Devonian Dusk, gouache sketch

 

"Devonian Dusk" 

  

"Devonian Dusk" gouache sketch.

A colored version of an ink drawing from long ago. 

Early terrestrial ecology fascinates me. 

Prototaxites, a giant fungus up to 30' tall, grew in huge fungus forests all throughout the Devonian. 

 

 

Morgoth Bauglir drawing, Christopher Tolkien, Rings of Power, Telchar & Angrist

"Morgoth Bauglir"

 "That crown he never took from his head, though its weight became a deadly weariness."

-          The Simarillion, Of the Flight of the Noldor

 An ink drawing illustration for the "Wars of Beleriand" game.

Telchar’s notorious knife Angrist broke when Beren tried to take a second gem from the Iron Crown. What can one say about a blade that wounds the King of the World? Is there another?

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The Silmarillion is one of my favorite books. Few works of fantasy literature can compare in terms of epic scope and completeness of vision. I think it's safe to say it's as much Christopher Tolkien's as it is his father's: a beautiful collaborative effort, a true labor of love.

Recently, there's been yet a new generation of Tolkien fans brought into the fold, for good or ill, by the Rings of Power series. I admit I haven't seen any of it and I can't say I've heard good things. No need to go into all that, but we know how Tolkien felt about a great many things and what he thought and I know he wouldn't have been particularly pleased with how his creations have been treated by media these latter years. Telling that these projects were only greenlit after Christopher's death...

 

 

"Old School Supply Chord" - an abstract watercolor painting by Nate Dray

 

Nate Dray Paints a science fiction illustration - "Crashlanded"

 "Crashlanded"

watercolor on paper by Nate Dray

 

The concept was simple; a space explorer has some fusion drive trouble and has to make an abrupt and unexpected landing on a strange, fizzy, toxic, alien, world. Outside his vessel in the bizarre atmosphere to make repairs, he encounters a shadowy enigmatic humanoid...Is this creature friend or foe? 

 

Nate Dray on Avalon Hill's Magic Realm

 "Good ol' Magic Realm"

 

Last played Magic Realm about 5 years ago or so but since setting up is a bit of a commitment (particularly after not playing for a while) it hasn't been on the table since. 

The selection of chits I use for MR is a little odd. I really don't like punching out components and cards for games and when my copy arrived in decent shape,  I was a little disappointed that all the cards and more than half of the counters were unpunched. 

 

 

So, I made print and play versions of all the components in my copy that hadn't been punched. That said, the redesigned counters are probably a little better functionally because they're labeled and have the Fame and Notoriety scores printed on them.

As long as I've been looking at fantasy gaming things Magic Realm has been there. I can remember seeing ads for it in magazines or maybe comics, somewhere. But I never saw it in a store. Not once. Well maybe once, but then it was only once. And I believe I also asked someone about it long ago, someone more worldly and knowledgeable about such things, and was told that it was really complicated and not at all like D&D or AD&D. At that point, I guess, I sort of wrote it off, but years later I ran across people talking about it online and instantly recalled how curious I'd been about this game a million years ago - who can forget the cover once you've seen it. Shortly thereafter I bought myself copy.

I've only ever  played Magic Realm solitaire. The game is a bit much for the casual gamer, so roping people into a game and then them not hating you for it afterwards... 

One of the issues with MR is that while it's really not that complex, it's very difficult to explain some of the mechanisms. Always an issue with your more sophisticated games and things to be sure, but something about some of these mechanisms makes them difficult to describe.

Combat, for example. It’s this odd rock-paper-scissors system combined with resource management. Combat also has these discrete mass and speed factors that stack and affect outcomes and...see? Hard to explain.

It is a unique game. It has presence. It creates a definite mood that's integrated into the whole. It has depth. And I can tell that while it's soloable, that's not what it's meant for. It's meant for campaigns with friends and frenemies. I am certain that's where it shines brightest.

For the most part, I play 2nd edition, but I look at both 1st and 3rd edition rules sometimes as I play just because I like to.

And that's the important thing. Whatever else one can say about Magic Realm, the most outstanding thing to me, the most important, is that it amuses me. I'm entertained when I'm playing with it. It's fun to play with. A great toy. That's all one can really ask of this sort of thing, isn’t it?