Character Art in KotS

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

I don't like mis-matching artwork, either. But being a fanboy, I must defend WotC! It was probably impossible to commission perfectly fitting artwork, considering those might also have been busy with the PHB, DMG and MM...

I will deliberate not try to point out that they maybe could have just statted the PCs and NPCs fitting to the existing artwork, as it is obvious that this is the only way the word-count matched and it's not like they could have beforehand with which pictures they had to work, and they naturally also wanted to give us new toys to play with, thus had to create different characters then previously

Let's hope this won't become a trend.

Honestly from what I hear about it I don't think this adventure is intended for players new to D&D to get into the game.

it's intended for us... the fans who already know what D&D is, have been scrounging up every ounce of info we can, and just can't wait till next month.

I don't know. I think it serves well as an introductory adventure for beginners. The smaller things that is missing (like equipment value) work well for people that just want to begin and really have no idea what they're getting into. They won't notice the lack of this information (and if you run it as a one-shot, you'll never need to know them either).

But maybe a 1-3 level adventure is really too much for a true beginner.

 

[Klaus]

I don't like mis-matching artwork, either. But being a fanboy, I must defend WotC! It was probably impossible to commission perfectly fitting artwork, considering those might also have been busy with the PHB, DMG and MM...

I will deliberate not try to point out that they maybe could have just statted the PCs and NPCs fitting to the existing artwork, as it is obvious that this is the only way the word-count matched and it's not like they could have beforehand with which pictures they had to work, and they naturally also wanted to give us new toys to play with, thus had to create different characters then previously

Let's hope this won't become a trend.


I don't know. I think it serves well as an introductory adventure for beginners. The smaller things that is missing (like equipment value) work well for people that just want to begin and really have no idea what they're getting into. They won't notice the lack of this information (and if you run it as a one-shot, you'll never need to know them either).

But maybe a 1-3 level adventure is really too much for a true beginner.

It's not impossible to commission perfectly-fitting artwork, specially as sketchy as that. All five characters could be done in a day.

As for adjusting the stats to match the illustrations, that could also have been done quickly at the editing stage. And there's precedence: in Libris Mortis, the original Master of Radiance was a cleric, but that got changed to druid after they saw Steve Prescott's amazing artwork. Of course, a couple of errors persisted (like listing "mace" instead of "scimitar" in Equipment).

 

[grimslade]

I think the character art comments are valid. This is the first 4E product to hit the shelves. For it to be the best product it could be, it should have corresponding art. ~$25 pricepoint deserves a premium treatment.

I like KotSf. I think it will be the 4E Keep on the Borderlands. It does not, however, reach its potential. There are little aesthetic errors, like the PC art, that should have been addressed.
It is a mild dissapointment, but a disappointment nonetheless.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

It's not impossible to commission perfectly-fitting artwork, specially as sketchy as that. All five characters could be done in a day.

As for adjusting the stats to match the illustrations, that could also have been done quickly at the editing stage. And there's precedence: in Libris Mortis, the original Master of Radiance was a cleric, but that got changed to druid after they saw Steve Prescott's amazing artwork. Of course, a couple of errors persisted (like listing "mace" instead of "scimitar" in Equipment).

Ah well, at least I tried.

 

[direkobold]

Ah well, at least I tried.

I'm sure WotC appreciates the thought.