Ear of Stone for BEOWULF Age of Heroes was released in September. Today we’re talking about art.
Jon: When making art for a scenario it’s important to support the tone and feeling that the writing is trying to build.
When I first read Ear of Stone by KC Shi, I was struck by the desolate feel of many of the places. While the island location itself is of a modest size, many of the places had a wide open feel. Reading about them I can hear the soundtrack in my mind.
Many of the characters too gave me the sense that there’s the potential for a big feeling of melancholy here. Ear of Stone at its heart is all about family relationships and tradition, and it has the potential to be a quite sad tale depending on how events unfold.
That’s a funny one to deal with in RPG art. It’s not something we see a lot of, and quite understandably. What was the line from the album notes I read in the 90s? “People don’t travel long distances to see flat landscapes”? Was it REM or Talking Heads? It was art school. I forget. And I’m not even sure that’s a real quote, but it’s something I think about.
It’s easy to understand why frenetic action and visually complex scenery is more commonly seen. It’s exciting! There’s lots of detail to pore over, and action gives us a sense of movement, excitement and power.
But sometimes it’s nice to change gear. And with the support of our BEOWULF backers, we’re able to make things a little differently. And so Ear of Stone has a quieter, hopefully more melancholic tone.
Ear of Stone is available now on DrivethruRPG.
Find out more about BEOWULF Age of Heroes here.
