Mad Brew Labs

Empires and civilizations have waxed and waned like the tides on the world of The Dead Wastes. Most recently, if a millennium ago can be called recent, there was the Nadori Empire. An unknown catastrophic event ended the technologically advanced civilization. The remnants of their cities, roads, and monuments can still be seen lying dormant under a thousand years of growth and exposure to the elements.

Many devices that have survived the ravages of time are still in use today, often revered as artifacts bestowed by some god. These devices usually perform some sort of utility such as pumping water to a desert village or bringing gaslight to city streets at night. However, there are also more devious and destructive technologies that have been left behind by the Nadori.

The Necrotek were a cult of Tenebrous, the God of Shadows and Death. As a secret society of an empire shrouded in mystery, very little is known about these dark technomagi by Nadori historians other than they practiced the art of fusing mechanica and necromancy. The Necrotek often warped and mutilated their bodies with the unholy fusion to further their studies and to impress their god.

Some academics believe that the Necrotek may be responsible for the demise of the Nadori Empire.  Perhaps their vile experimentations and research unleashed some ghastly fate upon the people.  They all agree that the world is better off without them, but unfortunately the vestiges of the cult still remain to haunt the present.

Bloodhulks

Today, a handful of Necrotek temples have survived, but now lay buried in remote, undiscovered box canyons of the northern mountains or half-buried in the sands of the east.  The city of Stragus, formerly known as Sidarius prior to the vampiric invasion of the Long Night, was built upon a subterranean Necrotek temple.  It has been revived by the Cardinal Jandalor, the vampire High Priest of Tenebrous.

With the secrets they uncovered beneath the city, the vampire clergy has been able to revive a small number of hybrid steam hulks that are composed of mummified flesh, bone, and iron.  The true horror lies in the fact that these twisted contraptions have been baptized in the blood of infants and are powered by the blood of the enemies they slay in combat.  The vampires are hoping to recover more of these Bloodhulks for the impending war against man.

Last of the Necrotek

Of the few scholars even aware of the long dead cult, most believe that all of its members were stricken from the face of the Valtuus along with the rest of the Nadori.  However, there is at least one sage who has made a connection between a legend of the fringers who live along the edge of the Dead Wastes and what few descriptions recovered from Nadori ruins of Necrotek members.

The legend of the Iron Wraith is told to the children of fringers to elicit acceptable behavior, but much truth lies in the tales of the monstrous wraith.  It is said a man who has rusted iron armor fused to his flesh with exposed bone and shriveled entrails stalks the Dead Wastes, collecting the bodies of zombies and worse for some dreadful and unspeakable experiments.  From a distance the man appears shaded by clouds that are not existent, but upon closer inspection the gruesome visage is actually pure shadow.  Of course, no one who sees the Iron Wraith ever escapes to tale these terrifying tales either.

Listening to: Quiet Riot - Winners Take All – Metal Health

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This month’s RPG Blog Carnival is being hosted by the Dice Bag.  Usually, religion is a subject I do not breach in public forum, at work, or with the in-laws (by and large they are Latter Day Saints).  However, within the context of roleplaying games and science-fiction literature, I do love to read about, tinker with, and discuss the myriad pantheons available to use in a game.

I find that many gamers respond to alterations to the deities and dogma of their favorite campaign setting in much the same way as fundamental practitioners of any religion respond to dissimilar viewpoints on god(s).  They balk, argue, and throw tantrums.  Another reason I like creating my own “homebrew” settings; no one has any grounds to disagree with what you’ve done.

Pantheon Creation

When I create pantheons for my worlds, I like to grab a few sheets of paper and begin “mapping” out the various levels and interactions of the pantheons/gods with a kind of flow chart.  If I do it at the PC, I will usually open up FreeMind, which I reviewed here.  I will then create nodes, which represent either entire pantheons or individual gods depending on which “level” I am working on.  When creating a pantheon(s) for your game, there are a few things you should consider:

• Influences: Are you using existing sources?
• Breadth: How many gods occupy a layer?
• Depth: How many layers exist in the pantheon?
• Portfolios: What, if anything specific, does each god govern?
• Personalities: Define the gods’ personalities.
• Alliances: Are there one or more aligned groups?
• Church Structure:  How are their churches organized?
• Worshipers: Who are the general members of each god’s church?

Influences

When designing pantheons for your world, the very first thing you need to decide is whether or not you are going to use an existing set or sets of deities either completely stock or as a foundation.  You could look to real world mythologies [Egyptian, Greek, Scandinavian, Native American, Oriental, Hinduism, Islam, Christianity] or fiction-based resources [books, movies, video games, other campaign settings].

You can take each pantheon wholesale, include more than one (or all), or even mix and match deities.  If you decide to mix and match, I highly recommend that you at least rename the majority of deities, as it could cause confusion among the players with even a nominal amount of recollection.

Another approach with using influences is to lift the structure and hierarchy of a pantheon.  You could take the monotheistic approach of Islam, or perhaps a henotheistic approach where there are many gods, but only one is supreme.

As a rule, I almost never lift an existing pantheon for use in my game, unless it is on purpose (such as a game set on Earth).  I try to mix it so that players may see the influence, but there is no mistaking that it is not the same.

Breadth & Depth

If you are borrowing from existing sources, this step in the process may already be decided.  Now you need to decide how many different pantheons exist, and if there are any that may be subordinate to another.  You can apply this step multiple times to each “node” you place on the pantheon map.

For example, let us say that in my new world, I have a pantheon for each major race.  Long ago, the gods of the lizardmen were triumphant in their conquest of a quasi-elemental plane and subjugated the powerful entities there, which are deific in their power.  So now there is a sub-pantheon of quasi-elemental entities that are both servants and messengers for the gods of the lizardmen as well as being venerated somewhat like saints or totem spirits by the lizardmen themselves.  I could even take this a step further by saying that the chieftains are believed to be the children of the gods and are themselves venerated as deities.

I could then go into each level I just created and continue applying breadth and depth.  The quasi-elementals could have three tiers of power, consisting of princes, dukes, and lords.  Each prince rules over an aspect, such as swamp gas.  I then create as many aspects as I need.

Rinse and repeat as necessary.

Portfolios

This is not necessarily a separate step, but something to keep in mind as you are creating the various pantheons and deities.  Does an entire pantheon, a group of gods, or a single deity hold dominion over a concept, such as love or death?  Is there even the concept of portfolios for your gods?

Personalities

A god’s personality is usually defined by their portfolios, but do not be afraid to break the mold with this one.  What is the story behind a god of war that is a coward and weakling?  Many gods of wine and drink are frivolous beings who constantly party with decadence, how about a sad, mournful god that drowns his sorrows in alcohol?

It can be a daunting task to define the personalities of an entire pantheon, or pantheons, of gods, but I find this to be the most fulfilling part of the exercise.  I find that once I have laid the foundation of the pantheon with the last few steps, this process just seems to flow.  I also begin to look forward to the next step when creating personalities, seeing how these gods would co-exist with each other.

Alliances

Deific alliances are wonderful sources for plot hooks, as the gods use the players as pawns in their immortal power plays.  Alliances can occur between just two gods or may span entire pantheons.  Maybe the pantheons of all the monstrous humanoids have joined forces to protect themselves from the onslaught of men and their gods.  Maybe the god of lust has seduced the goddess of death, and uses her influence for his own agenda.  The possibilities for story ideas are endless.  Along with alliances, be sure to note enemies.

Churches & Worshipers

Not every deity may have an organized church, but the major players will.  When thinking about church structure, look to real word or fictional examples.  The catholic church is always a fun one to pull from.  It is also important to consider the god’s portfolio and personality.  The church of a god of war might be structured like the military.  Just take care when using cliche structures (like the god of war).

Titles given to the priesthood will also likely reflect the portfolio of their god.  The monks of the God of Beer may have the titles of Masher, Lauterer, Boiler, Worter, and Brewmaster.  The clerics of the goddess of knowledge may have the titles of Adjunct, Lecturer, Professor, and Dean.

It may be important to note the worshippers of a given deity.  Worshippers may be defined by class (poor, merchant, noble), race (human, vampire, dragon), profession (assassin, cobbler, sorcerer), lifestyle (hedonists, ascetic, masochism), or anything else that comes to mind.

It may also be useful to define any symbols associated with the deity, how worshipers conduct service, and if the church/worship is allowed by law.  Does the church have holy writ?  Are there rules for behavior?  Are the worshipers tolerant of other beliefs?

The Shepherds

This is a tribute to the Crs’Tchen Debacle of Dragon Magazine (retold by The Core Mechanic).  Insert this faith into your campaign world if you need a corrupt religious organization full of plot hooks for adventures of political intrigue, betrayal, and misguided crusades.

The Shepherds are the worshipers of the True Creator, Genovah, and believe him to be the only true god.  All other gods are false gods: demons, devils, and pretenders.  Though the Shepherd religion has been around for nearly a millennium, it is considered an upstart by many of the other religions that can trace their heritage back to the days before words, when men communicated with simple drawings on stone.  In that relatively short time frame, the Shepherds have become the most popular faith in the land.

However, within the last century, the Temple of Genovah has experienced some growing pains.  The faith was fractured in the Grand Rift, when a growing number of priests had become disillusioned with the corrupt operations of the Temple.  These priests, commonly referred to as the Objectors or Dissenters, left the original Temple, now known as Orthodox Temple, and began teaching their own sermons.  The Objectors now make up half of the faithful.

Today there are hundreds of sects of Shepherds, each preaching their own brand of the faith.  It is a wonder they can all call themselves Shepherds as the only thing they truly agree on is that Genovah is the only god to worship (though a few sects do recognize other gods, they just believe Genovah is supreme), and he sent his Harbinger and Prophet, Susej, to the lands of mortals to be sacrificed for their sins.  Everything else is up for debate, or more than likely, war.

The Shepherd sects are in a constant struggle between themselves, attempting to prove that their version of the faith is the correct path to worship Genovah.  However, the various sects set aside their differences all too quickly when confronted with the followers of a different god.  Temple officials have concocted numerous lies and blamed plague, famine, and moral erosion on many other religions to incite intolerance, persecution, and outright war on those who would not convert.

The annals of history are stained by the innocent blood that has been shed in the name of Genovah.  In fact, today many are afraid to practice their chosen religion in the open out of fear of being burned at the stake simply for being different.

Shepherds can easily be identified by the implement of torture and death they use as the symbol of their faith.  Most wear a golden miniature of the contraption suspended by a chain about their necks and adorn their churches, homes, and businesses with this tool of execution, a crucifix, often with an image of the Harbinger, Susej, frozen in death upon it.

In the past, the image would have invoked disgust and horror, but now the icon is so commonplace that most people have become desensitized to the ghastly image of tortuous death.  To display such a horrible image so casually is truly appalling.

The vilest aspect of the Shepherds is the secret of its creation and the lies used to control millions of followers.  For while most of the faith are good people that have good intentions, the authority of the faith has led their flock astray, and direct their parishioners to line their coffers with gold and commit foul atrocities in the name of good.

For you see, the entire foundation of the Shepherd faith was built on lies, commandeered practices, and forced worship.  The faith was engineered to attract followers, feeding them lies of salvation and paradise in an afterlife.  It incorporated the rites, rituals, and personalities of older religions to appeal to the converted, and make them comfortable.  It has duped its followers in tithing the majority of their wealth to ensure salvation.  Most of all, it has allowed the Temple authorities to control the masses and further their own political agendas of power.

The Shepherds are a powerful force in the world, but what would happen should the truth be revealed?  Would the faithful turn a blind eye, happy to continue worshipping a lie?  Or would it spell the end of this intolerant religion?  We may never know, for the keepers of these secrets are willing to keep them secret at all costs…

Listening to: Velvet Revolver - Contraband – Fall to Pieces

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What is Steampunk?

Airships, clockwork contraptions, steam engines, gears, cogs, Victorian fashion, gaslights, and of course, goggles.  All of these trappings hold the flavor of Steampunk.  Defining the exact boundaries of a genre is difficult at best and impossible most any other time.  I usually think of Steampunk as 19th century earth but with anachronistic technology, or rather, modern devices created with 19th century technology.  Usually steam-powered, hence steampunk.  It is what would have happened if the Industrial Revolution went wild.

So we have determined the first root of the word steampunk, but what about the other part?  I tend to believe that the punk is derived from the rebellious, swashbuckling element of the genre.  Adventure.  Defiance.  Many stories of the genre defy established social mores, religious dogma, and government philosophies.  Punk also embodies the do-it-yourself anthem of the Steampunk culture.

Narrative Origins

Steampunk has its roots in speculative fiction with the works of Mary Shelly (Frankenstein: or, The Modern Prometheus, 1818), Jules Verne (Journey to the Center of the Earth, 1864) and H.G. Wells (The TIme Machine, 1895).  Steampunk truly came into its own in the 80s with the works of K.W. Jeter (Morlock Night, 1979 and Infernal Devices, 1987) [who is said to have coined the term Steampunk], Tim Powers (The Anubis Gates, 1983), and James Blaylock (Homunculus, 1986).  But it was 1990′s The Difference Engine by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling that garnered the genre worldwide attention.

Much of the work written under the Steampunk genre are set in the Victorian Era, or some Neo-Victorian world.  However there are also plenty of settings with Wild West, Lovecraftian, and Medieval influences as well.  Many consider Steampunk a derivative of Cyberpunk as the two genres tackle the same social issues and themes.  It is also because of Gibson and Sterling’s significant contribution to genre and the fact that they were masters of the Cyberpunk genre before entering the world of steam.

Visual Themes

In contempory technlogy, all of the working parts are hidden from view.  No one wants to be bothered with how their car functions, as long as it functions.  In the Steampunk genre, all the mechanical innards are exposed in all their widgety grandness.  This is a subconscious reaction to sleek and invisible of modern devices.  Not that Steampunk cannot be sleek.  It can be sleek and beautiful, but you’ll recognize it as Steampunk immediately.

The cogs, gears, and springs of clockwork automata can be seen turning and whirring, half-hidden behind a riveted boiler plate guard.  Plumbing, conduits, and guages are exposed in a web of copper and brass tubing.  Steampunk design also has influences from the art-deco and gothic movements.

Fashion also plays a vital role in the imagery of the Steampunk genre.  I find it is usually a mixture of Victorian or Edwardian historical fashion, Wild West style, and WWII flight equipment (the GOGGLES!) that has been given a touch of extravagance, flamboyance, and industrialism.

Steam-powered Media

Steampunk has infiltrated every corner of media and entertainment from books to music.  Here are some abridged lists of works categorized by medium:

Animation: Last Exile, Howl’s Moving Castle, Steamboy, Amazing Screw-on Head

Comics: Battle Chasers, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Steampunk, Girl Genius

Film: The Prestige, Wild Wild West, Golden Compass, Around the World in 80 Days

Music: Abney Park, Voltaire, Vernian Process, Rose Coven, Dr. Steel

Novels: The Difference Engine, Anubis Gates, Whitechapel Gods, Perdido Street Station

Periodicals: Steampunk Magazine, The Willows

Table Top RPGs: Iron Kingdoms, Castle Falkenstein, Deadlands, Unhallowed Metropolis

Television: Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. [w/ Bruce Campbell!], Secret Adventures of Jules Verne

Video Games: Castlevania, Bioshock, Final Fantasy, Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura

Websites: Aether Emporium, Steampunk Workshop, Brass Goggles

This really is just a small sampling, if you would like to see more examples of Steampunk in media and entertainment you should check out Aether Emporium’s extremely exhaustive lists for Roleplay & Gaming; Cinema, Film, & Music; Books & Comics; Art; and Clothing & Costuming.  Aether Emporium really is a one-stop site for all your Steampunk needs.  Alternatively, check out Wikipedia’s List of Steampunk Works.

Steampunk Culture

There is a cultural movement to adopt the Steampunk aesthetic as a lifestyle.  Much like the goth, punk, and industrial counter-cultures, the fans of Steampunk immerse themselves in the trappings of the genre.  Fashion and music take center stage, but many steampunks also use the theme in home decor where these do-it-yourselfers modify modern devices to emulate Steampunk gadgetry.

With any culture, events and conventions are bound to appear to cater the fans.  You have the California Steampunk Convention happening THIS WEEKEND!  The Edwardian Ball is something I think I will be taking my wife to in the near future, it’s inaugural event happens in January.  And of course, SalonCon happened in September.

Steampunk has even made it to MTV (which features the SalonCon).  I’ve included the videos from MTV.com for your view pleasure.  I actually hate MTV, with a passion, but these are worth the watch.  It’s actually the first new stuff I have watched from MTV in like ten years.

[Note: this post was edited because I could not get the embedded MTV videos to validate for anything, I am just going to send you to the source...]

MTV’s expose on Steampunk.

RPG Bloggers Network Steampunks

Well, seeing how I am doing this overview of the Steampunk genre, of course I am a fan.  I am also contributing to the genre with the development of my Steampunk-Horror setting, The Dead Wastes.  The RPGBN is also home to fellow Steampunk setting developer, Stargazer, and his wonderful world of Asecia.  I know Tom from Geek Emporium has a soft spot for Steampunk.  If any readers or fellow bloggers have a love for the genre, feel free to speak up and leave a comment!

Listening to: Dr. Steel – People of Earth – Back and Forth

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Buried under the ruins of the world of The Dead Wastes are secrets to the manipulation of magic. Many of these are dark secrets better left undiscovered. To the uninitiated, all methods of manipulating arcane energies are commonly referred to as sorcery, but there are many paths of working magic; sorcery is but one method.

The people of Lyrdonia have a deep mistrust, fear, and sometimes hatred of the arcane.  After all, magic caused the collapse of at least one civilization and magic caused the death and destruction that still persists to this day in the Dead Wastes.  Most people feel that no good can come from performing magic and anything touched by magic is corrupt and brings evil upon those involved or even near the event.

The mistrust is well warranted as during the dark period between the fall of the Nadori and the rise of Aurincia, many sinister entities utilized magic to enslave villages and used the innocent to fuel their malicious rituals.  Many of these entities were sorcerers, calling upon the arcane energies of their nefarious heritage to give them power.   Corrupted power.

Paths of Magic

Below is a selection of known and rumored methods of manipulating magic.  There are most certainly older, forgotten sources of arcane power and no doubt new methods will be discovered in the future.

• Alchemical – The science of extracting the phenomenal properties of elements
• Divine – The miracle of channeling the will of the gods
• Eldritch – The power of places gained usually from events that has taken place there
• Psionics – The ability to effect the environment through will alone
• Resonance – Strange effects created through voice, chord, and rhythm
• Ritual – Rites of intricate and involved procedure that often take hours if not days
• Sorcery – Spellcraft gained through blood or pact
• True Name – Undeniable control over things by the knowledge of true names
• Wizardry – An almost mathematical invocation of magic using complex words and symbols
• Witchcraft – Magic gained through the consort of spirits
• Wylder – The power to manipulate the power of nature

Arcane Corruption

Performing magic is not without consequences.  Channeling arcane energies can leave lasting marks upon the user.  Some practitioners of magic assuage this corruption by passing it on to other things, such as the surrounding plantlife or even other people (the virgin sacrifice is a well known legend for a reason).  However, these defilers usually end up attracting worse things than arcane corruption.

Arcane corruption takes many forms, some spellcrafters end up acquiring strange physical features: scales, goat irises, claws, vestigial wings and tails, or even tentacles.  Not all spells cause such disfigurements, but the more potent a spell is coupled with how quickly the spellcaster wants to manifest the power increases the likelyood to accrue arcane corruption.

Listening to: Carcass – Swansong – Black Star

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What do Gilgamesh, Jesus Christ, Achilles, Luke Skywalker, Neo, and Harry Potter all have in common?  They are all faces of the same Hero.  They are all a part of the same Monomyth and have participated in the same Hero Cycle or Pattern.

If you are unfamiliar with the studies of the late Joseph Campbell, I HIGHLY recommend you pick up a copy of his book, The Hero with a Thousand Faces.  I prefer a physical copy for easy reading and reference, but I saw this copy on Scribd.  Joseph Campbell was a mythographer, he collected, dissected, and analyzed many of the world’s myths.  In his studies, Campbell came to the conclusion that the Heroes of the ages all were basically the same story.

So if all these great stories have been based on the same formula, the Monomyth, would it be possible to craft a campaign around it?  I think so.  If properly executed, I believe a Monomyth based storyline taking the heroes from obscurity to nigh divinity could be very fullfilling for everyone involved.

The Monomyth consists of three major acts which are divided into smaller segments of five to six chapters.  Not all of the chapters need to be used.  The following outline is based upon the chapters found in The Hero with a Thousand Faces:

Act I: Departure

1. The Call to Adventure

The party begins the campaign by receiving a call to adventure.  This could be a some growing evil threatening the kingdom, or world.  It could be war, dragons, or some other strange beasts.  Regardless, there is usually some sort of Herald that puts the party in motion.  The Herald could even be the BBEG.

2. Refusal of the Call

Sometimes the party may refuse to answer the call to adventure.  When this happens, the party will begin to suffer from the lack of response, until they finally accept the call.  The suffering could take the form of disease, loved ones suffering, or being hunted.

3. Supernatural Aid

After the heroes accept the call to adventure, they soon receive aid.  This could take the form of a mentor, sage, authority figure, or a divine emmissary.  The aid given could be information, additional party members (henchmen), or equipment.

4. The Crossing of the First Threshold

At this stage, the heroes must venture into unfamiliar territory.  They usually must defeat a guardian to cross into the new area.  This guardian could be protecting the entrance to another dimension, planet, kingdom, or even just a cave.

5. The Belly of the Whale

After crossing the threshold, the rest of the world thinks the worst as the party passes beyond their perception.  They now face the unkown.

Chapter II: Initiation

1. The Road of Trials

Now begins a series of quests the party must complete in order to defeat their enemy.  Their supernatural aid will assist covertly, but leaving clues for the party to discover the truth behind their aid.

2. The Meeting with the Goddess

This chapter is a little difficult apply to a party, however, I would have the party make an alliance with a hidden power, it could be related to their supernatural aid.

3. Woman as the Temptress

This is where the party must make a choice, they could take the easy path to power or they could take the more difficult, but righteous path.  Either way has drawbacks.

4. Atonement with the Father

The party must deal with a consequence from their past.  This will most likely be related to their refusal of the call, or any of the choices they made up to this point.

5. Apotheosis

The party must face their final challenge within this unfamiliar territory.  Upon victory, they receive a large peice of the puzzle that could twist their perception of what is happening.

6. The Ultimate Boon

After the Apotheosis, the party now has the key to ending the evil in their own world.  The party should be significantly more powerful than when they crossed the threshold.  This could be special powers, feats, templates, items, or artificats.

Act III: Return

1. Refusal of the Return

The party may become drunk on their newfound power, not wanting to return and finish the campaign.  This is when knowing what motivates the party comes in handy.

2. The Magic Flight

The enemy learns of the party’s power before their return, and sends an overwhelming force at the party.  As an alternative, the enemy could trick the party into a trap or otherwise force the party to flee.

3. Rescue from Without

The party is rescued by ordinary forces from their world.  This could be some commoners with special access to items or areas or even a regular army of friendly entities.

4. The Crossing of the Return Threshold

The party must return to their world.  This may require a battle against another threshold guardian.

5. Master of the Two Worlds

The party now has all the necessary knowledge and tools to defeat their enemy.  There should be a climactic final confrontation with the BBEG.

6. Freedom to Live

If the party succeeds against the BBEG, then they can restore peace and freedom.  They achieve divinity and become legends.

Pitfalls

Of course, with such an epic sweeping story arc, there is a definite linear progression.  But unless you play by the seat of your pants, there is some amount of linear progression.  Obviously purchased adventures have definitive milestones that all mostly line on a line.

The trick as a GM is to maintain the illusion of the open ended campaign.  Plan for failure and have several options to obtain the same goal.  A campaign based upon the Monomyth could last a year or more, so many non critical adventures can be intersparsed between the actual milestones.

Never try to force players to take their characters down paths they do not feel like treading; however, a good GM should be able to guide the players down a story like with a gentle hand and some obfuscation.

Become the Homer of the game table and craft a story with your players worthy of the ancients!

Listening to:  Black Label Society – Stronger Than Death – Counterfeit God

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Bernie Wrightson (b. Oct 27th, 1948 -   )
Media: Comics, Illustration, Concept Art
Medium: Pencils, Pen & Ink

Looking for gruesome visuals to inspire a horror campaign or adventure?  Bernie Wrightson has been arousing fear for forty years.  From four color terror to film conceptual horrors, Wrightson is one of the world’s greatest horror artists.

When I was a studio art major, we would have to do masters studies.  A masters study was where we would have to pick a master artist in a given field and then try to duplicate one of their pieces.  The idea is that you learn technique by emulating the greats.  When it came time for pen & ink, my choice was Bernie Wrightson, and the piece was from his illustrated version of Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein: or the Modern Prometheus.

Style

Bernie’s style is very dark, tends to have deep shadows and has deep roots in the classic sequential narrative look of the EC horror comics from the 50s.  A lot of his work depicts creatures with slime or moisture hanging from them.  He was influenced greatly by “Ghastly” Graham Ingels of the EC era who was spectacular at creating swampy scenes.

Bio

Wrightson began his career as a cartoonist for the Baltimore Sun in ’67 but soon quit due to the shitty work environment (office politics).  He quickly found a home with DC Comics and began penciling the supernatural title, House of Mystery and soon after began working on House of Secrets.

It would be with the House of Secrets that Bernie would gain fame when he, along with Len Wein, created the Swamp Thing.  After Swamp Thing, Wrightson’s next major contribution to art would be his illustrated version of Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein: or the Modern Prometheus.  The illustrations were rendered in pen & ink and are reminiscent of engravings from the 1800s.  The book was originally published in ’83 and had a re-issue in ’95.

He continued to work in the darkside of comics with the Batman story The Cult and Batman vs. Aliens as well as stuff with the Punisher.  He was picked by Stephen King to do the comic book adaptation of George Romero’s Creepshow as well as illustrate King’s own Cycle of the Werewolf.

He has done conceptual art for Heavy Metal, both Ghostbusters movies, Thir13en Ghosts, Galaxy Quest, My Demon Lover, and The Faculty. He was also the creature designer Stephen King’s new The Mist and Romero’s Land of the Dead.

Currently Bernie is working with Steve Niles (of 30 Days of Night fame) on a new comic titled City of Others and is also gathering the original illustrations for an anniversary edition of his Frankenstein book.

Bernie Wrightson’s Site
Wrightson’s Frankenstein
Dark, But Shining’s Interview

Listening to: Sepultura – Dante XXI – City of Dis

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Frank Frazetta (b. Feb 9th, 1929 -   )
Media: Comics, Magazine & Novel Covers, Movie Posters
Medium: Oils, Watercolor, Pen & Ink, Pencil

Frank Frazetta, the painter/illustrator is the man who is responsible for my interest in many things.  All it took was one print of the painting, “Kane on the Golden Sea” to spark the fire of imagination within me.  I remember when I first saw the print, hanging in my Grandfather’s computer room behind the Commodore 64.

That single painting propelled me into the world of fantasy illustration; which in turn launched me into the worlds of Tolkien, Howard, and Moorcock.  Then I stumbled across Dragon of Doom, which was one of TSR’s Endless Quest books.  Dragon of Doom led me to Dungeons & Dragons and the rest is history.

Style

I usually describe Frazetta’s style as loose or fuzzy dramatic oil illustrations.  While his sketches have loose, rough outlines, his brush work tends to feather edges.  He also makes use of dramatic lighting and composition.  His art usually depicts heavily musckle warriors and voluptuous, curvy women with or without full backgrounds.

The bulk of his work sits solidly in the realm of dark Sword & Sorcery (Conan) but often includes elements of Horror (Death Dealer).

Bio

Most of this bio was found on Wikipedia, but much of it was gleaned off the documentary: Frank Frazetta: Painting with Fire.

Frank was born in Brooklyn, New York on February 9th, 1928.  This means Frazetta has been around for eighty years and he has been creating art for most of that time.  He was enrolled into to the Brooklyn Academy of Fine Arts when he was only eight.  At age sixteen, when the academy was closed, Frank began working on comic books.  He was offered work with Walt Disney, but he turned him down.

Frank was most well known during this time for his painted Buck Rogers covers on Famous Funnies.  However, as the comic industry evolved, Frazetta’s style was falling out of favor and he found work hard to come by.  His talents found a home with the burgeoning Mad Magazine and a comic strip in Playboy called “Lil’ Annie Fannie.”

A parody painting of Ringo Star in Mad Magazine led to a movie poster deal with Universal Artisits for What’s New Pussycat? which of course led to more poster work including Mad Max.  It was also during this time that he began painting book covers.  Most noteable was his work on Robert E. Howard’s Conan series.  He also worked on Edgar Rice Burroughs’ novels including those from Tarzan and John Carter of Mars.

After Hollywood and his success in novel covers, Frank’s work was very in demand and many artists began to emulate his style.  Some noteable artists whose works display a strong Frazetta influence include Simon Bisley, Boris Vallejo, Julie Bell, and prominent Dark Sun artist, Gerald Brom.

Frazetta’s paintings also graced the covers of horror publisher, Warren Publishing, and their successful magazines: Creepy, Eeerie, and Vampirella.  Frezatta also worked with celebrated animation producer Ralph Bakshi on Fire and Ice.  His paintings have also graced the album covers for bands including Wolfmother. Molly Hatchet, Nazereth, and Dust.

For all the Star Wars trivia fans out there, Aggie Rodgers, costume designer for Return of the Jedi has stated that Leia’s chainmail bikini costume was inspired by Frazetta.

Frazetta persevered through a series of strokes that left him without full use of his primary hand, but that didn’t stop the determined artist, as he learned to draw all over again with his offhand!  He currently lives with his wife Ellie on a 67 acre estate in the Poconos of Pennsylvania where they have a museum open to the public.

If anyone is interested in finding out more about Frank Frazetta, I highly recommend the documentary about him: Frank Frazetta: Painting with Fire.  Either that or you go visit his museum and hope you get to meet him in person.

Frank Frazetta’s Official Site
The Unofficial Frazetta Art Gallery

Listening to: Carfax Abbey – Second Skin – Flush to the Floor

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Well I was off to in-law family function, and I figured I would be board, so I decided to visualize my entry for Pen & Paper Portal‘s Knights of the Old Republic contest.  The contest ended Friday night, but I was inspired to make an opening crawl for a campaign starter.

I knew the location would be off grid, so I spent about ten minutes opening webpages and downloading resources that would come in handy in the creation of the crawl.  If you are asking, “What in the hell is a crawl?”, it is the intro that begins the Star Wars movies starting with the cyan “A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…” followed by the Star Wars title, the episode title (which I left out because of the 100 word limit) and ending with the scrolling preface text that vanishes into the middle of the screen.

If you have Windows XP with at least SP2, then you probably have this often overlooked application called Movie Maker.  I figured it was the MS Paint of the video editing world, and it almost is.  Movie Make has a decent amount of features and you can use it to edit some simple but clean movies.  I actually have the Adobe Master Collection on my desktop pc, so it is not even close in performance to After Effects or Premiere (or Final Cut Pro for the Mac peeps).  Yet, you can still get a lot done with it.

Here is all you need to make your own:

• “A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…”
  Color- R:75 G: 213 B: 238
  Font: Franklin Gothic Book (included in Windows)
  Animation: Fade in, Fade out
• “STAR WARS”
  Color- R:229 G: 177 B: 58
  Font: SWCrawlTitle
  Animation: Zoom Out (not perfect, but works)
• Main Body
  Color- R:229 G: 177 B: 58
  Font: SWCrawlBody
  Animation: Scroll, Perspective
• Audio
  Star Wars Title Theme midi
  Convert to mp3 here

One of the main keys is timing.  I used this YouTube of the open crawl to “eyeball” the timing for both visual effects and audio.  I used the “Make titles or credits” link under “2. Edit Movie” column in Movie Make three times.  I also used the “Import audio or music” under “1. Capture Video” once (after I had converted the midi).

I have three separate title overlays, remember to drag them into the title overlay section of the timeline after they are created.  Double click on them to edit the font, color, and animations.  Then I added the sound and moved it (not stretched it) until it started where I wanted it to, and then I messed with timing of the title and the body text until things started and stopped where they should.

It is obviously less than perfect, but I think it looks pretty damn good for not even spending ten minutes on the actual creation, and not ever even opening Movie Maker before, ever!  So if any enterprising GMs running a Star Wars game would like to create crawls for their campaigns, I’ve given you the tools, run with it.

Listening to: MC Chris – Life’s a Bitch, and I’m Her Pimp – Fette’s Vette

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The Long Night

The nearest planets to Valtuus, Kulpator and Asceros, had began a month long process of converging in an extended solar eclipse, and the twin moons of Valtuus had begun to appear during the day, and their lunar cycles were affected by strange gravitation anomalies caused by the conjunction of planets.  Doomsayers had taken to the streets of Sidarius en masse, preaching about the end-times and souls doomed to the burning conflagrations of the Infernal Dominions.

The doomsayers were not far off; the Long Night had begun and once all the planets and the moons were in conjunction, the sun was blotted out of the day sky and an unnatural night fell across the land.  But instead of fire and brimstone, the people of Sidarius were to be drowned in Darkness and Blood.  When the Darkness came, a twisting vortex of sickly green energy formed in the black skies above Sidarius, poised above the Sunstar Cathedral, as if it were going to descend to swallow the steeple whole.  And so, all the might of Aurincia that could be assembled in the hours that passed shortly after the appearance of the vortex, arrayed themselves for battle around the exterior of the cathedral.  But instead of descending to engulf the cathedral, the gaping green maw belched forth a flood of dark crimson.  The vile ichor had the copper-tinged smell of blood, yet burned flesh like acid.

Unfortunately, the Shining Host of Sidarius, as their army was called, was unprepared for such an event, expecting a horde of demons to fight in battle.  So it was that much of the Shining Host was destroyed in the tidal wave of acidic blood, as were many of the remaining clergy and even more citizens.  It was only after the corrosive rivers of blood subsided that the enemy horde the Shining Host had expected to fly through the ghastly vortex materialized.  But it was not an army of demons, it was something worse.

Dead, rotting corpses began pouring forth from vortex.  A few became impaled upon the steeple of the Sunstar Cathedral while the others began to cascade down the roof and pile up upon the ground.  Their body tossed and bounced like rag dolls.

This continued for some time, nearly burying the Sunstar Cathedral with rotting flesh.  Then they came.  The Vampiric Legion marched slowly down the hill of corpses, weapons drawn and at the ready, with the Blood Tyrant at the lead.  Everyone that survived that day would have his name burned into their memory.  Karthisis.  Karthisis was the lord of the vampires, their Blood Tyrant.

He marched his legion into the main boulevard of the city, and then called his men up short.  The ranks of the vampire host was slavering and biting at their bits to sink their teeth into the Shining.  With a blood curdling scream and a wave of his arm, his Black Calvary came in full charge through the vortex, streaking through the darkened sky upon bat winged steeds.

Then the real terror began as a pulse of eldritch energy reverberated through the city, bringing the mountain of corpses to lurching life.  And so the Shining Host nearly fled in terror, but instead gave their lives so the remaining Priests of Sidar could work their final miracle.

Just as Shambling Horde formed with deathly purpose within Sidarius, the Last Bishop of the Sunstar Cathedral gathered his priests to him to begin closing the gate that had spelled their doom, for what had crossed over was merely the vanguard of a much larger army, and they could be seen and heard marching towards the vortex.

The bishop called forth a powerful prayer with his final breath, supplementing its strength with his life, and one by one his priests dropped as they too contributed their life to the spell, and when the last fell, the bishop fell to his knees and the vortex collapsed.

The Shining Host was quickly routed with their commander now dead.  Many made their final stand in the streets, allowing some of the populace to escape.

The siege lasted for three days, as the Vampiric Legion squashed the remnants resistance, captured and executed political and religious leaders, and made their dominion over the city known.  However, the planetary convergence was beginning to end, and the vampires were running out of night.

And so Karthisis found the corrupt officials who had been promised immortal power.  The dark god, Tenebrous, had delivered on his promise, but they were eternally bound to serve the ruler of Sidarius.  He found them, deep below the city, in the Necrotek Temple they would forever call home with their new stations as the Undying Magisters.

The Blood Tyrant put the Magisters’ newfound arcane might to use.  Karthisis sent his best necromancers and sorcerers to help the Magisters work a spell that would protect the vampires in their new home.

The sorcerers conjured a monolithic obsidian obelisk in the shadow of the ruined Sunstar Cathedral, and etched dark runes upon its surface with their claws.  When the Magisters finally unleashed their spell, the obelisk bulged and crackled with black magic, and then let forth a stream of dark energy into the sky.  The energy reached its zenith about a mile above the city and began pouring down, forming a giant dome.

When the dark energy reach the ground, a shockwave of epic proportions radiating out from the city, killing every living creature in a two hundred and fifty mile radius.  Many of the slain rose as zombies or worse, and joined the discarded zombie army of the vampires in the Shambling Horde.

And so the Dead Wastes were created, and the Barrier Dome was erected, hiding the vampires from the baleful glare of the sun, yet imprisoning them within its embrace.  Sidarius was re-dedicated in blood as Stragus, the City of Eternal Night.  This was not what the Blood Tyrant had in mind when he wanted arcane protection from the sun.  And he was not happy.

Present Day

The Long Night was two hundred and twenty-five years ago.  Since that day, the exiled Sidarans founded the Sidaran Theocracy in the south, and have grown stronger than they were before the Long Night.  They wait for the sign to march to war against Stragus.

The rest of Lyrdonia waits and bides their time, waiting for the tension to break into open war.  They are debating the best course of action, remain neutral and hope the war passes them by or join the Sidaran Theocracy and make a stand.  Not a few people have considered an allegiance with Stragus.

Listening to: Stabbing Westward – Darkest Days – Haunting Me

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Have you ever listened to a musical score and pictured a scene that matched the tempo, beat, and tone of the music?  I’ve used this technique hundreds of times to create the “beat” of a campaign, adventure, or an encounter/scene.  It can be scaled as long or short as you need on a timeline and can be used for things other than games: short stories, novels, comic books, anything that has storytelling involved.  And it can be accomplished at times when other methods are not accessible (like while you’re driving).

Movie scores and instrumentals are the best kinds of music to utilize for this activity.  I find that lyrics can often be distracting and may influence your imagination too much.  However, if you wanted a scene that closely matched a specific song, then by all means use it.  Songs sung in a language you do not speak do well for this activity, too.  Also, if you pick a score, and all you can imagine is the scene from the movie it made its appearance in, then you should find something else.

When I use this technique, I’ll first pick a song that invokes more than one response from me; something that has a definite drama: lows, highs, and a climax.  Then I will listen to it a few time and begin to form a story that coincides with the dynamics of the song.  I often plot the emotional highs and lows on a sheet of graph paper, noting the important events of the score and how it relates to the protagonist(s), which would be your players.  A high, smooth point is generally good and a low or erratic section is generally bad.

I’ll make notes on that graph about what is happening in my story until I have filled in all the blanks.  Now that the story is pretty much finished, I’ll play the song and narrate my story to the music, OUT LOUD.  This way I can find gaps in the story or moments that need to be reworked because it doesn’t flow well.  I’d like to thank a professor of mine for the idea of narrating to the music.  Thanks Matt!  The final test of mettle would be to present the live narration to a group of peers for their reactions and critique.  This group may or may not include players (if this is for a game), depending on how you deal with how your players deal with out of character information.

Some composers whose work has been generally pretty damn good include John Williams (Star Wars, E.T., Harry Potters), Alan Menken (various Disney: Beauty & the Beast, Aladdin, Enchanted), Danny Elfman (all but two Tim Burton films), and Howard Shore (LotR, Se7en, The Cell).  A fellow RPG Bloggers Network member, Stargazer has a nice list of very good works.

If this article inspired you to use music in your storytelling, let me know how it worked for you.

Listening to: Pantera – The Great Southern Trendkill – Drag the Waters

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