> If Hero Wars doesn't have design and artwork at least as good as the White
> Wolf line it will sink like a stone. It would be a shame for this project=20
to fail for the > sake of a decent art director and a half decent budget.
Well, let me add: My sentiment, exactly.
Many of the official RQ3 products suffered badly from poor artwork and=20
mediocre layout. A lot of things were certainly well-intentioned, but ...=20
well, I guess that was about it.
Today I see pics in fan publications such as "Tradetalk" and the "Ye Booke o=
f=20
Tentacles" convention fundraiser that are about ten times as good as the=20
official stuff published by Avalon Hill.
The pics in "Genertela, CotHW" are _okay_ (because they're atmospheric!), bu=
t=20
the ones in "Elder Secrets" just SUCK!!
If I showed the artwork from "Elder Secrets" to my players as "standard", I'=
d=20
get nothing but laughs, at best. They'd never take me seriously ever again.
Okay, maybe I'm just exaggerating a bit there, but you know what I mean.
However, I got word from Andr=E9 (from the German RuneQuest-Gesellschaft) la=
st=20
week that Issaries, Inc. is definately keeping an eye on the quality of the=20
new illustrations. He said that the HW introductory book is probably going t=
o=20
have one decent picture every four pages or so, and the quality is likely to=20
be similar to the pics in the "Tradetalk" fanzine, or also in the "King of=20
Dragon Pass" computer game.
I tend to believe him, for now, since he is the head of a fan club, and has=20
participated in HW play-testing sessions both in the States and in Germany.
Anyway, if HW is going to feature a distinctive style of illustrations at=20
least as good as the stuff in "Tradetalk", I'll be happy, and won't complain=20
anymore.
You can't stress enough how vital that special "look" and "feel" are for a=20
new RPG, especially if it's about to compete with everal long-established=20
fantasy lines.
It would indeed be a bummer if HW was in any way about to fold prematurely,=20
only because it didn't catch on for the lack of good art.
According to what I read on the Issaries website, Greg Stafford has planned=20
the HW core books as only the _starting_ products of a huge line of new=20
supplements and merchandising, incl. miniatures, emblems, T-shirts, etc., so=20
I'd say that the initial few HW books have to be sure hits in order to set=20
the stage for what's to come.
Currently, I think it is really only White Wolf (maybe with WotC a close=20
second?) who have managed to put out a line of T-shirts and pins and stuff=20
that "tie in" nicely with their RPGs.
Okay, I know there's also Star Wars, but the Star Wars RPG isn't played by a=
s=20
many fans as you might think it is.
Have fun,
Norbert
=20
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