Hello, Adventurer...

I am Lord Nikodemus, the historian of Archvillain Games and I have been tasked with sharing some of our dark secrets of the arts with you today.

First, we will be looking into the Tome of Demons: Volume 1.

It was more chaotic than usual, but trying to harness the will of demons is never a simple thing.

The design process starts with a simple idea like “bird demon.” During the initial discussion, we settle on ideas for a setting, reference period, mood, and discuss possible mythology or folklore to draw inspiration from. Next, we look at the list of units. Certain units are left basic so they can be applied across various tabletop RPGs, but others are given individual elements to give them a story.

When it comes to sketching, sometimes every design for a unit is accepted on the first pass. Other times we go through two or three sheets of sketches until we settle on the best. These rough drawings are usually where rat hoards build gallows to the back of their giant rat-cousin Kenny, or an Egyptian-themed warrior, Anphotep, dances with a snake upon her shoulders.

Once a sketch is selected, it’s drawn with clean detail, alternate heads and hairstyles are drawn, callouts of small or important elements are pulled out, and weapons and poses are added on the side. From there, it’s in the hands of the 3d modelers!

When we first began imagining the Vrock, it began as a beastly hippogriff and later morphed into an abyssal librarian and keeper of secrets and preferred to be called a Vulduk.

Vrock Initial Thumbnails:

Vulduk Final Sketches:

Vulduk Final Form: Painted by Thomas Blennerhassett (aka knickknackminis)

The "snake lady", as she was originally called, took inspiration from historical Hindu art and sculptures, with an eye towards Kali/Chamunda. She eventually became Essetria, War General and spawned smaller Tamareth.

Essetria, Tamareth War General Initial Thumbnails:

Essetria, Tamareth War General Sketch:

Tamareth Final Form: Painted by Dave Oliver

I hope you enjoyed gazing into the chaos of demonic formation with us.

If you want to summon your own Vulduk or Essetria, I'll leave the gateway below...

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