Article R&D

So I am writing an article for submission to the D&D Insider team, for possible inclusion in Dragon magazine one day (I hope), I have had an article of mine published by Palladium Books, years ago, and that was the first thing I had ever sent in, so it would be great to have a 2 out of 2 track record.
Anyways, the article features The Fey Wild, and specifically, the race of small humanoids called Spriggans.
Spriggans are mentioned as cousins to Gnomes, and there are hints that many Gnomes are slaves of the Fomorians.. I find this interesting, because according to folklore, Spriggans were said to be sort of incarnations of the spirit of giants, and were said to be able to enlarge themselves to enormous size.
They were also said to be ugly, nasty little buggers, who guard treasures and steal from others, and also steal the babies of mortal folk, exchanging them for Changeling children.
They seem, according to folk tales, to be rather elemental creatures, with an affinity to earth and storm.. they were said to be able to blight crops by summoning lighting storms, and they guarded special stones, monuments, cairns, crypts and ruins.
So.. that gives me excellent source material to draw from.
My first draught at a Spriggan is the Spriggan Grump.

(Using D&D Insider's very handy Monster Builder)

Spriggan Grump

Spriggans are ugly cousins to Gnomes, with dark hair and eyes, thick black hair and twisted, muscular bodies. They are irritable, prone to reckless rages and don't get along well with anyone.

Spriggan Grump	Level 5 Brute
Small Fey Humanoid	XP 200

Initiative +2 Senses Perception +6; Tremorsense 10 HP 75; Bloodied 37 AC 17; Fortitude 19, Reflex 15, Will 17 Resist Melee wood or stone 5, Vulnerable Iron 5 Speed 5 (7 while enraged)

Rock Hammer (standard; at-will)

+8 vs AC; 2d6 + 4 damage

Swell with Rage ( (When first bloodied, transformation lasts for the rest of the encounter.) * Polymorph

When bloodied the Spriggan immediately swells to enormous size, taking up the space of a large creature. It adds 10 points of damage to all mellee attacks, gains +1 to Fortitude, -1 to AC and 10 temporary Hit Points. Also add +10 to all strength based checks.

Two Fisted Earth Slam (standard; encounter) * when bloodied

Close blast 2; +4 vs Reflex; 3d8 + 4 damage The enraged Spriggan slams the ground with it's fists, producing a shockwave which throws opponents to the ground, knocking them prone and stunning them until the start of the Spriggan's next turn.

Alignment: Evil Languages: Fey, Goblin Str 19 (+6) Dex 11 (+2) Wis 15 (+4) Con 15 (+4) Int 11 (+2) Cha 6 (0) Equipment: Rock Hammer

Spriggan Grump Tactics

Spriggan Grumps will charge into melee range as soon as they can, attacking the person who, for whatever reason, angers them the most. They will fly into a terrible rage when bloodied, and uncontrollably swell to giant proportions, becoming even more fearsome to their enemies.

Spriggan Grump Lore

Knowledge Arcana.
DC 15: Spriggans are Fey creatures with powers associated with the earth and rock, they often guard treasures and tombs and have a foul temper.
Like many Fey, Spriggans hate the touch of Iron.
DC 20: They are said to have links to the giant Fomorians, whom they are bound to serve, and given that they have the power to grow to giant proportions, there may be some truth to this rumour.
DC 25: The elemental power of Spriggans lends them resistance to harm from weapons of wood and stone. They can also call forth rocks from the ground and lightning down from the sky.

Thats the basic Brute category, I will need to come up with a few more types to add, as well as some exotic locations, some Spriggan Stone Magic, a bit of legend/lore, and a nice set of encounter groups.
I will include a good deal of material, so that the editors have options to pick and choose what they want or don't want.
Plus, you get paid per word!