HYPERBOREA / Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea 2nd Edition

**Posted by Ghul** 9/30/2016 9:16 am

Jason Sholtis is a newcomer to the AS&SH fold, perhaps best known for his work on "The Dungeon Dozen". His art has a weird Clark Ashton Smith vibe that immediately caught my eye -- grand and alien in scope. Jason and I first spoke at North Texas RPG Con 2015 about working together and then resumed talks at Gary Con VIII earlier this year. Since then, Jason has begun work on AS&SH 2nd Edition, illustrating some frightening critters! Behold!

**Posted by Chainsaw** 9/30/2016 11:47 am

Very nice! I love Jason's work and enjoyed meeting him at NTRPG Con. Super nice guy! Excited to see what else awaits.

**Posted by mavfire** 9/30/2016 8:15 pm

Love it!

**Posted by Handy Haversack** 9/30/2016 11:44 pm

Seriously? Jason is the absolute best! One of the real credits to gaming out there in this crappy world. I'm super psyched that he's joining the fold.

Be warned, though: you play in his game, and if you don't eat the mutant ape, the mutant ape *will* eat you.

Seriously, he's one of the very best gaming brains I've encountered.

I like my encounters in brain form.

**Posted by Ghul** 10/06/2016 1:47 pm

Logan Talanian is another newcomer to the AS&SH fold. At age 14, he is by far our youngest contributor. He's been taking art lessons for seven years, honing his craft with pencils, inks watercolors, and more. This will be his first published work. Logan Talanian, my son!

**Posted by Chainsaw** 10/06/2016 1:49 pm

Beautiful work at any age!

**Posted by Blackadder23** 10/06/2016 3:54 pm

Looks great!

**Posted by grodog** 10/06/2016 4:18 pm

That's great Jeff! Who does Logan inherit his artistic ability from---you, Erica, or Nyarlathotep? ;) :D

Allan.

**Posted by Ghul** 10/06/2016 5:33 pm

grodog wrote:
That's great Jeff! Who does Logan inherit his artistic ability from---you, Erica, or Nyarlathotep? ;) :D

Allan.

I drew a lot as a young man, and at one time I dreamed of becoming an artist, but I lost interest, fell out of practice, and never reached the level of ability that Logan is now displaying. As a teenager and then into my twenties, I poured all my creative energy into music, but then lost interest in that, too, eventually deriving the greatest pleasure from writing, and I haven't looked back since.

**Posted by rhialto** 10/06/2016 7:19 pm

Ghul wrote:
grodog wrote:
That's great Jeff! Who does Logan inherit his artistic ability from---you, Erica, or Nyarlathotep? ;) :D

Allan.
I drew a lot as a young man, and at one time I dreamed of becoming an artist, but I lost interest, fell out of practice, and never reached the level of ability that Logan is now displaying. As a teenager and then into my twenties, I poured all my creative energy into music, but then lost interest in that, too, eventually deriving the greatest pleasure from writing, and I haven't looked back since.

It's evident. One of the defining features of AS&SH: a lucid, literary, lapidary perciplex.

**Posted by mabon5127** 10/06/2016 7:32 pm

Ghul wrote:
grodog wrote:
That's great Jeff! Who does Logan inherit his artistic ability from---you, Erica, or Nyarlathotep? ;) :D

Allan.
I drew a lot as a young man, and at one time I dreamed of becoming an artist, but I lost interest, fell out of practice, and never reached the level of ability that Logan is now displaying. As a teenager and then into my twenties, I poured all my creative energy into music, but then lost interest in that, too, eventually deriving the greatest pleasure from writing, and I haven't looked back since.

I'm glad you stopped losing interest when you did!

**Posted by Ghul** 10/06/2016 8:16 pm

rhialto wrote:
Ghul wrote:
grodog wrote:
That's great Jeff! Who does Logan inherit his artistic ability from---you, Erica, or Nyarlathotep? ;) :D

Allan.
I drew a lot as a young man, and at one time I dreamed of becoming an artist, but I lost interest, fell out of practice, and never reached the level of ability that Logan is now displaying. As a teenager and then into my twenties, I poured all my creative energy into music, but then lost interest in that, too, eventually deriving the greatest pleasure from writing, and I haven't looked back since.

It's evident. One of the defining features of AS&SH: a lucid, literary, lapidary perciplex.

Except that I seem to have misplaced my perciplex. Have you seen it? It's blue . . .

**Posted by Ghul** 10/07/2016 6:15 am

Charles Lang is the horror and weird fantasy painter who is responsible for the original cover of Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea. Charles has also painted the covers for "Ghost Ship of the Desert Dunes" and "The Mystery at Port Greely".

I first met Charles in the early 90s, and I've admired his work for decades! He was the first person I went to as development began on the 2nd Edition hardback of AS&SH, for which we needed a brand new cover. Charles Lang is contributing the front cover, back cover, and some interior pieces for AS&SH 2nd Edition.

Here is a paint study of the BACK COVER of the book. It features the same barbarian hero as seen on the original boxed set, and the front cover does, too. The front cover actually was in several weeks ago, but I'm waiting for the right moment to share it...

We are 14 days away from launching this Kickstarter! (October 21)

**Posted by rhialto** 10/07/2016 7:34 am

Ghul wrote:
Except that I seem to have misplaced my perciplex. Have you seen it? It's blue . . .

Sadly, no: whole picaresque tomes have been written about the quests for it.

**Posted by Handy Haversack** 10/07/2016 10:56 am

Ghul wrote:
Charles Lang . . .

That looks freaking fantastic.

**Posted by Ghul** 10/09/2016 5:09 pm

Yesterday, I ran a fun session of my forthcoming adventure module, The Sea-Wolf's Daughter, at Sticks and Stones. The players really liked the 32 X 40-inch canvas map of HYPERBOREA that I brought, seen here in this picture. Soon to be made available as an add-on when the Kickstarter launches for the Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea 2nd Edition hardback on October 21!

**Posted by gizmomathboy** 10/09/2016 6:33 pm

I weep to think how much that canvas map would cost and how much I want it. :-)

**Posted by ThornPlutonius** 10/09/2016 6:58 pm

Beauty!

**Posted by k2h2m3** 10/10/2016 10:33 am

Will the map be a kickstarter exclusive or will it be available after the campaign?

**Posted by Blackadder23** 10/10/2016 11:20 am

Gorgeous!