Tuesday, August 7, 2012

August's Lone Delver

This month's Lone Delver is another by Liz Danforth from the 5th edition Tunnels and Trolls rulebook. This illustration depicts a classic scene in any fantasy RPG, with the adventurer facing a dangerous monster guarding a locked chest in the middle of an otherwise empty room. Of course there is a nice burning brazier in the corner; maybe to keep the serpent warm? I like the simplicity of the set up, but there are details about the delver that make the image more substantial and memorable. First, the delver is not a human but a hobbit and is significant dwarfed by the snake. The small size of the delver make this seemingly mundane adversary all the more dangerous. Second is the way the delver is dressed. He is not well-equipped but instead wears only a loose jerkin and some pants making him look desperate; that's how I view delvers in general. Why else would you take on a giant snake that will more than likely kill you unless you REALLY needed the money. Third, the delvers weapons are far from the norm, in particular his madu; it's an interesting choice and not one most delvers possess. Of course between his madu and short saber, the hobbit may have a fighting chance.

3 comments:

  1. I always liked that pic. Mind you I love all Liz's work in 5th. He must be a first level character that rolled low on his 3d6 x10 gold. By the way I think that's a dagger (Madu?) not a short sabre. I seem to remember it being listed in the glossary at the back of the rules, which has the names off all the weapons in the illustrations.

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    1. Lee, the madu is the odd shield the hobbit is holding, but you are right that his weapon is not a short saber. I checked the weapon glossary in the 5th edition rules again and it is a jambiya (a dagger).

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  2. D'oh! Madu must have been in my mind, what with me reading your blog post about the hobbit with Madu. Brain not working at mo. Nothing new there then.

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