Jon Hodgson interviewed on RPG.net

[Corvo]

Among all that ruckus about D&D, probably someone missed the interview of our Jon on RPG.net.
https://www.rpg.net/columns/interviews/ ... ws60.phtml

An interesting glimpse into the creative process of an artist, and into the making of TOR.
Personally, I have to give my thanks to Jon: you choose to not thread the path of the "(cinematic) cool", to hew close to the historical sources. A daring path, indeed. I spent good part of my life studying the Middle Ages, and it vex me a lot to see the -let's say- banality of that supposed "cool" imagery.
You already know it, Jon, but I have to say it: you made something beautiful.

[zedturtle]

Great stuff... I had come across it via G+ and hadn't even realised that it was rpg.net (shows me for never reading the columns anymore).

Jon does do fantastic work, and there's some interesting hints in the interview.

[Otaku-sempai]

Thanks for the link!

[Mim]

Thank you for sharing this Corvo.

I really enjoyed reading about Jon's creative process with ToR, as well as the other games. He's an extraordinarily talented artist, and I especially appreciate his attention to detail and authenticity.

For example, I'm a professional historian (yep, they actually pay me for it, go figure ) and he really captures the feel of the Saxons, etc. Speaking of which, I laughed when he said:

"And know more about the Staffordshire Hoard than is probably healthy..."

Only geeks, er, fans like us would even get the reference

[shipwreck]

you choose to not thread the path of the "(cinematic) cool", to hew close to the historical sources.

What's ironic to me, as someone who is indelibly drawn by both the cool and the historical, is that the aesthetic produced my the more historical take is infinitely cooler to me. Looking at TOR and Keltia and the like, it's not just that it has a more historical vibe, it's that it is objectively cooler. I think they pulled this off on the Vikings tv show as well.

There is so much room for historical design with contemporary flares. It's something I want to see more of.

[Corvo]

(...)
For example, I'm a professional historian (yep, they actually pay me for it, go figure ) and he really captures the feel of the Saxons, etc. (...)

For me it was just some short, beautiful years (it was just a Ph.D), but I remember that sensation "they are paying me for studying history? Don't they realize that I would do it free??"

[Mim]

How cool is that? It's a great field and I can see why you love it.

Heck, I even enjoy reading Tolkien's appendices on the "history" of Middle-earth. Scary

[Rich H]

Loved the little nugget of information about Beornings and the link between bees and warriors, due to the antiseptic properties of honey.

[Mim]

Agreed Rich! I even took another look

That's the sort of thing that sets ToR above the other attempts at gaming in Middle-earth.

Speaking of which, I've decided that if I ever run anyone through a certain adventure about a certain manor house, I'm going to follow the advice on page 109 and see if they want to set up the ruins and the surrounding land as a rating 9 holding...

[DavetheLost]

"Perhaps sir, if it's not too late, I could interest you in an old fashioned Staffordshire plate?"

Nice interview.