Comments on: Art of the Genre: Orcus

By: Scott Taylor

Scott Taylor — Mon, 02 May 2011 14:34:32 +0000

Justin: I’d wondered about that, as Parkinson does a much better Orcus on H2 coming out of the summoning pool [still ripped however, but more to the point]. As I don’t own H4 [have you seen the price of Bloodstones on Ebay?] I couldn’t confirm, but thanks for letting me know!

By: Justin Alexander

Justin Alexander — Mon, 02 May 2011 08:15:55 +0000

The title of the cover for H4 Throne of Bloodstone is, apparently, "Orcus' Doorman" (link. So, nope, that's not Orcus. What I believe is the same guy can be seen on pg. 60 of the module (with a slightly different interpretation of how the scene should be depicted). Oddly, the encounter described on pg. 63 involving the skulls and the doorman actually involves a cloned duplicate of one of the PCs challenging them to a one-on-one duel.

By: Scott Taylor

Scott Taylor — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 21:03:57 +0000

Brian: Thanks for the ‘win’. Does that mean, like Charlie Sheen, I’m officially ‘winning’

By: Roleplaying News from Around the Net: 29-APR-2011 | Game Knight Reviews

Roleplaying News from Around the Net: 29-APR-2011 | Game Knight Reviews — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 14:53:52 +0000

[...] Orcus. He was one of the bad boys of the demon realms of D&D way back when I started playing in the early 1980s. The Wand of Orcus always held a particular strange fascination for some reason… Scott Taylor over at Black Gate (an amazing indie magazine for fantasy stories btw!) has written a great article that pulls together Orcus artwork at Art of the Genre: Orcus. [...]

By: Brian Murphy

Brian Murphy — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 03:26:39 +0000

Post about Orcus=made of win.

And yeah, give me grossly fat, old school demon lord any day.

By: Scott Taylor

Scott Taylor — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 22:14:33 +0000

Theodric: Yeah, you got to love the ‘big guy’. +8 Girdle of Greater Gut Withholding!!!!! ROFL, don’t we all need one of those?

By: Scott Taylor

Scott Taylor — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 22:12:24 +0000

Zachary [not Jachary like last week, where is my head sometimes ]: I saw that Mark Allen piece over on Dragonsfoot ‘guarding’ a collection of old D&D swag. Too funny, but yes, it’s an outstanding Orcus piece.

Tiamat is an interesting topic. I’m currently knee deep Jeff Easley’s biography, and he’s had a hand in Tiamat for sure. I’ll look into it, but John O’Neill and others have asked me about doing other Demon Lords, so we might see them first

Oh, and as for Critical Hit, the first three comics just went to the creative director, so I think we’re getting very close.

By: Theodric the Obscure

Theodric the Obscure — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 21:43:31 +0000

Zachary: Good call on the Mark Allen poster. I recommend it, too.

By: Theodric the Obscure

Theodric the Obscure — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 21:42:04 +0000

Great subject, Scott! I love the Lockwood Orcus best of all, too. When I look at the WAR Orcus, and the miniature (megature?) that evidently is based on it (and which I had to have), I am convinced that the girdle that Orcus now wears is a Girdle of Greater Gut Withholding, +8.

By: Zachary

Zachary — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 18:04:34 +0000

Scott,

Who knew Orcus had changed so much? Well, ok, you did and what an interesting and informative read your essay was this week.

Your essay reminded me of a poster that was created by Mark Allen late last year. Here’s a link to a website, (Grognardia), that mentioned it: http://grognardia.blogspot.com/2010/09/cool-labyrinth-lord-poster.html

I really like how Mr. Allen captures the original look and feel of Orcus and how totally overwhelmed the party appears. It doesn’t look good for them to say the least.

Have other iconic creatures changed as much as Orucs? For example, how has Tiamat fared after all these years?