Finished layouts from the Monsters chapter
about 1 month ago
– Thu, Feb 13, 2025 at 04:52:45 PM
Today is show and tell day for three two-page spreads from Jen McCleary’s layout work on 13th Age 2E! These are from the Monsters chapter of the Gamemaster’s Guide
I’m going to focus on the artistic choices made on each spread in this update. I’ll be tackling game design notes for each spread separately in my blog in the next few days, at robheinsoo.blogspot.com.
This avalanche of low-level demons is brought to you by Pat Loboyko, who illustrated all the high-energy demon pages. Pat’s slash-and-layer style is perfect for the demons, the hellhounds, and one of the next big lunks.
These are the first two pages of the Giants entry. Artist Paul Tobin placed a human warrior in a perilous situation, between hill and frost. But maybe they’re going to drink together? I’d originally imagined splitting Paul’s two giants on separate pages, but the fighter in the middle brought the piece into focus on a single page.
On the right, Pat Loboyko’s stone giant stomps dwarves.
This third spread illustrates a layout trick for when pagination isn’t working to your liking! I thought I might have to write more hydra text, but Lee Moyer pointed out that we could size the hydra appropriately, compared to the warrior and hungry stars on the left side of the spread. Voila! The hydra introduces itself at full size and its stats appear on the next page, no flipping pages necessary when you’re using the stat blocks.
Both illustrations on this spread are by Rich Longmore with paints by Lee, and Lee and Jen both sent the hydra surging up over the GMG’s page ribbon.
yours in the whirl, Rob
VTT update
about 2 months ago
– Thu, Jan 30, 2025 at 01:18:16 PM
This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.
Progress and Character Sheets
2 months ago
– Fri, Jan 10, 2025 at 05:01:13 PM
This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.
Greetings from the Holy Ones
3 months ago
– Sat, Dec 07, 2024 at 03:14:04 PM
Early December, and Jen has finished the first and second draft layouts of the two smallest Gamemaster’s Guide chapters. Layout of the very large Monsters chapter starts Monday.
The GMG Treasure chapter will be the next to go into layout, but we’re keeping the Running the Game chapter from the GMG open while we process feedback on the classes. I’ve got a lot more of the crucial classes feedback to read but there are already clear themes that Jonathan and I have started addressing.
Art is very far along, with 157 of approximately 166 illustrations finished and the last few being handled extra-special for reasons ranging from our all-the-demons artist wanting to give the balor special attention to the artist who drafted his dwarf fighter player character as the central hero in a combat scene now working on including the rest of his gaming group’s heroes!
Speaking of art that deserves special attention, the image crowning this update is an example of our cover artists, Aaron McConnell and Lee Moyer, having fun with my art suggestions. Aaron provided all the illustrations for the Kin chapter. I told him that I was tired of goody-two-shoes blond holy ones/(aasimar) and asked for a sharp-featured holy one harlequin, holding her mask, with a halo that spun red through orange.
Aaron’s pencils showed what he thought of me telling him that the Orc Lord was dead and that every campaign could decide for itself what had happened to him.
In Aaron’s world, she happened to him, and Lee’s paints summoned the harlequinade. I’m not sure who she is, but she may be the only holy one in the world with a stack of three haloes.
Yours in the harlequinade,
Rob
The Gnome Barbarian Finishes Off October
5 months ago
– Thu, Oct 31, 2024 at 05:19:44 PM
Today’s art is literally today’s art! Aaron McConnell is handling the illustrations for the Kin chapter and Lee just finished painting Aaron’s black and white pencils a couple hours ago.
Yes, it’s a gnome barbarian. I’ve had some fun treating the kin illustrations as a chance to play against type instead of always sticking to what’s expected.
There’s also backstory from when I was working on 4th Edition D&D. Our friend Echo, who my wife Lisa used to work with in the environmental education world, was so angry at 4E for not including the gnome as one of the playable characters in the 4E PH that she could barely speak to me.
Fast forward about what, 17 or 18 years, and Echo’s rage on behalf of her beloved gnome barbarian player character has inspired this illo. It’s not Echo’s character, I didn’t get in touch to get that art order, but it’s certainly someone who looks like they’re cutting with the same battleaxe!
Progress Report: I’m optimistic about turning the Gamemaster’s Guide over to layout in the middle of November. I’m mostly finished reading the feedback on the GMG. Now it’s a matter of deciding when and how to respond to feedback.
Interview report: Also just out this week, you can find a written interview about 13th Age 2E with Monica Valentinelli and Flames Rising here. For you backers who already know 13th Age, the first question about design philosophy is the most likely section to cover something new. If you backed the Kickstarter but don’t know 13th Age all that well yet, the rest of the interview covers details of the setting, combat, and new rules.
yours in the whirl, Rob
