So, I spent tonight working on finishing up the art piece for the Behind The Walls cover.
I am pretty pleased with it… 🙂
And because I’m a tease…
Behind The Walls – Cover Teaser
Author: MonkeyBlood Design
Here to find blood for the Monkey God...
The Midderlands meets… ‘Something Stinks in Stilton’
In this series of blog posts, we take a look at possible adventures or scenarios that are a really good fit for use in The Midderlands setting, and how they can be tweaked to make them seamless.
For this post, it’s Something Stinks in Stilton. You can get hold of it by heading over here and supporting the good folks at the MAC… https://www.melsonia.com/something-stinks-in-stilton-8-p.asp
Levels
This is for low level, and can stay that way – suggested levels 1-3.
What is it?
Something Stinks in Stilton is a great adventure written by Oli Palmer, illustrated by Oli along with Anxious P, and layout, editing and design by Daniel Sell. Chris Lawson and James Maliszewski were consultants. It is published by Melsonian Arts Council. The blerb for the adventure reads…
“In the 13th century, Stilton produced amazing cheese. Then the Church came and suddenly the cheese trade died out. Now it’s 1730 and the village of Stilton has started producing great cheese again.
You intend to find out why.
An adventure into darkest Cambridgeshire, for levels 1-3. Compatible with Lamentations of the Flame Princess and most other old-fashioned Dungeons & Dragons clones.”
To be honest, there really isn’t much to do to make this fit into The Midderlands. So, without further ado, let’s look at how this can be made to be a seamless fit for adventuring in The Midderlands.
Location
The real-life village of Stilton is located just south of Peterborough in the UK.
In terms of The Haven Isles, you can place it in Cameshire somewhere along its northern border with Linkernshire, on the route between Stainford and Came Bridge – see map.
There are a couple of references to other locations, Wymondham and Melton Mowbray.
For the purposes of running the session in the Midderlands:
- Melton Mowbray can be replaced with Millton (Hex Q19 – just north and east of Wymondham).
- Stilton (Hex T21) and Wymondham (Border of Hex Q19/R20) can remain the same.
Money
The monetary standard used is silver pieces or sp (as befits LotFP).
- All references to gold pieces or gp should be changed to gold quids.
- All references to silver pieces or sp should be changed to silver shillings.
Main changes
- Gloombug Lanterns: When outside at night, the main high street can be lit with gloombug lanterns.
- Cows to Mud Cows: The adventures focuses on cows, and it is suggested to change all references to Mud Cows. References to the ‘cow shed’ can be changed to the ‘mud cow shed’ also.
- Milk: The milk can retain the effects stated in the adventure although a greenish tinge is more fitting. It could be tainted with gloomium accounting for its weird effects.
- Cheese: The cheese can retain the effects stated in the adventure. Optionally, because of the gloomium-taint amend the table results as follows:
- Roll on the Gloomtouched Deformities table (The Midderlands, page 11).
Watchman’s Stone (Maps)
As per yesterdays WIP picture, the Watchman’s Stone is now ready in three variants:
- FULL – with numbering, notes and grid.
- GRID – Grid only, no notes and numbering.
- VTT – No grid, no notes or numbering.
Perfectly usable in The Midderlands by placing it anywhere off the coast. A great pirate hangout. Maybe now taken over by sharkfolk, their gloomcrab steeds protecting the waters around its base.
“Off the coast, in shallow waters, a basalt slab rises from the choppy sea. Known as Watchman’s Stone, it was once used by the Seawatch Order to protect the coastal towns.
Long ago, beacon fires would be lit on its balconies to warn the coastal town of invaders coming from the south. Now it lies long-derelict… or does it?”
Watchman’s Stone WIP
Off the coast, in shallow waters, a basalt slab rises from the choppy sea. Known as Watchman’s Stone, it was once used by the Seawatch Order. Now it lies long-derelict… or does it?
Old School Iron-on Patches
Thaddeus Moore is doing wonderful, iron-on patches.
He did some The Midderlands ones for me, and those will be up on my website at the start of the year. In the meantime…
You can get hold of these following the instructions here:
To quote Thad: “Buy an OSR patch because I made a lot of them!
PayPal $6 per patch to: thaddeus.g.moore@gmail.com with a note specifying your design choices and ensure your shipping address is current. Shipping included.”
So, if you want 1x Blue Map and 1x The Midderlands, you should send $12.
They are (top to bottom):
- Blue Map
- Moon Wizard
- Sword of Crom
- The Midderlands
Behind The Walls
Some of you may already be aware that John Large over at Red Dice Diaries and I are working on a low level adventure for The Midderlands called Behind The Walls.
The manuscript is here and is in layout. Maps are complete. Artwork is in progress. The book is expected to be approx. 48 pages or so, and will be available in PDF and print-on-demand. Expect a few weeks for release.
Hear John and his wife talk about the adventure and a variant used for a Star Trek adventure: https://reddicediaries.com/tabletop-rpg-ramblings/podcast-episode-48-hannah-talks-about-star-trek-behind-the-walls/
The adventure will focus on an area south of the Great Wall of Hadreen and weave some Goman* history into the mix.
* Gomans being the Midderlands equivalent of Romans, from Italy (Italica)
#themidderlands #behindthewalls #reddicediaries
DragonMeet 2018
MonkeyBlood Design & Publishing was represented down at DragonMeet by Peter Regan at Squarehex, who I would like to thank for his work during (and either side) of the day. Peter did a great job and sales were glorious.
Thank you to everyone who purchased products. Your support of myself and Squarehex is invaluable.
Hat tip to Ralf Schemmann for the ‘on the day’ photo:
London Medieval Murder Map
Thanks to a tip off by Mark Nolan… Check this out!! This is most definitely gameable and relevant to my next Kickstarter project…
https://www.vrc.crim.cam.ac.uk/vrcresearch/london-medieval-murder-map
A Brave New World/Web Site
It has been a long time coming. The old site served me well during my time as a minnow. Now, I need a bigger pond to swim in.
The old site was littered with PayPal buttons, nooks and crannies. To find anything was a chore. But no more.
A better layout, a better shop, a better gallery. All-in-all, just better for me and you. So take a look around. Kick the tyres. Make a coffee. Put your comfy slippers on. Let off some fireworks. Buy a book.
It’s all good from here on in.
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com
Photo by Anna-Louise on Pexels.com
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com
Interview with Geoff Wingate – Old School Cartographer
When I was 13, I played the TSR UK modules, The Sentinel and The Gauntlet. The maps were wondrous and I loved the style of the cartography.
There were many other maps in the TSR UK series that had this cartographic style, such as O2 Blade of Vengeance, I8 Ravager of Time, CM6 Where Chaos Reigns, X8 Drums on Fire Mountain, UK2 The Sentinel, UK3 The Gauntlet, UK4 When A Star Falls, UK5 Eye of The Serpent, UK6 All That Glitters…, UK7 Dark Clouds Gather, B10 Night’s Dark Terror, etc to name a few.
I loved the buildings and maps in the back of the old Warhammer Fantasy Roleplaying 1st Edition hardback too. Imagine magazine’s Pelinore setting was riddled with beautiful buildings and maps that constructed the fantasy world that my young mind traversed.
Years later, this style and the love of these pieces of art, led me down this pathway of gaming artwork, cartography and publishing. The same pathway that allowed me to win a Gold Award for Best Cartography at the 2018 ENnie Awards. For years, the inspiration to draw maps that harked back to that halycon age, was the man that created the beautiful maps and buildings in those products. That man, was the freelance artist Geoff Wingate, also known by his pen name Paul Ruiz. Some even believe him to be the mysterious Khart O’Graffica Fecit or simply, Kh.
In my opinion, Geoff is the best cartographer to ever appear in print in roleplaying games.
Photos (L to R): Geoff during the TSR UK days; Geoff more recently enjoying a beer.
I have been fortunate to thank Geoff for his impact on my creation of fantasy worlds, and I had so many questions to ask him. Even more fortunate for me, is that he agreed to let me ask them, and post them here for you to see. Geoff, thank you so much!
The Interview Questions
A lot of people are still inspired and enthusiastic about your work, and with the resurgence of the Old School Roleplaying movement now becoming mainstream, I am sure that you are still inundated with requests to do some cartography work for people. So, some related questions to get them out of the way…
1) Why did you stop doing fantasy Cartography?
I guess I freelanced for the TSR (UK) Ltd D&D office in Cambridge from about 1982-85. I think that office closed not long after that and so the work dried up… and then I got a full-time job as a designer in a local museum
2) Do you still keep in touch with Graeme Morris, Jim Bambra, and Phil Gallagher?
No, lost contact… although I did find Phil on Facebook a few years ago and we caught up on our news and lives. These 3 guys were all amazing… very intelligent, imaginative and creative… I liked them. I imagine if they lived in a parallel universe… then Jim would be contemplating the starry cosmos in his yurt in Bhutan… Phil would be treading the boards at The Old Vic as Hamlet or Aegon Targaryen… and Graeme would be divulging the secrets of alchemy in the libraries of Alexandria…
3) What if they got together to create one last module with Wizards of the Coast and you were asked to do cartography – would you do it? What would make you consider returning?
I doubt it… I feel my D&D cartography is now archived in the ancient 1980s… so I was surprised when you told me that old school D&D modules are having a revival !!!
4) So, there are clearly architectural influences in your work, what was your training prior to working for TSR/Games Workshop?
I studied architecture at Liverpool University… I was always a precise draughtsman and when I was at school I wanted to be an artist… I always loved Greek & Roman mythology and I was crazy about vintage horror movies… especially Frankenstein and the Werewolf.
5) How did you come to work for TSR and Games Workshop?
…advert in The Cambridge Evening News ? Fate.
6) A lot of the maps form part of a whole page of content, including scroll messages and embellishments. Were you responsible for effectively laying out the whole page and making it look great?
I would be given different bits of graph paper with ball point or pencil diagrammatic sketches from Jim, Paul or Graeme… and they would talk me thru the basics and the feeling of the adventure… they always had good ideas… then I would then turn them into attractive and accurate illustrated maps and plans as best I could… by composing the layouts and drawing the cartography and surrounding illustrations and lettering etc. I worked alone and then I would return to their office with the finished artwork ready to send to the printers. Lucky for me, they always liked what I produced…so yes. I was responsible for the whole page presentation.
7) What’s the history behind the Paul Ruiz and Khart O’Graffica Fecit (Kh) aliases?
I used the name Paul Ruiz in the beginning for fun but as more projects were offered to me and it became a more regular and serious thing… then I wanted to use my real name… (who is Khart O’Graffica Fecit??? …that’s not me ???!!!)
8) What’s you best memory of working for TSR UK?
…getting to know Jim, Phil and Graeme… and them appreciating my work. Cheers guys
9) Did you ever play any roleplaying games, and do you still now?
I’ve never been into RPGs… but Jim Bambra once came round with some friends so I would understand how a D&D adventure is played… I wasn’t very good because I felt sorry for the Orcs… hahaa omg
10) Who was your favourite fantasy artist back in the 80’s, and who is your favourite artist now?
Brian Williams painted some front cover illustrations for the TSR(UK) Ltd D&D modules like… Drums on Fire Mountain, Where Chaos Reigns and All That Glitters… I met him once and I saw one of his original artworks… it was great… 2 days ago I googled his name only to discover that he died 8 years ago… so sad, he was younger than me. I was shocked.
Artwork covers by Brian Williams.
I haven’t really followed many fantasy artists but I always liked some famous painters like Bruegel, Gauguin, Egon Schiele, Frida Khalo, David Hockney… some of my fave movies are Santa Sangre (Jodorosky), La Belle et La Bete (Cocteau), Bladerunner (Ridley Scott) Metropolis (Fritz Lang)…
11) What was the last map you drew?
…probably a sketch to show a visiting friend how to find a bar so we can meet for a beer
12) What is the map that you are most proud of doing?
…strangely, I am most of proud of ‘Bugs in the System’ Star Frontiers by Graeme Morris… it was one of the most complex with a lot of technical detail and cross-referencing of plans… I also am proud of Adv D&D ‘Eye of the Serpent’ where I managed to draw a 3D landscape view of the mountains and yet incorporate the 2D measured map of the valley…
UK5 Eye of the Serpent
SFAD5 Bugs in the System
13) Is there a map you’ve seen that you didn’t create that you wished you had?
…not really.
14) If you are like me, which map do you look at now and shudder (if any)?
…I don’t have any regrets in life. I am a fatalist. But a couple of my early efforts were a bit clumsy and basic… (‘…could do better’ like School Report)
15) What was the process back in the mid-eighties for creating your maps and issuing them for printing?
…yes, times have changed…no PCs or computer software in the 80s… all done by hand…. first, metric graph paper taped to drawing board… then tape on tracing paper sheet on which a pencil draft is drawn …then tape on a sheet of translucent vellum paper on which black pen lines were drawn to be printed in black for the main features… then tape on another sheet of translucent vellum paper on top on which black pen lines were drawn to be printed in grey like for the grid… it was a series of overlays… you had to use expensive vellum sheet because it was stable and overlays had to match exactly without any paper distortion from humidity or temperature… sometimes I had to prepare a block coloured background of coloured paper cut-outs stuck on a coloured board… that was tricky matching it up with the overlays…
I usually drew the illustrated cartography to a larger scale and it was reduced when printed…
16) What pens did you use to draw the linework?
…I only used Rotring pens
17) Did stippling drive you mad? Did you have a quick method?
…I never used a stippling brush… it’s all individually drawn dots… good mindless concentration for meditation !!!… for some patterns I used Letraset as a last resort but very fiddly… I never used Letraset letters but I did often trace by hand the Letraset typefaces and sometimes customize them…
18) What are you up to on the art front nowadays?
…not much… for 14 years I was a lecturer in the Design Dept at a local Technical College
teaching mainly Interior Design and 20C Cultural Studies… now a partner and I have set up an eco-biz… buying, selling, upcycling and salvaging design furniture and stuff… who knows what tomorrow brings in this crazy modern world… man the life boats !!! (I love the folk song, ‘Who knows where the time goes’ sung by Kate Rusby…)
Byeeee
Glynn would like to thank Geoff for his kindness and listening to me being a ‘total fan boy’. It was a great pleasure.
