I wanted to talk briefly about art and RPGs; with putting out SaV, we’re doing a lot more art planning than ever…

I wanted to talk briefly about art and RPGs; with putting out SaV, we’re doing a lot more art planning than ever…

I wanted to talk briefly about art and RPGs; with putting out SaV, we’re doing a lot more art planning than ever before. I’ve had to put together art specs for the first time. And it’s been a cool excursion into thinking about visual media.

Here’s the art description for the homeworld of Aketi.

A verdant jungle-world full of incredibly hostile natural life. We see the Base Camp One, where heavily-armed guards patrolling the tall, metallic walls, watching the jungle for signs of fauna. Research crews pack for their next expedition in uneasy truce with the poachers doing the same across the quad. A smuggler discusses arrangements with a prospective client in a tent while a private barista makes them drinks.

Deciding what to include in the spec is its own form of art: You need to specify enough that it conveys an image to the artist, but doesn’t constrain their ability to be creative. And specifically, for landscapes, you have to create a sense of space that feels like it could really exist. Brett Barkley has done an amazing job visualizing these scenes.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1aStNk4bywdQezNkwJUO4_q0l8oF-Vxg8

This outside-looking-in view really gives the impression of being surrounded by the hostile natural forces of the planet. The craggy mountains in the background give the sense of untamed land. I love the way this comes across in the rough, and it’s exactly how stories in Aketi should feel. Pressured on all sides, with a hint of untamed wildness.

Here’s another example of the homeworld Indri.

The thick, rust-colored clouds create a dusk during the day on this industrial planet. The smokestacks and various-colored flames from gas burn offs make an impressive skyline from the warehouse-surrounded premier spaceport of Reeves. Rows of hovercars in traffic flying from district to district while advertisements blare on buildings around them. Pedestrians holding specially-treated umbrellas to prevent acid rain damage, walk hurriedly on metal sidewalks. Slow-moving containers being shuttled to warehouses or the spaceport.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1laGMQogXuQyeSDYJClBaUoON95qWy5SP

The way this view is so angular and tight gives it an intensely urban feel that I love for Indri. Everything is square and mechanical and gives you the idea of tight, packed spaces. Which is what we want adventures on that world to feel like!

Anyway, if you’re a fan of SaV or just RPG art, enjoy. For my part, it’s a true joy to see our visions presented in a way that is so immediately identifiable for what they are.

Just playing around with a new sketching program called Mischief.

Just playing around with a new sketching program called Mischief.

Just playing around with a new sketching program called Mischief. So far it seems to work very well with my Surface Pro. Banged out this fine fellow in about half an hour.

Oliver Morley used to be a Professor of Imperial History at the College of Imperial Science at Doskvol Academy, until a scandal forced him out, and he found himself in Ironhook for three months on a trumped up burglary charge. He’s since decided that if society is going to treat him like a criminal, he might as well become one. To that end, he has gathered together several like-minded individuals and founded an up-and-coming gang of Shadows calling themselves The Fourth College.

As a Spider, Morley is the very model of self control (I took Functional Vice as my starting ability). He realizes that he has a lot to learn about leading a life of crime, so he views every new situation as a teaching experience.

OOC, there’s a very deliberate Breaking Bad Season 1 vibe going on.

Galen Pejeau did an awesome piece of art for my A Fistful of Darkness / Weird West hack.

Galen Pejeau did an awesome piece of art for my A Fistful of Darkness / Weird West hack.

Galen Pejeau did an awesome piece of art for my A Fistful of Darkness / Weird West hack. Will be part of the next release and I want to share it with you upfront.

Hope you like it as much as I do … wait, sorry, that’s not possible 🙂 #aFistfulOfDarkness

First Character Sheet Deluxe for #aFistfulOfDarkness

First Character Sheet Deluxe for #aFistfulOfDarkness

First Character Sheet Deluxe for #aFistfulOfDarkness

Inspired by Galen Pejeau sheets for his Spirit Hack but totally different style 🙂

Hope you like it.

I’m planning to create a roll20 set of props for A Fistful of Darkenss. So, if you’re planning a test game, please let me know. I’m totally ready to pimp your playing table.

The lot of you might be better than me, better by far if youve known of this before.

The lot of you might be better than me, better by far if youve known of this before.

The lot of you might be better than me, better by far if youve known of this before. And worse too if you never told me nor any other about it.

Now ive heard a-many a thing, and know now that now ive heard this all ive got to say is this, and treat it as prophecy or curse, or as close as your heartless heart will believe it to be, either way. That if youve heard one song of this your soul would find its way home from distant lands if there you die, and if you sing a verse when your ship goes down you’ll at least forever stay in the shallows, and not go down into the Deeps.

And if you know all the songs then the saints and the devils alike will pass you by and say to you ‘good day’ and give you fair warning if they have business with your kin. And if youre in a tavern thats plays the songs and youre in your tremors and horrors from smoke and drink, then Billy Foul would pass you by til morn. And hum the tunes and the whales and the fish come, same and it’ll keep your woman’s moon waxing, or waning, your man’s wood more oak than weepin’willow. And do your labours to ‘Nelson’s Blood’ and she’ll turn in half the time, and hang yourself by ‘Hanging Johnny’ and it’ll be fast too. And so many for before or after a bloody row.

These are good songs, good songs and the lot of us dont deserve them

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rogue’s_Gallery:_Pirate_Ballads,_Sea_Songs,_and_Chanteys

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rogue’s_Gallery:_Pirate_Ballads,_Sea_Songs,_and_Chanteys

Long time lurker in the group, and I’ve had lots of inspiration from everyone here so thank you all and this…

Long time lurker in the group, and I’ve had lots of inspiration from everyone here so thank you all and this…

Long time lurker in the group, and I’ve had lots of inspiration from everyone here so thank you all and this community. I am running a group soon (first time GM, little nervous, but mostly excited) and wanted to do a movie-poster style announcement for who would be in it and when (as its a live game). Here’s the general style I went with. The players went crazy for it so it encouraged me to share. Cheers.

Hello, fellow scoundrels!

Hello, fellow scoundrels!

Hello, fellow scoundrels! Over the past year or so, I’ve been painstakingly working on a set of custom-made play aids for use on Roll20 for my own sessions of Blades in the Dark. I do this for other games as well, but with Blades, it kind-of grew out of hand. After much pushing and prodding from my players, I’ve decided to release a version of these assets for all of you to use!

Keep in mind that these are set up for my own personal use, and not all of it is strictly necessary. That said, inside you will find:

– A high-quality map of Doskvol with darkened water and some other small flourishes, but nothing that would detract from its use as a game aid.

– My own set of Countdown Clocks (4, 6, and 8-count clocks), with fully transparent backgrounds so you can use them across multiple screens. The edges may look a bit grainy in the preview, but once you drop them down on something they look great.

– A score screen where you can draw quick maps or diagrams, and a screen for keeping track of season clocks and the like (especially useful for clocks you would rather keep hidden from players).

– All of the handouts (tables, visual aids, player and GM references) included with Blades, sized and ready to be added as Roll20 handouts.

– Images for each Playbook and Crew type, to be used with the Roll20 BitD character sheets (I tend to keep a folder of blank Playbooks ready in case someone needs to make a new character due to overindulging or whatever).

– A Blades in the Dark “title screen” to cut to when you’re not actively using the others.

– Instructions on how to add these to your own Roll20 lobby with no quality loss (it’s trickier than you’d think).

Also included in the Google Drive folder is a screenshot of some of these assets working together–combined with the excellent Roll20 character sheets for Blades, it really helps to immerse the players and keep the whole play experience feeling consistent.

I should point out that I am NOT an artist, so everything included is just created out of chopped up assets from the Blades in the Dark PDFs, plus some of my own tweaks. So, I’d like to give a very special thanks to John Harper for his excellent production design on Blades, which really helped to give me a good palette to work. Oh, and for making an amazing game too.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1MdRnmVJCgpGXxNqgc9fCfduzt69nZwdM?usp=sharing

Hacking Blades for a Mythic Approach:

Hacking Blades for a Mythic Approach:

Hacking Blades for a Mythic Approach:

Artstyle: Just a quick question for you scoundrels today, which of these two do you prefer? I’ve been thinking about this world for so long that I can’t see it with clean eyes any more.

Also, I frelling love the Tier system! In other game systems I would have to struggle to measurably indicate the changes in gear as a society moved up through bone & stone, bronze, iron etc. Now it’s just Tier I, Tier II and so on. The players can fill in the rest.