Thursday, August 25, 2011

Unholy Matrimony

Hey look, more Adventurer Conqueror King content!

As I was a "Visionary" contributor to ACKS' original Kickstarter funding project, I was given the opportunity to place an art order for an illustration I'd like to see in the final product. Not long after I pledged my support, Ryan Browning, the lead artist for the game, contacted me and asked what I'd like to see. I had recently read a section of the draft rules document that detailed the creation of crossbreed monsters -- something that high-level mage characters can attempt in the Adventurer Conqueror King system -- and asked to see some part of that process.

(By the way, the crossbreeding stuff is just one small example of how ACKS goes out of its way to explain and support the backdrop of classic fantasy RPGs in its rules system: we now know why there are all these bizarre composite monsters roaming the countryside.)

Working with Ryan to nail down the exact image we wanted was a pleasure. We ended up with the illustration you see above: a giant centipede/shark hybrid bursting from its creation vessel, lunging out at the viewer. A new terror unleashed!

The Autarch crew recently posted a detailed account of Ryan's artistic process. As you can see, he did a fantastic job of working from my vague guidelines and turning them into something fun and dynamic. I'm proud to be a contributor (in my own small way) to ACKS.

11 comments:

  1. That's great pic--though at first glance I thought that was a lephrecaun their exulting in the creature's rise.

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  2. I'm okay with the idea of a leprechaun creating a sharktipede.

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  3. If you squint, you can see that he's summoned it out of his pot o' gold. Sharktipedes are the rainbows of chaos.

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  4. "I'm okay with the idea of a leprechaun creating a sharktipede."

    Too much Awesome.

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  5. Indeed, simply fantastic & even though I'm not playing ACK, the Sharktipede will be making a guest appearance in my campaign very soon.

    Just thinking now how to combine the Bulette & Enormous Carrion Crawler miniatures to from The Sharktipede!!! Pic to follow...

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  6. I should mention that "the sharktipede" has officially been renamed "the skittering maw" (at my brother Chris' suggestion). As far as I understand it, it might make an appearance in the Adventurer Conqueror King rulebook as an official monster, with stats and all.

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  7. Would you be open to my writing about the Skittering Maw on my gaming blog, crediting you, your brother, and the Ryan Browning, and ACK? Please let me know.

    VS

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    1. Go for it. I don't own the Skittering Maw or anything, but I'm sure everybody involved would appreciate somebody writing about it.

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  8. http://vengersatanis.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-skittering-maw.html

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