Friday, November 19, 2010

Geomorph #99

I love this drawing from the original Fiend Folio. To me, it captures that classic bare-chested sword and sorcery feel more than almost any other old school D&D illustration. Making this into a geomorph was tough because it takes place under the open sky. The hint of a battlement and the toppled column added additional complications.

After several discarded attempts, I decided to place the temple complex on a raised section of a large cavern (or possibly a very cramped valley/ravine). There are access points over a rope bridge in the west and down from higher passage in the north. The rest of the entrances connect to the bottom of the cavern (or valley).

The structure that the warrior is defending in the illustration is represented by a raised platform accessed by steps in all four corners. A door in the center-west leads to group of interior rooms. As the inspirational drawing would indicate, there are several stone columns (though I opted leave them all in the upright position).

3 comments:

MooseDesign said...

Definitely a great image from which to draw inspiration! Reminds me of classic Conan-style graphic novel illustrations, or even the battle from the movie where he baits James Earle-Jones' character with the kidnapped princess and lays a trap for all the henchmen assaulting the crumbled hilltop temple... classic.

Dyson Logos said...

Nice. Love the illustration too.

And you sir, are about to hit the 100 mark! A few more and you'll have outdone me.

Risus Monkey said...

@Moose: I was also thinking of that first Conan movie. :)

@Dyson: Almost there... just need to think about what to do for the magic #100.