Twilight Odyssey and the back cover of The Shameless

[Jim LotFP]

'allo!

Issue goes to press in just 45 minutes here. I've been bugging the band to do something for the back cover. They had submitted a photo but it looked like they were being forced to have a photo for the sake of Aunt Bethelda or something and it didn't seem interesting and I wasn't going to use it. But I've been bugging them forever... "The issue is almost done, get me a photo! The issue is at the proofreader, get me a photo!"

As of 5:09am today, while I was sleeping, photos were sent, a couple dozen.

This isn't the photo I will use, but it is from the same shoot:

Fun times!

 

[Farseer of the Benighted Land]

It takes a while for ideas like this to awaken the synapses, and we work better under pressure, and ... well ...

Okay, so the only real reason I have for the delay is general lack of interest. Once we got the idea, though, it was downhill from there.

For those 'in the know', there are many hidden delights in the LotFP photo.

I'm honoured to be a part of it all! I'll reserve posting up the close ups of the props until the issue is out, and/or Mr Raggi says I can post em.

 

[Jim LotFP]

I'm honoured to be a part of it all! I'll reserve posting up the close ups of the props until the issue is out, and/or Mr Raggi says I can post em.

Wait two weeks then post them. Be sure to also post the picture you took the *ahem* mini from so people know that things are different now.

 

[DBB]

Wait two weeks then post them.

Been about two weeks.

 

[Farseer of the Benighted Land]

^ Hehe, yes.

Sorry, I've had a hell of a week. My whole family was taken out by a nasty stomach flu. I somehow escaped unscathed, but I've been nursemaid/stable boy the past 3 days ...

I hope to get the pics up tonight!

 

[DBB]

No rush. I was afraid it might get lost in the shuffle, but it sounds like you are in the midst of a pandemic of huge proportions.

 

[Farseer of the Benighted Land]

Okay, gather in close and I will tell you tales long-forgotten ...


The Idea
The initial idea for the subject of the photo shoot came about during a late-night brainstorming session. By the time we had an idea crystalized, we decided it would be better to split up and regroup the next night and do it right. Techically, this was one day after the deadline for the photo, but we knew Jim would be understanding once he saw the pics ...

I think the discussion turned to things about Jim that we could exploit for the photo shoot. Of course, table top rpgs came up, and that's when Peej came up with the basic idea of us playing a fantasy table top rpg. I suggested the LotFP game, and then we were off, bouncing ideas like mad: a LotFP DM screen ... polyhedral dice ... a dungeon made special for the photo shoot ...

Okay, we had the idea, but some degree of craftwork would be necessary to pull it off. We made arrangements to meet up the following night at 9pm with our various projects.

Hobby Time!
When I got home that evening, I pulled out the graph paper and made a mock dungeon map and grabbed my dice bag. PJ was in charge of making the DM screen, borrowing various images from LotFP: the RPG site, as well as some useful D&D imagery.

Table Set Up
The dagger, skull, and spell book were my ideas. We donned our LotFP T shirts, lay everything out in a way that would be pleasing to the eye, found two viking minis and were just about ready, except for one thing: no monster.

PJ's Idea Turns To Gold
It was PJ's idea to use a picture of Jim and make a 2D mini out of him. After looking on his myspace profile, we chose the picture of the dreaded 'Fat Jim' from his picture profile. What better monster in a LotFP rpg than the Ghost of Jim Past?!

The Actual Shoot
It took approximately 4 hrs to do the whole thing. We wanted the photos to have a certain 'caught in the act' look, like we were busted doing some horrible, secret thing. About 80 actual pictures were shot.

It was a lot of laughs. We hope that some observant people out there were able to pick out some of the details in the photo!

 

[wildfyr]

^ Cool! Thanks for sharing more pics.