[Illustration] Jack Cloud (with Risus stat block)

on foot (ald)

Krita/Wacom Intuos 

Jack Cloud (Risus Stat Block)

Long-Time Surviving Whole-Earth Traveller (4)
Laconic Urban Shaman (3)
Ramblin' Chaos Wizard (2)
Free-Rhyming Street Poet (1)

[Illustration] An orc's best friend

Ork auf Hundesuche (ald)

Kleine Charakterstudie mit Krita und +Wacom Intuos

Wenn man mal wieder nicht weiß, wo der Hund ist, kann man ihn mittels dieser Tabelle wiederfinden.

[Illustration] Update: Journey through the Dungeon

Work in progress created with Krita and a Wacom Intuos (ald)

I wrote about exploration and journey in the first part. I'm working on the depth of the scene, as well as on the texture of the stonework. That will take some time. Next will be the boat and the adventurer, then the underwater part. The surface will be last. Still some way to go.

The open source digital painting software that I use, Krita, has just been released in its 2.9 version.

[Illustration] Water - Journey through the Dungeon

Digital painting in progress with Krita

Through the Dungeon (ald)

Journey

Exploration is a key aspect of life. And those who found themselves on a journey sooner or later were exploring their surroundings and thereby enlarged their concept of the world, their options and opportunities. Journey is progress, and the destination is rarely visible from the outset. There may be a vision of a destination or state which will be reached, can be reached when all the obstacles - within and without - are overcome, when strength is acquired, when tools are created and gained, when skills are honed, when craft is mastered, when companions work together. All these achievements are part of the journey.

To look back and retrace the steps, to remember the obstacles overcome, that is to see a path of achievements. Then it is time to tell the story, and tell it to teach, and inspire visions of destinations and states to be reached. And after a rest: time to journey onwards.

First sketch with Krita

[Illustration] Old School Magic-User - 3d6 in order

This character was rolled

strictly 3d6 in order (ald)

So, I'm doodling with Krita and a Wacom Intuos to become better at using the software for different illustration tasks. Some of the artwork will find its way into my Fantasy setting others will be filed away. This guy may become an NPC, or a grumpy retainer. I don't know how much of use he will be in a dungeon, though...

Pit Zombie Update

Pit Zombie (ald)

Krita and Wacom Intuos

I changed one of the characters and added a third one to make the adventuring party complete. I worked on the detail of the trap, because I wanted to hint at the mechanics and how it was covered. The pit zombie received a zombie-face-lift and lost a hand. I may change some details, but my guess is that this is near the final version to be included in The Tomb of the Mummy Priest adventure for Basic Fantasy.

The first version was this here.

Wise Old Gnome of Ziegenheim

Drink, sleep, fight, talk, fondle beard.

Old master gnome (ald)

Krita and Wacom Intuos

Another blue gnome character study for my Basic Fantasy setting. I think these guys work with Risus, too.

Blue Gnome of Ziegenheim

Blue gnome study (ald)

Krita and Wacom Intuos

Labyrinth

I watched Jim Henson's Labyrinth last night, again (for the 17th time or so). There is a Making of on the DVD, and I watched that, too (for the first time), because I like to get a glimpse at how things work and learn from it.
So, I got inspired by Brian Froud's goblin designs which then led me to scribbling the blue gnome study with Krita.

Since I'm working on a Basic Fantasy sandbox setting (in German) with the working title Ziegenheim, I thought it might be fitting to start describing some of the creatures that live around Ziegenheim. There will be blue gnomes, and they may look like the one pictured.

[Illustration] A Character in the Wilderness

A character in the wilderness (ald)
I think I will reduce the detail on the cabin...

Krita and Wacom Intuos

So, I scribbled this wolf's head and out grew a man in the wilderness beside the cabin he arrived at an hour or so ago. What kind of character is he? A ranger? An outlawed fighter? A wilderness cleric, or druid? Could be a magic-user, or a thief! Here are a few stats for Basic Fantasy and Risus.

Basic Fantasy

I rolled these characters 3d6 in order. For some funny reason the Charisma scores are still the lowest, except for Wilson. For rules on the secondary skills read the Tiny Skill Companion. You can think of reasons why the scores fit to the character portrayed in the drawing. Use your imagination, and make notes. It's quite fun!

West F3, Str 15, Int 9, Wis 11, Dex 15, Con 11, Cha 9, HP 15
Secondary skills: hunter (e), carpenter (e)
Equipment: backpack, blankets, waterskins, knife, axe, spear, short bow

Svile C2, Str 8, Int 10, Wis 13, Dex 9, Con 13, Cha 7, HP 8
Secondary skills: bushcrafter (e), fisherman (e)
Equipment: backpack, blanket, fishing equipment, knife, quarterstaff

Therem M3, Str 12, Int 12, Wis 10, Dex 10, Con 9, Cha 11, HP 7
Secondary skills: Wilderness Lore (m)
Equipment: backpack, selection of herbs, mushrooms, knife, quarterstaff of roots

Wilson T4 Str 7, Int 12, Wis 6, Dex 12, Con 8, Cha 14 HP 11
Secondary skills: Storytelling and Acting (e), Navigation (ad), Hunting (b)
Equipment: backpack, a collection of 'magic' twigs, stones and acorns, knives, short bow, flutes

Risus

Hank Howard Cale
Travelling Musician of the Ancient Order of Music Masters of Orth (4)
I know everything about forests!-Show-off (3)
Laconic Bowman of Eerie Patience (3)

Clark Old Shiverhand Baxter
Shaky-Handed Master of the Bow (4)
Adventurous Huntsman (3)
Libertine Ritual Dancer (2)
Convicted but Escaped Royal Accountant (1)

[Illustration] Crocodiles in the Tomb of the Mummy Priest

Another snapshot of my work on the illustrations for the Basic Fantasy adventure Tomb of the Mummy Priest. The depicted character party consists of the three adventurers and one cat. The crocodiles are supposed to be mummified. I will find out how mummified crocodiles look like, and work on their appearance.

Crocodiles!

Krita and Wacom Intuos (ald)

[Illustration] Pit Zombie for Tomb of the Mummy Priest

This is an illustration for the Tomb of the Mummy Priest adventure which will be published as part of the Basic Fantasy Adventure Anthology 2. I want to work on the light and shading. Also, the zombie could look a bit more zombie-ish, I guess.

Pit Zombie with Krita and Wacom Intuos (ald)

[Wunsch-Update] Der Bhruck-Schrecken - Illustration

Der Bhruck-Schrecken (ald)

Zwischenstand der Illustration - Krita und Grafiktablett 

Ich hatte für die Erfüllung von Ninianes Wunsch ein paar Illustrationen angekündigt. Sie sind noch in Arbeit und deswegen zeige ich einen Zwischenstand des gefährlichen Bhruck-Schreckens, der in dem Großstadtmöbelhaus Antik&Modern sein Unwesen treibt.

A hidden tomb - illustration

Entrance to the hidden tomb (22.05.2014 ald)
A sketch for some artwork that might be used for the Basic Fantasy Module

Tomb of the Mummy Priest.

Made with Krita (Ubuntu Studio 14.04)

Den Urknall in den Händen.

Eine kleine MyPaint-Kritzelei.

Anstatt Fantasy-Rollenspiele zu spielen, kann man seine kreative Energie auch anders nutzen. Man hüte sich in jedem Fall davor, das Kaufen von Produkten mit self-empowerment zu verwechseln. Ein Stift in der Hand, macht noch keinen Schriftsteller, egal wie teuer der Stift war.

Not to fight. 30 Day D&D Challenge

I accepted the 30 Day D&D Challenge, and started out with a post a day, and a quickly sketched artwork to illustrate the post. Most of them were done in single sessions, four to five posts at a time, and then scheduled for publication.
Then other tasks became more important, and with the arrival of the favourite monster days my motivation declined.
So, I quit the challenge. It was fun for a while, but the restriction to D&D games dulled it a bit.

Favourite NPC - 30 Day D&D Challenge

 The ultimate showdown is always between

the DM's favourite NPC (left) and the PC of his girlfriend.

Favourite NPC

I already wrote that most of my created PCs tend to find their way into the game world as NPCs. I like to create characters, and wether I play them, another player does it doesn't matter.
Create interesting characters and let them inhabit the game world.

Favourite Trap - 30 Day D&D Challenge

Favourite trap of any dungeon exploring character..

the one triggered by someone else. 

Favourite Dungeon Type - 30 Day D&D Challenge

I might actually use this one-page dungeon level...

Favourite Dungeon Type

Those that are fun, challenging, and make sense. If you happen to find a lost and abandoned puppy of hell - get the poor thing out of there.

Favourite Adventure - 30 Day D&D Challenge

X1 - The Isle of Dread

With an illustration like this I just might

want to run the adventure in the future.

 

My favourite D&D adventure I ran

I never ran an official D&D adventure. I considered the Isle of Dread a few times, when I read the D&D BECM Expert rules, but there was little point in that - my players didn't want to play any D&D at that time.

The Isle of Dread cover showed that T-rex. And I wasn't sure wether to like, or hate dinosaurs in rpgs. Dragons were okay, but dinosaurs didn't seem mysterious enough. Although they probably are.

Craziest Thing Happened - 30 Day D&D Challenge

'You know, TPKs shouldn't exist in the first place.'

Craziest thing happened playing D&D

The first ever AD&D session with my players had been cut short by a total party kill (tpk). We were used to playing Das Schwarze Auge where characters had around 30 hit points at first level, and weapon damage was around 1d6+3. I think I allowed the AD&D player characters to start with maximum number of possible hit points: 4 to 10. The whole group was cut down during the first encounter. We started over, or something.
My players already hated AD&D. They wanted to play heroes of myth and movie magic. Not mages who could only cast one measly spell per day, and warriors who got slain in the first round.

Now, in contrast my Basic Fantasy group who consists solely of players who never played a pen&paper rpg before manage to evade encounters, and minimize damage far better - and their characters' hit points vary from 1 to 4. It's a party with three magic-users and a thief: two elves, a human, and a halfling. Maybe the new players are smarter ...