News — TSR

It would be very hard to count all the words written about artist David Trampier, the bulk of which revolve around half a dozen pieces of artwork known to pretty much every old school gamer. You all know what I’m talking about, the 1E Player’s Handbook, the original DM’s Screen, the hunchback Hill Giant, Emirikol the Chaotic, Wormy, and arguably many more. Still, these are all spot illustrations or stand-alone covers as Tramp was ever sharing space with other contemporaries of his day.I mean really, what would it have been like to have Tramp do ALL the art inside a...

You know what amazes me? That I can only be halfway through the Players Manual when I’m already on Part Three of the Red Box art series! Seriously, how many pieces of art are in this baby? No, I’m not going to count, but when all is said and done it is a boatload.So, when we last left off, I was talking about characters, the first of which was the Cleric, and in this section the art details basically all of the Human class characters for Basic D&D.I well remember enjoying these a great deal when I attempted to play...

So we now hit Part Two of my continuing series on the art of the TSR Mentzer Edition Basic Red Box.Previously, I talked about my introduction to the source material, my journey through art and not the writing, and how that first adventure made me both exuberant and hollow. Once Easley and Elmore wrap up with the death of Aleena, your intrepid fighter semi-character goes back to town. Ah, is there anything better in all of D&D than ‘going back to town’? I doubt it, and here’s a primary reason why, because young gamers lack control in their lives and...

When I first started dating my wife I was nineteen and I seemed to make an immediate impact on her family [yes, in a positive way!] Those early years were fun for sure, proving yourself to a family while they also did their best to prove themselves to you. I well remember my first Christmas as a ‘family guest’ and when asked what I wanted as a gift I told my would-be wife’s family that I want a D&D Gazetteer. Low and behold at the time I had no idea that by 1991 the TSR Gazetteer series had already been...

Today, I’m going to take a look at the artwork from the Planescape: The Planewalker’s Handbook supplement. Written by the newly sainted gaming genius Monte Cook, this 159 page book details a great deal of incredible little things concerning the planes as they appear in the Planescape Campaign Setting, but to me the artwork is always the most fun.With a cover done by Robh Ruppel the book starts off with a bang. Robh’s style is strong, and his muted colors blend well with the darkness of the setting. In this particular piece he draws on his inner M.C. Escher to...