Just a few image dumps.
First, some new concepts for Revecca von Lechfeld, one of my favorite NPCs, and one that I think has a big role as an almost pseudo-PC. Or rather, I see her as a romantic interest for a PC, whether by PC I mean an actual player, or just a protagonist character.
Revecca is also kind of the iconic pseudomage a little bit later in her career, after no longer wanting to be subject to being the helpless damsel in distress. Here's some images of her sneaking around in the black market of magical items, and her also using some.
Here's an image from Ben Wooten that I've always liked. I believe it's from the 4e Shadowfell book.
For the heckuvit, I thought it'd be fun to see if I described the image what I would get from ChatGPT. Here's my first pass.
I actually really quite like it. But I decided to ask it to swap out the clock tower for something more Medieval (a wizard's tower) and add some ravens. For some reason, it completely redrew everything from a new angle. Not at all what I asked for. Fine result, but not what I wanted. When I called it out, I got the "you're right, I totally did something that you didn't even ask for. Ask for it this time next time instead. Also, you're out of image generations now." If ChatGPT were a person, it's behavior would be super toxic.
I also find it curious that this composition is, however, much more similar to the Wooten picture.
I also did another fork where I deliberately asked for a different angle, a different kind of ship, and a lighthouse instead of a clocktower. Probably as a nod to Freeport.
One with and without the ravens. Some of the ravens are still out of scale; the gigantic one on top of the lighthouse is bigger than a large eagle.
Before I looked at the Ben Wooten image again, I had forgotten the greenish tinge of the lanterns and the ravens both, so I have some earlier drafts that have neither. My first draft didn't even get the fog right; it was more dark clouds in the sky rather than fog over the scene.
Now, it wasn't really my intention to try and recreate the image; if I wanted to do that, I'd just have uploaded it and asked ChatGPT to make it photorealistic. What I wanted was additional exploration of the same theme. So even the ones where I don't have all of the details right, like the greenish lanterns or the ravens; who cares? I'm very happy with all of these results.
From my old read-through of Manual of the Planes when I got it new (before 3.5 even came out) the Plane of Shadow was always my favorite of the alternate planes, and I saw lots of potential in the concept. If anything, 4e's Shadowfell book made it even better, adding the city of Gloomwrought to it, instead of just making it an Upside-Down or tel'aran'rhiod reflection of the regular world, but kind of a weird destination in its own right. My own Realm of Shadows plays on this idea considerably, although I'll be honest; I haven't quite figured out what to do with it yet other than a place where some of the Heresiarchs hide from each other and plot. Jairan Neferirkare is explicitly there, and in the final act of Darkness in the Hil Country, the PCs could even go face her there, although I don't honestly recommend it. They'll be unlikely to be successful at defeating her. So I still need some additional reasons and rationale to explore the Realm of Shadows, and maybe even some more development of it. I'll create a REALMS OF SHADOWS tag in part to remind me to do that when I have some time and mental energy for it.
Which I do not have today or probably even this week. I just got back late last night from an unexpected and unplanned work trip to Mexico, which after I arrived I had to change the schedule of and stay through the weekend. Before I even got anywhere close to getting back home, my white collar sweat shop boss was already "pushing" me on other work unrelated to my trip, as if I hadn't been completely occupied with the reason I was there the entire time I was there, including both days of the weekend. What a toxic environment this has become the last few months. I pushed back and took a sick day; not only am I exhausted from all of the travel and not being able to turn off for the weekend, but I think I picked something up in Mexico. I'm ignoring my work phone today and not turning on my laptop. It's just insane.
But I did get another unexpected message from someone in my D&D group. Apparently there's demand once again for a one-shot for a portion of the other group that was full so I couldn't join it. As cool as that sounds, I'm not sure that I've got a one-shot in me with practically no notice. They want to play tonight. I'd like to do it, but I find the whole situation a little bit of a whiskey-tango-foxtrot, honestly, and I'm not 100% sure that it's feasible. On top of that tonight, my wife scheduled something for us tomorrow night while I was gone, and Friday night. All things that I should do and want to do... but sometimes when I'm just exhausted, mentally and emotionally if not always necessarily physically, it's hard to get excited about.
Other personal stresses and frustrations are mounting as well, on top of professional ones. This really, really has not been my year so far. Once again, if some independently wealthy patron or donor would like to fund both my current and future lifestyle, i.e., pay me like this is my job and retirement, to make world-building and RPG content, outdoor content in the West, and maybe occasionally asides in other hobbies, with just a hint of social and political commentary on the side, I'd blog three times a week, have at least one YouTube video every week, and keep going into perpetuity until old age and/or senility makes it impossible to continue. If you're sitting on a multimillion dollar trust fund that can fund me professionally as a patron, you know how to reach me! Well, actually maybe you don't, because I'm fairly private online. But this blog and my YouTube stuff is part of my google account, and I use my Gmail all the time. How hard can it be?
One more image. This was generated by someone else entirely, but it looks like the same girl that I used as my model, so hey, it's Revecca again! Dressed in pseudo-Arabian Night's like gear, kind of like Princess Jasmine if she were undercover as Aladdin's "Street Rat Version" partner. Old Night doesn't really have a Middle East analog per se, but this could pass muster perhaps in one of the Baix Pallars cities, which are really more Spanish pirates than Middle East, but y'know. Kinda sorta close enough. Plus, it's a pretty cool study of the character in a different kind of look. Only minor quibble is that her hair is too short. I like long hair on girls. It looks feminine.
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