News — Red Box

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...

There was a time when I fell in love with D&D… well, perhaps that’s not entirely true.  There were actually a dozen times I fell in love with D&D, but the time I fell in love with Aleena was the first time I fell romantically in love with D&D. For all you Grognards out there who remember the Red Box, I have to wonder if you fell in love with Aleena too, and if a part of you died with here in that first intro adventure penned by Frank Mentzer [curse you Frank, and curse you Larry Elmore for creating...