#RPGaDay: Whch RPG has the most inspiring art?
If we have to go with core games (and not supplements, settings, adventures and the like), then 2nd Edition Dungeons & Dragons.
A lot of the art from 3rd and 4th Edition (while perhaps usually more...I dunno, technically proficient?) is characters standing around, maybe doing something (like aiming a bow, picking a lock, or attacking a monster), but that doesn't really inspire anything, especially when it's just them standing around in a stock pose like they know they're getting their picture taken.
In the 2nd Edition Player's Handbook, you get scenes of people venturing towards a tower, some guy and his donkey preparing to go through a door (and you can just see a claw and tail poking out), a wizard looming over some tiny woman with a lizard tail, an army of orcs storming a castle, a griffon fountain surrounded by crystals, and a couple of adventurers bashing open a door with a ram (the last time the adventurers had to bash open a door was in a 3rd Edition campaign: I feel like nowadays players would complain that they couldn't pick the lock).
There's also scenes like this one:
What the fuck happened to those guys? Are they dead? Just knocked out? What's with the tree and necklace? Is the box a kind of force field, or glass?
Also this:
What's written on those door-monster-tongues? Who made it? What's inside? Who keeps replacing the torches in the face at the top?
Again, I think a lot of the art from later editions is good, there's just very little if any that makes me think, "What happened/is about to happen/is going on right now?" If supplements are allowed, then I'd give second place to Planescape: it has some interesting scenes, just less than the Player's Handbook and the art (especially in the campaign setting box) is usually pretty sloppy.
It look a lot longer than expected, but we finally released The Jinni. As with our other monstrous classes, this one is more faithful to the mythology (so don't go in expecting elemental-themed jinn).
After putting it to a vote, the next couple of classes on the docket are the warden (think 4E D&D warden) and apothecary (gotta go see what they're all about).
Dwarven Vault is our sixth 10+ Treasures volume. If you're interested in thirty dwarven magic items (including an eye that lets you shoot lasers) and nearly a dozen new bits of dungeon gear, check it out!
Just released our second adventure for A Sundered World, The Golden Spiral. If a snail-themed dungeon crawl is your oddly-specific thing, check it out!
By fan demand, we've mashed all of our 10+ Treasure volumes into one big magic item book, making it cheaper and more convenient to buy in print (which you can now do).
A lot of the art from 3rd and 4th Edition (while perhaps usually more...I dunno, technically proficient?) is characters standing around, maybe doing something (like aiming a bow, picking a lock, or attacking a monster), but that doesn't really inspire anything, especially when it's just them standing around in a stock pose like they know they're getting their picture taken.
In the 2nd Edition Player's Handbook, you get scenes of people venturing towards a tower, some guy and his donkey preparing to go through a door (and you can just see a claw and tail poking out), a wizard looming over some tiny woman with a lizard tail, an army of orcs storming a castle, a griffon fountain surrounded by crystals, and a couple of adventurers bashing open a door with a ram (the last time the adventurers had to bash open a door was in a 3rd Edition campaign: I feel like nowadays players would complain that they couldn't pick the lock).
There's also scenes like this one:
What the fuck happened to those guys? Are they dead? Just knocked out? What's with the tree and necklace? Is the box a kind of force field, or glass?
Also this:
What's written on those door-monster-tongues? Who made it? What's inside? Who keeps replacing the torches in the face at the top?
Again, I think a lot of the art from later editions is good, there's just very little if any that makes me think, "What happened/is about to happen/is going on right now?" If supplements are allowed, then I'd give second place to Planescape: it has some interesting scenes, just less than the Player's Handbook and the art (especially in the campaign setting box) is usually pretty sloppy.
Announcements
It look a lot longer than expected, but we finally released The Jinni. As with our other monstrous classes, this one is more faithful to the mythology (so don't go in expecting elemental-themed jinn).After putting it to a vote, the next couple of classes on the docket are the warden (think 4E D&D warden) and apothecary (gotta go see what they're all about).
Dwarven Vault is our sixth 10+ Treasures volume. If you're interested in thirty dwarven magic items (including an eye that lets you shoot lasers) and nearly a dozen new bits of dungeon gear, check it out!
Just released our second adventure for A Sundered World, The Golden Spiral. If a snail-themed dungeon crawl is your oddly-specific thing, check it out!
By fan demand, we've mashed all of our 10+ Treasure volumes into one big magic item book, making it cheaper and more convenient to buy in print (which you can now do).
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