classic 80's D&D fantasy art

Mike the Mage · June 26, 2018, 04:37:25 PM

Angus McBride is a favourite of mine

RPGPundit · June 30, 2018, 06:49:12 AM

Some good pics in this thread.

Starglyte · June 30, 2018, 10:01:24 AM

Quote from: Armchair Gamer;1045941For interior art, I think Stephen Fabian is often underappreciated.

His work on the Ravenloft series is what sold me on the setting.

Christopher Brady · June 30, 2018, 02:31:39 PM

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Mike the Mage · July 01, 2018, 02:06:04 AM

Phwoar!:p

Seriously, though, chainmail that shows cleavage is daft. Not lewd or crude. Just silly.

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Now that is an iconic piece of MERP art!

TheShadow · July 01, 2018, 06:08:08 AM

Quote from: Mike the Mage;1046738Phwoar!:p

Seriously, though, chainmail that shows cleavage is daft. Not lewd or crude. Just silly.

Well, yeah. I just accept this kind of thing as kind of a fun artifact of a different era. It doesn't need to be called out constantly.

I like cheesecake. What I like even more is black-and-white (inked) art with its antecedents in woodcuts, creative use of positive and negative space, and various hatchings and textures. Mostly lost in run-of-the-mill color art.

Other things I like in fantasy RPG art:
-a sense of the grotesque and gothic in the original sense of the terms
-the rustic, pastoral, and homely, juxtaposed with the above.

I want to see idyllic landscapes and comforting hearthsides that make me yearn to be there. Until I see the terrifying creatures that also dwell in those realms.

Mike the Mage · July 01, 2018, 06:28:56 AM

Quote from: The_Shadow;1046747Well, yeah. I just accept this kind of thing as kind of a fun artifact of a different era. It doesn't need to be called out constantly.

I like cheesecake. What I like even more is black-and-white (inked) art with its antecedents in woodcuts, creative use of positive and negative space, and various hatchings and textures. Mostly lost in run-of-the-mill color art.

Other things I like in fantasy RPG art:
-a sense of the grotesque and gothic in the original sense of the terms
-the rustic, pastoral, and homely, juxtaposed with the above.

I want to see idyllic landscapes and comforting hearthsides that make me yearn to be there. Until I see the terrifying creatures that also dwell in those realms.

OMG I think you nailed it for me utterly.

This is one of the reasons I love Jon Hodgson's stuff. Contemporary, but there is a timeless, almost nostalgic quality to his work.

He did covers for TOR, Dragon Warriors, BtW and Crypts & Things as well as some Runequest (Hearts in Glorantha)

Pat · July 01, 2018, 07:57:32 AM

Quote from: Mike the Mage;1046738Seriously, though, chainmail that shows cleavage is daft. Not lewd or crude. Just silly.

To be fair, that's lampshaded in the book. The redhead is Alias, from Azure Bonds, where it's explained that's a set of silly dress-up armor someone puts her in, not what she normally wears. Of course, they also made it a permanent part of her wardrobe, by enchanting it so it provides as much protection as armor without a target between her tits. So the lampshading ultimately just reinforces stupid.

Mike the Mage · July 01, 2018, 08:42:56 AM

So that would make Kate Novak the ownser of that stupid. Did she mean it as satire?

Pat · July 01, 2018, 09:31:28 AM

I think it was a reaction to inappropriate cover art.

mightybrain · July 01, 2018, 12:55:06 PM

Quote from: Mike the Mage;1046738Seriously, though, chainmail that shows cleavage is daft. Not lewd or crude. Just silly.

I'd certainly judge that it offers little protection. I think the quintessential example of this kind of thing would be Red Sonja's scale bikini. But I don't think of it as practical or impractical. (Although almost all female track and field athletes wear little more than a bikini these days so there must be some benefit to performing in your briefs.) Instead I think of it as how the character presents herself to the wider world. Heroes need a recognisable look to cash in on their renown. In game mechanics, I wouldn't count it as scale armour, I'd count is as unarmoured. As a barbarian, in 5e at least, you need to be unarmoured anyway to make use of Unarmored Defense.

Christopher Brady · July 01, 2018, 03:10:05 PM

Welp, we made it to four pages before someone starts whining about 'inappropriate' armour. Here I was hoping we'd hit a new record...

Mike the Mage · July 01, 2018, 04:23:01 PM

Just daft, really.

Pat · July 01, 2018, 05:28:03 PM

Quote from: Christopher Brady;1046779Welp, we made it to four pages before someone starts whining about 'inappropriate' armour. Here I was hoping we'd hit a new record...

It got mentioned. You're the only one whining like a bitch.

David Johansen · July 01, 2018, 07:22:32 PM

Much as I love Angus McBride's work, I think Eowyn's fresh from the stylist for a perm hair is as silly as any chainmail bikini.

That people think fashion won't affect armor choices is also a bit silly, though boob plate seems to make a lot more sense than a cleavage window. Still, transparent aluminium maybe? I like breasts and cleavage, I guess that makes me a monster.

I did have a line I was going to use in a science fiction game sometime, for an all female mercenary company. "Sure, the armour's a bit silly, I could never fill those suckers out. But, this is a male dominated industry, full of dumbass sexist pigs, and we want them to know who's kicking their asses."