There seems to be great support for the Garamond font, so I'm going with that for the time being. I have reached the first point (at the cleric class description) where I will be asking Jason Sholtis, who has generously offered some illustrations, for a picture of a cleric.
So.
In terms of making decisions about what the iconic cleric image will be for this game, what should the illustration look like? The character class pictures are foundational for the feel of a lot of the rest of the game.
Please give me your thoughts on either or both of these two questions:
(1) What should be depicted in terms of what the cleric looks like (clothes, age, and activity portrayed), and
(2) What are the best pictures of clerics out there?
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When I think of an OD&D cleric, I think of a Knight Hospitaller (circa A. D. 1300) armed with a mace instead of a sword.
ReplyDeleteYeah, a hardcore warrior-priest kind of thing.
ReplyDeleteI second James in the "hardcore warrior-priest" vein, but I would love see more clerics that are not obviously Christian, i.e., they don't have crosses on their shields or breast plates, and their holy symbol isn't a crucifix. In fantasy worlds where there's no historical Christ and no Islam, the literal Crusader imagery drives me nuts (my 2 cents).
ReplyDeleteSpeaking from an old school D&D viewpoint, the most iconic cleric weapon is a mace, and the most iconic outfit is chain or plate mail, with a tunic (or whatever the name is) on top with a cross on it.
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to the most iconic, old school D&D cleric art, I think of DCS' clerics in AD&D.
Whether or not that is what you should do, is another question, but that is, in my mind, the iconic picture of the D&D cleric class.
https://sites.google.com/site/parsimoniousfantasyroleplay/_/rsrc/1263547342058/classes/cleric/cleric.png?height=303&width=320
ReplyDeleteI always picture William the Conqueror's half brother Odo bishop of Bayeux as pictured at the battle of Hastings on the Bayeux tapestry- Wearing Chain Mail and a helmet and riding into battle wielding a mace instead of a sword like all the other guys.
ReplyDeleteOdo is awesome and perfect if you want to stick to European imagery. If, however, you want to do a proper cleric but also want to move beyond the crusader image, may I suggest a sohei. They may not have been what Arneson and Gygax had in mind when they worked out the class, but they fit it pretty well - armor, weaponry, feisty. Naturally, you'd want to avoid their traditional weapon - the bladed naginata - but a mace or tetsubo would work just as well.
ReplyDeleteGaramond is a good font for the text. What about a sans-serif font for headings? Futura, Univers? Avant Garde is nice too.
ReplyDeleteAvoid microsoft crap like Georgia, Verdana, Trebuchet, and Arial. Use real fonts.
Mambo asogwe + siberian shaman + military saint
ReplyDeleteGaramond is a classy choice. I'm partial to Futura - but it has a very different look.
ReplyDeleteGeorgia and Verdana aren't bad fonts - but they were designed for the screen, not for print. They're really for web pages, not books. Arial is a clone of Helvetica and not as good, although it's also passable on the web.
I think the Cleric's face should look like Peter Cushing. ;)
I always picture William the Conqueror's half brother Odo bishop of Bayeux as pictured at the battle of Hastings on the Bayeux tapestry- Wearing Chain Mail and a helmet and riding into battle wielding a mace instead of a sword like all the other guys.
ReplyDeleteWell, you know, except for William who is riding right next to him... Long time misconception, those are generally no longer thought to be maces, but batons of command, indicating leading figures on the tapestry [i.e. William and his brother Odo, who commissioned it].
That said, yes, clerics and maces, although having nothing whatsoever to do with history, are iconically old school Dungeons & Dragons.
How about that asshole French archaeologist from the first Indiana Jones movie? At the end of the film, where he has the arc of the covenant, he is wearing a big turban and some robes and a breastplate with jewels on it (someone told me the name of that symbolic object but I fortgot it)... Then he opens the ark and his flesh melts like some old jello under a hair dryer... but his outfit is pretty snazzy. Add a mace, a few bits of practical armor, coils of rope, etc., and he is good to go!
ReplyDeleteI've also always been partial to the Friar Tuck type wearing brown robes but also equipped with a well-used quarterstaff and mace, torches, lanterns, backpacks and other dungeoneering gear, chainmail shirt worn over his robes, etc. Fatness is optional.
Finally, I think there may be a lot to say for 'just plain weird.' Strange symbols o clothing and armor, charms and phylacteries hung here and there, helmet that doubles as weird headress, etc.
Good luck in whatever you choose!
I support the Garamond font too, it's perfect. As for what the cleric should look like, it should be the classic iconic D&D cleric in a grey cloak and robes, beaded belt, a bald head or the top shaven clean, and a holy symbol (a cross) out actively turning undead. I always envisioned clerics to look like dark age Christian monks.
ReplyDeleteI dig the chick from the "choose your own adventure" portion of the red box. There's a great picture of her praying early on. It's not overtly Western (though _she_ is).
ReplyDeleteIn the spirit of the Basic rules, make it a woman! nix the Christian imagery (like they did in the red box), and make the body convey strength, the posture convey discipline, and the face convey kindness.
If you're going with Garamond, I recommend specifically getting Adobe's Garamond Premier Pro. It's pretty cheap and a very nice take on the typeface.
ReplyDeleteHaving played a while, in my younger days, with 2e, my personal vision of the archetypal cleric is heavily influenced by this:
ReplyDeletehttp://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PrwZtpQHVd8/TSt3ZFyuDmI/AAAAAAAAAI4/iQGafJQUf4M/s1600/Turn+Undead.jpg
This is my favorite old-schoolish cleric image. And it represents a guy I'd actually be interested in playing.
ReplyDeleteAWESOME CLERIC
It has a nice "I KICK ASS FOR THE LORD!" feel to it.