Expedition to the Cloudbreak Islands

[Starglider]

After a decade or so break, I took up freeform RP again in March, partly as extra social contact during the lockdown. The campaign has been going quite well, and I've edited the logs together to make a story. To help with the immersion, I commissioned some illustrations as well:

Player characters meet for the first time



Breaking through the storm wall



Plant monster attack



Something's wrong with my magic



Lakeside picnic



Trapped in the sky



Flight to the sky river



Exploring Witchway Marsh



First contact with the gillfolk



Tasty tasty ponies



Monster transformation



Meeting the Skylanders (Spyro & Sunburn)



Blessing of the air temple



These are by various artists, based on my concept sketches, e.g. here are some for illustrations in-progress;

Hearts & Hooves day



Comforting the gilly girl



Lightning dragon attack



I also do the maps





And some character reference images





As you'd expect it was a bit rough to start with but things got smoother and more exciting over time. The RP is running a couple of months ahead of the story, so there's some good stuff coming up where the spirits of the air temple put one of the PCs through a series of (illusionary) tests of character, and the other PCs played each other's characters (we have a few each) to give everything that 'slightly off' vibe. Like the old Wraith RP, but less likely to induce player homicide.

[Ace Pace]

I find it interesting you used different illustrators for different scenes. Why?

[Starglider]

I find it interesting you used different illustrators for different scenes. Why?

Partly because different artists prefer to draw or are good at different things, and partly due to scheduling (whoever was free that month).