Goodman Games

The Death of Ratface Slipshot and some history of "The Band"

look here:

http://dougkovacs.com/dkblog/

i bet that shanna is the creature from the chained coffin cover!

and... no dwarf band member?

The dwarf from the 'Characters' chapter start is killed (while adventuring with Shana) in an illustration from The Jeweler that Dealt in Stardust. But, you are correct a dwarf as never appeared in the band lineup ad with Hugh and Farrah.

I will work on getting a dwarf in there. I immediately start thinking about an all dwarf band!

Doug, your work is fantastic. I always look forward to the Band vignettes in new modules. Keep it up!

Thanks again Daniel. I'm glad someone is paying attention.

One thing I think I haven't mentioned explicitly about the band is this:
Everyone who appeared in "the band" thus far has first appeared in an illustration in the core rulebook or on the cover of an adventure. This also applies to anyone who has appeared in one of the interior spreads who sometimes don't appear in the back of the book. So, you can play another sort of where's waldo game if you'd like with your DCC books.

"The Jeweler that Dealt in Stardust"?

That's a new one to me. Thanks for the pics Doug!

The whole "Is RatFace dead?" mystery reminds me of the "Paul is dead" Beatles myth. Maybe you can start dropping hints into your art!

"The Jeweler that dealt in Stardust" was In the free rpg day offer in 2012 along with the intro to the mystery map contest.
And, it was in the Gen Con Program book in 2013. I think it was also offered as a free download at some point too, I'll see if I can track that down not sure if the link is still open…. (looked) sorry what I was thinking of is closed.

Paul is dead. Well, there is already a sort of reference to "Paul is Dead" with something else and I won't say anymore . It has showed up several time in a hidden format. Listen to the spell burn podcast and I mention it.

The Ratface thing isn't much of a mystery because there is an illustration showing him with an axe sticking out of his chest. Maybe in DCC you can fake your own death like that, but Rat Face Slipshot can't. He is Dead.

Hint: RatFace was the drummer/ or in the drummers position in the four band members ads.

Also, I kind of assumed everyone would know this, but The death of RatFace Slipshot illustration appeared in Sailors on the Starless Sea(DCC #67) , so it has been out there a while now.

is chuck thief?

catseye yellow wrote:is chuck thief?

I think so….. though he could be fighter too.
the Blades against death cover image was supposed to be a DCC version of Fafhard and the Grey Mouser

i hope he is. i am playing thief and need strong role model to identify with :p

He is strong enough to have come back from the dead and then have the sense to consider retirement.
The only member of the band to do either so far.

testify!

Some questions on the band, because I'm quite a newby:

1) Are they simply pictoral creations, or are som/all of them characters from your games & playtests?

2) If they are real characters were there deaths representitive of actual deaths in playtesting etc.

Because the Ratface-slipshot character sheet makes me think they are real characters, but given the advantures have random levels etc. I'm guesing they can have been played through all the advantures

Anyway just intrested.

Serpratly: I've been in Uganda for 6 months and got back yesterday (to England), and Last night I opened my DCC RPG book for the first time - Wow! It is awesome, It is so much better than I expected. I'm really really impressed. I love loads of the art, but wanted to say the colour inner cover is epic! Wow!

Now I know why people by the various alternate covers, with art booklets etc... Are the Adventures A4 size? I'm usinf PDF's. It's hard to get them in England, specifically the DCC #67, so I want with PDFs, but I'm wondering If I should slowly get my favorite ones in print.

Anyway congrats on being a great artist! Awesome work.

God bless,
james

PS Just to say it agian; on the core rulebook - Wow!

James Harrison wrote:Some questions on the band, because I'm quite a newby:

1) Are they simply pictoral creations, or are som/all of them characters from your games & playtests?

2) If they are real characters were there deaths representitive of actual deaths in playtesting etc.

Because the Ratface-slipshot character sheet makes me think they are real characters, but given the advantures have random levels etc. I'm guesing they can have been played through all the advantures

Thanks James,

1.) Rat Face was the only character from an actual play test so far. I think it was actually a play test of the emerald sorcerer he was in. Shana has showed up as an NPC in some of my con games.

That might be remedied in this Con season though. I've plans to allow people to play band members in some of the games I'm running. I plan to make Hugh Heftblade a jock bighands douchebag in terms of personality.

2.)No. like you said the adventures jump in level…and the process we use putting out the modules would make it difficult….... but that can always be fixed in a retro fashion. In games anything can happen. I'm constantly trying to break the constraints of RPG's people seem to insist on putting on themselves. It might be fun to figure out how to somehow make the deaths work into adventures.

I'll be damned. I thought all those dramatic illustrations with members of the band were straight from the playtests, like the halfling falling off the bridge in the frost giant module.

Oh man, I have to admit that the look of the various members of the band was definitely a central reason for my initial enthusiasm, but then I played DCC and my enthusiasm only increased! Still can't get enough of the Kovacs!

Thanks Tim. The band carries on into 2014.

I've got some ideas for new iterations of the band going forward , but what is kind of fun about it (not unlike a game of DCC) is there are many things (like content of modules, or page count in books) that push the band around in unpredictable directions.