Sunday 16 December 2012

Christmas games and atmosphere

As my long time readers know already, I associate Christmas and especially Christmas carols with Dungeons & Dragons. So this year, like last year, I have decided to upload a picture from Larry Elmore accompanied by a Christmas carol. My brothers and I listen to Christmas carols before gaming sessions during Christmastime, sometimes during a game itself. It puts us in the right gaming mood. And the right seasonal mood too. They go hand in hand, Christmas, winter and Dungeons and Dragons. So I have decided to upload this picture, which I love, although maybe not as much as Avalyne the Life Giver. I always thought the mix of Orcs, giants, undead and Barbarians (Vikings?) was a tad odd. But one can make such alliance. All the same, it's a great picture. The evil sorcerer (he looks like a magic user) on his chariot, travelling through the snowy mountains, a nasty the Orc scout looking defiantly at the viewer (player-character?). Evil must be opposed, but this evil party might be difficult to oppose to.

 As it is almost tradition on this blog and because I think it fits the setting of the picture, I have decided to upload again O Come, O Come Emmanuel/Veni, veni Emmanuel. It is a carol I associate with journeys in the snow (albeit maybe more with this interpretation) and it is a good enough reason to upload it again.

3 comments:

Debra She Who Seeks said...

You have a truly unique view of Christmas!

PJ said...

Xmas and D&D are a classic combo.

The Gill-Man said...

I think everyone has at least one strange association with Christmas that doesn't seem to really fit for anyone else. For me, I cannot listen to the U2 albums "War" or "The Unforgettable Fire" without getting a Christmas feeling. It all comes down to me getting those two albums one year in early December, and listening to them non-stop throughout that month. For me, they became strange Christmas carols, especially since their early albums had so many allusions to their Christian beliefs.

So yeah, I completely understand how you've come to associate D&D with Christmas.