Snarf Zagyg
Notorious Liquefactionist
Welcome to part three in the art appreciation series- One Piece of Art! Prior columns can be found here:
Part I (Classes)
Part II (Monsters)
Today's topic-
What D&D Art inspired you to love a magic item?
However, for this column, we are going to start with something ... unusual. One particular piece of art MUST BE RETIRED. That's right- there is one piece of art that I am just putting in the Hall of Fame of Magic Item art. Do not pass go. Do not collect $200. No one can select the following piece because ... well, to channel 80s great Yaakov Smirnoff, In Soviet Russia, Magic Item Chooses You!
Artist: Bill Willingham
Source: White Plume Mountain (Jeff Dee cover re-release, 1981)
Magic Item: Blackrazor
Arguably, one of the most iconic magic items in all of D&D, and why? I'd say it's because of this illustration. Back in the day, modules had separate covers with the maps printed on the inside, so the outside covers often served as additional "DM Screens." And this image, here? This was the back cover of S2- White Plume Mountain. So imagine you were playing D&D in the 80s, and you were adventuring in White Plume Mountain. And the entire time you looked at the DM ... you saw this. That's right, you saw NOT Elric wielding NOT Stormbringer in front of some alien landscape that included White Plume Mountain. And you .... totally .... wanted ... that SWORD.
Now, was getting a Blackrazor a good idea? OF COURSE NOT! Did that matter? OF COURSE NOT! But while it was entirely possible that not-Stormbringer would disappear from the collective D&D consciousness, never to be heard from again ... I would say that Willingham's inspired illustration has ensured that Blackrazor will live on forever in D&D lore.
Hall. Of. Fame.
Now, with that out of the way ...
For purposes of this thread, please note the following rules-
1. ONE piece of art. You shall count to one. If you do two, you've gone two ... um, too far.
2. It has to have inspired you to "love" a particular magic item. Now, love in in this context is totally up to you. Maybe the art inspired you to love D&D in general. Maybe it inspired you to want that magic item. Maybe that piece of art always shaped how you view that magic item. Maybe that art comes alive at night and steals the food in the refrigerator. Whatever, man, I'm not going to define your love! Feel free to explain why this particular piece of art (depicting a MAGIC ITEM) is so meaningful to you.
3. Explain the art source (incl. artist if known), the magic item, and why you chose it. Please!
As I started the thread, I will go first. This one is going to be a little idiosyncratic ....
Artist: Darlene
Source: THE Dungeon Master's Guide (suck it, Ohio State) 1979
Magic Item: Sphere of Annihilation
Look at those pool lil' fellers .... I'm guessing they didn't think that their little ambush would be rudely ended by an encounter with a RIFT IN THE FABRIC OF SPACE AND TIME! Muahahahahahahaha! So, the thing most people forget about THE DMG is that it didn't actually have a lot of illustrations ... it relied on, um, Gygaxian word-pictures and/or tables. SO. MANY. TABLES. In fact, in the entirety of the DMG, amongst all of those pages upon pages of magic items, there are the following illustrations:
1. A "joke" illustration of a backscratcher. Okay, it is funny, but not inspirational.
2. Staff of the Serpent.
3. A dagger in a scabbard with a snake around it.
4. A book, possibly of exalted deeds.
5. A lute, possible the doss lute (weirdly ... that only inspired intense antipathy).
6. A little illustration of two people fighting some mutant cross between a purple worm and Audrey II from little shop of horrors, possibly meant to illustrate the types of things vorpal swords cannot decapitate.
7. The mighty morphin' trident/military fork +3.
8. The SPHERE!
Once put in that context, you can see how this picture from Darlene attracted so much interest from me. Every single time I would leaf through the magic items in the DMG, I would pause on this illustration. Was it false advertising? Perhaps! The sphere was an item that was good in theory, but fatal in fact. But man .... just imagine the shocked look on some random kobold's face when he tapped your magic user on the shoulder thinking he was going to intimidate you for your lunch money, and you're all like, SAY HELLO TO MY LITTLE FRIEND!
Also? If this blast from the past made you smile, please feel free to help Darlene out!
Part I (Classes)
Part II (Monsters)
Today's topic-
What D&D Art inspired you to love a magic item?
However, for this column, we are going to start with something ... unusual. One particular piece of art MUST BE RETIRED. That's right- there is one piece of art that I am just putting in the Hall of Fame of Magic Item art. Do not pass go. Do not collect $200. No one can select the following piece because ... well, to channel 80s great Yaakov Smirnoff, In Soviet Russia, Magic Item Chooses You!
Artist: Bill Willingham
Source: White Plume Mountain (Jeff Dee cover re-release, 1981)
Magic Item: Blackrazor
Arguably, one of the most iconic magic items in all of D&D, and why? I'd say it's because of this illustration. Back in the day, modules had separate covers with the maps printed on the inside, so the outside covers often served as additional "DM Screens." And this image, here? This was the back cover of S2- White Plume Mountain. So imagine you were playing D&D in the 80s, and you were adventuring in White Plume Mountain. And the entire time you looked at the DM ... you saw this. That's right, you saw NOT Elric wielding NOT Stormbringer in front of some alien landscape that included White Plume Mountain. And you .... totally .... wanted ... that SWORD.
Now, was getting a Blackrazor a good idea? OF COURSE NOT! Did that matter? OF COURSE NOT! But while it was entirely possible that not-Stormbringer would disappear from the collective D&D consciousness, never to be heard from again ... I would say that Willingham's inspired illustration has ensured that Blackrazor will live on forever in D&D lore.
Hall. Of. Fame.
Now, with that out of the way ...
For purposes of this thread, please note the following rules-
1. ONE piece of art. You shall count to one. If you do two, you've gone two ... um, too far.
2. It has to have inspired you to "love" a particular magic item. Now, love in in this context is totally up to you. Maybe the art inspired you to love D&D in general. Maybe it inspired you to want that magic item. Maybe that piece of art always shaped how you view that magic item. Maybe that art comes alive at night and steals the food in the refrigerator. Whatever, man, I'm not going to define your love! Feel free to explain why this particular piece of art (depicting a MAGIC ITEM) is so meaningful to you.
3. Explain the art source (incl. artist if known), the magic item, and why you chose it. Please!
As I started the thread, I will go first. This one is going to be a little idiosyncratic ....
Artist: Darlene
Source: THE Dungeon Master's Guide (suck it, Ohio State) 1979
Magic Item: Sphere of Annihilation
Look at those pool lil' fellers .... I'm guessing they didn't think that their little ambush would be rudely ended by an encounter with a RIFT IN THE FABRIC OF SPACE AND TIME! Muahahahahahahaha! So, the thing most people forget about THE DMG is that it didn't actually have a lot of illustrations ... it relied on, um, Gygaxian word-pictures and/or tables. SO. MANY. TABLES. In fact, in the entirety of the DMG, amongst all of those pages upon pages of magic items, there are the following illustrations:
1. A "joke" illustration of a backscratcher. Okay, it is funny, but not inspirational.
2. Staff of the Serpent.
3. A dagger in a scabbard with a snake around it.
4. A book, possibly of exalted deeds.
5. A lute, possible the doss lute (weirdly ... that only inspired intense antipathy).
6. A little illustration of two people fighting some mutant cross between a purple worm and Audrey II from little shop of horrors, possibly meant to illustrate the types of things vorpal swords cannot decapitate.
7. The mighty morphin' trident/military fork +3.
8. The SPHERE!
Once put in that context, you can see how this picture from Darlene attracted so much interest from me. Every single time I would leaf through the magic items in the DMG, I would pause on this illustration. Was it false advertising? Perhaps! The sphere was an item that was good in theory, but fatal in fact. But man .... just imagine the shocked look on some random kobold's face when he tapped your magic user on the shoulder thinking he was going to intimidate you for your lunch money, and you're all like, SAY HELLO TO MY LITTLE FRIEND!
Also? If this blast from the past made you smile, please feel free to help Darlene out!
Save Queen Anne!, organized by Darlene NLN
Queen Anne is dying. She was born in 1901 in a small town in North Carolina. I’m doing all I can to save… Darlene NLN needs your support for Save Queen Anne!
www.gofundme.com
