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Artist Brief: Frank Frazetta

Frank Frazetta

I’m having a pretty busy week with book launches so I’m behind on the blogging side of Art of the Genre but I wanted to put something out so I thought I’d feature four nice pieces from one of my [and most fantasy oriented folks] favorite artists, Frank Frazetta. I don’t really have much to say about them other than ‘everything is awesome!’ that Frank does. So with that, I hope you sit back and enjoy.

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Manhunter Megaverse, what you all need to help flesh out a SF campaign!

R.K. Post Rifts

Today I’d like to discuss one of my all-time favorite science fiction RPG supplements, the Manhunter Megaverse Source Book for the Rifts setting.Produced by Myrmidon Press in December 1994, this book was under license with Palladium Books and goes completely bonkers on art and content. In fact, the book is so good it certainly outclasses the core Palladium Rifts books it is supposed to support! I have to say, I’m sad Myrmidon Press didn’t last because they do both beautifully rendered and incredibly thought provoking work, but understanding the financial side of the business, there is no way a garage...

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Ghostwalk, a campaign setting you really must have in your collection!

Brom D&D 3.0 Vinod Rams Wayne Reynolds Wizards of the Coast

I played D&D 3rd Edition [as 3rd, 3.5, and Pathfinder] for over a decade, so I’ve got a good amount of experience with the product under my belt. That said; I’ve probably got half a dozen supplements for those games that stick in my mind as ‘must haves’, one of which is the June 2003 release of Ghostwalk.Produced by Wizards of the Coast, this 223 page campaign setting was written by Monte Cook and Sean K Reynolds. As gaming goes, it is tough to get better than these two designers, so you should know right away just how fantastic this...

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L1: The Secret of Bone Hill and how TSR spent its $ in 1981

AD&D Modules Bill Willingham Erol Otus TSR

Today I’m going to take a look at the TSR module L1 The Secret of Bone Hill. I once had an opportunity to meet writer Lenard Lakofka for breakfast and discussed a bit of his Lendore Isles series [those being all his L modules] which was pretty entertaining over coffee.He confided in me that TSR had paid him and astounding $11,000 for the The Secret of Bone Hill, a module that didn’t go over well with the editors and was a struggle to even put out. Still, whatever the problems in production, I think it just showed how INSANE TSR...

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When Trampier does it all: The Art of SFKH 2 Mutiny on the Eleanor Moraes

Dave Trampier Elmore Larry Elmore Star Frontiers 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...

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