaming galleons (perhaps even Nautilus-style “submarines” hurtling through space). But this isn’t “steampunk” or even “high Renaissance” gaming—it’s D&D with trappings of other time periods added for flavor.
Planets that cry out for development include
• The Jungle World, dominated by great reptilian beasts, ancient crumbling temples, and the sinister yuan-ti. Close to the sun, this hot, humid planet hides ruins dating back to before humans began recording their own history.
• Luna, the large moon orbiting the heroes’ Homeworld. The elves control the surface of this forested moon, while their dark brethren the drow lurk beneath its surface.
[Here's the first glimmer of what would later become the titular location of the Spider Moon setting.]
• The Shadow Planet, sheltered from the sun by its sphere of interlocking rings. Far from the Dragonstar, this world is ruled by the mysterious illithids who plot to extinguish the sun, while battling against the dwarven resistance that thrives deep underground.
• The Visitor, a huge icy cometlike body that returns to the Dragonstar System every few years bringing tidings of foul curses or historic events. Legends say that great icy monsters inhabit the comet, ruled by a race of blue-skinned giants that can “pilot” the Visitor through their magic.
[Yes, these blue-skinned giants were going to be the arcane/mercane. Of all the bits I left out of Spider Moon, this is the one I most regret losing. Count on them showing up somewhere in the setting before too long.]
• And, of course, the Dragonstar itself, the great fiery, molten body at the center of the system that is home to salamanders, floating brass cities of the efreet, and the mighty crimson dragons that soar through space.
Format: Best suited to a one-book format, this product would include information on new races/monsters, some prestige classes, new magic & equipment, and plenty of setting & adventure material. It could also be expanded to multiple books, though I think that would dilute its appeal.
[This part is really me just "thinking out loud" about a theoretical format for the product. Back when I was writing this, Wizards still published 96- and 128-page books with regularity, something that's not as true any more. Though I'm happy with the way the 40-page version came out in Polyhedron, I'm pretty sure that it could be tripled or quadrupled in size without losing significant focus.]