Runequest Deluxe Edition [1993] was a rehash with a classic cover and not much else

I must apologize, first for my epic failure in finding the artist I’m going to speak about today, and even more so for the ineptitude of Avalon Hill and Chaosium for their lack of artist credits that clearly identify the cover work.

Now that I have that out of the way, I’d at least like to feature the cover for Runequest Deluxe Edition [1993], as well as the product itself.

The cover, much like many Middle-Earth Role-Playing books of the same period, used an incredible watercolor painter to create this universally recognized and sublime piece of artwork. The only indicator of who did the piece, the moniker ‘Jalee’ hidden in the stone at the female warrior’s feet, does not match up with the three artists listed within: Chris Marrinan, Alan Okamoto, and Lisa Free. Of these, only Chris Marrinan has any lasting art presence, and that was in black and white comics, so again I’m left wondering who did the cover.

Still, the mysterious Jalee has done a superb job coupling classic Norse style with the exploration of Mesoamerican ruins. That in itself should make the piece an instant classic, but once you start digging deeper into the use of color, the position of the bodies, and the knowledge of weaponry by the artist you see just how talented he or she was.

Having said that, the remainder of Runequest Deluxe Edition [1993] is a marked failure where art is concerned. This 276 page book is truly lacking in art, with just a scattering of black and white illustrations within, and none of those particularly moving. There are actually whole chapters without an illustration, which for a game a renowned as Runequest, I find a terrible shame.

In the end, the cover makes this a classic, but otherwise it is an epic artistic fail.

Artistic Rating: 3 [out of 5]