Blogging A to Z: Z is for Zero

Alright, this is the last of the Alphabetical related blog posts. It certainly was challenging to do. I know some folks are looking forward to getting back to gamer related business. I'll admit that I'm looking forward to a more freeform posting. Anyway, Daisey and I just finished some cover work for the Expeditious Retreat Press OSRIC/AD&D 1e tournament module The Obsidian Sands of Syncrates. I'm very pleased with our collaborative work. I think we make a great team in so many ways and it really shines through in our artistic collaborations. Here's a look at our latest.

Blogging A to Z: Y is for Young Werewolves

OK, another music post, but damn these guys just make me want to rip it up and make some art! I just recently heard of them but they take me back to my punker days. Great psychobilly sound there. If you like the Reverend Horton Heat, these guys'll rock your socks off. Now I wanna go jam out with some werewolves! Oh yeah, have a great Friday everyone!!

Blogging A to Z: X is for X-Men

When in doubt, go back to your root right? Well, comic books is where it all started for me. Yeah, the gateway drug into the greater nerdery. As a kid, I think Batman was a favorite but when I entered my teens, I discovered the X-Men. And things changed for me. This was the first time that I could really identify with the characters. Sure, they were mutant rebel outcasts, but I was going through puberty when I discovered them and those changes alomost seemed like a mutation. Add to that that I was almost cataclysmically shy, just got braces, had to start wearing glasses, grew to be a 6'2" super skinny (oh, yeah, that was long ago wasn't it?), and all the rest, and I really felt like a mutant. Since my mother had remarried and we relocated to Nuremburg, Germany from Mascoutah, Illinois - yeah, I felt like an outcast as well. So the X-Men spoke to me for sure. For me, the classic team was Len Wein and Dave Cockrum. The John Byrne/Chris Claremont idea is good (and many folks cite it as the best X-Men era), but I tell yah, Len and Dave really hit a home run. Afterall, they are the team that is responsible for bringing us the New X-Men team of Storm, Colosus, Nightcrawler, Wolverine, and Thunderbird. Not to mention that Dave Cockrum's work on the X-Men is top notch. Witness this classic image:

Good stuff for sure. If you want to see more of Cockrum's work you can visit this tribute web site here. along with his X-Men work, he did some fantastic stuff for another one of my favorites, Legion of Superheroes. It's well worth looking up his stuff.

Blogging A to Z: W is for Weird Adventures

If you have not been following Trey Causey's work over at From The Sorcerer's Skull, I gotta say, you're missing out on one of the freshest takes on a fantasy setting that is currently out there. Weird in a sort of crazy 1920's pulp meets seriealized sci-fi and cliff hanger movies meets lost highway Route 66 weird roadside attraction - aw hell, this thing just oozes flavor. Go check out the downloadable preview Strange Trails and read through it. Oh yeah, this is also where Daisey and I began our collaboration work so here's a piece that we worked on for Wierd adventures:

Got check it out!

Blogging A to Z: V is for Vendetta

Vendettas are a good way to bring either a single encounter, recurring story arc or the basis for a whole campaign to the game. Often times, vendettas are vengeful actions carried out by someone with a perceived wrong against them by the Player Characters. Most often, vendettas are the result of a perceived insult that may be directed at the wrong persons or even entirely fallacious. Persons carrying out a vendetta are usually acting in a heightened emotional state and thus the vendetta may not even be based upon any logical. Here’s a random table for some more, er, unusual vendetta ideas that are free to use.

1. Fezmin Seven Finger at the local watering hole doesn’t like the way the PCs look. Adventuring types always mean trouble and Fezmin has an axe to grind with anyone of the adventuring stripe since he lost three fingers on his right hand as a torch bearer for a party that left him for dead during an adventure. Fezmin, a grizzled and scarred from many delves is a sour old drunkard that will cast evil glances in the party’s direction. If approached, Fezmin will be surly and rude for no apparent reason. If hostilities ensue, Fezmin will create a loud ruckus about adventuring types that like to abuse the local populace. Fezmin will not directly physically confront the party but will spit in their food and do other unsavory things to harass the party.

2. The Festering Wound goblin tribe has marked the party for an unusual vendetta. The Festering Wound tribe will try to capture the party at any turn. Over the years, the Festering Wound Tribe has developed a resurrection cult that is centered around a prophecy that a cleric will come into their midst, revive their ancestrial champion Gorzok, and lead the tribe to victory over a local group of orcs. The Festering Wound believes the party cleric is their saviour and has labeled the party members as vile heretics that have ensorceled their savior.

3. Belwen the Bawdy, one of the local “entertainers” has accused one of the party members of failing to pay for services rendered. Belwin further will claim to be betrothed to one of the party members and will become obsessed with the character to the point of stalking the character. Belwin will is firmly convinced that the rest of the party is trying to kidnap the object of his desire and will do whatever he can to hinder the party short of outright confrontation.

4. Lestheride Moda Conawlin is trying to become the master of space and time. He is throroughly convinced that the party is the cause of his failure to actually be the master of space and time. Of course, in Lestheride's mind, the parties action occured in the future so this may well be a self fulfilling prophecy.

I know, I know, I missed a day. I'll work on W and catch up. It's been a busy week! More later...

Blogging A to Z: U is for Unafraid of the Dark

As I've been maturing as an artist, I've noticed a definite evolution of my work from simple line art to something more, well, more on the lines of a woodcut print I suppose. I used to have quite a penchant for crazy detail pretty much all made up of line as you can see here:

While I still have a tendancy towards that stylistically, I've been trying to steer away from that style and move to a more "noir" style I suppose. Guys like Mike Mignola make the minimalism involved look easy but to be honest, I find it quite intimidating. It's not easy to "let go" and trust yourself enough to let go of the detail and define a picture by form rather than line. I find myself quite often taking much more time on my pencils than I ever did previously. Most of this time is actually involved in a process that is called "spotting blacks". When trying to define an image through form, it becomes critical that the positive and negative areas define volume and mass. Determining a light source is key in this process. Two of my more recent pictures show some of my progress towards using form to define a picture rather than line:

Sure, I still have a ways to go before I'm really up there with something like this:

But I think stuff like this is moving me in the right direction:

Ultimately it all boils down to two things: Fear and Trust. First, overcome the fear of letting the shadows and negative space enveloping the detail and let it define form and mass. Second, trust that the viewer is going to be able to understand the image without leading them through extravagant detail. I find it pretty hard to let go. My wife is always urging me to just let go and let the shapes speak for themselves. Ah well, it is always an evolutionary process and a journey moreso than a destination. And I do hope you enjoy the ride with me.

Blogging A to Z: T is for Thickets (The Darkest of the Hillside)

OK, I'll admit to being way outside the cutting edge of the music scene. I guess that kinda happens when you become a family man. I'm not complaining, it just means that I'm a little slow on the uptake on what's going on out there. At any rate, I just got turned on to The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets, an awesome Cthulhu Punk rock band. I've been a fan of bands like the Misfits and the Cramps for many years so these guys are right up my alley to be sure. Go check out their site here. Here's a youtube link to one of my current favotite songs by these guys: .

My investigations into Darkest of the Hillside Thickets have also yeilded some other cool findings such as Rue Morgue. The Rue Morgue Facebook page also turned me onto another cool Horror Punk/Rockabilly band the Young Werewolves. Here's a cool video from those guys.

So I'm happy. I've lost a few sanity points, added some new bands to my punk rotation on my iPod, discovered some cool new scenes going on that I wasn't tracking, and now have a wallet that is a bit lighter for it all. If you're a horror fan, a punk rock fan, you like Lamentations of the Flame Princess, etc, go check these links out!

Blogging A to Z: S is for Satisfaction

Unlike the Stones, I get a tremendous amount of satisfaction from the act of creating something. I'm sure if you've been following my blog, I tend to be a bit more heavy on the art side or more specifically the artistic process and though process than I am on RPGs. The act of creating work is incredibly satisying and fufilling for me. And I'm always interested in learning about other creative type's processes. My wife Daisey has a Blog dedicated to her creative process. Lately she has decided to branch out beyond just her creative process and interview other creative types in an effort to document the creative process for others. Today she has made a post of my four year old daughter Rosa's creative process and more specifically how her figure drawing has evolved. Hopefully soon she will have interviews with other creative types from many diverse backgrounds. So if you know of anyone with a creative background that would be ameneable to an interview about their creative process, let myself or my wife know. It doesn't matter wheather they are a visual artist, a writer, a publisher, or what have you, she's interested in highlighting the creative process in many media.

Blogging A to Z: R is for Relief Printing

Alrighty, so the other day I went over to my favorite online artseller and ordered a bunch of art supplies. I ordered a a bunch of stuff to make some linoleum prints. You know, I don't think I've made any lino prints since I was in High School (damn, and that was a hell of a long time ago). I know we did quite a few found object prints for zines in my punk days but that was a bit more spontaneous and in college I did a lot of etching and lithography. So anyway, my lovely wife has volunteered to sew up some flannel dice bags and I'm going to make up a print design for the dice bags. I'm fully intending on being at GENCON this summer so I'll hand out what I bring for free. I'm also thinking of making some hand printed T-shirts and the like. I'd sell some of this stuff but unfortunately I can't use the US military mail and the Status of Forces agreement bars me from conducting business through the Italian post, so I figure making a batch of stuff up and giving it out to those that are interested would be cool. So, I'm not sure if anyone is interested or if anyone is going to GENCON, but I'll hopefully be there and handing out some free stuff made by myself and my ubertallented wife Daisey.

Blogging A to Z (and Weekly Creature Feature): Q is for Quork

I've made several attempts at full scale world building over the years but they've always pretty much just stayed at more or less skeletal frameworks with a few bits of of meat. I have a tendency to do a lot of what it type stuff and day dreaming. Today's Weekly Creature Feature (my, it has been much too long hasn't it?) is a remnant from one of my various worldbuilding projects. The Quork evolved out of one of these what ifs. I really have become much more of a humanocentric gamer over the years and demihuman races have just lost their appeal for me. I wanted to create a world where there are other sapient creatures but not necessarily "human" in their outlook. The Quork are somewhat along the lines of an elevated primate and are based on lemurs (mostly because I think lemurs are just cool). Instead of evloving vocal language for their primary means of communication, they have a complex vocal and olfactory language. This means that humans 1) might not recognize this as language and thus not realize the depth of the Quork's intellect 2) Even if a human begins to understand that yes, the Quork are highly intelligent, a human could never fully understand the nuance and complexity of Quork society due to the limitations of the human sensory organs. Quorks are deemed somewhat lazy, mischievious, and as a nuisance by human standards. They live in close harmony with nature and do fashion tools out of any readily availiable material but don't work metal. They have a knack at alchemy and herbalism which they use to great effect. They have a symbiotic relationship with a species of large beetle that use as a beast of burden and control through the use of herbs and scents.

As with all my other creature features, the following is designated Open Gaming Content. Without further ado (or more likely banal blathering) I present the Quork.

Name: Quork
No. Enc: 1-20
Alignment: Neutral
Movement: 120’ (40’)
Armor Class: 6
Hit Dice: 1
Attacks: 2 (bite, weapon)
Damage: 1d4
Save: F1
Morale: 6
Hoard Class: XI

Description: Quixotic and mercurial, the Quork are a type of intelligent primate that inhabits the densest of tropical rainforests. Quorks have developed a culture and loose knit society that is communal in nature and consists of several related family groupings. Humans that have made a study of these creatures have concluded that they are sentient and quite intelligent, but their methods of verbal communication are limited to barks, howls, and yips. Scent is the primary method of communication of these creatures and by human standards, Quork are very musty and pungent smelling. Quorks have highly developed olfactory senses and are able to detect invisible creatures by scent. They also possess scent glands that they utilize for communication as well as other, more esoteric effects. Other than communication, the Quork can use their scents for a range of mind altering/influencing effects. The Quork are able to control and steer the large (5' long) baolad beetles which they use as beasts of burden and flying mounts. Quork can utilize their scent to act as a charm person spell, a sleep spell, or confusion spell up to three times per day.

Quork stand about three feet high with long spindly arms, a prehensile tail and hands and feet with oposable thumbs. They are thus able to climb walls and other surfaces with great facility. Quork resemble lemurs and are often found in proximity with those primates (which they use as a sort of alarm system). Quorks do not seek to amass large amounts of material goods but will often accumulate items that they find useful (such as discarded human implements and tools) as well as interesting objects.

Name: Baolad Beetle
No. Enc: 1-8
Alignment: Neutral
Movement: 120’ (40’)
Fly: 120' (40')
Armor Class: 4
Hit Dice: 2+2
Attacks: 1 (bite)
Damage: 1d8
Save: F1
Morale: 9
Hoard Class: none

Description: The Baolad beetles are found rummaging through the undergrowth in tropical rain forests. Despite their size, the Baolad beetles are quite docile unless attacked. The Quork often utilize them as beasts of burden and as mounts. Baolad beetles are 5' long and have carpaces that are an iridescent orange in color.

Blogging A to Z: P is for Palladium

One of the longest running game companies and perhaps one of the most polarizing is Palladium Games run by Kevin Siembeda. Back in the eighties, after entering into RPGs through (A)D&D, it was fairly common to check out some of the other systems out there to fill some percieved hole or flaw in in (A)D&D. In the case of myself and many of the folks I knew that gamed during the time, much of this just stemmed from outright curiosity more than any real disatisfaction with D&D itself. My first intorduction to Palladium was through Robotech. '

My friends and I at the time were huge Robotech fans and the idea of a roleplaying game set in that universe of transformable mecha was right up our alley. We created our own adventures and ultimately ended up with our own campaign that used some of the ideas presented in Robotech but we had our own mecha and storyline that differed quite a bit from the original. I still have very fond memories of the Space Fortress/Colony Ship Colonial One setting off to fight the Brogan invasion and ultimately crashing on earth to fight off not only the alien Brogan threat, but a militant Soviet style totalitarian government (mind you this was in the early to mid 1980's so the Cold War was very pervasive in our lives at the time - not unlike the constant boogeyman of terrorism today). That campaign spanned many years. I eventually left my friends in Illinois and moved to Germany with my mother and new step father. Incredibly we kept playing through play by mail and a few telephone calls. Again, this was in the era before the internet and utilizing the military post to play international games. We alos had our own series of minicomics that tied our storylines together (and conveyed a lot of our intentions). That was great fun for sure.

When I moved to Germany, I had access to the Stars and Stripes Bookstore and would regularly buy comic books and my cherished Dragon Magazine there. Palladium was a regular advertiser in Dragon and that is what ultimately sparked my interest in Palladium Fantasy.

I am not quite sure where or when I picked up my rather used copy of Palladium Fantasy (1st edition), but it really expanded my horizons as to fantasy role playing. There were many more classes and most intriguing, different magic systems such as ward magic, pact magic, etc. I liked the ideas presented, but I didn't care too much for the system itself (I think the combat system really just didn't do it for me). Thus I adapted some of the ideas for use in my AD&D setting.

Rifts is something I didn't come on to until I was perhaps 17 or so (and at the time, at the end of my golden age of roleplaying). There was an appeal there, but I was begining to feel the lure of girls, parties, punk rock and trying to be cool. Role Playing would completely drop off my radar for many years. After I left the Air Force and reentered civilian life, I started working at Best Buy. Many of my coworkers were gamers and Rifts was the game of choice. I picked up the rules, but I still didn't care for the Palladium system all that much. I longed for AD&D but sadly, in the late 1990's it seemed that everyone either played White Wolf games (which I just didn't find appealing) or Palladium games (which I guess I could stomach a bit better but still I wanted D&D). It wasn't too much loger before Wizards of the Coast rolled out the Third Edition of D&D (which would eventually lead me back home to the OSR). However, it was Palladium that was the company that would ultimately bring me into the fold.

Blogging A to Z: O is for Old School Reference Index Compilation (OSRIC)

Of all the retro-clones, it seems that OSRIC tends to get the least amount of attention in terms of the system itself. I think a lot of that is how Swords and Wizardry and Labyrinth Lord were marketed as commercial enterprises whereas OSRIC was (until very recently) a primarily hobbyist affair. I've also noted a marked interest in the OSR in a rules lite approach towards D&D so I'm sure that has some play into it. For those that aren't familiar with OSRIC, it is perhaps the first true retro-clone and emulated 1st Edition Advance Dungeons and Dragons. AD&D is probably aesthetically the version of D&D that is the most commonly thought of when brought up to someone that was around then. It is edition that I played in my youth and is also when D&D entered the public consciousness. So it perhaps seems a bit strange that OSRIC, the rule set that emulates this game is the least well known of the AD&D clones. Black Blad Publishing has recently taken up publishing OSRIC as a commercial venture so perhaps this will change some. As far as myself, OSRIC is the system that I'm most closely aligned with artistically. I have quite a few illustrations in the 2.0 release of the game (which you can get a free PDF version of here if you don't want to spend the cash on a hard back). I've also done quite a bit of work for Expeditious Retreat Press and their Advanced Adventures line (oh, and they are quite fantastic adventures so if you are using OSRIC or even better, the original 1e AD&D, by all means go get some of these - you won't be disappointed). OSRIC has primarily been a hobbyist venture that was started off at the Knights and Knaves Alehouse which is still a great place to hang out if you are fond of 1e AD&D/OSRIC. There is a ton of useful information on the message boards there. Good stuff.

Blogging A to Z: N is for New Art Supplies

Ah yes, perhaps nothing is more exciting for me than getting new art supplies. Comic books and role playing games come close, but I tell you, there is nothing quite like the thrill of opening a box of new paints, inks, brushes, paper, etc... This is the raw stuff of creation! I know in RPG circles, we often talk of creating worlds out of our imagination and that is exciting stuff. As a visual guy, nothing is cooler to me than taking a blank piece of paper and from that void of nothingness and my hand acting as a conduit for my imagination, just creating. Good stuff. So, yeah, I'm getting ready to place a new order. I'm thinking of getting some silkscreen supplies and doing some prints. I'd love more than anything to be able to make my artwork and prints availiable for sale, but unfortunately, one of the few drawbacks for me living in Italy is that I cannot directly use the US post office on base for business. Nor can I use the Italian post for selling due to the status of forces agreement and my Visa agreement. So hmmmm, I'm going to have to find a way to have a proxy seller or attend conventions and sell it that way. I'll have to think on this.

Blogging A to Z: M is for Isle of Maedsid

OK, Here's an updated version of my funerary isle (Maedsid) for the Sea of O'sr. I've got to key it up and work up the map for the funerary mound. Oh yeah, this is open gaming content so feel free to use it. I envision this having a definite druidic/celtic feel when it is complete.

blogging a to z: L is for Lazy

Yeah, well, what are you gonna do? Too much to do today to get in a real blog post. I'm actually working on some more collaborative work with Daisey for Expeditious Retreat Press and doing some work for CKutalik of Hill Cantons fame (yes I'm actually working on it)! At any rate, time to get back to the tree of woe, um I mean my kitchen table ;).

Blogging A to Z: K is for Kolinsky Sable Hair Brushes

As an artist, it's important that I have tools that optimize the creative process for me. All artists have their perferred tools, meia, processes and methods for creation. It's not unusual for an artist to have a favorite brush, pencil, type of paper/canvas, and on and on. Since most of my work is black and white, I usually use a mechanical pencil (.5mm lead) to do all of the preliminary work. For me, penciling is mostly about plotting more than design. I know some artists like to "finish" their penciled work to such a degree that they just copy over everything when they ink. My magic usually comes in more in the inking stage than the penciling stage. I use Speedball Super Black India Ink along with my Kolinsky Sable Hair brushes (Usually I use a number 3 brush - it gives a wide variety of lines and can be made into a nice point). There is some debate among artists (mostly in the comic book field but other artists that use penk and ink) as to whether using a brush or a pen is better. I use both but my prefered tool is the Kolinsky Sable Hair Brush (thus the title of my blog).

Of course, using brushes made from animal hair is not without controversy. Due to the nature of the Kolinsky Sable (actually the Siberian Weasel), they are not bred in captivity and are trapped in the wild for their fur. Yes, the weasel is killed in the process of making the brush, but as far as I can tell, pretty much all of the animal is used so it is not a case of the weasel being killed soley for it's tail fur and the body being left to rot. But as with all things, I'm sure that does happen in some cases. I do care about ethical treatment of animals so this will warrant some further attention on my part to ensure that the brushes I use were harvested responsibly and not part of a mass killing for tail fur (and they use the fur from the winter coat of the animal).

Having said all of that, Kolinsky Sable hair brushes are DAMN fine brushes and have out lasted and out performed all of my other brushes (and they are expensive as all get out). As you can imagine, using India ink on a brush tends to be very hard on them. Synthetic brushes just don't hold up as they tend to absorb the ink. Sables are very oily critters and this makes the fur suited for brushes as the oil in the fur repels the ink/paint and thus the brushes last longer. Of course, there is always the argument that do we really need to kill animals to turn them into brushes? Well, as long as they actually use the whole animal and are harvesting responsibly (i.e. not driving them into extinction) then I'm generally OK with it.

Ah, always the ethical quandry and probably more than you ever really needed to know about brushes, but such are the considerations I have to wrestle with (heh, are the cleaning solutions that I use and paints environmentally friendly?!?). Perhaps not the idea folks have of suffering for one's art but different strokes and all...

Blogging A to Z Challenge: J is for Jaundiced Eye

Note: The following magic item is designated open game content. The Jaundiced Eye is a magical pendant belonging to Viscount Wilven D’Ava (Also known as Wilven the Yellow). Viscount D’Ava was possessed of several predilections that have ostracized him from mainstream society. A self proclaimed seeker of knowledge and truth, Wilven firmly believed in the ends justifying the means. Wilven proved to be quite adept at the practice of magic and amassed a large variety of magical items to aid him in his quest for knowledge and power.

The Eye of Joqua Ha Denaes (colloquially known as the Jaundiced Eye) is a large topaz set in white gold and worn as a pendant. The eye is roughly the size and shape of a human eye. It possesses many magical properties (both malevolent and benign). The pendant is strongly aligned with chaos and any being of a non-chaotic alignment must make a save versus magic or take 1d12 points of damage. Further, any non-chaotic being must make a successful save versus magic or be converted to a chaotic alignment as the eye works it’s magic and causes the wearer to become suspicious and avaricious in outlook. The Eye of Joqua Ha Denaes also emits a chaos distortion field upon the wearer as desired. This field causes a spatial distortion around the wearer that effectively adjusts the wearer’s armor class favorably by 2 (up or down depending on the system used). Further, the Eye of Jaqua Ha Denaes has the capability to utilize its chaos distortion effects to warp the flesh of any living being of 8 Hit Dice or less that the caster so desires. The caster does have the capability to control the warping effects to the extent that the caster can cause the victim’s eyes to be erased (causing blindness), cause the flesh of the mouth and nose to be covered (suffocating the victim within 1d4 rounds plus con bonus), turn hands into flippers (negating the ability to hold objects), cause the arms/legs to grow together (effectively paralyzing the victim). Only one such distortion may be made at a time. The caster may make use of the device as often as desired, but with each use within a day, the chances that the caster will be subject to the effects of the jaundiced eye increase by 10% (thus on the first use, there is a 10% chance of the caster being effected, 20% on the second, etc). Roll on the following table for a caster that fails the roll:
1: Hands turn to flippers – cannot use hand held items
2: Flesh grows over ears – Character is deafened
3: Legs grow together into one stump – character cannot walk without crutches.
4: Flesh grows over mouth – character cannot speak or cast spells.
5: Flesh grows over nose and mouth – character will suffocate in 1d4 rounds (plus con bonus) unless remove curse is applied.
6: Character becomes a protoplasmic mass – treat as an ochre jelly

Blogging A to Z: I is for Ice

I think one of the most inimical environments on the face of the earth has to be the poles. I’ve been fascinated with the tales of Roald Admunson, Scott, Shackleton, Perry, etc. I think of all of them, the 1845 expedition of Sir John Franklin to find the fabled Northwest passage is probably the most engaging of the lot (and they are all spectacular to read about). Tragedy and horror is no stranger to tales of arctic voyages. Indeed, the very nature of the isolation, inhospitality, very alien nature, and desolation make it ideally suited to such tales. Take for instance the H.P. Lovecraft tale “Beyond the Mountains of Madness”. Lovecraft uses the alien landscape and inhospitable nature of the arctic to further build upon his story of an ancient alien terror. Similarly, John Carpenter’s movie The Thing an alien menace from the stars “infects” members of an Antarctic research team. In terms of real life events of tragedy, the aforementioned Sir John Franklin Northwest Passage expedition lost 129 men and two ships. It stands as the highest single loss of life on an expedition arctic. The crews were outfitted with what was believed to be the state of the art of Victorian technology. With experienced arctic explorers leading the expedition, it was widely believed that the expedition would be a roaring success. Instead, all the crewmen were lost and it is still undetermined as to their fate. There are chilling accounts from the natives of cannibalism and desperate acts on behalf of the crewmen.

All in all – in game terms, the very landscape of these desolate regions should prove to be one of the most formidable encounters that any adventuring party is likely to face. Not only do adventurers have to contend with the realities of such things as exposure to the cold (frostbite, hypothermia, etc), but the sheer hostility to life makes it incumbent on an adventuring party to not only bring provisions, but they need to ensure that their provisions are able to sustain them through the harsh realities of the arctic. Many an expedition has been faced with either insufficient supplies or supplies that did not provide requisite nourishment to prevent scurvy and other diseases due to improper nutritional intake. Lack of sunlight poses the obvious problems of making it difficult to find ones way, but poses very real implications for morale. Constant exposure to cold combine with sustained darkness and dwindling food supplies can have a devastating impact upon the morale of an expedition (with the inability to escape from an expedition, the loss of morale would tend to manifest as a mutiny to return to warmer climes or a morose fatalism). In such cases, decrease morale of retainers by one for every death to members of the expeition. If the retainers fail their morale check, there is a percentage of the following occuring:

50% Chance of trying to commandeer the party into returning to warmer climes.
30% Chance of fleeing on their own.
20% Chance of lapsing into a morose fatalism and disregarding personal safety of not only other expedition members but themselves as well.

The expenditure of energy needed to not only traverse the unforgiving terrain, but also just to maintain body heat is immense. The onset of fatigue occurs in half the time it would normally occur (or one quarter the time if manhauling sledges). It is very difficult to traverse the terrain as it is covered in layers of snow and ice. Often hazards are hidden. Deep crevases pose serious threat to life as they may be covered in a thing crust of ice and plunge a victim to their doom. Most pack animals are completely unsuited to travel in the arctic and will die of exposure withing hours. Dogs prove to be the most reliable means of transportation in such environs.

In the end, an unprepared party could concievable be finished off quite easily by an arctic environment without even encountering a single creature. A DM playing into the desolation, alien nature of the surroundings, the sheer hostility of the environment could easily build up a terrifying adventure that could slowly pick off members of a party. Add to that some horrific alien menace, a deadly contagion, or lost world, and you have the makings of a chilling series of adventures!

For those seeking inspiration, I highly recommend John Carpenter's movie The Thing, as well as H.P. Lovecraft's story "Beyond the Mountains of Madness". For real life arctic accounts, Ice Blink by Scott Cookman, Frozen in Time by Owen Beattie and John Geiger, The Worst Journey in the World by Apsley Cherry-Garrard, The Last Place on Earth by Roland Huntford, Weird and Tragic Shores by Chauncey Loomis are but a small sampling of some incredibly gripping tales of arctic exploration.

Stormbringer

I was looking for a picture to update the What I'm reading photo and I stumbled across this pretty cool model of Elric and Stormbringer. I'm not much of a toy/minatures guy (aminly because I have enough obessive geek hobbies and I can't afford anymore). At any rate I wanted to post the link (mainly so I can go back and see what other kinda modeling geekiness is out there. Oh lord, I don't need to open another can of worms... ;).

Blogging A to Z: H is for Hell Yeah!

Joe Browning of Expeditious Retreat Press just posted the latest cover art that Daisey and I did for the Latest Expeditious Retreat Press OSRIC module over at his blog. Here's the full cover:

I love how this one turned out. Daisey did a great job of coloring my work. Here's the full version without the cover trade dress:

Blogging A to Z: G is for Games

When you take a look at most of the message boards, blogs and other online congregation spots for RPG Gamers, much of the talk seems to be of the analytical bent focused on disecting the games, comparing them to others, discussing the merrits, and often denigrating other games and their players. I find that interesting because at it's core, gaming (be it RPG's, board games, dominoes, card games, four square, jump rope, etc) should be about fun. I have a marked predeliction towards older RPGs but I don't castigate those that play the newer ones. I'll admit, that they just don't do it for me. The more fiddly they become, the more I lose interest (but I realize too that it is me). But, again, gaming is about having fun with your family and/or friends. So, short post as we head into the weekend. Remember WHY you play and most importantly, HAVE FUN. Happy Gaming!

Blogging A to Z: F is for Fire

A Song of Ice and Fire to be exact. Now I know some folks in the OSR roll their eyes back in their heads at the thought of multivolume fantasy series with page counts of 1000+ per installment (and to be honest, mine do too), I find George R.R. Martin's opus to be quite a bit more compelling than most other modern fantasy series out there. It reads quite a bit more like historical fiction than fantasy with its low magic level and grim and gritty style. And yes, I'm a big fan of this intricately detailed series.

There is a pretty cool fan website out there that has been going strong for several years now. If you are a fan of the series and like to delve into the minutiae like I do, then Westeros is the place for you. Go check it out, it's worth a visit.

There have been several gaming products out there based in the land of the Seven Kingdoms. Fantasy Flight Games has been doing a great job on the boardgame front. I'm not a collectable card gamer but they have that too. I must say that I really dig the Art of George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire
quite a bit.

Green Ronin and Guardians of Order both have created role playing games based in the series. I do have both but have not played either. I was fortunate enough to get the deluxe signed edtion of the Guardians of Order game several years ago. I participated in the original preorder and it took almost a year to get the book. I was a bit nervous, but very pleased with the final release. Apparently there were many problems plaguing Guardians of Order and they went out of business shortly after the book was released.

I've been following the Trailers for the HBO Series and I must say that never I wanted access to cable moreso than I do now. However, since I live outside the States, I'm just going to have to wait until HBO releases the series on DVD. That's OK though as I need that extra time to reread the books and get caught up again. With A Dance with Dragons to be released on July 12th (just in time for my birhtday!), I'll be otherwise occupied until the series comes out on DVD.

Because it is all about me - Oh and Pie, yeah all about me and pie

Mythmere Games has released the Old School Renaissance Art Book Surge of the Wine-Dark Sea. I've been looking through my artists copy and it is fantastic! No, not because my work is in it - trust me, I'm the bottom feeder of the lot - I'm just glad they let me in the same book as these guys. I mean Peter Mullen, Stefan Poag, Michael Cote, Paul Jaquays?!?! What's not to like. My link is to the Hard Cover (which even though I've got the PDF I'm going to go out and buy a copy) but it is also available in Softcover and PDF. It has some great art and artist bios. So if you're a fan of OSR art, I highly reccommend going out and buying a copy. It's even better than pie!

Blogging A to Z: E is for Elric

Probably no other fantasy character has inspired me more than Elric. Michael Moorcock’s albino anti-hero really struck a chord with me as a kid. I know today, the brooding antihero is common place theme in fantasy literature; but back in the early 1980’s and before, Elric really stood out. I’ve been rereading the saga (from the silver covered Berkley editions from the early 1980’s) and for me, it still stands the test of time as good fantasy reading. I have also gone back and bought several of the stories in graphic novel format (the ones by P. Craig Russell are pretty good).

I did purchase Stormbringer several years ago, but AD&D ruled the roost with my gaming crowd and I could find more takers. I’ve recently begun to reinvestigate Elric!, Stormbringer, MRQ, etc and find that there is much to like. I’m currently really enjoying reading through OpenQuest and will get back to the other D100 Elric stuff after that. Ultimately, AD&D/D&D/Clones are most comfortable for me but there are many things I’m going to borrow from these systems and implement in my own game. I think I’ll pretty much end up with a mishmash of OD&D and BRP/Stormbringer. But in the end, I think it is Elric more than anything else that has colored my taste in what fantasy literature should be.

GENCON Indy 2011 Question

OK, so I'm about 95% sure I'll be able to go to GENCON this year. I'm pretty darned excited since the OSR will have a booth this year. Check the OSR Group blog for more info on that. I'm looking forward to getting in on some games and meeting some folks and probably hanging around the OSR booth. Anyone have suggestions on where to stay? Any OSR groups gravitating towards any hotels in particular? I'll be coming in on Wednesday 3 August and probably leaving Monday 9 August. Any info would be appreciated so I can start planning. I've been to Indy a few times but this will be my first time at GENCON so give me the scoop!

Blogging A to Z: D is for Daisey

Of course it does! My wife Daisey has been incredibly supportive and understanding of all my various forms of geekery. What is the saying - behind every good man is a good woman? Well, I just wanted to say there is no one standing behind anyone here. Daisey is an equal partner in Team Bingham and quite an amazing woman in many ways. So, if you haven't already checked out her blog, go see for yourself at Creative Compulsive as well as her portfolio web site Oxeyedaisey. Oh yeah, I've been keeping her busy with colorizing some of my art. Just wwait to see the newest covers we did for Expeditious Retreat Press- she did and incredible job!

A to Z Blogging Challenge: C is for Comic books

OK, an easy one - maybe this should be C for Copout. Anyone that has ever known me more than casually will be aware of my love of comics. While it is a rather passive thing and I don't generally sit around and talk about who could win in a fight against whom (or most stereotypical fanboy stuff), I do love to look at the art and read the story lines. Anyways, enough apologizing for my love of the sequential arts and time to delve head long into my love affair with the panneled page!

I started my love affair with comics when I was about five years old and it has more or less remained today. I think more than RPG art, comic book artists have really had more impact on my style than anything else. Some of my biggest influences are Mike Mignola, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, Eric Powell, Kent Burles (who does a LOT of RPG work - especially for Palladium), and many more. At any rate, I have been itching to dosome sequential work in my RPG project. Here's a peek at the first page of a four or five page spread I intend to include in my Old School Fantasy Campaign Setting. It is entitled "Old man of the lake" and is based on an eastern European folk tale about a creature called the Jer Kuga - smewhat similar to a kelpie. I want my setting to have a bit of a dark fairy tale feel. Think Brothers Grimm, Russian/Eastern European Folklore, Norse and Germanic myth, Celtic fairy stories, etc. Kind of a brooding and dak world. Not outright malicious but more forboding of impending doom. Alright enough gabbing already; here's the peek at the penciled page. Stay tuned for more true believers!

On the Fly Role Playing with Kids: The Zombie Fountain and the Mountain of Mystery

Today has been an incredibly lovely day. I decided to try something a bit different and do some gaming outside. Bear has been bugging me to get a game started. Unfortunately, he is only reading in Italian at this point and the academic advisor recommended that we hold off teaching him to read English until he has a better grasp of reading in Italian so as to not confuse him. So, I decided to come up with a very basic on the fly RPG system using percentile dice as the resolution mechanic and my D&D minis to create a 3d "dungeon". It actually turned out to be quite fun. The key here was to be free form enough so as to keep Bear's interest while having something of a structure. I created a four class system so Bear, my daughter Rosa, and their "cousin" Marco had a field of characters to choose from. I had a hobbit, wizard, warrior, and amazon princess. Each character had hit points, a percentage chance to hit in melee, a percentage chance to block an attack, a percentage chance to parley, and spells. No further atributes were given. I wanted to stress maximum imagination, so I did not tell them what kinds of spells they could cast, only the number availiable and would assign a percentage chance of effect/success on the fly. Further, they could parley in order to gain information, barter, befriend, or bamboozle their oppposition. They had a choice to either fight, flee, or parley upon initial contact with a creature. I was pleased to note that in every case they chose to parley in order to try to make freinds and influence people. The quest was essentially to explore the Mopuntain of Mystery and try and avert the zombie fountain from overflowing and spreading a zombie wave throughout the Mountain. Along the way they encountered freinds and foes, all the while having a great time. While not D&D, this reminds me of how I used to play "Dungeons and Dragons" when I was roughly around Bear's age (I was about 8 when I first encountered the game). I only had a couple of dice and the Official Advanced Dungeons and Dragons Coloring Album from which to extrapolate everything else. Two years later I'd recieve the AD&D Monster Manual and would add this to my rather free form dungeon explorations. It wasn't until I was around 12 that I really played in my first real games of D&D. I still really enjoy the free form nature of my early gaming experiences. Apparently Bear, Marco, and Rosa had a great time and are clamoring for more. Here's some pictures documenting our session:

Organizing the Pieces

Selecting Characters

Blogging A to Z: B is for Bear!

What can I say but my son Bear is an incredibly imaginitive little guy who always amazes me with the things he comes up with. Halloween is a particular favorite as it gives Daisey a chance to show off her crazy costume skills and Bear to show off his imagination. The October after we arrived in Germany, we took a trip to Bavaria and visited the town of Oberammergau. From there we visited King Ludwig II's Linderhof Palace as well as Hoenschwangau and Neuschwanstein. It was an enchanting trip to be sure and one that struck a particular chord with my then 3 1/2 year old son Bear. Bear was particularly taken with the story of the swan knights that were said to have built a castle in the area in the 12th century. Lohengrin, the Swan Knight became a particular favorite of Bear. I played some of Wagner's Operas for him and he loved them. So enchanted was he with Lohengrin, the very next Halloween, he asked his incredibly skilled mother to make him a Swan Knight costume for Halloween. Here's the result:

Pretty cool huh?

As I said, Bear's vivid imagination never ceases to amaze me. The next Halloween he and his mom decided the family should be superheroes. Mind you, not the DC or Marvel superheroes, but original superheroes. Bear developed the idea of a superhero named Firebull and detailed his costume and powers to the ever talented Daisey. My daughter Rosa (who loves princesses and Fairies decided to be the superheroine Fairy Tale). Here's the results of the costume based off of Bear's specifications:

So to celebrate my incredibly gonzo imaginative boy Bear, I've done up Firebull's Stats using the 4C supers system (a Marvel FASERIP clone that is freely available here). The name, powers, and ideas are all Bear's idea, to include his alterego as a paleontologist. Firebull is copyright of myself and Bear Bingham and may not be used withour permission.

Name: Firebull
Origin: Changed Human

Melee: 20
Coordination: 40
Brawn: 10
Fortitude: 30
Intellect: 50
Awareness: 30
Willpower: 6

Damage: 100
Fortune: 86


Lifestyle: 10
Repute: 10

Powers:

Flight: 30
Fireblast: 30
Trident (has the following powers):
Fire control: 50
Fireshield: 50

Description: A field paleontologist searching for fossil specimens in the deserts of the American southwest, Bear discovered a mystical trident hidden in a cave on one of his digs. The trident forged a bond with the young paleontologist and transformed him into the hero known as Firebull! Able to harness the power of the raging inferno, Firebull seeks to battle injustice wherever it is found.

The mystical trident has altered Bear's physiology granting him the ability to fly and project gouts of flame (which he channels through the "scorpion horns on his costume or with his trident - which increases the effectiveness and intensity of the blast to the trident's fire control rank of 50). When weilding the trident, Firebull is resistant to fires/heat less than 50 in rank intensity. In addition, Firebull can create a flame barrier around himself of 50 in rank intensity.

Firebull is a man of meager means in his every day life and possessed of something of a weak will in the sense that he can be overly brash and rush to judgement. This can land him in hot water from time to time.

A to Z Blogging Challenge: A is for Abstruse

OK, OK, so I'm a sucker and really I just want to increase my followers so I can be higher in the listing on Cyclopeatron's OSR blog rankings. But this seemed like a fun exercise and might help me stay a bit more dilligent in my blogging.

I've mentioned before that my preference in old school roleplaying games is to have very humanocentric campaigns. These days I find myself straying from using demihumans as I think it tends to deminish the allure of these beings. For me, creatures like elves, dwarves, gnomes, etc should be mysterious and beyond human ken. An encounter with these beings should be ansomething, well fantastic. In my worlds, demihumans, their culture, and their very mindset is abstruse
to the human mind. Think about it, in the real world, we humans can barely comprehend the mindset of someone with a different political affiliation, let alone someone from another culture. Now imagine encountering beings with not only a different culture, a different appearance, a different lifespan, a different metabolism, a different way of viewing the world (perhaps more than just metaphorically - they may quite literally physically view it differently). Playing these beings as haughty humans with pointy ears and a love of the great outdoors, or short and stout men with a predeliction for avarice and a thirst for ale really just doesn't cut it with me. So to solve that, I'm taking away the availability as a starting race. Some folks don't like that method and that's OK. But think about the way these demihumans are in your worlds. Why wouldn't elves and dwarves have shrigged off human incursions to become the dominant beings on their worlds?

Blood sucking leeches ate my brain and made me read Lamentations of the Flame Princess

OK, so it didn't happen exactly like that, but, well, um, yeah. At any rate, James Raggi has opened the preorders for the Grindhouse Edition of Lamentations of the Flame Princess, Zak Smith's Vornheim, the Pembrooktonshire Gardening Society memberships (I'm member 17 for all you hosebags late to the game - which makes me one of the original 31;), and T-shirts. Why am I mentioning this? Because I have artwork in the new edition. OK, so I only have one piece of artwork in the new edition (but it is acompanying my writeup for a magic item I created for the game - the Maelific Eye of Putrescence - also known as the stink eye). But seriously, I really think Mr. Raggi has an innovative and interesting product here. The game itself is provocative and evocative, the artwork is top notch (I'm actually the bottom feeder of the bunch - Amos Sterns just rocks), and well, it's different. This is not a game for everyone (which is awesome - people shouldn't be affraid to target an audience and run with it. James Raggi certainly has), but I do dig that it is going in a different direction. I think it is refreshing to see this kind of innovation in the hobbyist gamer/OSR sphere. So go out and buy a copy and check out something completely different.

Let them eat pie!

Wow, I've been rather slow on the blogging but the good news is that I've been really busy doing tons of artwork for various projects. In fact, I may have done more art commissions so far this year (since January) than I have in the past two years combine. Looks like 2011 is a great year. Last night I submitted my latest batch to Joe and Suzi at Expeditious Retreat Press. I must say that those two are a great bunch of slave drivers. I'm just kidding, actually Joe and Suzi are GREAT to work with. I think Daisey did another outstanding job on the coloring. She really makes my work look good. Anyways, I've got another stack of art to get on. I hope everyone has a great weekend!