One of my most enjoyable collaborations with Goodman Games was How to Write Adventure Modules That Don’t Suck. While the book is best known for its outstanding collection of essays by some of the tabletop gaming industry’s most accomplished adventure designers, my role was to provide its visual personality. I created the cover illustration along with more than two dozen original cartoons, each accompanying a different chapter and bringing its ideas to life with humor and a healthy dose of dungeon-delving absurdity.
Every cartoon was created specifically for its chapter, illustrating topics ranging from memorable villains and monster design to wilderness adventures, player motivation, atmosphere, storytelling, risk versus reward, and, of course, the many ingenious ways adventurers can meet an untimely end. Rather than simply decorating the pages, the cartoons reinforce the authors’ advice through visual gags and playful storytelling, making the book as entertaining as it is informative.
Cartooning has always been one of my greatest passions, and this project gave me the rare opportunity to combine my love of comics with my lifelong enthusiasm for tabletop roleplaying games. The challenge was to create illustrations that would appeal equally to seasoned game designers and newcomers, while maintaining a consistent visual style throughout the book.
Although people come to the book for the excellent writing, I’m especially proud of these cartoons. The collection represents some of my favorite humorous RPG illustrations, and I think they capture the creativity, excitement, and occasional chaos of roleplaying games perfectly.
Since its original publication, How to Write Adventure Modules That Don’t Suck has remained one of Goodman Games’ enduring evergreen titles, continuing to inspire new generations of writers and Game Masters. I’m delighted that my cartoons have accompanied readers on that journey for so many years.
