So, with nostalgia for simpler times, especially as I near completion of the d30 Sandbox Companion, I was looking back at my copy of The Armory's 30 Sided Dice Gaming Tables. While the link link is for the first edition; I have the "revised" edition which was published during the same year as the first edition. Scattered throughout the book are drawings of various miniatures available from The Armory, an obvious cross-promotion measure to push the various miniature lines they carried. After all, the d30 was a novelty (and still is, I suppose, though I'm doing my best to change that), and the content of the Armory book is only moderately passable by 1982 standards. From today's POV, the book's content is so "thin" as to be laughable, and could quite possibly be the sole reason the d30 never took off.
In my copy of the book, the image above-left appears with no title, and it left me with the question... "WTF?" By comparison, the images in the first edition are each listed with the manufacturer (e.g., Citatdel, Castle Creations, etc.), miniature name (e.g., "Serving Wench" or "Seductive Wench Seated") and, sometimes, the actual item numbers; this would make ordering the specific miniature all that much easier. I suspect the lack of rights to name usage required they remove all references to specific trademarks, including cover references to Dungeons & Dragons, Runequest, Chivalry & Sorcery, and Tunnels & Trolls. Especially since the first edition covers specifically states, "Use of the Trademarks NOT sanctioned by the holder."
So... trademark infringement aside, I referenced the PDF of the first edition of the book to find a description of this beast of unknown type. In that edition, the image above-left is labeled "Castle Creations Boar," which leaves me with one more question... "WTF?"
Let's break it down... the image appears on a page entitled "Commons Skins and Furs." While "Boar" does appear on the list, right between "Jackel" (sic) and "Rabbit," what the f--- is "common" about this boar? Especially considering the mouth is more dragon-esque than boar-like. I'm more inclined to call it a "Wooly Dragonboar." In fact, I think I will. And I'll stat this baby up for this coming Tuesday's Monster of the Week post!
In my copy of the book, the image above-left appears with no title, and it left me with the question... "WTF?" By comparison, the images in the first edition are each listed with the manufacturer (e.g., Citatdel, Castle Creations, etc.), miniature name (e.g., "Serving Wench" or "Seductive Wench Seated") and, sometimes, the actual item numbers; this would make ordering the specific miniature all that much easier. I suspect the lack of rights to name usage required they remove all references to specific trademarks, including cover references to Dungeons & Dragons, Runequest, Chivalry & Sorcery, and Tunnels & Trolls. Especially since the first edition covers specifically states, "Use of the Trademarks NOT sanctioned by the holder."
So... trademark infringement aside, I referenced the PDF of the first edition of the book to find a description of this beast of unknown type. In that edition, the image above-left is labeled "Castle Creations Boar," which leaves me with one more question... "WTF?"
Let's break it down... the image appears on a page entitled "Commons Skins and Furs." While "Boar" does appear on the list, right between "Jackel" (sic) and "Rabbit," what the f--- is "common" about this boar? Especially considering the mouth is more dragon-esque than boar-like. I'm more inclined to call it a "Wooly Dragonboar." In fact, I think I will. And I'll stat this baby up for this coming Tuesday's Monster of the Week post!
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