Episode 34: Crocodile

About this episode

The episode explores a game scenario set in Abzû, influenced by Dungeons & Dragons and Roger Dean's art.

Edryk, Miria, and Kale face a terrifying onslaught on the dismal beaches of Abzû. This game sues the crocodile stats from Swords & Wizardry, It also delves pretty deep into the Dungeons & Dragons theory of the Soul that was made central to the concept of planar travel in Advanced Dungeons & Dragons starting later in the 1st edition and refined in the Planescape setting. I also wanted to share the Enuma Elish , if you want to read some ancient Mesopotamian myth. Roger Dean’s Cover for the first Asia album self-titled “Asia” was a huge inspiration for the setting of Abzu. I spent a great many hours staring at this album cover and listening to the record when I was a kid. In fact a great deal of the campaign aesthetics in – in my head at least – are inspired by Dean’s art. Roger Dean was a major influence on the aesthetics of the Psychedelic art and music movement and redefined what Fantasy looked like through the 60s and 70’s. I would be remiss if I didn’t send a link to his homepage where you can get prints of this truly amazing work. Abzu Random Encounter Table 3d6 category Encounter # Mein 3 Settlement Forlorn Camp*…

People in this episode

Host: Brian C. Rideout

Topics covered

• fantasy
• Dungeons & Dragons
• mythology
• game mechanics
• art influence

Keywords

• crocodile
• Abzû
• Dungeons & Dragons
• Roger Dean
• Enuma Elish
• fantasy art
• game mechanics

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Enuma Elish, Asia

Places: Abzû, Dungeons & Dragons, Planescape

More episodes of Swords Against Madness

• Episode 36: Detour · May 23, 2026 · 25 min
• Episode 35: A Gateway to the Stars · May 2, 2026 · 29 min
• Episode 33: Abzu · March 21, 2026 · 28 min
• Episode 32: Cruel · February 28, 2026 · 35 min
• Episode 31: Where Time & Space Don’t Really Matter · January 31, 2026 · 29 min
• Episode 30: Strange Journeys · January 10, 2026 · 15 min