Art in the Lone wolf RPG

[Anonymous]

I just got my copy of the lone wolf RPG. I feel a bit of a mixed blessing. While i'm thrilled that there is anyting Lone Wolf thats new being released, i was a bit disappointed by the artwork in the book.

Most of it was of the quality of TSR back in 90's. Most of the art was pen and ink, but poorly done. Many of the pics are not of iconic characters or interesting places but just a haphazard group of pics that have nothing to do with most of the material.

Why couldn't Mongoose get Brian Williams from the game books? Or joe dever? Or heck, go to wizards of the coasts' website and go to their art forum board. You could find a dozen 18 yr. old artists that could have done a ton better at a quarter of the price that mongoose probably paid.

Don't get me wrong. I'm thankful that Mongoose published Lone Wolf, but I feel that the art in the book did not equal the price of it. I mean, $40 is a lot of money to spend on an RPG book. While i love lone wolf, the art in the RPG book leaves a little to be desired. However, the map was excellent.

Any other people out there agree with me?

 

[Anonymous]

the art inside the CONAN RPG book 1 was mostly GARBAGE !
I WAS EMBARASSED to show my friends
mongoose should be ashamed !
if they cant use good art then none is better than cr ap.

but the SLAINE rpg is WONDERFUL cos its got all the great art from 2000ad comics !
-
old good art should be given to mongoose as part of a licence deal.
to ensure the success of the rpg books.

but dork companies like cpi-conan never keep joint rights to the art they commision ! FOOLS ! :!:
so they cant use it all again later as illustrations + adverts.

thanks for your warning. i will NOT BUY the lone wolf rpg now!

fools are all around us - - :lol:

 

[Eternalknight]

I find it funny people won't buy a gam because of the art. Isn't it the written section that counts?

 

[Methos]

perfectly said

if you interested in art, go to a museum

art is just a help for people with "not much" imagination

if somebody is in need of that, well isnt roleplaying about imagination, fantasy and daydreaming about world far far away?

 

[Sabbak]

I totaly disagree with you Methos (and agree with our "guest")! :twisted:
For my personnal point of view, artwork within a RPG is VERY important. Of course, the main thing is what's writen, but Artwork is the "mood" of the RPG.
Have a look at the wonderfull drawings in the Fantasy Flight Games (Midnight for exemple). Every single drawing can make your mind "travelling"... and so many adventures ideas come up with the artwork in front of your eyes.

If you don't think artwork (and layout in general) is important, just photocopy all the books you read... :wink:
After all, you can't disagree with the following: the original artwork by Gary Chalk in the first LW books took a great part in the success of those books.

No doubt: Mongoose can do better regarding artwork. But don't get me wrong: this not an insult!
Just a way to say: "hey guys, it IS possible to improve artwork within your products!"
--- pfff!!! that's not easy for me to write down my thaughts correctly as english is not my mother tongue...---

Regards,

 

[Eryx]

I find it funny people won't buy a gam because of the art. Isn't it the written section that counts?

Its both. There have been books (none of them Mongoose) that I have refused to buy because it had terrible artwork.

Presentation is just as important as the contents.

 

[Paido]

Of course, the main thing is what's writen, but Artwork is the "mood" of the RPG.

Very true. It's a bit like roleplaying itself: Of course you can have fun and adventures galore without the game master trying to evoke "mood", but if your game master sets a good "atmosphere", the experience is much more powerful! (It's similar with movies: Were Star Wars or Lord of the Rings - for example - shot without a soundtrack, you would still have the same story (i.e., written content), but an important part would be missing!)

Or look at the world map of the game: Would you be as enthusiastic about it if it were only black and white, drawn with simple lines and dots?


That said, I'll have to wait until I get a chance to buy that confounded game somewhere before I can specifically comment upon the artwork of it ...

(Of course, had they won over Gary Chalk, Brian Williams, Paul Bonner (from the Grey Star books) or even Cyril Julien (from the Skull of Agarash graphic novel) for the artwork, that would have been superb! ... But probably the game would have cost a lot more. Oh well.)


Paido

 

[Eternalknight]

Or look at the world map of the game: Would you be as enthusiastic about it if it were only black and white, drawn with simple lines and dots?

No, of course not. But if the artwork is black and white and not of the same quality of Gary Chalk, is that going to put me off buying the game, when in order to play the game the bit I need is the text?

 

[Paido]

[...] is that going to put me off buying the game, when in order to play the game the bit I need is the text?

That depends on how bad the artwork and layout are ...

Generally speaking: If the book does in fact pain the eye whenever I look at it, that would influence my decision, especially if the book has a medium to high price. If the artwork is neither good nor awful (and the price moderate), then it wouldn't put me off, as long as the contents are interesting. It's always a relative matter: the content, artwork/layout and price have to balance each other.

In the case of the Lone Wolf Rpg, I am certain that the contents are very much to my liking, therefore I am willing to accept worse artwork here than in many other books. But as I said before, I cannot really comment on it's artwork yet. (The pictures in the Kai lord preview looked nice, the ones in the second preview less so, and that's all I know.)

BTW, don't get me wrong: I absolutely don't agree with Garbage's rather extreme comment/decision above. At the very least I'd have a look at the book in question myself before I decide whether to buy it or not. But as the prices for rpg corebooks have become rather steep, things like good artwork have become more of a factor than they were years ago.

Take for example (admittedly an extreme one) the new Lord of the Rings Rpg - if that price weren't backed up by really nice artwork/layout/design, the decision to buy it would be a lot harder than it already is! And as much as I am a LotR fan, I haven't bought any supplements so far - because I cannot afford them so easily!

Of course the Lone Wolf Rpg is less expensive, but even so, the almost $50 I'll probably have to pay over here are not that easily spent. I don't expect the artwork to rival that of LotR, but it has to meet at least a certain standard. That's not so unreasonable, is it?


Paido

 

[Sabbak]

I agree with you Paido!

In fact: I waited for the Lone Wolf RPG for a ssoooooooo long time that I'll be a bit disapointed if the artwork doesn't match the "minimum standard" for a *not so cheap* professional work.

Aaaargh! I have to wait a few weeks more before testing those controversial drawings by myself!!!!

 

[Anonymous]

Ignore the comments about the art. The art is not offensive to the eye's, it more than gets the job done. The background stills in the class description of each class are great, the bestiary art is great, npc section, combat section, introduction, gazateer.

The only weak part is in the skills section, that has some weird/unprofessional depictions in it. Trust me, the corebook is great! You will all love it.

Paido, you were dissappointed the vakeros are not in there, but I have a feeling you will really like the telchos warrior, another form of primitive battlemage.

 

[Paido]

[...] the telchos warrior, another form of primitive battlemage.

:shock: Hey!! Did you just call us Vakeros primitive battlemages? "Another form of", indeed! What comes next, grass skirts?!

Take that back, you!

Paido :wink:


P.S.: Thanks for that hint! ... Need that book. *grumbles*

 

[Anonymous]

Actually, , somehow I knew you were going to take offence at that.
However, the telchos magic is pretty sweet, while at the same time not being overbearing (i.e. its primarily a swift moving fighting class).

I am sure the vakeros will be presented someday, maybe even the the magik of magamund supp. I myself look forward to that class.

And why haven't you got the book yet? If you are in the usa, order from amazon and it'll be at your place within 3 days (and thats if you use the free super saver shipping). I know money can be hard to come by, but trust me, being a fan of LW, you should definately get it asap.

It truly is a labor of love, written by a team who, it seems, were pretty big fans of lw themselves.

 

[Paido]

However, the telchos magic is pretty sweet, while at the same time not being overbearing (i.e. its primarily a swift moving fighting class).

Consider me already curious! :wink:

And why haven't you got the book yet? If you are in the usa, order from amazon and it'll be at your place within 3 days (and thats if you use the free super saver shipping).

Problem is: I'm not ... (Check my location ) Haven't found any place in all of Europe that already has copies for sale ...


Paido

 

[Anonymous]

Ah I see. Don't worry though, It will be there eventually. Do you play conan d20 at all? If so, any idea how long it took to get to europe? LW will probably take around the same. Humm, otherwise, try finding some reliable online site is all the advice I can give you.

I look forward to your views on the book though, since it seems you're a pretty big fan. ( I've sen you post here and on project aon). However, I'm sure you will like it. The gazateer section contains blurbs from dever's unpublished stuff, and thus includes some previously unknown, yet 'official' info. I personally had always wondered whether the shainti had come to magamund first, or the elder magi; and had also wondered why the shianti never destroyed the darklords themselves. The gazateer section gives the answers to that. (such as, for instance, the shianti had their hands full with an entire race of darklords type nasties)

 

[Greg Smith]

Problem is: I'm not ... (Check my location ) Haven't found any place in all of Europe that already has copies for sale ...


Paido

Try http://www.leisuregames.com/ or

http://www.waylandsforge.co.uk/index.htm

The UK is in Europe (although many of the population would prefer not to be).

 

[Paido]

@ Greg Smith:

Thanks for the web addresses! I'll check them out.

(BTW: Never doubted that about the UK ... probably because I'm no native ... :wink: Just had no luck there, as well!)

(I've sen you post here and on project aon)

:shock: Confound it, I've been found out!

What gave me away? My fascination for all things Dessi? My Shadakine accent? My enthusiasm for the Grey Star books?

Oh, wait, that would have been the old avatar ... Darn it, I need a good portrait of Paido, or at least something related to Dessi! :wink:

Ah, well, at least the new avatar better reflects my allegiance ... here ... :twisted:


The Wytch-K... err, Paido