RPG A Day 4−5

Day 4 − RPG With Great Art

For me, one of the outstanding features of the latest edition of RuneQuest, i.e., RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha, is its art, and in particular the illustrations by Andrey Fetisov, Katrin Dirim, Antonia Doncheva, Jakub Rebelka, Ossi Hiekkala, Michelle Lockamy...

I feel art in RPGs has always been a ‘filler’, with little if any relationship with the text it was supposed to, er, illustrate. Don’t get me wrong— I love the humorous vignettes in the original AD&D DMG, and I am a lifelong fan of the early Chaosium or Flying Buffalo artists like Luise Perenne and Liz Danforth, but I feel none of these Old School products featured art that enhanced the immersion in the game world like the latest RQ:G art does.

Day 5 − RPG With Great Writing

This might seem paradoxical, but although I really do not like 13th Age in Glorantha as a TTRPG engine, I immensely enjoy the book for its clear writing, many examples, and insightful side bars explaining why this or that choice has been made, including instances of where the two authors may have disagreed upon a given option. I wish all rule books were written like this one.