Art

Deviant Friday – Mike Dubisch Edition

/ jstater / 2 Comments

Mike Dubisch does some wonderfully creepy drawings, mostly in the Cthulhu vein. Check it out boys and girls and then check your SAN. Some are a bit NSFW, unless you work in a topless bar, so beware.

Probably won’t be found singing with a crab any time soon, but she might run into trouble with a tentacled horror.
I understand Alan Gribben will be releasing a new version of the text that excludes the word F’tagn – shocking.
It’s not surprising to me that he doesn’t have a Red Sonja or Dejah Thoris in his gallery, but man would I be interested to see what he would do with them!

Deviant Friday – Paul Harmon Edition

/ jstater / 2 Comments

Okay, I guess I’m not done posting this month/year after all. Today’s deviant is Paul Harmon, aka dogmeatsausage. A few different encounters in NOD were inspired by his work – enjoy the last Deviant Friday of 2010!

 

Bats

 

 

I remember the first time I saw that bat dude on the right – immediately decided he lived somewhere in the Klarkash Mts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thundarr was my introduction to the post-apocalyptic world concept – still love it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Elder

 

Just for fun, some OMAC stats for Mystery Men! using 10 dice for ability scores and 25,000 XP for powers.
 OMAC
4th level adventurer
Str 8/+2, Dex 7/+2, Con 8/+2, Int 3/+0, Wis 7/+2, Cha 2/+0
HP 32, DC 16, Move 100, Save 13, XP 3200
Powers
Limited – Super Constitution (12/+3), Super Dexterity (11/+3), Super Strength (12/+3)
Single-Use – Armor, Correspond (Brother Eye), Energy Bolt, Endure Elements, Fly, Haste, Heroism I, Jump, Regenerate, Stoneskin

Celebrating The Dragon – A Challenge

/ jstater / 1 Comment

Greg at Gorgonmilk posted some of his favorite covers of the venerable Dragon Magazine, and one of them just happens to be one of my favorites as well. So I got this idea – and I challenge the RPG blogosphere to do the same – find your favorite Dragon cover and write up a brief description with stats. Any era or edition (or any set of rules for that matter) – let’s forget the edition nonsense and celebrate a grand old magazine with a little fun and creativity!

For my part, I give you this little beauty from Denis Beauvais

There was much honor to be had in escorting Mirandra, one of the Vestal Virgins of Nomo, to storied Galardis to reconsecrate the Temple of Vesta in that city, recently uncovered from rubble in one of the ruined precincts. For Keiros the Centaur, it was a chance to cement his reputation as a paladin of the highest water, a reputation he had worked especially hard to establish given the proclivity of his people to drinking and fighting. For Gimwold of the Crooked Staff, it meant a chance to delve into the infamous Librarium of Galardis for the lost tomes of the ancient elves. Neither Gimwold and Keiros trusted the canyon bridge they had come to in the Klarkash Mts, but it was a short span, and the men-at-arms and bearers were already grumbling about journeying through those dark and wicked peaks. It was then that Gigatrikh, wretched scion of the great wyrm Yakh Six-Claw, chose to strike. A nubile maiden was just the thing his hoard lacked!

Gimwold of the Crooked Staff, Magic-User Lvl 7: HP 25; AC 8 [11]; Move 12; Save 9 (7 vs. spells); Special: Spells (5/3/2/1). Str 10, Int 16, Wis 13, Dex 14, Con 13, Cha 13. Speaks Common, bugbear, elf, giant and halfling. Equipment: Staff, darts (3).

Keiros the Juste, Centaur Paladin* Lvl 5: HP 24; AC 2 [17]; Move 12; Save 12; Special: Detect evil, protection from evil, immune to disease, cure disease 1/wk, lay on hands (10 hp), turn undead, destrier, carry 150% more than human, +2 AC vs. grapple and overbearing, attack with hooves (1d6). Str 15, Int 9, Wis 12, Dex 11, Con 12, Cha 15. Speaks Common, centaur. Equipment: Platemail, shield, longsword.

Mirandra the Vestal Virgin, Adept Lvl 3: HP 15; AC 9 [10]; Move 12; Save 13; Special: Healer, spells (2 x 1st). Str 10, Int 10, Wis 16, Dex 14, Con 11, Cha 13. Speaks Common. Equipment: Dagger (dropped).

Gigatrikh, Adult Red Dragon: HD 10 (40 hp); AC 2 [17]; Atk 2 claws (1d8), bite (3d10); Move 9 (F24); Save 5; CL/XP 12/2000; Special: Breathes fire (90′ cone, 30′ at base), can speak but not cast spells.

* The centaur race and paladin class can be found in NOD 1

Holy Monkey! That’s a Nice Paper Mini

/ jstater / 3 Comments

I’ve been thinking about doing something with mass combat in NOD using the Swords & Wizardry rules (because they’re simple and straight forward) or the Swords & Shields rules by ckutalik at Hill Cantons that he recently made available as a free download.

In either event, I tried to make NOD more mass combat friendly in NOD 6, stating combat forces as squadrons (of 10 troops) and companies (of 20 troops) in one of several troop types:

Militia: Peasant Militia, Yeomen Militia and Scouts

Footmen: Archers, Crossbowmen, Handgunners, Slingers, Light Foot, Heavy Foot

Horsemen: Light Horse, Heavy Horse, Knights

NOD 6 is a free download, so I’m not going to go into the whole thing in detail here – just check the article on Western Venatia for more. Anyhow – last night I was looking for some paper minis. I think the Cardboard Fighters are my favorites (sample below), and I’d love some black and white templates of those figures so I could color them in myself with the blazonry of the different armies in NOD.

I also discovered the paper minis at The Fantasy Trip and was absolutely blown away! Check them out – you will not be disappointed (sample below) and you can’t beat the price.

Bear in mind – each of these images is a clip of a much larger sheet.

Deviant Friday – Dave Johnson Edition

/ jstater / 1 Comment

Dave Johnson (Devilpig) has quite a resume – work for Marvel and D.C., a couple d20 Modern covers, some stuff for Ben10 – comics, cartoons and RPGs, all fodder for a blog like mine. He has a style that takes a pat subject and veers off at the last moment to make it interesting, and he creates from very stylish covers for comic books. Enjoy.

 

These guys recently showed up on a great episode of Batman: Brave and the Bold

 

This one is my favorite – looks like an illustration that would have appeared in an old pulp magazine of the 1930’s.

 

It’s not froghemoth, but still nothing to sneeze at …

 

 

Cover to d20 Modern, I think. I’ll probably do something with d20 Modern in my retro-engineering series one of these days.

Homemade costume – nice job.

 

Managed to get Dejah in this time, but not Red.

Deviant Friday – Dario Carrasco Edition

/ jstater / 3 Comments

Dario, Darry on DeviantArt, is a comic book guy – and if I’m being honest he mostly draws characters I’m unfamiliar with. This isn’t a knock on Dario, because my comic book reading days are waaaay behind me – Batman and Captain America were still alive (wait, are they still dead at the moment? Maybe they should resurrect the characters in each others bodies as a company cross-over event!), Spider-Man was still married to Mary Jane, Venom was still cool, Hulk was in a grey period, etc. In fact, Dario’s renditions of these characters pique my interest in them, so good on him. Dario has a nice selection of work, from fantasy to steampunk to pulp-style heroes – enjoy!

No Sonja or Dejah this week, but we do have a Sonja-esque Blood Rayne and another half-naked character of ERB
Enjoy ladies – and never let it be said that I don’t look out for my female audience (assuming I have one – let me hear from you ladies if you’re out there!)

Dolls of the Apocalypse and Other Things

/ jstater / 5 Comments

Okay – suitably odd blog post title. Just found some post-apocalyptic dolls designed by Yeon Guun Jeong/BHEAD that I thought might be of interest to the Gamma Inclined. Found via Super Punch, my one stop shop for stuff on the interwebz.

If we could be guaranteed girls like this, I think more of us could get on board with the apocalypse.

 

 

 

Makes me think a post-apocalyptic early 20th century Europe embroiled in a never-ending Great War could be a very cool setting for Gamma World. Remnants of the Great Powers and their armies, guys in jodhpurs slashing at fleshy-headed mutants with their cavalry sabers, wandering undead produced by the mass slaughter of trench warface and unable to go quietly into the afterlife (and a good excuse for Van Helsing-style clerics in a Gamma World setting), chemical mutants (remember, before the a-bomb most super powers came from accidents involving chemicals – stupid upstart radioactive superheroes) scouring the bleak and broken landscape for sustenance – clearly a good time would be had by all.

In other news – finished writing Hexcrawl #2 last night – huzzah! Now I just need to finish up NOD #6, write my quarterly reports (work related – check them out if you have an interest in commercial real estate in Las Vegas) and then start delving into Mystery Men! and sketching out the three cities that will appear in NOD #7 (Lyonesse, Antigoon and Blackpoort) and Hexcrawl #3, a sort of bleak zombie-land of basalt hills, ashen plains and slow, oozy rivers. But no major deadlines staring me in the face for a few weeks after NOD #6, so time to party!

Oh – and Aeons & Auguries is getting lonely in the Megacrawl – for cryin’ out loud, somebody write a comment.

Oh Oh – and 99 followers – whose going to take the Land of Nod into triple digit territory? The 100th follower will receive a personalized HUZZAH fit for framing.

Edit – 101 followers reached – thanks folks! Also, the setting sketch above is getting some attention, especially from JD Jarvis who has already started mapping HERE. Those who like the idea of such a setting might want to check out artist Keith Wormwood – he’s doing some work lately that would go well with such a setting.

Deviant Sunday – C Walton Edition

/ jstater / 4 Comments

CWalton does a lot of work, conceptual and otherwise, for the good folks at Privateer Press, publishers of the Iron Kingdoms setting that mashes fantasy with steampunk and giant robots. I never played or owned anything from the Iron Kingdoms, but I did have a soft spot for the art, which, though a bit outside my wheelhouse, was always infused with a sense of fun and passion. Oh, also, the Satyxis are just plain cool. Enjoy.

Not a brand of vacuum cleaner built by an ancient Germanic tribe …
The reference in the title is completely lost on me. Image makes me think of a steampunk drider (a reference that is lost on probably 99% of the population of the Earth).
Kinda Gamma-Worldy, this one – or RIFTSy
Sorry, close as I could get to Red Sonja this time around

Random Musings of the Day

/ jstater / 3 Comments

Item One
This …

… is cool. Eric Canete – check him out, won’t you. He’ll show up on Deviant Friday sooner or later. Never watched much of the old Gargoyles cartoon, but I can certainly get behind Demona.

Item Two
Are pen and paper games ahead of the curve? Consider – in the case of rules-lite games, you have a slim set of rules to which you can add modules/house rules (i.e. apps) to build the experience you want, as opposed to something like Warcraft, which offers some pretty cool features, but forces everyone into the same experience. Want the ability to fly around on dragons and joust – no problem in Rules-Lite Pen and Paper – heck, somebody probably already wrote some rules for that. Want to do it in Warcraft (and honestly, maybe you already can – I have no idea) – you’ll need to ask and they’ll need to put it in a list of things to do and then debate on whether this is an idea that will be popular with everyone – oh, and you’ll need to have a subscription of some sort. Most rules-lite and rules-lite supplements are either free or very cheap. Maybe pen and paper has a brighter future than we all thought in a world of program-it-yourself entertainment?

Item Three

Random Thoughts Table (Roll D4)

1. Did I remember to extinguish the hearth before I left on this quest?
2. You know, I really like pretzels.
3. Is that idiot seriously going to tap that damn 10-ft pole on every floor tile in this hallway?
4. I should totally stab the thief in the back – he’d never see it coming.

My best friend drew up a random table for one of his characters (Rygar the Last), which included things like accidentally discharging his crossbow. Good times.

Item Four
Anyone want to trade a black and white illo for NOD #6 for a full page ad of their choice in the magazine. I’m writing up the next level of Izrigul’s Pleasure Palace (the best – and only – multi-level dungeon ever published in NOD). The whole level was designed as a theater by the demon Izrigul and features two factions at eternal (and pointless) war with one another. The troops on one side are tieflings in the style of Spanish soldiers from the 17th century armed with staffs that shoot rockets/sparks and sabers. The other side is composed of bugbears with snow white hair in the style of the powdered wigs of the time, wielding halberds and hand axes and dressed like 18th century French soldiers. I’d love a pic of one facing off against the other. Think opera/ballet meets D&D. Email me if you’re willing and able.

That’s all for today – much writing to do …

Deviant Friday – Yildiray Cinar Edition

/ jstater / 4 Comments

Cinar does some really nice comic work. I especially like that he is able to breathe life into these characters – make them vital and current – without needing to modernize or gimick-up their costumes.

My favorite X-Man – at least in the era I read comic books.
I like Captain Marvel almost as much as Popeye (which, if you know me, is quite a lot).
I love the joy in this picture – the love of beauty, strength and doing good.
Somebody needs to put a “robot fighter” class into something, somewhere if they haven’t already.
Few villains have gone through more costumes than Catwoman. I might like this one best.
And three of Howard’s creations (well, Red Sonja isn’t really, but close enough for government work)
I made a puritan class based on this guy – I’ll get to posting it one of these days.