Following the success of Death Test, Metagaming published Death Test 2. Included in Death Test 2 are swashbuckling octopii, like the ones pictured here.
In addition to their handweapons -- either 3 swords or a sword and battleaxe -- the Octopii encountered in Death Test 2 also sport crossbows, which they can manipulate and fire with their tentacles.
I'm pretty sure that skeletons make their first appearance in The Fantasy Trip line of game products in Death Test 2. Prior to Death Test 2, the monsters and beasts encountered in The Fantasy Trip were giants, dragons, wolves, bears, goblins and such.
The illustrator for Death Test 2 is Roger Beasley, although the cover art for Death Test 2 is by Pat Hidy. The interior art for Death Test 2 is by Beasley, but it's hard to know whether he also produced the micro-art appearing on the game counters.
Following the success of Death Test, Metagaming published Death Test 2. Included in Death Test 2 are swashbuckling octopii, like the ones pictured here.
In addition to their handweapons -- either 3 swords or a sword and battleaxe -- the Octopii encountered in Death Test 2 also sport crossbows, which they can manipulate and fire with their tentacles.
I'm pretty sure that skeletons make their first appearance in The Fantasy Trip line of game products in Death Test 2. Prior to Death Test 2, the monsters and beasts encountered in The Fantasy Trip were giants, dragons, wolves, bears, goblins and such.
The illustrator for Death Test 2 is Roger Beasley, although the cover art for Death Test 2 is by Pat Hidy. The interior art for Death Test 2 is by Beasley, but it's hard to know whether he also produced the micro-art appearing on the game counters. 
Swashbuckling Octopi clearly have to team up with or face off against Disco Ettin.
ReplyDeleteMysterious Warlock W is not to be reckoned with lightly.
I, for one, welcome our cephalopodan overlords!
ReplyDeleteYou've gotta love sword-wielding octopods.
i've been enjoying these art posts.
ReplyDeleteand now the octopi have blown my mind!
I never had the Death Test microgames, but I remember the octopi from In The Labyrinth. Their inherent coolness inspired me to merge them with mind flayers to create the Cerebrapod.
ReplyDelete... and I thought that Runequest's Walktapus was a strange monster.
ReplyDeleteJeff Rients said...
ReplyDeleteSwashbuckling Octopi clearly have to team up with or face off against Disco Ettin.
Mysterious Warlock W is not to be reckoned with lightly.
The mere thought of Octopii emerging from an underground sea, weilding blades and axes, puts me into a panic.
Sean Robson said...
ReplyDeleteI, for one, welcome our cephalopodan overlords!
You've gotta love sword-wielding octopods.
I gather you can be helpful in rounding up ther humans to serve our new masters.
:D
brink. said...
ReplyDeletei've been enjoying these art posts.
and now the octopi have blown my mind!
The Octopii were pretty outrageous.
Talysman said...
ReplyDeleteI never had the Death Test microgames, but I remember the octopi from In The Labyrinth. Their inherent coolness inspired me to merge them with mind flayers to create the Cerebrapod.
Creepy tentacleness! Awesome.
KP said...
ReplyDelete... and I thought that Runequest's Walktapus was a strange monster.
Yet another reason why I must aquiant myself with Runequest.
I really like the second skeleton (I can't tell if that's a "D" or an "O"). He conveys a lot of personality, which may be weird for an animated pile of bones but there you are are. He's the Sea Hawk of skeletons!
ReplyDeleteWow, these are soo cool! I found this looking for an avatar image for a sword-wielding octopus for Elven Fire, a game that grew out of The Fantasy Trip! ( www.elven-fire.com if you are curious) Thanks for the awesome images! We'll have to go look for that stuff.
ReplyDelete@Matthew: One problem with many of the Fantasy Trip avatars was the use of complex fonts that were beautiful but basically illegible. I still use those avatars sometimes (and what great hi-res scans above!), and generally just draw the letter visually on the creature tracker sheet - kind of like copying a traditional Chinese character. *grin*
ReplyDeleteFor our own avatars I prefer a plain serif font.
One enhancement in the next Elven Fire release is the use of hexagonal avatars, with colored edges - green for front, yellow for side, and red for rear. Particularly with multi-hex creatures and with younger players, it makes identifying when an attacker gets a side-hex or rear-hex bonus much easier.