Here's a little notion to share for your consideration. It was slapped together rather quickly and still needs refinement... quite a bit, actually. If you like it in general, you can have for a Toad King card template, and I will rework it to your specifications. If not, no problem, I won't be offended. The final production could be setup with a background and then transparent foreground to slip you artwork inbetween. The image here is about 50% of original print resolution (300dpi).

I would also like to suggest the following changes and re-ordering to text:

If the Toad King lands on a character currently turned into a toad, that character is blessed and replentishes all Fate points. If he lands on any other character, that character must roll one die:

1. "You make me angry!" he croaks, and then turns you into a toad for 3 turns.
2. "Give me that magic thing!" he demands. Immediately discard one Magic Object or become a toad for 3 turns.
3. "Ah, I thank you for replentishing my power!" he declares, and you immediately lose (discard) all of your Spells.
4. "So, you wish to hear the ballad of my exploits?" he asks, but it is not a question. Miss 1 turn to listen.
5. "Oh flies and crickets, where am I?" he mutters. Move him 1 space in any direction of your choice.
6. SQUISH! You step on the Toad King. Remove him from the game.

Is it still possible to make any changes..?

Or is this the final decision..?

I do not like nr 5 and 6...

But the idea from nr 2 and 3 is good..

The toad blessed part is a nice idea

Number 4 should be changed back to a Frog Song (title)..( i like that better)

A ballad is a story sung as a song... though it's just a suggestion, that's all.

I had thought of suggesting that on #4 it might be "Miss 1 turn to listen or become a toad for 2 turns." But who in their right mind would ever not miss that 1 turn? Maybe some other minor loss might be an option.... "Miss 1 turn to listen, or pay him a tribute of 1G." Again, just a notion.

JCHendee said:

Indeed very nice and munch munch better than the one I have worked on, especially the frame - realy beuitiful and fits perfect for the Toad King

I like your change in the wording too. It brings more life or how should I say it - I like it!

I would realy like the graphic in 300dpi. I think I can fit the content in as it is. Do you also have the green background, so I could use this to work out the back of the card ?

I am working on a new art for Toad King that fits the Talisman univers a bit more and is closer to the other toads, to do the theme thing.

Realy good JC and I hope you also will put your mind to Toad Kings story, or would change my bad wording

Once again

cheer

Velhart said:

Things are still in progress and can change

The frog song should be toad song if changed. Here is something for consideration.

FROGS vs. TOADS

Many people don’t know the difference between frogs and toads. They are quite different animals, although they belong to the same animal group.

Frogs:

• Need to live near water
• Have smooth, moist skin that makes them look “slimy”.
• Have a narrow body
• Have higher, rounder, bulgier eyes
• Have longer hind legs
• Take long high jumps
• Have many predators

Toads:

• Do not need to live near water to survive
• Have rough, dry, bumpy skin
• Have a wider body
• Have lower, football shaped eyes
• Have shorter, less powerful hind legs
• Will run or take small hops rather than jump
• Do not have many predators. Toad’s skin lets out a bitter taste and smell that burns the eyes and nostrils of its predators, much like a skunk does.

And, neither frogs nor toads, will give you warts! That is just a myth.

Toads, too, sing love songs after they leave their winter burrows and
congregate in ponds to breed. The common American Toads, in late
April or May, form choruses of long-sustained high-pitched trills. Later,
the doleful nasal screech of Fowler's Toad can be heard. Most musical
of all is the little Tree Frog or Tree Toad, gray or green with orange
thighs. Their melodious trills, from the tree tops, are often mistaken for
the songs of birds.

cheers

I know that a Toad and a Frog are not the same.. but the Frog Song is a famous ability among the frogs from the FF games from Square

Maybe you are right, it should be called Toad Song then..

Velhart said:

Okey, I did not know that with the frogs from FFG. I cannot decide. I realy like JC's idea:

• "So, you wish to hear the ballad of my exploits?" he asks, but it is not a question. Miss 1 turn to listen.

It is like the Grim Reaper, he tells something in every reaction instead of a description on the action.

Nothing is decided yet. I wish to hear more peoples arguments.

cheer

As I have mentioned, I am working on a new art for Toad King so here is a sketch.

Maybe he should sit on a big mousroom, I dont know.

Mr. Brogger said:

Wait.. ( FF is not FFG lol

FF=Final Fantasy..

But you have a point about the Frog Song ( it;'s a Toad in Talisman, so it should be Toad song.. ( does not sound actually better than Frog Song)

But Toad Song makes more sense.. ( because it's a Toad..)

So he speaks, but he's going to sing a way the character won't understand? Okay, I guess.

Mr. B... the sketch looks good!

I would realy like the graphic in 300dpi. I think I can fit the content in as it is. Do you also have the green background, so I could use this to work out the back of the card ? I am working on a new art for Toad King that fits the Talisman univers a bit more and is closer to the other toads, to do the theme thing.

I may have something similar for the back with a basic ring frame you can you use to put artwork in. I'll try to get something set up in the next few days. As to either front or back, I will do some more tweaking and then get you something you can use at full resolution. Do you use Photoshop for your graphics work or not? Either way is okay, I just need to know so I can setup files for you that will work best for your graphics program.

I hope you also will put your mind to Toad Kings story, or would change my bad wording

I can help out with the wording but I don't have time to write something up myself (I'm busying outlining and note-taking on two novels simultaneously... so my creativity for words is all tied-up.)

JCHendee said:

Thank you JC,

I use Photoshop, so you can just make it fit for that. I rearly look forward to see your work with the card. I was thinking to put some flies to it, but do not know yet. I wait to see what you come up with

You are more then welcome to help me with the wordings for the Toad Kings story as well

Okay, here is a potential Toad King card back at 50% of print resolution. Nothing to different from the front. Just a circle motif with a little bit of gold blobs. I'll keep my eyes out for some "flies" on the internet so we might try that as well. Obviously the center section will be transparent and can be filled with whatever. Once you decide it is ready for your to take control of, I will set up a PSD for you to download.

As to the Story... if you have something already written out, let me see it or point out where I missed it ... if you posted it somewhere here. (I seem to have forgotten how to send a Fried invite; I could not find it again to send you a note so we could exchange email.)

Once again, very good joob JC, you impress me alot. This is perfect... love it! Yes, we must exchange email, that would be easier. You can contact Jon to get mine, I know he has it. A PSD file would be nice te have.

TOAD KING STORY
Toad King popped out of his eg the day Cursed Glade became cursed. He is the oldest toad in the world and posesses powers unimaginable for what a little toad could posses. He is intelligent and able to communicate with all beings without saying words – he mostly do that when he commands something. Legends are told of the Toad King, but very few actually have seen him or know of his real existence – ”is he true or just a story ?” ... He is adicted to magic and seeks out to absorb it. He is not wandering too far from his birth place as he is a toad – he goes far but not too far. With his power to absorb magic, he has grown stronger in time and is now also able to use his most fered skill of all, that is making someone to a slimy toad, to join his family.

Also I had an idea of him being a human king from old times. He is now a toad (cursed) and do not remember munc of his time as human, only that he was king and that is still very important for him.

I am sure you can do the wording munc better then me. Fell free to ad and take out from what I wrote. Thank you so far JC

Toad King is taking his final shape... still working on him. Think I place him on a big mousroom or something.

Hope you guys like him.

Yeah, now that's looking good! And just for fun - and purely as an example subject to your own later work, I took your latest illustration, vector masked it, applied a little photoshop trickery and layer effects... and the result is this so far....

Now, here's a bit of play with prose.... use pieces of it as you see fit. (NOTE: I think that I personally like the Cursed Glade origin best... nice bit of lore to add to the Land.)

Not all curses stay within the Cursed Glade, for omn that lost night when it was first cursed, one muddy egg was about to hatch.

So was born the Toad King. oldest of toads in the Land and perhaps even immortal

Odd tales are told of his comings and goings, though those who do the telling have never met him firsthand, so all wonder what happen to those who did. Legends say he posses unimaginable power, though perhaps not the wits that should go with it. Obsessed with magic, he eats it like flies, and thereby grows stronger upon the spells he consumes. It is also said he is lonely among his own toadly and toad-witted kind. Imagine having no one of your own kind to which to talk. Now imagine what - or who - serve in his retinue and what - or who - they once were. Could you be next to follow in the Toad King's steps . . . or rather hops?

That's all for me tonight. I'll check in again tomorrow and try to finish off prepping the card template.

"use pieces of it as you see fit." - I take it all JC. It is munc better then my story

It looks great the way you have placed Toad King in the frame. I like the outer glow effect you have aplied. It gives him a more magic look. I could send you Toad KIng in 300dpi if you like. I am working on some art for flies to put on the card, if they will fit in. I could also send you these when finished.

Look forward too see what you come up with next time

The Art and the colors are very good

Velhart said:

Thank you Velhart Here is one with the king on a mushroom I just made.

Hey there.

Actually I was able to enlarge the forum version of the TK using Genuine Fractals 6, so its quality is pretty good. But using the original would like be better. If you have the TK and mushroom on separate layers, you could also get those to me seperately as well and I'll try a little magic on them. I also have a lot of "magical" or faery-like backgrounds that could work for the cards front side. So here's a possibility...

1. Go to http://www.nobledead.com and use the "Contact" link to get your email address to me.
2. Finalize the text you want on the front of the card, post it here in final form, and I can enter it for preview. If the "story" is short enough, it might even fit on the card as well (but I doubt that).
3. Export each component of your image (TK, mushroom, etc.) as a PNG with a fully transparent background.
   ----If the two parts of the mushroom, or even the king's crown, are separate layers, then export them separately. Export all art done on separate layers as separate graphics.
   ----You can try "Save for Web" to do this easily. This will save me time doing vector masking, allow greater options in effects, and perhaps produce an even cleaner intergration in the final image with all effects.
4. Depending on the size of each separate graphic,
   -----I can have you email them to me, or
   -----you can upload them to the same place you are using to post graphics here, and i'll download them from links you send me.
5. I can work on the basics of integrating each piece while you work on your other pieces of your art or anything else.
   ------I have found a handful of good 3D bugs which I could use effects to make "art" out of them, but it might be hard to make them match your "style" precisely. I had planned of trying to make them part of the template, and not your art, such as fly or art crawling around on the template background, but maybe that is not what you want.
6. Once the whole PSD file is finished, I can upload it for you to download, including any needed fonts or resources to install in Photoshop.
7. You can use it as is or further tweak it to your heart's content. And the TK will be "born" to finally enter the Land!

I think the flavor text for the result of 1 ("You make me angry" - Turn into a toad for three turns) should be something more like "I like you" or "Join me" or "Blessing of the Toad King" because the Toad King would consider being turned into a toad a positive thing, rather than a punishment.

Also, I love the 6 result.

Daring Dragoon said:

good idea and good point. I think something like that should be the text

cheer

I have another little suggestion.... For #6, instead of removing him from the game, maybe he just gets sent back to the Cursed Glade in a "poof!" to recuperate? I'm not sure what other movement mechanics you finally decided on to activate him. If he is still going to move around in ways other than on particular roll during an encounter, this change gives adventurers a chance to get him out of the way but still keeps him in the game.

It is sort of a trade off:

• some people like a roving NPC for the complications, like the Reaper.
• some people don't like them and want to get rid of them.

I still prefer a way to "thump" them (actually DO something about them once and for all). But with the above approach, there's a little chance of both doing something about him (with a lucky roll) temporarily, and keeping him active in the game.

JCHendee said:

I too like that you can get totally rid of him. I think it should stay to that (in my opinion).

Toad King : " size do NOT matter... I am more POWERFUL than enyone and ALL have to obaay me "

Foo t: Squiis... Ups!

Toad King : ...

cheer

Okay, that's fine. It was just a notion and it still works well the original way.

Okay, I tried a few bugs here and there, some ants and a little green beetle and one moth... but overall I think that one little fly that he's looking at is just enougth. What do you think?