So I was here on the computer doing nothing at all, surfing on www.i-am-bored.com and replying some senseless e-mails when my mother opens my bedroom door and says: something for you just arrived.
Surprised i coudn't believe, it was my AFMBE and C&C books, the same ones to be expected from 27th of OCtober to 15th of November.
The cover is aboslutely gorgeous artwork, inspiring and easy to read, the binding is wel done and seems to hold fairly well too, the interior looks good, the font is rather small, meaning they wanted a smaller book, but given the simple layout without borders on the pages this does not seem to be a problem.
It feels like a miss to not have well marked chapter headings or at least chapter start markings, other than a standard heading and a page heading you are somewhat out int he vold in this. Artwork is good, not too manga and not particularly inspiring, though they have palced one for each class (and the assassin couldn't be better, even if it showed the whole person), races are not all portrayed, a miss too.
Overall I rate interior artwork average to above average (but I am a bitch with artwork myself), graphical identity and readabilty seems to be a little less right on average for me.
now I must read the whole thing in order to get a real impression of the book and the content it encases.
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"We cannot live only for ourselves. A thousand fibers connect us with our fellow men; and among those fibers, as sympathetic threads, our actions run as causes, and they come back to us as effects." - Attributed to Herman Melville.
C&C PH2nd print arrived! A review will come
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gideon_thorne
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Re: C&C PH2nd print arrived! A review will come
I agree. There is much room for improvement. But then again I am also very self critical.
Clear and to the point analysis, thank you. Just the kind of review I appreciate.
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"We'll go out through the kitchen!" Tanis Half-Elven
Peter Bradley
Clear and to the point analysis, thank you. Just the kind of review I appreciate.
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"We'll go out through the kitchen!" Tanis Half-Elven
Peter Bradley
"The accumulated filth of all their sex and murder will foam up about their waists and all the whores and politicians will look up and shout, 'Save us!' And I'll look down, and whisper 'No.' " ~Rorschach
Re: C&C PH2nd print arrived! A review will come
gideon_thorne wrote:
I agree. There is much room for improvement. But then again I am also very self critical.
Clear and to the point analysis, thank you. Just the kind of review I appreciate.
I love this guy....his artwork kicks ass AND he can take criticism!!
Ink
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Check out Inkpot's C&C Downloads: http://www.cncplayer.net/inkpot/index.htm
C&C: Blissfully devoid of gestalt neko-hin rogue/fighter/mages!!
Taking criticism is a bless, I must know for I am not good at it myself.
As to the artwork, I have no particular dislikes in the book, perhaps the lack of scenarios or a perceived effort to picture them, but given this is a character generating book that may as well be the focus, and i think it is hard to speak of characters without picturing the world they interact with.
I would say the style and techniques used fit well with the book and that is a great thing, there is a good variety of them too, which is another good mark in my rating, and though some pieces may have suffered dearly under the printing proceess (i can see at least two that suffer of too dark aspect), they all are solid and fitting.
I don't rate them as exceptional myself because none has been enough to truly inspire me in a way or another, unlike the cover, which considered as whole (the mix of map, art and writing) can spread my imagination wings a bit.
But in the end, I can't really say I own an rpg book whose art I would rate higher than above average (though i do have a few with above average art).
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"We cannot live only for ourselves. A thousand fibers connect us with our fellow men; and among those fibers, as sympathetic threads, our actions run as causes, and they come back to us as effects." - Attributed to Herman Melville.
As to the artwork, I have no particular dislikes in the book, perhaps the lack of scenarios or a perceived effort to picture them, but given this is a character generating book that may as well be the focus, and i think it is hard to speak of characters without picturing the world they interact with.
I would say the style and techniques used fit well with the book and that is a great thing, there is a good variety of them too, which is another good mark in my rating, and though some pieces may have suffered dearly under the printing proceess (i can see at least two that suffer of too dark aspect), they all are solid and fitting.
I don't rate them as exceptional myself because none has been enough to truly inspire me in a way or another, unlike the cover, which considered as whole (the mix of map, art and writing) can spread my imagination wings a bit.
But in the end, I can't really say I own an rpg book whose art I would rate higher than above average (though i do have a few with above average art).
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"We cannot live only for ourselves. A thousand fibers connect us with our fellow men; and among those fibers, as sympathetic threads, our actions run as causes, and they come back to us as effects." - Attributed to Herman Melville.
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gideon_thorne
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For the new folks, and naturally anyone else who may not be aware of it, there is an Artists Alley discussion topic area down below. Its for folks to share art, talk about style preferences, and offer generally commentary.
Not that I am going to shoo anyone off this particular topic thread, this is just more of a fyi.
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"We'll go out through the kitchen!" Tanis Half-Elven
Peter Bradley
Not that I am going to shoo anyone off this particular topic thread, this is just more of a fyi.
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"We'll go out through the kitchen!" Tanis Half-Elven
Peter Bradley
"The accumulated filth of all their sex and murder will foam up about their waists and all the whores and politicians will look up and shout, 'Save us!' And I'll look down, and whisper 'No.' " ~Rorschach
In fact i did not actually notice, making that a very good pointer. 8)
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"We cannot live only for ourselves. A thousand fibers connect us with our fellow men; and among those fibers, as sympathetic threads, our actions run as causes, and they come back to us as effects." - Attributed to Herman Melville.
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"We cannot live only for ourselves. A thousand fibers connect us with our fellow men; and among those fibers, as sympathetic threads, our actions run as causes, and they come back to us as effects." - Attributed to Herman Melville.
Personally I am a fan of Gideon (Peter Bradley), but I have to admit his "full" works are even better. I bought one "very busy" illustration of his, in full color, at GenCon. It is a combat scene, and I still seem to find something "new" every time I look at it. I love illustrations that do that to me.
Since its 20,000 I suggest "Captain Nemo" as his title. Beyond the obvious connection, he is one who sails on his own terms and ignores those he doesn't agree with...confident in his journey and goals.
Sounds obvious to me! -Gm Michael
Grand Knight Commander of the Society.
Sounds obvious to me! -Gm Michael
Grand Knight Commander of the Society.
Well, i do like the art, and while reading the book i find them very fitting of the content around them, meaning that while they are not particularly inspiring at a glance thorugh the book (the above mentions), they are all gaining a boost with actually reading the book and looking at them.
His style and technique are both good and solid, my only real concern toward those are lighting, more often than not the illustrations do not seem to have one clear source of light shaping the scene, a few seem to have TV-like difuse lighting reaching everything and coming from all around. But I do enjoy them, and i am certain full works will look much closer to my tsate, like the cover art for the 2nd printing does.
By the way, still reading through the classes part, I must say I love the foreword, dearly, and the copy I gave to a friend couldn't eb better introduced than that. I will post information on my thoughts on the bit after i finish the whole chapter and egt a chance to glance through the spell lists too.
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"We cannot live only for ourselves. A thousand fibers connect us with our fellow men; and among those fibers, as sympathetic threads, our actions run as causes, and they come back to us as effects." - Attributed to Herman Melville.
His style and technique are both good and solid, my only real concern toward those are lighting, more often than not the illustrations do not seem to have one clear source of light shaping the scene, a few seem to have TV-like difuse lighting reaching everything and coming from all around. But I do enjoy them, and i am certain full works will look much closer to my tsate, like the cover art for the 2nd printing does.
By the way, still reading through the classes part, I must say I love the foreword, dearly, and the copy I gave to a friend couldn't eb better introduced than that. I will post information on my thoughts on the bit after i finish the whole chapter and egt a chance to glance through the spell lists too.
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"We cannot live only for ourselves. A thousand fibers connect us with our fellow men; and among those fibers, as sympathetic threads, our actions run as causes, and they come back to us as effects." - Attributed to Herman Melville.
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Julian Grimm
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You should check out Pete's artwork in Castle Zagyg: Yggsburgh. My wife and I looked at it and she said what I was thinking: " That's what I want my game to look like."
He's definately captured C&C with his work.
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The Lord of Ravens
My blog
He's definately captured C&C with his work.
_________________
The Lord of Ravens
My blog
Lord Skystorm
Grand Knight Commander KoTC, Member C&CS
Donner Party Meats: We're here to serve YOU!
AD&D per se is as dead a system as Latin is a language, while the C&C game has much the same spirit and nearly the same mechanics. --Gary Gygax 8/16/06
Grand Knight Commander KoTC, Member C&CS
Donner Party Meats: We're here to serve YOU!
AD&D per se is as dead a system as Latin is a language, while the C&C game has much the same spirit and nearly the same mechanics. --Gary Gygax 8/16/06
I am feeling the same as i go through the book, trust me, but that does not mean it is perfect, and when I criticize his work in a deeper way, like the posts after the first, it is because i do think his work can use mroe quality, and that he is open enough to hear and consider whether it is something he wants to seek or not, or even if he agrees, of course.
Really, his work is god, but then, I don't mind at all if it gets better.
By the way, read the classes and am now in the races chapter, I like what i ahve seen so far, somehow it troubles me that the fighter is so plain at higher levels, that the aqssassin's death attack is just that, but these are really something that may not be a great issue in game.
We also made a little game today and loved the speed of character creation and a friend who was the CK loved how he used 2nd edition's creatures without much work or conversion. Comabt speed was great too, we had three combats and they took no longer than an hour, coupkled together.
So far, this is looking better and better, now he asked me to get Assault on Blacktooth Ridge to keep the game going after this free adventure is done (and I don't know the name of it), and he is surely getting the Monster and Treasure and castle Zagyg: Yggsburgh with the slip case too.
I think he is a convert already, I am also considering changing my fantasy games to C&C, though they would require a little more work, mainly because the setting has lots of specific and unique mechanics to ponder converting.
Consider me a crusader though.
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"We cannot live only for ourselves. A thousand fibers connect us with our fellow men; and among those fibers, as sympathetic threads, our actions run as causes, and they come back to us as effects." - Attributed to Herman Melville.
Really, his work is god, but then, I don't mind at all if it gets better.
By the way, read the classes and am now in the races chapter, I like what i ahve seen so far, somehow it troubles me that the fighter is so plain at higher levels, that the aqssassin's death attack is just that, but these are really something that may not be a great issue in game.
We also made a little game today and loved the speed of character creation and a friend who was the CK loved how he used 2nd edition's creatures without much work or conversion. Comabt speed was great too, we had three combats and they took no longer than an hour, coupkled together.
So far, this is looking better and better, now he asked me to get Assault on Blacktooth Ridge to keep the game going after this free adventure is done (and I don't know the name of it), and he is surely getting the Monster and Treasure and castle Zagyg: Yggsburgh with the slip case too.
I think he is a convert already, I am also considering changing my fantasy games to C&C, though they would require a little more work, mainly because the setting has lots of specific and unique mechanics to ponder converting.
Consider me a crusader though.
_________________
"We cannot live only for ourselves. A thousand fibers connect us with our fellow men; and among those fibers, as sympathetic threads, our actions run as causes, and they come back to us as effects." - Attributed to Herman Melville.
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gideon_thorne
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Pish.. no true artist ever considers their work perfect. The journey to the goal of perfection is all we ever get to experience. ^_~`
I've got a long way to go before I even consider my work adequate.
If anyone ever wants a good bout of entertainment, stop by when artists get together at conventions. We're always in the midst of an informal contest, of sorts, which consists of how humble the artist can be in commenting on their own work, while gushing about the high points of others.
The 'perfect' game, the perfect piece of art, the perfect experience of any sort all live in the rarefied realm of subjective perspective. Anyone who says any different is selling snake oil.
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"We'll go out through the kitchen!" Tanis Half-Elven
Peter Bradley
I've got a long way to go before I even consider my work adequate.
If anyone ever wants a good bout of entertainment, stop by when artists get together at conventions. We're always in the midst of an informal contest, of sorts, which consists of how humble the artist can be in commenting on their own work, while gushing about the high points of others.
The 'perfect' game, the perfect piece of art, the perfect experience of any sort all live in the rarefied realm of subjective perspective. Anyone who says any different is selling snake oil.
_________________
"We'll go out through the kitchen!" Tanis Half-Elven
Peter Bradley
"The accumulated filth of all their sex and murder will foam up about their waists and all the whores and politicians will look up and shout, 'Save us!' And I'll look down, and whisper 'No.' " ~Rorschach
Peter,
I appreciate having the chance to give you my thoughts and that they may help you in your own vision of the work you do. I have many artists whoa re my friends and that is a truth, usually they all end up speaking like:
"Seen Paul's work? it rocks!"
They are very good to speak of each other but when ti comes down to their own, they think it fails deeply in many aspects. But they have their own merits and flaws and I am happy to say they find my insights useful too.
Thanks for being around and giving us a bit of your time.
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"We cannot live only for ourselves. A thousand fibers connect us with our fellow men; and among those fibers, as sympathetic threads, our actions run as causes, and they come back to us as effects." - Attributed to Herman Melville.
I appreciate having the chance to give you my thoughts and that they may help you in your own vision of the work you do. I have many artists whoa re my friends and that is a truth, usually they all end up speaking like:
"Seen Paul's work? it rocks!"
They are very good to speak of each other but when ti comes down to their own, they think it fails deeply in many aspects. But they have their own merits and flaws and I am happy to say they find my insights useful too.
Thanks for being around and giving us a bit of your time.
_________________
"We cannot live only for ourselves. A thousand fibers connect us with our fellow men; and among those fibers, as sympathetic threads, our actions run as causes, and they come back to us as effects." - Attributed to Herman Melville.
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Breakdaddy
- Greater Lore Drake
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One thing I will happily say about Pete's work is this: His maps are friggin awesome. The new Darkenfold map in the recent print of Mortality of Green is spectacular. Frankly, I like most of what Ive seen of Pete's art and have found it to be appropriate to the Trolls default setting. If you cats havent gotten your mitts on the new Mortality of Green and Verdant Rage printings then you should. The quality of the books is better than ever, and I really like the new heavier/brighter stock of paper being used in these new offerings.
"If you had not committed great sins, God would not have sent a punishment like me upon you."
-Genghis Khan
-Genghis Khan
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Julian Grimm
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Pete needs to draw us some nice C&C themes wallpapers.
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The Lord of Ravens
My blog
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The Lord of Ravens
My blog
Lord Skystorm
Grand Knight Commander KoTC, Member C&CS
Donner Party Meats: We're here to serve YOU!
AD&D per se is as dead a system as Latin is a language, while the C&C game has much the same spirit and nearly the same mechanics. --Gary Gygax 8/16/06
Grand Knight Commander KoTC, Member C&CS
Donner Party Meats: We're here to serve YOU!
AD&D per se is as dead a system as Latin is a language, while the C&C game has much the same spirit and nearly the same mechanics. --Gary Gygax 8/16/06
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Breakdaddy
- Greater Lore Drake
- Posts: 3875
- Joined: Tue Aug 15, 2006 7:00 am
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Julian Grimm
- Greater Lore Drake
- Posts: 4573
- Joined: Thu May 11, 2006 7:00 am
- Location: SW Missouri
- Contact:
I'd like the one from page 154 of CZ.
_________________
The Lord of Ravens
My blog
_________________
The Lord of Ravens
My blog
Lord Skystorm
Grand Knight Commander KoTC, Member C&CS
Donner Party Meats: We're here to serve YOU!
AD&D per se is as dead a system as Latin is a language, while the C&C game has much the same spirit and nearly the same mechanics. --Gary Gygax 8/16/06
Grand Knight Commander KoTC, Member C&CS
Donner Party Meats: We're here to serve YOU!
AD&D per se is as dead a system as Latin is a language, while the C&C game has much the same spirit and nearly the same mechanics. --Gary Gygax 8/16/06