Tuesday, November 17, 2015

More Collage...







Continuing work on Down in the Dungeon...

 I am really enjoying doing this though it kept me up til 2 AM  the other night...I realize my limitations and lack of color savvy but I do like the overall vibe, especially happy with the Reaper's robes.

For some reason this piece reminds me of some of Ronnie James Dio's verses:

"The world is full of kings and queens who blind your mind and steal your dreams, they tell you black is really white, and the moon is just the sun at night, and if you walk in golden halls, you get to keep the gold that falls, it's heaven and hell. Fool, fool, look for the answers." (Black Sabbath, Heaven and Hell on the album of the same title).

You know, I don't think he intended one ounce of metaphor in that line...

May he rest in peace.

Monday, November 16, 2015

Reaper in Relief

Death in Relief by JE Becker 2015

Thursday, November 5, 2015

Caves of Quarl








I finally own a scanner/printer again after almost a year of not having one.

This means I will get to upload some of my maps and some more free dungeon

content!


I have plans for the Caves of Quarl. I originally wanted to call them the Caves of

Quarn but discovered that some one else already thought of that name for a

video game level...


With the caves of Quarl, quite simply, I don't want it to be laborious and so after

setting a few guidelines for the design, I will be almost completely using the

random monsters, traps and treasure generation tables to populate and stock

the megadungeon.


I will then write the Dungeon Key and somehow reconcile all of the elements in

the dungeon...


When I run this for players, I intend to introduce some sort of teleportation

artifact to the party which will allow them to come and go from the Dungeon at

will, though I will place limitations upon it. Times of day it may be used, charges,

too complex to be used in the middle of combat, etc.


This is because Quarl's vastness is such that making forays in and out without

such a device is not really tenable--once you are down there, you are down

there. It would take days to make the journey out from the lower reaches, and

wandering monsters are common in Quarl.


The other map I am going to upload and will have ready before Quarl is a

double level map of the Sunken Temple.


The Sunken Temple is not an aquatic adventure...it is the remains of a Temple of

Poseidon that was built before the seas diminished, leaving the Temple ruin

inland. In course of time, earthquakes and tectonic activity have consigned the

old sea temple to the subterranean realm. Humans were driven out of the region

by the Erlking, Lord of Goblinkind.


The lost Temple of Poseidon now rests under the Goblin City.


In the original campaign where I first ran this dungeon, the players discovered

it after being  taken prisoner in the Goblin City, being thrown into an arena

where they were beset by giant beetles for the entertainment of the Goblin folk,

and winding up going down a Beetle hole to try to survive the onslaught.

They dead ended at an ancient underground wall--just as the Beetles were about

to eat them, a secret door opened--the players had no choice and rushed in.


The door closed behind them, and they found a strange underground ruin.

It was well lit by maintained torches and after descending several long stone

stairs and crossing a few bridges, they came into a little underground town

where a human cleric played father to hosts of orc, hobgoblin and goblin

children and teenagers.  Some of the clan were adults by now, as well, but all

were friendly. The confused players learned that a mysterious power emananting

from the Sunken Temple had assisted the cleric in bringing up relatively

benevolent humanoids--most were orphans and street urchins from the city

of the Erlking.


The cleric told them the way to a great cavernous shaft that led to the old

temple, and told them that a wondrous relic lay within the Temple..however, it

was also guarded by a  Demon who was set there by the Chaos gods to ensure

that no one ever retrieve the relic or restore the altars of the Sunken Temple...


I will be uploading the Sunken Temple map and Dungeon key shortly!

Wednesday, November 4, 2015

Art Project "Down In the Dungeon"













Here are some shots of the beginning of an art project I am working on called...for now at least...Down in the Dungeon.

What you see above is not what it will be...the final paint coat will be key to making this what I want it to be.

I am a big fan of collage art and make quite a bit of that.

Most of my collage art is not fantasy themed, though, so I don't share it on the Mazes... Down in the Dungeon, however, is meant to evoke an old school D&D vibe.

The pieces so far are all found/bought/scavenged toys and game pieces.

The death's head is from a bottle of cologne I had, some of the dungeon heroes are either plastic knights from a dollar store toy rack or salvaged board game pieces. The robes on Death are paper towels soaked in glue and water.

Obviously the maze structures are all Styrofoam but I brushed them with acetone to pit and age them. I will prime them black and then drybrush them to look like stone.

The frame and the fabric art in it were bought at a thrift store for ten bucks. Of course the fabric will disappear when I start the paper mache. And I still need some 3D pieces for the maze chambers. Pieces that are too round for setting on a flat canvas are sanded down flat on one side. 

The chess pieces are added to emphasize the game element and the fact that we can be any piece on the board we want to be...

I have not completely decided the colours that will be used in the piece, whether realistically painted or otherwise, I don't yet know.Part of me wants to add something mechanical to it, like a clock or do something with either glow in the dark or fluorescent blacklight paints.

I'd also kind of like to obtain or make some of those images that present the illusion of movement due to the wavy line placements. We shall see. I have an old cut up D&D 1st ed. Monster Manual that I may cannibalize for some Trampier or Sutherland images in the "rooms"--since I'm not going to be selling the piece I don't have any qualms about that. But they aren't really big enough. Instead I'd like to find some more cheap toys or old odds and ends cause I'd really like even more relief in it but I don't want King Death overshadowed, for he is in fact the Dungeon Master here. 

I will be adding many other pieces...currently keeping an eye out for a small hourglass, for example. Also, a skeleton key. And I'll be throwing in some symbolism and riddles to reward the patient observer. I will not reveal these in the blog but I will give one away: the chess piece above Death's head was not placed accidentally...

 

Why throw sh* away? I will post photos of the evolving art piece.