Art for RPGs

I talked about werewolves, or loup garou, as they are called in France, in a series of Halloween posts that started here. In that series I included the H+I werewolf stats and an adventure seed based on the adventure I ran. In that adventure I showed the players this picture when they encountered their first real loup garou. 

Werewolf in My Bedroom by artikid 

Appropriately (though somewhat coincidentally) their first encountered with the creature actually did occur as it was  breaking into a woman's inn room. Even though the female NPC was not a sword wielding character, I think the art helped to depict the scene for the players making it seem more real or alive. Good art can do that.

The artist of this piece goes by the handle Artikid. But is also known as Luigi Castellani. He's a freelance artist who has done work for a number of OSR products including BRW games, Sine-Nomine Publishing or Small Niche Games. He did some of the great art for Spears of the Dawn. He recently announced on the RPGSite that he takes commissions.

My B/W art rates usually range from 20$ for quarter pagers or less to 80$ for full pagers. Complexity (or lack of it) of the piece may affect the basic rate.
Color usually costs twice.
At these prices I retain rights and may sell the art again to someone else.
Cover art and selling of rights is subject to negotiation.
I accept payment via paypal.

I've used commission art for a couple of campaigns. My co-GM commissioned head shots, from Dave Cummings, for our crew for the FASA Star Trek game. She also used character art from the previous campaign she had played in (Dave was the GM for the original Star Trek game from which our campaign was a spin out) as some of those characters appeared as NPCs or in the background of our campaign.

For our long-running Star Wars D6 campaign, I commissioned character art from Chris Irvin for my PC, her PC, and my wife's sometime PC/NPC. My avatar on RPGSite is a from one of my PC pictures.

Bren Fairchilde, Young Jedi Knight

Chris was an artist at Michigan State University's Virtual University. Chris was a lot of fun to work with and he did a great job on all the art. One of his more recent projects is Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse. I don't usually include stuff that is totally unrelated to the Early Modern Period or H+I on this blog, but Chris' art is so good I just had to include a few examples.

I find character art very helpful in envisioning characters and just a lot of fun to have in general. So check these guys out!

Here's some more of Chris' art.

Arkel Tevar Tris Lom’zee’tah’Skass Trofar Fas’Tawws

Murlyn Tarrick, X-Wing Pilot and Jedi Padawan

EDIT: I had to go back and recreate all the links for the pictures. Although they showed fine on my screen (natch) they didn't view on a friend of mine's screen. Sigh! I think it is fixed now.
EDIT 2: Fix didn't work. More research requited to get the links to work. Double sigh! 

Aix-en-Provence

As a followup to the earlier post on Arles, here is the neighboring city of Aix or as it is now known, Aix-en-Provence.

Aix (French: [ɛks]; Provençal Occitan: Ais pronounced [ˈajz]), the capital of Provence, is located in the south of France, about 30 km (19 mi) north of Marseille.

Aix (Aquae Sextiae) was founded by the Romans in 123 BC and became the metropolis of Narbonensis Secunda in the 4th century. It was occupied by the Visigoths in 477, plundered by the Franks and Lombards in the 6th century, occupied by the Saracens in 731, and by Charles Martel in 737. Aix did not reach its zenith until after the 12th century, when, under the houses of Barcelona/Aragon and Anjou, it became an artistic centre and seat of learning. Aix passed to the crown of France with the rest of Provence in 1487, and in 1501 Louis XII established there the parliament of Provence. In the 17th century the town was the seat of the Intendance of Provence.

Geography and climate: Aix-en-Provence is situated in a plain overlooking the Arc, about a mile from the right bank of the river. The city slopes gently from north to south and the Montagne Sainte-Victoire can easily be seen to the east. Aix's position in the south of France gives it a warm, Mediterranean climate. It has an average January temperature of 5 °C (41 °F) and a July average of 22 °C (72 °F). It has an average of 300 days of sunshine and only 91 days of rain. While it is partially protected from the Mistral, Aix does occasionally suffer from the cold gusty conditions it brings.

Churches

• Cathédrale Saint Saveur – seat of the archbishop of Aix
• Église Saint Jean Baptiste
• Chapelle de la Visitation
• Église de Saint Ésprit
• Église des Oblats
• Église de Saint Jean de Malte
• Les Chartreux
• Couvent des Cordeliers
• Couvent des Augustins
• Couvent des Frères Prêcheurs
• Couvent de la Miséricorde
• Couvent des Carmes

Public Places 

• Hôtel de Ville
• Palais Comtal – former palace of King René, now seat of the Parlement d’Aix
• Porte des Augustins – main city gate

Inns, Taverns, and Clubs

• The Golden Fox
• The Jeweled Mitre
• The Sign of the Three Ducks

Routes

• Route to the Alps
• Route to Avignon
• Route to Marseille
• Route to Toulon
• Vers Rians

Important People

• Charles Annibal Fabrot, jurist
• Étienne de Saint-Méran, abbé de Saint-Méran
• François de Valbelle Vicar General of Aix
• Vincent-Anne de Forbin-Maynier, baron d'Oppède

Churches

Cathédrale Saint Saveur

The Cathedral of the Holy Saviour (Aix Cathedral) is seat of the archbishop of Aix. It is situated to the north in the medieval part of Aix. Built on the site of a former Roman forum and an adjacent basilica, it contains a mixture of all styles from the 5th to the 17th century, including a richly decorated portal in the Gothic style with doors elaborately carved in walnut. The interior contains 16th-century tapestries, a 15th-century triptych, depicting King René and his wife on the side panels, as well as a Merovingian baptistery, its Renaissance dome supported by original Roman columns. The archbishop's palace (Palais de l'Archêveché) and a Romanesque cloister adjoin the cathedral on its south side.

Église Saint Jean Baptiste

A new church was built on an old church building designed by architect Laurent Vallon (1652-1724), and built from 1697 to 1702. The building is shaped like a Greek cross.

Chapelle de la Visitation

This chapel is located in the northern part of the whole monastery, built between 1647 and 1652 on plans by Pierre Pavilion. It deliberately departs from the traditional pattern of the order to two floors, in honor among most architects of the Society of Jesus.

Église de Saint Ésprit

In the 18th century, the Hôpital du Saint-Esprit, a hospital of the Order of the Holy Ghost, and several houses were torn down to make way for the construction of a new church designed by architects Laurent Vallon (1652-1724) and Georges Vallon (1688-1767), and built from 1706 to 1728. It was then known as Église Saint-Jérôme, in honour of Jérôme de Grimaldi (1597–1685), who served as Archbishop of Aix from 1655 to 1683.

Église des Oblats

The chapel is on the site of the former convent of the Carmelites (1625). The convent, then outside the walls, was rebuilt in 1695-1701 to plans by Thomas Veyrier. The chapel of the Oblates has an elliptical dome covering the nave Latin cross, without collateral, which accentuates the height effect. Widely illuminated by a skylight and four oval bull’s eye windows. The facade of the Oblates was redesigned by Laurent Vallon in 1697, highlighted by a flight of stairs.

Église de Saint Jean de Malte

This site was initially occupied in the twelfth century by a hospice and chapel of the Knights Hospitaller of the Order of Malta, under the jurisdiction of the priory of Saint-Gilles in Provence. The thirteenth-century church formed part of a priory of the same order situated in olive groves outside the city walls of Aix. From the thirteenth century it served as a burial place for the Counts of Provence. In the seventeenth century it was incorporated within the city of Aix when the ramparts were extended to the south.

Les Chartreux

The large estate of the Carthusian monks, monastic order founded by St. Bruno in the Dauphine in 1633 and installed in the territory of the city, outside the city walls on the way linking Aix-en-Provence to Nice. This district formerly the Madeleine district, owes its present name to the construction of Carthusian monastery from 1633. A first setting Chartreux in Marseille date of 1214. It was located on the plain of slopes Saint Michel, near the Porte Reale. In 1249, they must abandon it and join a building adjoining the convent of Friars Minor. These local, having been demolished in 1523 during the invasion of armies of Charles V and the Constable of Bourbon, there is no question of Marseille Chartreux, until the seventeenth century by which time arrived in our city, delegates from the Certosa Villeneuve Avignons, looking for a clean room for the installation of a new colony. The Carthusian church is certainly one of the oldest of Marseille (1684) and more characteristics. It was consecrated and placed under the patronage of St. Mary Magdalene in 1702.

Couvent des Augustins

Built During The 12th Century, the Couvent des Augustins Was Transformed gradually up to the 17th century. Martin Luther eas one of the most notorious guests of the convent. The founder of the Protestant Reform movement and member of the "Brotherhood of the Augustinians of Erfurt", stayed a long time at the Convent after being Excommunicated by Pope Leo X in 1521.

Couvent des Frères Prêcheurs

In 1363, a fire ravaged the monastery of the Dominican Priors. Under the leadership of Guigonnet Jarente, seigneur de Monclar et de Gémenos, a supporter of the Second House of Anjou, the consuls of Aix asked for reconstruction of the site. In 1691 it was replaced by the church of Sainte-Madeleine.

Couvent de la Miséricorde

Construction began on the Convent of Mercy August 14, 1637.

Couvent des Carmes

The Carmelites settled in this area in 1359.

Public Places

Hôtel de Ville

The Hôtel de Ville looks onto a picturesque square (place de l'Hôtel de Ville). It contains some fine woodwork and tapestries. At its side rises a handsome clock-tower erected in 1510.

Palais Comtal

Former palace of King René, now seat of the Parlement d’Aix

Porte des Augustin

Main city gate

Fountains

Aix is often referred to as the city of a thousand fountains. Among the most notable are the 17th-century Fontaine des Quatre Dauphins (Fountain of the Four Dolphins) in the Quartier Mazarin, designed by Jean-Claude Rambot, and three of the fountains down the central Cours Mirabeau:

Inns, Taverns, and Clubs

The Jeweled Mitre

The Jeweled Mitre is located very near the Palais Comtal in Aix. Established in 1603, the club was founded by members of the chapter of the Cathédrale Saint Saveur.

The club is richly appointed, featuring a valuable collection of furnishings donated by various members over the years. The cooks of the Jeweled Mitre are reputed to be among the best in Aix and the club includes a well-stocked wine cellar – spirits are not served, however. A few gambling tables are located in a small salon and a 150 £ table limit is strictly observed; cheating is dealt with harshly by the archbishop’s diocesan tribunal. An wealthy procuress arranges discreet feminine companionship for members.

The members of the Jeweled Mitre come from the first and second estates of France, including clergy from both Aix and Avignon and the many robe and sword nobles of the provincial capital. A smaller umber of wealthy bourgeoisie and officials of the realm are also welcomed. The members are uniformly Catholic, often with ultramontane sympathies. Club officers are almost always members of the cathedral chapter. Members may wear a small jeweled pin in the shape of a bishop’s mitre.

The governors consist of a premier chef and three chefs du club, with two treasurers and two secretaries. A small number of managers assist with the day-to-day operation of the club. Annual dues are 25 £. Members of the Jeweled Mitre enjoy reciprocal privileges with the Fellows of Saint George in Paris.

The Golden Fox

The Inn of the Golden Fox is located just off of the main square of Aix. The innkeeper is a female dwarf, as in midget, named Margrethe. Her son, also a dwarf, runs errands for the guests.

The Sign of the Three Ducks

Sign of the Three Ducks is in a no-frills tavern in a rough and seedy portion of the old Medieval center of Aix.

Important People

• Charles Annibal Fabrot, (1580–1659), a French lawywer, was born in Aix
• Étienne de Saint-Méran, abbé de Saint-Méran: Official of the Diocesan Tribunals for the archdiocese of Aix (SR 9)
• François de Valbelle; Vicar general of the archdiocese of Aix (SR 8) he has contacts in the church in Marseile to keep tabs on the Bishop of Marseille, François de Loménie.
• Vincent-Anne de Forbin-Maynier, baron d'Oppède: First president of the Parlement of Aix (SR 10)

Geography

Montagne Sainte-Victoire

To the east of Aix rises the Montagne Sainte-Victoire (1011 m), one of the landmarks of the Pays d'Aix. It is accessible from the centre of Aix by road or on foot, taking the wooded footpath of Escrachou Pevou to the plateau of Bibemus. The village of le Tholonet is on the precipitous southern side of Mont Sainte-Victoire.

To the north, the mountain slopes gently down through woodland to the village of Vauvenargues. The Château of Vauvenargues overlooking the village was formerly occupied the by the Counts of Provence (including René of Anjou) and the Archbishops of Aix before it became the family home of the marquis de Vauvenargues.

Mont Sainte-Victoire has a complex network of paths, leading to the priory and Croix de Provence at the summit and to the Roman viaduct above le Tholonet.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aix-en-Provence

Maps

1600 Map 

1570 Map

Note: for those who may be following along with the adventure write ups, Arles and Aix-en-Provence aren't part of those adventures (which occurred back in 2012-2013), but are part of the more recent adventures in 2015. Eventually I should catch up to the current adventures, but it is likely to take a while.

Dog’s Head Tavern NPCs

These NPCs show up in Adventure 08: Chapter IV and Chapter V

Lawrence, the Dog’s Head’s cook, is in league with Black Robert. Lawrence drugs the drinks of lone travelers or barge crewmen. Lawrence is assisted by two local barge crewmen who are regulars in the Dog’s Head: Norman and Cliffard. Lawrence gives them the high sign and they carry the “drunk” away. They take him on board their small barge downstream to an abandoned abbey that is used as a way station by the Black Riders and the Black Wagons. Lawrence does not know which abbey.

Lawrence the Cook      SR 2

Pawn Competence 3 (Veteran)

Savvy 1                   Melee 1

Cook 1

Cleaver                1d6+1

Fist      1d2+1 Dmg

Bottle   1d6-1 Dmg

Knife   1d3+2 Dmg; 5’ range when thrown, +1 Called Shots

If accosted in the Dog’s Head, 2d6 patrons (Auxerre Barge Men) will come to the aid of Lawrence, Norman, or Cliffard.

Auxerre Barge Men                  SR 1 Tough tavern patrons who enjoy a good dust-up. Pawns Competence 1 (Green) Might 1                    Savvy -1 Brawl 1                    Bargeman 0 Fist      1d2+1 Dmg Bottle   1d6-1 Dmg Knife   1d3+2 Dmg; 5’ range when thrown, +1 Called Shots

Norman                                    SR 1 Auxerre bargeman working for Black Robert Pawns Competence 2 (Regular) Might 2                    Savvy -1 Brawl 1                    Bargeman 0 Fist      1d2+2 Dmg Bottle   1d6 Dmg Knife   1d3+3 Dmg; 5’ range when thrown, +1 Called Shots

Cliffard                                      SR 1 Auxerre bargemen working for Black Robert. Pawns Competence 2 (Regular) Might 1                    Brawl 1                    Bargeman 0 Fist      1d2+1 Dmg Bottle   1d6-1 Dmg Knife   1d3+2 Dmg; 5’ range when thrown, +1 Called Shots

EDIT: I often have trouble with the formatting of stuff I paste in from other documents, though I don't usually get quite so many repetitions of the pictures. For those of you that saw the unedited version, only one picture of the cook was supposed to be included. The cook is from the rather odd, semi-musical 1939 version of the Three Musketeers that featured Don Ameche, the Ritz Brothers, and Binnie Barnes. The cook is one of the Ritz Brothers.

Auxerre NPCs

Here are a couple of NPCs from or found near Auxerre. They appear in Adventure 08: Auxerre and the Black Riders: Chapter IV and Chapter V.

Francois Depardieu

Agent of the Bishop of Marseille                      SR 5

Depardieu (b. 1570) is an agent of François de Loménie, the Bishop of Marseille. He is a large, dour, heavy-set man in his fifties with long unkempt hair. He speaks with a low, gravelly voice. Generally of a melancholy disposition he suspects that every silver lining has a loose thread. He is most cheerful when it seems that all is lost.

A soldier who fought for Le Grande Henry, he retired from soldiering to become a painter. He is employed by the Bishop of Marseille primarily as a painter, but occasionally as a troubleshooter; when acting as the Bishop’s agent he often travels as an itinerant painter.

Might 1                Daring 1               Savvy 1

Brawl 1                Melee 1                Defense 1

Soldier 1              Painter 2

Lifeblood 9          Advantage 1         Retainer 3

Boons: Carouser, Artistic; Flaws: Distinctive Appearance, Drunkard

     Rapier: 1d6+1 Dmg; +1 Parry

     Stiletto: 1d3+1 Ignores 2 Protection, +1 with Called Shots (in boot)

     Mazzagatto: 1d6+1 Dmg; 10’ range; reload 3MA; misfire 2-3

Small flintlock pistol, may only be used at Close or Short range. It may be hidden up a sleeve, in the lip of a boot, in a pocket, etc.

Equipment: Riding Mule, oilskin cloak, change of clothes, 50L, powder and shot, knife, drawing paper, charcoal, canvases, brushes, oil paints, and easel.

Louis de Maubrant

Captain of Infantry                                          SR 7

Captain de Maubrant is a wealthy gentleman (SR 7) and an army captain (SR 6). He commands the infantry company that supports the Lieutenant Governor of Auxerre. The company barracks are in the Town of Auxerre.

Daring 1          Flair 2

Melee 1           Ranged 1

Soldier 1          Gentleman 1

Lifeblood 8      Retainer 3

Boon: Beguiling

Flaw: Hard of Hearing
      Rapier: 1d6 Dmg, +1 Parry

      Musket: 2d6 Dmg, 50’; 5MA, Mis 2-4

What I'm reading - The Huguenots

One of the aspects of the Early Modern period that I found puzzling was the Reformation and the associated religious wars. Other books I've read focused their attention on Luther and the evolution of the Anglican church. Neither being very informative for the French Wars of Religion. Thus I was excited on my last visit to Michigan to find the book Huguenots by Geoffrey Treasure at Schuler Books in Lansing. Schuler Books is one of the last of the great independent bookstores.

Huguenots was well worth the price ($27.50) and the time. Besides providing a pretty in-depth overview of the growth, spread, battles, decline, and banning of Calvinism in France it included a ton of useful data for my H+I campaign. Here are few snippets.

Population Demographics

• In the mid-16th century 15% of France lived in towns or cities. 
• 90% of the nobility were members of the minor or petty nobility.
• Huguenots made up around 10% of France's population, which was around 20 million people in the 17th century. The proportion

 Literacy and Education

• From a survey of marriage license in the period 1686-90 71% of the male and 86% of the female population was illiterate. The percentage was higher in earlier periods. Nearly all peasants were functionally illiterate. 
• Huguenots tended to be literate made up a larger proportion among town dwellers especially lawyers, doctors, and artisans and the nobility than among the peasantry.
• The Huguenot Academy of Montpellier turned out skilled (according to the period) physicians who followed the new school of Parcacelsus, heterodox in chemical remedies, palliative drugs, and surgical methods in contrast to the conservative Galenist school of medicine to whom the Paracelsans were quacks. Which adds a religious dimension to the choice of school of medicine that a PC or NPC follows. 

Here's a sample quote.

"When the Constable Montmorency attended a meeting of the royal council at Fontainebleau ub 1560, 800 followers attended him: a private army to make a show against the rival House of Guise. It included many sprigs of the noblesse who saw in his service as good a prospect as in that of the king. Less ostentatious but able to support a large clientèle were the great men of the robe nobility, a premier président for example. Between them and the mere écuyer - by far the most numerous among nobles - there was a gul bridged only by shared tokens and values. The nature of service to a great man, proof of the écuyer's fidelité , was commonly military; it might lead him to change his religion. The écuyer might have a feif or two, a few rents and dues, a wood or a vineyard; he could wear a sword, have a coat of arms, at least aspire 'to live nobly', the acknowledged mark of a noble. To find a dowry for his daughter, a commission for a son, a fee for a lawsuit, he must seek a patron - or a loan."

Huguenots p. 21.

This one paragraph touches on so much of what makes the early modern period tick. The inadequacy of the lesser nobles' incomes to support their desired life style drove the need for commissions, and royal offices which required the influence of a patron and this in turn motivated lesser nobles to become clients of greater nobles. The presence of a great noble's clientèle enabled the great nobles to wage private wars that drove a lot of the violence of the 16th century religious wars and were part and parcel of the factions that drove so much of 16th and 17th century internal French politics. Loyalty to a patron or faction is also what we see in the rivalry between the Cardinal's Guards (who are part of that minister's faction) and the King's Musketeers who are nominally clients of the King, while giving much of their loyalty to their commander M. de Treville. Indeed the letter from D'Artagnan's father than is stolen from him by Rochefort, was to introduce him to M. de Treville and to encourage Treville to become young D'Artagnan's patron.

This book also helped answer one other challenge that I have faced--identifying Huguenot nobles. Surprisingly, despite this time period including additional Huguenot rebellions in France and overlapping the Thirty Years War in Germany, many of the bios of nobles available on the Internet and elsewhere do not always mention the religion of the person concerned. While often that is because the person is a member of the dominant religion, Catholicism, that is not always the case. So this book was helpful in identifying additional nobles to include as Huguenots and possible supporters of the religion.

Huguenot Names*

• d’Aubeterre
• François de Béthune Comte de Orval, son of Duc de Sully and son-in-law of Marquis de la Force ()
• Bouillon family includes the recently deceased Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne, Duke of Bouillon (SR 15) ; 

[POSSIBLE SOURCE FOR OTHER PROTESTANT LORDS; his children by Elisabeth of Orange-Nassau; married on 15 April 1595]

• · † Louise de La Tour d'Auvergne (August 1596 - November 1607);
• · Marie de La Tour d'Auvergne (b. 1599) married Henri de La Trémoille, Duke of Thouars and Prince de Talmont, and had issue;
• · Juliane Catherine de La Tour d'Auvergne (b. 8 October 1604) married François de La Rochefoucauld, Count of Roucy (b. 1603), and had issue;
• · Frédéric Maurice de La Tour d'Auvergne b. (22 October 1605) though still a minor, Frédéric shares his father's antipathy to royal power (SR 16+);
• · Élisabeth de La Tour d'Auvergne (b. 1606) married Guy de Durfort, mother of Guy, marquis de Lorges;
• · Henriette Catherine de La Tour d'Auvergne married Amaury Gouyon, marquis de La Moussaye and had issue; 
• · Henri, vicomte de Turenne, (b.11 September 1611) married Charlotte de Caumont, daughter of Armand-Nompar de Caumont, duc de la Force. 

• Jacques-Nompar de Caumont, Marquis de la Force & Marshall of France (SR 15)
• Jean de Saint Charmand
• Châtillon brothers Coligny and Dandelot
• Prince of Condé (deceased father not his son, Henri the current Prince de Condé nor Henri’s son, both of whom are Catholic)
• Duplessis-Mornay
• Gramont
• La Roche-Chandieu
• Rochefoucauld
• Rohan, both Henri II duc de Rohan Leader of the Huguenot forces in France and a Peer (SR 15) and his brother Benjamin de Rohan, duc de Soubise Leader of Huguenot forces in France (SR 14)
• Soubise
• La Trémoille e.g. Henri de La Trémoille duc de Thouars (SR 14)
• Jean de Vivans and the Family de Vivans (SR 9+)

Overall, I thought the book was good and not overly technical for a knowledgeable lay reader. The sources cited, both primary and secondary, are extensive. While the topic is admittedly somewhat esoteric, this is an excellent source for anyone interested in France or the Religious Wars of the Sixteenth and Seventeenth centuries.

* I added social ranks for those whose bios or other information I could find.