Serious Adventurers

[alcyone]

I was just thinking of how often in fantasy art, nobody is smiling. Everyone looks so serious and dour, especially the guys, looking sort of downward, sullen, scowling, frowning eyebrows.

It might be related to the scarcity of dental-related cleric spells, not sure.

There seem to be more moments of mirth in earlier games, pointing and laughing at kobolds getting zapped or smirking at a successful purse grab. A little bit evil, but at least they are having a good time.

I am not sure, but I think the dourness coincided with oversized armor, dreadlocks, tattoos, and piercings on everyone. Maybe that is making them unhappy?

Don't get me wrong, I like the grim hopeless slog as much as or more than most, but I appreciate an adventurer you could get a beer with and they wouldn't just sit in the corner and glare under their hood, or shank you and take your lucky drinking horn.

I wonder if game designers ask for improbably muscled, overarmored, sullen looking illustrations.

[Treebore]

I imagine its because art directors don't ask for illustrations of characters having a good time, they ask for, most likely, where serious and intense events are ocurring.

[Buttmonkey]

Flip through the 5E PHB and marvel in horror at the smiling halflings. The happy art is out there. *shudder*

[GatewayTodd]

One of the things I love about Goodman games is the quality, variety and style of their artwork. Take a glance through the Dungeon Crawl Classics core book and see what you think.

[alcyone]

Flip through the 5E PHB and marvel in horror at the smiling halflings. The happy art is out there. *shudder*

The rictus on the bard is pretty creepy.

[Buttmonkey]

Flip through the 5E PHB and marvel in horror at the smiling halflings. The happy art is out there. *shudder*

The rictus on the bard is pretty creepy.

That bard illustration is the first good argument I've ever seen for race as class. Hobbit bards should. not. exist! (Not if they look like that, anyway.)

[Gringnr]

I read Tolkien as a kid. I think having done that turned me off to super serious, world-hanging-in-the-balance fantasy, because I felt that I had already seen it. Sounds dumb, I know, but that's the effect it had on me. So, after that, I gravitated towards adventures that were either more existential (Elric) or more earthy (Fafhrd and The Gray Mouser). To this day, I prefer adventures of lesser magnitude. Such as the adventures that might "believably" be experienced by a group of adventurers in your average game or campaign. So, no, I don't need super serious adventures or characters. Not that I read a lot of fantasy, because I don't. I think the last fantasy author I really enjoyed (and there are many I haven't read, to be fair) was David Gemmel. I read Knights of Dark Renown and Morningstar, and was impressed and delighted by both. Great characterization, iirc. Never read anything else by him, though.

[jdizzy001]

Here are some less serious adventurers!

http://www.larryelmore.com/store/DRAS/d ... roud-of-it

This one doesn't feature adventurers, but they aren't very serious

http://www.larryelmore.com/store/DLLH/d ... -last-home

[Tadhg]

Tom Wham is needed!

[Lurker]

Here are some less serious adventurers!

http://www.larryelmore.com/store/DRAS/d ... roud-of-it

This one doesn't feature adventurers, but they aren't very serious

http://www.larryelmore.com/store/DLLH/d ... -last-home

Yeah, I've always loved Elmore's artwork.