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Author
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Comment
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arcane12
Human
(8/12/03 1:13 pm)
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Has anyone noticed that...
...the art (which is wonderful) can tend to be quite misleading?
Now before I go any further I would like to say a little disclaimer noting the fact that I love the art, and really enjoy this epic tale put out by that inspired person who calls himself Monte Cook.
But as I said I have issues with the art. Now I am the sort of person who thinks that a quick flash of a piece of art from the module I am running can really help the players. So I queue up visual aid number one. (A picture says a thousand words and all) But wait... now I have to explain to the players that 'Ok the head priest of the Air temple looks like this, except hes wearing full plate, er... and had a large shield, I guess that's hidden by his ample back as he is carrying both a Horn and a censer... oh darn it...'
I even got caught by Rastor (though this time it wasn't the art that got me) because I paraphrased the description of the town to the players, and then a few games later I took a second (ok like 30th) look at the racial breakdown and realized that this town has a large contingent of dwarves! Oops I guess I was to busy mentioning the bizarre fact there were many orc in town to forget that there is one dwarf for every orc? (or one dwarf for every two with orc blood)
Hmmm...misleading? yes. Still the module is still a work of art in my esteem (however little that counts for) and I guess Monte would not be human if he did not have a failability or two (even if it is just a tiny error that is only brought to light by a small, nit picking mind like mine.)
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Taelohn
Faen
(8/12/03 5:59 pm)
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Well...
Mr. Cook may have left instructions to the artists to do certain drawings, or perhaps someone else just went through the book and decided which parts to make pictures for. He didn't do the artwork himself, though...
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Helderik
Faen
(8/12/03 10:02 pm)
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Re: Well...
Talking about the art... I own this module for quite some time now but I still haven't figured out who is on the cover...  What's the name of that creature? His face seems to be displayed at the big door a number of times? And the giant hand behind it? Has he got anything to do with the adventure? Or is this picture related to the original ToEE adventure? I know this is a stupid question, but is there anyone who can tell me the answer?
I do like the art in the adventure. However I only rarely show anything of it to my players. My players accidently saw the picture of the attacking grell. I described it as being medium size, but without me realizing it, they all thought the creature was huge 
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grimbold
Human
(8/12/03 11:24 pm)
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Re: Well...
I really loved the Lareth picture, but it is misleading as well:
In order to show it to my players, I had to adjust Lareth´s equipment (he got a +1 breastplate in my campaign).
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Cordo Crowfoot
Litorian
(8/13/03 1:27 am)
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Re: Well...
I just cut off everything but the face from the picture of Lareth before showing it... The face is mainly what is important, but yes you are right in that since it is a D&D module it would be nice if the creatures were pictured with the proper equipment.
As for the cover, I'm not sure ... Brom's take on D'Gran?
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Grumgarr
Giant
(8/13/03 3:17 am)
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front cover...
...if you look closely at the original ToEE module cover - at the main double door to the Temple, then compare that with the RttToEE cover you should recognise that it's the main door on RttToEE's cover.
In Return, when the PCs first see the Temple it is again occupied, but not by cultists.
The fellow coming out the door is the Hobgoblin Adept (whose name escapes me) and the big hand on the door is a sneak peek at the nasty old dire ape...
...this was asked on a WoTC board many moons ago.
I love the internal art, but yeah, art/'reality' consistency was an issue. The grell picture Really Freaked my players out. 
Grumgarr
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Skippy099
Faen
(8/13/03 7:16 am)
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Grell
As far as the Grell pic goes....I know the size was wrong, but the pic was a great visual aid in my game. I believe that was one of those places where the PC's had a big scary monster in their minds, which made the encounter on the lift more fun! They didn't have to know the stats for the monster, or know that it was medium size! In fact, that was like Monte was saying this week in "DMs Only".....the game mechanics are for the DM to know behind the screen.....let them think it is big and scary.....you as the DM worry about it being medium size and WOUNDED! heheheh
I do agree with what you are saying about the inconsistencies in the artwork.....it does make them difficult to use....."He looks like this....except he has on full plate, and carries a large steel shield....and doesn't really look like that at all!!" hehehe
One picture that make the whole module worth while is the one of Imix!!! I am gonna go to Kinko's and have that blown up for the final battle! The players in my group are going to $hit themselves when they see him!!
Skippy
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