the b&w images in the old books and in the retroclones
Oct 12, 2019 23:40:02 GMT -5
mao and El Borak like this
Post by hengest on Oct 12, 2019 23:40:02 GMT -5
I was always very fascinated by these illustrations up through AD&D. And I still like them in the newer clone systems, so it's not just "that 70s feel" or something.
But what is it?
Sometimes you can easily imagine a story and sometimes you can't. But they seem to me to speak to something in the unconscious, some images that we carry with us and want to see brought to light.
For example: the Swords and Wizardry Quick Start PDF (here) has characters at a door on its cover page. We know nothing about this story. But they are at a door. They are on the verge. They are working on opening the door. It does right back to Gandalf at the "door" to Moria, perhaps the most iconic moment in modern fantasy.
Page 1: two characters descend a staircase with a torch. Under the stairs, in the darkness untouched by the torch, a monster waits. Our concern is with dividing the known and the unknown. But always there is more unknown. As long as the closet door is closed and the light cannot get in, there is a monster in the closet.
Hesitating, waiting, on the edge.
Men & Magic has a somewhat crude drawing on page 4: a wizard, some kind of yogi, and someone else. The wizard appears to be looking into a crystal and doing something with a wand. What is he doing? Operating at a distance. The most childish idea of magic--one's will acting on something far away, something one cannot touch. The yogi is in meditation, not engaged with the world around him. The "priest" character on the right appears to be pouring something. An offering to his god? We see activity at a distance (engagement with the world), looking inward (engagement with inner quiet), and maybe someone making an offering to a god who is beyond this world. These are all deeply human activities.
But what is it?
Sometimes you can easily imagine a story and sometimes you can't. But they seem to me to speak to something in the unconscious, some images that we carry with us and want to see brought to light.
For example: the Swords and Wizardry Quick Start PDF (here) has characters at a door on its cover page. We know nothing about this story. But they are at a door. They are on the verge. They are working on opening the door. It does right back to Gandalf at the "door" to Moria, perhaps the most iconic moment in modern fantasy.
Page 1: two characters descend a staircase with a torch. Under the stairs, in the darkness untouched by the torch, a monster waits. Our concern is with dividing the known and the unknown. But always there is more unknown. As long as the closet door is closed and the light cannot get in, there is a monster in the closet.
Hesitating, waiting, on the edge.
Men & Magic has a somewhat crude drawing on page 4: a wizard, some kind of yogi, and someone else. The wizard appears to be looking into a crystal and doing something with a wand. What is he doing? Operating at a distance. The most childish idea of magic--one's will acting on something far away, something one cannot touch. The yogi is in meditation, not engaged with the world around him. The "priest" character on the right appears to be pouring something. An offering to his god? We see activity at a distance (engagement with the world), looking inward (engagement with inner quiet), and maybe someone making an offering to a god who is beyond this world. These are all deeply human activities.
