Shatterzone was great with those rules, an improvement on TORG, which was somewhat imperfect.  I'm not really sure about Bloodshadows, though.

The next edition of Shatterzone will continue to use the same rules, just tweaked a little like I'm doing for Brutes.

I wish I could help more, though I appreciate the request for viewpoints. I do like the 1e cover over the 2e cover, but I am having difficulty pinpointing why. I still want that 1940s-1970s men's magazine, detective pulp fiction aesthetic, yet have trouble with why 2e just misses the mark.

Might have to put up "Weasels Tore at My Flesh" cover to get this conversation starting up again.

What elements were you thinking as essential? Stone jaw detective, vamps and vixens, threatening mooks on the periphery...

My current thoughts are...

1. I like the original concept of the stereotypical PI with a vampire/succubus companion, only more gritty and less pulpy. Roles could be reversed: female PI with incubus. Maybe with a third character, a spellslinger or something.

2. As for the scene, maybe a dark alley or cultish catacombs.

3. Definitely some sort of monster(s) in the background  -- zombies (Zuvembies), demons, Hugor strikebreakers, or some sort of Wilderness creatures.

4. Magic. Not sure why this wasn't expressed in the previous covers, but it should be present somehow without looking cheesy.

Are vampires ever allies in Bloodshadows? Because it might be the obvious skin tone and vamped hair and clothes that separates 1e from 2e.

You know what would look killer (to me)? A vamped up vamp, draped over the PI's arms in a faint, hooded upturn eyes and barely parted ruby red mouth exposing fangs, looking vulnerable yet dangerously on the edge of hunger/lust frenzy. The challenge would be drawing the emotional conflict in the eyes.

Something about mongrelmen in military drab with arcane insignia armbands (yes, go for the SS trope) shooting guns. But the bullet holes ooze skull-shaped ectoplasm and eldritch profanities. Maybe even give the vampire a bullet wound, like she covered the PI from a fatal shot.

You can play a variety of creatures as PCs, including werewolves, vampires, succubi, ghouls, and other oddballs.

I sounds to me like what you need is more or less a Tim Bradstreet "Hellblazer" cover. Spin it on google I think you'll like what you see. Oh, hes done work in RPGs before as well.

Quote from: Ronin;831311I sounds to me like what you need is more or less a Tim Bradstreet "Hellblazer" cover. Spin it on google I think you'll like what you see. Oh, hes done work in RPGs before as well.

Kind of cheesy looking.

I got nothin.

Quote from: brettmb;831367Kind of cheesy looking.

And Bloodshadows isn't???  I mean, it's a Noir styled game with ghosts and werewolves and vampires!  It's wonderfully delightfully cheesy and campy!  I was interested in this game because of the cheese factor!

Quote from: brettmb;8312751. I like the original concept of the stereotypical PI with a vampire/succubus companion, only more gritty and less pulpy. Roles could be reversed: female PI with incubus. Maybe with a third character, a spellslinger or something.

While this reversal could work well in a story, I think you may struggle to convey the role reversal graphically, on a cover.  

A cover relies on shorthands and a shared visual language to convey its meaning. In the first edition cover we recognise the man as a PI from the trenchcoat (pure convention ) and identify the female as seductive yet dangerous character through any number of visual cues and conventions (even you aren't sure whether she is a succubus or vampiress). That is a lot of information being conveyed by the two figures and it works because we the audience are fill in the blanks.

Right or wrong were you to reverse the roles I am not sure our shared visual vocabulary is up to the task. Maybe the right artist could pull it off, but it would be challenging.

I don't disagree with you Soylent, but I think the role reversal would be fine as long the woman was easily recognizable as a tough, gritty dame from film noir.

Christopher, I view Chill as cheesy (which is part of its charm), but I never saw this as cheesy with the right art.

Quote from: brettmb;831877I view Chill as cheesy (which is part of its charm), but I never saw this as cheesy with the right art.

Artwork is a large component in presenting the feel of a setting, so I can see where you could present Bloodshadows either way. I prefer to think about Bloodshadows as a dark and shadowy place, serious and scary.

Here's something to wet the appetite. Note that this is not the front cover, but a modified version of the tentative back cover.

Looks very cool Brett