Welcome to another edition in Rediscovered Realms’ series where we unearth some of the coolest fantasy artwork from classic Dungeons & Dragons modules.
With illustrations by David C. Sutherland III, David A. Trampier, Jeff Dee, David S. LaForce, Erol Otus & Bill Willingham, you are in for a real old school treat!
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“Dungeon Module G1-2-3 - Against The Giants” was a combo re-release of 3 Advanced Dungeons & Dragons modules by Gary Gygax (co-creator of D&D) used in the “Origins” Tournament back in 1979.
Here were the original 3:
G1 - “Steading of the Hill Giant Chief”
G2 - “The Glacial Rift of the Frost Giant Jarl”
G3 - “Hall of the Fire Giant King”
I never played these particular modules but found this adventure many years back where it has been waiting patiently to be revealed.
The cover by Willingham isn’t one of my favorites of his, but it does portray the dire straits the lands of men are in! Those baddies are brutal.
And now let’s get to the interior art - these old modules were packed so full. I know you’re going to love it.
Like you, I adore seeing how the artists interpreted the pivotal scenes from the adventure.
Even the “simpler” illustrations of treasure chests,landscapes,and travel scenes add so much more fuel for the imagination.
Here’s the illustrations from the rest of this module:
Where is Waldo?
Did You Know? What’s a Carrion Crawler’s favorite song?
“Carrion Wayward Son” of course.
The rock band, Kansas
Little Known Fact: Shortly after witnessing the carnage in the scene above, the little disillusioned bear cub left the world of Dungeons & Dragons to become a mascot for a small-town beverage company.
“Thanks for freeing me. Sooooo, to pay you back I wouldn’t mind carrying your belt pouches for a while . . .”
ok, this illustration is pure badass!
. . . and this one is terrifying!
Ah, those rascally women and their (rods of) tentacles …
Old school Troll action by Tramp!
I hope the running fella doesn’t look up. Could cause self-esteem issues for the rest of his life.
And last but not least, here’s one my favorites from this module:
Incredible. Love this one by Sutherland.
So, what did you think?
Any of these old school fantasy illos impress you at all?
Or, if you were lucky enough to play these modules, were there any memories unlocked?
Make sure to comment below (after reading the “Other News from The Realms” section first, of course).
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The Lord of the Rings Deluxe Illustrated Box Set launches on October 1st!
Bound in cloth & leather with a custom-built illustrated slipcase, this silver-foiled beauty includes revisions, expansions, 3 removable art cards, 2 foldout maps and a number of brand-new paintings, and 50+ added drawings by the phenomenal fantasy artist, Alan Lee.
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G2 was the second module I ever bought after Tomb of Horrors. I ran it a bunch of times in 6th grade with our ever-evolving understanding of the rules as we picked up more TSR products (first Holmes blue box, then Greyhawk supplement, then the AD&D books).
That cover of G1 was just madness. You have a young mother carrying a baby, just to remind us how much it would suck to live in dnd world. And the giant holding up the fallen guard by his helmet somehow. A guard who went into battle without trousers for some reason.
G2 was the second module I ever bought after Tomb of Horrors. I ran it a bunch of times in 6th grade with our ever-evolving understanding of the rules as we picked up more TSR products (first Holmes blue box, then Greyhawk supplement, then the AD&D books).
The old school art had real character.
That cover of G1 was just madness. You have a young mother carrying a baby, just to remind us how much it would suck to live in dnd world. And the giant holding up the fallen guard by his helmet somehow. A guard who went into battle without trousers for some reason.