The Fish Bone Tavern

The rowdy sailor tavern is owned and operated by Benwar Feldintersnuff. The tavern is build directly on the fish docks of Hohm. It is a bit swarthy, there may be some cobwebs in a couple of corners and some graffiti etched into a few tables and stool, but it is mostly clean, well loved and unforgettable. To say the interior decor is eclectic would be a gross misinterpretation of gaudy gnomish delights. The Feldintersnuff family are anything but drab, even if a few are sailors and fish mongers. The tavern exterior is often changing color and advertisements. The city of Hohm and local business ordinance has restricted Benwar only being allowed to change the exterior color of his tavern once per month. The counsel has also supplied the gnome with a list of accepted colors that can be applied. The ordinance also had to include a restriction to spots, stripes, and other patterns. The interior, however is open to Benwars whims.
The interior is a colorful and almost always changing. visitors should not expect the same decor with each visit. Even if those visits are only separated by breakfast and lunch. Many of the interior color designs are illusionary in nature. A few booths will adapt decor to the mood or spoken desire of the party sitting. The sailors and residents of the fish docks have come to embrace the festive brightspot on the pier known as "Fish Bone".
Benwar will frequently employ various mechanical toys, sculptures and inventions to entertain his guests. His most prized mechanical delight is a clockwork hula dancing elf maid that stands four feet tall in well lit corner. Behind her are painted various palm trees and a sunset view on a tropical beach. For a piece of copper, music plays and she swings her dancing hips for a short time. For a silver she does the same dance but encounters a 'wardrobe malfunction' of her coconut top. The sailors have come to consider it good fortune for their trip to put a silver to the elf maid and bless their own coconuts. This blessing is more told in the form of a joke or impolite comment to the maid. Captains have been known to hold their ships to port for extra hours simply to allow all hands to 'put the silver to the elf'. When departing, sailors will often call out, "It's time to put the silver to the elf!". Meaning that they are ready to depart and are hopeful for a safe prosperous journey.

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Luck of the Fey Gold Coin

Luck of the Fey

This magical coin effects venture slightly into the Meta-gaming realm.
The small coin is made of pure gold and usually has the likeness of a Half-Elven king on the face. No one who has ever held or used the coin can seem to recall if they recognize the king, or even too many details about the coin design. The reverse is almost always imprinted with an apple tree of some sort....
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RPG hoard

I am going to try to be consistent in adding to an online RPG Hoard of items that come across my table and Mini Mods. As the list grows, I hope to hear how some of the items, NPC's and maps get used.

Entry #1...
The Ugly Stickhttp://www.lmetcalf.com/rpghoard/ugly-stick/

The Dungeons and Dragons Art Life

How I became an RPG Artist

(The extremely short version)

It was January 2013 when I got the Facebook message. Or at least, that's when I think it was.
Luke Gygax, son of Gary Gygax creator of Dungeons and Dragons, sent me a message asking if I could contribute any images to his first adventure module he was trying to get done for GaryCon V (iirc).
There was something about a bear pooping in the woods. I was pretty fresh to digital art and had how-to videos rolling most of the time I was working from home.
The artwork in that module was just terrible. I had never shot anything directly to print before. Much of it was too dark, anatomically terrible, or just not what I would consider print-worthy today. It was enough to get the wheels rolling though. I was working on art 8 hours a day after coming home from my new office job, that also required 8 hours a day (Plus an hour and a half of driving).

I went all in and attended GaryCon. It was at great expense, maxing out a credit card, eating baloney and cheese in the hotel room that I was sharing, all to get there with a portfolio of images.

I was rewarded with Frank Mentzer, one of the early founders of D&D, thumbing the portfolio within the first few minutes. Since that moment Frank has been a vocal supporter of what I do.
It was at that Con I met many of my connections that have kept me going. Zach Glazar from Lesser Gnome had an idea, a basic module plot, and a commissioned piece from Jeff Dee. He was in dire need of an artist. He missed breakfast that morning and got stuck looking at what I had. Many other friends were made, games played, and art shared.

A month or so later Zach needed a small map, then in trickled the needs. I wasn't the best, but I decided from the beginning that what was needed was to be on time. Every time a deadline came, I made sure to beat it.
I started to get a bit better with each piece. I also began to take the idea of my teen age dream of illustrating fantasy RPGs seriously.

Lesser Gnome ended up entering the market after a super kickstarter with a full on old school box set. Many lessons were learned by everyone. I picked up some new tools and we showed up at GaryCon VI with our new products. Almost a year later I went to telecommuting my office job to keep up, then shortly after to no office job to keep up.

The client list has grown, I was a guest at North Texas RPG Con This year, shared a room with my childhood art Hero Jeff Easley, and have made MANY fast friends doing exactly what I love.

I have been extremely grateful all along this journey, but I have made many sacrifices and have worked at improving myself and my art like a tireless animal. My immediate family has been supportive, and every month brings a nervous moment of making sure the rent is paid.

My own Webstore is always growing with products and these seem like the days of unveiling the dreams. Just waiting for the veil to come all the way off to see what is under there!

Every year I am invited back to illustrate for Luke. We go to Lake Geneva and pay homage to Gary and meet with all our friends. Texas is also on my list every year. The friends and support I have found there cannot be beat.

This short article leaves out the working in the cold basement in Maine, our move to Florida, the many struggles and challenges we faced, and new clients I met. I have lost count of how many times my work has been published in less than 2 years. I am not sure there even is a recipe to follow or share about my journey. It seems like a long string of hard work and accidental friendships.

Now in my down time, when I find some, I produce and print my own Role Playing Game Adventures compatible with the old school AD&D model. Oil paintings don't linger around long before they sell and ship out the door. I am truly humbled by all the support, and I wake up eager every day to improve my work in some way.

Game - on.
Lloyd Metcalf
http://LMetcalf.com

Get some Respite while you can!

Got Respite?

Soon there will be no Respite at all!

Roadside Respite is selling out fast. The first 50 copies will be bagged, signed and numbered.
The collectible type of Mod you want. Many folks are scooping up two at a time. One to play, and one to collect!

Direct from the artist Frank Mentzer advises "Buy his work now while you can afford it, I have an eye for artists to watch."

Don't miss the chance to get your bony fingers on one of the first 50 copies off the press!

http://lmetcalf.com/shop/?post_type=product&p=153

Some of you may have seen 'The Bogey of Swindle' My Mini Mod adventure I created with Ian Graham. Well, those were pretty popular.

The trial run was worth a shot, and we have decided to launch 'Mini Mods' A series of 3 short adventures.
We already have 2 of the 3 written. I have used some of the Kickstarter funds from the greeting card project to help get them moving. I have brought on a professional writer to help us out.... and yes, there is a kickstarter to get them made.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/lmetcalf/rpg-mini-mods-role-playing-games-mini-modules
Help us fund Mini Mod adventures. Short one off adventure quests written for unprepared GMs, or side quests, red herrings, or just to add depth to your campaign world.
If you can't back or support I hope you will help spread the word. We are very excited to be part of the new generation of RPG game creators.

The Bogey of Swindle

Faster than expected, 'The Bogey of Swindle' Sold out. 3 things.
1) I Will re-order a print run 2) There is a Kick starter coming up in July / August to support more Mini-Mods 3) You can still grab a .pdf to play through for a couple of bucks.
http://lmetcalf.com/shop/?products_categories=adventures