When I got home I had the surprise of finding the Game of Thrones Rulebook I worked on waiting for me by the door.
Together with a hungry dog and two ravenous cats of course, but they were no surprise.

To be precise, I got THREE copies (thanks Green Ronin!), which lined up on my shelf, next to the two Campaign Settings, making me look more like a seasoned illustrator rather than an occasional freelancer.
This expansion set is all focused on the Night’s Watch, and the Free Folk who live beyond the Wall. Which is especially cool for me since the parts about the Wall are my favourite in the Game of Thrones series.

There isn’t a single line in the chapters dedicated to the Night Watch that I found less than amazing. I loved the mood, the lingering menace of the Others, the constant struggle against the cold, the hunger and the elements. I loved the fact that there is still ancient magic out there, imbued in the ice of the wall, and just hinted at instead of being waved in your face as it usually happens in other fantasy books.
I loved the entire story developed around Jon Snow, who remained possibly the best character of the entire Game of Thrones series.
And I also loved the Wildlings, which in this Rulebook are developed a lot more than they are in the actual books.

This time there weren’t many “wow factor” illustrations on my schedule, like dragons killing people or the like.
Apart from maybe this one, which this time came up a lot better on print than on screen.

On the other hand, I enjoyed working on a whole lot of characters, which I’ll be posting in the next few days.
The most interesting were without doubt the Wildlings, which seem to have a whole array of different personalities, superstitions and beliefs.
Reading this handbook would be worth it even just to expand what is just suggested in Game of Thrones.

If I can be just a little bit picky, the prints were a bit too dark compared to the original. Next time I’ll remember to avoid dark shadows (I know, tricky when you’re drawing a bunch of people clad in black).
In any case, digital images don’t smell that awesome.

by Paolo Puggioni