Quote from: Necrozius;802179Good summary. I feel the same way about it, and I consider it an art book as much as it is an RPG supplement.

Yes. I feel the same, having just acquired it (well, pdf thus far). Art book, but in an awesome sense, and not a "coffee table" only book (which you didn't mean, I know).

QuoteThere are some really cool ideas in there for sandbox-y campaigns. I really love the simple encounter table in the map, which is color coded and it looks really cool.

I find that this product is extremely inspiring.

I like how the style of it rolls between more punkish elements to very refined and almost fancy (?) in the core text (feel). And color. Color!

QuoteAs an aside, I really regret choosing not to get a physical copy of the new Death Frost Doom (which Zak wrote). At least I own the PDF (got it in a Bundle of Holding recently) but it's just not the same.

I took the hit and ordered hardcopy (hard cover) for both. One of my flgs has been bringing in LotFP books lately (got Qelong and Dunnsmouth the other week, actually, and even the LotFP hardback player book) but I wasn't willing to take the risk on these.

As another aside, it's a shame Zak won't be putting his wonderfully ruined D&D 5e Monster Manual on the auction block when he's finished finishing it. I couldn't (well, shouldn't) ask a man to part with his working, personal copy of his MM.

50 years from now, however, when I'm digitized and virtually immortal, I will hire a black ops team to retrieve it from wherever or whomever has it. And, yes, I will betray them afterwards.

Quote from: Molotov;803863As another aside, it's a shame Zak won't be putting his wonderfully ruined D&D 5e Monster Manual on the auction block when he's finished finishing it. I couldn't (well, shouldn't) ask a man to part with his working, personal copy of his MM.

I've been printing out his scans and inserting them into my Monster Manual. Actually, he's inspired me to do the same sort of thing (although I never write or draw in my books, just with sticky notes). As much as I like 5e, I find the visuals for many of the monsters (especially the devils and demons) to be really dull.

Still giving some thoughts to an AR&PL adventure set in a weird fantasy 16th century Europa. I have settled for the year 1530, which is one year after the siege of Vienna by Suleiman I. I have seen on the wikipedia page about it some cool things about german mercenaries, the Landsknects.

I think that I will make the PCs mercenaries or refugees for the siege who unfortunatly stumble upon Voivodja and try to do their best once they are there.

I want to use D&D 5 rules but I will only allow human, demi-elf (fairy touched) and tiefling (as devil tainted) as PC races and I will also stick to the four basic PC classes : cleric (mystic, theurge, etc ... ), figher, mage (natural philosopher, hermetic mathematician, ...) and thief.

Do you have Better Than Any Man, Yabaziou? The main village in it might not be exactly what you're looking for fit but it has an historically-based mitteleuropean sandbox around it which is a good starting point for a more real-world-grounded version of grotesque-D&D.

I haven't had a chance to buy the book yet but the art looks very nice. My impression is Zak is more of a fine artist than an illustrator and I think that can be a tough sell to gamers sometimes but based on what I have seen so far it really seems to work in this case and I hope we see more books that look like this in the future.

Zak: You do porn, art, and games, amongst other things. There are many people who would consider doing even just one of those a dream job, but which is your favourite? Which excites you the most?

Quote from: Ladybird;804654Zak: You do porn, art, and games, amongst other things. There are many people who would consider doing even just one of those a dream job, but which is your favourite? Which excites you the most?

Hey LadyBird,
If you want to do general Question Time With Zak then I suggest you move it over to https://twitter.com/ZakSmithSabbath or http://ask.fm/TheActualZakSmith --posting and answering that stuff here will probably just annoy rpgsite folks looking for useful info about Red & Pleasant Land

Quote from: Zak S;804650Do you have Better Than Any Man, Yabaziou? The main village in it might not be exactly what you're looking for fit but it has an historically-based mitteleuropean sandbox around it which is a good starting point for a more real-world-grounded version of grotesque-D&D.

I do have Better Than Any Man and that is nice of to remind me of it, Zak ! It will probably save my at lot of works ! I was also thinking of using Scenic Dunnsmouth for making a weird hamlet in VoiVodja, remplacing the curse described in the book by a vampire infection.

I was also thinking of using some visuals from the manga Berserk as an inspiration for the dangers in the Goblin Woods.

The names of the (unfortunate) human habitants of Voivodja will be taken from the credits of Romanian movies and their religion will be Roman Catholic but the mass will be told in Greek, just because it is weird.

The Colorless Bishops will preach a wierd and sinister version of Greek Orthodox faith, the Heart and Red Bishops a strange and twisted version of Roman Catholic creed (but they hate each others and throws accusations of heresy every time they meet) and the Pale Bishops a bizarre and grim version and the Anglican faith.

My first idea about involving the PCs in the intrigues of Voivodja (also called the Land forsaken by God) is made them part of a large convoy (at least 100 persons, but their etnicity is mutable : german mercenaries, reard guard of the Turkish army, whatever ...) which in the aftermath of the siege of Vienna stumble upon Voivodja (mist will be probably involved).

I will try to described a subtle wrongness about the land which surround them and at nightfall, they will meet a strong detachment of the Pale Prince's army which will demand taxes from them.

It will not go well, and in the end, the PCs will be capured by the Pale army or on the run (or, if I botch, dead). If captured, they will be brought before the Prince who, with a desarming charm, will apologize for the violence, offers some financial compensation and asks a favor from the PCs : bring to the Colorless Princess a gift of pastry (I will make the Pale Prince courts the Colorless Princess). Of, it will bez not a small task since Voivodja is a dangerous land, the Colorless Princess's court is not easy to find and both the Heart Queen and the Red King want them to fail (the Heart Queen wants the pastry and the Red King wants the courtship to fail, the Queen too but as a bonus).

If the PCs are on the run, it is up to them to find what they will do in this strange land (I will make them meet a marchand who will speak of the rumors and gossips about the 4 monarchs).

In my game of Voivodja adventures, vampires can consume "normal" food if it contains humain blood, fat or flesh.

EDIT : it is not AR&PL related, but I will skip the D&D aligment system and use the Palladium one instead because it makes more sense to me : so good (principled or scrupulous), selfish (unprincipled or  anarchist) and evil (aberrant or diabolic - skipping miscreant because I cannnot see the difference between diabolic and miscreant) aligmentsin lieu of 9 fold system