Pic by Rich Longmore, click to enlarge.
That wasn't an informational blurb, that was a command. Click that bad boy and look at it.
There are a lot of hidden details in Carcosa that Geoffrey didn't spell out in the first edition, and I think some of that hidden lore can be used to entice people to investigate Carcosa rather than just being a revelation for people already digging into it.
I didn't want to alter the text to accomplish this (although Geoffrey did write a new introduction and a Humanity on Carcosa section for the upcoming edition) because using a lot of blah blah blah isn't going to suck anyone into anything.
So you clicked the pic, right? Some Carcosan man is stepping into the Temporal Transcendence Gulf, one of the technological artifacts of the Great Race. It's a frickin time machine, right? So what better way to give a sneak peak at various historical epochs of Carcosa?
Using a bit of influence from the intro of the old Buck Rogers TV series, we can throw a few things into one picture. The Snake Men experimenting on the pre-human man-apes, the coming of the Space Aliens, and a glance at the civilizations of the Great Race and the Primordial Ones...
Carcosa has a history, and a major difference between Carcosa and most settings is that humans aren't part of the setting's history. Humans were just lab animals (hence the color coding) who experiment on each other now (the rituals) because that's what the all-powerful Snake Men did and humans now want to be all-powerful! Now humanity is free as 13 separately breeding species, making their way in a very hostile world. Will humanity rise from this barbarism to create an Age of Humanity on Carcosa, or is the story of man just going to be one of extreme cruelty on the way to being eaten by radioactive dinosaurs?
That's how I see Carcosa. I'm sure Geoffrey will stop by with his own view on the matter... or else end up horrified that I've given it all away. :D
(I'd say that highlighting all this fun stuff will also help people remember there's more to Carcosa than 4 nasty sentences, but we all know that's not going to work, especially since that section will have art too, and we all know how much restraint and good taste I have with that sort of thing...)
Actually I think Geoffrey's having trouble leaving comments in blogger so if he's going to comment it'll be on the LotFP board. :D
ReplyDeleteI really like the way that Geoffery has fleshed out the setting. By that description, and the previous artwork you've posted, I can confidently say that Carcosa has a very good chance to ending up on my unordered list of favorite RPG settings alongside Empire of the Petal Throne and Ken Hite's The Day After Ragnarok.
ReplyDeleteThis can not come out too soon.
Interesting pic. Still way too busy. I have a very hard time differentiating things in it.
ReplyDeleteI was going to buy Carcosa anyway -- because I missed out on its original printing, want the unexpurgated version of it, want to support Geoffrey's right to create it, and also want to support you for publishing it.
ReplyDeleteBut, the more I see of Rich Longmore's art, the more I want that too!
I'll definitely be taking advantage of any pre-order deal you offer for Carcosa.
(I'm still kicking myself for not taking advantage of the pre-order combined deal you offered for Grindhouse & Vornheim.)
Very King Kirby like & very cool looking. I did buy the original from Geoffrey's site & this is excellent stuff. I'm looking forward to seeing where this edition goes.
ReplyDeleteThe art makes Carcosa look completely different than I imagined it.
ReplyDeleteThe art makes Carcosa look completely different than I imagined it.
ReplyDeleteI suspect that's going to be the reaction of many people, actually. I don't think that's a bad thing necessarily nor do I think the artwork we've seen is wrong. However, Carcosa has been without art for so long that everyone who's already familiar with it has developed their own idea of what it looks like and thus any art, no matter how well done and evocative, is going to be a disappointment on some level.
What I find interesting is that I'm also getting that "completely different than I imagined it" with every piece we're seeing. First, it was, "Oh, ok, meso-American vibe, that's cool." And then it was, "Oh! Heavy Metal! That's cool." And now this.
ReplyDeleteI'm liking it, but I'm thinking it might play differently if I'm using the original little brown book vs. this new one. Which would also be cool.
"...everyone who's already familiar with it has developed their own idea of what it looks like and thus any art, no matter how well done and evocative, is going to be a disappointment on some level."
ReplyDeleteWhile that might be true for people who are in love with their own preconceptions like Narcissus was with his own reflection, it's not true for me.
The art looks utterly different than I imagined Carcosa, too.
But that doesn't disappoint me at all on any level.
It EXCITES me!
While that might be true for people who are in love with their own preconceptions like Narcissus was with his own reflection, it's not true for me.
ReplyDeleteWow ...
Wow indeed. There's got to be a nicer way to say "I don't agree with blanket statements."
ReplyDeleteI'm looking forward to this, since I missed getting it the first time around.
There's got to be a nicer way to say "I don't agree with blanket statements."
ReplyDeleteThat's true. But I didn't merely want to say only that I disagree with blanket statements. I also, and much more so, wanted to point out that the assumption that anything that's different from ones own preconceptions is inherently disappointing is ridiculously egotistical. And there's no nicer way to say that to anybody who makes that ridiculously egotistical assumption. Is there?
I already like this Carcosa a lot more than the original. Murder, mutilation, ritual rape, infanticide, and cannibalism, now with added Kirby meets Heavy Metal! :)
ReplyDeleteNow with added creative muddle, Derlethian misinterpretation, and mayhem! (Can't leave out the mayhem) Coming in July! Wait, August! No, godknowswhen!
ReplyDelete.
.
.
Barf.
"...creative muddle..."
ReplyDeleteOh, horrors! The mingling of disparate elements! Impurity! Miscegnation! Degeneracy!
"...Derlethian misinterpretation..."
Gasp! Divergence from orthodoxy! Impiety! Sacrilege! Heresy!
"Coming in July! Wait, August! No, godknowswhen!"
Changing plans to accommodate changing conditions is wrong!
What cool looking artwork. I did a few 'Carcosa' inspired drawings a while ago... that look different... but I love Longmore's work. Maybe I'll post my 'Carcosas' over on my own blog.
ReplyDeleteI don't have any preconceived notions about what Carcosa is or should be, but this art is giving me some. The Lovecraftian figures at the bottom of the image have me intrigued and the mix of sci-fi and sorcery echoes Vance's Dying Earth in a way that can only end with me buying this book.
ReplyDeleteI planned on giving Carcosa a miss, but the more little tidbits of art I see and the more I enjoy Geoffrey's comments on completely unrelated topics, the more I want it.
Limpey: Please do. I'd be curious to see how yours diverges from the stuff here.
ReplyDelete@Limpey I second trollsmyth's "Please do." I, too, would very much like to see your Carcosa-inspired art.
ReplyDeleteJames is pretty much right-on in his blog post.
ReplyDeleteI'm pre-ordering as soon as it's possible.
ReplyDeleteAnd I'll read it through after downing 3 shots of absinthe, re-reading the Chaosium collection of all Robert Chambers weird fiction, and while listening to "The Consequences of Raising Hell" by Coil.
@Trollsmyth and Ed Dove: My drawings that are carcosa-ish: http://wp.me/p1Ne7i-CV
ReplyDelete@Limpey
ReplyDeleteAwesome! Your art makes Carcosa look completely different than I've imagined it, too!
Oh, wait! I mean...uh...(how did that go?)...I don't think it's a bad thing necessarily nor do I think your artwork is wrong. However, Carcosa has been without art for so long that everyone who's already familiar with it has developed their own idea of what it looks like and thus any art, no matter how well done and evocative, is going to be a disappointment on some level. Yeah, that's it. Condescension disguised as equanimity.