RIP - David A. Trampier

It seems the rumors of DAT's demise turned to be true after all, unfortunately. From the article by TOR;

David A. Trampier, the Illustrator Who Defined the Look of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, Has Passed Away, 1954-2014

Tor.com

The Southern Illinoisian, the regional paper for Carbondale, Illinois, has listed an obituary for David A. Trampier, the artist responsible for defining the look of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, from the first edition and onwards.
Trampier was doggedly reserved throughout his life, to such an extent that most D&D fans know his work more than they know his name. He disappeared in 1988, leaving his ongoing comic D&D Wormy abruptly unfinished, and retired from illustration to drive a Yellow Taxi in Carbdondale, Illinois. (The above photo from 2003 is one of the only pictures ever snapped of Trampier.)
According to the Castle Perilous Games & Books store blog, Trampier suffered a stroke late last year but was considering convention appearances and some illustration work in the future. You can read further details in their recollection and see more about his work here.
Thank you, David Trampier for bringing character and life to a gaming series that means so much to so many.
Take a look at Trampier's iconic illustrations below:

And yes, "Lokerimon the Lawful" is not a Tramp illustration, but rather a piece by Jason Edwards in homage to Dave's famous "Emirikol the Chaotic" illustration in the original Dungeon Masters Guide

 It got stuck in there with the original article set of illustrations for some reason.

Which Firefly Character Are You?

As a follow up to the Firefly Alignment poster trying taking this quiz. As it turns this was my result;

 

The Raven

The Raven (1963)

I was just watching this old classic when it occurred to me how many magic user attributes and spells this movie actually portrayed. Two main characters are part of a sorcerous brotherhood and the lead, Vincent Price, is the son of it's former Grandmaster.

For those of you who haven't actually seen this gem before here is the film's synopsis from IMDB ;

In this tongue-in-cheek movie inspired by Poe's poem, Dr. Craven is the son of a great sorcerer (now dead) who was once himself quite skilled at that profession, but has since abandoned it. One evening, a cowardly fool of a magician named Bedlo comes to Craven for help- the evil Scarabus has turned him into a raven and he needs someone to change him back. He also tells the reluctant wizard that Craven's long-lost wife Lenore, whom he loved greatly and thought dead, is living with the despised Scarabus.

A pretty good plot hook for any adventure, eh? Anyway, as I started off originally there are a slew of spells cast about in this including;

1. Polymorph Other
2. Fly
3. Fireball
4. Magic Missile (various flavors)
5. Control Weather
6. Call Lightning
7. Passwall
8. Contingency
9. some form of Bigby's Hand Spell
10. Teleport
11. some form of Color/Prismatic Spray
12. Telekinesis
13. as well as some potion making

It just surprised me at how many of these were in there is all. Well if you haven't seen this old classic I would highly recommend it.