After a month of game group illnesses crushing any hope of campaigning, I believe the fellow GM in charge of the STAR WARS adventure has decided to put our rebel rumble on the back plasma burner. I have to cut him some slack, since he is also the internet custodian of this website and others my group utilize. Ergo, the only weekly participant with the time for and interest in running a RPG is me. Of course, I'll be readying more DELTA GREEN material so Thursday doesn't transform into movie or video game night.

In fantasy art news, the Blog Anthology submissions I drew have been turned in, along with a few elements for FIGHT ON! Issue 4. I'm actually done with many of the things scheduled for Issue 5 of the latter as well (my first "published" D&D adventure will be in 5!). Today, I pulled from the dusty files two pages from an old sketchbook. Picture one details a "manga/anime" style of Elf wearing elaborate elven chain. Like many artists, I've always reasoned that ancient civilizations should have a degree of metalworking skill that is visually distinct. Elves should be experts on how to make armor perform admirably without sacrificing crafted beauty. Picture two is a study of small island fortifications, the kind a player could use as a secret hideout, especially if located in dangerous or disputed territory.

In my first post, I displayed a few retro-fantasy illustrations starring a group of D&D characters. I'll be bringing them back in spoof comics, so the designs had to be re-vamped for cartoon simplicity. Additionally, the mascots needed backgrounds worthy of veteran dungeoneers that hack hydras, transit through traps, and waylay wights! First, the new countenances:

Normally, today's post would be about Thursday gaming, but the evening was a repeat of the TOMB board game since I wasn't ready to run my next Delta Green session. Rather, I will "mirror image" a topic from Noism's Monster and Manuals blog, regarding favorites from the D&D bestiary!

1) Giant Rat - Assuredly, the least noble way for a 1st level adventurer to die is to be fatally gnawed by furry vermin. No heroic cairn will be raised for your character, rotting slowly in a damp cellar or cobwebbed cavern. The good news is that the next adventuring group will be able to loot your body and sell your father's tarnished sword for a big chunk of goat cheese.

2) Kopru - Exclusive to module X1 The Isle of Dread, these bizarre creatures are more than happy to wreak havoc by enslaving PCs. Monsters with Charm or mind control are always fun to spring on players, who aren't expecting their tweaked Fighter to switch sides. Kopru usually reside in boiling muck, so engaging them is difficult as well.

For my age, I'm a late arrival to the hobby/business of Fantasy Game comics. I never had a subscription to Dragon Magazine, so I missed the paneled content by Larry Elmore, John Kovalic and others. I never saw the Savage Sword of Conan on a bookstore shelf, and the corny super hero books of the 1980's did not appeal to me. Eventually, I did find a first favorite when Lone Wolf and Cub was translated and released in the US. After college, my illustration style hadn't evolved much, beyond a clear influence from collecting manga and D&D books. I hadn't returned to PnP gaming either, the group I play with now hadn't coalesced yet (I graduated years ahead). Besides, around year uno of the new millenium, all the nerds were addicted to computer games like Diablo II. The lure of this technology-dependent Fantasy gaming snagged me after I played the Diablo-clone, Dungeon Siege and its sequels.

Pictured here are some dusty sketches from that time, when I thought that a fan-comic for the game would be an interesting project. I stopped the development in favor of a story of my own, the pages of which I'll offer as a PDF eventually. This original story,"The Impwitch and the Axemaidens", was difficult to do, and made me respect any comic artist that writes, pencils, and inks a complete book. Once I had a proper website, I did find some success with another game-based comic, Healbot Blues, that spoofs the new MMORPG Guild Wars. If you visit my home page, the archive of those drawings is online (and an official fansite).

Unlike Fantasy settings, where I don't raise an eyebrow over floating castles and impossible elements, I do have a "bee in my helmet" about the level of explanations for "near-future" or "Hard SF" game components. When I watch a movie or open a game book, I'm quietly pondering how the energy weapons facilitate energy costs and heat dispersion. I'm the loon that debates about why Lucas' Twin-Ion-Engine fighters wouldn't be able to slingshot about with that kind of propulsion. Still, I'm willing to hand-wave much if the design looks good to the eye (and maybe even works as a scale model). Industrial Designers like Syd Mead have my complete respect; I stare in awe at how his works have painted a picture of the future that remains bold and majestic. Speaking of Star Wars, I still own my original sketchbooks from Ballantine Books, full of all the mechanical details that haven't surfaced at all in the d20 campaign I'm playing. A blaster rifle is only so many d6s of damage...